Arsenal’s Goal Scoring: An Examination of Set-Piece Contribution

William Saliba’s equalizing goal at Craven Cottage on Sunday marked Arsenal’s 23rd goal scored directly from a corner since the beginning of the previous season, a total surpassing any other team in Europe’s major leagues. Despite having 39 minutes plus additional time to secure a winning goal, the Gunners seldom posed a threat to Fulham’s net through open play. Nevertheless, when questioned about Arsenal’s potential over-reliance on set-pieces for scoring, manager Arteta expressed disagreement. The Arsenal boss stated to BBC Sport, “We should have scored from different ways as well because we had some big chances.” During the match at Craven Cottage, the Gunners registered an expected goals (xG) value of 2.0, indicating that, based on the opportunities created, they could have realistically anticipated scoring two goals. However, an examination of the Gunners’ xG specifically from open play – which omits chances originating from free-kicks and corners – presents a somewhat different picture. Against Fulham, Arsenal’s open play xG amounted to merely 0.3. This figure represents their second-lowest of the current season, only surpassed by the 0.18 recorded during their 2-2 draw against Manchester City at Etihad Stadium in September. Across the entire season, Arsenal’s open play xG stands at 15.9 over their 15 Premier League fixtures, a metric that would place them 10th within the league standings. Within these 15 matches, the Gunners have registered an open play xG of 1.0 or less on 10 occasions. Out of the 27 non-penalty goals Arsenal have scored in the Premier League this season, nine originated from set-pieces, constituting 33.33% of their total. This season in the Premier League, only Nottingham Forest (35.3%), Crystal Palace (38.5%), and Everton (57.1%) have recorded a greater proportion of their non-penalty goals from set-piece situations. When questioned during his news conference about his team’s open play creativity, Arteta responded, “It’s never enough if you don’t score three, four or five.”