Mikel Arteta's secret weapon?! Arsenal hire new throw-in coach who worked with Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool

Per the Standard, Arsenal have recruited Gronnemark as they aim to end a Premier League trophy drought that stretches back to 2004. The Gunners are one of the most dangerous teams from set-pieces in England, scoring 12 goals from dead-ball situations. They currently sit six points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table, and Arteta is clearly seeking to maximise any potential marginal gains, with Gronnemark regarded as one of the world's foremost experts when it comes to throw-ins. 

Gronnemark spent five years in the backroom team of Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, joining the club in 2018, the season in which the Reds won the Champions League. He was previously an athlete in his native Denmark, and actually held the world record for the longest throw-in. His sport of choice, however, was bobsleigh, and he represented his country for four years. His role at Liverpool was his first in England, and he is said to be particularly adept at teaching teams how to retain possession and build attacks from throw-in situations. 

Arteta has previously explained that he became aware of how set-pieces could be vital to a team's success, saying: "Ten years ago. I wasn't here, but 10 years ago, I said 'it is a massive thing to do that' and I started to have a vision, try to implement a method and try to be surrounded by the best people to deliver that."

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Gronnemark spoke about the importance of throw-ins when explaining why he was recruited by Klopp at Anfield. 

Speaking in 2024, he said: "He (Klopp) called me and said 'Liverpool have had a great season, but we were so bad at throw-ins'.

"He'd been reading about me in the German newspaper Bild and that's the reason he called me.

"When I came, data showed that Liverpool were 18th in the Premier League for throw-ins under pressure. In my first season, we improved from 45.4% to 68.4% and went from 18th to number one.

"People might think it's only throw-ins, but there's approximately 40-60 throw-ins in a match and they use up 20 minutes. It's a gigantic thing in football. People have been neglecting this for many years."

He added:  "I was totally in shock when Jurgen called me.

"I was visiting a chocolate shop with my family; I saw the +44 and thought it was an English guy trying to sell me pens. I listened to the voicemail and it was a message from Jurgen. I tried to call him back, but he didn't pick up.

"My heart was just pounding... I took the call on my way home in the car, where I drove directly into a grass field when he called. He told me that he was sitting in a beach chair, reading the German newspaper Bild while on vacation in Tenerife, and he came across an article about me... he had never heard of a throw-in coach before."

Arsenal are next in action against Portsmouth in the FA Cup third round. They will then face Chelsea in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, prior to a Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.