Arsenal scored twice from corners in their 2-0 victory over Manchester United
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By OLIVER HOLT
Published: 21:00 EST, 5 December 2024 | Updated: 21:00 EST, 5 December 2024
It used to be that being able to defy the wind that blew in from the four open corners of the Britannia Stadium, and having the strength to resist the muscularity of the team that played there, made surviving a trip to Stoke City the Premier League’s ultimate test.
That has changed. If once the former striker Andy Gray asked whether Lionel Messi could do it on a wet Wednesday night in the Potteries, now the question is who can withstand the relentless challenges posed by the choreographed brilliance of an Arsenal corner.
To be at the Emirates on Wednesday, as Arsenal dealt Ruben Amorim his first defeat as Manchester United manager with two more cleverly crafted set-pieces, was to witness corners turned into brutal ballet by the Gunners and their set-piece coach Nicolas Jover.
Corners have become a devilish dance, a kind of bacchanalia of holding, grappling and blocking that gives way to a blur of movement and intent that Arsenal’s opposition are finding all but impossible to defend.
In the Martin Scorsese film The Color of Money, Paul Newman’s character talks about the importance in sport of being ‘a student of human moves’ and, in a more physical way, it is the same with an Arsenal corner.
Jover treats it like a science. It is a way of using bodies and movement to create space, with blockers and movers to stifle the goalkeeper and defenders and open up channels for a player to attack the ball, a little like NFL offences try to create channels for their running back to accelerate into.
Arsenal scored twice from corners in their 2-0 victory over Manchester United on Wednesday
The Gunners have an astonishing record from set pieces under specialist coach Nicolas Jover
United couldn't cope with their corners as Jurrien Timber (above) and William Saliba scored
At the core of it, for all the fascination of the ballet in the six-yard box, is the metronomic excellence of the delivery by the corner takers, Declan Rice, from the Arsenal left, and Bukayo Saka, from the right.
The consistency of their delivery on Wednesday was too much for United to cope with.
Time and time again, both England players curled their inswinging corners either to the near post or the back post, but always where they wanted them to go.
At other clubs, one of the features of matches is often the groans of the home crowd when an underhit corner fails to clear the first defender at the near post. That hardly ever happens at Arsenal. Saka and Rice are simply too good for that.
Against United, the two men shared the spoils. Arsenal’s first goal came from a Rice corner. He peppered the near post all night and this time, like every other time, his corner was perfectly judged, just high enough to evade Bruno Fernandes and Rasmus Hojlund on the near post, but just low enough to find the glancing touch applied by Jurrien Timber, which flew past goalkeeper Andre Onana.
‘There were a couple of corners tonight that were really good,’ Rice said. ‘Every time I was going to take the corner, I knew it was going to be a good ball.
‘In my head, I was just thinking about putting it in the same spot and with repetition you end up scoring goals.’ The Saka corner that created Arsenal’s second goal was also perfectly placed. It was hit deep to the back post to feed the stampede of Arsenal players who had overloaded that space.
One of them, Thomas Partey, was unmarked. When he headed the ball back into the six-yard box into a crowd of bodies, it bounced off William Saliba’s thigh and in.
The deliveries of both Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice (above) are crucial to Arsenal's successes
Stoke under Tony Pulis were the kings of set pieces, but to call Arsenal the new Stoke is an insult
Some, inevitably, have tried to cope with the effectiveness of Arsenal’s set-piece tactics by deriding it and suggesting it is one-dimensional and that it flirts with what is legal and what is not.
They say Arsenal are the new Stoke because they think that is an insult.
Well, Stoke had some fine players but they did not have anyone like Saka playing wide on the right.
Nor did they have a midfield general as clever, creative and perceptive as Martin Odegaard, who has established himself as one of the best players in the English game.
That Stoke side under manager Tony Pulis were largely defined by their set-piece reliance. It felt like camouflage for their limitations.
It is not like that with Arsenal. Their set-piece excellence is another weapon in an already daunting armoury.
It is an aspect of their game to be proud of. Every single one of their Premier League rivals would love to be able to boast of a record that gets close to it.
Arsenal have scored 22 goals from corners since the start of last season, more than any other team in Europe. Bayer Leverkusen are their closest rivals, with 17.
Gary Neville called Jover 'the most annoying bloke in football' but that is just a jealous outlook
Arsenal have scored 22 goals from corners since the start of last season, more than any team
Amorim was full of praise for Arsenal's wide players and dangerous set pieces after the game
Success brings jealousy as well as admiration. ‘The set-piece coach at Arsenal, he’s got to be the most annoying bloke in football’. ‘He’s a little nuisance, that set-piece coach, but he’s damn good.’ But on Wednesday, Jover and his coaching helped make the difference.
The first half had been tight, cautious and patient, but Arsenal began the second brimming with positivity in open play and translated that positivity to the set-play.
After the match, Amorim mentioned how often Arsenal’s wide players, Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, were willing to take on their man on the outside because they knew that whether they got to the byline and crossed the ball or whether their cross was blocked and went out for a corner, they were guaranteed to create danger for the opposition.
Amorim meant it as a compliment and that is how it should be taken.
The brutal ballet of the Arsenal corner does not define them, but it has become a fascination of the modern game.
They have become the best at what they do, which is why others will be desperate to emulate them.