Arsenal news: Arne Slot's 'diabolical' dig called out as Gunners set sights on two new deals

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Premier League leaders Arsenal are rediscovering what life at the top is all about. And that includes having to deal with criticism about how they're coming about their success among England's elite.

Mikel Arteta 's side are fielding fresh attacks regarding their style of play, and in particular their focus around set-piece goals . Liverpool counterpart Arne Slot is one of those to question the dependence on dead-ball situations, leading a former Gunner to come out firing in defence of his old side.

In more positive news, there are also murmurs of more new contracts incoming at the Emirates, while one of Arteta's old rivals has likened Arsenal to one of his teams. Mirror Football breaks down the latest headlines around north London as the Gunners build towards Saturday's trip to Burnley .

While those at Arsenal will care little for how their goals are scored, the wider football community is fervently discussing how the club has earned its success. And that has led to no small amount of scrutiny relating to their preference for set-piece tactics.

Coach Nicolas Jover has helped amplify this aspect of Arsenal's play tremendously, and it doesn't sit well with many around the sport. It would even appear that includes Liverpool chief Slot, who seemingly sought to downplay the significance of Arsenal's set-piece threat.

When asked about his team conceding more against set pieces, Slot recently said: "If you’d tell me that we've conceded 40% of our goals from set pieces, and the No. 1 in the league has scored 60% of their goals from set-pieces, and we're still one point behind that team, I would probably think, 'It's not even that bad!'"

That appeared to be another veiled dig at Arsenal's set-piece prowess. The Dutchman previously spoke about Arsenal's strength in that area last season and told reporters: "Nine times out of 10, [Arsenal] do the same."

But former Arsenal star Anders Limpars has taken umbrage with the remarks in defence of his old team. And the Swede believes Slot is out of line with this latest condescension.

"It’s just excuses, he can’t say that as an opposition manager," Limpars told Hajper . "It doesn’t really matter how you win games so long as you win games. Over the long run, you have to play all the best teams. To be criticised for scoring from set pieces or not, it’s a diabolical thing to talk about in my opinion.

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"Shall we look back at the last four years and look at what City have done or not have done, or what Liverpool have done or not have done? At the end of the day, they’ve all had scrappy wins for sure here and there. Arne Slot has to cope with losing the last four league games on the trot. It’s not normal for them.

"Now suddenly they are having these setbacks and you have to cope with that as a manager, especially at a top club in the Premier League . It’s normal business. I hate players who have excuses. I don’t like managers having excuses."

It's no secret Bukayo Saka's contract extension is of chief importance at the Emirates. However, it's now come to light there are two other deals being prioritised by the club once the Saka negotiations are over the line.

Arteta's prized winger is currently on a deal due to expire in the summer of 2027. And the year after that, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber will each see their expiration dates come up, according to their current terms.

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It's worth noting Rice has the option of an additional year in his contract, which Arsenal are more than likely to trigger should nothing change before 2028. However, the BBC reported Arsenal are keen to ensure both he and Timber don't get close to the ends of their current agreements.

Director Andrea Berta is playing a key role in discussions, having already locked down the likes of Gabriel Magalhaes , William Saliba, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri to new deals this season. And the former Atletico Madrid supremo will hope to work some magic again in the hopes of further cementing Arsenal's spine for years to come.

Regarding Arsenal's set-piece methods, it was only a matter of time before Tony Pulis gave his two cents. The man who popularised the long throw-in at the top level and made Rory Delap a cult icon sees similarities between the Arsenal of today and his Stoke City side of old.

Pulis, 67, was unabashed in his preference for shrewd set-piece plays and often delighted in frustrating the big boys via his methods. So it's made the Welshman proud to see the English club perhaps most traditionally associated with beautiful football engage in the same kind of warfare.

"Like me, he [Arteta] has recognised how important clean sheets are and he has also recognised that a lot of his games last year were drawn," he wrote in his BBC column. "So, he has looked for a way to turn those draws into wins.

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"More than 20% of all the non-penalty goals scored in the Premier League last season came from corners or free-kicks so Arteta has probably looked at those stats and thought if we can get a chunk of it to add to what we've got, we've got a good chance of becoming a winning team."

If it helps Arsenal end their 22-year wait for another Premier League title, Arteta nor his players will care about how they score their goals. And Pulis has "nothing but respect" for Arteta after refusing to limit his options purely to keep up a certain aesthetic.

"That's another reason why I have got nothing but respect for Arteta, because he has seen all of that at the time and just thought, 'You know what, doing that could help us,'" he continued. "[Arsene] Wenger is probably shaking his head about what Arsenal are doing, but I know Arteta sees the Stoke comparisons as a compliment and so do the other Premier League managers who are doing the same."

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