While Mikel Arteta will be delighted that his team secured a point at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night, he'll be even more over the moon that Arsenal seemingly rediscovered their set-piece threat.
The Gunners fought back from a goal down to draw 2-2 with Bayern Munich, with goals from Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice cancelling out Alphonso Davies' strike and Harry Kane's penalty. This was the North Londoners' hardest League Phase fixture on paper, so avoiding defeat significantly strengthens their chances of finishing in the top eight.
That said, the stakes of these games aren't particularly high, with qualification for the knockout stages almost guaranteed, so the result will almost be viewed as secondary to the performance for Arsenal's coaching staff.
While there were plenty of positives for Arteta to take away from the clash in Bavaria - the pressing, the build-up play, the performances of Eze and Noni Madueke - the re-emergence of the Gunners as a set-piece powerhouse will please the Spaniard the most.
Arsenal were dangerous from set-pieces vs Bayern Munich
Arsenal's well-documented set-piece threat dominated the narrative last season. The Gunners became known as 'Set-Piece FC', and many pundits and journalists used this as a stick to beat Arteta with.
The Premier League champions were accused of making the game ugly as they knew they could rely on dead-ball situations to win them games, rather than free-flowing open-play football. This term, their set-piece threat has evaporated, as they've now gone 12 matches without scoring from one.
The combination of more officiating scrutiny around grappling inside the box and reduced quality in Arsenal's deliveries has led to this drop-off. The Gunners have subsequently found it more difficult to open games up early, scoring just three first-half goals in the league thus far.
However, Arsenal finally showed signs of life from dead-balls on Wednesday night in Munich, creating 0.89 expected goals from corners and free-kicks on the night.
Interesting to note that as per the @BBCSport website, 0.89 of Arsenal’s 1.4 xG in Munich was from set plays. An anomaly or a sign that we’ve been fine tuning our set-pieces in a bid to start producing goals from that area again? Yes, the CL is different to the PL but I found…
— Harry Symeou (@HarrySymeou) October 22, 2026
Bayern adopted the approach that a few teams have attempted against Arsenal to tame Arteta's side's threat from corners. They left a handful of players high up the pitch, forcing the Gunners to leave men back, vacating the box.
However, this approach from Die Roten backfired and only strengthened the North Londoners. Arsenal's deliveries from Rice andMartin Odegaard were regularly pinpoint and found their intended targets, and they were ultimately unfortunate not to score from any of their five corners.
First, Bruno Guimaraes spurred a huge opportunity at the back post from a corner from Odegaard, side-foot volleying wide when he had plenty of time. Next, Riccardo Calafiori stretched to hit the side netting from a Rice delivery, before Guimaraes was denied by an outstanding Manuel Neuer save from a corner in the second half.
Finally, Kai Havertz was denied from point-blank range following a stunning Odegaard cross from a free-kick on the edge of the box.
While Arsenal didn't ultimately score from any of these set-pieces, they had chances from them, and they'll likely find the back of the net soon if they continue to produce this quality of delivery.
Rediscovering this weapon could be game-changing for Arteta's side. Their inability to break the deadlock in the first halves of matches has held them back, as it has enabled the opposition to persist with their negative, defensive tactics for longer periods.
If Arsenal can start breaking games open with early set-piece goals, they'll likely romp to more routine victories moving forward.
