Nicolas Jover has helped architect another significant Arsenal victory in the title race via their trusted weapon — set-pieces. It was that ‘little nuisance’, as ascribed by Gary Neville, who again jumped and jumped on the touchline in glee.
The pathway to three points in a tense north London derby against rivals Tottenham was unlocked in 15 minutes, Bukayo Saka’s corner-kick swung into the near post area with Takehiro Tomiyasu ready to head it goalward. The expectation for the cross to land in the mix caused Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to panic – he headed the ball into his own net.
The cameras subsequently panned to the technical area and it was Arsenal’s set-piece mastermind Jover who landed in the arms of Mikel Arteta. Neville quipped on commentary:
“There he is again. The set-piece guru. He’s a little nuisance that set-piece coach, but he’s damn good.”
In the Premier League this season, Arsenal have scored the most set-piece goals excluding penalties (22),the most goals via corners (16) and conceded the second-fewest number of set-pieces excluding penalties (six). It’s the latter statistic which is just as crucial as the scoring itself.
As Spurs rained down crosses and corner-kicks into the box in those frantic final 10 minutes, the 42-year-old was crouched, orchestrating the Gunners’ defensive strategy while Arteta was out of view. Scoring is good, but not without defensive solidity at the other end.
Nicolas Jover’s journey to Arsenal
Nicolas Jover celebrating the Community Shield at Manchester City
It has not gone unnoticed throughout the campaign that when Arsenal have a set-piece, the ever-active Arteta takes a step back in the technical area and Jover takes his space, issuing instructions. The relationship between the pair goes back much further than training ground routines and working together at the north London club.
Arteta noticed the German-born Frenchman’s work at Brentford, where Jover transformed the club’s approach to set-pieces between July 2016 and 2018.
In that period as assistant coach to Dean Smith, before briefly working under current boss Thomas Frank, the Bees were, as they are now, fixated on forward thinking for those marginal gains. In terms of Jover, there was an immediate difference as he was given the licence and time to instil his methods on the team.
His next move is where the ambitious coach first made his mark to a mainstream audience. He was introduced to Manchester City by Arteta, their assistant coach at the time, who had taken notice of Jover’s work at Brentford.
The pair, who both speak English, French and Spanish, had hit it off immediately when they met after the Spaniard reached out to Jover. At the end of his contract in 2021, Jover joined Arteta at Arsenal — and the rest writes itself; A reunion of a pair who share many similarities.
Jover and Arteta; a match made in Heaven
Mikel Arteta and Nicolas Jover on the touchline for Arsenal
He mirrors Arteta in intensity and focus and has the respect of the players. That passion could be seen in his confrontation with Man City’s Kyle Walker after Arsenal beat the club 1-0, the men getting involved in a heated exchange.
Both have a relentless work ethic and an obsession for detail. Jover likes to keep sessions short, less than 30 minutes, to ensure he has the team’s full attention.
Jover is given multiple sessions during the week to drill his various methods. It was he who convinced the Gunners boss to put Declan Rice on delivering corner-kicks during the Dubai winter camp. In a practical sense, there is intricate detail to the success via a variety of corner-kick methods and antics this season.
For Sunday’s 3-2 victory over Tottenham, the Hojbjerg own-goal was precipitated by Ben White’s actions in the area.
He targeted Guglielmo Vicario by trying to take the goalkeeper’s gloves off. Vicario shook him off but was clearly irritated.
His mind had been rattled before the ball even reached the box. And then for Arsenal’s second set-piece goal, by way of Kai Havertz, White had backed into Vicario on the goal-line, leaving the keeper stuck in one spot.
Jover with a plethora of strategies to corner kicks for Arsenal
Nicolas Jover celebrating the corner goals at White Hart Lane
Jover is a winner, like Arteta, so it’s not the first time such crafty tactics have been seen around the opposition area when the Gunners are about to take a set-piece. Winning at all costs.
Take Arsenal’s second goal in the 5-0 thrashing of Chelsea last Tuesday for instance, Saka was waiting to take the corner kick in the box, William Saliba had Enzo Fernandez pinned in the centre of the area while White was busy wrestling Marc Cucurella.
Once the ball broke loose, White shrugged Cucurella away to find himself in space and Saliba’s blocking of Enzo forced the Chelsea man to keep the opposition on side. White duly finished into the net.
Further to the use of NFL-style blocking, a number of instances spring up from earlier in the campaign. Declan Rice’s late goal against Manchester United in September started with four of Arsenal’s players outnumbering the two opposition players on the back post.
Once the ball reached Rice, Gabriel was already blocking Jonny Evans’ path to get to Rice’s shot. And then when facing Crystal Palace in January, Arsenal’s repeated tactical crowding of certain areas allowed Gabriel to plough in with two-headed goals.
Jover using crafty tactics all through the season for Arsenal
Nicolas Jover orchestrating training for Arsenal
For most corners, it is Martin Odegaard who stands on the edge of the box; a possible orchestrator in chief.
As spotted during Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Crystal Palace in January, Odegaard appeared to play with his socks as a gesture as to whether the corner would be to the near or back post.
When Mikel Arteta is asked about the ploy in the days after, he grinned and said: ‘I am not going to tell you that!’
It has been drilled so well into the players that it is almost second nature to create a sense of chaos in the box which is one of Jover’s aims. Under Arteta, Arsenal have rocked up to opposition grounds with their own banners and posters to give the away dressing room a more familiar feel.
A banner on the wall for Sunday’s game was rather telling. It read ‘BASICS’. An acronym for Boxes, Attack, Shape, Intensity, Compete — and Set-pieces. It’s an example of how serious Mikel takes set-pieces, and the responsibility he has given to Jover.
A similarly serious approach to the craft has been taken up by many clubs across the league, but some still don’t have a specialist coach on this area; Spurs are one.
When asked about his team’s difficulties in dealing with this art on Sunday, Ange Postecoglou replied:
‘If I thought fixing defensive set-pieces was the answer to us bridging the gap then I would put all of my time and effort into that. But that is not where we’re at.’
The success and goals Arsenal have borne under the tutelage of Jover may force Ange and others to swiftly change tack.
