‘Crazy’: Gary Neville infuriated by one thing Arsenal man did in Newcastle defeat

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Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has levelled some criticism at Arsenal set piece coach Nicolas Jover.

Like Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, Nicolas Jover is often an animated figure on the touchline, especially during set piece situations. 

The coach can often be seen gesticulating and barking instructions from the technical area.

This behaviour has now drawn the ire of Gary Neville, who was less than impressed by what he saw from Jover whilst Arsenal slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Newcastle United on Saturday evening.

Speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast, the former full-back said, “it was driving me crazy. The set-piece coach down here, he was doing my head in as well.”

“He was screaming on like crazy like he was the manager. I am not sure that helps…You want to take a set-piece or a dead ball, you want to be relaxed – I don’t think that helped.”

Arsenal set-pieces failed to sparkle

Clearly, Arteta is not concerned by the potential impact of Jover’s antics or he would have stamped it out. Arteta himself is constantly making his own views clear from his technical area.

It was not a surprise to see Jover getting frustrated at St James’ Park. In an attacking sense, Arsenal were poor in their efforts to make the most of set-piece opportunities. 

Jover has had a big impact since his appointment at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners generally have a good record of scoring from set-piece situations, but their delivery was consistently below par on Tyneside.

In general, Arsenal lacked cutting edge against Newcastle. From set-piece situations and in open play, the Gunners need to become more consistently clinical. The likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Eddie Nketiah were all successfully stifled by the Newcastle defence. 

When the attack isn’t clicking in open play, it becomes all the more important to take advantage of set-pieces. Arsenal have a tall, aerially threatening team now. The likes of Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, and Ben White, amongst others, all pose a threat in these scenarios. 

Perhaps, in the tumultuous atmosphere at St James’ Park, with the pressure of being behind weighing on the Arsenal players, Jover was unwise to add to the cacophony.