Arsenal added six first-team players to the squad last summer but it was the seventh acquisition from a non-playing perspective that had one of the biggest impacts on the campaign. Mikel Arteta raided his former side Manchester City for set-piece coach Nicolas Jover.
The Frenchman joined Arsenal and their ability to both attack and defend set pieces skyrocketed. Gabriel Magalhaes in particular benefited from scoring five goals, more than any other defender in the league last season.
Speaking on the Peter Crouch Podcast, Aaron Ramsdale described the impact of Jover and spoke of how demanding the Frenchman is and the expectations set by him.
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“We’re very into defending corners, attacking corners and set-pieces,” he said. “That’s expected goals for and against from set-pieces and we have a set-piece coach who is hard on us and sets targets.”
Now the Gunners want to repeat the feat but Mikel Arteta wishes to push his set-piece specialism to another level. Whilst Jover has focused on improving the attacking and defending of set pieces for the team, there’s a missing part of the set-piece puzzle the Gunners want to fill.
Arsenal are advertising for a Football Analyst focusing on Set Piece/Training. In the job responsibilities it includes: “Lead in the profiling of all opposition teams from set pieces through the application of video and analytics” and “support in the preparation of all pre-match opposition analysis content and any goalkeeper coach requests.”
A clear indication that Arteta wants more information for Jover and his side tailored to their opponents. Whilst the foundation of the Gunners’ attacking and defending of set pieces, in general, has improved, gaining insight into future oppositions can elevate their strength even more.
Having established a variety of strong techniques from corners and free-kicks, these can then be tweaked to exploit the weaknesses of their next opponent. Gabriel, for instance, might therefore stand in a different zone to take advantage of an area where the most goals were conceded from set pieces.
Gabriel Jesus, in a short time with the club, has already been able to pop up at the back post with goals. His strike against Everton in the pre-season was a near replica of the goal he then scored against Leicester City in the Gunners' 4-2 win.
Arsenal need more goals this season compared to last if they want to progress up the table and qualify for the Champions League. Whilst more of these need to come from open play, continuing to improve on the things the side is already doing well is the sign of a top side trying to find all the incremental pushes of the needle they can find.
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