Set piece greatness from Arsenal against Palace
Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal squad have recently come back from warm weather training in Dubai and coming into the game against Crystal Palace on the weekend, Arsenal fans were hoping to see a change in attitude, approach and form coming into the second half of the season and I think we got that. Winning 5-0 is a statement win and to come back with a strong win like that after a few tough losses, is exactly the response Arsenal fans would have been hoping for.
One thing that really stood out to me was the fact that it looks like we’ve been working hard on set-pieces. Nicolas Jover looks to have been doing a fine job as our set piece specialist and for me, that’s something we seemed to have struggled with a bit more this season and is clearly something they’ve been working on over in Dubai.
Gabriel was at the front of the set piece action against Palace and ended up scoring a goal for himself and creating a goal that only just turned out to be called as an own goal. He looks to have been working on his leap and his positioning and although it’s not an easy thing to do, he made it look easy with his strength in the air.
I’m not sure if the two goals were a planned routine or if it was as simple as “get it in the middle and go for it” type of stuff but it worked and Gabriel was at the front of it, managing to put us in a good position early on to feel confident. It didn’t take long for him to do almost the exact same thing as the first goal and got a head to another ball whipped in from the corner but was headed towards Dean Henderson and then fumbled into the net. All in the space of 37 minutes Gabriel managed to get Arsenal in a position where they could settle and then look to dominate.
A lot of credit must be given to the corner kick takers, Rice and Saka. Both whipping perfect balls into the right areas for their teammates to try take advantage of. For me, set pieces have been a big missing factor for us this season and without a proper out and out number 9 who’s a goal poacher, set pieces become more important and become an easier way to try get a goal.
Nicolas Jover, who was a former Manchester City set piece specialist, has been great since joining Arsenal. I think him, and Arteta have made a clear plan to focus and work of our set pieces for the second half of this season and if the weekend is anything to go by, it seems to be working perfectly.
What’s your thoughts Gooners?
Daisy Mae
Here is the latest DUBLIN ARSENAL video reviewing our battering of Crystal Palace by our BRAZILIAN EAGLE HUNTERS
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