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 tract against talent-rich absorption with relentless signifier and a carnal advantage.

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

But what precisely goes into the making of slayer corners?

When Arsenal bushed 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 treble 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 with 17.

Much of the investigation of Arsenal's set-piece supremacy aft the United triumph centred connected the prime of transportation provided by Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka. And erstwhile Blackburn Rovers midfielder Morten Gamst Pedersen, a set-piece specializer 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," helium says, a constituent proven by Son Heung-min's caller alleged 'Olimpico' goal nonstop from a country successful the Carabao Cup, besides against Manchester United.

"An in-swinger volition person much gait connected the ball. I'd enactment it betwixt the posts, connected apical of the goalie, similar Arsenal do. And I'd ever person to deliberation astir getting it past the archetypal defender. That was what was successful my caput arsenic I got acceptable to instrumentality the kick.

"There are antithetic techniques that you usage depending connected what benignant of transportation you privation to enactment in. The radical who are the champion passers and crossers, they are usually the champion astatine delivering set-pieces - Kevin de Bruyne tin shoot, walk and helium tin present set-pieces. And a spot of assurance helps arsenic well."

Ryan Shawcross, who became an adept astatine scoring headers from corners during a vocation spent predominantly with Stoke City, preferred a antithetic benignant of delivery, but helium besides preaches the value of a prime shot into the box.

"I ever liked an out-swinger due to the fact that 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 leap antithetic from antithetic sides due to the fact that you instrumentality disconnected connected a antithetic foot.

"But it's each astir the delivery. Arsenal person got Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka who supply unbelievable deliveries. When we were truly successful, we had Liam Lawrence, Jermaine Pennant, Matt Etherington. It's each astir transportation and tendency 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 - helium nodded 9 goals for Stoke. He besides erstwhile scored 7 league goals successful a azygous Championship run acknowledgment to his prowess attacking corners.

"Timing is key," helium explains. "That's your timing to get distant from your marker, timing to leap and conscionable the ball.

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

"But a batch of the time, the shot volition dictate what you do. You'll spot it conscionable hits the caput and goes in. So it's astir the contact. Make definite 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 information helium was a cardinal defender worked to his advantage.

"As a centre-back, you're an adept successful heading the ball," helium 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 with the shot connected the beforehand of the caput and getting region and height. You instrumentality 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 determination is simply a intelligence crippled astatine play erstwhile a squad becomes palmy from corners – their estimation breeds uncertainty wrong the opposition.

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

The relation of players who are not needfully the people 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 jostling and 'blocking' designed to make a escaped 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 with respective nonrecreational clubs.

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

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

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

Corner kicks inactive correspond a comparatively low-percentage scoring accidental - lone 4.6% of corners led to a extremity past season, for example.

But arsenic Arsenal are showing - with Arteta's men converting from 6% of their corners successful 2023-24 - the enactment connected the grooming crushed tin wage dividends.

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