Why Arsenal’s Over Reliance on Set Piece Goals Could Prove Their Undoing in the Title Race

The Return of Boring, Boring Arsenal

It’s a wild, wild, world when you find yourself having the same conversations, week after week, about what a dull team Arsenal are to watch. How they’re going to win the league. It’s like George Graham is back, and football fans still aren’t used to it.

What has made Arsenal this way? Under Mikel Arteta’s leadership, and with Nicolas Jover taking charge as set piece coach, Arsenal have developed a seemingly unstoppable corner routine.

It relies on pinpoint delivery. While Bukayo Saka is the best at this, Arsenal have multiple corner-takers capable of placing the ball exactly where it’s supposed to go.

Then it requires size and brute force. This comes, most often, in the form of gigantic centre-back duo Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba. These two each possess the raw grappling power to outmuscle opposition defenders, superb heading accuracy, and the sheer height to rise above the crowd and fire the ball in.

This is all made so unstoppable by the subtle art of disruption. Arsenal’s players cause mayhem in the opposition box during corners, and some critics have claimed that it borders on foul play, especially blocking the goalkeeper. While he hasn’t been a constant presence for Arsenal this year, nobody exemplifies this better than Ben White. You might hate what he does, but he’s good at it.

This approach has led to 17 goals from corners in the 2025-26 season. That’s more than Tony Pulis’s West Brom at their peak. Madness.

The Importance of the Corner Routine to Arsenal’s Title Hopes

The unstoppable corner routine has been hailed as key to Arsenal’s title aspirations for one reason: because it literally seems “unstoppable.” Teams have employed a low block against Arsenal more and more over the last two seasons, and some say the corner routine is the only way to counter it. It allows Arsenal to grind out those all-important wins that have been missing from their game since the early 00s.

1-0 to the Arsenal, indeed.

Why Arsenal’s Reliance on Set Pieces Could Be a Problem

The title race could barely be closer as we enter the final weeks of the Premier League season. This is a surprise. Arsenal looked like they had it in the bag a month or two ago. Are the corners beginning to fall short?

The quick answer is yes. Arsenal have only scored once from a corner in the Premier League since beating Chelsea 2-1 on March 1st, and that goal came from an unusual short corner against Manchester City. That’s nearly two months without a goal from the “unstoppable” routine, and it’s showing in their results.

So what’s happened?

Are teams wising up to the corner routine?

One answer is that teams are becoming accustomed to Arsenal’s approach. This happens to every new style eventually. Teams are more prepared for the rough and tumble in the box and pay closer attention to the big defenders charging in. Arsenal’s recent struggles could just be a question of being found out at the wrong time.

Have Arsenal forgotten how to score from open play?

Historically, Arsenal are responsible for many of the most beautiful goals in the Premier League. Dennis Bergkamp vs Newcastle. Jack Wilshere vs Norwich. This season’s team may not be replicating those feats, but surely they have the squad depth and talent to score the old-fashioned way?

This is perhaps the biggest puzzle of all, because the answer should be “yes.” It’s baffling that Arsenal don’t score more from open play given the talent they have, even with their frequent injuries. If they figure out what’s missing here, it could be a game-changer.

The Countdown is On: Can You Beat Pep Guardiola with Set Pieces?

Finally, let’s consider the big picture. Manchester City and Liverpool have both had pretty underwhelming seasons by their standards.

However, City are waking up. Arsenal may have dominated a fairly lacklustre season with set pieces, but is this one-trick strategy good enough to compete with the might of a Pep Guardiola team when it’s firing on all cylinders? This may yet be where Arsenal’s overreliance on set pieces is their undoing. The next few games will tell all.