Internally, however, Arteta and his team view set pieces as just another valuable weapon in their tactical arsenal, not the only way they intend to score. The team is focused on winning trophies, and while they aim to improve their goal-scoring abilities, set pieces are simply one of the methods they use to create opportunities. Arteta has made it clear that open-play goals remain a top priority for the team, despite the recent emphasis on dead-ball situations.
Ahead of their Champions League clash against AS Monaco, Arteta addressed these concerns in his pre-match press conference. Speaking to Arsenal Media, he emphasised that the team is committed to creating more chances from open play, stating: “We want to create more from every angle and from set-pieces as well, we could have created more than we did and could have scored another one or two, so always trying to evolve and be better.”
Arteta acknowledged that until Arsenal starts scoring more goals from open play, questions about their reliance on set pieces will continue to arise. This highlights a key area of focus for the team as they aim to balance their attacking play and ensure they are not solely dependent on set-piece situations to find the back of the net. The Gunners’ challenge moving forward will be to unlock their open-play scoring potential while maintaining their strength from dead-ball situations.
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Actions speak louder than words. A few years ago we were playing some of the best football in all of Europe, the envy of other clubs.
Slick passing, movement all over the pitch, goals followed the exciting direct style of play. Even topped the table for the majority of the year, and we heard fans chanting, “we have our Arsenal back!”
Next season they prioritized possession; slow monotonous build up, static positioning, and endless side to side and back passes. We saw a dip in some players form which has continued.
Our defense took a huge step forward, but a Saliba injury was too much to overcome using that style of play.
I hope to see us return to the previous style of play; directness, fluid and flowing movement over this static positioning. To score more from open play may require a change in tactics, or in players; like a true striker and upgrading Jesus as an option.