Mikel Arteta probably never thought he would get a compliment by being compared to Tony Pulis.
But, remarkably, Arsenal have become the set piece kings of the Premier League after another two goals scored from corners at Tottenham in the north London derby. That takes them to 16 goals from corners this season which is the most by a team in a single season since West Brom under Pulis in 2016/17.
Arsenal have got their corner routine down to a fine art and even Sky pundit Gary Neville paid tribute to their “set piece guru” during commentary of their win at Tottenham. The unsung hero - although he is rapidly getting so much recognition that he is hardly a secret any more - is Nicolas Jover, a key member of Arteta’s backroom staff at Arsenal. Arteta calls him Nico.
When Arsenal score from a corner or a set piece it is pretty standard to see Arteta dashing to embrace Jover for his work and input. And their relationship dates way back beyond when Jover joined Arsenal in the summer of 2021.
It is often said that Pep Guardiola took Jover to Manchester City in the summer of 2019 but that is actually only half the story. Arteta, who was Guardiola’s assistant at the time, had been charged with bringing in a specialist - and it was Arteta who actually brought Jover to City.
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In typical Arteta fashion, he did his research, asked trusted contacts as to who was the best in the business and was assured that Jover - who was at Brentford at the time - was the man to get. Jover went to City in the summer of 2019, Arteta tried to take him to Arsenal when he took over at the Emirates in the December of that year but City blocked it.
While there has never been bad blood between Arteta and City over his switch to Arsenal, it would be fair to say there is not a great love between the two Premier League giants at the highest level. When Arsenal could not get Jover from City, they brought in Andreas Georgson who left in 2021 and went to Malmo, Southampton and is now at Lillestrom.
Nicolas Jover (R) has become Arsenal's not-so-secret weapon as their set piece coach (Dave Shopland/REX/Shutterstock)But it does explain why, when Jover’s contract at City expired in the summer of 2021, he was willing and able to jump ship and join the manager who gave him his big break. Jover has become irreplaceable at Arsenal and the mastermind behind little tricks of the trade like Ben White blocking off Spurs keeper Guglielmo Vicario at corners to expose the Italian’s frailties at set pieces.
Or to suddenly put Declan Rice on corner duty after spotting just how good the England midfielder’s delivery was. On Sunday, Arsenal scored from both sides with Bukayo Saka delivering the corner for Pierre-Emile Hoijbjerg to put into his own net and then Rice to put the ball on the plate for Havertz.
It is only football dinosaurs who cannot see the value of set piece coaches and what they bring. While Arsenal were in Dubai for their mid winter break, they went into overdrive on practicing on set pieces.
After the goals dried up over the festive period, they could not stop scoring when they came back. One of the best qualities of a manager is delegation. That is why Guardiola was happy to let Arteta go out and get Jover in the first place.
And why Arteta has used Jover to great effect. The best managers are not threatened by new ideas - they embrace them. There was a similar story with Arsenal’s match analyst, Ben Chadwick. Highly rated at City, championed by Arteta and, when Arsenal came calling, he jumped as well.
Arsenal are making great strides in trying to catch City - and surrounding himself with the best experts and coaches is a major part of Arteta’s masterplan.
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