Arsenal’s set-piece prowess has been the biggest talking point in the country over the last few years.
Nicolas Jover has transformed the club in that department, so much so that teams are scared to concede corners and free kicks against the Gunners.
Because Arsenal are so strong from set-pieces, teams are spending hours on the training ground to prepare before they face the Premier League leaders.
Newcastle United are one such team, and Dan Burn has revealed a pattern his side’s analysts have noticed.
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Dan Burn thinks Newcastle analysts have figured out Arsenal’s corners
Arsenal are a very difficult team to stop from corners.
The Gunners’ biggest strength is their deliveries. Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice’s balls into the box are almost always on the money.
Add that to giants like Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Viktor Gyokeres and Mikel Merino, among others, attacking the corners, and it becomes very hard to stop.
Rival clubs are working overtime to figure out Arsenal’s plan, and Newcastle United think they have learned something – thanks to David Raya’s positioning.
That’s according to Burn, who said on the Adopted Geordies podcast: “The analysis is crazy now.
“The team of analysts that, like every team has, you know, like some of the things they’re picking up on and stuff is…
“I remember last year, Arsenal on corners. There was a certain position David Raya would take in his own half, and where he was standing, that’s where the ball was going.
“So the players would look where David Raya was standing, that was the trigger for where it was going.”
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Newcastle’s analysis of Arsenal’s corners did not help
It is really smart of Newcastle United’s analysts to pick up that little detail based on Raya’s positioning in his own half.
Burn’s comments suggest that he and his teammates knew where the ball was going to be delivered because of that, which was a big advantage.
However, that did not help Newcastle against Arsenal.
In the game between the two sides at St James’ Park earlier this season, Arsenal’s first goal came from a corner after Rice took it short and then crossed it into Merino.
Then, late in the same game, Martin Odegaard found Gabriel directly from a corner, and that goal was the winner.
Figuring out where the ball is going to arrive is one thing, but stopping Arsenal from scoring is a whole different ball game.
That is why Jover deserves all the credit in the world for the work he does every week.
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