CALL them Stoke 2.0 all you like but Mikel Arteta’s set-pieces feel unstoppable right now with specialist coach Nicolas Jover pulling the strings.
With a staggering 30 goals from set-plays since the start of last season and more than a fifth of their goals this year coming from corners, they could be key to Arsenal winning the title.
Here, our tactical expert Dean Scoggins — from SunSport YouTube show Tactics Exposed — dissects why the Gunners are so dangerous from corners and the secrets behind their success…
1) THREE Ts — TRIGGER, TIMING AND TRAJECTORY
THE precision is incredible. There’s the hand up from Declan Rice or Bukayo Saka to begin the routine.
From there, a two-second pause gives the ‘train’ lined up at the back post time to run into position.
Then it’s about the trajectory of the ball. Rice favours it flatter to the front post, whereas Saka hits it higher and more to the back and middle.
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2) THE JIGSAW PUZZLE
ALL the pieces have to come together for Arsenal — and everyone in the area has a role.
The players beyond the back post make their moves to the front post — and they mix it up to confuse defenders.
But they slot into gaps between the defenders, one in between each line… to complete the jigsaw.
This means that, if the man at the front post is beaten, Arsenal have a ‘jumper’ before every other defender — making it virtually impossible for the opposition to see or stop.
Jurrien Timber’s goal against Manchester United came from this exact move.
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3) CHAOS CREATOR
THE Gunners have a free man at every corner.
United tried to create a ‘forcefield’ around the keeper to stop Arsenal’s trick of blocking him.
The new chaos creator ran across the eyeline of the keeper, making him think twice about coming off his line.
Often, one player runs to the front post first to nudge the first defender under the ball — freeing up the ‘jigsaw jumpers’ to score.
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4) HOW DO YOU STOP IT?
IT is very difficult. United had a good plan, two players at the front post to stop one of them being muscled out by a blocker.
However, the players didn’t do their job. Bruno Fernandes got sucked under the ball and Rasmus Hojlund was too far outside of the line of the post, so both of them were redundant.
I’d like to see a centre-back — or dominant centre-forward — occupy the front post and not leave the zone!
My advice for defenders — start on the post, literally touching it, and attack the ball. Don’t wait for it.
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5) PLAYING FOR CORNERS!
ONE way to stop it, of course, is to not concede corners.
Back in the era of Rory Delap’s long throws at Stoke, we saw Hull keeper Boaz Myhill kick the ball out for a corner rather than face a hurl into the box.
But Arsenal create lots of opportunities to win corners.
One, slightly risky, tactic — would be to allow crosses from wide, backing centre-backs and goalkeepers to deal with those better.
Just don’t ‘do a Rashford’ and concede unnecessary corners which inevitably mean goals!
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