How PSG neutralized Arsenal's 'set pieces'.

Set pieces have long been a trademark of Arsenal under Mikel Arteta. This season, the London club has scored 25 of their 71 Premier League goals from dead-ball situations, including 19 from corners.

Set pieces have been a formidable weapon for Arsenal this season.

Therefore, how PSG will counter this formidable weapon is a topic of great interest ahead of the Champions League final in Budapest.

Jesus Casas, a former assistant who worked with Luis Enrique at Barcelona and the Spanish national team, revealed that the Spanish coach often takes a very different approach when facing teams that are strong in set pieces.

According to Casas, instead of deploying a large number of players in the penalty area, Enrique chose to keep two players upfront when Spain faced Italy at EURO 2020. The aim was to force the opponent to leave more players in their own half, thereby reducing the number of players involved in attacking situations during corner kicks.

He cited the example of Italy, who at the time often sent up to eight players into the penalty area for each corner kick. However, Spain's decision to keep two players upfront forced their opponents to position three in defense. As a result, the number of players directly involved in attacking play was reduced to five, making defense much easier.

If PSG adopt a similar approach, they could leave speedy players like Ousmane Dembele, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, or Desire Doue waiting in the opponent's half. This would force Arsenal to keep players in their defense instead of deploying all their forces in the penalty area.

Coach Enrique is known for his bold tactics.

Luis Enrique is known for his bold tactical decisions. PSG has often drawn attention with unexpected tactics such as deliberately kicking the ball out of bounds immediately after kickoff to organize pressing, using long throw-ins, or intentionally sending the ball to pre-planned areas.

Nevertheless, set pieces have remained a headache for Enrique in the past. When he was managing the Spanish national team, he admitted that he didn't spend much time practicing defending against set pieces, mainly analyzing them through video .

Casas believes things could be different in this final. Arsenal possesses one of the most effective set-piece systems in Europe, so PSG will certainly need to prepare more thoroughly.

This means the tactical battle between Arteta and Enrique may not only take place in open play, but also begin with each corner kick, where a small detail can make the difference between winning the championship and losing it.

Source: https://znews.vn/cach-psg-khac-che-vu-khi-co-dinh-cua-arsenal-post1655421.html