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Lies, damned lies, and statistics

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22 May, 2013 10:00 51 comments
Lies, damned lies, and statistics

Kos: Proof of the importance of set pieces

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(Ed’s note – This piece was submitted a couple of days before the Newcastle game. Perhaps the method by which Arsenal’s goal was scored indicates the relevance of the article)

Manchester United have scored 22 goals from set pieces so far this season, the most of any team in the Barclays Premier League. It is no coincidence that Manchester United have won the Premiership title, as they have also scored the most goals (along with Luis Suarez and his Liverpool team-mates) from open play of all the teams in the League this season.

Arsenal, on the other hand, have scored exactly half as many goals from set pieces as Manchester United have managed to do this season, with a paltry 11-goal haul from set pieces for the Gooners.

Arsenal are joint 9th with Liverpool in terms of goals scored from set pieces during the 2012/2013 season and, when you consider that we are behind Stoke, Norwich, West Ham, Reading and Wigan in that particular statistical table, you have to wonder if the manager is finally going to sort out our set piece woes during the summer. For way, way too long now, Arsenal fans have been subjected to the sight of offensive corners crashing tamely into the first opposition defender brave enough to actually attack the ball, while free kicks won around the opposition area do not exactly get the Arsenal faithful up on their feet quite as quickly as they used to.

This sorry state of affairs is simply not good enough for a club like Arsenal and the manager and his coaching staff (*cough*, Steve Bould) surely must identify this key statistic as a glaring weakness in our offensive game and drill the players in both set pieces and direct free kicks over the pre-season. The set pieces at Arsenal have been nothing but a shambles for a number of years now quite frankly, and if teams like Stoke, Wigan, West Ham, Norwich and Wigan can make better use of dead-ball situations than we can, I believe that questions should be being asked of the manager and his coaching staff as to why they aren't doing more to improve this nuance of our attacking play.

If it's good enough for Manchester United to score goals from set pieces then it should be good enough for Arsène Wenger, but you just get the impression, as a fan, that our manager would rather not waste his precious breath talking about scoring goals from set pieces let alone devote a significant part of his training sessions to them. It's almost as if set pieces are seen as something dirty and to be ashamed of at Arsenal, when, in reality, we all know that a ricochet off a defender’s backside is worth just as much to our chances of winning any given game as a 35-yard screamer flying into the top corner of the net.

Arsenal have scored 45 goals from open play this season compared to Manchester United's 49 and this statistic only serves to highlight the glaring disparity in the amount of goals scored from set pieces by the two sides. If we can add another eight or nine goals from set pieces next season whilst continuing to improve defensively, I strongly believe that we can at least make a credible challenge for silverware.

I might be giving the manager a lot of flak for our lack of goals scored from set pieces this season but I must say that he has overseen a huge turnaround in our defensive play compared with previous years and I can only hope that this trend continues into 2013/14 because, unless we sign some genuine individual attacking talent to complement the glorious Santi Cazorla and the steadily-improving Theo Walcott, we might just have to go back to basics and look at corners and free kicks as the goal-scoring opportunities that they so obviously are. Olivier Giroud needs more support centrally from team-mates who should be blocking or distracting his markers and better service from wide areas if we are ever going to see any of his much-fabled aerial abilities, while the loss of Robin van Persie has left us without a player that you feel can make the difference from a direct free kick. Santi Cazorla has been wonderful this season but I think that it is unreasonable to rely on him as the only truly proficient set piece taker in our whole squad barring Mikel Arteta, on a good day.

Over to you Arsène, Boro, Steve and Neil.

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51
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  1. Joe S.

    May 24, 2013, 0:29 #35188

    I sense where you are coming Joe and have also felt this frusration as Arsenal's fullbacks have seemed to find the opposition's centre halves with pin point accuracy whenever the've cossed a ball over the past eight years. Similarly corners and close range free kicks have also been a dead rubber with out any expectation that the opposition's goal will be threatened. It's true Arsenal have not had the platers capable of exploiting these opportunities such as say Pirlo, Robben, Ronaldo, Rooney or the possee from Barcellona, however it's also much deeper,reflecting the manager's tactical ambitions. at the same time I wouldn'd want to see Arsenal go to the opposite extreme and become Stoke City or even Everton.

  2. Carl Rawley

    May 24, 2013, 0:01 #35186

    Arsenal from the 1930's have by some distance played the best football in England barring one or two seasons.I find the rest of the English sides rather tiresome with very little to offer.When Arsenal are labelled with names it's comparing them with other Arsenal sides.A boring Arsenal side are still far more interesting than an exciting United or Spurs.As a previous writer said you can only compare Arsenal with themselves.

  3. Gare Kekeke

    May 23, 2013, 22:26 #35185

    I’ve got no problems with The Arsenal scoring goals from set plays. Believe it or not it can win you games. The so-called ‘tippy-tappy football’ won’t work all the time (but when it does its bloody fantastic) so Wenger has to have a variation of how his teams play and score goals. I’m not an advocate of the direct style of play but we have to accept that is what other teams will play whether we like it or not. It is complete snobbery to suggest that we should leave it to other teams and we are above it. And I’m not buying this stuff mentioned on this site recently that The Arsenal have always been a pretty football team and every other team are long-ball merchants throughout their history. I speak to and come across a fair few ex-pros through my line of work and they have never verified such biased claims. Also through my work I watch a lot of football and some of the football played by Man Utd up until 2009, Barcelona over the years & more recently Bayern Munich et al is a joy to watch as well as The Arsenal from 1996-2011. Charlie George even claimed at the beginning of “Good Old Arsenal” that in 1970/71 we were labelled boring. But every Gooner knows young & old, we won the ‘double’ that year. Some people should do well to remember that Rinus Michels, Wenger’s inspiration, brought ‘total football’ to the world and not Wenger himself.

  4. Here's a Fact

    May 23, 2013, 20:57 #35184

    Arsenal were the only team who had four players reaching double figures in premiership goals.

  5. Mark from Aylesbury

    May 23, 2013, 20:45 #35183

    Ron - as you say the ex players views would make interesting reading. Lets hope that the more pragmatic football played at the start of the season and then reastablished during the home run will at least create a base for next season. Up the gunners

  6. Arthur Pink

    May 23, 2013, 19:42 #35181

    As a child of the sixties I can honestly say that was the only decade ever that Spurs had a better team than us.As far as West Ham they were the Wigan of the day a few tricks won the FA cup but in general a very poor team.Man Utd have always been lauded by the media but are more the exponents of anti-football.Best football teams ever Arsenal late 90's to mid 00's and Liverpool mid eighties.

  7. Ron

    May 23, 2013, 19:20 #35179

    Mark - it would be nice to be a fly on the wall hearing what the real views of the likes of Frank Mac, Peter Storey even Charlie Nicholas actually are. They must cringe watching this lot at times over the 5-6 years. The game has changed so much since their day of course but the fundamentals haven't have they?. Fairies and the feint hearted are trodden on and win nothing. In his day there are so many players who've donned the red shirt under Wenger who Frank would have punched their lights out, every tackle they dodged and every header they avoided. That 1971 team had it all inc as you say bottle and stomach. This lot today and in fairness many players in that Prem League of other Clubs would just find that approach alien to them.

  8. Ron

    May 23, 2013, 19:07 #35178

    Annabelle - I doubt you ever seen West Ham play. In any event the subject is about so called good football, not league positions. Arsenal were dire in the 60s so far as league positions show but the football was goal mad and exciting at times, despite the Arsenal net being breached regularly. Your views represent so many of todays so called football fan s ie you're too blinkered or just too blind to acknowledge the good in other teams. I would add as well that your view on the Hammers of the time flies in the face of any expert or professional whos ever been involved in football, either then or now. As to pipe smoking with Tony, yes i agree with nearly all his posts. Hes seen a lot of the game too. As for yourself, id venture to say you're married to your friend 'Terry' on here maybe. PS if you can't use words other than 'c--k, you're best advised not to post at all. Do you not realise how thick it makes you sound?

  9. mark from aylesbury

    May 23, 2013, 19:06 #35177

    Annabelle - the Arsenal team of the majority of the 1960's was cack as well. Lowest crowd ever recorded at Highbury during that period so not sure where you are going with that arguament. The ultra tough Bertie Mee side from 70 onwards were what we grew upwith. It is that never say die attitude we are missing. It may also be why i have heard from numerous sources that a certain Scottish ex captain of ours cant stand Wenger.

  10. Annabelle

    May 23, 2013, 18:20 #35176

    Ron,The West Ham of the 60's were utter cack and never finished above 8th mostly around 16th to compare them to the current Arsenal side is laughable.Have you been sharing the same pipe with Tony Evans.Arsenal can only ever be compared to themselves.

  11. Ron

    May 23, 2013, 17:34 #35174

    Gee - You might be right with your calulations for all i know matey, but the Clubs big problem at the moment is shifting that load of wasters that you mention. Lets face it, who on earth would want any of them without somebody else paying the wages? Its more the case that the transferee Club would want paying to take thm on! Note too, a fair few are the products of Wengers 'project youth', though to a degree we were all at least partially persuaded by that at one time back in 2006/2007 time do you think? All Clubs have their donkeys and wasters but Wenger has accumulated them with apparent glee for so long and paid them like top players. Its staggering. The so called economics guru didnt do much of a busines plan before he set up and sold us the pup that project youth represented.Just reading that list of yours is the equivalent of footballing depression and shows just how much the Club needs a lift with a positive quality signing or two.

  12. Bard

    May 23, 2013, 14:00 #35173

    The Stats argument is fine as far as it goes but the central issue is lack of quality in the team. We are more in need of quality players than we are goals from set pieces. You could equally argue that a world class keeper is worth 10-15 points but again we don't have one. Mediocrity will only get you so far. We are the best of the second group of teams but are a million miles behind the top three. And if you believe the papers that gap will widen as they gear up for a spending spree. They look to buy the Falcao's, we've signed an injury prone 21 yo. Thats it in a nutshell.

  13. Gee

    May 23, 2013, 13:17 #35170

    We really need to cleanse this squad Give the following should all be free this summer or given free transfers if not Squillaci Frimpong Denilson Chamakh Park Bendtner Arshavin Santos Coquelin Djourou Add this to the 15 youth/reserve players that have been released and we got around £24m of wages that have been cut. This is absolutely where we should be in order to then buy the top class players we need and pay the correct wages for the best players. We have at least £70m in CASH to spend and don't forget not all transfers are paid for there and then in CASH so transfer FEES could be upto £100m. Couple this with the free wages from the above of £24m and you got 3 world class players being paid £160k a week. All I'm doing here is outlining the potential we have in terms of fees and wages at the club. All this before our revenues are boosted £80m per annum! £30m Puma + £30m Emirates + £20m extra TV money. We are in an incredibly good position to spend all within our own means wihtout relying on extra help from owners. We have to start this season with such a structure. If he doesn't do it this summer Gazidis should not offer him a new deal and let him go a the end of 2013/14

  14. Ron

    May 23, 2013, 13:11 #35169

    Tony - Youve said it all there too. Right on the button as ever. The fear of change in these people who cant see past the Clubs status quo is as damaging long term as anything Wenger could pull off. His longevity gives him great mileage though doesnt it and keeps him in his position of influence due to so many of todays fans (and the present Board) having known no different.

  15. Ron

    May 23, 2013, 13:00 #35168

    Terry - If you want to believe what you say, thats fine by me. I think youre a voice in the dark though fella. Utd 'kicking lumps'? The West Ham teams of the 60s and a few of their teams later were were great to watch. Soft underbelly granted and theyve always been a bit that way. Wengers modern Arsenal is a lot like West Ham were. Win nothing and please the eye! As far as London football goes, the Spurs sides from 1980 to about 84 were excellent under Burkinshaw and Pleats teams in the later 80s were also good football teams. The Chelsea teams of yesteryear under Sexton and with players like Cooke Ossie et all were great sides too. You keep dreaming anyway fella. I dont need to show you 'you tube' clips or videos, i saw the teams i mention regularly and very often they were giving us a thrashing!

  16. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 23, 2013, 12:51 #35167

    Tony Evans, exactly, try as i may i can't see where any one has said they want or, even pretend to want us to become a Stoke or a West Ham and start playing the long ball.

  17. Terry

    May 23, 2013, 12:38 #35166

    @Ron,It's you who have no idea, your just going by trashy fan traditions and the way certain teams have been stereotyped over the years.Man United the beacon of great football over the years do me a favour.When they were not lumping in crosses they were normally kicking teams of the park.Fergie was the same at Aberdeen his teams are all about grit than flair.As for the spuds another myth apart from a brief spell in the 60's playing so called push and run.Their best ever striker Jimmy Greaves said that all the best things Bill Nicholsen came out with were borrowed from Arsenal especially Whittaker and Swindin and can you honestly say that they played better footbal than us from the 70's onwards no way in fact from the mid 80's to today they mainly just defended against us.In fact it was Spurs who started the phrase"to park the bus".As for West Ham ah yes the famous academy another media myth for gullible fans like you to swallow.Please show me a video of West Hams tantalising football from bygones past,it doesn't exist just a load of old cockney cabby talk.

  18. Tony Evans

    May 23, 2013, 12:37 #35165

    Ron - as usual your replies are a beacon of common sense. I do wonder about some of the contributors on this site - comments like Man U are long ball merchants and Arsenal play the game the right way amaze me. Any team with title aspirations use all the means at their disposal - tough tackling defenders, a top keeper, a 30 goals a season forward and some creativity / ball winners in the middle of the park. They also create goals from all available avenues - flowing moves, great shots, headers and tap ins. They also use free kicks, corners and the long ball game effectively. I look at Wenger's Arsenal, with so many of these title winning ingredients missing and it makes me sick to the stomach that Wenger is still in a job.

  19. Ron

    May 23, 2013, 12:07 #35164

    Mike - if ive missed the bus, the ive missed it, but to be honest use of and maximising set plays or not is simplistic.Thats what the article s about. Footballs a simple game after all. In my view Wenger makes it more complex with his methods and yet, his methods arent working to a great degree. Hes failing to allow his teams to use simple methods, when his preferred more complex ones dont work and in doing so, makes out its 'anti football'. Thats bad management as hes not using all the tools in the games kit box and blames those who do. There are too many who have fallen into his thrall.Ive never been an exponent of the view that the Stokes Boltons and Blackburns should be condemned just for using different styles. Thats what makes the game here quite good in the main, if not always full of finesse. Wengers like a kid who when he cant have his way, he squeals. There are many now who have seen through him and those fans of ours whove been brainwashed by him are questioning him. If thats being 'sarcastic' and 'defensive', so be it.Its not an offence to differ from OGL although i reckon the Club would have it that way if they could, hence the flag bans demonstrating against him.

  20. Ron

    May 23, 2013, 11:45 #35163

    Terry - Youre clearly no student of the game and maybe a wenger acolyte of latter years. Like loathe or have no views whatever, Man Utd have been the beacon for good football in the UK for decades. Cartainly since the Busby Babe days. Its in the Clubs tradition to play with flair. Even the Spuds have a deserved repuation for playing football correctly. West Ham certainly do until Allardyce has gone there to make them more pragmatic. Their reputation goes back to the 60s as does the Spuds. To call such Clubs long ball merchants shows your ignorance.Take your Wenger created myopic goggles off for once! Arsenal repuation for good football has been patchy. Yes, Wengers earlier teams played with great verve and style. The teams before his time had phases of being known for great football. We played great football in the 60s but chose to have defences that leaked like a sieve each season and won nothing for 17 years from 1953 and struggled. Wengers present teams have many likenesses to those dull days. We for sure didnt play great football for much of the 70s or 80s and GG s teams varied from being downright ugly to a combo of great football and muscle.You should consider your knee jerk comments before you make them. Football and Arsenal wasnt invented and born in 1996.

  21. Mike

    May 23, 2013, 11:33 #35162

    @Ron -you missed the bus completely -just saying this piece is simplistic in its analysis as was mine - things are a lot more complex - but as usual with your responses you get sarcastic and defensive and think you have the answer

  22. Ron

    May 23, 2013, 11:23 #35161

    Anna belle - Nobody is saying that. Crosses and set plays are part of the game off football. Fail to maximise them and a team loses effectiveness. What would you have the FA do? Change the rules of the game to allow a team to opt to have a throw in instead of a free kicks and corners? Mike - If your auntie had cobblers, she'd be your uncle! Man Utd bought Van Persie to win them the title and cure a lack of goals What would you have them do, ask him to ease off and deliberately miss a few chances to make it up to our poor Mr Wenger for having to sell him? Theres a reason for the transfer system. Its to allow Clubs to buy better and more players. You should write in and tell Wenger, he's allowed to join in with the spirit of it!

  23. Mike

    May 23, 2013, 9:49 #35159

    Long ball football is the exact reason why the England team anywhere fast - it is the exact reason why stoke will never get anywhere - it is the exact reason why Alledyce is coaching where he is - football along the ground is the way it should be played -I can go on to say man utd won the league because of RVP -29 goals -if he had stayed with Arsenal and scored half that amount, Man Utd would have several points less and we would have several points more

  24. Joe Fitzpatrick

    May 23, 2013, 9:10 #35158

    GaryFootscrayAustralia- How many goals did we all see like that when we were just little weeds growing up? Seeing Tony Adams blazing the ball into the back of the net with his big pot-head was just as exciting as Wrighty hitting a smoking hot scorcher in the top corner or rolling one through the keepers legs. They all count. let's hope we finish much higher next season.

  25. Tony Evans

    May 23, 2013, 8:35 #35157

    Joe - I sometimes wonder why some of us saner ones on this site bother. Some of the daft responses to your article make me cringe. So now all of sudden if you don't like Wenger, all you want for Arsenal is to play the long ball hoof? Just to explain to the simpletons - all Joe is saying is that it would do harm at all for Arsenal to have a plan B and to make more use of dead ball situations. It is great playing attractive football but that does not mean the odd hoof now and again should be out of the question. Also tippy tappy football with no end product is boring as hell and a hoof in to the box, which might lead to a goal, can be more exciting anyway.

  26. Terry

    May 23, 2013, 7:27 #35156

    We are the Arsenal and we play the proper way with a bit of class leave the long ball crap to Man Utd,Spuds,Stoke,Chelski,West Ham and walrus face.

  27. Joe Fitzpatrick

    May 23, 2013, 0:37 #35155

    Theo Jensen- top comment there mate, very well put. You should expand on this point because you are making a lot of sense.

  28. Joe Fitzpatrick

    May 23, 2013, 0:27 #35154

    Ronster- I'm not saying Walcott is the finished article quite yet but the signs are encouraging. The lad has scored a few against Chelski, the Scum and Man U in recent seasons so I think he deserves a bit of credit along with all of the criticism that he gets. The Newcastle miss was a sickener but the goal against Wigan was massive, he did well to get himself in position for that finish.

  29. Joe Fitzpatrick

    May 23, 2013, 0:12 #35153

    CanadaGooner- Exactly. you hit the nail right on the head, if we don't have Bergkamp, Henry, Pires and Ljungberg then we need to make up for the lack of individual goals with well worked team goals of any shape or form. I remember Valencia and Rooney striking up a great understanding at one point and they scored a good number of goals from the winger picking out Rooney's Volkswagen head.

  30. GaryFootscrayAustralia

    May 23, 2013, 0:02 #35152

    Welcome back Joe. Blaze one up for me, fella. Oh yeah - agree on the set pieces. I used to squeal like a lil' kiddie when a Marwood or Davis corner found the head of Bould / Adams / Linighan at the near, who would then flick on for Bould / Adams / Linighan steaming in at the far.

  31. Ronster

    May 23, 2013, 0:01 #35151

    The one on one Walcott fluffed to kill the game at St James Park tells me all I need to know about the £100K per week man...not a big game player yet by any means.

  32. Joe Fitzpatrick

    May 22, 2013, 23:56 #35150

    Charles- you make a fair point, he might not be the greatest but he's the best we have got and to be fair to Cazorla, his team mates don't always make it easy for him because they don't spin off their markers quickly enough or make clever runs or attack the ball from the edge of the six yard box and put their bodies on the line. If you are aiming at a bunch of sissies who don't jump, move or attack the ball then you are on a bit of a hiding to nothing really, aren't you? I wish we had Baines, he can take free kicks, corners and even penalties too.

  33. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 22, 2013, 23:55 #35149

    Ron,this tippy tappy going nowhere football has certainly done that alright we have fans who would rather we played it back to the halfway line or even the keeper from a corner or a set piece and start all over again and try and walk it into the net,lets hope we're never fouled again because it could take a long time to reach the opposition box and their defenders aren't going to have very much to do.

  34. Joe Fitzpatrick

    May 22, 2013, 23:35 #35148

    PerryG- if you would have told me that Walcott would score 21 and assist 17 in all competitions after we just sold Van Persie to fergie I would have laughed until my sides split but he managed to do it and he deserves a bit of credit in my book.

  35. GoonerRon

    May 22, 2013, 23:15 #35147

    @PerryG - clueless = 21 goals and double figures for assists from a wide player according to you. I dread to think what that makes Silva, Nasri, Valencia, Ashley Young, Milner, Downing and Lennon who have been massively outperformed by him.

  36. Annabelle

    May 22, 2013, 22:10 #35146

    You don't have to be brainwashed to see that playing beautiful football along the grass is far better than hoofing in set plays and watching Arsenal or Barcelona is far more attractive than Stoke or West Ham.When Arsenal have ever used direct football in the past they have been hugely criticised by fans and media so don't pretend you want it now.

  37. PerryG

    May 22, 2013, 21:50 #35145

    Good points raised but fell flat on its face with the 'steadily-improving Theo Walcott' comment. He's as clueless as his manager.

  38. Ron

    May 22, 2013, 21:00 #35144

    Wenger in his quest for 'perfect aesthetically pleasing' football has brainwashed many into thinking set play goals are in some way 'unfair'. Its a joke and his thinking has made us less of a threat. Even goals from crosses are deemed the same but then you watch half of his teams and they cant cross anyway. Im sure Mr Sagna actually aims at the first defender and he rarely fails. He should take up darts! Phil Taylor look out! All of Wengers bleating and bellyaching about Allardyce some years back, carried the latter day type fans like 'Jamie' into thinking set plays and goals from crosses were borderline 'illegal'. His moaning then was a joke and still is and all it achieved was to try and hide the fear that so many of Arsenals physically weak players clearly had. Sadly there were many that fell for that 'Arsenal are Barca lite' bullshyte. Fat lot of good its done the Club!Its the English League Wenger and set plays are part and parcel of it, whether you like it or not!

  39. R C Sproul

    May 22, 2013, 20:41 #35143

    Arsenal have always been great innovators when it comes to the way the game should be played.Chapmans WM formation from the late 20's and Wengers complete football from the late 90's both eventually changed the way football was played in this country.Regardless of this the set plays will never go away as smaller sides and bigger ones too in Man Utd's case will always use them.

  40. Munchbaghat

    May 22, 2013, 20:15 #35142

    There is a great deal of snobbery about the method by which teams score goals. However consider that as different teams have attained higher and higher levels of skill, there is an increasing tendency for teams cancelling each other out. Efficiency at set pieces therefore becomes an increasingly crucial determinant of victory. You can think of it as making your own luck. Get the delivery right and have enough bodies in the box and the odds begin to be on your side. Tout simplement!

  41. CanadaGooner

    May 22, 2013, 19:06 #35141

    Joe, you know I always respect your articles and comments, but I dont think goal-scoring has ever been Arsenal's archille's heel in recent years; and I just dont mean the overall total of goals scored, which is never the true story behind the results. For instance Mauling a team 5 - 0 today, and drawing the next 3 games 2 - 2 or 3 - 3 will still show a high goals scored tally, but in terms of points gained, which is what wins the premiership, that could be a different story. Our midefield, defense and goalie is where Wenger needs to sort things out. If you compare the seasons where we won multiple trophies, and those squads, to what we have right now, the situation is clear for all to see. But where you may have a very valid point is that getting goals from open play, when the team isnt that great, could be tricky. Whereas, if we can score more set play goals, they could make the difference in turning some of those drawn matches into dramatic wins.

  42. Ealing Gooner

    May 22, 2013, 18:00 #35140

    So JAMIE, you would have preferred Arsenal not to score from a set piece on Sunday and miss out on the Champions League?

  43. Joe Fitzpatrick

    May 22, 2013, 17:15 #35139

    Jamie- so it's not possible to do both? Manchester united finished on 52 goals from open play compared to our 45. Tottenham scored 46 from open play and liverpool ended up with 50 after final day.

  44. JAMIE

    May 22, 2013, 17:03 #35138

    Cannot abide corners and balls pumped in the box.Relying on set pieces show a lack of ability and in every one of Wengers years at Arsenal we have the highest percentage of goals scored through open play.It was even the same before Wenger through the early nineties a magazine called 90 minutes used to publish figures on goals scored in open play and Arsenal always came out on top.Not that there's anything wrong with goals from set plays if they come along but it's far better putting to use your time on the training pitch passing and making quick runs in the box where you might win a penalty,than spend time lumping in corners and freekicks.

  45. maguiresbridge gooner

    May 22, 2013, 15:23 #35135

    Joe, it's taken him years to get round to the defence and it's by no means there yet,and how long has the keeper situation been neglected and is by no means solved either, so there's not much chance of him concentrating on set piece drills anytime soon, unless they bring in a new rule that allows the team with the set piece five passes before the opposition are allowed to tackle then that drill would get his full attention.We get the odd flick on from a corner now and again which sometimes bears fruit and you wonder is that intentional or not, but a lot of the time like you say it doesn't even get that far and to be fair we're not the only culprits,it never ceases to amaze how professional footballers on ,50,60 70,k can't take a corner or cross a ball.Your right about a direct free kick specialist we haven't got one, there's a couple who think they are, but not one you would have as much confidence in the way we did RVP.But you never know with all this new money and new found ambition ogl might buy one.

  46. Charles

    May 22, 2013, 14:48 #35134

    Cazorla is a terrible corner-taker. We've spent the whole season wasting corners by letting him take them.

  47. Theo Jensen

    May 22, 2013, 14:46 #35133

    The thing about set plays for those teams is it's pretty much the same style as they have in open play (long ball, second ball, physical dominance etc.). I'm really tired of watching anemically slow players like Giroud and Ramsey. The tempo of play is so slow and boring- a big reason why we can't beat teams in the top 6. Another problem is that teams have realised that defending deep and compact against us is essential- so even a Fabregas or Xavi would struggle to get a great pass through. Therefore we end up chucking in crosses which usually fail as only Jenkinson is a good crosser. We don't have a Van Persie or Fabregas standard player who can make the difference anymore. Personally, I'd like to see us combine the pre- 2006 style of counter attacking with the Borussia Dortmund mould of play- quick passing, fast turnover and also a strong and organised defensive application. With the players we have and the limitations (self imposed) because of the wage bill I'd argue practicality is definitely preferable to style now.

  48. THIS IS HOW THEY VIEW THEIR SEASON ON GLORY GLORY SPUD SITE

    May 22, 2013, 14:30 #35131

    The world is against us. The media is against us as they prise our players away, the big clubs are against us joining their little clique, luck is against us, history is against us, fate is against us, and whatever football gods exist up there...they're definitely against us.

  49. Joe Fitzpatrick

    May 22, 2013, 14:22 #35130

    Arthur Pink- just because we are a footballing team doesn't justify wasting valuable goal scoring opportunities. Arsenal win a lot of free kicks and corners that are wasted my point is that teams like Stoke, West ham and Norwich score more set piece goals because they ovbiously practice them every week.

  50. Tony Evans

    May 22, 2013, 13:59 #35129

    Joe - I think you have it about right. Wenger only enjoys the finer aspects of the game, much to Arsenal's detriment. Goals from set plays probably do not feature on his radar too much. They all count though and perhaps we could have avoided the embarrassing defeats to lower league teams had we scored a few more 'ugly' goals.

  51. Arthur Pink

    May 22, 2013, 13:50 #35128

    Not really that surprising on the set play issue.Arsenal are a footballing team unlike Manure,Stoke,West Ham and Norwich who are all long ball teams,United scoring the most set plays in Europe.