Gary Neville has labelled set-piece specialist Nicolas Jover as 'the most annoying bloke in football' following Manchester United's defeat to Arsenal by two goals from corners. The Gunners enjoyed a 2-0 victory over Ruben Amorim's side on Wednesday night with Jurrien Timber and William Saliba finding the net.
Timber nodded in from Declan Rice's delivery before Saliba's deflection from Thomas Partey's header sealed the win. Despite Arsenal's set-piece prowess being key in a match with limited open-play opportunities, Neville was reluctant to praise them.
During The Overlap watch-along, the United legend commented on Jover's touchline celebrations. As quoted by the Mirror, Neville said: "He's got to be the most annoying bloke in football, the set-piece coach at Arsenal. He's got to be, hasn't he? He's got to be though, hasn't he?"
Ian Wright humorously disagreed, retorting: "Of course, nobody likes somebody who's rubbish at his job!" Jamie Carragher admired Arsenal's performance. The Liverpool icon added: "I'll tell you what, give him what he wants.
Arsenal set piece coach Nicolas Jover and manager Mikel Arteta
Nicolas Jover is the man responsible for Arsenal's set pieces (Image: Visionhaus/Getty Images)
"If you were that set-piece coach for Arsenal, you could write your own contract, couldn't you? Couldn't get rid of him. You know, if he said, 'I want 25 grand a week,' you'd have to give it to him, wouldn't you?"
After William Saliba's goal had sunk in, Neville did acknowledge Arsenal's set-piece strength. He said: "I'll tell you what, I'll give some credit where credit's due. He's whipped everyone into the near post.
"So all the United players are in at the near post, and two of the Arsenal players are hung out at the back against [Noussair] Mazraoui and he's (Partey) literally got a free header. You've played them."
When quizzed on the significance of set-pieces, Mikel Arteta emphasised their importance. The Arsenal boss said: "We need that. I think we want to be very dangerous and very effective from every angle and every phase of play.
"Today we could have scored from open play like we did against West Ham and Sporting. The team really has that belief that from every angle we have the mentality to threaten the opponent and try to score. Today was two set-pieces. We had 13 corners. We have to take a lot from that."
And when asked if opponents fear conceding corners to Arsenal, Arteta added: "I don't know. We work on what we work. Attacking the box in various ways. This is a way we attack the box and we are very efficient. We will find ways to keep improving."
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