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It is a spectacle that is becoming increasingly common in the technical areas of the Premier League. Whenever a free kick or corner kick is awarded, the managers are accompanied by another figure who gesticulates wildly for a few seconds and shouts instructions to his team's players before taking his place back in the dugout.
Thanks in large part to the performances of Arsenal's Nicolas Jover, the permanent coach's stock has never been higher. Two goals from corners in last weekend's North London derby mean Mikel Arteta's side have equaled West Brom's Premier League record of 16 in 2016/17, led by a certain Tony Pulis, with a total of 22 goals has from set pieces - four more than their nearest rivals, Everton. Arsenal have also conceded just six, second to Manchester City (two), where Jover was replaced by Carlos Vicens in 2021.
Related: Set pieces have gone from ugly duckling to gamechanger as clubs focus on details | Karen Carney
Arsenal and City are certainly not the only top clubs that turn to the specialists. Aston Villa's long-haired Austin MacPhee matched Jover for technical exuberance during his side's 2-0 win at the Emirates in April and also serves as assistant for the Scottish men's team; Nottingham Forest hired former England Under-19 coach Simon Rusk in December to solve their key set-piece issues; and Chelsea have poached Bernardo Cueva from trendsetters Brentford to head up their new set-piece department from next season.
"I think there will be more and more in the future," says former Aston Villa manager Dean Smith, who gave Jover his first chance in English football with Brentford in 2016 and is in charge of MLS side Charlotte. "Clubs are starting to pay a lot more attention to set pieces now, but it's very difficult to coach, so it's about getting the right person in and giving the players that confidence."
Arsenal had scored just five goals from set-pieces in the season before Jover's arrival, the third lowest in the league. The transformation has been spectacular since Arteta recommended his recruitment when Jover's contract was not renewed after two seasons at City.
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"I still speak to him regularly so I'm glad to see him doing so well," said Smith, who tried to persuade Jover to join him at Villa Park. "He went to Man City and he really enjoyed it, but he probably got less input because of the way Pep Guardiola coaches. But he has definitely settled in at Arsenal."
Brentford had tested the waters in 2015 by hiring legendary Italian coach Gianni Vio, a former banker who works at Watford and spent last season at Spurs under Antonio Conte. But Smith remembers being immediately impressed by Jover, who had worked as a video analyst for Montpellier and Croatia but was looking for an opportunity to focus on set pieces.
"I really liked what I saw and heard during our interview," says Smith. "He had such a good personality and the way he presented everything to the players helped them buy what he wanted very quickly. They all liked him and wanted to do things for him. Set-piece training is probably still one of the most difficult things to coach, as it is the least beneficial for players to do. They want to play small games and finish them, not stand around for ages. You have to get buy-in from them, but Nico did that right away."
Brentford scored 46 goals in his three seasons before being snapped up by City, with Arteta said to have been instrumental in his move to the Etihad after inviting him to his villa in Mallorca. After helping Guardiola's side to back-to-back titles, Jover was reunited with Arteta when he replaced Andreas Georgson at the Emirates.
One of the Frenchman's most notable innovations this season has been Arsenal's reliance on inswinging corners, all but one of the 199 they have delivered into the penalty area. According to Smith, Jover's technical appearances are also a more recent innovation.
"Nico has grown into that role because he was always in the stands at Brentford," he says. "Being able to communicate from the sidelines can make a small difference if you've seen something that's making the set piece not work and you need to adjust it. But if you've been working on things over the past week, the players should know what's coming next."
However, it seems that not all Premier League managers have bought into this trend. Chelsea's Mauricio Pochettino was dismissive of the importance of a specialist despite his club's decision to employ Cueva, a Mexican who has worked for Norway. And Ange Postecoglou this week doubled down on his belief that "there are much more important things we need to focus on" than set plays, even as Tottenham have conceded nine goals from corners (six of them in the last ten games) and 16 from set pieces in total , the last two on Thursday against Chelsea.
Perhaps he should pay more attention to an area that can often account for 30% of all goals scored in a season. Spurs have won eleven so far, meaning they are minus five this season compared to Arsenal's plus-16 - a difference of 21 goals between the two sides. Mile Jedinak, the former Australian midfielder who captained Villa under Smith when they won promotion from the Championship in 2019, has been in charge of Tottenham's defensive free-kicks this season after taking over from Cristian Stellini and usually sits at the stands during matches.
Former Tottenham interim manager Ryan Mason took over responsibility for attacking drills last summer from Vio, who also worked with the Italian side that won Euro 2020 and reportedly had almost 5,000 corner kicks. Neither has had a positive effect. Tottenham have conceded four more than last season's total and two more than the previous season, and have scored five fewer.
"They are so important and that's because so many matches can be handled with a purpose," says Smith. "Nico does a lot of analytical work off the field before every match and tries to tailor the approach for each opponent. It's about identifying weaknesses in how teams defend and exploit them. I would say he definitely deserves a medal if they win the competition."
