After being an utter genius on the field of play for the likes of Arsenal and Barcelona, Cesc Fabregas is now taking his own steps into the world of management.
The legendary midfielder recently took charge of first-team matters at Italian second-tier side FC Como, before having to take a backseat because he didn’t have the required qualifications to continue.
But that hasn’t stopped the former Arsenal man from trying to improve his management brain.
The 36-year-old shared that he spoke with Arsenal’s set-piece coach Nicolas Jover and how the conversation was ‘interesting’, as he told Planet Football.
As Mikel Arteta’s side proved during their 5-0 win over Crystal Palace at the weekend, they are the best team in the Premier League when it comes to set-pieces, especially from an offensive standpoint.
Arsenal’s opening two goals at the Emirates saw them outfox and outthink the vastly experienced Roy Hodgson.
A lot of that is down to the work Nicolas Jover does with the players at London Colney and Cesc Fabregas shared an insight into how the team sets up after speaking with the club’s set-piece specialist.
Arsenal set-pieces
“It’s great we are talking about this,” said Fabregas. “When I took over the Primavera in the summer, me and my assistant, we had a chat with him.
“They were playing a game in pre-season, whilst they were coming back on the bus. We had a three-way call. It was quite interesting. He didn’t really give me something that I said ‘wow’.
“But he did give me some tips. My question was. When do you work set-pieces? What are the best moments for the players? As a player, we used to do it the day before the game. It was for about 10-15 minutes. You knew it was coming.
“He just gave us a few tips on when to do it in the middle of the session. Just to hit someone just like that and they don’t expect it. They just have to get focused quickly. They have two ways of defending. Two ways of attacking. He didn’t go into the detail, obviously, I understand that. But he did say, whatever they work, they work two things each game. Offensively and defensively. They don’t want to go crazy and put everyone let’s say in trouble.
“Sometimes when you give the players a lot of information they don’t take it well and it could be the other way, then it goes the other way around in the game. They do work on this quite a lot in the week and it’s something Mikel really believes in.”
Arsenal from open play
A large percentage of Arsenal’s goals this season have come from dead-ball situations. It has saved the club’s blushes on many occasions.
It has allowed the team to go through a period of struggle from open play, with the fans demanding that the club bring in another striker in January.
Whether that Ivan Toney arrives or not, Arsenal still have a serious chance of ending their near two-decade wait to become champions of England again.
And if Arteta can get his team over that dotted line, then their set-piece coach deserves huge, huge credit for the work he has done because it would have played a massive part.
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