Liverpool boss Arne Slot has openly stated that Arsenal are not inventive with their set-pieces after establishing a reputation as specialists.
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Slot digs out ArsenalGunners accused of lacking creativityLiverpool boss praises BournemouthFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
In praising Bournemouth's ability at set-pieces before Liverpool face the high-flying Cherries in the Premier League this weekend, Slot threw severe shade at Arsenal in the same breath.
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Slot said: "In a different way than Arsenal, [Bournemouth] are also a threat on set-pieces. So where Arsenal, nine times out of 10, do the same [thing], [Bournemouth] always come up with worked ones that have been very useful for them."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Arsenal's use of a specialist set-piece coach, Nicolas Jover, in recent years has helped create their penalty area prowess in ded ball situations. It has added an extra level to their game, arguably at the expense of open play creation when it became particularly prominent in the lead-up to Christmas. But what Slot is referring to is in-swinging corners being delivered into a similar area – a crowded six-yard box – time after time.
Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT?
Slot and Liverpool will find out if Bournemouth really are the true set-pieces masters of the Premier League when they arrive at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Reds go into the game off the back of a Champions League defeat in midweek, albeit with a heavily rotated side in that dead rubber. Arsenal host Manchester City on Sunday and set-pieces could actually be a crucial weapon in a game that has the potential to be tight and cagey.
