It could be said that Arsenal are now the most dangerous team in English football when it comes to set pieces, and that is down to one man: Nicolas Jover.
He is the man often spotted in the Gunners' technical area whenever Arsenal have a set piece, which have been worked on to devastating effect over the last few seasons.
The German-born Frenchman's work was on show recently as Arsenal defeated rivals Manchester United thanks to two goals from corners, further cementing the Gunners' dominance from set plays.
Unsurprisingly, Arsenal supporters may be pretty familiar with who Jover is, but if not, here is everything you need to know about the set-piece expert, from where he has worked before to why he thinks set pieces are so important.
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Nicolas Jover's age
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Nicolas Jover was born on 28th October 1981 in Berlin, Germany, and is 43 years old.
Despite being born in Germany, Jover moved to France at an early age, where he now has citizenship. In his twenties, Jover moved to Quebec in Canada, where he studied for a sports degree at the University of Sherbrooke.
Nicolas Jover's career
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During Jover's time in Canada, the 43-year-old drew most of his influence from North American sports, particularly the National Football League.
Once Jover had completed his Master’s degree, he joined local amateur football side Dynamik de Sherbrooke as their technical director.
In 2009, the German-born coach made his first move into professional football, as he joined French side Montpellier as a video analyst. During his time with them, they won the Ligue 1 title in the 2011/12 campaign. Alongside his spell at Montpellier, Jover briefly took on a match analyst role for Croatia.
It was July 2016 when Jover first moved to England and became a set-piece coach as he joined Dean Smith at Brentford. He continued with the Bees until July 2019, during which he also worked under Thomas Frank, who took over from Smith.
After Brentford, Jover then went on to have roles at Manchester City and Arsenal, where he's had great success working in the Premier League.
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Nicolas Jover at Man City
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In July 2019, Jover joined Pep Guardiola's backroom staff at Manchester City, specialising in set pieces.
The 43-year-old was brought to the Etihad on the recommendation of Mikel Arteta, who was Guardiola's assistant manager at the time. During his time with the Citizens, Jover managed to work his magic, as in his first season there, City scored more set-piece goals than any other Premier League side and conceded the second-fewest.
In the second season, he was part of the team that won the Premier League title in the 2020/21 campaign, as well as helping them reach the Champions League final.
Jover's set-piece success at Arsenal
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Jover's City contract was expiring at the end of the 2020/21 season and decided to leave his role at City to team up with Arteta at Arsenal that summer.
The 43-year-old was appointed as the Gunners' set-piece coach and would work alongside coaches Albert Stuivenberg, Steve Round, Carlos Cuesta and Miguel Molina, who were all part of Arteta’s backroom team.
Jover’s role in the Arsenal team has continued to grow, and that was shown during the 2023/24 campaign, as the Gunners excelled at set pieces. Arteta’s side scored an impressive 22 goals from set pieces during that campaign, and that excludes penalties, which was the most in the league. 16 of those goals came from corners, which matched the record in a single Premier League season.
In the season before Jover arrived at the Emirates, Arsenal scored just six times from set pieces - further evidence that Jover’s arrival has played a big part in the success they have had from dead-ball situations.
It is not just a case of getting the ball into the box; Jover has made sure that Arsenal have good deliveries from dead balls with the likes of Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka providing excellent crosses.
He has also worked on routines where players may circle in a certain area of the box before making their runs when the ball is about to be delivered. It is clear that Jover spends a lot of time working on set plays with the Arsenal players.
Jover and Arteta relationship
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When Arsenal confirmed the appointment of Jover, Arteta described the German-born coach as "someone whose expertise can be incredibly useful and valuable for us". The Arsenal boss went on to say that it set pieces are something that you have to "dominate" and "master".
Arsenal have managed to do just that since Jover's arrival, as they are well-known for being the most dangerous team from set pieces in the Premier League.
What Jover says about set pieces
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During his time at Man City and Arsenal, Jover has had a big impact on the side's successes at set pieces, whether it be attacking or defensively. His methods are obviously a hit with the players, and it is also clear that being good in both boxes is important to him and Arteta.
Jover has stated how the importance of set-pieces in football is growing. He previously said: "The higher the level, the more CPAs (set-pieces) matter."
Jover also dismissed the idea that set pieces are for weaker sides, as he's shown that teams such as Man City and Arsenal are trying to be even more effective in these types of areas. The Arsenal coach has also labelled set pieces as "essential gains" that can impact a game's outcome.
Arteta has a lot of trust in Jover, and so far, he has been repaying that faith, as he's made Arsenal a dangerous set-piece side.