'Arsenal are getting away with it': Graeme Souness shares what the Gunners do that referees must 'wake up to'

Arsenal are currently in great form as they continue to lay the foundations for a potentially successful season on multiple fronts.

The Gunners are unbeaten so far this season and are firmly in the Premier League title picture, having recently beaten Tottenham Hotspur and drawn at Manchester City.

Arsenal are also in the fourth round of the League Cup, having hammered Bolton Wanderers in midweek, and got off to a solid start in the Champions League with a draw at Atalanta.

The Gunners are now up against newly-promoted Leicester at the Emirates Stadium and they’ll hope to get three more points on board.

Arsenal have a special weapon in their armoury, one that they’ve honed over the past few years and is being used to great effect.

However, Graeme Souness has now claimed that referees need to “wake up to” what the Gunners are doing.

Graeme Souness thinks Arsenal are too aggressive on corners

Souness, writing in the Daily Mail, claims Arsenal are being too “aggressive” at set-pieces and corners.

The pundit said the Gunners did this against Man City, claiming Gabriel Martinelli obstructed Ederson, which allowed Gabriel Magalhaes to score.

“I also just don’t know when referees will wake up to what Arsenal do at set-pieces and corners,” wrote Souness.

“An accurate kicker of the ball delivers it under the crossbar, where aggressive players attack it, pinning and fouling the goalkeeper. It happened again at City.

“Gabriel Martinelli walks in, turns his back on the goal to obstruct Ederson and Gabriel scores. Do that anywhere else on the pitch and it’s a foul.

“If I was facing Arsenal, I would be taking three or four of my team-mates in front of the referee and pointing out to him what’s about to happen.

“Arsenal are getting away with it every week. They rotate the blockers, so the dummy referees don’t see it and deal with it.”

READ MORE: Mikel Arteta says Arsenal have an ‘unbelievable’ talent who’s set to explode

Arsenal corners are almost as good as penalties

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta leaves no stone unturned in the pursuit of excellence, including how to make the Gunners formidable at set-pieces.

Much of the credit here goes to Nicolas Jover, who has revolutionised Arsenal’s corner strategies since joining the Gunners setup in 2021.

As per The Athletic, Arsenal have scored 6.1 goals per 100 corners, the most efficient rate in the Premier League since 2021-22.

Arsenal are by no means the only team that uses a physical approach at corners. This is just the way the game has evolved.

For instance, Tottenham’s Guglielmo Vicario has picked up a reputation for not commanding his area all that well, and multiple teams are now taking advantage.