Wayne Rooney had a cheeky suggestion about Mikel Arteta(Image: The Overlap/Youtube)

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta accused of copying Wayne Rooney’s tactics

Mikel Arteta and Wayne Rooney have had contrasting managerial paths, yet the latter believes the Arsenal boss has been using his tactics at the Gunners

11 Oct 2024, 13:22 by Patrick Austen-Hardy · football.london

Wayne Rooney has cheekily suggested Mikel Arteta has been stealing his tactics at Arsenal.

Since Arteta took up the reins at Arsenal in 2019, the Plymouth Argyle manager has taken charge of Derby County, DC United and Birmingham City, the latter in which he was dismissed after just 15 games. Despite his tough start to management, the Manchester United legend recently claimed many of Arsenal's tactics on set-pieces were used by him first.

Scoring from corners and free-kicks has become a huge strength for the Gunners, who netted 20 goals from dead ball situations on their way to finishing second in the Premier League last season.

Nicolas Jover, Arsenal's set-piece specialist, has been widely acclaimed for the ingenious strategies that have contributed so many goals for the North Londoners. Yet, Rooney insists he has seen and organised similar strategies before.

He told the Stick to Football podcast: "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."

Rooney was referencing Gabriel Magalhaes' header he scored against Manchester City for Arsenal's second goal. reports Plymouth Live. The Brazilian gave Arteta's side a 2-1 lead on the stroke of half-time when he headed an in-swinging corner in at the back post.

Before that, five Arsenal players stood beyond the back post, before rushing into the six-yard box and splitting, carving open a route for Gabriel to wander into and guide into the back of the net.

Rooney referenced Gabriel's goal against Manchester City(Image: YouTube/Sky Sports Premier League)

Rooney previously implemented a similar strategy during his tenure at Derby County, which proved successful in a 2-1 triumph over Middlesbrough.

He instructed his squad to drift beyond the back post and infiltrate the centre of the six-yard box, setting up Lee Buchanan to head the ball across goal for Lee Gregory to finish.

Rooney's transition to Argyle has been commendable, with the Pilgrims currently sitting 14th in the Championship after securing three victories, two draws and suffering four losses in his initial nine league fixtures. In contrast, Arteta's team are presently third in the Premier League, on par with second-placed City and one point behind leaders Liverpool.

Rooney's Derby side scored a similar goal during his reign(Image: dcfc.co.uk)

Rooney's forthcoming fixture with Argyle involves a journey to Wales to confront Cardiff City. Five days later, his team will venture into the capital to challenge Millwall at The Den.

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