Mikel Arteta insists Arsenal take Dimitar Berbatov’s Stoke City comparisons as a ‘compliment’ as he says his team want to be ‘the kings of everything’ and not just corners

Mikel Arteta insisted he is flattered by comparisons to Stoke City over Arsenal’s set-piece prowess — and is aiming to dominate across all areas of the game.

Their two set-piece goals on Wednesday night to beat Manchester United 2-0, courtesy of William Saliba and Jurrien Timber, left pundits once again purring over the Gunners’ dead-ball expertise.

Dimitar Berbatov compared Arteta’s men to Tony Pulis’ Stoke team who were famous for their sheer physicality and ingenuity at all kinds of set-pieces.

The north London club have now scored 22 goals from corners since the start of the 2023-24 season, which is the most across Europe’s top five leagues. In that same period, in the Premier League Manchester City are second with 15 such goals.

Ahead of Arsenal’s league match against Fulham on Sunday, he said: ‘I understood very well what Berbatov said. We take it as a big compliment because Stoke were so good at it.’

When asked about the Gunners being called ‘corner kings’, he continued: ‘We want to be the kings of everything. Set-pieces, the best in the world. High press, the best in the world.

‘In open spaces, the best in the world. The best atmosphere in the stadium and the best at everything.

‘Before it was we didn’t score enough, we were soft at defending, we didn’t have mentality, we were not physical enough, we didn’t beat big teams away from home for 17 years, 20 years, 22 years.

‘We want to be the best at everything. We want to have the best academy, be the best at player development, recruit the best players, best coaches. That’s the aim.’

It is an area both Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, the designated corner takes, work hard at in training.

‘They work (at it) like any other kind of finishing — constantly,’ he said. 

‘We want to be a threat with everything that we do. We have to take every opportunity to make it count and be a threat.’

Arteta’s appreciation for the craft started as a player during the Spaniard’s time at Everton between 2005 and 2011.

‘I understood at Everton how important they were and how difficult it was for the opposition,’ he explained.

‘When I came here as well we had a period in some big matches where we suffered and were out. 

‘I went to (Manchester) City and immediately realised we had to something about it.’

Sunday’s match reunites Arteta with a series of ex-players such as Emile Smith Rowe, Bernd Leno and Alex Iwobi, as well as loanee Reiss Nelson.

He added: ‘They’re doing very well. I’m very happy for them. Reiss is still one of our own but the rest as well. It will be great to see them.’