This season, Burnley’s set-piece defense has fallen short of expectations. This weekend, they take on Arsenal, who are the team that scores the most goals from dead balls.
Although James Trafford is a self-assured young man, he might have some anxiety before Burnley’s Premier League match against Arsenal this coming weekend.
In this matchup, the side with the most goals scored this season from corner kicks will face the defense that has given up the most goals in the league.
Set-piece goals have become a staple of Arsenal’s game, and they now lead the league in this category. The north Londoners have been perceived as soft on set-pieces for a significant portion of the last 15 years, but that is no longer the case.
This season, Mikel Arteta’s team has scored 16 goals from set pieces; no other team in the league has scored more than 13. Additionally, eleven of those objectives came from unexpected places.
Two of the six goals they scored last Sunday in their rout of West Ham United came from set pieces. The first was headed in by William Saliba from Declan Rice’s corner, and the second was hammered home by Gabriel from another midfielder pass. While Bukayo Saka’s penalty wasn’t really a set-piece, it was nevertheless a dead-ball goal.
Arsenal’s success in converting set plays into points in the opponent’s penalty area is no accident. Their precise planning is further demonstrated by the important placement and deft movement that go into each of their free kicks and corners.
Nicolas Jover, Arsenal’s set-piece coach, has done wonders for the squad. Whenever the team executes a set-play, he frequently takes Arteta’s spot on the perimeter of the technical area and plans the moves. Observing Jover’s happiness when another of his schemes works is impressive.
It appears that the efforts of the former Manchester City and Brentford coach are paying off. It also capitalizes on the team’s advantages.
Arsenal can field a large number of tall players. At certain points in the game, the towering defenders Gabriel, Saliba, Jakub Kiwior, Ben White, and forward Kai Havertz are proving to be a threat.
With Arsenal, Jover and Co visiting Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon, this could very well strike fear into their vulnerable opponents.
Arsenal will test a Burnley vulnerability
For Vincent Kompany and his Burnley team, their return to the top flight has undoubtedly been a baptism of fire. They are now seven points from safety and have only managed three league victories, the most recent of which was before Christmas.
One of their weakest points has shown to be their defense of set pieces. Burnley had the second-highest Set-Piece Expected Goals Against statistic prior to last weekend, and they conceded twice against Liverpool using this method.
The Burnley goalie Trafford has occasionally drawn criticism for not being in the box on these set-pieces, even at Anfield. However, he has also not benefited from his teammates’ lack of size and aerial ability.
The 21-year-old was under pressure from the start as he took over for Arijanet Muric, who had grown to be a fan favorite during the 2022–23 Championship-winning campaign. Muric arrived at the club in the summer with high expectations. The £15 million price tag also raised expectations among the domestic audience.
Trafford has faced several challenges. He assisted England in winning the Under-21 European Championship in July and hopes to replace Jordan Pickford in the senior squad. However, as the season has gone on, glimpses of his ability have emerged.
Burnley has given up the second-highest number of goals in the league (50), only surpassed by Sheffield United; nevertheless, Trafford has faced and made the second-highest number of shots (146) and saves (98). His 68% save percentage puts him in the middle of the division. 
Kompany has also placed his faith in Trafford, whose only senior experiences prior to this season were in Sky Bet League One with Bolton Wanderers and Accrington Stanley, due to his ability to start Burnley’s possession-based attacks.
That Kompany has not deviated from his principles despite Burnley’s difficult campaign has been an emerging talking point, yet their ambition cannot be denied.
Trafford has attempted the most amount of passes for a goalkeeper in the league (1104) and only 33 per cent of those were deemed to be long passes of over 40 yards. Even though on occasion accuracy has gone awry and such playing out from the back has proved costly, Trafford is one of the most involved ‘keepers in the division (whether with ball at feet or in hands).
It appears that both the manager and his youthful team have learned a lot throughout this campaign, which appears to be coming to a conclusion with Burnley returning to the Championship. Arsenal visits Lancashire after recent matches against Manchester City and Liverpool, so Burnley will be prepared.
