Arsenal star names two sports that have influenced dominant set-pieces
Arsenal star names two sports that have influenced dominant set-pieces
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Mikel Merino’s second passion after football has always been basketball. The midfielder, whose mum was a dab hand on the court, may not be able to shoot many hoops these days - but he has revealed that Arsenal's approach to executing their biggest asset has more than a striking similarity.
Their set piece dominance, spearheaded by specialist coach Nicolas Jover, has become appointment viewing and basketball has had a big impact on the strategising. “Yeah, there are similarities with basketball, there are similarities with American football as well,” Merino says before Sunday’s FA Cup third round tie against Manchester United. Set pieces is something that in today's game is huge, is crucial. If you have the advantage of scoring or conceding a goal in set pieces, a big part of the game is at risk.
THE FA CUP GIANT KILLERS:Get your special edition magazine celebrating some of the game's greatest-ever upsets. "You can see the other day when we scored at set pieces, the momentum of the game changes and the other team has to maybe attack more, leave more space for us to play and be more brave. So it's really, really important in today's game. Everything is about details and you can learn from other spots as well.”.
Mikel Arteta has previously shown his players video clips of NBA action to develop new ways of attacking movement and how to confuse defenders with runs off the ball. And while Merino, who arrived in late August but did not debut until October because of a shoulder injury, has not had that experience yet with the Gunners boss, he thinks it’s a great idea.
