Arsenal now best in the PL in three key stats following genius Mikel Arteta change

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Arsenal ended their winless run with a 5-0 victory over Crystal Palace yesterday, and there were several noticeable changes.

The Gunners have been strong from set-pieces for most of the season, but recent games saw them struggle in both boxes as it became an area of weakness.

It recently emerged that Mikel Arteta and his staff used the mid-season training camp in Dubai to work on both their attacking and defensive set-pieces, and this paid off greatly against Palace.

David Raya was very comfortable in goal as Arsenal successfully defended Palace corners and free kicks with ease, and Gabriel Magalhaes was dangerous going forward as his side scored twice from corners in the first half.

Arsenal are now the best at set-pieces in the Premier League

Gabriel’s goal, and his excellent work to force an own goal from Dean Henderson, meant that Arsenal reached the summit in the Premier League in three key stats.

As per Squawka, Arsenal now have the most goals from set-pieces, corners and headers in the Premier League.

This would have been an almost unimaginable stat under Arsene Wenger, but Arteta’s emphasis on physicality, and Nicolas Jover’s work on the training ground, has clearly had an impact.

Arsenal have scored 42 goals in the Premier League this season, with 10 coming from headers. 13 goals have come from set-pieces, with 10 of these coming from corners.

Arsenal’s key set-piece change vs Crystal Palace

Attacker Leandro Trossard received heavy criticism for his poor delivery from corners earlier this season, but Arsenal had clearly worked on a new routine ahead of the Crystal Palace clash.

Despite his size and aerial threat, Declan Rice began taking corners, and Arsenal’s first goal came as the midfielder launched a perfect delivery into the box, for Gabriel to head home.

Taking Rice out of the box may have been a surprising move, but it was one which paid off, and Trossard instead took up a position at the edge of the area.

Arsenal look back to their best after a tough month, and will hope to build up some form to help them recover ground in the Premier League title race.

Something had to change in recent weeks, and it now seems that a small tweak on the training ground has reaped major rewards for Arsenal and Arteta.

With a tricky trip to Nottingham Forest up next, Arsenal will hope to come away with all three points before facing Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.