Former Manchester United forward Dimitar Berbatov has drawn comparisons between Arsenal and an infamous Premier League side of yesteryear following Wednesday night’s win over his former side.
Arsenal were the dominant team at the Emirates Stadium but could not find a way into a newly resolute United defense in open play. The two goals in the The eventual 2-0 victory came in the corners of the second halfwith the Gunners now up to 22 set-piece goals since the start of last season alone, the highest of any Premier League club in that time frame.
A large part depends on Mikel Arteta hiring Nicolas Jover, coach dedicated to set pieces.
But game pieces aren’t particularly glamorous and are seen as a tough way to get results. It upset United boss Ruben Amorim and Berbatov suggested today’s Arsenal are reminiscent of Stoke City under Tony Pulis, a team known for raw power and long throws.
“The Premier League is probably the only league in the world where you have so many players around the goalkeeper, pushing, shoving, wreaking havoc,” Berbatov said during Amazon Prime Video coverage of the game in North London.
“(In other leagues), it will be a foul. Not here. You have to be strong, and that’s probably why (Amorim) was watching from the sidelines: ‘What’s going on with my goalkeeper?’ You have to work on it.
“How do we joke, arsenal it’s the new Stoke City, it depends on set pieces to give you the win.”
Teammate Roberto Martinez, formerly a Premier League manager with Wigan Athletic and Everton, echoed the Stoke comparison but suggested the onus is on other teams to figure out how to play against the likes of Arsenal to eliminate it as a fortress.
“We’ve all suffered at Stoke, and I think it’s a great credit to remember Tony Pulis and the job he did with the kick-outs. When teams do something exceptionally well, you have to try and find a different way to defend it.”, Martinez explained.
