Crystal Palace vs Arsenal: 3 tactical areas to exploit

Crystal Palace Have a Poor Set Piece Record

Yay! It’s always pleasant to hear that an opposition side aren’t at their strongest in set pieces, as that is precisely the area Arsenal have improved substantially this season.

While getting Saka and Martinelli isolated with their full-backs is what Arsenal want in any case, should they fail to beat their man there is every chance they could at least draw a foul.

The Gunners’ fine tally of 11 set piece goals scored is fewer than the number that Palace have conceded. Vieira has worked wonders in a few departments for the Eagles, yet set pieces he still hasn’t mastered with his side conceding 13 already this season. At the other end, they’ve only scored four.

All three of their most recent conceded set piece goals have come from corners, and all three have been near post headers, or headers somewhere within that vicinity.

Their shape on corners usually deploys three or four players on the line of the six yard box, with other players picking up individual runners. All it requires is some clever movement and the static standing defenders will get beat in the air be a deep runner. It obviously isn’t that simple, yet for a team strong on scoring from set pieces they will know that getting big Gabriel or Thomas Partey in that area, with a man blocking Vicente Guaita, is a welcome avenue to score from.

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