How Nicolas Jover made Arsenal the kings of corners

Alex Keble took a look at how Arsenal have become the kings of set-pieces since the arrival of specialist coach Nicolas Jover. 

Every time there’s a set-piece near the penalty area, there he is: Nicolas Jover, prowling the touchline, running the show as Mikel Arteta fades into the background.

And not just at organising attacking set-pieces. When Arsenal were clinging on to their lead deep into stoppage time in the 3-2 win at Tottenham Hotspur and a flurry of corners were awarded to the home side, an animated Arteta turned to his bench, invited Jover forward and slapped him on the back as if to say: "You’ve got this."

In the dying seconds, the Arsenal boss ceded control to his set-piece coach. It spoke volumes about the trust Arteta has in Jover; a trust his specialist has earned.

We saw Jover's work in action once again on Wednesday night as Arsenal beat Manchester United 2-0, with both goals coming from set-pieces.

Jover was poached from Man City after superb spell

Jover’s influence at Arsenal was predictable enough, given his impact as the set-piece coach at Manchester City between 2019 and 2021.

In 2019/20, his first season, he managed to reduce Man City’s percentage of goals conceded from dead-balls, from 39 per cent in the previous campaign to 20 per cent.

The following season, it was down to 16 per cent and of course this is reflected in the total number of goals conceded, too, as the table below shows.

His impact was just as big going forward. Man City topped the Premier League charts for goals from set-pieces in 2019/20 and were ranked fourth in 2020/21.

Man City set-piece stats before/with Jover

*before Jover joined Man City

Arteta worked with Jover for only six months at Man City before he left to become Arsenal boss, but the set-piece coach clearly made an impression on him.

Jover was poached, and Arteta's side went to the next level.

Jover impact most noticeable at corners

After adding Jover to his Arsenal staff, Arteta said: "I believed we needed somebody who specialised in that [set-pieces].

"I met him, we started to discuss how we could apply set-pieces to the open play, which is also connected. They're not two separate things, it's all connected in the game, and how we could maximise that.

"I knew Nico from before, and I asked him to come and join our project, and he's having a really strong impact on the team."

That much is undeniable, and nowhere is his influence more pronounced than Arsenal’s number of goals from corners, which are off the charts following Jover’s arrival.

As reported by Opta’s David Wall, since Jover joined, Arsenal have scored more goals from corners than any other Premier League club. Their total of 48 means they are averaging one goal from every 16.4 corners (six per cent).

In the 111 matches preceding Jover’s arrival, Arsenal scored a goal every 32 corners, which hits the league average of around three per cent. Under Jover, they have become twice as effective.

It’s no surprise, then, that Arsenal equalled the Premier League record for most goals from corners, in 2023/24.

Most goals scored from corners in a PL season

Jover’s impact on set-pieces at both ends is world-beating. In 2020/21, the season before Jover arrived, Arsenal scored just six set-piece goals.

As a percentage of their total goals, in the year before his arrival, 11 per cent of their goals were scored from set-pieces. Over his first year, that jumped to 26 per cent.

Defensively, the improvement hasn’t quite been as marked, although that is largely because of Arsenal’s over-performance defending set-pieces the year before he arrived.

The table below shows that Arsenal conceded just five set-piece goals in 2020/21 (before Jover) from an xG against of 7.42, but this appears to be an anomaly: the year before, 2019/20, Arsenal conceded 15 set-piece goals (= third worst).

With that context, their defensive record over the last three years is impressive.

Arsenal set-piece stats before/with Jover

*before Jover joined Arsenal

Importance of set-piece coach in modern game

When Jover was first signed, Arteta said he was "someone whose expertise can be incredibly useful and valuable for us" because set-pieces are "a crucial part of the game nowadays".

Three years on, Arsenal’s set-piece goals have proven just how important a specialist has become in the modern game.

The role is increasingly prevalent, which perhaps explains the uptick in corner goals in the Premier League, as The Athletic’s Ahmed Walid has shown.

We are up to 4.2 goals per 100 corners. Even in a crowded field, Jover is on top.

"It's a pleasure to work with him," Leandro Trossard said of Jover last year. "He's really clever on set-pieces. It's such a great aspect in the game where you can open up a game. It helped us already a lot."

But such demanding work, and the constant running of set-piece routines, isn’t a pleasure for everyone.

"We do a lot of work on set-pieces. It's the worst, it's the worst!" Bukayo Saka joked in January.

"Nico, our set-piece coach, does a really good job though. What he's doing is clearly working so we'll have to continue doing it."

Saka is benefiting in that his brilliant inswinging deliveries at corners have helped to boost his assists to 10 this season and he was only denied an 11th against Man Utd by Thomas Partey's header connecting with William Saliba's backside for the second goal.   

"There’s no competition – as long as we keep putting good balls in and our big centre-halves keep scoring, there’s not a problem," said Arsenal's Declan Rice, whose corner for Jurrien Timber's opener was his fourth assist this season. 

That Arsenal are still effective at set-pieces three years in is a testament to Jover’s ability to shake things up, keeping the routines fresh.

The variety in their deliveries is telling.

A version of this article was originally published at the end of the 2023/24 season. Some stats have since been updated.