Mikel Arteta admits he was disappointed it took until the Everton win for Arsenal to score a set-piece goal, but Ezri Konsa has now unlocked their threat from dead balls.
Konsa scored Arsenal’s opener in the 2-0 win at the Emirates on Saturday, bundling in a scrappy effort from a corner.
Gabriel Magalhaes headed in the second from a Ben White cross in open play, which put the Gunners level on points with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.
After winning the Premier League last season thanks in part to being extremely effective from set-pieces, Arteta reckons Konsa’s goal will help his team rediscover their belief in those situations and unlock more success.
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‘I’m sure that’s going to unlock something and that belief of the players,’ the Gunners boss said. ‘So they are really convinced.
‘You have to see them when we train the level of attention and how much they believe in what we do and what Nico [Jover, set-piece coach] does as well.
‘There’s no question about that, but at the end he has to come through and he has to make the difference and we know that that is a massive welcome for us.’
He added: ‘We hadn’t scored from a set-piece, which we were disappointed with because we had generated so many chances as well.
‘I think in midweek we should have scored at least two in Munich and we didn’t and that would probably win us the game.
‘We know that in every phase of play we want to be the best and we’re not going to stop until we do it.’
It was a solid afternoon’s work for Arsenal on Saturday but produced a strong statement from a club legend.
Martin Keown has talked up Gabriel to the point of being a club legend, which is clearly a subjective call, but may well split opinion.
‘Gabriel is into his sixth season at Arsenal now and this guy is just a machine,’ Keown said on BBC’s Match of the Day.
‘You rarely see a striker get the better of him. I’ve seen him mature a lot and become the leader at the back. He was immense again today.
‘He just loves defending and the fans just buzz of him. He’s a legend of the football club now.’
There was great concern for Gabriel when he appeared to be injured just a few minutes before he scored his goal in the second half.
Arteta had high praise for the Brazil international for battling through the pain and having a big impact yet again.
‘He is a clear example of when I talk about the mentality of the team,’ Arteta said in his post-match press conference.
‘The mentality of the team is the mentality of the players. And he is a great example of that. We were all scared not only for the way he went down but for the reaction of the players that were next to him.
‘Immediately he says he wants to continue and he scores the goal that helps us win the game.’