How set-pieces can win a Champions League semi-final for both Arsenal and PSG | OneFootball

This is it then. Just two days after Liverpool wrapped up their Premier League title and ended any dreams of domestic miracle, Arsenal are met with their season-definer – again.

A Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint Germain, Arsenal’s first return to this stage since falling to a Cristiano Ronaldo-led Manchester United in 2009. Myles Lewis-Skelly, who will likely start at left-back for Tuesday’s first leg, was two years old that night.

For a game with this much importance, contemporary and historic, it is vitally important Arsenal get everything right, and of course that means set-pieces.

While the Gunners scored their 14th goal of the season from dead-balls against Crystal Palace, they also conceded their 10th. Their counterparts, PSG, also conceded their 10th of the season, in their loss to OGC Nice. Both sides are vulnerable. Both sides need this win for their projects. How can they do it?

Arsenal

Beat the men

This sounds deliberately simple, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that PSG are not a gifted side in terms of defensive work-rate: doubly so from set-pieces. In placing a large emphasis on diminutive technical flair players, they lack the ‘dawg’ that lets you stifle sides like Arsenal or Aston Villa.

In games against both this season, this has been hugely exposed from wide free-kicks. First, looking back to October, and while Bukayo Saka’s goal has some … questionable goalkeeping from Donnarumma, this mistake arrives from every single PSG player losing their man. Gabriel Martinelli, Thomas Partey, Jurrien Timber and Gabriel all race in front of their defenders, and this confusion means there’s a queue of players looking to tap it in past the Italian. PSG are static, and show basically no want to even slow these guys down, let alone battle for that space.

PSG were a very different side back then, but this issue nearly led them to being “eemontada’d” by the “remontadee” Unai Emery in the quarter-finals. After Villa excellently force PSG’s line to take several steps back with some fake-outs, PSG then again make like it’s 2018 and do the mannequin challenge.

Once again, every single Villa player, from Youri Tielemans at the front-post, to Morgan Rogers at the back-post, to Ezri Konsa narrowly missing in the middle, is there first. Arsenal really need to maximise this physical advantage, and use the fact PSG’s offside lines are written in cursive, to create multiple points of threat from Saka, Declan Rice, and even Martin Odegaard’s deliveries.

Use the space

PSG are aware of their faults, in fairness. This is why, on defensive corners, they set up to surround the keeper at all costs. Now, given they struggle to track runners at the best of times, and don’t have the most diligent defenders in the world, this has an obvious ‘short blanket’ effect: Arsenal are now afforded a ton of space at the back and front of the six-yard box, and at the edge of the area. Villa went for flick-ons. Arsenal, when faced with similar against Crystal Palace, went for deep headers at the back from Leandro Trossard.

In general, PSG are set up very poorly for second phases and waves of pressure. The fear can result in their players sinking to the six-yard box when the ball comes back in again, giving moments like Konsa’s goal – PSG are miles off it, and yet still have Onana sneaking behind them far post. There are so many holes in this set-up, and all it takes is a set-up with a few bodies on the outside to enforce a bit of interrogation.

Paris Saint-Germain

Hit the edge

For PSG, fighting back is also about using their qualities, and abusing Arsenal’s. A lot of emphasis in their set-pieces has been placed around short interplay, with tricky dribblers like Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia demanding the ball and a mazy run or two regularly.

Luckily for PSG, this is a good side to face for that. Arsenal have had a massive issue around covering the edges of the box. With two of the world’s most irritating attackers, PSG are demanding Arsenal “git gud” and come and face them quickly, or give them or Desire Doue and Vitinha a free shot from range.

Drag Arsenal’s lanky lads out of the comfort of David Raya’s embrace, and the same holes I decried of PSG suddenly start appearing between red shirts too.

Exploit the newbies

Just as set-piece princes Palace did last week, hitting Arsenal in zones with unfamiliar defenders is cash money right now. Jakub Kiwior has a sense of ‘Bambiism’ around his limbs, and can get easily caught out aerially by ‘round the corner’ runs, like Joao Neves’ from the October tie.

Giving Neves that role again, given his incredible leap and speed, might catch Arsenal unawares at the near-post. Lewis-Skelly meanwhile, likely in Kiwior’s role from that tie, is not an aerial demon, meaning giving him a fight against Marquinhos might be a wise adaptation to make. If you can eliminate Lewis-Skelly’s strength from the scenario, he’s an aerial target’s dream marker.

PSG’s record from set-pieces is frankly atrocious given their strength in the league. Luis Enrique’s open admittance to not doing any special training for Arsenal’s set-pieces (even after the Villa scare) may have slightly one-sided this article, but there’s a real potential in this PSG side to do something here from dead-balls.

These moments are about tilting the scenario, so the ball (and luck) slides neatly your way – Man Utd did it 15 years ago with Ronaldo’s thump into Manuel Almunia’s near-post, and PSG have world-beating talent to do it as well. Other teams are constantly learning how to do this against Arsenal – can they stop PSG being another?