Arsenal have scored more goals from corners than any other team this season
Monaco managed to keep them at bay from corners by trying out a new tactic
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By SAM BROOKES
Published: 03:42 EST, 12 December 2024 | Updated: 03:42 EST, 12 December 2024
Monaco successfully deployed a new tactic on Wednesday night that may have shown Arsenal's rivals the way to deal with their corners in the Premier League.
Arsenal have scored more goals from corners (22) than any other Premier League club since the start of the 2023-24 season, with set-piece specialist coach Nicolas Jover working his magic.
Jover was even honoured with a mural outside the Emirates on Wednesday night, but the Gunners were unable to score from a corner against Monaco, despite running out comfortable 3-0 winners.
Their inability to find the net from a corner may have been down to Monaco's approach as the French club tried something different for Arsenal's set-pieces.
Adi Hutter's team decided to leave three attackers high up the pitch when defending corners, which meant that Arsenal had to leave more players back than normal.
They also had a player on hand to stop the short corner, so there were fewer bodies in the penalty box.
Set-piece coach Nicolas Jover (right) has made Arsenal the masters from corners
But Monaco kept them at bay by having three attackers high up the pitch so Arsenal were forced to drop some defenders back
Monaco also had a player stopping the short corner as they ensured the box was not crowded
Mikel Arteta's men usually put someone on the goal-line to distract the goalkeeper, but were unable to put as much pressure on Radoslaw Majecki due to keeping players back for fear of being hit on the counter-attack.
Arsenal managed to score three goals from open play, but were ineffective from set-pieces as Monaco's tactic worked perfectly.
By comparison, Fulham opted to bring all 10 of their outfield players back into the penalty area for corners in their 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Sunday, but had problems throughout the match.
Arsenal ended up equalising from a corner through William Saliba, and also created more chances from identical situations.
Manchester United had similar issues just four days earlier as Arsenal scored both of their goals from corners in a 2-0 win.
Ruben Amorim opted to try to keep Arsenal at bay by crowding the six-yard box, but this plan backfired as Jurrien Timber flicked home the opening goal from Declan Rice's inviting delivery.
The second goal was more chaotic, with Arsenal piling players into the goalmouth, which led to Thomas Partey's header hitting Saliba and going into the net without the Frenchman knowing much about it.
Indeed, Arsenal had so much joy from corners that their fans were even heard celebrating every time they got one as they could sense another big chance was on the way.
Fulham brought all of their outfield players back for corners when they faced Arsenal on Sunday, but still conceded from a set-piece
Arsenal scored both of their goals from corners in a 2-0 win over Man United last week
It will be interesting to see whether Premier League clubs now try to copy Monaco's tactic to combat Arsenal's threat.
Gabriel has been the biggest beneficiary of Arsenal's corner routines this season, having scored four goals from them in all competitions.
He missed Wednesday's game through injury, which may go some way to explaining why Arsenal struggled to cause Monaco issues when it came to dead-ball scenarios.
But it could still be worth a try when he does return given how Monaco were able to keep Arsenal so quiet from corners on Wednesday night.