Relative to expectations of a title challenge, Arsenal have had a difficult Premier League campaign.
Liverpool have run away with the first-half lead, and it’s taken a Herculean effort from Mikel Arteta’s side to fight through injuries, suspensions, and other adversity to simply stay within reach of the top spot.
While the beautiful, possession-based attacking football supporters craved coming into the season has not been as consistent as desired, one thing that’s helped to plug the gaps is their excellence from dead-ball situations, particularly on corner kicks.
The Sporting News breaks down Arsenal’s historic prowess on corners and how they manage to create so much havoc from set-piece opportunities under Arteta’s guidance.
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Arsenal best in the Premier League at set-pieces under Arteta
The numbers are clear when it comes to Arsenal’s set-piece prowess: they’re far and away the best Premier League team from dead-ball situations.
Last season, Arsenal equalled the Premier League record for goals from corner kicks with 16, and they are on pace to break that record this time around.
Arsenal have created nine goals directly from a dead-ball pass this season (which includes corners, free-kicks, throw-ins, goal kicks, and kickoffs). No other team has more than five. Last season, it was the same story — Arsenal scored 16 goals straight from dead-ball passes, five more than any other club. Since the start of the 2023/24 season, Arsenal have scored 22 goals from 360 corners, or one every 16 taken, which is the best in the Premier League.
They’ve been especially good from corners under Mikel Arteta. This season, according to Understat.com, Arsenal have already scored seven goals via corners from 18 shots worth 11.42 xG. Their mark of 0.634 xG per shot attempt from a corner is remarkable. Compare that to open play, where their 139 shots this season have been worth 20.56 xG for an xG-per-shot tally of 0.148, which ranks fourth in the English top flight.
Their best player attacking set pieces has been defender Gabriel, who has scored 5 times in this manner since the start of last season, most of any player in the Premier League during that span.
22 – Arsenal have scored more goals from corners than any other side in the Premier League since the start of last season (21), while the two players with the most assists from set plays in this time are Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka (7 each). Formula. pic.twitter.com/N6bFNQwRcc
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 4, 2024
Why are Arsenal so good at scoring from corner kicks?
There are a number of factors that have made Arsenal extremely good on corners and set-pieces in recent years under Mikel Arteta.
Defenders with aerial excellence — Gabriel & William Saliba
The keys to Arsenal’s corner excellence are their two center-backs, Gabriel and William Saliba. These two players are exceptional aerial ball-winners, with Gabriel winning 64% of his aerial duels this season in the Premier League and 55 % last year, while Saliba won 60% of his duels last season and about half this year.
While those don’t jump off the page, it’s their ability to execute in the attacking third that differentiates them from other center-backs. Gabriel has taken 1.16 shots per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season, the most of any center-back.
Not only are those two great in the air, but they are exceptional at getting open. Gabriel leads the Premier League with 11 first contacts on corner deliveries according to Opta.
20 & 5 – Since the start of last season, Arsenal’s 20 goals from corners and Gabriel Magalhães’ five from corners are both the most by a team and a single player in the Premier League. Familiar. pic.twitter.com/U1FoQEZ7c0
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 30, 2024
Brilliant set piece takers — Bukayo Saka & Declan Rice
The men on the end of the set-piece deliveries would be nothing without teammates who can get them the ball in tight spaces. That’s the job of Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice, who are experts at taking dead-ball situations and turning them into big chances.
“I’ve never seen delivery like it,” said analyst Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports when discussing Arsenal’s set-piece prowess. “They never miss the spot.”
Like the two Gunners in question, Carragher nails it here. Saka has created an utterly brilliant 4.72 xA from corners alone this season, creating 19 shots and bagging three assists. He’s averaging 1.0 expected assists from a corners alone every three games. Saka’s 0.39 goal-creating actions per 90 minutes from dead ball deliveries ranks No. 1 in the Premier League this season, while his 0.15 goal-creating actions from dead ball deliveries puts him in the 97th percentile amongst all attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe in the last calendar year.
Rice isn’t far behind, racking up 1.72 xA while creating 10 shots from corners in the Premier League this season. He’s created just as many shots from dead ball situations as Saka with 16.
Exceptional corner routines — Nicolas Jover
Arsenal have the set-piece takers and the end product, so the man in charge of putting all that together is set-piece coach Nicolas Jover, under the watchful eye of manager Mikel Arteta. Jover and Arteta first worked together as members of Pep Guardiola’s backroom staff at Manchester City.
Arsenal’s typical corner routine has become a regular occurrence, and yet teams still can’t stop it. “It’s not what Arsenal are doing,” Carragher said on Sky Sports, “It’s what you have to do to stop it.” Opta claim that Arsenal deliver 96% of their corners as in-swingers, the second-most of any other club (Brentford are on 98%) so there’s very little change to what they do. They’ve found what works and are hammering it repeatedly.
While there are multiple variations of the routine, the basic premise sees Gabriel stand at the top of the 18-yard box while all other involved Arsenal players bunch at the far post. As the corner is taken, Gabriel breaks towards one of the two posts, while two players from the scrum charge the near post and the rest play an interference role.
The result is a massive scrum, with the goal of getting Gabriel in space while the goalkeeper and key defenders are blocked from contesting. The corner taker — Saka or Rice — know where Gabriel is intending on ending up, and they put the ball at the location designated while trusting their man to get on the end of it.
The crowd of attackers and defenders intentionally crowds the goalkeeper from coming off his line, allowing the delivery more room for error without it being snatched by the man with the gloves. Because pushing and picking players would result in a foul, Jover instead uses volume to prevent goalkeeper and defender movement — Opta claims that Arsenal average 3.8 players in the six-yard box on corners, while they also see an average of 6.7 defenders in that same area to compensate, both marks more than any other Premier League side.
What makes this especially effective is that it’s been just as successful in games that Gabriel has missed. Against Manchester United, they targeted William Saliba and Thomas Partey instead, with that duo combining for Saliba’s goal. Jurrien Tinber’s opener also came from glancing on a Rice corner at the near post.
