Arteta’s deadly set-piece plan hatched 10 years ago
LONDON: Mikel Arteta said Friday that Arsenal’s set-piece prowess has been a decade in the making. The Gunners have scored 10 goals via set pieces in the Premier League this season — the earliest into a campaign any side has reached double figures for such goals in the history of the competition. Arteta finished his playing career at the Emirates in 2016 before he joined Pep Guardiola’s coaching team at Manchester City. And when the Spaniard, who is now approaching six years in charge at Arsenal, was asked at what point he thought it would be smart to hone in on the importance of set-pieces, he replied: “Ten years ago. “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.” Ahead of Crystal Palace’s visit to Emirates Stadium this weekend, Arteta admitted he knew set pieces — including free-kicks and corners — would be essential to any success during his Arsenal reign. Crucially, Arteta was doing his coaching badges when he met Nicolas Jover, who would later become set-piece coach at Brentford before joining Arsenal in 2021. Jover has been instrumental in Arsenal’s remarkable ability at set-pieces. “You could see straight afterwards when it started to happen,” he said. “We have created the culture, giving that part of the game (set-pieces) the importance that it has.