In traditional football set pieces — free kicks, penalties, corners, and long throw-ins — were looked upon as escape routes for weaker teams, who cannot compete with the skillset of the big outfits and hence sharpened this tactic to somehow stave off relegation and stay in the top flight. Not anymore. Methods that were once popularised in the English Premier League (EPL) by the likes of Tony Pulis’s (Stoke City) and Sam Allardyce’s (Bolton Wanderers) underdog sides, are now at the forefront of a revolution, with top clubs like Arsenal making set pieces count.

Mikel Arteta’s side, who are leading the EPL table after nine games (22 points), have scored an astonishing 68.75 per cent (11 out of 16) of their goals this season from set pieces. Arteta has claimed that the recent surge in set piece supremacy is down to improvements in coaching, player athleticism, and the general standard of teams in the EPL being much higher than past iterations.