Gary Neville has reiterated his criticism of Nicolas Jover, calling the Arsenal set-piece coach the ‘most annoying man in football’ and cautioning that his behaviour could cause friction within the squad.
Jover has earned widespread praise throughout the 2024-2025 campaign for Arsenal’s remarkable success with set pieces. However, Neville has taken issue with Jover’s animated presence on the touchline.
Neville has urged Jover – who was seen shouting instructions from the sideline during Arsenal’s FA Cup clash with Manchester United – to ‘take a step back’ and avoid ‘overestimating his role’ within the team.
Speaking about Jover on the latest episode of 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.
Former footballer and Sky Sports Pundit Gary Neville reiterated his criticism of Nicolas Jover
He called the Arsenal set-piece coach (pictured on the right) the ‘most annoying man in football’ and cautioning that his behaviour could cause friction within the squad
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher couldn’t help but agree with Neville
‘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’.’
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher couldn’t help but agree with Neville. He said: ‘I can’t disagree with it! I thought it was a bit harsh but I can’t really disagree.’
However, not everyone was on Neville’s side. Arsenal legend Ian Wright said: ‘You’re being very, very harsh Gary.’
Arsenal kept their title dream alive on Wednesday night with a nervy North London Derby win over arch-rivals Tottenham.
Leandro Trossard’s second-half goal courtesy of some weak goalkeeping from Antonin Kinsky provided the Gunners with a crucial victory as Mikel Arteta’s team reduced Liverpool’s lead at summit to four points.
Arsenal came from behind after Heung-min Son’s deflected effort gave Spurs the lead before Dominic Solanke’s own goal saw the home side pull level ahead and Arteta.
Neville has urged Jover – who was seen shouting instructions from the sideline during Arsenal’s FA Cup clash with Manchester United – to ‘take a step back’
Jover has earned widespread praise throughout the 2024-2025 campaign for Arsenal’s remarkable success with set pieces
Speaking after the game, Arteta said: ‘We are still in the title race, there’s so much to play for but we can see how difficult it is for every team to win. When you have opportunities [to close the gap] you have to take them.
‘This is a result to enjoy a moment and now we prepare for the next game. I’m very proud of the team, I thought we were sensational.
‘It was a big test and we were not being rewarded in last two games in two different competitions. This was a test of our attitude and our courage.
‘From the first minute we were really at it, really intense. We played with a real purpose to hurt them. We created an unbelievable atmosphere.
‘We know how important the game is. It’s a gift we can make the supporters very happy.
‘The attitude we played with, not feeling sorry for ourselves, was phenomenal. We played 120 minutes three days ago but its how you respond to that situation.’
He finished by saying: ‘We had some big chances and big situations. At the end we had to suffer more than we wanted.’