Manchester United set to hire ex-Arsenal coach in key backroom role - Reports

Manchester United are reportedly on the brink of appointing former Arsenal coach Andreas Georgson as their new set-piece coach. The club's new co-owners, INEOS, continue to revamp Erik ten Hag's backroom staff with established names.

Manchester Evening News reports that Georgson is headed for Old Trafford after the Red Devils triggered the release clause in his Lillestrom contract. The Swede is currently in charge of the Norweigan outfit, but his seven-month stay is about to end.

Georgson is a familiar face in English football, having previously coached at Brentford, Arsenal, and Southampton. He worked closely with Manchester United's new technical director, Jason Wilcox, at St Mary's, and the Englishman has pushed for his arrival.

Wilcox previously hailed Georgson when the duo worked at Southampton. He spoke highly of his set-piece coaching (via the source above):

"Andreas has an excellent understanding of the game model we’re building here, in which set-pieces play an important role. He is an expert in what he does and truly eats, sleeps and breathes set pieces, adding another string to our bow within the backroom staff."

Manchester United are set to pay just £280,000 to extract Georgson from his Lillestrom contract. He's the third high-profile coach to join Ten Hag's backroom staff, and Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake are becoming his new assistants.

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"You want to deliver" - Manchester United-linked Andreas Georgson on his role while at Arsenal

Georgson spent just over a year at Arsenal as Mikel Arteta's set-piece coach. The Gunners brought him up to the Premier League after he'd worked at Brentford in the EFL Championship.

The Swede impressed with the Bees before moving to north London as his time at the club coincided with their promotion push. He was assistant manager at the Gtech Community Stadium but was handed a different role by Arteta. He told The Athletic in 2021:

"It was, very clearly, a set-piece role. Attacking set pieces, defensive set pieces and throw-ins were my responsibility."

Georgson's time at Arsenal came amid Arteta's rise to becoming one of Europe's most highly-admired managers. The Swede spoke about working with the Spaniard and hinted at what type of mentality he might bring to Manchester United:

"My focus was 99 per cent on just managing my own process — it was hard with double gameweeks all the time. I just wanted to produce the level of detail I felt Arsenal deserved, and that Mikel deserved. He’s such a strong manager, he knew every detail of my process. That just makes you feel like you want to deliver, deliver and deliver."

Manchester United have struggled at set pieces over the years compared to the constant threat they used to be. Particularly from corners, they went six months without scoring from one in the 2021-22 campaign.