Arsecast Extra Episode 643 - 09.06.2025

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1:32Hello and welcome to another Arsecast Extra. As always, we're James from Gunner Blog. James, good late afternoon to you.

1:41Andrew Allen: Good late afternoon to you too. And good holiday eve to us both. Yes, to us both. I am feeling both good and like the biggest bastard on the planet. Go on. Well, I mean, I had to take Lana to the kennels today, this morning. She is a dog who remembers. She's got like an unbelievable memory. Like from, she knows exactly where every cat in the neighborhood is, right? She knows when there's a house with a cat. Even if we've only walked down that road like once or twice, she knows. So we're going out today in the car. She's in the back of the car. Suspicious, of course, because she looked in the back of the car and went, hey why is why is my bed in here but we're going down the motorway so like she's watching to see which motorway it is is it the motorway that takes her down to the vet where she got her hip transplant and the vet you know that makes her sore and then she realized when we've gone down a different way that it was not that vet it was the vet that takes her to prison to dog alcatraz basically.

2:50Oh man. I know. I know. And look, it was all like, it couldn't be, it can be a bit traumatic when Archer was alive. And this is her first time without Archer. When Archer was going into kennels, he was like, Hey, what are you doing? Come back. No, I'm not going in here. She just kind of went off cause she's really nice and she loves people. So she was kind of doing that little waggy tail thing going, okay, I'll go with you. You seem like a nice man but i still felt like an absolute cunt so but you know she'll be having her own

3:24Andrew Allen: little holiday right in prison but maybe she's like top dog in prison you know what i mean yeah maybe they all like report to her like she's controlling i don't the flow of drugs through the complex i'm not i'm not 100 sure that's the case because you know they don't mix the dogs around because you can't tell which dog will get on with another dog so essentially not only is she in prison she's in solitary confinement yeah but you don't think those dogs are passing notes under doors and and dogs love tunneling there's a whole network underneath that dog prison well listen i hope with all of my heart that she has a wonderful adventure for the next couple of weeks because you know i'm on holiday for a week but then i'm back but then i've got to go to the uk for a few days so she's staying for a couple of weeks there um so i'm a bit sad about that but i'm very excited and happy to be going on holiday and turning off and switching off and coincidentally completely coincidentally you are also going on holiday tomorrow i'm going to mallorca the land of carlos cuesta um and i believe a favored holiday destination for michel arteta right so i'm the athletic have sent me to track him down no not really yeah let's hope let's hope you don't run into yeah i mean imagine his face not this guy can't go anywhere not a press conference chapel thing he was there fuck's sake i do these press conferences week after week he insists on attending yeah i can imagine michael sort of coming to you know tim lewis or ever and saying, I think I may have a stalker.

5:07Yeah.

5:08Andrew Allen: It's that bald guy. Can we get a restraining order on that guy? Yeah. They may try, Andrew, but I pay for my season ticket, damn it. And I'll still keep getting it. But yeah, I'm going to Mallorca on holiday. By sheer coincidence, we're holidaying separately. Yeah, but at the same time. Have you revealed your destination? Or is it top secret? Oh, it's absolutely top secret. I'm going back to Barcelona. Oh, shit. I've just revealed the top secret. Yeah, going back. I haven't been to Barcelona since before COVID, bizarrely. You know, it's a place we used to go to quite a lot because my daughter used to live there.

5:44And obviously I used to live there. So it's a very city I know very well and love very much. But I can't believe it's been, I think, six years since I've been in Barcelona. So looking forward to going over, revisiting some old haunts and basically doing nothing for a week.

6:03Andrew Allen: Do remind them at every opportunity that we are the women's champions of Europe. You know what? I was talking to my neighbour, Aidan, earlier, who was over at the final. And I just said, I should have got a Mariona jersey, shouldn't I? Hey, at least, you know, you can lord it over them. I will. Anytime I see any fan of Barcelona, I'll go, ha ha, your team lost. I was thinking just now about Lana. being sort of cooped up in a prison across the summer. And it occurred to me that that's probably what international duty feels like for most footballers. Yeah, maybe so. They're still doing it. They're still...

6:45Andrew Allen: Pened into a little hotel. Yeah. You know, not allowed to socialize. The only joy you get is tunneling from one room to the other. Exactly. Declan Rice. Druggling to break down Andorra. I mean, that is more just the English footballers, but... Yeah. The Dogs probably In fact a team of Dogs I think would have fared better Against Andorra I suspect You know given the fact the season finished About three weeks ago Motivation for a game like that was pretty low I know Thomas Tuchel said some interesting things Didn't he about He didn't like the attitude It's like dude you know come on I know You have to just sort of Okay I get it you're the manager You've got a job to do You're a German in charge of England That's a thing you know so you have to you have to be seen to take it seriously but maybe maybe maybe the um the uh the comment should be more about the schedule that has the players still playing at this stage when they should have been on the holidays weeks ago really it's a bit of a liberty i think when you're an international football manager which i think is sort of the biggest dos in football do you know what i mean like you get paid a lot of money to do a lot less than everyone else yeah that's true um so yeah it's a bit rich from him i speaking of his his nationality i'm assured i'm not a listener myself but i'm assured there was a call to talk sport this week in which a listener um suggested that thomas tuchel might or would throw a game against germany uh if england played them yeah but no nobody would ever find out you You know, in the dressing room when he does the team talk and says, lads, bottle every challenge.

8:32Yeah. Just, you know. When he puts Bakao Sacker in goal.

8:35Andrew Allen: Yeah. No flags will be raised. No. None at all. Suspicions aroused. Didn't that happen last night? Wasn't it? Which part of this? The Nations League. The what, Andrew? It's this league made up of nations who play each other for... Like a superhero. Yeah, exactly. For a tournament called the Nations. There's a trophy and everything. But Roberto Martinez, he is the manager of Portugal. Of course. And Portugal played Spain last night. And despite his best efforts, telling the Portuguese players to throw the game, to let his home country win. They did him a disservice and went and won the game on a penalty shootout.

9:28Andrew Allen: He's done, speaking of international football being a lovely job, he's done well for himself, hasn't he? He really has. He did very well out of that relegation with Wigan, I've got to say. To be fair, you work about, what, 30 days a year, you know, turn up in Belgium every now and again and say, hey. Oh, I guess I'll put Kevin De Bruyne in the sport. Yeah, exactly. Oh, look, a bit of Lukaku. Now shut up. I'll just go off and do it. And same thing with Portugal. Just, you know, go from Porto to Lisbon to the Algarve. Enjoy all the fruits of the sea and that country. And occasionally take a training session and say, playing up front tonight, this is going to be a bit of a shock to you guys.

10:14Cristiano, I'm giving you the nod tonight, but you've got to really work. You've got to earn that jersey. You've got to earn it. I know you've had it for two decades, but, you know,

10:25Andrew Allen: things could change around here as he eats from his tower of pastel donata. Oh, man. It's the greatest gig on earth, isn't it? International football management. What are we doing? Yeah, and Portugal, I mean, there were tears, Andrew. There were tears. Whatever we may say about this Nations League, in Portugal, they love it. I mean, do they though? I mean, who was crying? Was it Ronaldo? Yeah, does that not really count? I'm not sure he's representative of the whole nation. It's hard because he's crying, but because of the Botox, his face is just sort of wrought in pain, but it doesn't quite read as emotion.

11:09Andrew Allen: Do you know what I mean? Yeah, the desperate housewives of Portugal. Yeah. He's a bit like that, isn't he? He scored. He scored. Did he? I think he was. Am I right in saying Zubimendi had a terrific game by all accounts? Real Madrid's Zubimendi, that guy. Scouts of Real Madrid have been turned over onto this hot prospect, Martin Zubimendi. Yeah. What do we know about that? Is it Real Madrid doing Real Madrid things? Is it the press cooking something up or is there jeopardy? It's stressing me out, Andrew. What? It's stressing me out because, you know, I think on here and in print, I've been pretty strident about Arsenal's chances of landing old Zubimendi.

11:59Andrew Allen: Pretty confident, I would say. And as confident as you can be and as, you know, much trust in your sources and your contacts and your background work, You know, when you wake up to screen grabs, people texting you screen grabs of Marca saying Madrid in Fus of Mendy. The heart does skip a beat. Well, to be fair, things change. That is the nature of football and football and life. Things change. He's not previous, old Martin. I'm not saying he's a flirt. But, you know, he led Liverpool down the garden path. He did, didn't he? But anyway, look, all that said, my understanding as of 1725 UK on Monday evening remains that Martins of Mendy will be an Arsenal player.

13:01Andrew Allen: Right. And look, listen, if it all goes south in the next week, fuck it, we're not here. I just don't come back from holiday, mate. If he's paraded at Real Madrid on Thursday or Friday this week, I'll just never come back, I think. Yeah, that's it. Get yourself a little two-bedroom flat in Mallorca. See if you can get a job at Wayne Lineker's bar. No, he's in Ibiza, isn't he? Yeah, shit. I mean, it feels like there would be a Lineker's in Mallorca, but I'm Googling it. Yeah, he's got one in Magaluf, mate. Right. He's got one in Magaluf, which is sort of not the nice end of the island, really. Right.

13:38Andrew Allen: It's where he belongs, I suppose. Less said the better, I guess. So, yeah, I think Zemendy's going to be all right. But, you know, it does make you... Until something's done, how done is it really? Yeah, that's true. That's true. But in absolute seriousness, you know, I think I've said barring an administrative cock-up, he'll be an Arsenal player. And I still believe that. It sort of feels like a really, really low level repeat of when Manchester City wanted Declan Rice. And we sat here and we were like, that's not great. Because like you could make up a hundred reasons why he would sign for them and why that would be a good idea for him and his own career.

14:30You know, as attractive as Arsenal was as a destination at that point and all the work that we put into it, there's still that whole like, well, it's Pep and you always win. And, you know, and it wouldn't have surprised me, let's say, if it had gone the other way. Right. But this feels a bit more low level. You know, it's OK. He's a good player. I like him. I think he would be a really good addition to Arsenal. but I'm not like super, super invested in him the way I was invested in Rice. And Real Madrid, they're doing a thing, aren't they, with Xabi Alonso? He's got a bit of previous with Xabi Alonso who spent time at Real Sociedad as a coach of the B team or whatever it was, you know, when they had their little bit of connection.

15:15But it's not quite the same as that. So I'm pretty chilled. I'm pretty tranquil, I have to say. Tranquilo. Tranquilo, exactly. I'll use that word a lot, you know, know to all the fans of Barcelona women when I tell them ah you lost and then they'll come at me and I'll be like tranquilo tranquilo tranquilo tranquilo I mean I'm good hombre I think he yeah

15:37Andrew Allen: I I'm also tranquilo but oh and we've got to remember it's not as if with respect to my colleagues uh in the Mediterranean it's not as if the likes of AS and Marker don't have previous for trying to destabilise deals or situations. And I think as well, the Rice comparison, the difference was at that point that City came in at a time when we were trying to find an agreement with West Ham. And ultimately, it pushed that agreement probably higher than Arsenal had hoped. Sure. Even though it was, of course, half price. but the Zubomendi situation is very different. There is a deal with Sociedad that has been worked on extensively over a long period of time, one which suits them as well as us.

16:35Andrew Allen: Probably means they'll end up with a little bit more money over a slightly longer period, and they don't lose him to a domestic rival. So there's a lot of factors in our favour, and I think it is too far gone at this stage. Never say never in football, but I would be really shocked if there was a twist in the tale. All right. All right. Well, that's that. We can put that. This is my last podcast, I guess. Yeah. It's been fun, James. I'll come visit you in Magaluf. Please do. When you're slinging fucking watery margaritas behind the bar of linickers. You'd buy it in a jug.

17:16Andrew Allen: So, yeah, Zubimendi, he played. He was impressive by all accounts. Scored a goal. Scored a goal in the Club World Cup. Not Club World Cup. I'm getting these nonsense competitions mixed up. Nations League. The Nations League. Other than that, what's happened? Kepa happened. Or is happening. Nearly happened. It's close to happening. I know how you love an ageing signing from Chelsea, Andrew. Well, listen. I have had my issues with some of those signings in the past. There's no question about that. I don't want to scratch at any old wounds today before I go on my holidays. I don't want to get people riled up thinking about David Luiz or William.

17:58But no, I think I'm pretty okay with this one, to be honest. I think this is a pretty sensible, low-fuss way of solving a problem that we had to solve this summer pretty early as well in the summer. so we can just put it to one side and hopefully, hopefully, have a summer without any goalkeeping drama.

18:25Andrew Allen: It's a shame because we do love the goalkeeping drama, but yes, that would be nice, wouldn't it? I think, let's not forget, Neto was a bit of a kick bollock scramble in the final 48 hours of the window. he also was cup tied in the league cup meaning that at one point in time we had to field a child so i think this is definitely a good thing isn't it mad though i i wrote about this the other day on the blog when i was thinking about the goalkeeping situation at arsenal in general So we've got now an established number one, unquestionable number one, who suits the style of the manager and the goalkeeping coach, I guess, to a T, right?

19:14This is the guy that they wanted because this is how they want their goalkeeper to play. But if you go all the way back to 2020 and we had that situation when football started again after the lockdown and Neil Mopay injured Bernd Leno.

19:31Andrew Allen: Yes. So then Emi Martinez got to play and Emi Martinez played really, really well. And we won the FA Cup. And then there was a whole like, well, what's going to happen here between Emi Martinez and Bernd Leno? And nobody wanted to buy Bernd Leno, but some people wanted to buy Emi Martinez. So we sold Emi Martinez in the summer of lockdown 2020. And then - We tried to buy David Raya. We tried to buy David Raya. We had Bernd Leno in goal. So then we went and did the whole Aaron Ramsdale thing, which, as you will remember, was kind of a bit fraught because everyone went, him? You know? Yeah. I mean, bear in mind, by the way, in between there, we signed Alex Ridderson.

20:14Andrew Allen: Well, yes. Which, you know, didn't work out great. Then the following summer, I think we tried to get Raya again because that's what we do. ended up getting Ramsdale, which was a very protracted deal. It went through after the season had already started, didn't it? Yes, that's right. Ramsdale and Odegaard deals came after the ill-fated Brentford game, at the very least. It's just three games at the start of the season. It was that time in our lives. It was that time in our lives, yeah. And then we had the upheaval of kind of – three games. Ramsdale came in for the Norwich game and stayed in for a couple of years.

20:59But sort of, not prove the doubters wrong, but there was a bit of circumspection about his arrival because he'd come from a relegated team and had been relegated before. He always does, Andrew. I got nothing to say to that. You know, but he came in and he was like, yes, and became really popular and everyone went, yeah, this is a great story. You know, the manager's right. He spent the money. He's right. And then we bought David Raya. Then there was a whole ludicrousness of the like, well, you've got to have two great goalkeepers.

21:32Andrew Allen: That was a weird time in our lives, wasn't it? Who knows which of these goalkeepers is going to play, said Mikel Artela. I'm glad we did all those podcasts where we were like, yeah, maybe he's going to sub one on. Or, you know, like play one in Europe or certain stylistic games will suit one, not the other. No, no, no. He had no intention of ever playing one of those goalkeepers. Once he got the one that he wanted, it was like, well, that's it. And then, as you say, last summer, you know, that whole period, remember when Raya did anything, good, bad, or indifferent, TV cameras are like, quick, quick, cut to Ramsdale on the bench.

22:06And, like, Aaron is sitting there going, like, either clapping or sort of, like, keeping a straight face.

22:14Andrew Allen: Wonderful applause acting, I think, throughout that period. every time Raya made a save. He must have known. Yeah, he had to. Cameron was going to be on me in a second. The whole season that went on, and that sort of, I think even Raya talked about it. He was on with Fuzzy, Fuzzman. Yeah. Ben Foster. The Fuzz. The Fuzz, yeah. Like kind of a crap Fonz, I guess. He's always being interviewed by Ben Foster, David Raya. I don't know what that is, but he interviewed him for TNT. then he interviewed him on Fodcast and apparently they just go around each other's houses and do interviews. Do interviews.

22:52Andrew Allen: All the time. Practicing for a career in podcasting once Raya. Maybe, maybe. Once Raya gets usurped for another 30 million pound goalkeeper at some point in the future. He's got to future proof. Exactly. He doesn't know when Nignacchi will strike. But that whole thing was, and Raya said like it was a weird thing because A, he didn't know because it was a loan deal if it was going to be made permanent and there was a whole him versus Ramsdale or the focus on those two goalkeepers. Then last summer, there's a whole pursuit of Juan Garcia, which took all summer long, which is why we ended up with Neto and which is why on the 9th of June, even though the Kepa deal hasn't happened yet, I'm very happy for it just to be done.

23:36And maybe, maybe they'll be happy with a couple of, you know, decent goalkeepers for a while and we can not do any goalkeeper drama for like a year or two? Yeah, that'd be good, wouldn't it? I mean, when I first heard about it,

23:54Andrew Allen: I did have a sort of slight thing of like, does Kepa want to do that? Do you know what I mean? Like he's only 30. I think he's 31 soon, but he'll remain 30 until that point. And he played a full season in the Premier League with Bournemouth. He's kind of around the Spain squad. I sort of thought he'd want to play. We had a question actually. I'll just do the question while it's here because it's from Zilch on the Discord. He said, why does Kepa want to join Arsenal as a number two? He gave up half his Chelsea wages for playing time at Bournemouth. Now he's willing to lose playing time as well.

24:31Why be a number two when you can still be a number one at another club? So I think it's probably reasonable to say Kepa could go and find a club where he could be the number one and play week in, week out. Like he was, actually, he still remains the most expensive goalkeeper of all time.

24:53Andrew Allen: Wow, that's mad, isn't it? And he's, yeah, been capped 13 times from Spain. His performances for Bournemouth were pretty good, actually. Yeah, he did well there. But, you know, maybe it is about wanting to stay in the Premier League. Maybe it's about wanting to stay in London. Maybe he's super competitive. He backs himself to be able to challenge Raya, even if I don't think that's why he's being brought in. But, you know, I think from our perspective, to have a goalkeeper who, A, you can play him in the cup games, you know, until such time maybe as you get to the later stages and then you have that decision to make about, do you stick with the cup goalkeeper or go with the guy, you know who's the better goalkeeper in your eyes anyway but also somebody who i think if something happened to raya we wouldn't panic the way i would have last season if it were a case that that netto had to had to play for any period of time you know well my understanding is that kepper uh knows where the perimeter of the penalty box is so that's going to be an advantage amazing He's also legally allowed to buy alcohol.

25:57Andrew Allen: So straight away, he's got two advantages over some of our keepers from last season. I think personal reasons will have been part of it. Staying in London, he's got a young family. I'm sure the lack of disruption of being able to stay in London will have been an attraction for him. Also, he probably understands that Ryrie is the number one, but he's prepared to push. But let's say he thinks I'll play in the Cups. I mean, Arsenal really need to win some Cups. Yeah, that's true. You know, and they're kind of due one, you would say. So his chances, if he's with us for two or three years, it's not inconceivable he could play in a couple of finals and win something.

26:42He might even, you know, wind up with a Premier League or a Champions League medal if things go really, really well. Well, you still, you know, for the Premier League, you get the medal whether or not you play. You don't have to do the 10 games things anymore. The club gets a certain amount of medals and they can distribute those as they see fit.

26:59Andrew Allen: So, you know, I think that will hold an attraction. He's won quite a lot with Chelsea, I hate to say, but he's not won a Premier League. and yeah I think probably he sees we know what Arteta's like you know he'll have got in his ear and convinced him he's got a role to play and he's going to be important and the other thing to say is that I sort of had forgotten this but he has kind of done the job before in that there was a period at Chelsea I think when Mendy came in when he was number two there he went to Real Madrid and played a supporting role you know wasn't first choice there So I think, you know, he's got previous for being, it's funny because what we know of Kepa is him refusing to come off during a cup final.

27:48Andrew Allen: That's the thing we all remember him for. Apparently, he is a much more sort of mellow and cooperative character than that suggests. Might I also just say that if it was a case that we were trying to put David Raya on for Kepa in a cup final for a penalty shootout, there might be a school of thought that says, that guy's right. Don't come off, you know? The Arsenal fans at Wembley siding with Kemp. But yeah, it's another addition. It's a really sensible deal. And it's bizarre, really, what happened with his contract. So I think he was going out of contract at Chelsea, wanted to go out on loan.

28:30Andrew Allen: So he signed this one-year extension, but on a significantly reduced wage. that I think reports brought him into the kind of 70k a week, 75k a week, something like that. And actually, the reality is that even on a three or four year contract, that sort of wage with a 5 million release clause fee, which he also agreed at the time, is still like a much cheaper deal than any deal for Joanne Garcia. Because if you're paying 25 million euros for a goalkeeper, then they're going to expect to go on the salary that you equate with a 25 million fee. Yeah. so he would have cost at least as much in wages i think we can say yeah yeah i do i think it's sensible it's low fuss it's another addition to michael arteta's growing basque army of course as well exactly and and as well as mendy uh uh hopefully be and it for me it's just that simple of like if david riah picks up an injury that rules him out for half a dozen games do i I think it's going to derail our season.

29:35And I think with Kepa there, I feel like the answer is no. No, I agree. I agree. So fingers crossed they can get that one done. It's not a signing that is going to get people dancing in the streets. But then I'm not sure any signing for a number two goalkeeper should do that anyway. You know, it just seems like the best way we can fill that. And, you know, it might leave some more budget for players a bit higher up the pitch, you know.

30:02Andrew Allen: come on Andrew you remember when we landed Guillaume Wormuz on a free transfer don't you remember the parties around Highbury oh gosh they went on all night some of the best nights some of the best nights no I yeah listen I don't think the club shop is going to be inundated with people calling for their Kepa shirt but practically it's great to have it all but sorted I'm sure Real Madrid will be back in for him in a minute that seems to be the way things go But, and yeah, hopefully frees up not just some budget, but maybe some focus, some attention, some sort of manpower to look at other areas of the squad.

30:44Yes, the more attacking areas of the squad. And hopefully, you know, the athletic Bilbao-Real Sociedad rivalry doesn't cause a major rift in the dressing room and derail everything.

30:56Andrew Allen: That's all. That's true, yeah. It is populated with a lot of Sociedad personnel. else yes we shall see anyway they can all speak uscara to each other and nobody will have a word nobody will have a clue what they're saying because it's so bizarrely different from spanish or anything you've ever heard really um what else gabrielle gabrielle we have to talk about gabrielle because he signed a new contract and that is good it's really good again a great you know there's quite a long list big to-do list sort of pinned above andrea burta's desk um and gabriel i think is a big one to have ticked off i mean when it comes to the contracts i feel like the ones fans are naturally most focused on are gabriel saliba and saka um and last time gabriel renewing sort of you know opened the first domino to fall wasn't it yeah yeah yeah can i ask you I don't know if you know this or whether you would just have an opinion on this.

32:00I feel like based on the reporting that we got, we know that Arsenal are never going to reveal salary information. And a lot of the salary websites that are out there are operating on guesswork, really. Not just for Arsenal, for a lot of the teams in the Premier League. But because he was one of the first, by the time Saliba and Saka had renewed, which had come after Odegaard, came after Martinelli as well, there was maybe a differential in wages, which wasn't necessarily, I don't want to say fair, but based on his importance to the team, he was maybe left a little bit behind. Do you suspect that in the conversations that have been had about renewing Gabriel and getting him to sign a new contract, there might have been some assurances that if, you know, in three months' time or two months' time or six weeks or whenever it happens, that Saliba and Saka renew their contracts, that that differential is not quite as marked as it was the last time?

33:11Andrew Allen: That's a really good question, that, because you do have to say that, like, by signing first – It's possible he leaves himself open to that happening again, right? Yeah. If you're William Saliba's agent, you're using that Gabriel wage as a yardstick and you're looking to beat it, probably the same is true for Bukaya Saka. I'm sure it was part of the conversations. What I would imagine is that he's been offered enough of an uplift to assuage those concerns. And, you know, whatever Gabriel's been offered, kind of irrespective of what Saliba gets offered, is clearly enough to satisfy him and to commit.

33:53And I actually think in dressing rooms, it's kind of taboo money, I have found.

34:02Andrew Allen: Like, I don't think players, certainly no player would really ask another player what they're earning. They might read reports, but I don't think it's something that's like a conversation topic. I think it's, I think that at the end of the day, this is still a British workplace. So people are quite reserved about that stuff. Even though they're Brazilians. There are not too many British people in it. Yeah, I think the key will have just been to make him a good enough offer that he feels happy to commit. And they've managed to do that. I mean, do you think when they make that offer, they need to say to him, listen, you are hugely important.

34:40You have become one of the best central defenders in the world. Like, you know, if Gabriel was available tomorrow, there would be a queue of clubs down the road looking to take him, right? Yeah. I mean, do they say to him and his agent, we recognize that, we recognize his importance to the team, we recognize his quality, his leadership, you know, all of those things. As such, the offer that we're making to you puts him in the same bracket as Declan Rice, as Bakayo Saka, as Kai Havertz, all of these players who are nominally like the, the first name on the team sheet players. Yeah.

35:24Andrew Allen: They are more glitzy names perhaps. Yes. I'm sure they'll have done that. I just wouldn't, I just wouldn't rule them out going beyond that again, if they have to for a Saliba or a Saka, you know, I just think there's such a premium attached to those players. But I also think it's only a four year deal, right? There's no, I think I'm right in saying that? No option runs to 2029. Yeah. So guess what? In two years time, you're back at that negotiating table. And Gabriel is 27. For a centre half, like at 29, he might even be sort of at his peak at that time or coming into it. Look at what Virgil van Dijk is doing and earning at his time in life.

36:13Andrew Allen: How old is van Dijk? He is... 33? 34? 33. 34 this summer. So, you know, Gabriel might be looking at that as a bit of barometer and thinking, well, I might have another, you know, six, seven years. So my owning power is going to continue across that. And I think that the four-year deal is a reflection of Arsenal's probably commitment to renegotiate terms if they feel like it's warranted. And I would imagine, I'd be guessing, but I would imagine that Saka, Saliba, they'll look at that four-year term. I'd be very surprised if they extend for longer than that because it's in their interest to have the short term that forces the renewal, the renegotiation, and probably an uplift.

37:05Yeah, of course. It gives you a bit of leverage, doesn't it? Whereas if you sign a nine-year plus one deal like everyone who signs for Chelsea, why don't those players do that?

37:18Andrew Allen: Well, I think they're incentivised, aren't they? So they're a big sort of uplift as you go on within the deal. And I know some fans will say, can't Arsenal get Saka on a seven-year contract? but I just think Arsenal I remember when they did the Saka and Saliba deals a couple of years ago and there was a bit of consternation about the the length of time but Arsenal's position was always look if these players are still doing well and still important to us we're happy to sit down with them again you know we want to and we want to make sure they're rewarded and I think you know football is about being a sporting director is all is about keeping everyone happy there's no point having someone on a seven-year contract that five years into they were wishing they'd had another deal yeah i mean yeah yeah i think the other thing about the gabrielle contract is that um you know it gives you a bit of as you say it was the first domino to fall last time around but what what it says to me as well is that within the playing group there is still a lot of faith in this project and and what this project, for want of a better term, you know, could accomplish and achieve over the years to come.

38:37I think if there are doubts, you know, players talk. They might not talk about money, but they'll talk about all the rest of it, you know. For sure. So it indicates, you know, that one of our best players is absolutely happy to commit his prime years to Arsenal. And I think if you are looking for signals or signs about the other players, that's a good sign. And I think as well, if you're Arsenal, you can turn around to Saka and Saliba and these guys and say, look, Gabriel is staying and maybe Martin Odegaard signs a new contract or maybe somebody else signs. These things are ways of just building blocks, aren't they, to convince the other guys that Arsenal is still the place to be.

39:27Andrew Allen: Absolutely, yeah. And it's great news in isolation because Gabriel is so great and so important. But I do think it's really positive in the wider picture for the club as well. And funnily enough, on the Kepa thing, just sort of slightly adjacent to this, I do wonder how long it will be before Arsenal look at David Raya. You know, if Kepa's coming in on similar money and Raya's the established number one, he's been here for two years now. he's been a Golden Glove winner in consecutive years. I think within the next 12 months, we'll probably start to see stories about David Ryan getting a new deal with Arsenal too.

40:08Andrew Allen: So the process is always ongoing. Gabriel is definitely a big piece in the jigsaw. Fair enough. Before we go into the break, Don Don's 14 on the Discord says, hello, gents, a touch different to what everyone else will be asking, But what type of fuck you money do you need to be earning to feel comfortable buying a£1 ,000 belt like the one Andrea Berta was wearing in the Gabrielle contract extension photos? And it's making me wonder, is Dondon's 40, is he that menswear guy on social media? Another guy who knows everything about all the clothes. He's great, but I would never have noticed the belt.

40:51Andrew Allen: No, he is quite, what's the word? He's quite a well-dressed chap, is Berta. I always remember when he first walked into the media room at London Colney on his first day, and journalist Issan Khan of the Daily Mail immediately remarked on him having a very nice blazer. and I gather that I think this has been printed so I think it's fine for me to say, hang on, James Oli tie. Oh, there was the tie story. Did that come out? Yeah, yeah, yeah. He gave Tim Lewis and Richard Garlick silk ties. A red tie that they wore for the home leg against Real Madrid and they normally wear their club ties but they wore the ones Andrea got them and obviously they won so they wore them again at the Bernabeu They were a kind of lucky charm.

41:46Did they wear the ties for the PSG games?

41:50Andrew Allen: I don't know that. They fucking didn't. And if they didn't, then we know who to blame and why to blame. All right, Lewis and Garlic. Sounding like a cup duo. Your tie etiquette. Let us down. That's what it was. An Italian man with style? Whatever next. I know. It's crazy. Just catwalking through the training ground. I mean, listen, he's earning a pretty penny, I think, in his new gig. It's quite a well-paid – if you can keep all those people happy and get all those contracts done and live with the stress of the transfer window, there are rewards there. And if he wants to buy himself a nice little belt – I was going to say – I was going to sort of do – I was going to say let's just hope he loosens it in the transfer window, but that's purse strings, isn't it?

42:43Andrew Allen: We very much want the belt to stay on. Yes. Okay. We do not need to see Andrea... We don't want Stan Kroenke undoing his belt. No, we don't need to see Andrea Berta's Michelangelo. That's all I'm saying. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Should we call that a part one? I think we should call that a part one. We will be back with your questions and more in part two right after this.

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44:40Welcome back to the Arsecast Extra. This is part two of the show where we answer the questions that you send to us on bluesky at gunnerblog.bsky.social and at arseblog.com. Also on the Arseblog Discord chat server, which you get access to if you are an Arseblog member on Patreon. Do you want to go first? Will I go first?

45:00Andrew Allen: You go first, Andrew. Okay, what was going on with David Ornstein's nose video? Is that your question to me? No, but somebody mentioned the question. I was like, what? What's happening here? It's been taken. It's disappeared from the internet. Someone said he put up a jokey video with his barber saying he has to reveal who we're signing. And as he waxed his nostrils, he said, Sesco. AI comes up with some weird shit, right? Oh, that's what it is. No, no. I think it was legitimate. I don't want to speak for David, but I'm going to do it anyway. Yes, I think he was at his barber's and there's a kind of joke.

45:40Andrew Allen: They were like, you know what you should try? And as I understand it, so they were going to wax his nostrils. And basically, as a gag, the barber was like, tell me who we're going to sign. And then as he pulled one out, he said Sesco. And as he pulled the other one out, he said Jocares. which nostril do we believe he said ollie what oh dear i didn't see that video thankfully that no that video has not made it onto tiktok yet so that's a relief that's good um but yeah i i think it was all in jest i i wouldn't um no i can't imagine uh david would um you know reveal the inner workings of a transfer in that fashion well you know you've got to move with the times well that's true as well um i think uh yeah i i think what happened was it got clipped up but they only showed the first nostril ah was it the left clip of david shouting sesco was it the left or the right nostril um the nostril of truth or the nostril of lies it may have been filmed in a mirror i think it was his left nostril.

46:56Okay. Then it's Sesco. World exclusive for everyone there.

47:01Andrew Allen: That's how it works. Don't ask me how I know. I just know. Anyway, because David had been talking, I think talking about Arsenal signing three forwards or looking to sign three forwards. That was a clip that I did see. Not the Ollie Watkins clip, thank goodness. But Apostle Nono of Church Enya on the Discord says, with rumours of Arsenal looking to sign three forwards. Do you think there's a chance we might see a surprise departure of someone like Martinelli?

47:34Hmm.

47:35Andrew Allen: Did David say, yeah, three forwards? I'm just reading his words. Focusing on number nine, top quality wide player. Players like Rodrigo, Gordon, Williams on the left-hand side also want a backup for Saka on the right. I mean, the thing is they kind of need a backup for Saka on the right, in my opinion. And are we now, based on sort of what you'd said last week when we talked about Ethan Wannery, are we assuming that that's not the role that they envisage for him next season?

48:11Andrew Allen: That's kind of what I'm hearing, yeah. Right. When you couple that with the horse noise, it makes it all the more true as well. Yeah. Yeah, well, any football journalist worth their salt knows about the horse noises. And let me tell you, when this is aggregated, I want the horse noises transcribed, and I want me failing to pronounce horse noises transcribed as well. Gunnar Blogg says, Yes. I mean, you know, we don't need to be connected or a genius to think that Nournary's role or future is probably more in the centre of the pitch. And I think Arsenal sort of, that's where they really see him contributing.

48:57Andrew Allen: I think you see him as someone who can do a job on the right, but it's not particularly well suited to him. Now, I thought he was great there. Like, I thought he did really, really well and then sort of inexplicably disappeared. But I think maybe they were seeing things in games that made them think, this guy's an eight or a 10, rather than a seven, as it were. So, obviously with Sterling off, and you'd imagine Rhys Nelson off, although I never say never with Rhys Nelson, because... We've been saying that for a long time. We've been saying it a long time. Gabriol Jesus out. He was kind of discussed as an option on the right, wasn't he, when he was fit?

49:43Andrew Allen: I mean, he is when he's fit. Yeah. But he's not going to be fit until October, November. And then... Maybe if they buy this sort of premium, top quality left winger,

50:01maybe Gabriel Martinelli has to sort of, you know,

50:06Andrew Allen: accept maybe he becomes a bit of a rotation option on the right. Yeah, maybe so. Because I can't see, to come back to the question, I can't really see room for a new number nine, a new left winger, Martinelli, Trossard, and then potentially a right winger as well. I don't see that. I think that's too many. I mean, it's exciting, but I think one would go in that if that was all to happen. And maybe it would be Martinelli, but there's got to be a buyer. Yeah, that's true. I think Arsenal probably look at it and think, is this the right time to sell Martinelli? Is he at the height of his value right now?

50:47What we should do is put some stories out in the press about how we want to buy Martinelli and then Real Madrid will just come along and gazump us.

50:55Andrew Allen: Very possibly. They'll need to replace Rodrigo, of course. Yeah. I don't think there's anybody who's trying to lure Martinelli away right now. Based on the work I've done and sort of the information I've received, I don't think he's looking to get out. I don't think someone's banging down the door. And so it would take a buyer to come forward who hasn't necessarily at this point in time. Trossard, we know they're talking to about some sort of new contract. So I'm a little bit dubious about either of those two going. Yet at the same time, I accept the sort of premise of the question, which is that these numbers don't quite add up.

51:42No, yeah. Like, it does feel like that if someone's going to go from the forward line, it's going to be either Trossard or Martinelli. But, I mean, is it a case that because Andrea Berta is in and he's talking to everybody and talking to, you know, I do love these stories, you know. Andrea Berta, he wants to get all the information before he makes a decision. Really? I know. Wow. Fucking hell. That's incredible.

52:09Andrew Allen: Seven million quid a year you pay for that sort of insight. I can't do it for a fucking half price. Because previous other sporting directors, they just pull names out of hats. That's exactly it. Oh, look, I've got a two-pence piece here. Will it be heads or will it be tails? That was what Edu used to decide transfer decisions on the flip of a burger while at the grill. Heads or heads. Yeah. That was the strategy. So, yeah, the honest answer is I don't know. And I would still, I mean, look, who's better informed than David? Nobody, really. But I would still be a little bit surprised if Arsenal signed three forwards.

52:53Oh, I would fall over if Arsenal signed three forwards.

52:59Andrew Allen: Okay. Well, we wait to see if you remain standing. And if they do, I think surely that involves one going out. Yeah, has to. Because, you know, these names we're talking about, your Rodrigos or your Williams or your Gordons, they're costing a pretty penny. Are they the names that Arsenal are talking about? If, you know, not just we're talking about, but are they names that are? No, I think so. I think they're fair. I think they're fair to say. Right. I mean, I've written it. I've written it at the Athletic UK. Right. On the deal sheet in previous weeks. I think mid-May, I think I mentioned Rodrigo.

53:51So I think it's fair.

53:56Andrew Allen: But, you know, equally, I would also urge, if you're the type to uh i wouldn't run out and get your shirt printed right now like all of those deals and i'm sure there are other names in the frame as well that we're not aware of but they all have significant problems or difficulties to overcome many of them financial so you're saying nobody should get a rodrigo jersey a williams jersey or a gordon jersey what if they got a Rod Wilden jersey? That would be fine. Okay. Hedging your bets. Everybody go out and get your Rod Wildens right now. Yeah. And they'll be like, oh, did you think? And you're like, no, no, this is a Rod Wilden shirt.

54:43Andrew Allen: He's such a great player. He's a great player, yeah. Love the Rod Wilden. Here's a question from me to you. Okay. If those three names, we work on the hypothesis that they're figuring prominently in Arsenal's thoughts. Which one do you like? I like the idea of Williams a lot. You know, what he might become but I do recognise that, you know, numbers wise there are, you know, questions. A lot of people really love Rodrigo. He's Brazilian, isn't he? You know, I think he's good but not massively sold on Rodrigo. You know what? The best case scenario for Rodrigo is that it's kind of a bit of an Alexis Sanchez deal.

55:39Yes. I guess that's a good way of framing it, yeah.

55:43Andrew Allen: When I allow myself to get excited about it, that's the way I see it. Like a guy who is not the star at his club right now, but who maybe could be somewhere else. Was Alexis like, Rodrigo was like a regular, regular starter for Real Madrid on the right-hand side. And obviously, if a move were to happen to Arsenal, it would be for the left. Yeah, that's his preference, we believe. That is his preference.

56:18Andrew Allen: Yeah, the left is his preference. Sorry, I've just, I always have to think about, you know, the aggregation. and I could imagine someone saying Arsenal's his preference. Yeah. I think he's the most sort of exotic and exciting name because of Real Madrid and because of Brazil and because of what he's already achieved in his career. He feels like a player who might kick you on. Interestingly, they're all good players. I think actually, I think Williams would probably be maybe the one I'd be the less excited about of the three. I think, I know Anthony Gordon's got a weird head. Yeah. I can't really talk about his face.

57:05It just sort of is that thing. But look, I think he's a very, very good player. I think he's a really good player. He's Premier League ready. Exactly that.

57:14Andrew Allen: Like he's, we saw that with Declan Rice, like when you bring in, not just Declan Rice, Sartre has done it many times, but when you bring in a Premier League player, there is something to be said for that. But is there any chance of that happening now, of course, though, that Newcastle have Champions League, you know? Yeah, probably not. Yeah. So we're talking about, you know, if you're really looking for the upgrade, it's Williams or Rodrigo. So you need a Rod Willey shirt. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, listen, any of them would be good. and you know maybe if you were to ask me now and I know you know it's completely I have just asked you haven't I oh you have just asked me okay yeah yeah yeah so if I were to actually answer your question right now yeah that would be good if we could do that all right I would I would go Williams just because I think there's the potential for him to become something a little bit more than Rodrigo who I think is good, but doesn't necessarily excite me that much.

58:25Okay.

58:26Andrew Allen: I will say, I guess I'll be Team Rodrigo on this one. Right. I think that, I just think he's very established. And I feel like there might be that Alexis Sanchez thing of him taking on sort of an extra degree of seniority and responsibility.

58:51Andrew Allen: what it would mean for our existing left-wingers is more difficult to say sorry we didn't answer that question very definitively yes but we asked some other questions though and we had a nice time we did and that's more important that's exactly it's all about having a nice time go on neil bolt says as andrew's about to go on his holidays i am also going on my holidays if you were forced to pick an Arsenal player past or present to go on holiday with who would it be and where would you go now I'm going to say it has to be present because I feel like we probably answered this like five years ago we probably both said Ray Parler right yeah exactly yeah so it's got to be from the current squad from the current squad who I'd like to go on holidays with see the question is what what do you want to do oh big news big news Marquinhos joins Cruzeiro arsenal.com have just announced that Marquinhos has joined Cruzeiro.

59:50Andrew Allen: We barely knew they. Everyone calm down. It always used to annoy me. Basically, when you write about football, you often have to check how old a player is or whatever. Yeah. And it always, normally you just go to Google and you just bang in like Declan Rice and the little sort of Wikipedia icon comes up in the top right and it says like, 25 or whatever he is but with marquinhos when you type in marquinhos there's fucking loads of them yeah and you get the psg guy obviously yeah but there's loads of marquinhos is out there as well and that used to drive me mad in fact it drove me mad today when i was trying to find out where marquinhos is and what he's up to so i say good riddance to you marquinhos for that reason alone.

1:00:44Okay. He had a lovely moment when he scored that goal against whoever it was that he scored it against. Was it some... He cried. Was it a team in Belgium or... I don't remember who it was. Naming countries. Yeah. Some team in Belgium.

1:00:59Andrew Allen: Yeah, it was a team... Well, I know it was in the Europa League. It was in the Europa League. We know it was in Europe. I should look this up. Marquinhos, Arsenal, goal. I want to say it was in Norway. It could have been. no we're both wrong i don't know i've just googled it and i've just got loads of facts it was against fc it was against fc zurich yeah yeah zurich in norway yeah the zurich of norway the zurich of norway um yeah so the question who do i want to go on holiday with see if you went with like kai havertz and ben white you get like a lot of good dog action you know excuse me i mean they both have dogs they've got german shepherds and i you know i could uh offset my we don't know what you meant my guilt of going on holiday and leaving my own german shepherd behind by going on holidays with them and we could share stories about our dogs and what have you but i can't look at this squad and not think you'd have a fine time going on holidays with ricardo califuri do you not think though yeah i would be just sitting there watching him doing yeah i mean i was thinking he's the last person i'd want to go holiday with because imagine i'm lying on the sunbed next to him like it's the worst possible point oh look at that incredibly handsome italian man what's that oh my god he's brought the marshmallow man with him I, yeah, I don't think that'd be good.

1:02:34No, I just think he would be, you could just, you could just get a, like hire a Vespa and he could drive the Vespa and you could just sit there with your arms around him and just whiz around the Amalfi Coast or whatever and it would be fine.

1:02:47Andrew Allen: Have you ever seen, there's an advert for like a cruise company in the UK which is shot from like a POV and it's like you're on a cruise with this beautiful woman. Have you ever seen it? No. so it's like it's piano cruises i think it is right tv ever let's have a look no it's not that not that what is that advert so basically yeah so it's like shot from your perspective and like you wake up and you're on a cruise and there's this beautiful woman there and then like you're dancing on the ship and like at the end it's like you can have this you just need to buy it and obviously like the small print the bottom's like ps the woman doesn't come with a cruise But that advert makes me, I imagine that's what going on holiday with Ricardo Calafuri could feel like.

1:03:36You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, I get it. You'd be like - Romantic. You'd be -

1:03:43Listen, I'm happy to play second fiddle. You know, it's fine. It's fine. I just think he'd be good fun. He seems like a fun guy as well, though, you know? He'd be able to get you into the nightclub after the nightclub. You know, not the nightclub. The nightclub that you go in where he gets you in, you go to the front of the queue and he gets you in and you're in the VIP room, but he gets you into the nightclub after that nightclub closes. That isn't run by Wayne Lineker.

1:04:12Andrew Allen: Yeah, okay, fine. I'll take the hit. We'll go with Ricciardo. Okay, fair enough. It's my question. Is it? God, that seems like a very serious question. It's not been a very serious podcast. No, it hasn't. Aggregators are going to be cross. I'm going to ask it anyway. Okay. Daniel Ahmed, who's at daniel.bsky.social. He says, do you think Arteta is at the cutting edge of tactical innovation? Or is he among the final good executors of the last tactical cycle? Oh, wow. That is quite serious. And do they know it's us they're asking that? Yeah, I know. Oh yeah. Hello. Just to be clear, I'm not Michael Cox.

1:04:58Andrew Allen: Yeah.

1:05:02Je ne suis pas Billy Carpenter. I don't know.

1:05:07Andrew Allen: That's a really good question. It's a really good question. I suppose it depends how quickly it moves. My suspicion is it evolves faster and faster, football.

1:05:19He trained.

1:05:20Andrew Allen: When did he study his coaching badges? That would be about seven, eight years ago now. More than that, I would say. Because he was ready to go as an assistant coach for Pep when he retired. You're right. When did he retire? 2016? Arteta? No. So that's nine years ago. Arteta retired player. 2016, yeah. Yeah. I think he is probably still at the cutting edge. As a manager, particularly. What I would say is the guys at the cutting edge, by and large, aren't in the top jobs because they don't have the seniority or the reputational profile. Arteta is a modern coach who is already a manager and became a manager at an incredibly young age.

1:06:16Andrew Allen: And I think that probably makes him more in touch with the cutting edge than most Premier League managers. Yeah, he doesn't strike me as a guy who would say, right, I know everything there is to know now, and I will just do it. I feel like he will be, I don't want to sound like I'm on a fucking Jake Humphrey podcast, right? But I guess he would be upskilling along the way, if that's a wanky LinkedIn word to use. But you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I'm sure he's always been a guy who's about kind of relentless self-improvement. So I don't doubt that. I have a really interesting – what I would say is, by the way, that I think it will evolve faster and faster.

1:07:03And within 10 years, 5, 10 years, I think that probably won't be true.

1:07:08Andrew Allen: I have a complimentary question here. Okay. As in, it fits well. Not that it's nice about us. All right, okay. So having referred to us both as marshmallow men, it's not that kind of compliment. Pete Lukacs. Arsenal have a very stable core coaching team. My intonation made that sound like they have a team of coaches who work on stabilising players' cores. Arsenal have a very stable core coaching team. Stuyvenberg, Cuesta, Jova, Kanya, Molina have all been there for four years plus. Steve Round leaving two years ago was the only big change. Is there a danger of training becoming stale? Do we need an addition?

1:08:01Andrew Allen: Maybe a please just shoot coach? A hacking phase coach, by the way. who did get added. Did they? Skills Guru, I think. That's his name. That's a great name. Like you're born, your name is Skills Guru. What else are you going to be other than an attacking coach? Yeah, I think he's still there. Is his name Skills Guru? Tekka's Guru. Apologies. Tekka's Guru. Didn't Arsene Wenger bring in like a keepy-up champion for a while? Am I right? do you remember that i don't know tekkah's guru is a guy called hussein isa who has some profile online because he was part of hashtag united and um he got brought in in 2023 as a yeah i'm sure he's called like attacking phase coach or final phase coach and he does a lot of work on finishing and skills-based stuff, you know, one-on-one situations.

1:09:11Andrew Allen: I think Gabriel Jesus celebrated with him after his hat-trick against Crystal Palace. Right, right. And credited him with some work in his sort of finishing finesse. That said, I think it's an interesting question because one need only look at Manchester City, for example, where Pep Guardiola seems to be going through a very big renewal of his staff. Yeah, they're bringing in that guy who used to work with Klopp at Liverpool, right? Pep Linders, yeah. Pep Linders, yeah. And potentially Colo Torre, I have read. Wow. Okay. Well, I don't think new ideas are bad at all. I think it's always wise to be open to new ideas and new people who can come and bring new things to the training ground.

1:09:59so yeah look maybe there is a danger it goes a bit stale but you know i think as we just said about arteta i think if he is convinced that there is a way of having a marginal gain one way or the other he'd be open to that it just depends who's out there i am i googled arson wenger keep you up champion and google's fucking piece of shit ai the first result back is arson wenger was not a keepy up champion. His fame comes from being a highly successful football manager. Thank you for that, Google. Maybe they'll add something. Maybe they'll add something this summer. Who knows?

1:10:36Andrew Allen: Yeah, maybe. I mean, you know, obviously Pep's going through this big evolution, but then City had a bit of a disastrous year, really. We didn't. No. Well, yeah. Some people might. No, it wasn't disaster. But, you know, they only finished a point behind us, or two points. That's true. But I feel like, yeah. I mean, clearly Mikel has enormous faith in the guys that he's got. And they all signed new contracts last season. Yes. So that core team is staying. I think the biggest risk or the biggest probability maybe is that somebody gets pinched. Snaffled by somebody else, yeah. You know, like, does Albert want to be a number one at some point in time?

1:11:24does Carlos Cuesta see himself as a number one?

1:11:30Andrew Allen: I think I wouldn't rule out something like that happening. Yeah. And that might, you know, bring some change. But I think successful managers have often shown that change can be good and can be healthy and can be valuable. So that wouldn't worry me. Ferguson did it all the time, didn't he? You know, he would bring in a new assistant manager every few years and it kept things fresh and working for them for quite a long time. Yeah, absolutely. Do we want to do the Critical Tea? Let's do Critical Tea because Critical Tea has gone to the trouble of making us a game. The player ratings game. The player ratings game.

1:12:13Andrew Allen: But where is it, Critical Tea? I can't find it. It's right there in the Discord. i'm searching i find the um i know what i have to do i have to go search by user that's what i have to do but if you go to that channel it's right there it's basically scroll up a bit so afternoon gents says t welcome to the season review edition of the player ratings game this is part one of the review and will only feature ratings for the first half of the season i.e 2024 the last eligible game is our 1-0 win over Ipswich on the 27th of December. Good luck. How could we forget that great 1-0 win? Amazing 1-0 win over Ipswich that I don't remember at all.

1:13:01Andrew Allen: I like this bit because you have to guess. Yeah. I have to do almost nothing except read things out. Okay, let's do it. Rating 1, 5 out of 10. Had a great chance to win it, but blasted over the bar from Sterling's setup. He badly needs a go at this point.

1:13:22Martin Odegaard?

1:13:25Andrew Allen: There's a Martin in it. The name contains the name Martin.

1:13:36Andrew Allen: What's Brazilian for Martin? Ah, Martin Ellie. Yeah. Okay. I don't think it is actually Brazilian for Martin, him but the clue sufficed and that was the nil-nil draw away at Atlanta right feels so long ago it really does is that the one when Raya saved a penalty amazing double save yeah okay eight out of ten he looked about 70 % today and yet you've scored him 80 interesting but still had some brilliant moments on the ball not least the opening goal which was of the highest quality the highest quality if it's the highest quality the first name that springs to my mind is Bukayo Saka but I don't have any clue what game it was you've got that right yes and it was the home game against Liverpool 2-2 oh yeah um eight out of ten got two assists for Jesus and then Havertz.

1:14:44Andrew Allen: This player is level third with Rice in assists this season after Saka and Martinelli. Holy cow. Who's that? Havertz? Two assists in a single game. Is it Kai Havertz? No. No. It's a surprise contender to be in that assists list. Let's put it like that. Okay, so it's... oh god um it's a player who's not even in our first 11 our best 11 right so somebody and it's not an attacking player it's a defender he's got it from those clues yeah

1:15:38is it It's Jakub Kivior.

1:15:41Andrew Allen: It's Jakub Kivior! Come on! Any guess at a game? I think I know what game.

1:15:53Carabao Cup game? Because that's the only game he would have been playing at that point of the season, in the first half of the season.

1:16:00Andrew Allen: Yeah, and a game where Jesus and Havertz scored. Who did we play? We played... played at home against Bolton. Preston. It is Preston away. Right. 3-0. Well done. Thank you. Seven and a half out of ten. For a man who often makes football look very easily. Sorry. Sorry. You can actually write and I can't read. For a man who often makes football look very easy, he always looks very sweaty and tired. Just an observation, not a criticism. We're taking half a walk off for a wild swipe of a shot in the first half. Otherwise faultless. He makes... Read that to me again. For a man who often makes football look very easy, he always looks very sweaty and tired.

1:16:55Andrew Allen: Just an observation, not a criticism. Who the hell was very sweaty and tired? I think, could it be Jorginho? I've got no clue on this one. That feels like something you should remember saying about something. Absolutely. Like, if you make that observation, it should stick with you, you know? Who looks very sweaty? Do you want to know the answer? If I asked you now who's a really sweaty Arsenal player? I couldn't tell you. My brain is blank at this point. They're shouting out at home. I know they are. They're going, look at the pits of this player. That guy's forehead's dripping. They've all got their own theories.

1:17:43Andrew Allen: Not a clue. Well, the player you have labelled as sweaty is Declan Rice. Really? Yeah. I thought of him, but then I was like... He's quite... Yeah. Listen, we all love Declan Rice. He's sweating a lot out there. I mean, they're all, what I would say is if they ain't sweating, there's a problem. For sure. I just, like, I was trying to think about who I have noticed that is more sweaty than normal. And it didn't occur to me that it would be him. So. I remember when he had the mud on his shorts and it looked like he'd had an accident. I remember that game. Right. But. Where he'd done like a Gary Lineker.

1:18:31Andrew Allen: Sort of, yeah. The sweating, it's not something I've noticed. What game was it? I'll be on the lookout for that next season. What game was it? To be fair, it was in Portugal. It was the 5-1 win over Sporting. I have no idea how... Do you know what? I know why. I didn't write that. I didn't write that because I was at that game, so somebody else did those player ratings. Who did them? I'm going to guess that it was Louis Ambrose get him on the show let's get him on the show and he can defend his observations about Dex and Rice let me see if I've got player ratings okay here it is here it is who is okay do you know what I did I set up the post on the website for whoever it was that did it A perfect crime.

1:19:30And it has my byline, but I didn't do it because I was at the game and didn't get back to...

1:19:35Andrew Allen: Listen, if you called Declan Rice sweaty, you just need to own that, Andrew. Listen, if I called Declan Rice sweaty, I would remember. Well, that's the thing. And I don't remember ever making that observation because I didn't do it. And I'm pretty sure it was Lewis. Pretty sure. Well, from next season on the show, there's going to be three parts. Part one, where we talk about the game. part two where we do questions and then part three how sweaty was decky sweaty was decky where we we analyze you know what we would have got if we'd wrung out declan rice's shirt how many pints of sweat would we have got yes okay there's one more okay come on let's do it before we go on holidays all right who's ringing me now i'm doing a podcast um it's david ornstein's life David Ornstein

1:20:31right

1:20:32Andrew Allen: 6.5 out of 10 okay made one of the Jesus chances but missed a huge opportunity of his own I think the TNT sport chat about him being lucky to avoid a second yellow was overblown but some refs might not have been so generous that

1:20:53Raheem Sterling no hmm

1:20:59Andrew Allen: game where you could have been sent off it's going to be an attacking player Lewis Skelly Lewis Skelly no no fuck

1:21:13who avoided a second ELL no idea

1:21:20Andrew Allen: I'll give you a clue go on what's Brazilian for Martin?

1:21:30Odegaard? Martinelli.

1:21:33Andrew Allen: It's Gabriel Martinelli. Gabriel Martinelli again. And it's the home game against Monaco, which we won 3-0. Lucky to avoid a second yellow card. Don't remember that. Me neither. Me neither. It's a huge opportunity of his own. Martin, Martinelli's taken a bit of a battering, actually, in this game. In this player ratings. All right, we're going to sell him anyway, so. We're selling him anyway. Forget about it. Exactly. Selling him to bring in Rod Wilden. Rod Wilden.

1:22:00Andrew Allen: The new hero. That will get aggregated. Arsenal are eyeing a move for Brazilian star Rod Wilden.

1:22:08That would amuse me a lot, I have to say, if that was the case. Right. Listen, we should leave this here because I've got to pack a bag and I've got an early flight tomorrow and I need to try and get some sleep. and get this podcast out to everybody. Just so you know that I am literally off for the week. The blog will continue as always. Andrew Allen, Tim Stillman, Lewis Ambrose will be there calling Declan Rice sweaty. But they'll keep the blog going. All the stuff will be going on on R-Spog News. The next podcast we're going to have for you will be on, it'll be next week. It'll be next Wednesday when we reconvene to figure out exactly what's happened in the week that we've been off, assuming, of course, that you are not living your new life as a regular human bartender in Mallorca.

1:23:02Andrew Allen: Yes, absolutely. Hopefully all the transfers will be done by the time we're back. That's it. All the strikers. We'll sign all the strikers, all the defenders, all the goalkeepers. It'll be magic. And you can thank us for going on holidays. But we want to thank you, of course, for being with us, As always, we really do appreciate you listening. Thank you so much. We're going to take a break. We will be back with more in just over a week. For now, though, take it easy, folks, and we will catch you on the next one. Bye-bye.