All 58 set-piece goals Arsenal have scored under Mikel Arteta

There’s been some frightening sights in the world of football over the years. We’re talking Arjen Robben cutting in on his left foot, Lionel Messi running at defenders, Rory Delap loading up a lethal long throw and now the sight of Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka or Declan Rice standing over a set piece.

The Premier League hasn’t been this fearful of such scenarios since the days of Tony Pulis, and some may argue that the only difference between Mikel Arteta and the former Stoke City boss is a pair of glasses and a hat.

The Spaniard, for all of the comparisons in jest, deserves great credit alongside set-piece coach Nicolas Jover after becoming experts in something that could finally result in a Premier League title.

With that said, we’ve taken a look back at every goal that Arsenal have scored from a corner or free kick under Arteta since his arrival as manager.

2019/20: 2 goals

Arsenal save the set pieces for the top six

Before the days of the Pulis comparisons, Arteta’s Arsenal side were only beginning to find their feet under their new boss in the middle of an era to forget in north London. But they still managed to haunt their Premier League rivals from what we all now know to be dangerous set pieces in the 2019/20 campaign.

Scoring their first under the Spaniard against Chelsea, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was perfectly placed to head home on the end of Calum Chambers’ knockdown in the 13th minute of a game that eventually saw the Gunners end on the wrong side of defeat, courtesy of Jorginho and a late Tammy Abraham winner.

Their second and last of that season then came against another top-six side in the form of Manchester United. Taking full advantage of David de Gea’s poor attempt to clear his lines from Nicolas Pepe’s corner, Sokratis Papastathopoulos thumped home to set the Gunners on course for a 2-0 victory over the Red Devils.

2020/21: 8 goals

Arsenal begin to find their feet

As the pandemic struck, Arsenal – though still struggling to find the right results – began to show signs that their strength came in the form of set pieces, scoring eight goals from those scenarios in the 2020/21 campaign.

For a second season running, Chelsea once again struggled to handle Arteta’s side from a dead-ball situation, with Granit Xhaka following in Sokratis’ footsteps by scoring directly from a free kick at the Emirates Stadium.

This time in far more sensational fashion than the season prior, Xhaka stepped up from range to find the top corner of Edouard Mendy’s net to score the Gunners’ first free kick of the campaign. Notably, in the same season, Gabriel Magalhaes found the back of the net on his Arsenal debut from a corner in what was a sign of things to come.

2021/22: 11 goals

Gabriel becomes growing threat as Jover joins

If Gabriel’s debut goal was a warning, then his three set-piece goals throughout the following campaign should have acted as a giant red flag for the rest of the Premier League, especially after set-piece coach Jover arrived. The central defender more than played his part as Arsenal returned to the European places, scoring 11 goals from set pieces whilst doing so.

This time around, it was Everton and Leicester who suffered the most, both conceding two from Arsenal corners, with the Foxes suffering the threat of Gabriel inside the penalty area. Meanwhile, the Toffees could not handle the Gunners’ set pieces on a hot afternoon in May, conceding twice in one game courtesy of Eddie Nketiah and Cedric Soares.

Meanwhile, the one free-kick goal that season came courtesy of Martin Odegaard, who struck a superb effort to seal a narrow 1-0 victory over Burnley at the beginning of the season.

2022/23: 11 goals

Set-piece threat not enough to seal Arsenal silverware

Having found their feet under Arteta’s philosophy, Arsenal quickly found themselves in a Premier League title race. In a battle between the student and the master, Arteta at least laid down a marker that his side were there to stay against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side.

But despite matching their 11-goal tally from the season prior from set pieces, the Gunners still couldn’t find a way to dethrone the Citizens.

In truth, however, this was not Arsenal at the peak of their set-piece powers. In fact, it was the first season in which they failed to score more goals from such scenarios than the previous season as progress stalled for the year.

However, there were still non-set-piece goals that came as a result of Jover’s organised chaos, with a prime example being Reiss Nelson’s iconic winner against Bournemouth, which came from the phase of play following a late Odegaard corner.

Once again, Gabriel made his mark inside the area, scoring three times, including goals against Fulham (twice) and fellow London rivals Chelsea.

2023/24: 16 goals

Jover’s influence shows

Some will be quick to shoot down the scenes of Jover celebrating every time that Arsenal score from a set piece, but the coach deserves credit for his excellent work.

He has taken Arsenal from being an average side from set plays into becoming the most dangerous team in the Premier League. And last season, it showed more than ever for the first time.

Scoring an impressive 16 goals from set pieces, Arsenal caught each of Newcastle, Tottenham, West Ham, Crystal Palace, Burnley and Sheffield United twice in the same game, with sides simply unable to handle Jover and Arteta’s setup. By this point, it was of course no surprise that Gabriel proved to be the biggest threat, finding the back of the net five times in all competitions.

It wasn’t enough to win them the title yet again, but the Gunners stole the headlines several times from set plays, perhaps most notably when Declan Rice found the back of the net to secure a last-gasp victory over Manchester United.

2024/25: 10 goals (so far)

Arsenal become set-piece kings

Usually, when a team concedes from a set piece, many believe that whoever is in charge of that side will be left incredibly disappointed, as they’re often seen as avoidable goals to concede.

Arsenal, however, have turned the avoidable into the inevitable so far this season, scoring 10 goals from set pieces in all competitions. The Emirates watches on as if Saka or Rice are stepping up to the penalty spot when they place the ball on the corner quadrant, raise a hand up and deliver an unstoppable delivery.

On course to beat last season’s record of 16 goals from set pieces, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to suggest that the Gunners pose a greater threat from those scenarios than they do from open play, given that at the time of writing, they ranked 13th for expected goals from open play, and have recorded more xG per game from set pieces than any other Premier League side since 2017.

So, whilst Arsenal are undoubtedly the set-piece kings, they may yet remain some way behind as they seek to become the heirs to Manchester City and Guardiola’s throne.