Dimitar Berbatov made a comment on punditry after Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Manchester United that would have infuriated Arsene Wenger.
The Gunners secured an important victory via two set piece goals in the second half, with Jurrien Timber and William Saliba getting on the scoresheet.
Saliba’s goal was somewhat fortunate as Thomas Partey’s header struck him before going into the back of the net, but Arsenal‘s prowess from corners continued despite the absence of Gabriel Magalhaes at centre-back.
Their deficit to Premier League leaders Liverpool has dropped to seven points after the Reds drew 3-3 away at Newcastle in an end-to-end encounter.
For United, it was a night that signified their continuing transition under Ruben Amorim – and how the Portuguese boss still has plenty of work to do after promising signs during the 4-0 win over Everton on Sunday.
They were undone by Arsenal‘s set pieces, which were a key topic of debate among the Amazon Prime punditry team on Wednesday night – and Berbatov made a comparison which former Gunners boss Wenger would have not enjoyed.
He claimed: “Probably the Premier League is the only league in the world where you have so many players around the goalkeeper, people pushing, shoving, making chaos, normally it’s going to be a foul. Not here.
“You need to be strong. Probably he [Amorim] was watching from the side and going, ‘What is going on with my goalkeeper?’ They need to work on that.
“As we joked, Arsenal are the new Stoke City, depending on set pieces which can give you the win. Like it was today.”
Wenger was known for his attractive, passing style of play during the second half of his time as Arsenal boss, relying on patient build-up play in the final third to create chances rather than set pieces – though the Gunners were much more of a quick attacking unit during his early years.
Arsenal’s lack of potency from set pieces during his time in charge wasn’t always a personal choice, as he admitted back in the 2004/05 season: “I still feel it is a problem of experience and size.
“In midfield we are very short and so are our full-backs. That means we have only two central defenders who can win the ball at set pieces.”
Wenger, though, will no doubt be impressed by Arteta’s side’s ability to find different ways to win games – and that served them well on Wednesday evening.