Mikel Arteta
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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has opened up about how his long-term vision to make the Gunners dominant from set-pieces began a decade ago, long before he took the reins at the Emirates.
The Spaniard revealed that the foundations of Arsenal’s current set-piece success were laid during the final days of his playing career. While completing his coaching badges in his last season as an Arsenal player, Arteta began developing ideas that would later define his managerial philosophy.
After retiring in 2016, Arteta joined Pep Guardiola’s backroom staff at Manchester City, where one of his earliest responsibilities was to improve the club’s effectiveness from dead-ball situations. The experience proved invaluable.
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Now, five years after becoming Arsenal boss, Arteta’s side have earned a reputation as one of Europe’s most dangerous teams from set plays. The Gunners are currently the first team across Europe’s top five leagues to have scored 10 goals from set-pieces in all competitions this season, a testament to Arteta’s methodical planning and attention to detail.
An unstoppable force.
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When asked when he first realised how influential set-pieces could be, Arteta replied:“10 years ago. I said it is a massive thing to do that and I started to have a vision, and tried to implement a method and try to be surrounded by the best people to deliver that. I went to see City, with the best manager in the world, and I could see where we could have improvements.
“And it was clear, because at some point I was doing that and I wasn’t the best person in the world to do it. So, if I am not the best person in the world to do it and the best method to do it, there are ways to improve it.”
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Arteta explained that his obsession with excellence goes far beyond set-pieces. His drive, he said, extends to every phase of the game, from defence to attack and every transition in between.
“You could see that straight afterwards what started to happen. But it is not only that I am obsessed with. I am the same with the defensive part. In every transition. I want to be the best when it comes to chaos. I want to be the best when it comes to positional attack. The best when it comes to low blocks.
“That’s the eagerness to constantly find ways to develop your team, to evolve your team and to give your players more tools to be more unpredictable and especially more efficient. That’s it.”
Under Arteta, Arsenal’s tactical evolution has been relentless and their proficiency from set-pieces is just one example of how his decade-long vision is now coming to fruition.
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