Gary Lineker has voiced his concern for Arsenal as they compete with Liverpool and Chelsea for the Premier League title this season.
Arsenal’s hopes of securing the title suffered a setback on Sunday when Mikel Arteta’s team was held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham.
This result leaves Arsenal third in the Premier League, two points behind second-placed Chelsea and six points adrift of league leaders Liverpool, who also have a game in hand.
For the past two seasons, Arsenal has come close to winning the Premier League, and their supporters are eager to see them lift the trophy for the first time since 2004.
However, Lineker believes that Arsenal may be overly reliant on set-piece goals, which could hinder their title ambitions.
Set-Piece Reliance Worries Lineker
Since the beginning of last season, Arsenal has scored 23 goals from corners, more than any other team in Europe’s top five leagues.
Despite their proficiency from set-pieces, Lineker is concerned that the Gunners are struggling to create open-play opportunities, something that Liverpool and Chelsea seem to do more effectively.
“Once again, they looked really dangerous from set-pieces because their delivery is so good,” Lineker explained on The Rest is Football podcast.
“But my concern is they are not quite scoring goals without those set-pieces. They didn’t create too many chances against Fulham.”
Despite Lineker’s concerns, Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard emphasized the team’s confidence in their set-piece ability. “We’re so good at it, and everyone believes that when we have a set-piece, we’re going to score,” Ødegaard said.
Against Fulham, Arsenal did score from a set-piece, but Ødegaard admitted the team was disappointed with just one point from the match.
“We could have scored a few more, to be honest,” Ødegaard continued. “But the mood is obviously disappointed because we didn’t win. We have to move on quickly and make sure we win the next one.”
Arsenal now faces a midweek Champions League clash with Monaco before returning to Premier League action against Everton, who are coming off an impressive 4-0 win against Wolves.
Meanwhile, Chelsea continues to apply pressure on Liverpool with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Tottenham, keeping their title hopes alive. Liverpool, on the other hand, had their Merseyside derby against Everton postponed due to severe weather caused by Storm Darragh.