Excl: Arsenal in talks with Nicolas Jover over new deal

Arsenal have been in negotiations with Nicolas Jover over a contract extension during the international break, following Mikel Arteta's agreement on a new deal.

Daily Cannon understands that Andrea Berta has been leading negotiations with Arsenal set-piece coach Nicolas Jover over a new contract during the international break, with the club keen to extend the deals of Mikel Arteta's assistants.

Arsenal's staff and players remain very much aligned on the value of set-pieces, and the club are willing to recognise that with a good contract.

Previous reports at the start of the break had suggested that Arteta's backroom staff would sign four-year deals, in line with the manager's own reported new contract to 2030. But Daily Cannon's understanding is that talks were still ongoing during the break.

Jover has developed a special methodology for Arsenal's set-piece training and implementation, and the club clearly want to keep him around.

It's possible that Arsenal's desire to extend the contracts of all of Arteta's backroom staff is behind the delay in the announcement for the manager's own new deal.

Sami Mokbel had broken the news for the BBC on September 22nd that Arteta had agreed a new contract, bringing to an end negotiations that had been ongoing for a number of months.

Fabrizio Romano reported on Monday that Arteta is ready to put pen to paper, but that still doesn't seem to have happened at the time of writing.

With no official announcement and nothing formally signed, the only thing currently tying Arteta to Arsenal beyond the summer of 2027 is his verbal agreement with the club.

But given how well things have been going for all parties in 2026 so far, and with a substantial pay increase on the table, the expectation is that the formalities will be concluded soon.