Set-Piece Prowess Shows Current Gulf Between Arsenal and Tottenham

Arsenal once again showed Tottenham why efficiency at set-pieces is so crucial. We analyse the contrasting numbers between the two sides.

Tottenham would have identified Sunday’s north London derby as a fantastic opportunity to put an end to Arsenal’s recent dominance between the two sides.

After all, Arsenal came into this fixture having lost just one of the sides’ last seven meetings and were unbeaten in the last four (W3 D1).

With injuries or suspensions to some of Arsenal’s key players, such as Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard, there was a real sense that this was Tottenham’s moment to strike back.

However, despite optimism that this game could be different, it was a familiar issue that plagued Tottenham: their weakness from set-pieces.

Gabriel Magalhães rose highest in the Spurs box, unchallenged, to head in the winner. He was being marked (although that is a generous term) by Tottenham’s centre-back Cristian Romero, who he outmuscled far too easily, before converting Bukayo Saka’s devilish inswinger.

Question marks could also be asked of goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who really could have come to claim the cross. It would have landed well inside his six-yard box.

It was set-piece weakness that undid Tottenham last season, too. Two of Arsenal’s three goals in their 3-2 away came via corners. Add that to Gabriel’s header today, and three of Arsenal’s last four Premier League goals against Spurs have come from corners.

The overall numbers make grim reading for Tottenham. Since the start of last season, they have conceded 18 goals from set-pieces (excluding penalties). That’s the second-worst rate in the league of teams to have featured in both 2023-24 and 2024-25, behind only Nottingham Forest.

Meanwhile, Arsenal’s set-piece prowess serves to highlight the current gulf between the two sides. Mikel Arteta’s men have scored 24 goals from set-pieces (excl. pens) since the start of last season in the Premier League – the most of any side.

As the last two north London derbies have shown, these goals can be the difference between winning and losing.

Arsenal’s defensive strength from set-pieces has also been extremely good. Since the start of last season, only Manchester City (3) have conceded fewer goals from such situations than them (7).

That aerial dominance was on show against Tottenham. The home side attempted 31 crosses to Arsenal’s 13 and had more corners than Arsenal (7 to 6) and yet the Gunners never looked threatened. Spurs’ only chance of note was a late Romero header directed straight at David Raya. Dominic Solanke was a handful, but he was contained by the likes of Gabriel and William Saliba.

Improving their efficiency in both boxes is something Spurs desperately need to improve if they are to have any hope of propelling themselves into the top tier of Premier League teams. Their defensive record is poor and going forwards isn’t much better; they’ve scored just 12 goals from set-pieces since the start of last season. Nine sides can better that tally.

Football is often a game of moments, where marginal gains can prove decisive. Arsenal have repeatedly shown Tottenham how effective set-pieces can be. They’ve now won three straight away games at Spurs, the first time they’ve achieved that since a stretch of three between January 1987 and September 1988.

North London is very much red right now. The gulf in set-piece success is a microcosm of that.

Enjoy this? Subscribe to our football newsletter to receive exclusive weekly content. You should also follow our social accounts over on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.