"Arsenal have mastered playing the percentages under Mikel Arteta and the 2025/26 season promises to deliver the rewards. The Gunners plan their set pieces down to the molecule. Fifteen of their 46 goals in the Premier League this season have been recorded as set-piece goals. Less than half of the division has broken double figures for that measure and no other team has scored more than 12."
"For every choreographed action there is an attempt to prepare a reaction on the part of the opposition and Newcastle United defender Dan Burn has revealed one of the tricks Arsenal have deployed over a dead ball. Last year, Arsenal on corners, there was a certain position [goalkeeper] David Raya would take in his own half, said Burn on the Adopted Geordies Podcast. So the players would look if David Raya was standing there, that was the trigger for where it was going."
"Then they change it all the time so you can't think about it, because we're playing at a level where those tiny percents make the difference. Set piece tactics at the elite level have come a long way since the days of a dead ball specialist raising one hand or two to tell their teammates roughly where the ball would be going if they catch it right when taking a corner."
Arsenal have prioritized meticulous set-piece preparation under Mikel Arteta and set-piece coach Nicolas Jover, turning dead-ball routines into a consistent source of goals. Fifteen of their 46 Premier League goals this season have come from set pieces, more than any other team. Meticulous planning includes coded triggers such as goalkeeper David Raya's positioning to signal specific routines, forcing opponents to decode shifting cues. Opponents describe constant variation that prevents predictable reactions, with tiny percentage advantages proving decisive. The Gunners hold a six-point lead at the top, and the detailed marginal gains from set-piece work contribute materially to their title push.
Read at www.fourfourtwo.com
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