Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's problems at Man Utd are the same as Mikel Arteta's at Arsenal

There are striking similarities between old rivals Manchester United and Arsenal.

Both clubs are looking to rebuild with former players at the helm and have high hopes of returning to former glories.

But both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Mikel Arteta are facing the same problems - in the form of their inability to defend set pieces

United were undone by a last-gasp Michael Obafemi goal against Southampton at Old Trafford on Tuesday from a set piece.

"We have improved on defending set plays," Maguire told Sky Sports after the game. "We had a terrible record at the start of the season but have been really good on them.”

But whilst their captain insisted there has been improvement, the stats show the area remains a huge problem.

Man Utd conceded from a set piece again late on vs Southampton (2020 Pool)

The Red Devils have conceded 14 goals from set pieces this term, 41.2% of their goals.

Only Arsenal have a worse record, conceding 20 goals, equating to 45.5% of those conceded.

And the fact the two clubs have the worst record defending set pieces shows Solskjaer and Arteta must both address the same issue at their respective clubs this summer.

After their recent FA Cup win over Sheffield United, Robin van Persie highlighted how Arsenal still need to address the same long-standing problem with set pieces.

Arsenal have also been fragile from set pieces (REUTERS)

But whilst he used United as a contrast at how to defend in the past, Solskjaer’s side are now dealing with the exact same problem as their rivals.

"What I believe is very important for Arsenal and for Mikel is they find a way to fix the set pieces against them,” Van Persie said on BT Sport.

"You fix that with mental toughness. It's like when I played with you (Rio Ferdinand) and Vida (Nemanja Vidic), you would die to save the ball. You would put your head first, you would put everything to block the ball.

Solskjaer and Arteta are both attempting to address the same issue with their sides (David Price)

"That mentality is needed to compete for trophies, and to be honest I don't really see that now and that's not new, we talked about this before and it was even an issue in my time there.

"You need to find defenders who want to do absolutely everything to block that ball. They should try to find those types of defenders.

"I'm not saying these guys are bad, but there is another level up if you want to win trophies."