Arsenal legend fumes at ‘Set Piece FC’ critics in angry rant

Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit has blasted critics of the club, saying the media are desperate to focus on negatives when it comes to Mikel Arteta’s side.

The Gunners are enjoying a brilliant season and that continued on Sunday with a 2-1 win over Chelsea at the Emirates.

The victory extended Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League to five points, although closest rivals Manchester City do have a game in hand.

Things are going very nicely for the north London giants – who are also into the last 16 of the Champions League, the Carabao Cup final and FA Cup last 16 – but they are not without their critics.

Goals against Chelsea came from William Saliba and Jurrien Timber as Arsenal leant on their corners again, taking their tally to 16 goals from corner-kicks this season.

That sees them equal the record for most goals from corners in a single Premier League season, so they are likely to comfortably beat that number by the end of the campaign.

Manchester City legend Yaya Toure claimed that even though Arsenal won the game, some fans will still be disappointed given the style of the team.

Manchester United icon Peter Schmeichel has called for referees to be tougher on the grappling in the box, saying the current routines are ‘not in the spirit of the game,’ on ViaPlay over the weekend.

Petit feels the attacks on Arsenal, from former players and the wider media, are unnecessarily negative and his old club is not getting the praise it deserves for its success.

‘[They] always try to give negative comments, never see the positive side. Never try to find something positive,’ Petit said of the media on talkSPORT.

‘It’s like seeing the empty glass or the full glass. It’s always the same old story.

‘Even when Arsenal win a game, just like yesterday [Sunday], it’s about set pieces. Okay, so is it important to win the three points?

‘Nobody is saying anything positive, all the time. I mean, it’s very rare, actually.

‘I read the newspaper this morning. It’s kind of negative, you know? It’s like: “Set Piece FC”, things like this. But at the end of the day, it’s three points. I mean, just say it.

‘I get angry because it’s like watching the news, you know? You have ten news [stories]. It’s always about nine bad news [stories], all the time. Fears sell newspapers and fears bring people in front of the TV.

‘You know, there is beauty in this world. There is beauty in football. And sometimes you can be honest and say some positive things.’

Arteta is unfazed by any criticism, pointing out that plenty of other teams use set-plays, including Sunday’s opponents Chelsea.

‘We knew the importance of the individual duels at set plays because Chelsea are a top side attacking and defending them,’ he said.

‘Every team to be fair. There is so much quality at set pieces in the Premier League.

‘It’s very important. We have lost points to long throws and lately we haven’t scored from many set-pieces. Today we did it. To have these options is great.’