How ‘inevitable’ Gabriel seized management to take Arsenal’s set-pieces to the following stage

It was put to Mikel Arteta after Arsenal’s demolition of West Ham whether Nicolas Jover, the club’s set-piece coach, was yet to negotiate a goal bonus into his deal.

‘That’s a question for him,’ said Arteta, barely able to hold in a wide grin. ‘I don’t negotiate the contracts.’

It was Jover, who joined the club in 2021, once again jumping for joy on the touchline after Arsenal took the lead from another immaculately worked corner routine.

This was Arsenal’s 20th goal from a corner in the Premier League since the start of last season, the most of any side in the division. It was a fifth, too, and another league high, for towering defender Gabriel who nodded past Lukasz Fabianski after just 10 minutes.

This time, though, it felt different. This wasn’t a usual Arsenal routine. For one, it was Gabriel himself calling the shots.

As Bukayo Saka shuffled towards the corner flag to take the corner Gabriel beckoned him back and called a huddle that included Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard. He told Saka where to put it, dictated the play, and made sure everyone else did the rest.

Through Gabriel, Arsenal scored from a corner once again against West Ham on Saturday

Nicolas Jover (right), the club’s set-piece coach, jumped for joy on the sidelines in London

But this wasn’t Arsenal’s usual routine – Gabriel, the Gunner’s main threat, was calling the shots

Arsenal’s players congregated in a group beyond the back post. As Saka prepared to swing it in, Gabriel and his team-mates made their move. Riccardo Calafiori and others blocked the West Ham shirts from getting near Gabriel who ran clear of his marker, Michail Antonio, towards the near post.

Lucas Paqueta tried to head the incoming ball away before it could find its target but, as he jumped, got a firm shove in the back from Jurrien Timber – a push that West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui was adamant should have been a foul – and it was left to Gabriel to glance it home.

It’s almost not football anymore when it comes to Arsenal and corners. Not ‘soccer’, anyway. Arsenal’s deadly routines, as seen once more at West Ham on Saturday night, are straight out of the NFL playbook.

And it’s Gabriel, for those common with American football parlance, who is both the quarterback calling the moves and the hard-charging running back who’s finishing them off.

‘Gabriel has conducted that goal from start to finish,’ remarked Gary Neville on commentary.

He doesn’t just stand and throw it. He scores the touchdowns too. He’s the Lamar Jackson of the Premier League – a revolution in his own right who moves the goalposts of what can be expected from someone playing in his position.

This Gabriel goal was different for another reason, too, not just because it was him calling the plays. It was different because it was a move that Arsenal have not used before.

Against Tottenham, Gabriel lingered on his own while his team-mates crowded six-yard box

Against Man City it was the same for Gabriel but his team-mates gathered at the back post

It was similar versus Sporting Lisbon – the defender storming in from the penalty spot

This time, against West Ham, he played a part as part of the pack and was chaos from the off

It was the same story later on when he made his run before winning his team a penalty kick

No matter how Arsenal mix up their routines, it’s still always Gabriel on the end of them

Here was a new corner kick routine. It ended the same as many of the others do, with Gabriel nodding the ball into the back of the opposition’s net, but there was something different about this one. Gabriel didn’t do what he usually does.

When Gabriel scored the winner from a corner against north London rivals Tottenham in September, his team-mates lingered in the six-yard area but Gabriel stood alone, and began his charge to glory from around the penalty spot.

When Gabriel scored his header against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium earlier this season, his team-mates gathered beyond the back post, like at the London Stadium, ready to storm forward and spark chaos, but Gabriel again began his run from the penalty spot. He set off, beating Kyle Walker for pace, as many do these days, before nodding in at the far post.

And when he powered in from a corner against Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday night, again the red shirts huddled beyond the far stick and, again, Gabriel lingered first on the penalty area before making his move.

Only this time, against West Ham, Gabriel began as part of the pack. He was in the chaos from the off. This was tested briefly in pre-season but not since, not until now.

Arsenal saw it again later, too, when Gabriel raced from beyond the pack this time to meet Saka’s corner just before half-time only to get punched in the face by Fabianski and earn the Gunners the penalty to make it 5-2.

No matter how much Arsenal mix up their routines, it’s still always Gabriel on the end of it. Teams know he’s the only target but still they cannot stop him. He has become inevitable.

Gabriel is the key to it all. So much so that he’s not just scoring the goals, he’s now calling the shots too.