Jurrien Timber heads in Arsenal's first goal of the evening against Manchester United - The 'front-post nudger' and 'goalkeeper blocker' – Arsenal's incredible corner success explained
Jurrien Timber heads in Arsenal’s first goal of the evening against Manchester United
As Arsenal generated corner after corner against Manchester United on Wednesday night, leading to goalscoring chance after goalscoring chance, their supporters began to celebrate them as if they were penalty kicks.
Such is Arsenal’s dominance from these situations that the Emirates Stadium crowd were even singing “set piece again, olé olé” throughout the second half of their 2-0 victory over United.
Under the guidance of specialist coach Nicolas Jover, Arsenal have become by far the most threatening team from set pieces in the Premier League. Their two strikes against United took them to 22 goals from corners since the start of last season – at least seven more than other side.
How are they doing it? And why are opposition teams finding them so hard to stop? Here, Telegraph Sport examines the routines and principles that have made Arsenal perhaps the most feared team in football at dead-ball situations.
The ‘play-callers’ set the tone – and are the likely goalscorer
Arsenal never rush their set pieces. If anything, they seem to move deliberately slowly in the moments between winning the corner and actually delivering it into the penalty area.
As they set up, the Arsenal players in the penalty box often come together in a huddle, seemingly to discuss which move they want to use. Against West Ham, it was Gabriel who led this discussion. Against United, it appeared to be William Saliba.
It is evident that the players have been empowered by the coaching staff to pick and choose which routines to deploy, although they do often turn to Jover on the touchline in these moments. Against United, prior to Saliba’s goal, Kai Havertz whistled to get Jover’s attention and appeared to ask for guidance on which run to make.
The idea is the play-caller should be the one who actually heads the ball towards goal, so they are central to the routine.
The trigger for the movement of the Arsenal players is often the raising of both arms by the taker. Once that signal is made, the play begins.
The ‘front-post nudger’ and ‘target-man blocker’
One of Arsenal’s strengths from set pieces is that they have multiple routines they can use. They are capable of mixing it up with each delivery. A regular theme in recent weeks, though, is that many of these routines involve at least one player creating a path for a team-mate by blocking an opponent.
Against Sporting in the Champions League last week, it was Riccardo Calafiori, Saliba, Thomas Partey and Gabriel Martinelli who created space for goalscorer Gabriel Magalhaes. None of the other players actually challenged for the ball when it was delivered into the penalty area. Their job was not to score, but to help Gabriel score. They simply got in the way of the Sporting defenders who were hoping to clear the ball, giving Gabriel a chance he could not miss.
Gabriel makes it 3-0 to Arsenal just before the break with a towering header! 💥
He also hit Gyökeres' celebration 👀
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/rk9r8ysvtg
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 26, 2024
It was the same against West Ham, where Gabriel had all the time in the world to nod in the opener. The big Brazilian was only able to attack that space because his own marker, Michail Antonio, had been blocked at the back post by Calafiori.
Shortly after that happened, Jurrien Timber fulfilled his role – this time as the ‘front-post nudger’. This is vital for a relatively low, in-swinging corner as the defender covering the near post needs to be edged out of position so the target man can attack the space. On this occasion, Timber ran across the goalmouth before nudging Lucas Paqueta out of position when the West Ham midfielder tried to cut out the cross. In behind him, attacking the vacant space, was Gabriel.
The goalkeeper blocker
Ahead of this season, it was made clear to Premier League clubs that blocking or obstructing opposition players will be penalised more strictly this season. Arsenal have simply evolved with the rules.
Last season, for example, a regular ploy was the use of defender Ben White in the role of disruptor-in-chief on the opposition goalkeeper. In the north London derby at Tottenham Hotspur, White was even spotted trying to undo goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario’s gloves as a corner was about to be delivered.
This season, Arsenal no longer station a static player on the opposition goalkeeper before a set-piece is taken. Instead, the timing of their runs is so precise that a player arrives in the goalkeeper’s face at the same time as the ball. Vitally, they never face the goalkeeper, lessening the chance of being penalised for impeding them.
It is often Saliba who makes his way into the vicinity of the goalkeeper when the corner kick is struck. An enormous man, his sheer presence is usually enough to prevent the goalkeeper from leaving his line. Against Sporting and West Ham, Saliba was between the goalkeeper and the ball at the time it reached Gabriel.
Saliba was also the closest to United goalkeeper Andre Onana for both of Arsenal’s goals on Wednesday night, cleverly ensuring he could not get off his line. Such was Saliba’s proximity to the goal that he even scored the second one himself when it bounced off his backside on the line.
Pack the six-yard box to cause havoc
Arsenal’s success from corners is, in part, a numbers game. They win lots of corners (they generated 13 against United alone, compared to United’s zero) and they have lots of players who are exceptional in the air. Indeed, Mikel Arteta has built Arsenal’s tallest team since the Invincibles, 20 years ago.
Even without the injured Gabriel against United, Arsenal still had Saliba, Partey, Havertz, Jakub Kiwior and Mikel Merino (in the second half) attacking the box. All of these players are more than six foot tall.
For their first goal against United, Arsenal had six players inside the six-yard box when Declan Rice crossed the ball from the left. It was the same when Bukayo Saka delivered from the right for their second goal.
Jurrien Timber's first goal for The Arsenal 🫡 pic.twitter.com/ZsY1spHq9q
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 5, 2024
To make matters worse for Arsenal’s opponents, these towering figures in the six-yard box usually start their runs on the “blind side” of the defenders. In other words, behind the defenders as they face the corner taker. As one, the Arsenal players often run from the back post to the near post, across the goalmouth.
It is almost impossible for opposition defenders to track these runs and watch the ball at the same time. Since the start of last season, 13 of Arsenal’s goals from corners have been converted from inside the six-yard box. Occasionally they can vary it, too - Arsenal’s players stayed at the back post for their second goal against Manchester United, meaning four opposition defenders stationed at the front post were effectively marking thin air.
Data from Opta shows that, from corners, Arsenal place the most players in the six-yard box of any team in the Premier League. With so many bodies in such a congested space, chaos rules. For Arsenal, chaos leads to goals.
Trust Rice and Saka to swing the ball towards goal
None of these routines and movements would be effective without quality delivery from the corner flag. In this regard, Rice and Saka are both exceptional.
The delivery is perhaps the only part of Arsenal’s set-piece play that is predictable. So far this season, 91 per cent of their corners have been in-swinging deliveries – by far the highest percentage in the Premier League.
Such is Arsenal’s commitment to in-swinging corners that, when Saka was absent for their Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk in October, Leandro Trossard took right-sided corners with his weaker left foot.
The impossible task – stopping Arsenal’s corners
None of these routines are in themselves revolutionary, and they will not have escaped the attention of the analysts at Premier League clubs. The unusual thing with Arsenal is that they are so well-planned, and so well-timed – everything happens in the blink of an eye as soon as Rice or Saka raise their hands. Arsenal’s opponents know what is coming when they concede a corner. Knowing what is about to happen, though, is evidently different to knowing how to stop it.
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