Deliver, timing and the 'dark arts' - the anatomy of a set-piece

Set-pieces utilized to beryllium seen arsenic the reserve of the underdog - 1 of the fewer moments successful a lucifer wherever an unfancied broadside could level the playing section against talent-rich guidance pinch relentless believe and a beingness advantage.

But acknowledgment to Arsenal's power from dormant balls complete the past 2 seasons – and a frightening proficiency from corners successful peculiar – set-pieces are each the rage, seen now arsenic conscionable different avenue for the benignant of marginal gains sought by would-be overachievers and title contenders alike.

But what precisely goes into the making of slayer corners?

When Arsenal hit Manchester United 2-0 astatine Emirates Stadium connected 4 December, some of their goals came from corners. One was headed successful by Jurrien Timber and the different deflected into the nett disconnected William Saliba aft a Thomas Partey knockdown.

That double took the Gunners' tally for goals from corners to a staggering 22 since the opening of past season, much than immoderate different nine successful Europe's apical 5 leagues. Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen were a distant 2nd pinch 17.

Much of the study of Arsenal's set-piece supremacy aft the United triumph centred connected the value of transportation provided by Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka. And erstwhile Blackburn Rovers midfielder Morten Gamst Pedersen, a set-piece master during his career, agrees that transportation is king.

"On an in-swinger, you tin spell toward the goalkeeper and if the keeper misses it, you tin people directly," he says, a constituent proven by Son Heung-min's caller alleged 'Olimpico' goal nonstop from a area successful the Carabao Cup, besides against Manchester United.

"An in-swinger will person much gait connected the ball. I'd put it betwixt the posts, connected apical of the goalie, for illustration Arsenal do. And I'd ever person to deliberation astir getting it past the first defender. That was what was successful my mind arsenic I sewage fresh to return the kick.

"There are different techniques that you usage depending connected what type of transportation you want to put in. The group who are the champion passers and crossers, they are usually the champion astatine delivering set-pieces - Kevin de Bruyne tin shoot, walk and he tin present set-pieces. And a spot of assurance helps arsenic well."

Ryan Shawcross, who became an master astatine scoring headers from corners during a profession spent predominantly pinch Stoke City, preferred a different style of delivery, but he besides preaches the value of a value shot into the box.

"I ever liked an out-swinger because I felt you could get a bully acquisition connected the ball," Shawcross says. "And I ever favoured heading from the left-hand broadside if you're looking from down the goal. You jump different from different sides because you return disconnected connected a different foot.

"But it's each astir the delivery. Arsenal person sewage Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka who supply unbelievable deliveries. When we were really successful, we had Liam Lawrence, Jermaine Pennant, Matt Etherington. It's each astir transportation and desire to spell and caput the ball."

A defender by trade, Shawcross stands arsenic 1 of the Premier League's astir prolific scorers of headers successful the 21st period - he nodded 9 goals for Stoke. He besides erstwhile scored 7 convention goals successful a azygous Championship run acknowledgment to his prowess attacking corners.

"Timing is key," he explains. "That's your timing to get distant from your marker, timing to jump and meet the ball.

"Your thought process arsenic it's getting person is, 'Right, what americium I doing pinch the ball? Am I heading it down, americium I going for power? To the correct aliases to the left?'

"But a batch of the time, the shot will dictate what you do. You'll spot it conscionable hits the caput and goes in. So it's astir the contact. Make judge you get a bully caput connected it and effort to caput it down if possible."

Shawcross besides believes that – successful summation to his tallness astatine 6ft 3ins – the truth he was a cardinal defender worked to his advantage.

"As a centre-back, you're an master successful heading the ball," he says. "If you deliberation astir myself and William Saliba - I'm not comparing myself to him, but we caput the shot a lot.

"Centre-backs are amended astatine heading the ball. Strikers, they flick the shot connected a batch more, but centre-backs caput the shot away, truthful they're utilized to that interaction pinch the shot connected the beforehand of the caput and getting region and height. You return those principles and effort to use it to scoring a goal.

"I should person scored truthful galore more. I should person gotten 5 a year."

Aside from the method factors, Pedersen besides believes location is simply a intelligence crippled astatine play erstwhile a squad becomes successful from corners – their estimation breeds uncertainty wrong the opposition.

"At Blackburn, we led the convention successful set-piece goals astatine 1 stage," he says. "When you get that fearfulness from opponents, it helps you. You spot that pinch Arsenal. Once you spot that fearfulness successful the opponent, you support attacking it. We could spot that astatine Blackburn."

The domiciled of players who are not needfully the target of the transportation has go progressively important, too. Glancing distant from the set-piece taker to look astatine the players awaiting the transverse reveals a cautiously orchestrated regular of huddled together and 'blocking' designed to create a free tally astatine the shot for a team's strongest headers.

"The 'dark arts' are the main cardinal to occurrence from corners – blocking," says Stuart Reid, a freelance set-piece expert who has worked pinch respective master clubs.

"Even if you're a broadside that doesn't person awesome aerial ability, astir teams will astatine slightest person 1 subordinate who's bully successful the air. If you usage blocking, the chances are you tin free up that player."

"Tony Pulis was monolithic connected blocking," Shawcross adds of his erstwhile Stoke manager. "We'd orchestrate 2 aliases 3 different blocks earlier the shot would travel in, and that would springiness that subordinate the abstraction to onslaught the ball. We'd ideally person personification free astatine the beforehand post, personification free astatine the backmost post, personification free successful the mediate and personification blocking the goalkeeper.

"All the worldly that's being waxed lyrically astir now pinch Mikel Arteta, it was being done years agone by the Welsh brilliant Tony Pulis."

Corner kicks still correspond a comparatively low-percentage scoring opportunity - only 4.6% of corners led to a extremity past season, for example.

But arsenic Arsenal are showing - pinch Arteta's men converting from 6% of their corners successful 2023-24 - the activity connected the training crushed tin salary dividends.

"Big games get decided by set-pieces these days," Pedersen concludes. "The amended you get astatine group pieces, the much chance you person of winning these large games. It's a large X factor."