Declan Rice reveals huge impact of Arsenal secret weapon who doesn’t get enough credit

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has now opened up about what set-piece coach Nicolas Jover brings to the club. 

Declan Rice has been impressed by the impact that Nicolas Jover is having at Arsenal. 

The Gunners have attracted plenty of attention with their set-pieces this season. In this aspect of the game, Arsenal are leading the way in the Premier League. In Rice, Bukayo Saka, and club captain Martin Odegaard, the north London club boast some excellent set-piece takers. The likes of Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, and Kai Havertz, amongst others, also offer an aerial threat. 

However, the real difference-maker in this equation is Jover. Mikel Arteta certainly values what the French coach brings to the club. Arteta has previously hailed Jover for his impact at Arsenal, and has applauded him for his ability to concoct methods of deceiving opposition teams. 

Arteta brought Jover to the Emirates Stadium shortly after his own appointment as manager in December 2019. Like the Spanish coach, Jover had previously been an assistant at Manchester City, working under Pep Guardiola. 

In some ways, the Gunners’ reliance upon set-pieces is something of a throwback. Arsenal’s approach to these situations has been likened to the George Graham era. However, there is no denying that set-pieces has provided a hugely effective means of scoring goals for the north London club this season. 

Declan Rice reveals Nicolas Jover’s methods at Arsenal

Rice has now lifted the lid on how Jover works with the players on a daily basis to ensure that Arsenal maintain this edge in matches. As quoted by iNews, the 25-year-old said, “behind the scenes, he’s just so hard-working. Nobody sees that, they just see him on the sideline celebrating set-pieces.”

“But he’s always got his laptop in his hand, always working, always striving to be better, always pulling lads for individual meetings to say ‘you’re not doing this right’ or ‘you can improve that’. I think that’s good, it means we’re not going stale.”

“We’re constantly improving, constantly taking criticism if we need it. He’s been really good to work with and is open to new ideas and I’m really relishing that.”

Arteta clearly has huge faith in Jover, as he affords him such a degree of control over this aspect of Arsenal’s game plans. That trust has been rewarded this season. Certainly, in tight games to come, against top-class opposition, the Gunners’ set-piece prowess could be the difference between winning and losing. That may prove to be all-important in the context of the Premier League title race.