How Arsenal's not-so-secret weapon allows them to overtake Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah
Arsenal's set-piece coach Nicolas Jover is world-class in his field. I think even Rio Ferdinand will accept it.
Over the past two seasons, the 42-year-old Frenchman has transformed the Gunners into the country's best dead ball exponents.
From a playbook containing reams of pre-planned and cunningly deceptive designs, manager Mikel Arteta's side have scored 34 goals from set pieces since the start of 2022/23, including a league-high 19 this season. season.
That's the same as the rivals for the title. Liverpool and city of manchester set.
Without a goalscoring pig capable of gobbling up between 25 and 35 Premier League goals per season (e.g. Erling Haaland either Mohamed Salah), Arsenal They knew they had to find alternative ways to find an advantage, and this is their niche.
Corners taken at high speed into the six-yard box are the specialty, and have produced an impressive ten goals so far.
Not built around blockers
Some like to claim that Jover's successful formula relies on the use of intelligently placed blockers, but that is largely a misconception.
During his television commentary on Sunday afternoon, Jamie Carragher was categorically wrong when comparing the disallowed goal against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final to the tactics deployed by Arsenal from open free kicks.
Yes, they place a line of attackers in offside positions before handoffs (see above), but none of them play the role of blocker.
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Arsenal set-piece goals 23/24 Total
Corner to the six-yard area 10
Wide free kick 3
Throw 3
Second Phase from Corner 2
short corner 1
Goals scored in open free kicks by Gabriel against West Ham United and Liverpool, and by Ben White in BournemouthThey were identical routines in which four players fell into playing positions at the last moment.
Placing themselves in front of their markers whenever possible, each attacked the center in the hope of scoring.
Of Arsenal's 13 goals scored from corners this season, you will occasionally find evidence of individuals legally “pinning” defenders.
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Gabriel deliberately got in the way of Jonny Evans to free up space for Declan Rice score against manchester united at the back stick (see above), but overall, they only play a small role in Jover's thought process.
Gabriel's first goal against crystal Palace was the most prominent move that saw that tactic deployed to great effect.
The premise of the routine was that two man-to-man runs near the near post would act as a decoy, allowing the Brazilian to take advantage of the space around the far post.
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Ben White stood over goalkeeper Dean Henderson to make it difficult for him to get out and claim Rice's cross.
And Leandro Trossard made sure his body got between Joachim Andersen and the area Gabriel was advancing into, after escaping his marker.
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These are the kind of small details that Arsenal excel at, with Jover in charge of set-pieces.
Finding clever ways to create space within a crowded box is often the key to scoring from the corners, and he has devised a series of moves designed to make it easier.
The bottom
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Jover has been obsessed with set design since 2008, while completing a master's degree at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec, Canada.
Back then, in his early 20s, he was sketching patterns of set pieces and runs for the Uni team, devising keywords and signals to help players deceive opponents.
He was inspired by what he saw in NFL plays while living in North America, and with decoys and deception at the center of his thinking, he applied some of those learnings to his football training.
Jover's first opportunity in professional football came in Montpellier, where he worked as a video analyst for six years, focusing mainly on set pieces in 2012.
By joining Brentford In 2016, the Berlin-born Frenchman became a technical set-piece coach for the first time.
When the players were finally granted access, he would guide them through their set-piece plans and hold one-on-one meetings with them about their specific roles.
A move to City followed, where he followed suit, and after impressing Arteta with his intelligence and attention to detail, the Spaniard recommended him to Arsenal.
Finding Flaws in Defensive Setups
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Most teams defend set pieces with a batch of zonal markers around the near post domain, and Jover has targeted that as a specific area of weakness.
Late blindside runs made into that area at good pace have been incredibly profitable for Arsenal this season.
We saw it last weekend at home to Newcastle UnitedEdit when Jakub Kiwior arrived at the perfect time to get ahead of Jacob Murphy and score.
This was the simplest routine to help the Gunners score from a corner this season, but eight of the last nine goals scored from flag kicks involved a charge towards the near post.
Just as the catcher makes his run, the runs begin, and many of those runs begin in the far post region.
The most striking blindside run was made by William Saliba at home to Burnley.
After being instructed that Clarets goalkeeper James Trafford was not the most physical presence, the centre-back ghosted in from behind the goal line to steal in front of him at the last second.
Cracking the codes
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No doubt fans, pundits and future opponents will spend a lot of time trying to decipher the secret codes that Arsenal use and tell them through certain routines.
Whether calculating the meaning of a raised arm, a scratch on a sock, a tap of a toe, or a key word heard, this aspect of research is a waste of time.
Jover and the players will change their coding game by game.
Additionally, they also continually evolve their play routines so that nothing becomes predictable.
While Arsenal's 'charge to the near post' is a clear theme, they always take a horses-for-runs approach to creating space, based on how the opposition chooses to defend dead ball situations.
Planning – Practice – Technique – Desire
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While the club's set-piece coach deservedly takes the spotlight for painstakingly finding flaws and then making opposing teams pay for them, Jover is not the only star here.
Their planning is the first stage, and the time you spend working on them in training camp is also an important factor.
But to score goals from set pieces, it is also necessary for players to have exceptionally consistent precision in their set piece technique.
With four assists from set pieces, Declan Rice (8 successful corners in 21 attempts) has been an inspired choice in recent weeks, while Saka, Odegaard and Martinelli can also be relied upon to produce quick moves.
Within the danger zone, no one will make it to the end of those deliveries without displaying a fierce determination to properly commit to their pre-planned careers.
Attacking those crosses, Gabriel Maghalaes is the best, and his fellow giants Saliba, Kiwior, Havertz and White also pose a constant threat.
It is a big team, with talented coaches and a coaching staff that is always on the move, looking forward to find the next tactical innovation.
Much like Arsenal's set-piece plans, there are multiple layers that need to come together to be successful at set-pieces, and with 12 key games ahead it looks like the north Londoners are achieving just that.
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