Arsenal’s warm-weather training camp in Dubai last season had a transformative effect on the team - and no more was that the case than with set-pieces.

The packed schedule gives little time for set-piece coach Nicolas Jover to work on new ideas, but he made full use of the gap in the calendar last year.

It was in Dubai that the decision was made to put Declan Rice on corners.

Before the trip, Rice had taken just three corners in the first 20 Premier League games.

There was a belief, though, that Rice’s delivery could prove a valuable weapon for Arsenal and that turned out to be true.

In the four games after Arsenal returned from Dubai, Rice took 12 corners and provided three assists from set-pieces.

Jover views the takers as vital to set-pieces. Standard Sport has been told how he builds routines “like a jigsaw” during sessions and the first piece is the taker. The attackers are then added to the routine and then, finally, so are the defenders.

The decision to move Rice onto set-pieces has proved a masterstroke. He has helped the Gunners become the best team at set-pieces in the Premier League and now they have the opportunity to get even better.

Defeat at Newcastle in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday concluded a run of 11 games in 36 days, which left little time for set-piece work.

Training sessions in January were mainly based around recovery or preparation for the next game given the tight turnaround.

Six days in Dubai gives Jover time to work his magic and it would be a surprise if Arsenal did not return with a new trick or two.

Arsenal are well aware of their reputation around set-pieces - and how teams study their routines - and so they are constantly thinking of new routines.

Now, though, they have the time to actually work and implement them.

The idea around Arsenal’s training camp in Dubai is to recover players and re-energise them for the crunch part of the season - but time will be set aside for set-pieces.

Arteta ideally likes to make set-pieces part of an overall session, as opposed to a separate drill, due to his belief that the whole game is connected.

Corners are won due to attacking domination and therefore practicing them in isolation is not reflective of a match situation.

“It’s all connected, so you have to try to connect it,” said Arteta. “It’s not sequences of play that are far apart, so we work in a way which is actually close to the game.”

Players have taken on more responsibility as Arsenal’s set-piece work has evolved. Jover often gives a signal from the touchline to a core group of players, which is usually primary target Gabriel, captain Martin Odegaard and whoever is taking the set-piece.

The dream for Jover is to have a “recognisable style of set-pieces, just like a playing style”.

This week in Dubai, he can add to his ever-growing playbook.