A Regretful Club, a Defender Who Found Heaven, and a Midfielder Who Looks Like a Striker
This weekend, I analyzed several matches, and some of them had a common denominator. Pablo Barrios played for Atlético de Madrid, Iván Fresneda scored in the first minute for Sporting CF, Álvaro Fernández was named Man of the Match for Benfica, and Álex Jiménez played for Milan…
We could list many players who, before making the leap to professional football, switch clubs. Some choose to seek a new project because their original clubs do not give them the status they believe they deserve, while others are let go.
What connects these two situations is that the original clubs do not believe the player’s future level will justify the money, time, or effort required to invest in them.
In many cases, the decision is made prematurely, at a young age when the probability of error by the club is higher. Players like Cesc Fàbregas, Gerard Piqué, or Dani Olmo left FC Barcelona, and in recent years, players like Pablo Barrios, Iván Fresneda, or Álvaro Fernández left Real Madrid at 14-15 years old—only to succeed at other clubs four years later.
In these cases, I can understand that projecting the future level of such young players can be difficult, making these “mistakes” more understandable.
However, when these player transfers happen at 18 years old, it’s hard to believe this is an “error” due to a lack of data showing whether a player can reach professional football and be a good investment for the club. There must be other factors influencing a club’s decision to release a player, only for him to be thriving days later at one of their main domestic rivals. Otherwise, it is a serious mistake.
Would you understand if Cubarsí or Asensio had been transferred a year ago for a low fee from FC Barcelona to Real Madrid (or vice versa), only to now be shining in their eternal rival’s first team?
Well, that is exactly what is happening at Arsenal.
Less than three months ago, Arsenal decided to let an 18-year-old player leave for Manchester United. That player is Ayden Heaven, and today (hopefully his injury on Sunday was just a scare), we could be talking about one of the most promising English center-backs.
A 190 cm left-footed center-back, strong in defensive actions, and in the few offensive actions I saw against Leicester and Arsenal last week, he showed the ability to lead a defense for a big club like Manchester United.
Arsenal’s Mastery of Set Pieces
Another topic I wanted to discuss regarding this weekend’s matches is the London team’s expertise in set pieces.
Mikel Merino scored the winning goal for Arsenal against Chelsea from a corner kick taken by Martin Ødegaard, finishing at the near post.
But this corner kick pattern was repeated in most of the matches I analyzed this weekend. From Valladolid vs. Celta, City vs. Brighton, Milan vs. Como on Saturday, to the final game on Sunday—Atlético de Madrid vs. FC Barcelona—the same sequence played out: a corner kick taken with an inswinging delivery, the ball directed toward the near post… and cleared by the zonal defender positioned at the edge of the six-yard box.
There are several key factors I’d like to highlight from these matches:
- In many cases, the taker failed to get the ball past the first defender, resulting in a short delivery that was easy to defend.
- There was no anticipatory movement from the attackers.
- The ball didn’t reach the areas where the attackers were positioned, often landing in spaces with no players.
How to Replicate Mikel Merino’s Goal
From a logical standpoint and aiming to simplify set-piece execution, every time I work on it with a new team, I rely on the following pillars: trajectory, finishing zones, blocks, anticipation… and intuition.
- Understanding ball trajectory: Knowing how the ball will travel depending on whether the taker is right- or left-footed. This allows us to identify finishing zones with higher scoring probabilities. A natural-footed taker has a higher finishing efficiency at the penalty spot (e.g., the 93rd-minute goal in the 2014 Champions League final, Modrić’s corner and Sergio Ramos’ header).
- Defining clear finishing zones and finishers: As a team, we must be clear about the key finishing areas and who will attack them. We can use the most effective zones mentioned earlier or pre-plan the target area for the delivery. Providing a reference point for the taker can improve efficiency, and in this case, the position of the defender clearing the ball could be used as a reference.
- Executing blocks and decoy runs: Understanding the purpose of each movement.
- Beating the defender to the ball: Gaining the first contact with the ball is crucial. Merino anticipates James, preventing him from clearing the cross.
- Intuition: Reading the game and positioning or moving to areas where you can capitalize.
For instance, if we analyze this same corner kick but with successful defending, we could look at Atlético de Madrid’s late corners against Barcelona, which were cleared by Raphinha while all Atlético players remained stationed at the penalty spot. In the final minutes of matches, corners tend to be underhit, as was the case here. Atlético’s players should have anticipated this and adjusted their positioning towards the near post, even if it wasn’t pre-planned.
Another example of the importance of intuition is movements and goals at the far post. Goals at the far post often come from rebounds rather than direct headers. Arsenal is currently developing a trend of finishing at the far post, but so far, these finishes have only been effective as secondary contacts rather than direct strikes.
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