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

Wayne Rooney has cheekily suggested has been stealing his tactics at

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 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,on their way to finishing second in the last season.

has been widely acclaimed for the 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."

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Rooney was referencing Gabriel Magalhaes' header he scored against Manchester City for Arsenal's second goal. reports . 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 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 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.