Graeme Souness has claimed Arsenal ‘get away with’ more than their Premier League rivals as the Gunners aim to secure the first part of an unprecedented quadruple this season. Mikel Arteta’s side take on Manchester City for the first piece of silverware this season at Wembley on Sunday.

If Arsenal were to run out winners, it would represent the first major trophy win for Arteta since his first season in charge of the north London club. It’s been a long and, at times, testing road for Arteta, who has had to fend off plenty of criticism for the way his team play.

But from the perspective of Souness, Arsenal have been lucky to get away with some of their antics for this long. The ex-Liverpool boss was referencing their tendency to grapple and hold at set pieces – something PGMOL have insisted they won’t be looking into.

He told the Daily Mail: “Arsenal get away with a hell of a lot by crowding goalkeepers and blocking goalkeepers. You block anyone on the pitch, anywhere else on the pitch – a centre-half half blocks a centre forward as he’s trying to make a run – and that’s a foul.

“I just think we’ve got daft referees. We’ve got poor referees who don’t really understand the game. They know all the rules from the first page to the last one, but nuances of the game they don’t get.”

Souness didn’t go as far as criticising the approach from Arsenal though, instead admitting he was impressed by how they’ve managed to turn set-pieces into their favour.

He continued: “I love the term ‘free-kick guru’. Their guru (Jover) is all about fouling the goalkeeper. That’s as simple as, black and white. Now, of course, there’s people like Gabriel Saliba who are really brave and will put their heads where most people wouldn’t put their feet, and they attack these balls that Declan Rice whips in, and they’re great quality.

“To be successful at free kicks you need a really good kicker of the ball, Declan, you need people who will attack the ball, they’ve got that, and then you throw in the guy who’s fouling the goalkeeper. It’s not rocket science.”

The former Sky Sports pundit claimed he thinks Arsenal will end up as Premier League title winners, while hinting more trophies could be on the way this season. They’ll have the chance to do that on Sunday afternoon at Wembley.