On October 10, according to Central European Time (CET), James Sharpe, a prominent Daily Mail journalist, published an analysis of the significant decline in goals scored from set-pieces in the new Premier League season. He noted that referees' strict enforcement of anti-shirt-pulling and obstruction rules in the penalty area is forcing teams to alter their set-piece tactics, and Arsenal, a team that has consistently thrived on corner goals, now faces new challenges.

The Full Analysis

Remember the days when set-pieces were accused of "ruining football"? Remember when Arsenal scored so many goals from corners that a portrait of set-piece coach Nicolas Jover was painted on the wall outside the Emirates Stadium? Remember when attacking from dead-ball situations became so important that Chelsea paid a fee to release Austin MacPhee from Aston Villa as if he were a superstar striker?

You can hardly blame them. Last season, despite often lacking creativity in open play, Arsenal set a record with 19 goals from corners and reclaimed the Premier League title after 22 years. Tottenham Hotspur scored 18 goals from corners, narrowly avoiding relegation.

But was football really meant to be played this way? Packing as many tall players as possible into the six-yard box, letting them wrestle with each other like a grappling match, to see who can touch the ball first?

At this summer's World Cup, FIFA analysis showed that in over 40% of corner attacks, attacking players attempted to obstruct or impede defenders. This figure was less than a quarter at the Qatar World Cup four years earlier. This means more than half of World Cup 2026 corner goals will benefit from player obstruction and shielding.

Back in England, two summers ago, chief refereeing officer Howard Webb announced a crackdown on wrestling and shirt-pulling, but the enforcement quickly faded. "You feel like referees really don't want to get involved with these things now," Everton manager David Moyes said last season. Now, the crackdown has truly begun in earnest, with referees instructed to penalise any "shirt-pulling with clear material impact." After just five weeks of the new season, the effects are quite evident.

Last season, 18% of Premier League goals came from corners, a league record. In the eight seasons before that, goals from open play hovered between 70% and 73%, but last season that figure dropped to 65%. With the new rules in place, goals from open play now account for nearly three-quarters of the 141 goals scored in the Premier League so far this season. Corner goals represent just 9.9% of total goals this season, the second-lowest in Premier League history.

Currently, more than half of the league's teams have yet to score a goal from a corner, including Arsenal, once the masters of this art, and Tottenham is no exception. Meanwhile, Brighton has benefited on both fronts: they have not only scored three goals from corners, but their expected goals (xG) from open play also ranks among the highest in the Premier League.

To what extent can the decline in set-piece goals be attributed to stricter refereeing? According to Opta data, the rate of fouls whistled within 10 seconds of a corner has risen from 6% last season to 8.1% this season. Of these, shirt-pulling fouls specifically increased from 4.1% to 5.3%. Opta defines shirt-pulling as pushing an opponent, or holding or pulling an opponent's shirt.

However, none of these fouls resulted in a penalty. Last season, referees awarded 21 penalties within 25 seconds of a corner. This season, only one penalty has been awarded for shirt-pulling in a set-piece situation involving Arsenal defender Ezri Ngoyo. In that instance, following a throw-in into the penalty area, Ngoyo was adjudged to have fouled Sunderland's Dan Ballard, but the decision was later considered incorrect even then. Minor fouls by attacking players in set-pieces appear to be being curtailed.

However, deeper analysis of the data shows the impact of changing refereeing standards is not as dramatic as it appears. Expected goals from set-pieces have fallen from 0.76 per match to 0.72. Based on the first 50 matches of the season, this change equates to a reduction of roughly two expected goals. Expected goals from corners have fallen from 0.46 per match to 0.38, equating to a reduction of five expected goals.

In fact, the number of shots from set-pieces has even increased slightly. This suggests that teams are forced to deliver the ball to less favourable positions for shooting, rather than driving it directly into the box for all-out aerial duels as they did previously.

So, what has happened to Arsenal? Over the past three seasons, Arsenal led the Premier League in goals from set-pieces. This Saturday lunchtime, Mikel Arteta's once "corner kings" will face Leeds United – one of the tallest teams in the league – yet Arsenal have failed to score from any set-piece this season, aside from a penalty. Breaking that deadlock against such an opponent will be no easy task.

Although the rate of corner attacks ending in fouls has increased across the Premier League, Arsenal's rate on this metric has actually decreased. The real issue is that Arsenal are not creating as many chances as before. Last season, they led in expected goals from set-pieces and ranked third in shots from set-pieces. This season, those figures have dropped to ninth and fourteenth respectively.

Even when chances are created, Arsenal cannot convert them into goals. Gabriel has always been a threat from set-pieces, but this season he has had three shots from set-pieces without scoring. Based on the quality of chances Arsenal have created from set-pieces, they should have scored two or three goals by now. Perhaps this is simply luck returning to normal levels. Last season, Arsenal's actual set-piece goals exceeded their expected goals by around five.

Previously, Arteta complained about the impact of another new Premier League rule: players are no longer permitted to use a towel to dry the ball before taking a throw-in. Last season, Ben White and Declan Rice frequently took powerful throws into the penalty area, and Arsenal scored several goals from these situations. "Not being able to use a towel has had a big impact," Arteta said before the season began.

Ahead of Saturday's trip to Leeds United, Arteta commented: "You have to adapt to the rules and find out what you can and cannot do. It also opens other gaps for us to try what we want to do. We want to score goals in different ways. I personally think our performance in the first five matches has been better than last year, but we haven't scored. That's the reality of set-pieces."

"At this point last year, we scored three set-piece goals, two of which came relatively easily, and we didn't perform as we should have. There is an element of luck involved. I think we should be scoring more goals this season, but it hasn't happened. If we maintain this performance level throughout the season, the final statistics will be very good."

William Saliba has missed all five Premier League matches so far this season. His replacement, Ezri Ngoyo, needs time to adjust to Jover's routines and tactical coordination. Nonetheless, he may not feature in the Leeds match. Timber, like Gabriel, scored three goals from set-pieces last season, including two against Leeds, but has missed three matches this season through injury. Losing both key "chaos creators" simultaneously is clearly not good news for Arsenal.

Webb's crackdown may be pushing teams to change their approach. This season, teams are using short, tactical corners more frequently than last season. Following last season's anomaly, the proportion of goals from open play has returned to levels from previous seasons.

Perhaps beautiful football has returned after all. And this time, Arsenal can no longer rely on "winning ugly."

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