Arsenal: Mikel Arteta issues response to cheeky 'new Stoke' label from Dimitar Berbatov

Mikel Arteta says it is a compliment for Arsenal to be compared to Tony Pulis’ Stoke City due to their set-piece prowess as he wants his side to be “the kings of everything”.

Arsenal have been in the spotlight for their use of set-pieces after their win over Manchester United on Wednesday night.

Both of the Gunners’ goals in their 2-0 victory against United came from corners and since last season they have found the net 22 times in that way, which is seven more than any other Premier League team over the same period.

It led to Arsenal being labelled ‘the new Stoke City’ by former United and Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov, but Arteta believes that is a form of praise.

“I understood very well what Berbatov said,” Arteta said. “It was said in the best possible way. We take it as a big compliment because [Stoke were good at set-pieces].

“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.”

Arsenal’s set-piece coach, Nicolas Jover, has especially come into the spotlight and during a live broadcast of The Overlap podcast on Wednesday night, former Manchester United defender Gary Neville called him “the most annoying bloke in football”.

Asked about that comment, Arteta said: “It is great as we are very good at a lot of things. We take it as a compliment and as a fuel to be better.

“We are not perfect at all, even in that department defending set-pieces. We conceded three chances and the three of them were coming from those situations, so there is a lot to improve and the margins are always there for us to explore and try to get better.”