{"id":529291,"date":"2026-03-11T14:46:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T14:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/529291\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T14:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T14:46:08","slug":"could-premier-league-learn-from-kidderminsters-answer-to-corner-chaos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/529291\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Premier League learn from Kidderminster’s answer to corner chaos?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is the question few have found an answer to: how do you stop Arsenal<\/a> scoring from corner kicks?<\/p>\n

The Gunners have scored 16 goals from corners this season – already the joint most in a Premier League season – as they continue to lead the charge for the title.<\/p>\n

But maybe a solution has been found by Kidderminster Harriers in National League North, the sixth tier of English football.<\/p>\n

Chelsea<\/a> raised a few eyebrows when they left three up front when defending Arsenal<\/a>‘s corners in the Carabao Cup semi-final. Kidderminster have raised the stakes further.<\/p>\n

In the 89th minute against an aerially dominant Alfreton this month, Kidderminster opted to leave five players forward when defending a corner – and it paid off in style as they broke clear to score a crucial winner.<\/p>\n

Manager Adam Murray used the high-risk approach again in Tuesday’s 4-0 win against Peterborough Sports, and has hinted that they might take it even further.<\/p>\n

He told BBC Hereford and Worcester: “A big part of the reason is why not do it?<\/p>\n

“When you look at defensive set-plays – even at the very top level – clubs are trying to create that chaos in there.<\/p>\n

“When you are looking at certain opponents and set-plays are their main strength – how can we get the players out of there?<\/p>\n

“Can we take the opponents’ attacking set-play and turn it into an attacking set-play for us? You have to take a little bit of a risk.<\/p>\n

“Sometimes you have to think outside the box. I’ve thought about it for a long time. You can get caught in that bracket that you do things because its always been done.<\/p>\n

“It is going to be even more interesting when we leave seven up.”<\/p>\n

Former Manchester City<\/a> goalkeeper Shay Given suggested earlier this season that keeping players up while defending corners could be an effective way to counteract Arsenal<\/a>‘s threat.<\/p>\n

He said on BBC Match of the Day: “If they leave three up, Arsenal<\/a> have to leave at least three, maybe four players back.<\/p>\n

“That leaves a lot more space for the defenders and the goalkeeper.<\/p>\n

“Yes, it leaves more space for the forwards as well, but all those numbers caused so much confusion.”<\/p>\n

Monaco and Crystal Palace<\/a> have also left players up against Arsenal<\/a> – but leaving five players in attack is taking it to the next level.<\/p>\n

Could it catch on?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It is the question few have found an answer to: how do you stop Arsenal scoring from corner…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":529292,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-529291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=529291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/529292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=529291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=529291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=529291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}