Hjulmand reveals Jover’s five-word touchline message after ‘questioning’ Arsenal set-pieces | OneFootball

Bayer Leverkusen boss Kasper Hjulmand has revealed what Arsenal set-piece coach Nicolas Jover said to him after the Bundesliga side took the lead with a corner in their Champions League clash on Wednesday.

Robert Andrich put the home side in front soon after half-time as Eberechi Eze was blocked from marking the Leverkusen captain from a corner.

Kai Havetz scored a pressure penalty late on after Noni Madueke fell over in the box to secure a draw for the Gunners.

Before the game, Hjulmand raised questions over Arsenal’s blocking from set pieces and revealed that was the topic of conversation as he shared a few word with his “friend” Jover on the touchline.

When asked if there was any animosity in the interaction, Hjulmand told CBS Sports: “No, he’s not a friend of mine, he used to work for Brentford and when we went with the national team I was discussing with Brentford if we could take him for some games but it never happened.

“I’ve only met him a few times, so he’s not a friend of mine but he just said, ‘yeah, you’re doing it also’, I said, ‘yeah, of course’.

“What I said in the press conference was not for Arsenal it was in general – we do it, everyone does it.

“I’m not blaming at all what Arsenal are doing, but I’m just questioning it. Is it in the rules that you can actually make these offensive blocks and just body check people without the ball in the area? That was just my question.

“He [Jover] said, ‘yeah, you’re doing it too’, yeah, I never said we didn’t.”

Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta wasn’t at all pleased with his Arsenal players for not following Leverkusen’s “routines” which were pointed out ahead of the game.

“We wanted to start very strong in the second half and we’ve done completely the opposite,” Arteta said.

“We started not paying enough attention on the kick-off which we already discussed before the match. So then they have a clear header and after that they score the goal. And then it’s obviously game on and the tide changes completely.

“So after that we had to stay emotionally very composed. We improved in certain areas. With the changes I think we improved as well. We had more presence, more threat on the wings. And at the end we found a way to draw the match.

“We knew that they had certain routines because they’ve done it a few days ago in the Bundesliga three times in a row, and we showed those images.

“But then actually you have to see it and do it. And we haven’t done it and we paid the price for it.”