The Stoke City revival! Pep Guardiola sees 'more and more teams' adopting Tony Pulis tactics in the Premier League as Man City boss calls for 'aggressive' response

Almost 19 per cent of all goals in the Premier League this season have come from corners. Corners and long throws are dictating results in most Premier League fixtures, with some of the top clubs, including leaders Arsenal, turning to specialists to squeeze every advantage out of dead-ball scenarios. Mikel Arteta has time and again stressed the importance of set-pieces, and Arsenal's playbook revolves around what Pulis once made famous at Stoke. They look to build relentless aerial pressure in packed penalty areas and clever flick-ons designed to unsettle defenders. While Guardiola insists he respects every manager’s right to shape their team in their own image, he made it clear City will not abandon their identity, despite the change in approach adopted by most Premier League teams. 

Speaking ahead of City’s Carabao Cup fourth-round clash with Swansea City, Guardiola admitted that the league’s obsession with set pieces has reached new heights. 

"I remember a long time ago with Sean Dyche, Burnley were an incredible threat in the long balls, second balls," he said. "Dyche is one of the best by far doing these kind of aspects. It’s not new, he did it before. Or Sam Allardyce. Or I remember when I was not here, Stoke City. Do you remember Stoke City when they made the throws? It happened in that time. Now it’s just more and more teams doing that but then maybe Stoke was the exception. I remember when I was at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Arsene Wenger talked about going to play at Stoke City but now it happens a lot of times."

Guardiola admitted his side must improve in managing these moments, but he is refusing to compromise his footballing principles.

"Every manager does what they believe. I’m focused on that," he insisted. "I want to score from free-kicks and corners – I’m not naive, I want it – but I spend my time on what we have to do to play better, attack better and create chances, to score goals. Defensively, you have to be more aggressive. All the aspects of the game I see. Of course, I pay attention, but I know I’m not the manager to try to… It’s what I’ve done all my career."

The Premier League’s average of 2.6 goals per game this season is the lowest since 2017, while the ball is in play for just over 55 minutes per match. Matty Cash’s goal for Aston Villa in their 1–0 win over City at the weekend was yet another example of the set-piece dominance, coming straight from a corner. Guardiola revealed that City have been working behind the scenes to strengthen their defensive shape on dead balls. He praised his set-piece coach, James French, for drilling in the tactical discipline required to handle aerial bombardments.

"I remember at Burnley when it was tough, we conceded only one corner or maybe not even one. Why? Because we controlled the second balls," he said. "The best kind of way to defend these games is in that way. But for that, you have to be good in a lot of aspects and we are working on it. I will, until the end, continue to work mainly on our game. And sometimes adapt, when we have to do it. We did it at Brentford incredibly well. (Set piece coach) James (French) made an incredible job seducing our players into how we should defend these kinds of actions. It was unbelievable, the same at Arsenal. We conceded a lot of corners against Arsenal because we didn’t control the game."

While Guardiola’s City remain the only team to have scored all their goals from open play this season, others are embracing a more direct, gritty approach. Swansea will likely adopt a similar style when they welcome their illustrious Premier League opponents on Wednesday evening in the Carabao Cup. It remains to be seen how much control Guardiola's men have in the match, as the manager will be inclined to rotate his squad amid a busy schedule. Midfield dynamo Rodri is unavailable, while Erling Haaland might be rested. Omar Marmoush is set to be handed his first start since August, while 18-year-old ­midfielder Divine Mukasa is also in line to feature against the Championship side.