In the high-stakes theatre of the Premier League, success is rarely met with universal acclaim. Instead, it is often greeted with a search for a “catch”—a reason why that success is somehow less pure, less aesthetic, or less “right” than the traditional way of doing things. For Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, as we march through the 2025/26 campaign, that catch has become the dead ball.
As of March 2026, Arsenal sit five points clear at the top of the table. Their latest statement was a 2-1 dismantling of Chelsea at the Emirates, where both goals—netted by William Saliba and Jurriën Timber—originated from corner kicks. But instead of the headlines praising a team that has perfected every phase of the game, a familiar, grumbling narrative has returned: Arsenal are “killing the game.” They are “boring.” They are “Set Piece FC.”
The irony is thick enough to choke on. For years, the criticism levelled at Arsenal was that they were “too soft,” that they “tried to walk it into the net,” and that they lacked the physical “nastiness” to win titles. Now that Arteta has built a team of physical giants who score at will from corners, the goalposts haven’t just moved—they’ve been dug up and re-planted in a different stadium.
The “Joyless” argument: A managerial strategy of deflection
In the build-up to the recent round of fixtures, we have seen an unprecedented “anti-Arsenal” media circuit. Arne Slot claimed the Premier League has become “not a joy to watch” due to the intense focus on set-pieces, lamenting that his “football heart” prefers the style of the Eredivisie. Michael Carrick has hinted that the “grappling” in the box has gone too far, and Brighton’s Fabian Hurzeler has been even more vocal, accusing Arsenal of systematic time-wasting.
“When Arsenal has a corner and they are leading, sometimes they spend over one minute just to take it,” Hurzeler complained ahead of their March clash. “It disturbs the rhythm of the game.”
The question we must ask is: Why is it Mikel Arteta’s responsibility to make life easier for his opponents?
Football is a game of marginal gains. If an opponent has a weakness—be it a slow high line or a lack of height in the six-yard box—it is a manager’s literal job description to exploit it. When Nicolas Jover, Arsenal’s set-piece mastermind, designs a routine that puts three players in a goalkeeper’s eye line, he isn’t “cheating” the game; he is solving a puzzle that the opposition has failed to lock.
If Carrick, Slot, or Hurzeler were scoring 16 goals a season from corners—matching the Premier League record with nine games still to play—they wouldn’t be apologising to the cameras. They would be hailed as “tactical innovators” and “specialists in efficiency.” The complaints aren’t about the “spirit of the game”—they are about the inability to defend it.
The great hypocrisy: The “prolific” Liverpool narrative
Perhaps the most staggering element of this debate is the silence surrounding other teams who have suddenly found religion at the corner flag. While Slot bemoans the “lack of joy” in set-piece football, his own Liverpool side has undergone a radical transformation.
Since the turn of the year in 2026, Liverpool have emerged as the most prolific team from dead-ball situations. In a stunning reversal of their early-season form, the Reds have now scored a total of 22 set-piece goals across the entire 2025/26 season. After reportedly shaking up their coaching staff in December, Slot himself has overseen a run where set-pieces have become their primary source of goals.
| Statistic (2025/26 Season) | Arsenal | Liverpool | League Average |
| Total Set-Piece Goals | 22 | 22 | 11 |
| Goals from Corners | 16 | 13 | 6 |
| Points Won via Set Pieces | 15 | 11 | 4 |
If Liverpool are just as reliant on these situations to stay in the title race, why is the “boring” tag exclusively reserved for North London? The answer is simple: narrative. When Arsenal do it, it’s a “dark art.” When Liverpool do it, it’s “finding a way to win.” This disparity highlights a media bias that refuses to credit Arteta with the same tactical flexibility afforded to his peers.
The Jover effect: The science of the “Chaos Zone”
The secret to Arsenal’s sustained dominance lies in the meticulous work of Nicolas Jover. Since arriving from Manchester City, Jover has transformed set-pieces from “marginal gains” into “essential gains.” He has turned the corner kick into a high-percentage scoring opportunity by treating it with the same tactical rigour as an open-play transition.
1. The manipulation of zonal lines
Jover’s signature move involves runners attacking from deep, behind the opposition’s zonal line. Zonal defenders are static; by the time they react to the movement of William Saliba or Gabriel Magalhães, the Arsenal attacker is already in flight. This was evident in the goal against Chelsea, where Saliba’s run bypassed three static blue shirts.
2. The screening and blocking
Critics call it “grappling,” but tactical analysts call it “screening.” Players like Ben White are tasked with subtly occupying the goalkeeper, creating a split-second of hesitation. Even rival players are starting to admit the difficulty; Chelsea captain Reece James recently conceded: “They are one of the leaders in the world at set-pieces. They are difficult to stop.”
3. The “Dead-Ball press”
Arsenal organise for the second phase—what Jover calls “dead-ball pressing.” Even if the initial header is cleared, players like Martin Ødegaard and Declan Rice are positioned outside the box to recycle the ball immediately, keeping the pressure at a terminal level. This ensures that even “failed” corners often lead to a second or third wave of attack.
What the pundits are saying: A divided media
The “Set Piece FC” tag has divided the media. Chris Sutton recently labelled the Gunners’ win over Chelsea as “ugly,” suggesting a reliance on headers is a regression from the flowing football of the Wenger era. On Monday Night Football, Jamie Carragher expressed frustration, not with the tactics themselves, but with the time taken to execute them:
“I’m no football snob, but this is taking the game backwards. Teams with technical players should be getting the ball in play as quick as they can.”
However, former professionals who have actually won the league see it differently. Ian Wright defended the approach on Stick to Football:
“People used to say we were too easy to play against. Now we’re too hard to play against, and people still aren’t happy. If you can’t defend a corner, that’s your problem, not ours.”
Roy Keane noted:
“Arsenal have the best defence in the league and the best set-piece record. That is a recipe for a title. The rest is just noise.”
The most telling comment came from Pep Guardiola, who refused to join the chorus of moaners:
“You can complain, but you have to adapt. It’s part of the game. How boring would it be if every manager played the same way?”
The hypocrisy of “entertainment”
There is a strange, unspoken rule in English football media that certain teams “owe” the public entertainment. When Manchester City win 5-0 with 80% possession, it’s “clinical.” When Arsenal win 1-0 via a 67th-minute Gabriel header from a corner, it’s “boring.”
Why is a 40-pass move resulting in a tap-in “better” than a perfectly timed, rehearsed, and executed block-and-run routine? Both require thousands of hours on the training ground. Both require elite-level delivery—which Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice provide with robotic consistency.
The “boring” narrative is a defence mechanism for teams that have been physically outmatched and tactically outsmarted. If you don’t like Arsenal scoring from corners, stop giving away corners. If you think they take too long to set up, train your defenders to stay focused for sixty seconds instead of switching off.
Conclusion: The process is complete
Mikel Arteta’s “Process” was never just about playing pretty triangles. It was about building a machine that could win in any environment. In 2022, they were the “young team that might crumble.” In 2024, they were the “contenders who fell short.” In 2026, they are the “Set Piece Monsters.”
The disparity in the media narrative is clear: when Arsenal were losing, they were criticised for their lack of “dark arts.” Now that they have mastered them, they are criticised for using them too well.
For the Arsenal Mania faithful, the message should be clear: let them moan. Every time a rival coach calls Arsenal “boring,” it is a confession of tactical defeat. In the race for the Premier League title, “Set Piece FC” is a badge of honour—because while others are searching for “joy,” Arsenal are searching for trophies. And right now, they look exactly like a team that is going to find them.