Oh how the Arsenal fans used to dread a corner or a free kick that was not in a position for a shot. It did not even matter that much whether the attacking advantage when to the other side or us because there was usually more chance of Arsenal conceding a goal from a corner than scoring one.
Over the last year or two the Gunners have become a lot better at defending set pieces, partly I think because our individual players and the team in general is better now and partly because of the influence of our assistant manager Steve Bould has on the training ground. I´m sure that it was part of his remit when Wenger gave him the job to bolster up our defensive strength.
That has been a big help and now it looks like Arsenal have been working hard on the other side of set pieces as well. The Everton game highlighted this because almost every corner or free kick into the box looked dangerous. Our second goal came from a whipped free kick of course and with the man who took it, Cazorla and his German team mate Ozil finding their range, Arsenal have something to work with and that encourages the players to get into the box.
Would you believe that 17 percent of Arsenal´s EPL goals this season have come from set pieces, according to the stats on whoscored.com? When you remember that we are yet to get a penalty that is quite significant and is the latest string added to our bow, so are the Gunners almost the complete package now?
It’s obviously a strength when Giroud is in, not so much when Walcott is in – but there are different strengths that come along with that.
So swansea next weekend? Hope we can avenge our 2 defeats to them from last season
Finally someone gives credit to steeve bould. Since he became the assistant coach, the way arsenal defend has improved. I have been singing this since 3 seasons ago.
Olivier giroud is a man in form, his prowness towards goal looks much more sharper and hungry! I pray his good form continues as long, as possible and he remains fit to keep on banging in the goals towards the “gunners” quest for silverware! Coyg!
Is it my eyes or my television playing tricks? OG looks fast and sharp. I would love to see Walcott on the right speeding past defenders and crossing the ball to Giroud but that won’t happen since OG and Theo are the only strikers we have fit atm. I don’t think our Manager would play both of our out and out strikers at once and it’s notba 4-4-2 formation.
With that being said, bring on Sheffield and Swansea. #YaGunnersYa
The Leonard Rafferty
Interesting stat with Giroud. In his time in the PL only Aguero has scored more goals than him…
#under-rated, #iBelieveInOlivierGiroud
I’ve been very impressed with how many set-pieces we’ve been winning this season even if they haven’t translated to as many goals as they should have. In previous seasons I’ve been incredibly frustrated at how many corners we win, only to have it cleared with ease by the opposition at the near post.
It should be an element of our game we’re well drilled at, considering the fact that we have two players who can put the ball on a dime (Santi, Ozil), the amount of free kicks we win in dangerous positions and the aerial threats in the squad.
Maybe the fact that this squad has spent so much time together Wenger and the coaches have more faith in the teams overall understanding, and spent more time drilling other team aspects than in recent seasons? Because our set-pieces have dramatically improved.
You sure giroud is 2nd? I thought lukaku was then giroud. But either way the big man is playing with a desire and purpose and you got to applaud him for that, it shows how mentally strong he is.
2003:CESC FABREGAS JOINS ARSENAL-THE BEST CLUB OF ENGLAND.
2005:CESC WINS HIS 1ST TROPHY WITH ARSENAL, THE FA CUP.
2011:CESC LEAVES ARSENAL WHICH ISNT THE BEST ENGLISH CLUB ANYMORE AND ARE 6 YEARS WITHOUT A TROPHY.
2011:CESC JOINS BARCELONA-THE BEST TEAM OF EUROPE.
2011-13:HE WON 5 MAJOR TROPHIES WITH THEM.
2014:CESC LEAVES BARCELONA. BARCELONA FINISH SEASON WITH 0 TROPHIES, 1st TIME SINCE 2008.
2015:CHELSEA- NO NEED TO SAY ABOUT THAT
Moral of the story: whichever club cesc goes to, that club has declined
Hahaha – call it bad luck or just karma…. By the way, mourinho also fails or gets sacked during or after his third season in most clubs he’s managed.. don’t know what I can call that.
Mourinho is a specialist in artificial success. After 3 seasons he gets exposed, players can’t bear him, youth is still missing, and attacking football style is non-existent. You can win as many trophies as you like but if you lack the ability to be a long term manager the club will no longer consider you good enough. Ever since our manager started spending we’ve won back to back FA cups and have been challenging for the title. First season Chelsea limit their spending and Mourinho has found himself 15th, says a lot doesn’t it..