Gary Neville has hit out again at Arsenal set-piece coach Nicolas Jover, claiming he is “overreaching his importance” with his touchline antics.
Arsenal have enjoyed enormous success from corners and free-kicks over recent seasons with Jover credited with adding a new dimension to Mikel Arteta’s side.
The Gunners profited from his expertise again last night with Declan Rice’s left-wing corner headed goalwards by Gabriel before hitting Spurs striker Dominic Solanke and going in for the equaliser in the North London derby. Arsenal then won it through Leandro Trossard’s goal to move within four points of table-toppers Liverpool.
A deflection from Dominic Solanke following a Gabriel header means Arsenal have equalised in the North London Derby 🤩
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/jmta7hfZU4
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 15, 2025
And while Neville is happy to give Jover credit for his work, the former Manchester United and England full-back believes he needs to rein in his exuberance.
Speaking on Stick to Football, Neville said: “I called him the most annoying man in football. Do you know something? I’m cementing my position, I’m doubling down.
“It’s offending me every week. I’m going to say this really calmly, I think he’s overreaching his importance.
“If a goalkeeper makes a good save, I don’t see the goalkeeping coach on the edge of the touchline. I don’t see the other coaches going up and getting the glory for it.
“The manager is at the front, he can’t communicate from 50 yards away to players who know what they’re doing. I think he’s overreaching his importance, I genuinely believe that.
“I see goalkeeper coaches and brilliant coaches who work on other aspects of the game, I don’t see them pointing to themselves and overreaching their importance.
“That’s how I feel. I get he’s important and he’s doing a great job but I do genuinely think he needs to sit back a little bit. I think the players will start to look at him as well and think, ‘hang on a minute, come on’.”
Wright says Neville was being harsh
Neville’s co-hosts had differing opinions on that view with Jamie Carragher admitting he “can’t disagree with it,” while former Arsenal striker Ian Wright felt he was being “very, very harsh.”
Gabriel also scored the winner as Arsenal won the reverse fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September, after which Arteta hailed Jover’s work.
Asked if Jover was the best in his field, he said: “In his field, in other fields and as a person. And the relationship that we have – that’s why I made the decision to bring him to [Manchester] City when I was there and then to Arsenal.
“Him and the rest of the staff have injected the belief to the players that there are many ways to win football matches. This is a really powerful one and he has given us a lot. So a big compliment to all of them.”