Bruno Fernandes, Arsenal and Manchester United are the clearest reference points in a Premier League set-piece preview built around penalties, free kicks and corners. Arsenal are listed with five penalty options, United with two, and Liverpool now need to appoint a new taker after Mohamed Salah's exit.
Matt Verri of standard.co.uk wrote that the 2026-27 Premier League season is expected to be heavily shaped by set-pieces. That is a fair read of the list. Bruno Fernandes is one of the names driving the headline discussion, while Arsenal's spread of takers suggests a side with options across several dead-ball situations.
Arsenal's penalty depth
Arsenal's penalty options are Bukayo Saka, Viktor Gyökeres, Bruno Guimarães, Havertz and Odegaard. That is a long list for one club, and it explains why Arsenal are being framed as one of the most set-piece-aware sides in the league.
The club's recent record fits that status. They finished top of the Premier League in 2025 with 85 points, and they went 8-0 in the 2025 Champions League league phase. Saka has already made 7 appearances in 2026, with a 7.26 rating across the year, which keeps him firmly in the penalty and wider dead-ball conversation.
Matt Verri also pointed to Arsenal as set-piece kings on their way to their first title in 22 years, while Fernandes benefitted from dead-ball situations on his way to breaking the Premier League assist record. Liverpool's situation is simpler but less settled. With Salah gone, the candidates are Alexander Isak and Dominik Szoboszlai, and Szoboszlai's 8.3-rated Premier League performance gives him at least one live claim.
United and Liverpool's dead-ball choices
United's list is shorter. Fernandes and Mbeumo are the two penalty options named for Manchester United, so the responsibility looks more concentrated than at Arsenal. That lines up with Fernandes' role as a main dead-ball outlet rather than one option among several.
Liverpool face a cleaner break. The club will need a new penalty taker after Salah's exit, and the two names in the frame are Isak and Szoboszlai. Chelsea's set-piece staff list also includes Austin McPhee after they triggered his release clause at Aston Villa, which adds another club worth watching when the season starts to settle.
The useful takeaway is not that every club has solved its set-piece order, because several clearly have not. It is that Arsenal and United already look more defined than most, and Fernandes, Saka and the Liverpool candidates will shape early decisions at the spot and from the flag.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
