Set Pieces analysis: Nicolas Jover the underappreciated French “fragrance” at Arsenal

Since the beginning of the season in Europe, Arsenal and Tottenham have been the highest-scoring team from set pieces.

Previously, we got to know the genius who does this at Tottenham, and now it is the turn of Arsenal’s dead-ball specialist, Nicolas Jover.

Arsenal scored thirteen goals from corners last season, the third-highest number in the league. And Jover was again in the news at the start of the 2022/23 season with a brilliant Arsenal set-piece goal in the first game of the Premier League Season.

In this tactical analysis, we will take a look at some of Jover's ideas in set pieces.

First three points

In the first match of the season against Crystal Palace, Jover’s impact was showcased quickly with a brilliant idea to score the first goal of the season. in the graphic below. “Vacant 6-yard

Arsenal’s attacking corner-kick vs Crystal Palace's, and attack the “Vacant 6-yard box Angle”, 3 Arsenal vs 4 Zonal marking from Crystal and plus 1 on the near post, Jesus vs Mitchell on the goal-line at the far post.

(2 runners) vs 2 man-marking, and Zinchenko free-man on “Vacant Angle”.

Here we could notice the actual shape of players and how they are stationed.  (when you say the actual shape, (I mean the distribution of players).

In terms of how successful Jover has been over the past few years, in the 2019-20 season City scored 17 goals from set pieces while conceding only seven. Those were the best and second-best stats respectively across the league.

Arsenal scored also scored from a set piece in the second match in their second Premier League game of the season, against Leicester City, in the second goal by Gabriel Jesus.

Moving in the blindside

Jover uses a mix of decoy runners, disguised movement and an overload of players inside the box in anticipation of the second ball. He has players stationed at different positions alongside defenders.

Arsenal’s attacking corner-kick vs Leicester City. Far-post's blindside, Martinelli crosses the near-post toward Partey, where Saliba centered (positions himself in the middle of the goal) and Jesus drops back to the far-post. (in the graphic is the player labelled as Martin supposed to be Ødegaard.

Gabriel prepares himself to move vertically, 6 Players Leicester vs 3 Arsenal in six-yard, (2 runners) vs 2 man-marking.

Partey was preparing to turn it over to the far post before Vardy accidentally did it, For the second match in a row, the work of the Arsenal set-pieces coach Nicolas Jover shows, as the team scored again from a corner against Leicester City and a distinctive way, as had happened against Crystal Palace in the opening match.

Jover has been described as someone who “asks questions” and “is never satisfied.” He wills the players to transmit the knowledge they have gained so they can improve regularly. Furthermore, he also aims to pre-empt what the opponents might do once the set piece is taken.

A magical routine

Nicolas' influence has continued to appear in almost every Arsenal game this season, the team creating an organised chaos inside the opponent's penalty area, forcing opponents to leave one or two players on alert in a space to receive the ball.

Targeting the far post in the absence of control, or at the near post where others are moving, and the objective is always to move the opponent and find space.

We will see what happened against Bournemouth, and we will look into the details.

8 players from Bournemouth on the edge box line. Short corner from Ødegaard to Martinelli.

Cross from Martinelli to the far post toward Xhaka, Saliba dropped back to take a back-pass from Xhaka, Gabriel occupies last defender to leave Xhaka free.

Saliba shows great technique in finishing with the non-preferred foot, and scores one of the goals of the season.

Xhaka is on the blindside, with an indirect free kick, while Jesus takes up a position at the near post and Saliba moves to the far one.

Gunners scored from set-pieces for the third match in a row! The specialist combined the tactics and made the most of the players’ capabilities.

Jover moved to the Emirates Stadium last summer and reunited with Mikel Arteta after the pair had worked together at Manchester City. The Gunners benefited massively last season from Jover's set-piece improvements with the Gunners going months without conceding from a corner the last term.

How to use the space?

Searching for space, at the near or far post, there is a constant search for space, and trying to move to it quickly confuses the opponents’ calculations.

The presence of players who are able to exploit space, such as Saliba and Gabriel, next to Jesus, makes it special, with the distribution of roles around the area for the second ball and the diagonal follow-up.

Chaos is the key, with players forced into a man-to-man situation.

2 Markers vs 2 runners, 6 Players from Brentford vs 3 Arsenal on edge of 6-yard box.

3 from Arsenal at the edge of the box for the second ball vs 2.

Jesus distracts the GK and his marker on the goal line.

Saliba as a free man loses markers and get to the “flick” zone at the near post. Set pieces for the team are vital parts of the team’s winning mindset.

Jover's work in both attacking and defending set pieces has improved a key area of Arsenal's play, and the return of William Saliba in defence it adds more of a physical presence to the Gunners. Speaking prior to the game, Arteta commented: "His [Saliba] physicality, he’s a big boy, he’s learned a lot. The experience in the last three years has helped a lot, then his composure on the ball, his decision making and what he brings to the team is something we didn’t have."

That was what Jaime Carragher said about Nicolas’ work after the match against Crystal Palace.

Conclusion

The Frenchman has a stellar resume behind him, having started his career as an analyst with Ligue 1 side Montpellier. He was part of the backroom staff when the team won the league title in 2012, before spending three years with the Croatian national team. Jover made his first foray into English football with Brentford in 2015.

The set-piece coach is one of the new roles in the game, and here the French young man spreads his perfume in different ways and ideas that benefit the team.