Arsenal scored a Premier League-high 25 non-penalty set-piece goals as they won the title last season, including a record 19 from corners.
But after seven matches of the new campaign, the Gunners are one of only four teams yet to score from a non-penalty set-piece, alongside Liverpool, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest.
It is a notable change for a side that had scored at least 15 non-penalty set-piece goals in each of the previous five Premier League seasons. That improvement coincided with Nicolas Jover joining Mikel Arteta’s backroom staff in 2021. The set-piece coach, described as a “genius”, remains a prominent presence on the touchline.
Arteta believes a lack of luck has played a major part in Arsenal’s failure to convert their opportunities this season.
“My personal opinion is that we’ve done better things than last year in the first five games, but we have scored no goals,” he said earlier this month.
“I think that’s the reality of set-pieces. Sometimes we score a goal, or they score an own goal, and it’s a set-piece goal, but we didn’t do things well.
“It’s an element of luck sometimes and I think this season we should have scored four and we haven’t. So, if we maintain that, I think throughout the season we’ll be in really good numbers, especially if we generate the amount of situations that we do.”
Opta’s figures support Arteta’s argument. Arsenal have created set-piece chances worth 2.50 expected goals, yet only Liverpool and Nottingham Forest have underperformed by a greater margin in the Premier League.
There were clear examples in Sunday’s victory at the City Ground, where Kai Havertz and Gabriel Magalhaes headed promising chances over the crossbar from Declan Rice deliveries.
Riccardo Calafiori also missed a good opportunity from Martin Odegaard’s free-kick against Chelsea, while Zion Suzuki saved a Rice header from a Bukayo Saka corner against Aston Villa.
Last season, Arsenal were among the league’s strongest performers relative to their set-piece chances, scoring nearly four goals more than expected.
They have also had to respond to the Premier League’s stricter approach this season to grappling, holding and blocking at corners. The guidance aims to prevent players from gaining an advantage by impeding opponents and has led to more corners resulting in free-kicks for defending teams.
“You have to adjust to the rules and what is allowed and what is not,” Arteta said. “But that opens another window to do things that we want to do. Sometimes you have to give credit to the opponent as well. They defend better, they put more attention on that.”
Arsenal’s delivery has otherwise remained broadly consistent. They have taken 15% of their corners short, compared with 9% last season, although all of those came in the opening-day match against Coventry.
Most corners are still aimed into the six-yard box, with more going towards the near post and fewer directly at the goalkeeper, who is receiving greater protection from officials.
Their set-piece expected goals have fallen from 0.56 per game last season to 0.36 this term. They are also winning fewer corners: their average of 4.7 per match is the lowest across the past nine campaigns, down 17% from last season’s 5.7 and about 30% from the previous two seasons, when they averaged almost seven.
A return to greater corner volume and improved finishing could revive Arsenal’s output. They are also creating and scoring more from open play, although they struggled to break down Nottingham Forest before Noni Madueke’s late winner.
With 37% of their goals coming from non-penalty set-pieces last season, further improvement will be needed. But the threat has not vanished, and the evidence suggests the goals should return, even if Arsenal do not repeat last season’s record.
