2 set piece goals vs Spurs
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Arsenal have now won consecutive away games against Tottenham in the North London derby for the first time since 1988 – even a feat the great Arsène Wenger never managed. But it was not plane sailing at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium. The Gunners raced into a three goal lead in the first half despite the game being fairly even. However, a David Raya mistake allowed Spurs back into it in the second half and a late Heung-Min Son penalty meant it was a nervy last 10 minutes for Mikel Arteta’s team. Nevertheless, once again set pieces were a potent weapon for the Gunners, and crucial to perhaps Arsenal’s most important win of the season.
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg headed into this own net in the opening stages under pressure from Takehiro Tomiyasu from a Bukayo Saka corner, as the Gunners made a late move to bombard the near post. With Ben White doing his usual antics to distract goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario – even spotted trying to undo his goalkeeping glove. Twenty minutes later, and from the opposite corner, Declan Rice swung in a pacey delivery to the same area and Kai Havertz headed home to put the Gunners 3-0 up in the derby.
It’s now a Premier League high 22 goals from set pieces this season for Arsenal, according to the BBC. 16 from corners alone, which is the most a team has scored in a season since West Brom in the 2016/17 campaign. Their excellent record could be the factor that wins the North London club their first league title in 20 years. Back then under Wenger, it was defending corners where Arsenal looked most vulnerable. Often accused of a lack of sturdiness and fight. However, since the appointment of French set piece coach Nicolas Jover in 2021, whom Arteta brought from Manchester City, the North London side have added a new dimension to their game.
Set pieces could be key to Arsenal’s title ambitions
On average there are between 10 and 11 corners in every Premier League match. So around 5.5 for each team. It doesn’t take a genius to see that if you can turn those five or six corners into genuine goalscoring chances, you are maximising your opportunities to be successful. As such, it has been an area of focus at the Emirates.
Every time Arsenal get a corner or dangerous free-kick, Arteta takes a rare seat in the dugout. Set piece specialist Jover rises. Patrolling the technical area, and barking orders at the Arsenal players. His work is paying off. As can be seen in the graphic above, Arsenal have scored more set piece non-penalty goals than any other team in the Premier League this season. Last term, the Gunners scored 15 league goals from set pieces – only bettered by Liverpool (17) Tottenham (16) and Brentford (16). However, the season before Jover headed south from Man City, only Fulham and Sheffield United had scored fewer goals from such set piece situations.
Speaking to TNT sports after Arsenal’s 5-0 victory against Crystal Palace back in January, winger Saka said, “We do a lot of work on set pieces. Nico, our set-piece coach, does a really good job though, he tries to make it fun and he’s enjoying it. What he’s doing is clearly working so we’ll have to continue doing it.” In November, Leandro Trossard was also speaking about Jover: “It’s a pleasure to work with him. He’s really clever on set-pieces. It’s such a great aspect in the game where you can open up a game. It helped us already a lot.” And Trossard was a key component of Arsenal’s threat from corners on that afternoon against Palace at the Emirates. The Belgian would spin and block the jumping route of Palace’s main attacker of the ball Joachim Anderson.
Is Gabriel the best goalscoring centre-half in the Premier League?
The signing of centre-back Gabriel from Lille for €26m in the summer of 2020, is looking more and more like one of the great Premier League transfer coups of recent years with each passing season. The Brazilian has formed one of the most formidable centre-back partnerships in world football alongside Frenchmen Saliba. His aggressive front foot defending the perfect accompaniment to Saliba’s calm and composed nature. But it’s not just his elite defending that have made Gabriel stand out in an Arsenal shirt. He has become a menace in the opposition box, with his leap and the timing of his headers causing nightmares for defenders.
In the past three seasons, no centre-back has scored more Premier League goals than Gabriel’s 12. Ben Mee and Virgil van Dijk come closest with eight for Mee and seven for van Dijk. His goals per game ratio in the division of 0.11gpg can only be bettered by two centre halves in the history of the division to have played 100 games or more – Thomas Vermaelen (0.12gpg) and Frank Leboeuf (0.12gpg). The all-time top goalscoring centre-back in the Premier League John Terry, who scored 41 times, has a 0.08gpg ratio.
Gabriel was an ever present in the Arsenal team last season, and is third in the list of most consecutive league games played for the club, having made 75 appearances in a row from 2021 until he was left out in the Gunners home 2-2 draw to Fulham at the beginning of this season. The 26-year-old is a pivotal part of this Arsenal team in both boxes, and will be key to any challenge the Gunners make for the Premier League title. Gabriel has a current market value of €65m, and could be set for another rise in value in the next Premier League market value update in the summer.
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