09 October 2023 , 08:47
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A former Manchester City employee was at the centre of a post-match row that went viral following Arsenal 's seismic 1-0 win over the Premier League champions.
Emotions were already running high at the Emirates after Gabriel Martinelli 's last-gasp strike had condemned the visitors to a third successive domestic defeat right at the death - and the frustrations of some players seemed to boil over after the match.
Kyle Walker and Erling Haaland were the City players involved in the bust-up, which occurred right near the tunnel. Reports and footage of the incident have revealed that Nicolas Jover, Arsenal's set-piece coach, attempted to shake Walker's hand. His reluctance to do so led to an angry reaction, with Haaland and several others becoming involved.
The fiery confrontation was eventually diffused, but who is Jover? Intriguingly, the Berlin-born coach actually held a similar role at Manchester City, where he worked alongside Arteta under Pep Guardiola.
Before his stint at the Etihad, the 41-year-old cut his teeth in Europe. Jover's first role came in France, where he was a video analyst for Montpellier. He undertook a similar role with the Croatia national team before being offered the opportunity to work in England.
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Jover served as an assistant coach at Brentford under Dean Smith back in 2016 and continued his work with Thomas Frank after Smith had been prised away by Aston Villa. It was in west London where Jover's talent first caught the attention of Guardiola.
Jover was pinched from the Bees in 2019 to improve City's output at set-pieces. He made a significant impact, too, and fostered a reputation for his innovative tactics. City created 104 chances during Jover's two-year spell at the club, scoring 16 goals during that same period.
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Jover spent two years at Manchester City and worked with Mikel Arteta before reuniting with the Spaniard at Arsenal in 2021 (Mark Leech/Offside)Since being reunited with Arteta at Arsenal, Jover has had a similar impact on Arsenal's set-piece output. He has quickly became an integral part of Arteta's coaching staff and joined in the wild celebrations following Martinelli's decisive strike.
Following Jover's bust-up with Walker and Haaland, Guardiola was quizzed about the incident. The Manchester City chief was reluctant to comment, though, stating: “I know what happened but I don’t want to say anything. They know it.”
While there was also no comment on the incident from Arteta, former Arsenal striker Theo Walcott, who was analysing the game for Sky Sports, offered up his own theory.
After suggesting the champions were simply not used to losing, Walcott insisted a nerve had been struck: “As well, we always look at Man City as being very professional and not reacting in situations and that’s where I feel like a nerve has been hit here. He’s caught it there definitely.”