Manchester United were latest team to fall victim to the Gunners' set-piece prowess, which could give them an edge in the title race

Arsenal are the set-piece kings of the Premier League. Mikel Arteta's men cemented that standing on Wednesday as Jurrien Timber and William Saliba both scored from corner routines to wrap up a hard-fought 2-0 home win over Manchester United, which saw them close the gap on Liverpool at the top of the table to seven points.

For the first 50 minutes of the game, United stifled the Gunners while sticking to new manager Ruben Amorim's compact 3-4-3 formation, and the atmosphere inside the Emirates Stadium fell flat. But Arsenal always have a Plan B to fall back on.

Once the dead-ball deliveries started raining down, United were left completely overwhelmed, and in the end, they were fortunate not to lose by a far wider margin. They are not the first side to buckle under that pressure, though, and won't be the last.

No other team in Europe can match Arsenal's total of 22 goals from set-pieces since the start of last season; it's a unique strength that ensures they are never out of a game. But some consider the approach to be a form of anti-football.

"Arsenal is the new Stoke City, right?" Dimitar Berbatov said while covering the game as a pundit for . "Depending on set-pieces to give you the win." They were, however, bitter and unfair words from an ex-United striker.

Arsenal should not be written off as one-dimensional; Arteta is simply covering all bases to try and deliver the club's first league title in 20 years.

Getty Images Sport'Impossible to defend'

Every time Declan Rice or Bukayo Saka walked over to the corner flag, you could sense the fear among the United squad. The routine always starts the same way: four or five of Arsenal's most physically imposing players line up on the far side of the six-yard area, before crowding around the opposition goalkeeper like bees being drawn to honey as the ball is swung in.

Andre Onana was completely helpless on both Arsenal goals, with Timber nodding home the first at the United keeper's front post, and Saliba turning the ball into the net for their second after a deep corner from Saka found Thomas Partey. The Gunners constantly mixed it up with their delivery, and put blockers in place that made it very difficult for United to win first and second balls.

Amorim tried a zonal marking system to combat the threat, which backfired. But plenty of other teams have opted to go man-for-man, and the result has been the same.

"As coaches, when we prepare these strategies, you know what the opposition are going to do," Portugal boss Roberto Martinez, who previously managed in the Premier League at Wigan and Everton, said on the panel. "The uniqueness of Arsenal's work is that they always find a little trick that makes things impossible to defend if the delivery is right."

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Over the last two seasons, 25 percent of Arsenal's 119 Premier League goals have come from set-pieces – as per . However, that record is still inferior to Tony Pulis' Stoke, whose ratio reached a staggering 43% between 2008 and 2013.

The Potters were masters at maximising every corner and free-kick opportunity, but their main weapon was Rory Delap – who became known as the ultimate long-throw-in specialist. It was rare for Stoke to try and score from open play; they relied purely on physicality to accumulate points.

Arteta does not want his Arsenal to be tarred with the same brush. “We want to be very dangerous and very effective from every angle and every phase of play,” he said after the United win. “Last year we scored the most goals in the history of this football club, not because of only set-pieces but because of a lot of things that we have. We want to create individual and magic moments, too.”

Getty'Most annoying bloke in football'

Set-pieces should be considered part of Arsenal's "magic". The Gunners are getting so much success because of the countless hours spent refining their process on the training ground, with set-piece coach Nico Jover having an especially profound impact on Rice, who set up Timber's goal against United.

"When you go up for a corner it's a chance to score a goal, so to score both of them from corners, Nico will be buzzing and I'm so happy," Rice said. "Seeing clips, I know the weight I need to put on the ball and it's just about repetition. I put a few good balls in and could've had a couple of assists, so it was nice to get one."

Jover takes Arteta's place on the edge of the touchline whenever Arsenal win set-pieces high up the pitch, barking instructions to Rice and Saka as well as the runners in the penalty area. United legend Gary Neville described the Frenchman as "the most annoying bloke in football" during a watch-along special for 'The Overlap' podcast, which reflected the jealousy brewing throughout the whole league.

Arsenal now have an advantage over their rivals because of Jover's innovative methods, but Arteta is adamant that their collaboration does not centre solely around dead balls. "We share a very clear vision about how we want to put everything together," the Arsenal boss said at his pre-match press conference. "It's not about open play or set-pieces, it's how everything is connected, aligned and can work efficiently in our team."

(C)Getty ImagesPerennial entertainers

Arsenal can hurt opponents in so many ways; set-pieces is just one of them. Arteta's side warmed up for United by thrashing Nottingham Forest, Sporting CP and West Ham, scoring 13 goals across those three games, and some of their football was a joy to behold.

When the likes of Saka, Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard are firing on all cylinders, Arsenal are almost impossible to stop. There is a ferocious intensity to all of their work on and off the ball, while Arteta also encourages self-expression to open up defences.

"A lot of players can create their own goals," he said in midweek. "We can create goals from short counters and long counters, slow build-ups, restarts and the opportunity to open up the opposition. Every single phase of play let’s maximise it, keep working on it, keep improving."

Arsenal can outplay any team on their day, and are deservedly revered as English football's perennial entertainers. But that's not enough to win titles. Arteta knows that, which is why he has embraced a variety of different styles over the last two seasons.