Plymouth Argyle coach Wayne Rooney has said that Arsenal used one of his old set piece routines this season.
The former Manchester United player has bounced back from a poor start to the season with the Championship side. Plymouth have three wins in their last five games.
This season, Arsenal have been very efficient from set pieces. Over the past month they have got big goals against Spurs, Manchester City and recently Paris Saint-Germain from dead balls.
Wayne Rooney says Arsenal goal very similar to Derby County routine
The gunners have scored 16 goals since the start of last season from corner kicks. Gabriel scored in the 2-2 draw against Manchester City from a well designed routine. Arsenal set up four of five blockers to cause chaos, leaving the defender unmarked to head home.
Rooney said on the Stick To Football podcast, that the goal was very similar to one that Derby County scored a few years ago.
“Set pieces are so important, the amount of matches won or lost by them is huge.
“One of the coaches does it then I come in with some weird ideas. The Arsenal one they scored with, I did that four years ago against Middlesbrough and we scored from it.”
Mikel Arteta praises set piece coach for impact
Arsenal’s efficiency from set pieces has led to Mikel Arteta heavily praising Nicolas Jover for his effort on the training ground.
“In his field, in other fields and as a person. And the relationship that we have – that’s why I made the decision to bring him to City when I was there and then to Arsenal.
“Him and the rest of the staff have injected the belief to the players that there are many ways to win football matches. This is a really powerful one and he has given us a lot. So a big compliment to all of them.”
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has also spoken on how set pieces have become a key part of the gunners games this season.
“It was good to see us score a direct free kick as well – finally! It has been a long time since we last scored one, I think it was my one at Burnley a few years ago, and we have spoken about that as a group. To be honest, we don’t get too many chances from free-kicks in those positions. I’ve spoken with the set-piece coach about this as well, and we looked back at last season, and noticed we didn’t have a lot of chances in good positions to shoot.
“They are hard to score from, but the more you get, the more chance you have. It’s an important part of set pieces as well, and it’s something I work on a lot, as do a few of the players, so we’re just waiting for those chances now.”