Brentford was one of the first clubs in England to see the value of having strategies for set pieces and a coach with that as their main responsibility.
Now, most Premier League teams have followed suit.
Arsenal – with Brentford's former coach Nicolas Jover in charge – scored the most goals from free kicks and corners last season and have started the season strongly.
"Given us a lot"
He and the other staff members have made the players understand that there are many ways to win football matches, says Arsenal's coach Mikel Arteta.
It has given us a lot.
Jover left Manchester City for Arsenal in 2021. Since the move to his friend Arteta's London team, the club has scored 44 goals from set pieces, excluding penalties, with 25 of them coming in the Premier League since last season.
19 of the 25 goals have come from corners.
We train a lot on that and you see every week how important it is. Sometimes set pieces decide matches, says Arsenal's Kai Havertz.
The understanding of the value of clear tactics around set pieces has spread in the football world, but there are still clubs that choose a different path.
Paris SG is one such club, the team Arsenal will face on Tuesday in the Champions League.
"Big admirer"
The French champion team's coach Luis Enrique did not bring a "specialist" when he was hired, which has led to the team frequently conceding goals from free kicks and corners.
At the same time, it does not mean that Arteta is counting on "easy" goals when the teams face each other at Emirates, as he says that Luis Enrique has been a big inspiration for him.
I am a big admirer of him, says Arteta, who knows the Spaniard from his time in Barcelona.
I remember his personality, enormous character, energy. Regardless of where he has been, as a player or as a coach, his fingerprint is everywhere. You can see that it's his team. You can see that PSG is his team.
Facts: This week's Champions League matches
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Tuesday: Salzburg–Brest, Stuttgart–Sparta Prague (both 18.45), Inter–Red Star, Dortmund–Celtic, Barcelona–Young Boys, Leverkusen–Milan, Arsenal–Paris SG, PSV Eindhoven–Sporting Lisbon, Slovan Bratislava–Manchester City (all 21.00).
Wednesday: Shakhtar Donetsk–Atalanta, Girona–Feyenoord (both 18.45), Liverpool–Bologna, Leipzig–Juventus, Benfica–Atlético Madrid, Dinamo Zagreb–Monaco, Lille–Real Madrid, Aston Villa–Bayern München, Sturm Graz–Club Brugge (all 21.00).
