Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner says the best thing to do against Arsenal is avoid giving them any corners, but that is easier said than done.
The Gunners have become an extremely potent threat from set-pieces this season, with corners seemingly their most dangerous weapon.
The Eagles go to the Emirates in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night and Glasner is well aware that they will have to be ready for the assault from corner-kicks.
The Palace boss says sides really need to stop Arsenal getting corners at all, but suggests that Mikel Arteta’s team is set-up to win set-pieces and it is more realistic to deal with them effectively rather than avoid them entirely.
Speaking of his own team’s prowess at set-pieces, Glasner said: ‘Big credit to my assistants who really invest a lot of work in analysing it on the pitch with the players, and also it gets more value for the players, this is what we try to implement into the team: that set-pieces are a chance to score goals.
‘But of course on the other side, everybody knows it. Everybody tries different things. To be honest, it looks like nobody could avoid that [Arsenal] have chances.
‘They didn’t score but they had one big chance against Everton. It’s a strength, so the best thing is don’t give them any corners, but this is the style, how they are playing.
‘They force corners. They come from the wing, they overload sides, making the runs, early crosses, you block it… corner, and that’s how they play.
‘We have to deal with it. It’s not that we are now just talking and thinking about the corners. We know it, but we don’t make the issue bigger than it is.’
Arteta is happy for his team to be a serious threat from set-pieces, saying he is trying to be the best in all facets of the game, including scoring from corners.
‘We want to be the kings of everything,’ he said earlier this month. ‘On set-pieces, the best in the world. High press, the best in the world. Attacking open spaces, the best in the world. We want to have the best atmosphere in the stadium and be the best at everything.
‘Before, it was about us not scoring enough, being soft defending, not having [the right] mentality, not being physical enough, and not challenging the top teams. 20 years without winning away from home in big matches.
‘We want to be the best at everything. We want to have the best academy, the best individual development for players. The best of the best. Recruit the best players and the best coaches.
‘That’s the objective. If not, we have to go and do something else.’
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