Mikel Arteta, the mastermind behind Arsenal's transformation into set-piece kings, has revealed that his strategy was a decade in the making. This revelation comes as Arsenal becomes the first team in Europe’s top five leagues to score 10 goals from free-kicks this season.
Arteta spent his final playing seasons at Emirates up to 2015-16 before joining Pep Guardiola’s coaching team at Manchester City. When asked when he thought it would be smart to focus on the importance of set-pieces, he replied: “Ten years ago." Now approaching six years in charge at Arsenal, Arteta's long-term vision is paying off.
Mikel Arteta, Arsenal manager, said:
“I started to have a vision and try to implement a method and try to be surrounded by the best people to deliver that. I went to 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’m not the best person in the world to do it and the best method to do it, there are ways to improve it.
“And you could see straight afterwards when it started to happen, but it’s not only that I am obsessed with that. I’m 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, the best.
“But we have created the culture, giving that part of the game (set-pieces) the importance that it has. Football is evolving and so too is how opponents are behaving against us, and we have to maximise certain things that happen very frequently.”
Set-Piece Kings of Europe
In their recent Champions League victory against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, both Gabriel and Viktor Gyokeres scored from set-pieces contributing to a resounding 4-0 win for Arsenal. This achievement marked them as the first side across Europe’s top five leagues to score ten goals from free-kicks this season.
Leandro Trossard’s winning goal at Fulham last weekend further highlighted their prowess. It fired Arsenal three points clear at the top of the Premier League and was also their 37th goal from a corner since the start of 2023-2024 season – an impressive tally that is sixteen more than any other side.
Arsenal's defensive record has been equally commendable this season. Hosting Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium on Sunday, they have conceded just three times in league matches with only one goal coming from open play. They have kept three straight clean sheets in as many games in Europe so far - an achievement that makes their defensive record after twelve matches stand out as being among the best in club history spanning over 138 years.
