Plymouth Argyle boss Wayne Rooney claims Mikel Arteta is pinching his tactics

Mikel Arteta has established himself as one of the finest managers in Europe, but Plymouth Argyle boss Wayne Rooney thinks the Arsenal boss' tactics are similar to his

Plymouth Argyle boss Wayne Rooney reckons Mikel Arteta has been copying his tactics at Arsenal.

The Argyle manager's surprise insinuation is based on the outstanding work of Arteta's side when it coms to set-pieces. Last season, the north Londoners scored 20 Premier League goals from dead ball situations on their way to finishing runners-up behind Manchester City.

But while Arsenal's set-piece guru Nicolas Jover has been heralded as the man with the plan, Rooney thinks he has seen many of their routines before. In fact, he even claimed to have used their routines successfully, before the Gunners even appointed Jover to his post.

During an appearance on the Stick to Football podcast, Rooney said: "Set pieces are so important, the amount of matches won or lost by them is huge. One of the coaches does it then I come in with some weird ideas.

"The Arsenal one they scored with, I did that four years ago against Middlesbrough and we scored from it."

The Pilgrims' boss appeared to be referencing Gabriel Magalhaes' headed goal in the Gunners' 2-2 draw with Manchester City. Arsenal players stood way beyond the back post and surged into the six-yard box, allowing Gabriel to wander towards the back stick and nod home from close range.

Rooney came up with a similar routine which worked successfully during a 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough when he was in charge of Derby County. He ordered his players to float beyond the back post and make their way into the middle of the six-yard box, allowing Lee Buchanan to nod the ball across goal for Lee Gregory to tap in.

Rooney has enjoyed a respectable start to life with Argyle, with the Pilgrims currently 14th in the Championship after three wins, two draws and four defeats in his first nine league matches. Meanwhile, Arteta's side are currently third in the Premier League, level on points with second placed City and one point behind leaders Liverpool.

Rooney's next match with Argyle is a trip to Wales to face Cardiff City. Five days later, his side travel into the capital to face Millwall at The Den.

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