Arsenal unearth secret weapon in 3-1 Aston Villa win

Where are Arsenal and what have you done with them? After the dismal attacking display on show at the Emirates Stadium on Monday, the turnaround in level of performance in four short days took almost everyone by surprise.

It was a breathless show put on by Mikel Arteta’s side who were positive shadows of their former selves, pinning Aston Villa back deep into their own half with a tactical plan and energy that had abandoned the team so far this season.

To a man the team was engaged and fierce in their attacking and defensive principles, never giving the visitors a moment’s peace. The perfect Friday night mixer to everyone’s stiff emotions.

And while there will be deep dives into the manner of the performance and the changes made from the beginning of the week, there was another takeaway from the win that passed by almost undetected due to the overriding elation of the evening: set pieces.

Arsenal unearth secret weapon in 3-1 Aston Villa win as Emile Smith Rowe’s brilliance from set pieces and corners help set up Thomas Partey’s goal

Where are Arsenal and what have you done with them? This too was a breath of fresh air. For the first time in a very long time, there was genuine threat from dead balls. All of the Willian, Nicolas Pepe and Dani Ceballos deliveries of old were consigned to the history books.

In Emile Smith Rowe it looks like Arsenal have unearthed a new secret weapon in their Premier League arsenal, from a source whose own tools are more often embraced in other ways.

Opening the scoring as Smith Rowe’s inswinging corner was glanced in by Thomas Partey, there were notable improvements from the deliveries from either side as he and his Hale End comrade, Bukayo Saka, shared the duties.

Sat watching corners fail to beat the first man 50% of the time, Smith Rowe’s deliveries put the ball in the right areas and offered Arsenal genuine threat from a part of the side’s game usually reserved for elaborate ways of handing the ball back to the opposition.

While the stats read that Partey’s goal made it three goals in succession from corners, the two at Palace came after the initial phase, whereas the opener on Friday was two-touch glory.

Whether Nicolas Jover has instructed Smith Rowe to take on right-footed duties he wouldn’t normally assume or whether he’s offered to isn’t known, but one would like to imagine it’s the work of the set piece specialist.

After the game Smith Rowe spoke to Sky Sports and noted that it’s an element of his game he’s been working on:

"“I’m happy, not just with the finishing but with the set pieces as well,” he said. “I’ve been working on my crossing as we don’t have many right-footed set piece takers.”"

It shows. And, hopefully, it’s something to persist with as the quality of the crossing was drastically improved, both from him and Saka, as Arsenal nearly scored twice more from dead balls.