Arsenal Spark Set-Piece Revolution Across Europe
Each team plays 3,420 minutes in the standard Premier League season, with millions of individual data points collected within that timeframe.
And yet, in 2025/26, one stat stands out above all others: there is a clear and direct correlation between set-piece prowess and league table supremacy.
Of all the prime suspects, it’s Arsenal – who appointed set play guru Nicolas Jover as coach back in 2021 – that are guilty of sparking football’s latest evolution.
It’s a move that could well end their 23-year wait for the Premier League title…
Pièce de Résistance
The Gunners’ odds to win the Premier League are now an eye-wateringly short 1/20 with the bookmakers… that’s an implied probability of 95.2%.
The more optimistic football betting tips columns might still give a chance to Manchester City, whose probability has slumped to 11% after a 1-1 draw with West Ham on March 14.
But that would be a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for Pep Guardiola’s men… and an almighty drop-off from Mikel Arteta’s side.
Arguments can be formed as to why Arsenal have had the upper hand over City this term, but here’s an interesting stat: the Gunners’ open play goal difference is +18, while the Cityzens’ is +22.
And so the increasing importance of set pieces helps to reveal more, despite the protestations of those who don't enjoy the wrestling matches that break out ahead of corners and free kicks.
Arsenal have scored 19 from those sources, at the time of writing, and conceded seven for a goal difference of +12.
City, meanwhile, have notched seven set-piece goals and shipped nine for a goal difference of -2.
So, if you think about it, that’s a 14-goal swing between Arsenal and the Manchester outfit… enough of a difference to separate a champion from a runner-up, you might agree.
Set Up for Success
This isn’t a situation that’s unique to the English Premier League, either.
At the time of writing, Coventry City top the Championship table. They have scored more goals from set pieces than any other in the division.
The same is true for Lincoln City in League One and Bromley in League Two, while on the continent, Barcelona sit joint-second in La Liga for set-piece goals scored and top the overall standings.
Mikel Arteta says Arsenal will continue seeking to be “dominant” in every aspect of the game — including set- pieces.
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) March 3, 2026
Arsenal have scored 21 goals from set-pieces this season — the most in the Premier League — and but Arteta said he was “upset” his side do not have more.
Full… pic.twitter.com/oy5u1FUfBC
Runaway leaders in Italy’s Serie A, Inter Milan, also dominate the set-piece standings, while perennial champions Bayern Munich have added another strong player to their bow this term – they rank second in the German Bundesliga for goals scored from corners and free kicks.
In France’s Ligue 1, PSG and Lens are locked in a battle for supremacy at the top of the league table… they’re tied at the top of the set play table as well.
Is this all a coincidence? The weight of evidence would suggest not.
A number of factors are at work here. The best teams often boast exceptional ball strikers, who are able to find their targets inside the penalty area with relative ease.
Meanwhile, referees are turning a blind eye to blocking and screening, which enables the most choreographed to devise routines in which their finest attackers of the ball are isolated in 1v1 situations.
Put it together, and you have one of football’s most readily available marginal gains… a notion that the best in the business cottoned onto months, if not years, ago.
- Arsenal FC