Long throw-ins: Which Premier League teams are the kings of long throw-ins?

How can you influence a team’s long shot? Do we give them less room to run perhaps? And that’s exactly what Sunderland did when Arsenal visited the Stadium of Light.

Many teams also used it as a tactic against Police Stoke.

Sunderland have the ability to do just that, having got the team closer to the pitch in the second leg of their Championship qualifier semi-final against Coventry in May, in which they drew to win on aggregate.

But although Arsenal have a good reputation for free kicks, they have not scored a goal from a throw-in this season.

At the Stadium of Light, the average length of throws into the final third has increased game after game – from 8.3m when West Ham visited on the opening weekend to 24.9m and 27.4m respectively as Wolves and Everton made the trip before the international break.

Mikulenko’s throw of 33.2 meters was the longest of the season on the ground, so perhaps it was his strike that got Sunderland reacting ahead of Arsenal’s visit.

While a team cannot change the dimensions of the pitch during the season, there is nothing in the Premier League regulations that prevents advertising boards from being moved depending on which player you are playing. The only requirement is in the Laws of the Game, which stipulate that the upright must be at least one meter away from the touchlines.

Thomas Groenemark, a specialist throw-in coach, told BBC Sport: “Changing the placement of advertising boards falls into a gray area, like not watering the pitch if you are playing a really good technical team.”

Gronemark, now at Danish club FC Midtjylland, has worked with several clubs, including Brentford and Liverpool. He helped Jensen hone his long-throw skills and coached Sunderland’s Mukiele at RB Leipzig in 2018.

“We saw the same thing in Denmark several years ago, where FC Copenhagen placed their advertising boards just a few meters from the sidelines because they played against FC Midtjylland,” Grønmark said.

“People can take different approaches. As long as the laws don’t say exactly what to do, but only recommend what to do, you won’t be able to do anything about it.”