Why Arsenal can thank their set-piece mastery for helping them lift their first Premier League title in 22 years

Rather than a triumph of physical supremacy, it’s how they have weaponised an underrated art, at times derided as an inferior team’s refuge.  Set-piece-goals never went totally obsolete in English football, but Arsenal have elevated it into a bewitching art, requiring as much muscle as wits.

In the last four years, Arsenal have topped the goals from such situations. It originated from Arteta’s plan to counter the low-block, wherein teams dug trenches and defended, thus limiting spaces and blocking channels. Set pieces have always been a method to slice open a game when things were tight.

Three glorious takers 

Often in corners, the attention falls on the execution. The barging bull of a centre-back out-leaping and out-muscling the wanton limbs and heads inside the box is the centre of attention. Though the assigned header is no doubt an influential figure, he needs an inch-perfect, well-weighted delivery.

Arsenal have three exceptional dead-ball specialists to slot the perfect delivery into the box. Often, Bukayo Saka and Odegaard, both left-footed, would ping the ball from the right side. Declan Rice would ferry those from the left-side. All three take turns to take free kicks from non-corner instances.

Unless they are defending a goal in the dying minutes of the game, wherein they play it short, they whip in devastating in-swingers, with bend, power and precision. The accuracy is staggering, and it’s rare to see them mishitting one.

The deadly head

Arsenal’s rivals know the intended receiver of the corner -the 6’3”, strapping centre-back, Gabriel. Since his arrival in the 2021-22 season, no centre back has netted as many goals as him (20). But it is not about him but also a combination of movements, practised to perfection, inside the box.  Gabriel lurks on the edge of the six-yard box, on the left. Three other players usually hover behind him, inside the 18-yard box.

They are the dummy runners, trying to clear out the far post area. When the ball swings in, they often move towards the ball, dragging markers to the near post. One or two might linger just outside the box and the rest stand behind them, to thwart any counter-attack. Gabriel rushes, unshackling from the men pulling his shirt, or blocking his view. Not all headers are met in the same way— he glances, he cushions and barrels them.

He is not the only quality header Arsenal possess either. Midfielder Mikel Merino has a thunderbolt of a header; his backline colleagues, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori too chime in with goals. The addition of striker Viktor Gyokeres has further strengthened this facet.

Variety is king

The underlying principles are often the same; but they mix the routines and patterns, lest they become predictable. Depending on the team and situations, they target the far post or the near pole. Teams have a habit of stacking the central areas with their tallest men. To foil this, they sometimes target the near post. Some corners are whipped in, some floated. Some swing; some don’t. Sometimes, they drift into the box like a swarm of bees. Sometimes, they scatter like a regiment after a drill. It’s synchronised chaos, so second-guessing their patterns becomes difficult.

Jover’s influence

The season before Jover’s arrival, Arsenal had scored only six goals from set pieces. Jover was then with Manchester City, feeling wasted as Pep Guardiola’s teams rely more on goals from open play. He emphasised on specific runs to sharpen their movements. Players are given just two seconds to run into a particular point to receive the ball, with Jover insisting on repeating and re-repeating the action until it becomes muscle memory. The impact was instant, and five years since joining Arsenal, he won the metaphorical cigar too this time. Probably, a hefty bonus package too.