It has been common for fans to feel like football has lost some of its magic with star players having less freedom and space to express themselves in open play.

Current professionals however talk about how the quality of players, tactics and coaching staff are better than ever.

Both of these things can be true and looking at how football has become a more structured and choreographed game, resembling American football, can help explain this.

In this article, we analyse tactical ideas Premier League teams are using that resemble the trends seen in the NFL.

‘American football is if every football play was a set-piece’

In a recent interview Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay was asked to compare football and the NFL, saying: ”The closest thing to what American football is is if every [football] play was a set-piece. Every play represents a set-piece for us.”

Set-pieces are becoming increasingly important and, if we accept McVay’s expert opinion, the Premier League is resembling the NFL more closely. Corners, free-kicks, throw-ins and even kick-off situations are being prioritised more than in past seasons.

This season, 28.4% of Premier League goals scored have come from set-pieces, the highest of any of the past 10 seasons.

And 3.2% of goals have come from throw-ins, the highest percentage of the past decade too.

It is interesting that McVay was the one to make these observations given his friendship with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. Both men are young coaches at the forefront of shaping what their sport looks like tactically and have shared ideas.

In recent seasons, Arsenal have become masters of scoring from set-pieces.

Since the start of the 2023-24 season, they have scored 36 goals from corners in the Premier League, 15 more than any other side in this period.

It is plausible that Arteta’s men, and others, have taken inspiration from teams like the LA Rams to inform their set-piece success.

Image source: Getty Images

Image caption: Mikel Arteta, left, and Sean McVay have formed a working relationship, sharing cross-sport insights

What NFL tactics are we seeing in football?

Teams are prioritising set-pieces and to good success but what are they doing within their routines that resemble the NFL?

Generally, teams are asking their players to run pre-determined routes on set-pieces aiming to make space for a free target. This is a change from the less choreographed routines which were often centred around crossing it to certain zones in the box, relying on your best players to win headers through their physicality and duelling.

Looking at set-plays more closely illustrates the similarities in player movement across both sports.

In the NFL, rub routes are plays in which an attacking player makes a movement that indirectly blocks the path of another player. Attacking players run ‘routes’ close to each other hoping one of their players gets in the way of a defensive back, opening up space for their teammate, particularly against man-to-man pressure.

Gabriel scored the winner against Newcastle impressively but it was William Saliba’s off-the-ball interaction with goalkeeper Nick Pope that helped Arsenal score.

The France centre-back made a forward movement that indirectly blocked Pope’s path to the ball meaning the English keeper was unable to claim the cross. It was not direct blocking but rather indirect crowding of where the opponent may want to go by running a pre-determined path like the NFL’s rub routes.

Image source: BBC Sport

Image caption: Wiliam Saliba runs towards the ball but indirectly prevents Nick Pope from being able to clear the cross by crowding his path

More deliberate blocking is being used frequently in the Premier League too. Teams are placing players in front of goalkeepers tasked with stopping their movement and ability to defend set-plays.

Chelsea scored three corners against West Ham earlier this season and Liam Delap’s role in blocking Hammers keeper Mads Hermansen was key to their success, in a way that resembles some of the off-ball blocking seen in the NFL.

Crystal Palace’s goal against West Ham also showcased the use of deliberate blocking in a way that resembled another more choreographed American sport – basketball.

At the far post, Adam Wharton stood still, putting his body between between Marc Guehi and his marker, blocking the West Ham defender’s path deliberately (unlike the indirect way rub routes impede movement). This meant Palace’s captain was able to break free unmarked.

As a tactic, this looks identical to ‘screening’ in basketball, a move in which a player stands still to block a nearby defender, allowing space for their team-mates to move freely around them.

Image source: BBC Sport

Image caption: Adam Wharton sets a ‘screen’ allowing Marc Guehi to run around his marker while Jean-Phillipe Mateta is acting as a blocker on the West Ham keeper.

The increasing influence of football coaches

What separates football from other sports is just how many factors are at play, making it hard to prepare for everything. In sports like tennis or NFL, games are a series of ‘mini-games’.

Football in open play involves 22 players who can move freely across a big pitch. The picture of the game changes very often and preparing for all of these scenarios is difficult. In football, there is an element of having to let the players make decisions and react to what happens on the spot.

McVay recognises the difference in control between the sports, saying: “What I think is so impressive about what [Arteta] does is he’s translating a vision of how we [coaches] want to be able to see the game and you’re giving players ownership and autonomy just based on the flow of [the game].”

This variance makes football enjoyable for fans but poses uncertainties that some managers may want to reduce. Coaches like Enzo Maresca and Mikel Arteta generally fall into this bracket.

Image source: Getty Images

Image caption: Mikel Arteta and Enzo Maresca embracing

Both Maresca and Arteta prefer to dominate the ball allowing their team to control the game far from their own goal. In previous seasons, Arteta’s approach has been described as pragmatic given the lack of risk taken in their attacking play despite dominating the ball.

By playing more safely in open play, teams are able to reduce the uncertainties before capitalising on the safer, more structured parts of the game like set-pieces.

Given the structured nature of these scenarios, teams are able to prepare for them more reliably in the days leading up to a game too, knowing how opponents are likely to be set up and their weaknesses.

This season Arsenal have begun to introduce more risky and incisive passing particularly through the middle of the pitch which deserves credit but the challenge of balancing risk with control is one managers across the league have to contend with.

Across the league however, it does appear that by making the most of these structured game situations, managers are having a greater influence on the game like their NFL counterparts.

It concerned his goalkeeper and whether he had given any consideration to picking veteran former England man Tom Heaton ahead of Altay Bayindir for the Premier League defeat by Arsenal.

“Why?” came the response, the stare accompanying it unwavering.

What followed was the kind of exchange that used to be commonplace at Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson was the manager.

Essentially, journalists frequently asked questions that Ferguson either felt were genuinely ridiculous or that threatened to expose a weakness. Either, Ferguson reasoned, demanded a fierce rebuttal and a circling of the wagons.

“You are either with us, or against us,” was Ferguson’s mantra. The Scot viewed almost every journalist in the ‘against us’ camp, so he tended to treat their opinions with disdain, irrespective of their validity.

Amorim spoke to Ferguson just over a week ago, at the opening of United’s revamped training ground. Whether tactics in dealing with the media were discussed is open to question.

But Amorim has certainly used this summer to try and create a tight bond with his squad, which lies behind how Sunday unfolded.

Events can change situations quickly when a transfer window is nearing its close and it has been established Andre Onana’s former club Inter Milan are looking at bringing in a new goalkeeper. However, it is still the view of those at United on Monday there will be no additions to that part of their squad.

United chose to refresh their attacking positions with the finance that was available to the club this summer. When it became apparent Gianluigi Donnarumma was likely to be available as he is no longer required at Paris St-Germain, the word coming out of Old Trafford was the Italian goalkeeper would not be heading their way. That stance is not thought to have changed.

Picking Onana against Arsenal is bound to have come into Amorim’s thinking. After all, it could not have been any clearer who his first choice was when the 29-year-old was picked for the Europa League final in May even though he had made high-profile mistakes in the build-up to the defeat by Tottenham in Bilbao.

However, while Amorim said in his pre-match news conference on Friday afternoon the Cameroon international was available to face Mikel Arteta’s side, by kick-off, he had only three full training sessions behind him after suffering a hamstring injury early in July.

In Onana’s absence, Amorim thought Bayindir had performed well during a summer campaign across three countries in which United remained unbeaten and the 27-year-old had featured in three and a half of the five games.

It was on that basis Amorim concluded in order for players to believe his ‘group’ philosophy, it would be the wrong decision to axe Bayindir, who in his eyes had done nothing to deserve it, for Onana, whose fitness had to be taken on trust.

That he chose to get on the front foot in his post-match news conference after his decision had been questioned seemed to be part of a wider strategy.

After all, if former England goalkeeper Joe Hart felt able to tell BBC Radio 5 Live that while he was initially minded to defend Bayindir, having seen a replay of the goal, he thought the player had made a mistake and could have used one hand to get William Saliba out of his way as he went to punch the ball with the other, it was fair to hold Amorim to account.

The former Sporting boss was forceful in his rebuttal: “He suffered a goal like this where?” he countered, when it was put to him Bayindir had conceded in similar manner – unable to deal with a set-piece superbly delivered under his crossbar – before.

When the game – a Carabao Cup tie at Tottenham last December when Son Heung-min scored direct from a corner – was mentioned, Amorim’s reply was instant: “Without VAR,” he said. “With VAR it is a foul.”

Amorim maintained his offensive by talking about Bayindir’s next appearance, the FA Cup third-round tie at Arsenal a month later, when his goalkeeper was awarded man of the match in a shock penalty shootout win.

“You don’t remember the game?” Amorim said, without giving his inquisitor a chance to reply. “I remember the game. Altay was unbelievable.”

And from that background Amorim made yesterday’s call.

“I didn’t drop Onana from the squad,” he added. “After just one week, without seeing a game, without training.”

Twice Amorim was then asked if he was happy with his three goalkeepers. He talked round the situation on the first occasion. When he was asked again, his reply confirming he was, was followed by a shake of the head, as if to say “are you actually listening to me?”

Twenty seconds later, he had left.

Amorim is not due to speak to the media again until Friday, when it is almost guaranteed he will be asked who will be in goal against Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday, and it is equally likely he will refuse to say.

Most expect Onana to get the call.

History suggests that selection is not without risk. Amorim will hope not to spend the aftermath of the game having to defend it.