Gabriel Jesus has responded to criticism about Arsenal’s set-piece-centric playing style, hitting out at those who feel it’s ruining the football landscape.
The Gunners sit pretty at the top of the Premier League table, nine points clear of second-placed Manchester City. Meanwhile, they remain in both the FA Cup and the Champions League, and have a Carabao Cup final to look forward to on Sunday afternoon.
Despite an unprecedented quadruple being on the cards, Mikel Arteta’s team have constantly faced intense scrutiny over their functional and defensive style of football, with many claiming they lean into dead-ball situations too heavily. Alan Pardew claimed that ‘there’s nothing beautiful’ about Arsenal, while Paul Scholes believes the Gunners would be the ‘most boring team’ to win the title.
Jesus is having none of this rhetoric.
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Gabriel Jesus hits out at set-piece critics
Arsenal have scored from 28 set-pieces across all competitions this season. While this is significant, and the Gunners certainly do utilise their dead-ball specialists to great effect, the extent to which they rely on this form of attack is certainly overplayed.
The likes of Chelsea and Manchester United are equally as potent from corners and free-kicks, yet Arsenal are continually cited as the trailblazers on this front.
Unsurprisingly, people at London Colney are somewhat irritated by the demeaning nature of the discourse around Arsenal’s set-pieces. Jesus is amongst them.
Speaking to the Athletic, the Brazilian striker hit out at the critics.
"Just because it's Arsenal everyone talks.
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) March 19, 2026
"Everyone is talking about our set pieces and then the fans sing… and then everybody gets mad."@MarioCortegana and @jacklang's exclusive interview with Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus — out on Friday 🇧🇷 🔴 pic.twitter.com/aIZJt0SnAl
“Every single team scores from set pieces,” he said.
“Obviously, one scores more than others because they train more. For example, we didn’t score a lot at Man City [from set-pieces] like at Arsenal, but still, we were scoring from some set pieces.
“What I feel, just because it’s Arsenal, everyone talks. Just because it’s the team that is leading the league, everyone is talking about our set-pieces.
“And then obviously the fans go, and they sing the music. And then everyone gets mad. So, we concede goals by set-pieces as well. Set-pieces are in football.
“if you take a look at the World Cup, for example, because for me it’s the biggest tournament in football. The biggest percentage of winning the World Cup is by set-pieces. So set-pieces will win you a tournament, a World Cup or a Champions League. So, it’s part of football.”
Gabriel Jesus on Nicolas Jover
The man behind Arsenal’s incredible set-piece record is Nicolas Jover. The dead-ball coach has been at the Emirates for several years, and has gained notoriety for the impact his coaching has directly had on the team currently favourites for the Champions League.
Jesus was asked about Jover and his character behind-the-scenes, and the striker went on to provide a fascinating insight into the coach.
“He’s a very good guy, because we worked together at City as well,” he said.
“So, I love to joke with him; he loves to joke with me. So yeah, we have a good relationship.
“I think we train it a lot. Credit to Nico, coz he was the one who was like fuming when we weren’t scoring from set pieces for like six games, if I’m not wrong. He was like ‘no, we need to score, we need to score’.”
