Arsenal’s title bid received two potentially fatal blows over the weekend, which ended with Liverpool 11 points clear at the top of the table.
The Gunners lost 1-0 at home to West Ham United on Saturday, before Liverpool won 2-0 at Manchester City on Super Sunday.
An attacking injury crisis saw Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli all miss Saturday’s game at the Emirates Stadium.
In their absence, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta started midfielder Mikel Merino as a makeshift centre forward, with Leandro Trossard and 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri either side of him.
Speaking on Sunday, former Manchester United captain Gary Neville criticised Arsenal’s lack of transfer planning, citing this as a main cause for their failure to deal with injury issues and keep pace with Liverpool.
But Neville also suggested that the rise to fame of set-piece coach Nicolas Jover was partly to blame for Arsenal finding it difficult to score from open play.
Set-piece coach Nicolas Jover (right) and manager Mikel Arteta pictured together on the touchline during Arsenal’s 1-0 home defeat by West Ham United on Saturday afternoon
Jover first gained public popularity last season when his free-kick and corner routines began to get attention among fans. He has since rarely been far from manager Arteta’s side on the touchline during matches, while there is even a mural of him outside the Emirates.
Arsenal scored 20 Premier League goals from set-pieces last season, more than any other team. They have scored 10 set-piece goals so far this term.
Sky Sports pundit Neville said: ‘It’s a defence [having multiple injuries to attacking players], but then you’ve got to plan for it.
‘I know they didn’t want to do business in the January transfer window. They thought there wasn’t quite the sort of value in the market or they couldn’t get the player that would come in and impact them, but they have left themselves short. There’s no doubt about that.
‘And they’ve fallen short. Even without [the injured] players, they still have to do that job yesterday.
‘The last two seasons, they’ve gone very close, and I had a lot of admiration for them. I felt like they were getting close [to winning the title]. This season is more of a problem for them than the last two. Because when City weren’t gonna be there, the team that had to be there was Arsenal because of the growth and how close they were getting.
Jover has become an Arsenal cult hero and even now has a mural dedicated to him in London
‘And it’s not going to be them, it doesn’t look like anyway.
‘That’s the big shock and surprise. And that will be the one that’ll hit hardest in that Arsenal boardroom, and with Mikel Arteta, and the dressing room and the players, because they’re desperate to win a title and they would have felt like they were inching nearer. So it’s a blow.
‘Liverpool have dropped points in their last eight games. Liverpool have drawn two in the last three, drawn four in the last eight. Arsenal had a chance to get back closer, they could’ve gone within five points, yesterday. It’s a big blow. A really big blow.
‘Questions will start to be asked, because it’s that type of season where you think it was up for grabs. Arne Slot has come in as the new manager, [Jurgen] Klopp’s left. I certainly felt there would be a drop-off at Liverpool, but Slot has been such a cool customer from day one. He’s in complete control.
‘Arsenal have become quite rigid, they’ve become quite turgid at times to watch. This obsession with set-pieces, which was overtaking their whole game, exacerbated by this presence of the set-piece coach on the touchline which puts more focus on set-pieces. It’s like… no. The freedom’s gone a little bit from them.
‘I know that they’ve lost Saka, and I know that they’ve lost Jesus, and I know they’ve lost Havertz, which are big blows. I mean, let’s be clear, that is a big problem for Arsenal. But I still think you’ve got to do that job yesterday against West Ham at home.’
Gary Neville says Arsenal’s reliance on set-pieces has made them less creative from open play
Fellow Sky pundit Jamie Redknapp ripped into Arsenal earlier in the weekend when he claimed that Arteta’s men were no longer good to watch.
‘I think they’ve been a tough watch. I’ve never really seen that fluidity, the movement, the excitement about their play. They’ve got sort of bogged down with set-pieces and everything’s about that. And it’s been a tough watch for them, you know.
‘And especially this year where they would have felt, you know, with Manchester City struggling so much, “this is our opportunity”, they’re really not taking it. And I know they’ve got injuries, but you can see he’s bringing Declan Rice off at the end of it. It was I don’t know how many minutes to go, but he’s bringing him off in the game.
‘He can’t find that rhythm in the team that he wants. He’s got his own way of playing, and he’s sort of trying to do it and he wants to win so much and he’s getting a little bit too nervous. That transmits to the fans. He’s got to try and stay calm and just get some rhythm going.
‘Forget Liverpool right now, just make sure that they start getting some rhythm, winning some games. You said they got Nottingham Forest in midweek? I mean, I couldn’t think of a tougher place to go right now, that’s really difficult for them. They’ve got to find a way.
‘A lot of it has been self inflicted, I think, when I look at Arsenal. It’s very easy to blame everyone else, but the performances fundamentally haven’t been good enough so far.’
