'They are a disgrace': Manchester United fan criticizes Arsenal tactics as Dimitar Berbatov calls them 'new Stoke'

Arsenal's set-piece heroics have claimed another victim, and Manchester United fans are not happy.

The Gunners scored their Premier League-leading sixth and seventh set-piece goals of the season against United, ensuring a 2-0 victory that helped them close the gap with the leaders Liverpool to seven points.

Arsenal They had most of the opportunities against their former rivals, but it was in the corners where they were once again most lethal.

The tactic angered some, including on talkSPORT's phone lines, when United fan Ozzy called to have his say.

“Arsenal are a disgraceful team, let's make that clear,” he told Jason Cundy and Jamie O'Hara.

“Mikel Pulseta (play on words with Tony Pulis) from Stoke CityWe know what they are, they are a set-piece team, they can't play anymore, they are a disgrace and they know it.

“When Stoke did it, it was bad for football, they are basically Stoke in disguise. Well done, you scored two goals from set pieces and created absolutely nothing.

“Troy Deeney said during the game that they were going in the right direction: two goals from set pieces and they didn't create anything, basically the same as us. “They are not going to win the league.”

However, Ozzy was not the first to make such a remark, as the former United striker Dimitar Berbatov He also despises the tactics on display in the Emirates.

In his post-match analysis on Amazon Prime, he said: “The Premier League is probably the only league in the world where there are so many players around the goalkeeper pushing and pushing, causing chaos.

“Normally it's a foul, but not here. You have to be strong and that's probably why he (Rubén Amorim) was watching from the side and saying: 'What's happening with my team?'

“So we have to work on that because obviously, as we joke, Arsenal are the new Stoke City, depending on the set pieces that can give you the victory, as happened today.”

2

The criticism is particularly charged given that Arsenal fans and their former manager Arsene Wenger often complained about Stoke during their spell in the top flight from 2008 to 2018.

Wenger was seen as an advocate of attractive, passing football, while Pulis' Stoke was the complete opposite.

polish even claimed in 2020 that Wenger lodged a complaint asking the FA to ban throw-ins, and former Stoke player Rory Delap is an expert at unstoppable lobs into the box.

The Welsh manager later stated: “Patrick Vieira told me at a coaching conference: 'We used to hate going to Stoke. You were the only club Wenger talked about and worked for before. We just couldn't beat you.'

“Wenger came one year and complained that the grass was too long. He wrote a letter to the FA.

“The referees and linesmen had to come and measure the grass. I know you talked about banning throw-ins and said they shouldn't be allowed. “All of that was music to our ears.”