MIKEL ARTETA claims it is impossible to play “beautiful football” in the Premier League.
The boss hit back at criticism of his side, who have scored a league-best 24 goals from set-pieces this season.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta claims it is impossible to play ‘beautiful football’ in the Premier League
Arteta hit back at criticism of his Arsenal side, who have scored a league-best 24 goals from set-pieces
He says the rules must change if fans want more entertainment.
But Fabian Hurzeler, whose side host the Gunners on Wednesday, believes the title chasers are wasting match-going fans’ cash by taking “more than a minute” on corners.
said: “I would like to play with three extra players in my half to get some beautiful football.
“You want to watch that football, you have to go to a different country because in the Premier League, for the last two or three seasons, this is not the case.”
Prem supporters have become frustrated by the amount of grappling being allowed by officials at set-pieces.
Declan Rice was lucky to avoid giving away a penalty against , while the Gunners have taken advantage of lenient officiating to create space at attacking set-plays this season.
Arteta added: “It’s going to be a different game unless we change the rules.
“When you used to do a game plan, you would just invert a full-back and bring an extra player in midfield or a false nine. Four years ago, it was a completely different game.”
Brighton boss Hurzeler said: “When Arsenal has a corner and they are leading, sometimes they spend over one minute just to take a corner.
“Therefore we just have to make clear rules. Every supporter who pays a lot of money to go to the stadiums and watch our game should see the same amount of game time.
“They want to see a football event and they don’t want to see maybe 50 minutes the ball is in the game and 40 minutes the game is not running.”
Arsenal have scored 32 goals from corners, free-kicks and throw-ins across all competitions.
All three goals in the 2-1 win over Chelsea on Sunday came from corners.
Arteta said: “I’m upset that we’re not scoring more from them. I was really upset by the way we conceded against Chelsea. Look at the amount of set-pieces they score from.
“ are doing so well. When I was at Man City, we used to work a lot on them.”
Man Utd boss Michael Carrick has called on Prem chiefs to clamp down on grappling.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Newcastle, Carrick said: “It’s gone too far.
“It wasn’t long ago we were told you couldn’t lay a hand on anyone in the box and we were told it would be clamped down.
“It’s crept in, the success of corners and being able to put bodies close together has made more teams do it. It doesn’t feel like we’ve got that balance right.”
Arsenal’s title rivals , who host Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, are near the bottom of the table for goals scored from set-pieces.
Boss Pep Guardiola said: “That’s good. There are things I prefer to work on.
“When I was a young boy we said the people in England celebrate corners and free-kicks like a goal.
“It is true Arsenal dictate a little bit how they do it and it is an important role. I am learning a lot this year.”
And Ruud Gullit, the man who coined the phrase “sexy football” when he was player-manager of Chelsea in the late 1990s, is .
Gullit, 63, said: “I haven’t been enjoying watching football at all lately,
“I watched Arsenal-Chelsea on Sunday, and what a terrible match that was! The football is terrible to watch.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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