Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher highlighted a major flaw in Arsenal’s game after they dropped crucial points at home, allowing Liverpool to close in on the Premier League title.
Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace on Wednesday left them 12 points behind league leaders Liverpool with only four matches remaining.
Liverpool now have the chance to secure the title with just a draw against Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday, as Arne Slot’s side edges closer to a 20th league championship in his debut season.
Arsenal’s title bid has been derailed by an ongoing issue: 13 draws this season, more than any other team in the top half of the table. The stalemate against Palace added to that tally, and Carragher pointed out a glaring defensive weakness during the post-match analysis with host David Jones and ex-Arsenal striker Theo Walcott.
“Arsenal have conceded six percent of their goals from corners—more than any other top-half team,” said Carragher. “Only Manchester United are worse when it comes to defending set pieces. We praise their set-piece coach for their attacking threat, but defensively, there’s a real issue. Should we be docking his pay?”
Nicolas Jover, Arsenal’s set-piece coach since 2021, has helped the team become one of the league’s most dangerous from dead-ball situations—scoring a league-best 55 goals from corners and 68 from set pieces in total. Despite this attacking success, they’ve also been vulnerable at the other end.
Palace’s first equaliser at the Emirates came from a set piece, with Adam Wharton finding Eberechi Eze unmarked on the edge of the area for a tidy finish past David Raya.
Carragher acknowledged the irony: “Arsenal have become so dangerous from set pieces that you expect them to score every time. But it’s ironic that they’re struggling to defend them.”
For Mikel Arteta, these defensive lapses are no joke. Arsenal’s repeated title pushes are being undermined by injuries and costly stats like set-piece concessions, issues that must be resolved if they’re to keep pace with consistent title contenders.