Jurrien Timber
Jurrien Timber scored one of two Arsenal goals from corners against Manchester United
Mikel Arteta has channelled his inner Tony Pulis to make Arsenal the kings of set-pieces. Incredibly, Arsenal have now scored 22 goals from corners since the start of last season which is seven more than any other team during that time.
Gunners defender Jurrien Timber has pointed to the importance of finding “different ways of winning games” and that is at the heart of this transformation.
Arsenal manager Arteta prides himself on finding marginal gains, getting an extra edge over an opponent and doing things differently. Even if it means rolling back the years to become a more expensively-assembled version of Pulis’s Stoke City.
That is where Arsenal’s set-piece coach Nicolas Jover comes in. Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola charged Arteta with finding the best set-piece coach when they worked together at the Etihad.
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Arteta took Jover from Brentford to City and then tempted the German-born coach to join him at the Emirates in the summer of 2021 and Arsenal’s set-pieces have since become a huge part of their armoury.
They really stood out in Arsenal’s crunch win over Manchester United. Why? Because Arsenal could not find a way through against Ruben Amorim’s well-drilled defence in the first half. At half time, Arteta told the players to turn up the heat at set-pieces.
United simply could not live with the aerial bombardment - Arsenal had 13 corners in the game - and it looked like Arteta’s men could score with every set-piece.
Jurrien Timber
Timber believes Arsenal now have a big advantage over their opponents
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Image:
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Timber scored his first Arsenal goal with the opener - William Saliba got the second from another corner - and the Holland defender says they now have a great confidence whenever a ball gets swung into the box.
When asked whether Arsenal now have a psychological edge over opponents, Timber said: “I think so, I hope so. I hope so, because we are scoring a lot out of it. So I hope so, definitely.
"Building different ways of winning games and I think we did that this time. I think that’s the most important thing. They look really dangerous and we feel really confident when we go into a set piece as well which is a nice feeling. We showed again how dangerous we are from set pieces."
Arsenal are now like a more expensively assembled version of Tony Pulis' Stoke City team
Arsenal’s most noticeable improvement came with the actual corner takers themselves. Bukayo Saka swings them in with his left foot from the right. That is expected from a winger.
But Declan Rice, since joining for £105m in the summer of 2022, has proved to be a superb taker of set-pieces. Rice is not just good at swinging in corners but also free kicks. He has a great knack at getting pace, curl and accuracy.
Everyone can see Arsenal line up players at the back post. But that is just the half of it. It is all about the “blockers” in the middle.
When the ball comes in, the “blocker” - Ben White is particularly effective and annoying for opponents - stop the defenders being able to do their job.
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But it is vital they just block by standing their ground and do not actually commit a foul even though rival managers are often left screaming for free kicks.
Arsenal defender Gabriel is a particularly potent weapon. But it was no surprise when Arsenal signed Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino in the summer as they are both giants and have both been weaponised at set-pieces.
The trouble is now that everyone knows what Arsenal are going to do - but do not seem to be able to stop it. United’s defenders looked frightened to death as each corner came into the box.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has worked hard with the team to make them a huge threat from set pieces
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Timber was happy to get his first goal but also says they now have their chance to build on the momentum of three straight wins in the Premier League to apply pressure on leaders Liverpool.
He added: “I think we created a lot of chances with the corners so I was happy it was me but I’m also just happy with the three points.
“I think every game is winnable but I think we are gaining some momentum. We are playing some really good games, this wasn’t easy but we still got the three points which gives us confidence for the next games ahead.
“Every game is important. You will regret it when you don’t give everything and when you lose points so I’m happy we didn’t do that this time. From now on, we just have to win and we’ll see where that brings us.”
Previous set piece kings
Stoke City
Rory Delap’s towel became one of the most feared weapons in the Premier League during the 2000s when Stoke bullied opponents Tony Pulis.
Goalkeepers would get nervous and defenders would shrink whenever Delap grabbed his towel, wiped down the ball so he could get a better grip and launch it into the box.
Stoke used to cause havoc with their menacing set pieces during their spell in the Premier League Don't Miss
Arsenal with the near post routine
Back in the late 80s and early 90s, George Graham put together a near post corner routine with Steve Bould’s flick-on and there would be a teammate - often Tony Adams - running in at the back post. Easier to spot but much harder to stop.
Trent Alexander-Arnold
The Liverpool full back’s delivery perhaps gives him the edge over James Ward-Prowse when it comes to free kicks.
Alexander-Arnold swings the ball in for flick-ons, headers and chances and his whipped deliveries are very difficult to defend.
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