At A Glance:
- Arsenal have been criticised for a supposed ‘reliance’ on set-piece goals.
- They are currently top of the Premier League with a nine-point gap on Manchester City.
- Ian Wright has jumped to the defence of his former side by labelling the criticism as ‘pathetic’ and ‘laughable’.
Much has been made of Arsenal’s position at the top of English football and whether they are too reliant on set-piece goals – and Ian Wright has jumped to the defence of his former side, labelling the criticism ‘pathetic’.
There’s been a growing notion that football is no longer about individual brilliance but instead how well and often goals can be scored from set-piece situations.
Previously, midfielder-turned-pundit Graeme Souness slammed the Gunners for their divisive approach and claimed they ‘get away with’ tactics that would punished elsewhere on the football pitch.
Read More: Arsenal title debate exposes Premier League narrative hypocrisy
Ian Wright – widely regarded as one of Arsenal’s greatest players of all time – has opposed the opinion of the former Liverpool man. In fact, the 62-year-old has not minced his words while defending his former side.
Wright jumps to defence of Arsenal over set-piece critics
Nicolas Jover, Arsenal’s set-piece coach, is an immortalised figure at the Emirates Stadium given they have made the most of Declan Rice and/or Bukayo Saka delivering balls into the box.
Gabriel Magalhaes typically towers over the opposition and heads home, which is a source for annoyance for teams up and down the country.
Speaking to YouTube channel GO90, the former England international launched a defence of Arteta’s side and their ability to impact from set-piece situations – whether that be a corner or a throw-in.
“Can I be honest? You know what’s pathetic about people going on about the set-pieces? We’ve seen Man City, Man City have done really well with their set-pieces,” Uncle Wright said passionately.
“The fact is, it’s laughable because set-pieces are being able to do set-pieces – it’s part of the game. In 1999, David Beckham, after Manchester United got hammered in that Champions League final [against Bayern Munich] put two corners in the exact same place so they could score.
“Are you saying that we should give Manchester Untied stick for being able to have a player that has trained, practiced nearly all his life about putting a ball in the right area?”
He then insinuated that it would be unwise Arsenal to not utilise their obvious threat – Gabriel’s aerial prowess particularly – from such situations.
“Declan Rice, when he’s putting the ball in, Bukayo Saka when he’s putting the ball in… do you think that’s easy? People are using as much as they can in respects of the margins that it’s costing to try and win games now that set-pieces have become a big part of the game.
“It might not be a big part of the game years ago but when you’ve now got players who are capable of putting the ball into areas where somebody else can take advantage, like Gabriel Magalhaes for Arsenal, then you’re going to do it because it’s a way of scoring a goal.”
Ian Wright claims that Arsenal’s set-piece superpower takes plenty of skill
Wright then went one step further and claimed that fans ‘underestimate’ the work and effort that Arsenal put in to be masters of set-piece goals. “Remember the skill element,” he claimed before adding:
“Gabriel Magalhaes has got to lose a man, Declan Rice or Bukayo Saka have got to put it [in the right area]. People underestimate the amount of work that goes into trying to get these set-pieces right.
“It means so much to win games, win points in this league, that you will take any margin to get it done,” the former English striker concluded.
Moving forward, Arsenal are going to continue using the guidance of Jover to score goals from corners and free-kicks – especially given they are currently in a spot of bother.
Recently, they lost the Carabao Cup final to Manchester City and were knocked out of the FA Cup at the hands of Southampton. A trip to Lisbon is upcoming before they face Bournemouth in the league.
