Gary Neville spots Arsenal’s 26-second trick which paid off in crucial Everton victory
Arsenal achieved success in a tough 1-0 victory against Everton at Goodison Park by employing a new set piece tactic.
Leandro Trossard, who came in as a substitute, emerged as the game-changer for Arsenal during a challenging afternoon in Merseyside.
In the first half, Arsenal believed they had scored when Gabriel Martinelli made a speedy run and placed the ball past Jordan Pickford.
However, VAR stepped in and invalidated Martinelli’s goal due to Eddie Nketiah being judged offside during the build-up.
Shortly after, Martinelli had to leave the game due to an injury, heading directly to the pitchside tunnel for treatment.
Trossard was brought on and had a significant impact on the match, assisting Arsenal in gaining control and ultimately securing all three points.
In the second half, Arsenal persisted in their pursuit of scoring the first goal and finally achieved it with only 20 minutes remaining on the clock. Bukayo Saka made the decision to take a short corner kick, passing it to captain Martin Odegaard.
The Gunners executed a well-worked sequence, with the ball eventually finding its way back to Saka after some impressive passing. Trossard then struck the ball into the back of the net, securing the lead for Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta expressed his jubilation by sharing a celebratory embrace with his coaching staff, suggesting that this newly implemented strategy had been meticulously rehearsed during training sessions. The match against Everton wasn’t the first instance in which Arsenal opted for a short set piece, and Gary Neville took note of this innovative approach following Trossard’s goal.
Commenting on Trossard’s pivotal goal at Goodison Park, Neville remarked: ” I just asked how long that ball was in the corner for and apparently it took 26 seconds to take that short corner. Which is an absolute mountain of time.
“Particularly in this climate with the referees trying to pick up on everything but it worked. You saw Mikel Arteta and the coaching team start to celebrate because it’s worked, so they must’ve been working on it in training.”
Gary Neville spots Arsenal’s 26-second trick which paid off in crucial Everton victory