Set-piece kings Arsenal trade style for steel to seal Premier League title

May 19 : As Arsenal ended their 22-year wait for a Premier League title, there was an irony in how Mikel Arteta built the champions - not on the idealism and aesthetic style of play once associated with the club, but through the ruthless pragmatism of set-pieces.

Their efficiency on set-pieces in the face of injuries in attack and stubborn defensive blocks became the cornerstone of their goalscoring prowess this season as Arsenal transformed into cold-blooded title contenders.

It was not as if Arsenal abandoned their attacking principles entirely, but the subtle shift was necessitated when they faced teams that sat back and gave them little space to work their magic in and around the box.

After three years of finishing second, Arteta realised things had to change if they were to get their hands on the trophy for the first time since Arsene Wenger's 'Invincibles' conquered England in 2003-04.

But the Spanish coach did not change the club's identity so much as expand its attacking repertoire.

They were scoring goals from open play at will in the Champions League where games were far more open, but the Premier League posed a different problem.

"I would like to play with three players extra in my own half to get some beautiful football. This is not the reality of football," Arteta said in March.

"If you want to watch that football, you have to go to a different country because in the Premier League, for the last two seasons or three seasons, this is not the case."

RECORD-BREAKING SET-PIECE NUMBERS

In trusting Arsenal's set-piece coach Nicolas Jover, Arteta discovered something far less romantic but perhaps far more decisive.

The numbers do not lie: Arsenal have scored 24 goals from set-pieces in the Premier League - breaking the