West Ham cannot claim they have not been warned: From their own bitter experience in the most recent thrashings by their north London neighbours, seven goals out of the 11 – 2 aggregate score in 2024 came from corners, free kicks or penalties. The Gunners’ set piece coach Nicolas Jover is being lauded as the genius behind their resurgence in the art of dead ball goalscoring. Other suggestions are, however, that the team West Ham face off against on Saturday are now too reliant on set piece goals.
Last months The Mail highlighted the Gunners’ increasing reliance on set pieces, which only continues to grow as one by one, their forwards join their injury list, stating :“Arsenal’s difficulties in scoring from open play” led to them being unable to score against ten-man Manchester United and exit the FA Cup on penalties as a consequence. The article suggests that the Gunners are developing a growing dependency on set piece goals:
“..Arteta [is] placing an even greater importance on scoring from set-pieces this season. The Spaniard and his assistant, Jover, have together cultivated an environment at the club whereby winning corners is celebrated as much as a match-saving tackle and the stats show how Arsenal’s reliance on set-pieces could soon become a hinderance to their title efforts.”