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Ian Wright has hit out at the \u201cpathetic\u201d criticism aimed at his beloved Arsenal this season and asks why Manchester United haven\u2019t been given the same \u201cstick\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Gunners have endured a difficult spell as the international break was sandwiched between the Carabao Cup final humbling by Manchester City<\/strong> and the shock defeat to Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-final<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Mikel Arteta\u2019s side remain on course to win the Premier League, sitting nine points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table<\/strong>but despite their dominance they\u2019ve been frequently criticised for a laboured style of football and relying on set pieces to win games.<\/p>\n Wright has dismissed the condemnation as \u201claughable\u201d and asked why the Gunners wouldn\u2019t make use of the skills of Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka over a dead ball and the giants they have attacking deliveries.<\/p>\n \u201cCan I be honest? You know what\u2019s pathetic about people going on about the set-pieces? We\u2019ve seen Man City, Man City have done really well with their set-pieces,\u201d Wright told YouTube channel GO90<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact is, it\u2019s laughable because set-pieces and being able to do set-pieces, it\u2019s part of the game.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 1999, David Beckham, after Manchester United got hammered in that Champions League final (against Bayern Munich)\u2026 David Beckham put two corners in the exact same place so they could score.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you saying that we should give Manchester United stick for being able to have a player that has trained, practiced nearly all his life about putting the ball in the right area?<\/p>\n READ MORE: Arsenal bottlemageddon schadenfreude is inevitable, absolutely fine and nothing new<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cDeclan Rice when he\u2019s putting the ball in, Bukayo Saka when he\u2019s putting the ball in\u2026 do you think that\u2019s easy?\u201d he went on.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are using as much as they can in respects of the margins that it\u2019s costing to try and win games now that set-pieces have become a big part of the game.<\/p>\n \u201cIt might not be a big part of the game years ago but when you\u2019ve now got players who are capable of putting the ball into areas where somebody else can take advantage, like Gabriel Magalhaes for Arsenal, then you\u2019re going to do it because it\u2019s a way of scoring a goal.<\/p>\n \u201cRemember the skill element. Gabriel Magalhaes has got to lose a man, Declan Rice or Bukayo Saka have got to put it (in the right area),\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople underestimate the amount of work that goes into trying to get these set-pieces right.<\/p>\n \u201cIt means so much to win games, win points in this league, that you will take any margin to get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n READ NEXT: \u2018Pathetic\u2019 Arsenal are handing domestic Treble to Manchester City<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/div>\n