'A set piece FC' attacks again just when Arsenal allows itself to be tempted by the fountain of youth | first division

Never forget where you come from. The night of August 2021 Brentford took their bow As a Premier League team, Mikel Arteta received valuable and indelible lessons on how to defend and attack set pieces. Mads Bech Sørensen, these days at the Bees' former sister club Midtjylland, took the throw-in that led to Christian Nørgaard scoring 2-0.

By then, Nicolas Jover was alongside Arteta on the Arsenal bench, arriving from Brentford via Manchester City. They have learned and developed a lot together since then. Set pieces are no longer the refuge of scoundrels and dinosaurs, and under Jover's finicky lateral management, Arsenal have become their current hybrid of restart power and creative talent. The former has often replaced the latter. In Brentford, Arsenal's talent took until the second half to arrive, and only after a special Jover shot put them ahead.

A homecoming victory, then, for Arsenal's breakout star of the season. The now talismanic special teams guru who made his name at Brentford, an important destination in Arteta's personal development journey. There were clear wobbles in their first assignment of 2025, Brentford doing what they do best to destabilize their opposition. David Raya, another traveler in the Brentford-Arsenal brain drain, was guilty of misreading the angles of Bryan Mbeumo's opener and barely rescued himself from an even more serious mistake by missing Keane Lewis-Potter's shot.

Has the Liverpool striker broken Arsenal's hearts? Not yet, although just when Manchester City needs to rewire, Arne Slot's remake/retooling of Jürgen Klopp's team has left Arsenal little room for error after their stumbles in the first half of the season. Officials often take the blame among the club's wilder fringe groups of support when injuries have much more credibility as mitigation. The illness in the countryside had taken effect here, and Kai Havertz's absence was due to seasonal unrest.

As Arsenal look at nine games in January, followed by seven in December, the breakup of bukayo saka It's your hard luck story. At least Brentford negotiated without him. The wisdom of such a young player who reaches 250 games is a question that is against the club's personnel department. The case of Raheem Sterling, still aged 30, currently on Arsenal's books but reportedly returning to Chelsea as an unwanted commodity, is just one example of him being too young. When Saka returns from an injury that has slowed many sprinters, could he be the same player? Will the shrinkage fibers recover? Will Arsenal still be in the fight for the title when they return?

To answer a question, instead of Saka, Arteta relied even more on fiery youth. Ethan Nwaneri, 17, was making his first first division Starting on the same pitch, he became the youngest player in Premier League history, aged 15 years and 181 days, in September 2022, the eve of Queen Elizabeth II's funeral. He was replacing Arsenal's fallen king, opposite Lewis-Potter, whose presence at left-back was a reminder that injury crises are not limited to title contenders. Thomas Frank could complain about numerous absences from the first team, with only Nathan Collins available as a starting defender.

As Arsenal dominated possession, Frank's short, tight backline needed to stay disciplined, so there was disappointment at the poor footballing form of the 90's Gabriel Jesus equalizer, a pinball initiated by Mbeumo taking a risk on the edge of the area . With Martin Ødegaard's radar out of focus (Brentford's Mikkel Damsgaard perhaps the brightest of the Scandinavian playmakers), it was up to Jover to find solutions. Every time a corner was awarded, Arteta would stop his thoughtful patrols around the technical area and Jover could align the desired strategy.

Nwaneri further fulfilled the duties of Saka's surrogate by pinging a beauty; Mark Flekken was distracted by the trademark blitz and dropped the ball for Mikel Merino to score. Jover had bitten the hand that fed him. Do he and Aston Villa specialist Austin MacPhee, another leading member of the Brentford/Midtjylland school of free kicks, corners and second balls, exchange celebratory high-five emojis in the playmaking gurus' WhatsApp group? a set piece? These increasingly high-profile men remain mysterious and enigmatic as their influence grows. “Set piece FC,” chanted the traveling Gunners fans. A ninth goal from a corner in the Premier League had pulled his team out of a hole.

Soon there was something else to celebrate, that long-awaited style: Nwaneri provided the pass with which Gabriel Martinelli, who had struggled in Saka's position against Ipswich, took the blood out of the contest. The teenage prodigy left with 10 minutes remaining, having had a fleeting but decisive influence.

If Arsenal's quest for a Premier League title remains unfulfilled in May, where could that leave Arteta? He has grown in public, his first high-level position, a job that would intimidate even the most experienced managers. Arsenal's development season by season will surely provide more opportunities. What Brentford, particularly in the first half, and others have shown this season is that their team has lost much of the fluidity that brought them to Guardiola's shoulder. Arteta has learned that there are other approaches available. One can resist the temptation to overexpose Nwaneri's bloom when the Jover effect is still giving results.