Set Piece Supremacy: Is the Premier League Becoming Like the NFL as Open Play Goal Numbers Fall?

When we think about the most glorious goals ever scored in the beautiful game, there’s a unique artistry to the very best.

The individual solo run, the mesmeric passing move, the balletic bicycle kick… they’re the sorts of goals that kept fans and TV viewers up and out of their seat.

Rarely, however, is a back post header at the end of a corner kick routine celebrated in such a way. However, that mindset may have to change….

The Premier League in particular is currently undergoing a set piece revolution, with more goals from corners, free kicks and long throws being scored in 2025/26 than ever before.

Why? How? And is this trend set to continue?

Gunning for Glory

Arsenal, who seem to be destined for the Premier League title this term, have a dedicated set piece coach in Nicolas Jover.

He is a known admirer of the NFL; particularly the ‘set piece’ routines that dictate each offensive play. It’s not just the pass of the quarterback that counts, but also the movement of the receivers and even the blocking techniques of their teammates.

Watch Arsenal at corners and wide free kicks and you’ll see that influence at work. The movement of the Gunners’ players creates an overload at the front post, back post or even on the opposition goalkeeper, with blockers, runners and then the eventual target, Gabriel and William Saliba the chief suspects, getting a clear run at the ball.

It’s a tactic that appears to be working. As well as dominating with set piece supremacy during the 2024/25 season, Arsenal have gone up another gear in that department this term. In 12 Premier League games so far, they’ve scored 24 goals, ten of them, a rather healthy 41%, have come from set piece situations.

And the Gunners aren’t the only ones that are looking to maximise their output from set pieces. Six of Aston Villa’s 15 goals (40%) have come from corners, free kicks and long throws, as have eight of Chelsea’s 23 (34%). 

In terms of percentages, Leeds (45%), Crystal Palace (37%) and West Ham (33%) are also right there in terms of converting dangerous set piece situations into goals.

Like all good fashion trends, if you don’t keep up, you’re in danger of being left in the past.

Making the Difference

Football is, by definition, a low scoring game.

It’s not like basketball, where 200 points or more can be scored in a game. Here, not every play counts equally.

But in football, where a single goal can be the difference between victory and defeat, promotion or relegation, silverware or despair, why wouldn’t you put as much detail and effort into your set pieces as possible?

There is a general sense that scoring goals in open play is getting tougher too, which explains why so many clubs are now keen to find an edge from corners and free kicks. As the current overseer of the leading set piece operation, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, explains:

“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.”

What’s interesting is that the movement hasn’t necessarily travelled over land and sea overseas. Of Arsenal’s counterparts as ‘champion-elect’ in Europe’s big five leagues, Bayern Munich (17% of goals from set pieces) and PSG (29%) aren’t necessarily turning to set piece supremacy for an edge, while LaLiga leaders Real Madrid (14%) and Serie A frontrunners Roma (20%) have evidently found other ways to find the net.

There’s a case to be made that Bayern and PSG are so much better than every other team in their respective divisions that they don’t need to rely on set pieces, while in Italy’s Serie A goals are not exactly at the top of the shopping list. Roma have only scored 15 in 12 games and yet they still lead the way at the summit.

So maybe it’s in the cut-and-thrust and fine margins of the Premier League where the importance of set piece goals is felt the most. Who knows: maybe this will help English clubs gain an edge in continental competitions this term?

Pulis, Midtjylland and the Unlikely Innovators

Of course, set piece innovation is nothing new… but being revered for it, rather than despised, is.

Tony Pulis heard all the insults 20 years ago, when he was branded a ‘dinosaur’ for the brand of rough and tumble football that saw Stoke City establish themselves as a Premier League mainstay.

The Potteries side certainly leant into their physical prowess. The long throws of Rory Delap, their height and power when attacking free kick and set piece deliveries, which led to them being written off… the old cliché of ‘can they do it on a cold Monday night in Stoke?’ born during this period.

Now, ironically, Pulis is seen as something of an innovator, decades ahead of his time.

The unlikely form of Matthew Benham, a professional football bettor turned club owner, also helped to popularise the set piece revolution.

He owns FC Midtjylland, often using the Danish side as a sort of guinea pig for ideas he has dreamt up of how to find an edge in modern football.

Back in 2014/15, Benham demanded that his coaching staff at FC Midtjylland focused on set pieces; sensing that they were an advantage maker. Led by coach Brian Priske, the Danes scored 25 of their 69 goals (some 39%) from free kicks, corners and throw in routines. They won their first Danish Superligaen title in the club’s history that season.

Benham rolled out these methods at Brentford, where they continue to find an edge to this day. Although the Bees have only scored three set piece goals in 2025/26 at the time of writing, they have been crucial, their 3-2 win over Liverpool capped by Dango Ouattara’s set piece goal.

Is it any wonder that Brentford’s former set piece coach, Keith Andrews, was promoted to head coach in the summer?

Like it or not, set piece supremacy is here to stay in the Premier League. And it will likely play a key role in success and failure this term, too.

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