It began as a trickle, however now it is a flood. Set piece mania has taken over the Premier League, with the previous 5 seasons seeing groups benefit from these conditions for max profit.
Arsenal’s dominance from corners and free kicks is now globally revered, Brentford’s lengthy throws are threatening to reshape the tactical make-up of the league, whereas Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace are three additional groups that may flip nearly any set piece right into a well-worked objective.
However what has modified? Firstly, the quantity of element that goes into getting ready for them is evening and day compared to years previous. The place as soon as a nook is likely to be aimed for one in every of 4 distinct zones, or free kicks merely delivered to the tallest participant, set-play designs have change into infinitely extra intricate.
Arsenal and Tottenham have been among the many first to embrace a chosen set piece coach — hiring Nicolas Jover (2021) and Gianni Vio (2022) respectively — and, earlier than them, Brentford had been discovering an edge from set items for years because of the work of Andreas Georgson. Now, nearly each Premier League membership has one.
And the second key part is that it is changing into more and more apparent that some managers are borrowing concepts from different sports activities — particularly the NFL. For those who’re an American soccer fan, you’ll certainly acknowledge tactical parallels between the 2, however for the uninitiated, we might help.
So, what has soccer realized from soccer? And the way are the teachings being carried out in set piece conditions?
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A large receiver stack: England’s ‘Love Prepare’ from 2018
England’s 2018 World Cup efficiency is an effective place to begin. The Three Lions’ efficiency in Russia far surpassed expectations, as they superior to the semifinals of the competitors and scored 12 objectives within the course of — and powering each of those feats was some fastidiously designed set piece magic.
Certainly, England constructed a status as set piece specialists in Russia with 75% of their objectives (9 of 12) coming from corners, free kicks and penalties — beating Portugal’s file from 1966 for many set piece objectives at a World Cup.
Corners turned a very highly effective software, with England’s attacking gamers adopting an odd formation that was rapidly dubbed “The Love Prepare.” Supervisor Gareth Southgate later revealed that this had been impressed by the NFL and that the group had labored with coaches from the Atlanta Falcons within the build-up to the event.
“We’re all the time searching for these set-play conditions,” he instructed Sky Sports activities throughout Tremendous Bowl LIII. “The main points that coaches go into on these issues is phenomenal.”
England’s “Love Prepare” was successfully a large receiver stack. It featured three or 4 gamers standing in a line — typically vertical, typically horizontal — quite than totally spaced out or occupying totally different zones.
Because the ball got here in, they’d break off in several instructions, hoping the flurry of motion would trigger confusion among the many opponents, and their proximity to 1 one other would stop defenders from getting contact tight.
It labored brilliantly. The horizontal stack enabled striker Harry Kane to attain in opposition to Tunisia within the group stage, whereas the vertical stack allowed heart again Harry Maguire to energy a header dwelling in opposition to Sweden within the knockouts.
Scheme him open: Arsenal make area for Gabriel
Arsenal are the perfect Premier League group from set piece conditions and have been for a while. Because the begin of the 2023-24 marketing campaign, they’ve generated essentially the most anticipated objectives (xG) from set items (38.91) and scored 24 objectives immediately from corners, six greater than the following group.
Supervisor Mikel Arteta usually texts with LA Rams head coach Sean McVay — each groups are owned by Stan Kroenke — sharing concepts, buying and selling experience and welcoming suggestions. There could be little doubt that Arteta and his set piece “guru” Jover are mining their counterparts for helpful data.
The Gunners have all kinds of set piece routines to name upon, from corners to free kicks to throw-ins, however there’s one specific setup that is change into synonymous with the membership.
It begins with Arsenal’s gamers clustering on the again put up. On this instance in opposition to West Ham United, they’ve seven males positioned at the least six yards behind the far put up, and none within the heart or on the close to put up.
By the point the ball is available in, nearly all of them have converged on the close to put up. With so a lot of them shifting, West Ham’s defenders lose monitor of their markers, whereas the 2 defenders located towards the close to put up can’t see any of the motion behind them.
The result’s, extremely, a free header for Arsenal’s finest aerial presence, Gabriel Magalhães.
ARSENAL LEAD WEST HAM. ANOTHER Gabriel objective from a nook. 🔥
📺 USA Community | #WHUARS pic.twitter.com/Vab1AaTVkb
— NBC Sports activities Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) November 30, 2024
That is no accident. Gabriel is so overwhelmingly good in these conditions — he leads all Premier League gamers in set piece xG (7.39) because the begin of 2023-24 — that a lot of Arsenal’s set piece work is designed to free him up, or get him right into a harmful spot. It is barely any totally different to a core idea of offensive play calling within the NFL: scheming a man open.
A great chunk of an offensive coordinator’s playbook could have performs particularly designed to get one particular participant open for a catch, with all of their teammates’ actions supposed to take defenders away from them.
Arsenal have leaned closely into this line of pondering with Gabriel. All of it takes place in a way more compressed area, however the concept behind the actions is similar. Middle again William Saliba and, surprisingly, diminutive winger Leandro Trossard, have emerged as significantly good at inflicting confusion and blockading markers to create area for his or her teammate.
And, talking after the current sport with Fulham, the place Gabriel’s run arrange Trossard to attain the one objective in a 1-0 win, opposition supervisor Marco Silva instructed the BBC: “Gabriel jumps so excessive, it is unimaginable to cease him. It is very tough to regulate. The best way we tried to dam his run, a lot of the sport, we did it very nicely. We have been too open and left the trail for Gabriel. We did not need him to run in that half. Any flick could be very tough to regulate on the again put up.”
Working a display or block: Aston Villa grapple within the field
“The primary objective was a foul,” Lille supervisor Paulo Fonseca complained after his facet misplaced 2-1 to Aston Villa within the UEFA Convention League quarterfinals in 2024. “It’s blocking, screening, they’re clear fouls.”
Fonseca particularly referenced basketball, however screens and blocks are prevalent throughout each the NBA and the NFL — and now in soccer too. The objective in query noticed Morgan Rogers grapple with after which bodily push a Lille participant away from the again put up zone at a nook, permitting his teammate Ollie Watkins to swing spherical into the area created and head dwelling unchallenged.
Ebere Eze smashes in a free kick, however his teammate Marc Guehi was inside one meter of Chelsea’s wall when it was taken, leading to a disallowed objective for Crystal Palace. 😯 pic.twitter.com/MRkh2Dh5vu
— NBC Sports activities Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) August 17, 2025
That is commonplace throughout Villa’s attacking corners (and a number of other different golf equipment’ too). The bottom line is to be as refined as attainable and, identical to within the NFL when working a display or a choose play, do not stay engaged for thus lengthy that the block develops right into a maintain.
This method has additionally made its approach into free-kick routines, and we noticed a objective dominated out on the opening day of the Premier League at Stamford Bridge due to it.
Ollie Watkins is on 🔥
His twenty fifth objective for Aston Villa in all comps 👏 pic.twitter.com/TrrTWuF467
— CBS Sports activities Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 11, 2024
Eberechi Eze, on the time a Crystal Palace participant, thought he’d given his facet the lead in opposition to Chelsea when he lashed a free kick dwelling from 20 yards. Nevertheless it was dominated out for a foul by Marc Guéhi, who stood within the defensive wall (which is not truly allowed within the first place) after which shoved Moisés Caicedo to the facet, creating a spot which the ball flew by way of. It is honest to say the routine lacked the specified subtlety.
Months later, in MLS, there was an much more egregious try: Actual Salt Lake’s Rwan Cruz piled into the Portland Timbers defensive wall like a snowplough in winter, shifting three gamers out of the trail of the ball because it flew previous. There’s disrupting a wall, after which there’s bowling it over.
The defensive finish’s chop: Mikel Merino will get freed from markers
Some soccer gamers are studying classes from their NFL counterparts, as Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino just lately revealed.
“I used to be fortunate sufficient a few summers in the past to be doing a little business stuff with a defensive finish from the [New Orleans] Saints, Cam Jordan,” he instructed CBS Sports activities. “We spoke quite a bit about what kind of actions he does, how he makes use of the arms and the way he makes use of his physique to do away with the opponent.”
Watch Merino in attacking nook conditions and it is evident that he is been learning a bunch of NFL methods.
The Saints’ Cam Jordan seemingly taught him the defensive finish’s chop transfer: a downward, chopping movement along with your arms to sever the grapple an opponent could have on you. It helps go rushers evade an offensive lineman’s attain — and, apparently, additionally helps soccer gamers escape their markers at corners.
It was on show in opposition to Chelsea final season, as Merino chopped by way of Reece James’ arms to free himself for a near-post run, then looped a header into the online.
MIKEL MERINO.
Arsenal strike on a set piece but once more! 😲
📺 Peacock | #ARSCHE pic.twitter.com/CdrVu8fsPb
— NBC Sports activities Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) March 16, 2025
Afterward in that very same sport, he utilized a spin transfer that running-back Saquon Barkley would have been pleased with to go away James in his mud and create a free run on the ball.
Then this season, within the 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over Brighton, Merino squared up his marker and utilized a large receiver’s stutter-step to slide previous his marker and freely entry the six-yard field.
Merino is hardly the primary footballer to craftily evade the eye of a defender at a set piece, however the selection and precision of his strikes level to a person who research NFL tapes with gusto.
A seismic shift
Identical to within the NFL, soccer is a copycat sport. Profitable ways are replicated throughout the board, and intelligent methods to use set piece conditions are spawning like wildfire the world over.
“Mentally, I believe you may study quite a bit [from the NFL], Merino instructed CBS Sports activities. “It is one play at a time.”
Increasingly golf equipment are embracing this pondering as the advantages change into ever extra apparent. Those who make investments the time and money — comparable to Arsenal, Villa, Brentford and extra — see large advantages, whereas those who do not run the chance of being left behind.
And it will not be going away anytime quickly — it is too efficient. NFL playbooks are a whole bunch of ideas and hundreds of performs deep, so there’s lots extra for soccer’s set piece specialists to glean from them as they continually search innovation.