I think this post might be more rant than opinion, but we need to talk about set pieces, and specifically, the general opinion regarding Arsenal’s use of them to score goals and win football matches.
Arsenal’s effectiveness from set pieces has been widely reported in the past few years, with that Sky Sports graphic, showing how many goals Arsenal have scored in (insert designated period in here to make it look like loads) every time we get a corner. The level this year however, has been raised and it’s fair to say that it has been our most productive path to goal so far this season.
Now I have heard many conspiracy theories from Arsenal fans about VAR and the FA conspiring against us, and although I can see where they are coming from, I don’t really buy into all that. What I do believe in though, and I think most Arsenal fans will agree with this, the media, other football clubs, other football fans…they don’t like us. They just don’t. This is an opinion piece, but what I’ve just written there is a fact. They don’t like us. There can be many reasons for that, none of which I really care about. What I do care about, is how they insist on trying to drag us through the mud when they think we’re doing well.
It was the dark arts last year, further back we tried to walk it in, before that we were soft, too many foreigners, early 90s we were too boring. There’s always a stick to beat us with, we’re used to it.
This latest stick though, just makes no sense to me.
I’ve seen a piece doing the rounds online that has been widely circulated of the hypothetical league table, if there wasn’t any set pieces. Wait, what?! That’s not a thing!!! There’s no such thing! How can you have a league table of football teams and then try to make another league table of the same teams, but without a big part of football in it? I feel a bit silly writing that last bit and that’s what it’s reduced us to. It makes no sense.
I think we can all agree, set pieces have taken a more prominent role of pretty much every team’s attack this season, with the return of the long throw-in seemingly in fashion for most teams and set pieces coaches also adopted by a number of Premier League sides. What’s wrong with that? As I said before, it’s part of football and things change all the time in this game. Teams adapt. The low block or mid-block stifled a number of teams last year, not just us, so naturally coaches and tacticians are going to look at ways around it and an opening goal from a set piece or pre-arranged move, is a great way to do that.
The worst thing to come out of all this though, is the fact that Tony Pulis is now apparently the darling of the media, as he offers his special insight into the set piece and he sits back and triumphantly announces that he was misunderstood and ahead of his time. I think this is the one thing that Arsenal really do need to answer for – the fact that our recent success from set pieces has thrust Tony Pulis back into the limelight and into the mainstream. Now I’m desperate for us to win the league this year, like most fellow Gooners, but if our success leads to more Tony Pulis in our game, we need to consider the costs of what this might bring and the lasting damage we might do to football as a result!! 😊
I’m of course joking, yet it is an unfortunate byproduct of our strong early season form.
The comparisons between Tony Pulis and Mikel Arteta are going a bit far though and the idea that Mikel Arteta takes pride in being compared to Pulis’ Stoke side is surely way off mark. This is when I go a bit biased as I suffered through those horrible Stoke away days with that damn long throw-in and are probably still a bit salty about the whole thing. However, I never really disliked Stoke for that or thought less of them for it. I was more annoyed at our inability to repel the barrage into our box from all angles. I would never expect Stoke to go toe-to-toe with us and try to pass round us or through us. We would have murdered them, and they knew it, so obviously they found another way to hurt us and to a certain point, well done them, I guess?
What I don’t like it the direct comparison between our current team and the Stoke City team of 2008-11. I refuse to believe that as much thought and skill went into Stoke’s long throw-ins and corners as Nicolas Jover puts into Arsenal’s set pieces. I think that’s where the comparison stops. Knowing Mikel Arteta’s track record of taking inspiration from other sports, I would be more inclined to think that he’s taken the importance from set pieces from American Football, a sport seemingly based on the concept of pre-arranged moves and set plays, rather than trawling back through videos of Rory Delap and Abdoulaye Faye! Don’t get me wrong, Delap’s throw-ins were pretty much unique and I’ve still yet to see anyone get close to replicating the speed, trajectory and length of his throws. However, Declan Rice’s corners, free kicks and even in play crossing, is on another level. It’s absolutely fantastic. So hard to defend against. So consistent. What a weapon to have in our Arsenal (pun intended).
I also don’t think enough is being made of Arsenal’s injury situation at the moment. Even before the Martinelli and Gyokeres’ injuries, you could argue that we’re without our first choice striker (in my opinion), our first choice left winger (again my opinion – but started the first game of the season on the left) and our first choice number 10 (fact). Chuck in the fact that our new striker is still adjusting and our midfield dictator is doing the same and you have a situation where you just need to get through these games in whatever way you can and not worry too much about style and that’s exactly what we’re doing!
Final point, I also think calling some of our ‘set piece’ goals this season is really subjective and is again open to interpretation and manipulation to fit some people’s pre-determined narratives. Gyokeres scores a yard out from a corner, fair play, set piece goal. Eze volleys in a partially cleared free kick that was coming out towards the edge of the box – set piece goal? Was Martin Zubimendi’s volley against Forest a set piece goal? How many people need to touch the ball after the free kick or corner does it take before it becomes an open play goal?! Or is it how far the shot is from goal? I’m being a bit facetious now, but I think the point is still valid.
So to summarise, the media and general haters of Arsenal need to get a grip. Set pieces are part of football. Always have been, always will be. Their importance has grown over the past couple of years, but that will inevitably plateau at some stage, as with all tactics in football, and something else will take its place as the primary goal scoring method. Arsenal at the moment are the best at scoring goals from set pieces and that’s a key reason why we are top of the league, but again, it’s not the only reason. So us Gooners just need to ignore the hate and just enjoy being top of the league. I for one, couldn’t care less if we win 1-0 on Saturday against Sunderland with the goal coming from a corner. Winning’s winning. Let’s keep this run going!