Arsenal, who lead the Premier League with six points as of week 21, have added Liverpool’s former throw-in instructor to their coaching staff to boost their title chances.
Not since the extraordinary Invincibles has an Arsenal squad celebrated being champions of England’s top football division. That 22-year wait looks set to be at its end, thanks to how they have taken control of the 2025/26 football season.
The key factor has been the club’s ownership’s patience with Mikel Arteta, who has slowly built a machine that is efficient in every department, from scouting to coaching and, of course, the on-pitch actions of the players.
One of Arteta’s methods is to ensure that every set piece or break in play that favours the team is fully taken advantage of, leading the club to bring in Nick Jover, a set-piece specialist coach. That move has made the Gunners practically unbeatable in set pieces, leading to them being one of the most difficult to score against from set pieces and arguably the best team when it comes to scoring from set pieces.
Now, the Gunners have added a throw-in coach to maximise their chances of getting the most out of every game to hold on firmly to their lead at the top of the 2025/26 Premier League standings.
Danish long throw specialist Thomas Gronnemark, who worked with Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool, is the new coach at Arsenal’s training facility, whose job is to ensure that the Gunners can take advantage of throw-ins close to their opponents’ box to add more goals to their tally.
Gronnemark left Liverpool in 2023 for Brentford and transformed them into a long throw-in machine: the Bees have scored nine goals from long throws since 2024/25, which is more than double of any Premier League side not relegated after 2024/25.
Arsenal is one of eight teams yet to score from throw-in situations this season. Meanwhile, Jover’s work on Arsenal’s set piece efficiency (14 goals, one more than Manchester United and quite a few more than other Premier League league teams) is glaring for all to see. With Gronnemark, the North Londoners have added another weapon to their arsenal.
Gronnemark, a former Guinness World Record holder for the longest throw-in in football, has also consulted for Borussia Dortmund, Ajax, FC Midtjylland, Union Saint-Gilloise, and Japan’s JEF United.
The Dane will resume his new role ahead of their Premier League fixture with Nottingham Forest, where Arsenal will be visiting with a lot of confidence after their 4-1 away win at Portsmouth in the FA Cup last weekend.
