Gary Neville described Arsenal’s set piece coach Nicolas Jover as a “little nuisance” during the Gunners win over Tottenham on Sunday afternoon.
Mikel Arteta’s side kept their push going for a first league title in 20 years, thanks to a 3-2 win against their north London rivals.
It appeared it would be an easy afternoon for Arsenal as they raced into a 3-0 first half lead, thanks to goals from Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz, and an own goal from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Spurs showed some fight in the second half, and set up a nervy finish thanks to goals from Cristian Romero and Heung-Min Son, who converted from the spot, but the Gunners held on.
Neville describes Arsenal’s set piece coach as a nuisance
One story to emerge from the game was Tottenham’s continued struggles from set pieces, and Arsenal’s continued brilliance from them.
The Gunners scored two goals from set pieces, the first when Hojbjerg headed Saka’s corner into his own net, and the second when Havertz headed home from Declan Rice’s corner.
The mastermind behind Arsenal’s excellence from dead balls is Jover, who is the club’s set piece coach.
Arteta’s side have now scored 16 goals from corners this season, the most from any side in a single campaign since West Brom under Tony Pulis in the 2016-2017 season.
Jover has come in for huge praise for his work, and Neville joined in after Arsenal’s latest impressive showing from set pieces.
“He’s a little nuisance, that set piece coach, but he’s damn good”, said Neville on Sky Sports after seeing Jover celebrate on the sidelines.
Jover is German and started his career with French club Montpellier as a video analyst in 2013, before moving to Brentford in 2016, where he took on a key role in Thomas Frank’s coaching staff.
In 2019, the 42-year-old moved to Manchester City to become the club’s set piece coach, with Arteta recommending him to the club.
Arteta then brought Jover over to Arsenal in 2021, and the Gunners are now the most dangerous team in the league from set pieces.