Arsenal just made their old set-piece reputation completely irrelevant

Arsenal were Premier League champions last season, but even then, the entire country had a lot to say about the ways through which they achieved their success.

Their ways were completely legal, for what it’s worth – it’s just that no one really liked it because no one was nearly as good as Arsenal were at what they did.

They have been showing the efficiency of scoring from corners in the last few seasons, but in their title-winning campaign, they hit their peak. Every single time Declan Rice or Bukayo Saka lined up to take corners, the opposition was trembling in their boots. 

Arsenal had all the tools for a good set-piece, and yet, when they used them to their full potential, people got mad. 

So, last Sunday, they showed that they don’t need them at all. 

Arsenal scored three brilliant goals against Manchester City, and also recorded exactly zero xG from set-pieces against their rivals. Criticise that.

Obviously, a very small sample size, but Arsenal showed that they really do not need set-pieces to win. And it wasn’t against any odd team – it was the one team that has managed to keep them out of title contention for two of their last four seasons.

Beating Manchester City is no small feat in itself, but doing it without using what the entire English media called your biggest weapon in football, and in such dominating fashion, is a completely different story.

You can call it a glorified friendly all you want, but it does not change the script. Arsenal had as much in it as City did, and yet, when it mattered, the Gunners looked composed, hungry for goals and for another trophy to add to their cabinet.

Arsenal would obviously want to begin as they mean to go on, and hopefully, that is the case, but it is also worth noting that the set-pieces will return. Mikel Arteta, in an ideal world, would want to have a mix of brilliant, fluid football like Sunday night, mixed with smart, tactical set pieces that no one can defend.

It is one of the things that he would have learned from the loss to Paris Saint-Germain in May, and if he is able to successfully apply that to this team, there is no limit to what the Gunners can achieve.

Arsenal are categorically the best team in the country, with or without set pieces – not that it is a bad thing to be great at them, anyway.

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