Let’s talk set pieces, an aspect of the game Arsenal were abysmal at last season from a defensive point of view, conceding numerous goals from these situations.
The controllable aspect of defending set-pieces:
Let’s forget penalties and direct free kicks for the purpose of this piece – those are uncontrollable actions as the opponent can be as good as Juninho from a direct free-kick or have the coolness of Mario Balotelli from the penalty spot.
Now coming to corners and other set pieces – to some degree, teams that have several aerial threats can be devastating from these scenarios from an offensive point of view.
From a defensive standpoint, you will always concede goals from set-pieces, it is inevitable – minimizing that number, however, is certainly possible. The controllable aspect for the team defending is to do the basics well – to put it in a simplistic way, stay organized, and be alert.
Arsenal’s set-piece defending woes:
Arsenal’s main issue was that we lacked organization from the second balls that were being played in. Once the first clearance is made, it is imperative to react quickly and stay alert to the second ball – this was something that was missing last season, a huge factor that resulted in Arsenal conceding 14 goals from non-penalty set pieces. Out of these 14, 9 were from corner kicks!
We basically averaged 1 goal conceded from these scenarios every 2.7 games – an embarrassing statistic that would affect any team’s chances over time.
Since the 2016/17 season, there has been a gradual increase in goals Arsenal concede from set-pieces and when Mikel Arteta was asked about this, his response was calm and reassuring. Mikel stated that this aspect of the game is fixable, which led to the appointment of set-piece specialist Andreas Georgson from Brentford.
The improvement after the appointment of Georgson:
This season, there has been a huge improvement from Arsenal – we concede a goal from a set play/corner once every 8.5 games in the league, a stark contrast to one every 2.7 games last season.
Arsenal only conceded 2 goals from set plays/corners this season.
Whilst there hasn’t been an improvement per-say in terms of goals we’re scoring from corners/set plays, there is certainly a massive difference in the way we’re handling the defensive side of things.
How does Arsenal defend corners now?
In a man to man marking set-up, the main focus is on winning individual duels. Such a style is suitable for teams with great aerial prowess – by making such players mark dangerous threats of the opposition, set-pieces are dealt with based on that one battle.
When Steve Bould was appointed as Arsene Wenger’s assistant, the team switched to a zonal marking style. The reason being, we only had 2-3 good headers of the ball.
In a zonal marking system, the focus is on spreading yourself as a unit to cover different zones in the penalty area. The downside to this is that sometimes an intelligent player in the opposition will move in-between zones and if the co-ordination between defenders isn’t correct, you give the opponent a free goalscoring opportunity, whether that is with head or feet.
Under Georgson, Arsenal typically seem to employ a hybrid zonal marking system. There are certain elements of man to marking in this set-up as players move along with the opposition, but also an element of having certain players set-up zonally.
Via Arsenal.com
In the above corner kick situation, Dani Ceballos and Hector Bellerin are both marking man to man and moving with the Brighton players.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang stands on the edge of the box to ensure a short corner doesn’t take place and should we win the ball and counter, he would have plenty of space to run into from that position.
Rob Holding and Pablo Mari, both highlighted in yellow are NOT marking man to man – instead, they choose to guard key zones considering they are the 2 best players in our team aerially. In this particular play, Holding wins the header off the corner as he has done on numerous occasions and we are able to deal with the pressure well.
In football, small details add up over time and can account for a lot.
You see teams missing out on Champions League football on goal difference and others, either getting relegated or staying up based on extremely fine margins.
Arsenal do not have an unlimited checkbook like some other teams – that is just the reality! It is important to make these marginal gains in different facets of the game if we’re to compete overtime for the biggest honors. Well done to Andreas.