Game of throw-ins: Has the Premier League become too obsessed with control? |
Game of throw-ins: Has the Premier League become too obsessed with control?
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Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are poised to claim their first Premier League title in 22 years - but their brutally efficient mode of play, and the emphasis they have placed on scoring goals from set pieces, has sparked one of the biggest stylistic debates in modern football.
According to the latest statistics from Opta Analyst, more set-piece goals (0.73 per game) have been scored this season than in any other since 2013-14, and more than a quarter of goals have come from non-penalty set pieces, a greater proportion than any other campaign. Arsenal lead the way with 21 of their 67 goals scored this way. Corner kicks have yielded 17.5 per cent of all goals in the Premier League - and few do them better than the trend-setting Gunners, who more than make up for their occasional lack of fluidity in this department.
All top teams now have dedicated set piece coaches, and they rehearse corner routines with precision, pushing the boundaries as players jostle in the penalty area, deliberately crowding the opposition goalkeeper. Some teams even have throw-in coaches, underpinning the resurgence of the long throw-in as an attacking weapon on par with a well-positioned free kick. Tony Pulis’ Stoke City were once mocked for this, relentlessly; now everyone is doing it, with a huge explosion in goals scored from throw-ins over the past two Premier League seasons.
To say it’s been divisive is an understatement.
Liverpool boss Arne Slot spoke for many fans when he said a couple of months ago that the Premier League was no longer a “joy to watch”, and the prevalence of set pieces is something his “football heart doesn’t like”.
Pep Guardiola has compared it to the rise of the three-point shot in the NBA, describing it as something teams must adapt to rather than complain about; his Manchester City side, though, is one of England’s least-reliant teams on set pieces.
“John the Pragmatist is killing it at the moment,” said Ange Postecoglou on........