Season of the set-piece - how open-play goals are falling out of fashion

Nine match rounds of the Premier League season have taken place and scoring from set-pieces has so far been the name of the game.

Free-kicks, long throws and corners are in vogue to such an extent that Arsenal currently top the table by four points despite having scored only five times from open play.

With a surge of goals coming from set-plays, including an unprecedented number via corners, BBC Sport examines whether the set-piece trend is here to stay.

There was a time not so long ago in Premier League football when scoring from a free-kick or corner was seen as the province of the poorly equipped, a failsafe tactic of so-called weaker teams who could bully more established opponents by firing crosses into a packed penalty area - particularly on a rainy night in Stoke.

Not any more.

Tactics once celebrated in the sodden conditions of certain Premier League grounds are now the height of fashion for the competition's leading sides.

A record 19% of all Premier League goals this season have been scored from corners (45 of 241), the highest share in the competition's history.

Premier League leaders Arsenal have been at the forefront of the shift in emphasis under manager Mikel Arteta, scoring an unrivalled nine set-piece goals (excluding penalties) this season.

The Gunners, who recruited set-piece coach Nicolas Jover four years ago, are particularly threatening from corners, scoring 37 goals from such situations since the start of 2023-24 - at least 11 more than any other side in Europe's big five leagues.

Arteta says improvements in coaching, tactical set-ups and the conditioning of players mean open-play goals are harder to come by.

Following Sunday's 1-0 win against Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium in which Eberechi Eze scored from a set-piece, Arteta said: "We are noticing a shift. The moment the physicality increases, methods that are implemented are more efficient and the game is more difficult to play because you can constrain spaces, because physically you are better.

"You have to find ways to score in different ways and that's what I think everybody's trying to do."

There is no doubt other sides are focusing more on scoring from a set-piece, particularly corners.

There has been a significant increase in the number of goals being scored via corners across Europe's major leagues in comparison to last season.

Among the leading European leagues, the Premier League has recorded the largest share of goals from corners in the past two seasons.

Following Tottenham's 3-0 victory against Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Sunday, in which Micky van de Ven scored the first two goals from corners, Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank said: "Set-pieces are so crucial.

"Right now, Arsenal is on track for the title from set-pieces."

Targeting corners is not the only tactical throwback taking place in the Premier League.

The long throw, popularised by former Stoke City defender Rory Delap between 2008 and 2012, has also been on the rise.

Brentford, under the stewardship of former set-piece coach Keith Andrews, have utilised the tactic particularly effectively this season via defender Michael Kayode.

His battery of long throws have proved to be an extremely potent weapon, with one leading to Dango Ouattara's opening goal in the 3-2 win against Liverpool on Saturday - one of eight league goals the Bees have scored from a throw-in since the start of last season.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot said: "They're a very good team in winning duels and second balls and you have to give them credit for that.

"It's also difficult to win a game of football if the set-piece balance is in their favour."

After Manchester City edged a 1-0 win at Gtech Community Stadium last month, match-winner Erling Haaland said: "It was a tough game and reminded me of Stoke City with Rory Delap 15 years ago."

Arsenal and Spurs are first and third respectively in the Premier League and are also first and third for set-piece goals (excluding penalties), underlining the effectiveness of the tactic.

Liverpool, by contrast, are one of only three Premier League teams yet to score from a corner or indirect free-kick this season, and they have also suffered defensively.

The defending champions, on a four-game losing run in the league, have conceded six goals from set-pieces, with only bottom-three clubs West Ham and Nottingham Forest letting in more.

Following the 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace last month, in which Liverpool conceded late on from a throw-in, Slot said: "We definitely have to improve because I also see teams in the Premier League that win games by set-pieces and we lose games because of set-pieces."

Liverpool have gone on to lose a further three games in a row, conceding a late winner from a corner against Manchester United, and from a throw-in against Brentford.

Love them or hate them, set-pieces could prove telling at both ends of the table come the end of the season.