Liverpool manager Arne Slot isn't holding back. He's just gone on record saying most Premier League games are "not a pleasure" to watch. His target? The growing obsession with set pieces, and Arsenal are the poster boys for this trend.
The timing is pretty ironic, though. Slot made these comments right after his Liverpool team beat West Ham with three goals from corners. But the real trigger was Arsenal's 2-1 win over Chelsea, which also saw all three goals come from set-piece scrambles.
"If I watch other leagues, I do not see as much emphasis on set pieces," Slot complained. He pointed to the Eredivisie, where fouls on goalkeepers get called much more often. In the Premier League? You can practically hit a keeper in the face and play continues.
Slot got nostalgic about Barcelona from 10-15 years ago, calling them proper football. "Every Sunday you looked forward to watching them play," he said. "Most of the games I watch in the Premier League are not a pleasure for me."
Arteta Fires Back at Criticism
Mikel Arteta wasn't about to take that lying down. The Arsenal boss defended his team's approach with passion. "It's not ugly, you have to play the game that is there for you to play," Arteta argued.
He's got a point. Arsenal didn't invent this strategy. The data analytics movement spotted years ago that set pieces were underutilized. Arsenal just perfected it.
The numbers back up Slot's concerns, though. More than 29% of all Premier League goals in 2024-25 have come from dead balls (excluding penalties and own goals). That's the highest since 2010-11.
What This Means for Bettors
Here's where it gets interesting for punters. Arsenal's set-piece dominance makes them incredibly dangerous in tight matches. When betting on Arsenal games, corners and set-piece markets offer serious value.
The contrast with the Klopp-Guardiola era is stark. Those classic Liverpool-Manchester City battles produced just two corner goals across 16 matches. Compare that to modern Arsenal, and you're looking at a completely different game.
The debate isn't new, though. Critics slammed Spanish tiki-taka football back in the day. France's Bixente Lizarazu once called it "love without sex." Now everyone romanticizes that era.
Maybe it's a bit rich for Slot to complain about style when his team's slipping behind Arsenal in the title race. After all, Liverpool just scored three from corners themselves. Sometimes winning ugly beats losing pretty.
In ten years, we might look back at Arsenal's set-piece mastery with the same nostalgia people have for 2010s Barcelona. Until then, expect plenty more complaints about the "beautiful game" getting a bit rougher around the edges.
