How Arsenal Became the Premier League's Set-Piece Specialists (And Why Set-Piece Coaches Are Increasingly Important)

The drastic improvement of Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side over the past five years is extremely impressive. Within a relatively short space of time, they've gone from being a flawed and slightly incoherent Europa League-level side to one of the best teams in Europe, a team capable of consistently testing Pep Guardiola's all-conquering Manchester City outfit at the summit of the English top flight. While Arsenal twice missed out on the Premier League title in 2022/23 and 2023/24, on both occasions they were City's closest rivals and it looks like this campaign will see them up there yet again.

There are a number of factors behind Arsenal's increased competitiveness, not least the tactical intelligence and leadership skills of Mikel Arteta and the patience and trust he's displayed when dealing with talented young players like Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, and William Saliba. And following a string of high-profile results against strong Premier League rivals, there's another key aspect of the Gunners' game that is receiving plenty of attention at the moment: their record from set pieces, both defensively and offensively. In this article, we'll be diving into that subject, exploring how well Arsenal are performing when it comes to set piece statistics and analysing what they have done to improve this part of their game. Later, we'll outline how Arsenal's work in this field reflects the broader role of set-piece coaching in the modern game.

How Good Is Arsenal's Set Piece Record?

Since the start of the 2023/24 season, no team in the Premier League has scored more goals from set pieces than Arsenal. In total, they've managed to convert 23 goals from set pieces during that time, including 20 in the league last season (meanwhile, Man City managed to score 16). Arsenal are particularly good at scoring from corners; their 16 Premier League goals from attacking corners in 2023/24 represented 18.2% of their total league goal haul. Extend things back a little further, and this record is even more remarkable, with The Athletic reporting that a whopping 51 set-piece goals have been scored by the Gunners since August 2021.

There's a specific shape that has brought Arsenal a huge amount of success from attacking corner situations. Often, the team's most aerially dominant players will queue up in a tight group at the back post, just outside the six-yard box. When the ball is delivered, they will run toward the front post and inside the six-yard box to attack the ball, with the corner usually whipped in only a few yards from the goalkeeper.

This reduced distance makes it difficult for the keeper to react to any contact made by an Arsenal attacker. What's more, multiple players will often attack one crowded space to drag defenders out of position and leave an area behind for an Arsenal attacker to exploit. A recent example of this came at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where the Gunners secured a third consecutive away win in the North London derby thanks to a towering header from centre-back Gabriel.

Arsenal's ability to gain an edge in deadlocked games through attacking set pieces is partly why they've often chosen to use a low-possession, defensive-minded strategy against Big Six teams over the last couple of seasons, whether in the 1-0 win over Manchester City at the Emirates in October 2023 or the 3-2 victory over Spurs in April 2024. However, these tactics are also because they back themselves to defend well in dead-ball situations as well as in open play. According to The Analyst, Arsenal have only conceded seven goals from set pieces since the beginning of the 2023/24 season. Admittedly, their title rivals Manchester City have performed even better, having conceded just three goals in that timeframe. Still, it's a very strong record nonetheless. So who is responsible for it? 

Who Is Responsible For Arsenal's Set Piece Skill?

Set-piece coaching plays a crucial role in the modern game, although some clubs are better at harnessing the power of set pieces than others. One person who has understood this aspect of the sport for a while is Mikel Arteta, who as Guardiola's assistant at Manchester City soon spotted how he could benefit from the talents of another coach he was working alongside: Nicolas Jover.

Born in Berlin in 1981, Jover began his football career working as a video analyst at French side Montpellier. In 2016, he was hired as an assistant coach by Brentford (a club who have consistently been willing to innovate in their coaching department). He remained at the club until 2019, working alongside Dean Smith and Thomas Frank with a particular focus on set pieces. Here, he helped Brentford become one of the Premier League's most effective sides in terms of set-piece performance, with a particular improvement in the efficacy of attacking throw-ins.

After impressing at Brentford, Jover was poached by Manchester City in 2019, and here he worked alongside Mikel Arteta for the first time. However, by the end of that year the Spaniard had secured his first senior coaching position at the Emirates, and in July 2021 he convinced Jover to join him in north London (following the departure of another Brentford graduate, Andreas Georgson). Jover's impact has been undeniable, with Arsenal's attacking output and defensive record from set pieces improving markedly, as the statistics above outline.

Following Arsenal's recent 1-0 win over Spurs, Mikel Arteta was asked whether Nicolas Jover is the best in his field. The Gunners boss' reply was unequivocal: "In his field, in other fields, and as a person. And the relationship we have - that's why I made the decision to bring him to City when I was there and then Arsenal. Him and the staff have injected the belief to the players that there are many ways to win football matches. This is a really powerful one and he has given us a lot."

How Important Are Set Piece Coaches?

One common myth surrounding set pieces is that only the uglier, more physical and less possession-minded teams rely heavily on them. But Arsenal and Manchester City have shown in recent seasons that this is a falsehood. And Nicolas Jover himself has been clear about his belief that all teams should look to benefit from the potential of set pieces, regardless of their quality level or the style of football they want to play.

"The higher the level, the more [set pieces] matter," Jover said in a recent interview with French newspaper L'Equipe. Referring to the amount of additional points that can be generated in a season from set-piece goals, he added: "Today, I no longer need to convince the players, but at the beginning, I was telling them: "We can increase your salary by 20%, what do you think?"" Crucially, Jover seems able to adeptly communicate his ideas to the squad, with former Villa coach Dean Smith saying "The way he presented everything to the players helped them to buy into what he wanted very quickly." Smith continued: "Set piece training is still probably one of the hardest things to coach because it's the least favourable thing for players to do. They want to be playing small-sided games and finishing, not standing around for ages. You have to get a buy-in from them but Nico did that straight away."

Jover isn't the only football professional pioneering a new approach to set pieces in the game. He is currently joined by a cohort of other set piece specialists demonstrating the crucial marginal gains that dead ball situations can represent, including the likes of Andreas Georgson (who recently joined Erik ten Hag's backroom staff at Man United), Bernardo Cueva (employed handling set piece actions at Brentford) and Carlos Vicens, who opted to remain at Man City this summer despite receiving an offer to become manager of Dutch side Heracles Almelo. It's likely that if this area of the sport continues to grow, in the next few years, these established coaches will be joined by more set-piece specialists at the top of the game.

Why Do Spurs Struggle So Much From Set Pieces?

While sides such as Arsenal and Brentford have received plenty of media coverage as a result of their investment in set pieces, other clubs have notably failed to consistently produce positive results from dead-ball situations. While Ange Postecoglou has brought an exciting attacking brand of football to Tottenham Hotspur for the first time in a while, his inability to deliver strong set-piece performances has caused criticism in some quarters. Since the start of last season, Spurs have conceded 18 goals from set pieces — only relegation-battling Nottingham Forest have let in more during this time. But according to Postecoglou, work is ongoing to improve this record.

"I know for some reason people think I don't care about set pieces, and it's a narrative that you can keep going on for ages and ages. I understand that," the Spurs boss told reporters. "Like I said, we work on them all the time, like we do with every other team. It's my burden to carry and I'm happy to do that." It certainly is looking like a hindrance right now. And given that the importance of set pieces in modern football is undeniable, it's vital that those clubs who aren't currently performing in this regard up their game in order to compete with the likes of Arteta's Arsenal.

If you want to find out more about what a set piece coach does on a day-to-day basis, check out our article on the role of the set piece analyst in professional football.