Mikel Arteta said he is ‘upset’ that Arsenal have not scored more from set-pieces this season amid criticism over their style of play.
The north London club have been roundly critiqued for their perceived reliance on set-pieces, striking from two corners to overcome Chelsea on Sunday.
That took the Gunners’ tally to 16 league goals from this ploy, equalling the most by any side in a Premier League season, alongside Oldham in 1992-93, West Brom in 2016-17, and Arsenal themselves in 2023-24.
Yet, Arteta’s fellow managers have since come out and spoken negatively about the way football is being played.
Liverpool boss Arne Slot on Monday said that the league’s fixation on set-pieces has made games ‘not a joy to watch’, while Brighton’s Fabian Hurzeler today argued that Arsenal time waste around taking corners.
Ahead of Arsenal’s league match at Brighton on Wednesday, Arteta said: ‘I’m upset that we don’t score more (from set-pieces) and that we concede (from them) as well.
Mikel Arteta said he is ‘upset’ that Arsenal have not scored more from set-pieces this season
‘So we want to be the best and the most dominant team in every aspect of the game. That’s the trajectory and the aim of this team, and the club.’
Arteta went on to argue that the high volume of set-piece goals is a consequence of the current rules and the way teams set-up.
He added: ‘I don’t know how you celebrate one goal different to another one. Maybe for YouTube it’s nicer one over another, I don’t know. But the reality of football depends a lot.
‘I would like to play with three players extra in my own half to get some beautiful football and play always against a free man. This is not the reality of football.
‘You want to watch that (kind of) football, you have to go to a different country because in the Premier League for the last two seasons or three seasons, this is not the case.
‘Now, teams are adapting, teams know after every sequence of play — whether it’s a throw-in, a restarted play, an open-page situation, after a direct play — exactly what they have to do and everything is almost man-to-man.
‘So, it’s going to be a different game unless we change the rules because the evolution of the game is that.’
