Liverpool icon reveals the ‘worst’ thing about Nicolas Jover as Arsenal coaching ‘problem’ outlined

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Arsenal’s set-piece coach Nicolas Jover has gone from hero to zero in one Premier League icon’s eyes.

After occupying second place for the majority of the campaign, Arsenal are now at risk of losing grip on a top-two finish. 

The Gunners lost 2-1 at home to Bournemouth on matchday 35, seeing Manchester City close the gap between second and third to just three points. 

As a result, Mikel Arteta’s firm focus can no longer solely be on the Champions League, as Arsenal’s Premier League form has run the squad into a spot of bother. 

• READ MORE: Five things learned from Arsenal v Bournemouth including Declan Rice’s brilliance and Dean Huijsen’s stunning Emirates audition

Michael Owen blasts Nicolas Jover for ‘ironic’ Arsenal problem

The defeat against Bournemouth was one of pure frustration, particularly for Arteta, who was furious at the referees.

Evanlison scored from a queried handball, an offence that VAR cleared and a decision that ultimately won the Cherries the game.

Aside from the anger towards PGMOL for the questionable match winner, Arteta will have his mind occupied with how frail his side looked from set play, something that Michael Owen commented on. 

Speaking to Premier League Productions after the defeat, the Liverpool icon blasted set-piece coach Nicolas Jover, as a peculiar statistic emerged. 

“It’s quite ironic, isn’t it, because we’ve been lauding Arsenal, we’ve been talking about how good their set piece coach must be, and obviously is in one box, but he’s the worst, well they’ve got the worst record percentage wise, in the other box.” 

Owen was referring to a statistic that revealed that Arsenal have conceded the highest percentage of set-piece goals in the Premier League, prompting the Ballon d’Or winner to send a word of advice to Jover.

“I’d suggest he needs to start practising a little bit more at the other end because it’s fine scoring all those goals, but if you’re going to concede the most as well, the highest percentage, that’s a problem.”

Jover has been praised heavily this season as Arsenal’s pedigree of scoring from set-play took centre stage, but now, the Frenchman has been portrayed as somewhat of a villain. 

Owen’s opinion swayed by misleading statistic 

At first glance, the statistic that Owen was alluding to is a concern, but when really delving into the numbers behind the percentage, the Liverpool legend has been misled to a degree.

Arsenal’s percentage reads so high due to the fact that the total number of goals the Gunners have conceded in the 2024/25 Premier League season is so low. 

No team has conceded fewer goals than Arsenal this term (31), so, having conceded 12 set-piece goals, the percentage of such naturally appears to be more alarming.

When glancing at the team coming in with the second-highest percentage, Wolves, it’s clear that Vitor Pereira’s side has more of a problem than Arsenal, having let in 21 set-piece goals from their total of 62 conceded.

Against Bournemouth, the goals conceded portrayed a weakness in defending set play, but not to the extent that the table suggests, which could prompt Owen to rethink his opinion on Jover.