‘Surprised me’… Pundit says 24-year-old Arsenal player did something that shocked him vs Palace

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Set pieces were the order of the day for Arsenal against Crystal Palace at the weekend.

The Gunners scored two goals from corners against the Eagles at the weekend, and it’s fair to say that their set plays are playing a huge part in their success this season.

Indeed, Arsenal have scored more goals from dead balls than any other club this season, and at the weekend, Leon Osman was shocked by one thing in regards to the Gunners’ set plays.

Speaking on Premier League Productions, Leon Osman has been discussing Arsenal’s corners, and he says that he was very surprised to see Declan Rice taking set plays at the weekend, claiming that he’d usually expect the 24-year-old to be in and around the penalty area trying to score rather than delivering the crosses.

Rice on corners shocked Osman

The pundit shared his verdict on Arsenal’s new corner taker.

“First and foremost what I noticed was that Declan Rice was taking it. That surprised me, I would usually expect him to be in the middle and Trossard taking it,” Osman said.

It worked

Getting someone as big and strong as Rice taking corners does defy traditional logic, but it worked a treat.

Indeed, while you may look at Rice and say that he’s someone who should be in the box rather than taking corners himself, but after setting up two goals at the weekend, you can’t really knock this decision.

Rice’s corners were spot on at the weekend, and we wouldn’t be surprised if he now took this role on permanently.

Of course, Rice himself can be a threat in the box – as he showed earlier this season against Manchester United, but if he can keep assisting the likes of Gabriel Magalhaes from these situations, he may be given the role as Arsenal’s corner taker for the foreseeable future.