Why Arsenal’s Set-Pieces Stand Out: Tactics, Principles & Perspectives Of The Elite

Set pieces have become an integral part of football, leading coaches, analysts, and even fans to become deeply passionate about all aspects related to them.

Fans might come across a clip showcasing a brilliant set piece execution that leaves them impressed, prompting them to share it with their friends and express their desire for their team to implement such a strategy.

At the same time, coaches and analysts are constantly learning from one another, sharing ideas and elevating each others set-piece game over time.

However, does the matter truly revolve solely around the idea? Is every concept feasible for your team to execute, and even if your team is capable of implementing it, can it be effectively executed against any opponent?

For fans, this may seem commonplace; however, the significant issue is that this mindset persists among some coaches and analysts who still believe that set pieces are merely an idea—preferably a new and deceptive one.

Such strategies do not succeed with the team — or only rarely succeed — leaving them to wonder about the disparity between their teams performance and what they observe on television from sides like Arsenal or across the Premier League in general.

In this tactical analysis, we will illustrate through specific examples the differing perspectives on set-pieces from various teams worldwide, whether through case studies or principles and tactics that are trained and applied.

We will categorize teams into three levels based on their approach to set pieces, ranging from the least effective to the most effective.

We will also highlight the differences in their perspectives on set pieces, providing examples to illustrate these distinctions.

Level C

Most teams worldwide are at this level, where they implement good ideas that sometimes succeed and sometimes fail.

This happens because they dont apply a full routine, giving every player a role and forming a game plan depending on the players ability and the opponents defending tactics.

In the example below, Al Ahly have Mohamed Abdelmonem, now playing with OGC Nice in Ligue 1, who is incredibly good at heading.

He especially gets the first touch intelligently at the near post and the area ahead of it.

Then, he can flick the ball or target the goal directly.

Al Ahly depended heavily on targeting him to get the first contact in the area ahead of the near post (the black circle).

He exploited that his starting position from the middle made it harder for the first two zonal defenders to rack him while the ball was in the air, so he could come from their blind side and run all this distance, earning a dynamic advantage, too.

The second thing is that many teams leave this area empty from zonal defenders (green), asking one of the first two zonal defenders to go there to get the first touch, which makes him cut a long distance.

To free Mohamed Abdelmonem from his man marker, he stands in a three-member stack, which creates a kind of separation between him and the man marker.

Because he doesnt know the direction he will run in, the marker waits horizontally, forcing him to take a curved, longer route to catch Mohamed Abdelmonem.

The separation is clear below, and if you make this separation for such a quick and strong player, you wont catch him.

As shown below, Mohamed Abdelmonem cou