Everton comparison to Arsenal made in ‘Beautiful’ verdict
Everton were namechecked by former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen after he said set-pieces can be a “beautiful art form” that are now “integral” to the way football is played.
Everton have had plenty of success with set-pieces this season with the likes of James Tarkowski and Ashley Young earning the Toffees points by netting the odd goal here and there.
In fact, Young became the oldest person to score a free-kick in Premier League history thanks to the free-kick he bagged against Wolves on 4 December, showing how important they can be.
Speaking on BBC Radio Merseyside’s Total Sport show (12 December), Meulensteen shared his thoughts on Everton and set-pieces in the modern game namechecking the Toffees and Arsenal as specialists in the “art form”.
“Set pieces can be a beautiful art form, it can be. I don’t think it’s ugly football at all,” he said.
“It’s an integral part of the game and it’s very clear that teams that put a lot of effort in it, in terms of the defensive set-up and defending set pieces, they won’t concede a lot of goals and the teams that spend a lot of time taking corners and wide free kicks, especially if you’ve got a specialist, can pay huge dividends.
