Monaco successfully deployed a new tactic on Wednesday night that may have shown Arsenal's rivals the way to dealing with their corners in the Premier League.
Arsenal have scored more goals from corners (22) than any other Premier League club since the start of the 2023/24 season, with coach Nicolas Jover working his magic.
Jover was even honored with a mural outside the Emirates on Wednesday night, but the Gunners could not score from a corner against Monaco despite winning 3-0.
Their inability to find the net from a corner may have something to do with Monaco's approach, as the French club tried something different for Arsenal's set pieces.
Adi Hutter's team decided to leave three attackers high on the pitch when defending corners, meaning Arsenal had to leave more players than usual.
They also had a player on hand to block the short corner, which meant there were fewer bodies in the penalty area.
Mikel Arteta's men usually put someone on the goal line to distract the goalkeeper, but were unable to put Radoslaw Majecki under as much pressure as he held players back for fear of being hit on the counter-attack.
Arsenal managed to score three goals from open play, but were ineffective from set pieces as Monaco's tactics worked perfectly.
By comparison, Fulham opted to return all ten of their outfield players to the penalty area for corners in their 1-1 draw against Arsenal on Sunday, but had problems throughout the match.
Arsenal eventually equalized from a corner through William Saliba and also created more chances from identical situations.
Manchester United had similar problems just four days earlier when Arsenal scored both goals from corners in a 2–0 win.
Ruben Amorim opted to try to keep Arsenal at bay by crowding the box, but this plan backfired when Jurrien Timber slotted home the opening goal from Declan Rice's inviting ball.
The second goal was more chaotic, with Arsenal piling players into the goalmouth, leading to Thomas Partey's header hitting Saliba and into the net without the Frenchman knowing much about it.
Arsenal had so much joy from corners that their fans actually celebrated every time they got one as they sensed another big chance was coming.
It will be interesting to see if Premier League clubs now look to copy Monaco's tactics to combat Arsenal's threat.
Gabriel has been the biggest beneficiary of Arsenal's corners this season, having scored four goals in all competitions.
He missed Wednesday's match due to injury, which could go some way to explaining why Arsenal struggled to trouble Monaco when it came to dead-ball scenarios.
But it could still be worth a try if he returns, given how Monaco were able to keep Arsenal so quiet from corners on Wednesday night.
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