Arsenal set piece coach Nicolas Jover has come under fire after the Gunners conceded from a free-kick against Newcastle United.
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Arsenal renowned for set-piecesConcede from one in Carabao Cup lossSet piece coach criticised for role in Newcastle defeatFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Arsenal have become known as the set-piece kings thanks to specialist coach Jover but they were undone by one in their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at home to Newcastle on Tuesday. A long free-kick was lofted towards the Gunners' box and the ball eventually fell to Isak, who fired home in the 37th minute. That led Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp to say Jover gets a "lot of credit" for the attacking set pieces but he "obviously doesn't do the defensive ones" after Odegaard tried to mark Isak.
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At half-time, Redknapp said: "The set-piece coach gets a lot of credit – he obviously doesn't do the defensive ones! How you can have Odegaard marking him [Isak]? He's the best centre-forward in the country right now, you have got to detail someone to say, 'Where is he? Let's mark him'. Odegaard has no interest in marking him."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Newcastle went on to win the game 2-0 at the Emirates, with Arsenal now facing a mountain to climb to reach the Carabao Cup final. The club's wait for a trophy looks set to continue unless they can convincingly win the return leg at St James' Park.
AFPWHAT NEXT?
Arsenal will head to Newcastle for the second leg of this semi-final on February 5. They next host Manchester United in round three of the FA Cup on Sunday.