Arsecast Extra Episode 664 - 27.10.2025

0:11Hello and welcome to another RSCast Extra as always with James from Gunnerbug James goodly morning to you Goodly morning, Andrew. Can I make the unusual choice to start with a question? Yes, why not? We had this over on Blue Sky from Limping Jack Flash who says, something for you guys to discuss. Is it really a goodly morning when the team concedes a shot on target? Ah, I will counter that by saying that this so-called shot on target is nothing more than a statistical anomaly. I was curious about this because I was like, what shot did Palace have on target? So I went to SofaScore and I went to our old friend StatsZone, which I have on my trusty office iPad, which you can see right here.

1:05I'm showing it to you. I don't know why. Thank you. But they say the shot on target came in the 70th minute from Eddie Enkedia. And I was going, Eddie, when did Eddie have a shot on target? Doesn't sound like him. The cross from the right from Daniel Munoz that Eddie challenged for and David Raya claimed has gone down as a shot on target. That is a disgrace. It's not a shot on target. Listen, lies, damn lies, and the statistics and all that kind of stuff, right? But I think, you know, I'm somebody who, I think statistics have sort of broadened our understanding of the game in quite an interesting way.

1:52I know some people, their mileage might vary on that in terms of what they think of statistics and how they're applied. But I do think generally they're a very interesting way to sort of try and understand what you think you've seen in a game. and then you look at the stats and you go, actually, well, maybe not. Or maybe, yes, that tallies with what I've seen. But in this case, that's not a shot on target for me. That is an outrage. I mean, there was a save David Ryan made in the first half, but it was offside. Yeah. So actually, we've been robbed here, Andrew, because that means we've gone through the calendar month of October without conceding a shot on target in the Premier League.

2:32And that's been stripped from us. Hey, you know the way when someone hits a shot and it whacks off a defender's arse and goes in the top corner and they have the panel that adjudicates whether or not this is an own goal or does it go down as a goal for the guy because he got a shot on target? Like the goals adjudication panel, whatever they're called. Do you think there's a case to be made that we could sort of go to them and say, we need this stricken from the record? We can't allow this. We can't have this. Nobody should accept this. This is the hill we're going to die on. They also didn't give Gabriel an assist yesterday, which was annoying for me because I had him in my fantasy team.

3:17So what I'm saying is if we ever needed any further evidence that the powers that be are against Arsenal, the recording of this Eddie Nketiah jump shot on target is absolutely it. But to go back to Jack Flash's original question, I think, you know, as outraged as we all are by this miscarriage of justice, it is nonetheless a goodly morning. It certainly is because we are top of the league, ahead of Manchester City, ahead of Liverpool, but they're not the closest ones to us. Andrew, yes, don't forget the chasing pack, Bournemouth, Sunderland, and dare I say, Tottenham Hotspur. No, don't. Don't say.

4:05Don't say. They're copying us, scoring goals off corners. I don't like it, Andrew. Makes me uneasy. Yeah, I saw a bit of that game yesterday and a couple of goals from corners. I was watching and Gary Neville was like, oh, that's incredible from Bentancur. The way he got the ball back across there with his shoulder, as if it was some sort of remarkable piece of skill, the likes of which we have never seen. And he kept going on and on about how this was an amazing piece of play from Ben Tanker. And all I could think of was he just sort of slightly mistimed his jump because he was going to head it and then kind of, well, ball is there.

4:43I might as well just throw my shoulder at it. I mean, that was odd. I did notice that. He was insistent it was deliberate. Yeah. Despite all evidence, really, to the contrary. I mean, it might well have been deliberate, But he still just sort of stuck his shoulder out a little bit. You know, Lionel Messi sitting somewhere in Miami going, I wish I had the skill to do that, use my shoulder to set up a close range header for whoever it was that scored. Yeah, Mickey van der Maen, I suspect it probably was. But anyway, enough of them. It's a goodly morning. It is. Four points clear of title chasing Bournemouth.

5:18We are, what, six clear of Man City and seven clear of Liverpool. It's very interesting, isn't it? Because maybe previous seasons when weekends like this have happened, where, let's say, Liverpool have lost and everyone goes, oh, it's there for Arsenal now to take advantage. Can they turn the screw a little bit? We haven't always been able to do that. I mean, yesterday our game against Man City, or our game against Palace, rather, was taking place at the same time. It was Man City's game against Aston Villa. So, you know, it wasn't quite the same thing, but having seen Liverpool lose the day before, you know, it was there for us to go and do that.

6:01It's another one of these games, isn't it, that when you look back on last season and the results that we had in the corresponding fixtures, it was April, I think, when Palace came to the Emirates and we drew 2-2, a certain Mr. Eberici, as I scored that day as well. you know Newcastle Fulham West Ham you know you can understand why maybe people are beginning to to talk about Arsenal in title winning terms we do have some questions about that we might get to that conversation but I think it is one of those weekends where you know putting Tottenham to one side of course pretty much everything went right from an Arsenal perspective if you are thinking about the Premier League and where ultimately it's going to end up Yeah, and look, Liverpool were the front runners, weren't they?

6:49But they've had four consecutive defeats in the league across the same game weeks. Arsenal have won four games. So, I mean, it's a pretty simple explanation as to the swing. The consistency Arsenal have shown has been really impressive, particularly defensively. Obviously, another clean sheet yesterday. And crucially, they are capitalising when others are slipping up. So it's a really strong position to be in and another really, really good weekend for the club. Right. So, I mean, this is one of those games, I think, that, I mean, it was far from a classic. Possibly a bit of a European hangover for both teams.

7:32You know, Arsenal having beaten Atletico Madrid in midweek 4-0, which was a great performance and a great result. with a couple of extra days. The players went out, didn't they? They had a night out or not a night out, as Mikel Arteta corrected. It was a dinner, an early dinner. An early dinner. So, you know, the lads had a bit of a, yeah, I don't know what they had for their dinner or what time it was, but, you know, they had a good night out or a good early evening out. But Palace were playing on Thursday and they're not necessarily used to that playing every three-day thing that we are and have been as a club for years and years and years, but certainly in recent seasons.

8:13So do you think there was an element of that to this game where Palace came with, I think, a very specific kind of game plan and carried it out fairly well, I thought, in that first half, but it was perhaps informed by what they had to do in midweek. They played on Thursday and they're playing again on Sunday against a team that's had a couple of days more rest and a very nutritious early dinner. Yeah, I mean, I was sat next to Matt Woosnam, who's the Palace correspondent for The Athletic. And he was saying to me that the way Palace played, sort of the degree to which they were sat in a low block at times and played deep was like, this is really unusual.

8:55You know, we don't tend to do that. We play in a more of a mid block, a bit higher up the pitch. Maybe some of that is a bit of fatigue, like you say, kind of the exertions of the week for Palace. But I think as well, the way Arsenal play, the amount of control and dominance they exert over the pitch often compresses teams into those kinds of shapes. You know, whether they want to be like that or not, or whether Arsenal want them to be like that or not, it just seems to be the way a lot of our games go. But Palace are a really stubborn side. I mean, they haven't won a ton of games in the Premier League this season.

9:27I think they've won three of nine, but they've only lost a couple. Right. So they are hard to beat. And I think we saw why yesterday. It's a very, you know, they've got a lot of structure, a lot of discipline. They do have a threat on the out ball with the two kind of attacking tens and with Mateta as well. And I think this was hard work, this game. You know, they provided Arsenal with maybe more problems, more challenges than many teams have so far this season. I agree with that. You know, I think there was probably a little bit of a hangover or we were a bit lackluster in our own performance.

10:07But at the same time, I think you could see very clearly the way Palace had set up to frustrate Arsenal, that it was really difficult to get the ball between the lines, wasn't it? All the passing avenues were cut off all the time. I thought, I was looking at the stats again. This is a good use of stats, not some kind of bullshit Eddie and Keddie a shot on target stat. But only two players in the Arsenal team had more touches of the ball than William Saliba. Those are Gabriel and Martin Zubimendi. And William Saliba went off at halftime. So that kind of tells you how Palace forced us to play. We had a lot of the ball at the back.

10:48We passed it around. But found it really difficult, I think, to get the ball forward or certainly into areas where we could cause them problems. So the hard work and how compact they were, how disciplined they were, I think you can say, yeah, Arsenal didn't play as well as they could, but I also think you have to say Palace were a part of that. The way that they were organised and the work they put in made it really, really difficult for us. Yeah, definitely. I mean, it was quite a while until Arsenal even, I think, got a shot off that wasn't offside at any rate. I think it was about half an hour or so, wasn't it?

11:29Until Leandro Trossard tested Dean Henderson at the near post. Chances were few and far between at both ends, really. It felt like one of those games where you've got two coaches really locking horns in Arteta and Glasner. and yeah I don't know if it was quite a sort of chess match necessarily but it was um yeah I doubt it was a thriller for the neutral to be honest with you no no no it definitely wasn't I mean it was um like a few of our games have been something of a grind something of a chore but you know I think we we can come to what that means or why that might be uh when we go through the rest of it but but obviously we did find a way through but Kai Osaka by the way I thought Mikhail Arteta revealing after the game that Saka had been ill all week.

12:20It was like a light bulb went off in my head because I was like, what's wrong with him? He doesn't look himself at all. You know, the touch was heavy. He wasn't quite as sharp as he normally is. Didn't seem as willing to sort of take the full back on. But Arteta said he'd been sick all week and only just about made the game. So that certainly made sense. He was replaced, but he did win the free kick. It was a drive-in field to win the free kick. I think it was Pino. Pino, you know what I mean? Pino, yeah. And Matt next to me was sort of throwing his arms up in the air as soon as they gave that foul away.

12:55It was quite an... It was kind of an unnecessary foul. And what's so interesting is that we've reached the point where Arsenal's threat from set pieces is so pronounced that, you know, fans of teams are kind of lambasting their players for giving away any free kick within about 40 yards of goal. Particularly when you've got someone like Declan Rice who can deliver the ball with the accuracy and the consistency that he does. You know, I don't know how many more times we can talk about set pieces being an important way to crack tight games open. There are questions, you know, about whether we should be scoring more from open play.

13:32Perhaps we'll get to those in a moment. But like as long as you can keep doing stuff like this from set pieces. I mean, this wasn't a classic set piece goal. I mean, I know it was a delivery. It was headed out, but it wasn't sort of what you would expect. to really categorise it as a set-piece goal. It's not a cross and Gabriel heads it in the top corner. You know, Palace cleared it. And it is a great piece of finishing from Ebreche Eze, who missed a very, very good chance. Didn't he against West Ham? I think it was West Ham. He missed a really good chance against West Ham a couple of weeks ago, which would have been his first Arsenal goal, or Premier League goal anyway.

14:10Yeah, one that he could have maybe celebrated with a little more vigor than he did this one. You know, the conflicting emotions must have been bubbling away there, right? So your boyhood club, your first Premier League goal, but it comes against Crystal Palace, the team that you've just left and obviously have a great deal of affection for because of the time you spent there and the relationship he has with that club and those fans meant that, I mean, the picture that's doing the rounds, You know, on a lot of the reports is him standing there with the Arsenal players and he's doing his little symbol with his hands.

14:48But he looks like stone-faced, completely stone-faced. And he's not willing even to sort of crack a smile at all. So I'm guessing under the surface he was delighted with that, but chose very carefully not to display any kind of celebratory emotion, if that's the right way of putting it. But yeah, I think there's massive mutual respect and affection between the Crystal Palace fans. And I suppose it was kind of sod's law, wasn't it, that he would score his first Premier League goal for Arsenal against his former club. He's a guy who, you know, I think has faith in a higher plan. And while he didn't celebrate, he did point up at the sky.

15:31So I think he maybe he'll think, you know, he just needed to let it all work out with this one. It was always going to be that way. And it was a brilliant finish. Brilliant finish. I mean, the ball's at such an awkward height. And the way he manages to kind of articulate his body and execute that volley, really outstanding. And yeah, while it was a set-piece goal, it was also a moment of huge individual quality. Yeah, yeah. Just a brilliant finish. And just sort of what you need on a day like yesterday, somebody who's able to produce that moment of high quality you know it's instinctive isn't it because if you look he's sort of there on the edge of the box and Adam Wharton is with him he just sort of runs off the back of Wharton and applies that finish I mean the second half probably the first 15 minutes or so of the second half was Arsenal's best spell in the game from an attacking perspective because there was the Gabriel header that came off the bar Yeah, short corner routine, wasn't it?

16:36Rice ended up crossing it with his left foot, I think. Gabriel was just a monstrous threat, wasn't he? Every set piece, as he tends to be. Don't quite know. Did brilliantly on the goal, I think, to help create the knockdown for Eze, but don't quite know how he came out of the game without a goal himself. It was so close on a couple of occasions. Trying to think in that little period, what other chances there were. Well, there was the Declan Rice follow-up from the header which was blocked on the line. I think it was Dean Henderson just stuck an arm out. It was actually quite a good save. Close range.

17:10It's difficult to get the ball through all those bodies. There was another one, wasn't there, when maybe an underrated element of Gabriel's game is the passing. I think he sent Trossard in over the top with a kind of medium-long-term pass, and Trossard sort of dinked it beyond the keeper. And maybe another day, if Saka's feeling 100%, he might be there to poke that home. I think it was Mark Gahy who got it away first. So all of that was in the first 10-15 minutes of the second half where maybe we could have gone another goal ahead. I think so, yeah. And that would have certainly put a different complexion on the finish.

17:51Pakai Saka came off, didn't he, quite early, 65 minutes or so, which is relatively unusual to see him be drawn at that early stage. Yeah, but I guess that was a consequence of not being well. And maybe that's what they planned. You do wonder maybe if he wasn't well, would we have been better maybe bringing him off the bench, playing somebody else from the start? And if you need Saka with 20 minutes to go, but maybe it speaks to his importance, at least in the mind of Mikel Arteta, that even after he has been sick, I'm sure he said, listen, I'm good to go. but you know I don't wonder as well I mean maybe maybe I'm sort of over indexing the value of this but with set pieces being such an important part of our attacking game you know those corners from the right hand side in Saka's absence who would take them well Martin Odegaard he's not available Noni Madueke he's not available I wonder if even an hour's worth of set piece delivery is kind of a necessary or valuable asset from Saka but I agree you know he wasn't quite at his best even if he he did have his moments.

19:01Martinelli came on. Gabriel hit the post in a very literal sense. He did. I mean, it was, I don't quite know how Jokka has missed because it was his header. He just sort of flicked a header wide from a couple of yards out. I think Gabriel was coming in to try and head it, but Yucca has headed the ball wide and Gabriel, yeah, certainly used his special area to hit the post. Yeah, yeah, poor guy. But, you know, he's made of steel, effectively, so he seemed to be fine. He was another, I think, a bit like Saka had missed some training in the week. Not that you could tell from his performance. No, I mean, we didn't, I mean, we talked about Saliba going off at halftime, but we didn't really mention that Christian Mosquera came on and slotted in seamlessly.

20:02Would that be fair? I think so. He was very, very good. Very good. And it's such a luxury, you know, we don't quite know what's going on with Saliba and hopefully it's just precautionary, but I'm not sure there's ever really been a time where you could make a precautionary substitution of one of Arsenal's centre-halves and not worry about it. I think the greatest asset that he offers us is that he is able to kind of replicate the tactical role of Saliba and Gabriel. He has the athleticism, the technique, the size. So, yeah, he's been a brilliant signing. Really one of the big positive surprises of our season.

20:44Yeah, so Martinelli came on and then you're sort of into that, like, final 20 minutes or so of normal time plus whatever added time there is. and I think I asked you this, whether it was after the Fulham game, it was sort of how concerned you felt in those final stages of the Fulham game because, you know, we've had one goal leads many times in the past and you get to these final 15, 20 minutes of a game and it starts getting really, really hairy, you know, and they are fine margins and there's no sort of escaping the fact that they're fine margins, But the defensive solidity that we have produced so far this season, there's always going to be anxiety, right?

21:28I'm always going to be sitting there like, with a one goal lead because you never know what might happen. But it's not quite, I can't say it's like high level anxiety. It's sort of low level. Okay, I understand that, you know, one moment could change this game. But I feel very secure with the way this team is set up defensively. And I think the back four, Zubimendi and Rice, I think were brilliant as well defensively yesterday. Zubimendi in particular was fantastic defensively. Rice made a lot of interceptions. Maybe that was part of why he had to go off. I don't know if he pulled something or it's his Achilles or calf or whatever it is.

22:07But, you know, he was there charging around and winning the ball back. And, you know, as we said, the quality of the chances that the Palace had were, I don't know if you could even call them quality. There was some shots from outside the box, which went high and wide. The only one ostensibly on target was the Enketia one, which, you know, as we've just said, is nonsense. So there is this ability, isn't there, for this team to sort of hold the opposition at arm's length. and just not give them anything. I mean, if we talk about, let's say, Palace being hard to break down and hard to play through, surely the same applies, if not more so, to Arsenal.

22:51Oh, absolutely. I mean, I was just looking at the league table. Three goals conceded. The nearest teams to us in terms of defensive record have conceded seven, so more than double. we are really out on our own as the outstanding defensive team in this league. And Palace, look, Palace pushed Arsenal back. Arsenal finished with what looked to me like a back five. They had Nkappie on, they had Marcel Louis-Skelly on outside him. And, you know, they were exerting pressure. You know, Dean Henderson was up near the halfway line, sort of launching balls into the final third. And yet, despite that encroachment in terms of territory, despite a bit of tension in those final few moments, there wasn't really a clear-cut chance for them.

23:40And that's been the way of late. There is this incredible security and I think confidence in the way that Arsenal defend. They really do believe that they can keep anybody at arm's length as a unit. and they achieved that. They achieved that against Palace. You know, it was maybe a bit more nervy for us watching than it needed to be because it was just the one goal margin. But you couldn't say that there was a moment where Palace nearly nicked a goal. I mean, if they were going to score, it was going to be a lucky ricochet in the box. But Arsenal was so quick getting to most of those second balls or someone who was going to bang one in from 30 yards or 40 yards.

24:27I think there was a moment where their centre-half, is it Lacroix, maybe, attempted to do that and maybe that shows some of the frustration they were feeling. You know, we're not creating anything here so let's try the seemingly impossible. The average chance that Arsenal concede at the moment is apparently 0.07xg, so like a 7 % chance of scoring. We don't give up good chances. It is remarkable, really, the defensive effort we're seeing. Yeah, I mean, people have asked if the goals from set pieces are sustainable. I think that's a reasonable question. But maybe a more interesting question, is Arsenal's defensive solidity sustainable over the course of the season?

25:16I think the thing is, I think you can be defensively solid and sort of have great structure, great principles. But football is a sport that will provide the unpredictable and the freakish at times, you know. One day someone is going to smash one in from 30 yards. Sob a sleigh. Yeah, exactly. Or, you know, a defender is going to have a kind of brain fart moment where they play a back pass, you know, to David Raya, who isn't there or something. There will be incidents, I think, where we come a cropper, just variance alone suggests that's going to happen. But do I believe we can sort of maintain our core principles across the course of the season?

26:04I think we can, honestly. I mean, I'm not saying that we're going to continue to concede goals at this ridiculously low rate, but I always expect us to be stable because, frankly, we largely have been in real history. What do you think? I think, you know, what it is, is a collective thing. You know, I think the... It's front to back. That's the thing. It's not one player anymore. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Or it's not like two centre-halves, you know, playing brilliantly every week, sort of picking up the slack for other defensive weaknesses, let's say. I think collectively this Arsenal team is built to defend.

26:48It absolutely is. I think it's a core principle for Mikel Arteta. And I think what I also need to say is not that that's all that he wants to do. I think, you know, he would be much happier on the sideline if he was watching Arsenal 3-0 up against Crystal Palace with 20 minutes to go, right? I think that would make his life easier and happier. So I don't mean to say that all he wants to do is defend and nick a goal from a corner. I don't think that's true. But what I do think is that this is the sort of the platform as he sees it for a team that he hopes will go on and win the title after coming close for two or three seasons.

27:34You know, I think there have been aspects of our game or our performances where we have been a bit vulnerable at times. And I think he hates that. I think he hates any kind of weakness or vulnerability in his team. I think we've seen that, by the way, the squad has been built out. And it's not just, you know, Gabriel in the form of his life alongside William Saliba, who's brilliant. And when he's not there, it's Christian Mosquera who comes in. And Calafiore, you know, has been excellent this season defensively as well and played a more defensive game yesterday as well. Didn't do the roaming around that he did in previous games, perhaps because of the threat the Palace have down the right hand side.

28:18Timber. How many times have we talked about Timber as, you know, maybe the best one-on-one defender, fullback anyway, in the Premier League. Rice and Zubimendi I've already talked about. You know, everyone gets back and does their job. And that's Jokeres as well, leading from the front, running from the front, chasing people down, putting them under pressure just to sort of start that defensive work, you know. So I think as long as you have that buy-in from everybody, you know, from everyone. I mean, I saw it yesterday at one point, Palace came forward. People don't necessarily think about Leandro Trossard as a defensive player, but, you know, he tracked his man all the way back to the edge of our box.

29:00You know, and we know, I think we know from the kind of character Trossard is, he'd rather be doing things in the opposition final third, right? He'd rather be there doing tricks and beating defenders and getting shots on goal or creating goals. that's what he loves to do but the manager asks him to do other stuff too and he does it and i think as long as you have that buy-in there will be fluctuations in form as you say but there's no reason why that should change and i think as well when you go nine games keep six clean sheets and only concede three goals the manager can you know turn around tomorrow in training or whenever they do their debrief and say see this fucking works as long as you keep doing this we're going to be really hard to beat and we have sufficient quality to score the goals that we need to win games yeah and i've heard ex-pros talk before about how defending is almost like a culture within a club within a squad or within a team and it's become part of arsenal's dna right now i mean it was fitting wasn't it that uh george graham was present yeah i think he would have been quite happy with with what he saw from from this arsenal team in terms of their their commitment and their attention to to the defensive part of the game yeah no absolutely absolutely and i think as well when you when you think about teams that win the title or title winning seasons there are going to be games like this where you just have to grind it out you know it's hard to say like well this is the mark of champions playing badly and winning is the mark of champions and scrapping games out is the mark of champions and turning teams over form 5-0 that's also the mark of champions but I do think when you look back at any title winning campaign and you look at some of the results you know Arsenal beating Blackburn 1-0 at home in the invincible season you know on paper could we easily have or could we have been expected to beat Blackburn more easily that day probably but you know there are always going to be these games where you have to work really really hard to take all three points and it just struck me that yesterday was one of those games from an Arsenal perspective yeah it was and it's about it's about being professional and getting the job done.

31:26And Arsenal did that. So, yeah, you know, terrific. Because in a way, those Liverpool slips, while they are encouragement, they also bring with them a measure of expectation, right? And a need to step up to the plate. I was really happy with the way in which Arsenal did that. So, fantastic weekend, really. I mean, Spurs winning was the only real blot on it for me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, look, if City lose and if Liverpool lose, that's good for us. Spurs will inevitably, you know, revert to the Spurs-iness that exists within their DNA. We've got them soon, haven't we, at the Emirates Stadium.

32:10So we've got a chance to get some separation there, maybe. Yeah. So how are you feeling about the way Arsenal are being talked about now? We have a lot of questions about this. I can't find one specifically. But, you know, it's sort of, oh, it's Arsenal's title to lose now. You know, Arsenal are the overwhelming favourites, blah, blah, blah. I mean, we're nine games in. You know, I'm personally, I'm very encouraged by what I'm seeing from Arsenal. I'm confident in this Arsenal team in all kinds of ways. But, you know, I'm not really ready to start getting into title predictions or assertions about this team's, this being our season, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

32:54You know, I think you can look and look at all the metrics and look at all the league table and look at the defensive stats and all those kinds of things and take a lot of encouragement from that. But, you know, is there a need for you anyway? And I'm certainly doing this myself is sort of leaving that stuff at arm's length in a very serious way because I can't really take it too seriously because there's only a few weeks ago after Manchester City, everything was like, oh God, Arsenal, what are they going to do? Blah, blah, blah. And now all of a sudden we're like, oh, Arsenal, you know, if they don't win it now, it's, you know, they're the biggest bottlers of all time, et cetera, et cetera.

33:34So I'm curious as to how you're sort of managing that kind of stuff because I know it is, you know, people consume all the football content they can, And particularly when Arsenal are doing well, there's a lot of that stuff out there now, isn't there? That this is definitely going to be Arsenal's year, etc., etc. Well, I think it should be. That's my honest opinion. Like, people might feel uncomfortable with that. But before the start of the season, I think most Arsenal fans were saying they need to win the league. And so there is going to be pressure. but I'm not seeing anything that makes me think that can't or won't happen.

34:20I'm never shy in saying when I think it's not going to be our year and that was me a year ago, 12 months ago, saying I just don't feel it, I just don't see it. And all I can say is I don't feel like that right now. I don't see any reason why Arsenal shouldn't do it. And in fact, I understand the reticence of Arsenal fans to kind of embrace that or talk about it. And part of that is the trauma of, you know, being in this position before and not making it over the line. But I just see a group that is more equipped than ever to go the distance this time. And of course, things change. Season's at very early stage.

35:02You know, it would be crazy for anyone to write off a city or Liverpool or maybe even some of these other challenges sides who may be able to sustain their form for a substantial period but yeah I feel very optimistic I would say and I sort of don't feel a need to shy away from that because this is a squad that's been built to win this league and so and it's time for Arsenal to do it It's not saying if they fail, you know, everybody out, you know, hashtag time. But, yeah, I think right now we are favourites. And we deserve to be favourites. Because we've played some really hard games. We've had a bunch of big injuries to really important players.

36:01And despite that, you know, we've built up a little lead. so far so good and let's hope it can continue in that way I mean that's where I am I'm like so far so good like I said I'm really encouraged I just think sometimes people can get carried away a bit too early that's all that's just my concern with it maybe you're right maybe it is just trauma from the last two or three seasons that I don't want to it's not that I don't think we can do it it's not that I don't think we have the squad or the players or the mentality or the motivation I think we absolutely do. I just wonder, you know, how quickly the prevailing wins can change sometimes, you know, from one week to the next in Premier League media coverage terms anyway.

36:49Absolutely. And listen, it's still October. And one thing I would say is like, you know, I think one of the reasons maybe I find I'm a bit more comfortable with it is that obviously I am a fan, but I also have to do some more objective journalist work. And if someone was asking me my journalistic view right now, who do you think looks likeliest? I know what my answer would be. Based on the performances I'm watching, based on the form of other teams, based on the data, I know what I would say. However, we've also learned as Arsenal fans that maybe particularly in those final stages of a season, in running, you know, there are outside factors and psychological factors and pressure and, you know, games on top of games that can create chaos, right?

37:49And so nobody with any Arsenal allegiance would get close to assuming anything or taking anything for granted. But if you're looking at it right now, I don't think Arsenal realistically could wish to be in a better position than they're currently in. Do you think Arsenal are the best team in the Premier League at this moment in time? So far, yeah. Yeah, I think they are. And, you know, I know there's data points where they're not the strongest, open play chances or open play goals, for example. But the platform that they've built, those key pillars of the structure, the defensive solidity and commitment, the set-piece threat, the organisation, they're ahead of everybody.

38:35And I know it's sort of, when pundits and neutrals start to point it out, it's kind of a mixed blessing for Arsenal fans because on the one hand, it's a compliment. On the other, you feel like they're building you up to knock you down. That's, yeah. So I do understand that. But I think that actually, right now, you know, you take a slice of the Premier League, you look through all the data right now, objectively, it's a fact. So the season is long, though, and we've got to maintain that consistency. But I am super encouraged, most of all by the fact that, you know, William Saliba went off at halftime yesterday.

39:19We didn't miss a beat. Our captain, Martin Odegaard, is out, has been out for a couple of periods. You know, we've largely been absolutely fine. Kai Havertz, not available. Kai Saka's been unavailable. Noni Madueke's been unavailable. Normally at this point, when we're top of the league, I'd be thinking, well, what about when the injuries come? But the injuries have come. They have come and we've ridden it and we've sustained it. Does that make it even more encouraging that the... Yeah. We talked about this maybe a couple of weeks ago where Arteta spoke about... and nobody really wanted to hear it at the time, and I completely understand why, but he spoke about what they had learned or what they had taken from finishing second last season with the injuries that we had.

40:15You know, like I said, last season for many people was a missed opportunity in the Premier League, but there's no question we did have injuries and we suffered with key players being out, and yet we still finished second, And Arteta said, you know, the fact that we can do that with those players missing sort of instilled something within the group of players. And maybe now, coupled with greater depth, of course, the ability to deal without players like Saliba and Odegaard and Havertz, because we've got Mosquera and Eze and Jokeres to slot in and take their places. But part of that is the sort of, I guess it hardens you a bit, you know.

40:57if we can do this without these players and when we've got their replacements or when we've got these players back then we're ready to take a step forward yeah i think i think the manager used that quite intelligently to really reinforce that idea to his players that you know if they adhere to the to the principles there's kind of a flaw on their performance you know there's a there's certain standards they won't drop beneath um so yeah all it all in all i'm i am really encouraged and i'm positive and i'm i feel confident and i don't know why i understand why people might uh sort of balk at that or object to it but it's a nice thing to feel confident in the capabilities of your team and to feel positive about what they're doing and optimistic about what that might hold come may so you know when that moment is here i'm going to fully embrace it um could it make me look a fool down the line?

41:54Absolutely. But isn't that, you know, what being a football fan is partly about, unfortunately? For sure, for sure. And look, we've looked fools many times in the past as well. So, you know. Exactly. Plus, I change, guys, you know. Exactly. More of the same for me. Exactly. So look, another win, three points, clean sheet, a couple of injuries to contend with. There's obviously an EFL Cup game in midweek where I think the manager will ring the changes. We'll talk about that maybe in part two. So let's take a little break here and we will come back with your questions in part two right after this.

42:37Welcome 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 also at arseblog.com. also on the Arseblog Discord chat server, which you get access to if you are an Arseblog member on Patreon. James, I'm going to go first because we've got a lot of questions about this. Magnus Holmberg, who's magnusholmberg.bsky.social, says, can you please discuss the jacket James wore in his On The Whistle video? Where can I buy it? Can you buy it? Is that made from the fur of real tigers? Did you break into London Zoo?

43:12You have to catch and skin a tiger, I'm afraid. there's a lot of talk about that jacket but it's actually not a new jacket i've had it for a while i've seen it before yeah yeah i've seen it before and i'm sure i'm sure i've worn it to games but i think i didn't well it's obviously it's just come back into winter believe it or not i'm not wearing that faux fur jacket all summer long um so yeah it is of course a tribute to emmanuel abouet um who once answered the door in a full tiger suit, I believe. Was it Sir Stuart McFarlane? It was, yeah. We did one, like, a live pod a few years back in Stuart McFarlane.

43:52Did he sort of phone Stuart up and say, can you come over to my house? I need you to take some pictures or something. And Stuart arrived to Ibuet's house and he opened the door wearing a full tiger suit. I think that's what it was anyway. But yes, it was, listen, it was divisive in the press box it's proved divisive online um i will be continuing to wear it so is it warm and comfortable it's incredibly warm and comfortable well there you go um and you know it's it was yeah it's it's i mean we won yesterday guys so it's sticking around for the time being at least exactly all the uh all the things that we all did yesterday we have to do again for every game, apparently.

44:37So you wear that jacket. I can't remember what I did. Oh, what socks was I wearing? Fuck. Damn. Defensive record. Okay. Let me ask you a proper question then. This one comes from the Discord. It comes from Edzo Froma, who says, oh yeah, great win against Palace, blah, blah, blah. Now, with all the injury news after the Palace game, how would you line up versus Brighton on Wednesday? Go full rotation? I feel like a lot of players could do with some rest. Yeah. Okay, shall we have a go? Yeah. So, Kepa in goal, I think.

45:15Mosquera will start at centre-half. Ben White will start at right-back. Ben White, Myles Lewis Skelly. Mm-hmm. Incapier maybe in the centre of defence? Oh, yeah, could be. Could be. There's your back four. Bain his home debut, I believe, against Palace. Mm-hmm. I mean, I was sort of told at the time that he was sort of signed as a left-back, so I'm sort of curious to see if they sort of stick to that, because there is an obvious spot for him in central defence, isn't there? Yeah. I mean, he did play at Leverkusen in sort of a back three under Xabi Alonso, I remember. Oh, yeah, he can certainly do both jobs, so, yeah, that may be the way.

46:02I mean, Mikel often picks one of Saliba or Gabriel when I don't necessarily expect him to. Or want him to. Yeah, so I wouldn't rule that out entirely. I think with the Gabriel, just sort of the little knock he had before this game, I would be very inclined to rest him. I think I agree with you. Christian Norgard. Mm-hmm. In holding midfield, Mikel Marino. Ethan Ranieri. Yeah, that makes sense to me. And then... I'm thinking Martinelli on the left. I wouldn't be surprised to see Bakayo Saka. Okay. Yeah. Not overly surprised, but maybe he might give a start to Max Dahman. Yeah, I think against Premier League opposition.

46:57I'd probably err on the side of... Yeah, I think I agree with you, Saka's got a chance. I mean, who do you think will play up top? I mean, I think it's going to be Jokeres, I think. I mean, I have to say, he sort of looked like somebody who could do with a bit of a rest to me yesterday. I'd be keen to not start him, yeah. So could you maybe do something different in midfield and start Mikel Moreno up top? Or start Leandro Trossard up top as well? Trossard against his old club, of course. Trossard, yeah. I mean, he's playing a lot of Premier League minutes, Trossard. I think, yeah, you're right.

47:36Is there another midfield player? You could play Rice, maybe? Not if he came off, remember? So I'd be... Eszé, maybe? Maybe. Could you get away with a midfield of Norgard, Eszé, and Waineri? Put Mourinho up top? Certainly possible. Martinelli on the left. someone on the right zacker or down i i just think listen i've got there's some yokarez questions okay it's a good opportune moment to to do them there are there are always yokarez questions it seems he's box office this guy yeah he's podcast gold jump punch kicks a goodly morning gents i'm not a yokarez hater but are you surprised he looks a little slower than we thought he was supposed to be uh i thought he was supposed to be fast but maybe he's just fast for a big guy and there was a few players with similar themes mike dw said love the player's effort but is it my imagination or is jokarez quite slow i'd be interested in your take on that andrew especially in the light of what you just said about him maybe looking a little fatigued i think he does look a bit tired and i think that's completely understandable because he's basically played every game hasn't since he arrived.

48:57Is there one game he didn't start? The Port Vale game, maybe he didn't start? He didn't start that, no. But he came on. And then he's pretty much, as we said, leading the line and doing a lot of pressing. I think he looks quite quick without the ball. When he's sort of running to chase down a goalkeeper or chase down a defender to sort of press them, I think he looks pretty quick. I think it's when he has to combine movement with the ball that he can look a little more sluggish. You know, there was a moment yesterday where I can't remember which Palace defender, whether it was Lacroix or Gehi or one of them anyway, made a little bit of a mistake.

49:39And it sort of opened up for Jacarez to sort of take the ball with him and go right through the middle. And I, you know, in that moment, I think when you add the ball to the equation, he tends to be a bit slower than you would like. I mean I don't know what is that really makes me laugh as a phrase when you add the ball to the equation like the balls involve quite a lot in this sport is one of the issues it sort of is you know but I mean you can also remove the ball from the equation and he can make a very good quick run to the back post and tap it in Martinelli can be a bit like that yeah I think that's true yeah that's fair point you know where thinking about what to do with the ball kind of might slow him down a little bit you know So I think he does maybe look a little bit slow, but I can't say that fatigue isn't a factor for him because he's played a hell of a lot, probably more than people would have expected and probably more than Mikel Arteta would have wanted because he would have liked to have timeshared the games between himself and Kai Havertz.

50:42And he didn't have the best preseason either. And that's always like you're sort of running uphill a little bit, aren't you, when the season gets going to sort of build your match fitness if you don't have a proper pre-season. So, yeah, I can see where the questioners are coming from. I mean, what do you think? I think we've got to rest him on Wednesday. I really strongly think that. And if it means playing Mikel Moreno up top or Leandro Trossard, so be it. But we've got three away games in a week from Saturday, which is going to involve a lot of running. from Vicky Ocaraz. It's Burnley, it's Prague, it's Sunderland.

51:26And that Sunderland game looks tough, to be honest. They're a team in form. They don't concede many goals either. And something tells me there, we'll have a man in their central midfield who might be out to prove a point or to, you know, certainly make an impression. I think he had moments against Palace Just where he looked, you know, he had a couple of nice touches and a couple of bits of hold-up play that I thought were good. Struggling to create, I think, real separation at the moment to get chances and to get shots off. I think fatigue absolutely could be a factor. He's played a lot of minutes.

52:12So, yeah, I think we've got to take this opportunity to sit him down. Look, he can come on and play 20 minutes and try and get himself a goal, hopefully, in the latter stages. I do think he's going to be quite devastating in those situations because of his power. I think for a tiring defender, he'll be an absolute nightmare. But I think, yeah, give him some rest, some recuperation. He got himself a couple of goals, didn't he, in the Champions League. That eases the pressure, the burden on him a little bit. And I think we need to protect him ahead of a big seven days. I mean, whatever you may think of Victor Jokeres and his performances today, one thing is certain.

52:56Had we not bought him or bought another forward, we'd probably be in a world of trouble right now. That's for sure. Because of Kai Havertz. And I don't think on an individual level, he's been great. That's my assessment and my view. but what he's brought the team in terms of actually having a nine, the structure that brings, the threat it brings, replacing some of what Kai offers us, albeit in a different fashion, invaluable. Imagine we'd had this entire opening period of the season without an actual striker. That's where we would have been without the Okerez signing. So he's been important, even if he's not always been impressive.

53:41Yeah, I think that's a great point because it does change the way you play and it changes the way the opposition play against you as well. You know, as well with Odegaard injured, you know, you have those creativity issues as well. If you're starting Mikel Marino, who does a great job up front. What was I going to give you? I like this one from Snuner Gunner on the Discord with Rice scoring against West Ham, Eze scoring against Palace this season. Who is more likely to score against Brighton on Wednesday? Ben White, Leandro Trossard or Victor Jokeres? All former Brighton players. I forgot about Jokeres.

54:22How about all three? That'd be lovely. I mean, listen, I'd be delighted for Ben White, who I kind of miss, to be honest, as brilliant as Julian Timber has been. I've got a lot of affection for Ben White and his personality on the pitch. And yeah, I'm sort of looking forward to seeing him play. I totally understand why Timber has emerged as first choice. And in fact, I thought, you know, I anticipated and believed that that would eventually happen. But I still think Ben White's a top player. And yeah, it'd be a really nice, I hope he has a great game on Wednesday night. Same, same. I enjoyed his outfit, by the way, when the players went out for their early dinner.

55:07I don't know if you saw the picture. It just looks like a sort of, as I said on the blog the other day, like Hidden Panda. This is what this look is called. New from Derelict, the Hidden Panda range, as modelled by Ben White. What about this? Some sort of question stands out to me because I think, Wow, that's an unusual take. And I, yeah, I wondered what you would think of this. Wordsmith314, who is over on our Discord, said, wouldn't it be wonderful to lose to Brighton on Wednesday? We'll guard against complacency and focus our minds on the task at hand. I mean, that's an interpretation, certainly.

55:52People really don't like the Carabaugh, do they? No, they don't. I sort of understand it. And again, we're in that realm where, in terms of priority, it's like bottom of everybody's list, right? Obviously. If we're sitting bottom of the Premier League, the Carabao Cup becomes more important because it's silverware you can actually achieve, but there are greater prizes on offer, potentially, given where we are in the league. So I understand why people's enthusiasm for this particular competition is not as high as it would be for the Premier League, right? But I think, you know, Arteta will not view it in that way.

56:35He doesn't view it in that way. I think, you know, if you talk about culture or the kind of culture that he has instilled or is continuing to try and instill in this team and in this club, is that every game is a game you go out and win. You don't pick and choose. You know, I think we can all see potentially from the team that we've selected, the possible team, that there is scope for rotation. It won't be our strongest team in this game. No way. For very good reasons, for obvious reasons, reasons everybody understands. But is losing going to make us more focused on the Premier League? Don't think so.

57:15I don't think so. You know, I'd sort of like a little bit of a cup run for some of the players involved in this as well. They're not getting a lot of minutes in Premier League terms. And I think as well, some of the game states in Premier League games mean the manager is more reluctant to make changes than he would be at 3-0. If you've got 15 minutes to go and you're 3-0 up at home against Crystal Palace and the game is essentially done and dusted, you know, there are minutes for players like Ethan Warneri. I've got a question about him now in a minute. you know whereas when it's 1-0 it's more difficult at least in the mind of the manager to make those changes so I think these games are important for some of these guys as well so look I don't want to lose I don't want to lose to Fabian Herzler it would be good for these players you know if they start to perform well and to win the game so yeah yeah I agree I want us to go through I think it's for me, listen I do think if we get into that final stage of the season with a chance to win the league title having a piece of silverware potentially already under our belt could be a real fillip, a real boost but just even in the more short term I think in terms of keeping the rest of the squad fresh sort of motivated I think these games and these minutes are important.

58:47I say fresh. I guess what I really mean is sort of match ready, to be honest with you. Sharp would be a better word. And yeah, I think, you know, you're going to talk about Ethan, but we could talk about Miles. We could talk about Max. For these younger players who aren't getting a ton of Premier League minutes at this point in time, this is absolutely invaluable. Okay, well, let me ask you the Ethan question, and there's a couple from the Discord. Pathognomonic. It's too complicated for me. Another week goes by and Weneri doesn't make it off the bench. Do you think he has any regrets about signing his new contract?

59:30He's clearly talented, but there are too many roadblocks to him getting any consistent playing time. and Bergkamp's Pixels, Bergkamp's Pixels says, I was disappointed not to see Wernary come on today for the last 20 minutes or so. It seemed a good time to bring him on and use his ability on the ball and keep Palace's defenders penned into their own half. Him and to a lesser degree, Myles Lewis-Skelly, the recent lack of minutes has me worried. Do you think now we have them both tied to new long-term contracts? The aim may be simply to flip them from PSR purposes when we need the headroom. We know Arteta is a manager who can be pretty ruthless.

1:00:05I sort of was hoping you wouldn't ask me these because every time I say anything about Ethan Ranieri, it ends up on some sort of aggregator account and I'm accused of stirring the pot or trying to create trouble. So I'll have to choose my word super carefully. I don't know is the answer, like regarding the future. I think it's sort of a logical thought, isn't it? To be like, Arsenal spent a ton of money this summer. At some point, they've got to sell somebody. an academy player is 100 % PSR profit, could it be one of those academy boys that moves on? Especially when they've gone from quite a high level of involvement in Premier League to a reduced one.

1:00:50That said, I mean, Arsenal haven't put these players on long-term contracts to sell them. They put them on long-term contracts because they believe they can contribute massively to the club moving forward and I still have that conviction. But that's why I say things like the Carabao Cup are important and they need game time. They need minutes. I wasn't shocked that Ethan didn't get on against Palace. There's been other games where I thought maybe he could get on here. 1-0 against a very able Palace side when we were a little bit sort of hemmed into our own box even in those final stages, which you rarely see at the Emirates Stadium.

1:01:39I understood why the manager made alternative decisions on the day. And let's not forget, like in the course of the discussion, one of the players he brought on was Myles Lewis-Gay, albeit a more defensive player, but a young academy player who, Mikel Artega has shown time and time again, he does trust.

1:02:01We've got so many good players and I do think the signing of Eze has definitely had a knock-on effect for Ethan. They're playing in the same part of the pitch and minutes that Ethan might have picked up, he's now not.

1:02:21I think it's an interesting situation and I think in the long term and I don't mean this year I mean in the next three to four years something might have to give there but who's to say that's Ethan leaving the club as there's 27 Martin Odegaard obviously club captain right now and hugely important but increasingly injuries are a bit of an issue for him where will he be in three or four years? We just don't know. So I totally understand the discussion and the debate, but a bit like our title talk, it feels very early to reach any sort of conclusion. What do you think? I mean, I completely understand why Wuneri didn't come on yesterday.

1:03:14He's not the change I would have made with 20 minutes to go against this Palace side. Just not, it wouldn't have even crossed my mind. You know, I think there are other ways to manage that game. I think Arteta did that well, you know, which is not a slight on the ability of Ethan Warneri by any means. I think he's a really, really talented player. And did we talk maybe last week or a couple of weeks ago about, you know, how he develops? is it the off the ball aspects of his game that might be where he really can develop. I can't remember if it was on here, if it was a different podcast. And did he come on against Atletico?

1:03:57Am I right in remembering that? I think he did. But if that's the game I'm thinking of, sorry, I'm just having to check now. if that's the game I'm thinking of when he came on I thought there was a real sharpness about him off the ball yes he did come on and I agree with that as well that he put himself about cleared one off from under the bar didn't he but the difference it was 4-0 when he came on well indeed not 1-0 so I think there's probably an element of a player who's still only 18 years of age let's not forget has to get to a point where a manager, I think you really, really have to trust the player or what a player can bring when you're trying to hang on to a one goal lead.

1:04:48Maybe the other flip side of that argument is, well, maybe you make it 2-0 if you put somebody like Ethan Wenary on, but he came on, I think, for Eze, or it was Eze who came off for Lewis Kelly, rather. You could have done a like-for-like swap, couldn't you? you know but Arteta obviously felt differently in that sense so a couple of quick things I I think Ethan has to play Wednesday yeah like if he doesn't play Wednesday you can send in every in an area question under the sun because I think like that's a match that should be earmarked for him in my view because we are in a situation in the league and the champions league where we're at a point in the project where it's like as I said in part one it's kind of must win you know, we have to get over the line.

1:05:36We have to deliver. And unfortunately, that means that I think the manager is going to defer to seniority and security at times.

1:05:49I think where that becomes really interesting is like beyond this season, like whether Arsenal are successful or not, we've got this huge, huge squad. And I'm really curious to see if that's something that can be, and if that's something that Arteta and Berta and others believe can be maintained over multiple seasons. He has always talked about that. You know, when he's asked about like fitness issues and keeping players fresh for the end of the season, he has insisted that the only, you know, talking about the football calendar as well, like there's no putting the genie back in the bottle, right?

1:06:29The games are there. that players have got to play these games as absurd as some of them are. You know, when you talk about some of the international commitments or competitions that nobody needs like the Club World Cup and those kinds of things, but those games are there and they have to be played. And Arteta's response to questions about that has always been, well, there's not going to be less football, so we need bigger squads. So I think he's sort of of a mindset that a bigger squad is required to deal with the football calendar as we know it, both domestically and internationally. So I think inevitably there are going to be players who don't play as much as they think they should or maybe don't play as much as they deserve to play because of the talent that they have.

1:07:17And then your sort of methodology is renewal, isn't it? It's letting some of those players go where they can play and then you bring in other players who either fight their way into the team and play more than somebody else, becomes a casualty of that and you sort of have this recycling of your squad that's ongoing all the time but I think when you do have a big squad inevitably there are going to be some players who at the end of every season say I want to play more I want to go somewhere and play. That's it I think that maybe the knock-on effect of these bigger squads is going to be a bit more churn because footballers are still footballers and they want to play you know I think this summer we had that a little bit maybe with Jakob Kivior, for example, where, you know, we weren't desperate for him to go.

1:08:07He had an important part to play in the squad, but having basically played second fiddle for two years, he was like, I need to do the right thing for me and my career. And I think we'll probably encounter that in coming summers several times. And I think where you've got to be good and you've got to be sharp is being able to sort of be ready for that, accept it, and trade at the right time. So, yeah, I think there's going to be ongoing evolution. I really hope Ethan and Miles aren't part of that because I love having those academy players in the squad and I really believe both have a huge amount to offer.

1:08:54And it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the hierarchy in their positions does shift over the course of this season. You know, Calafiore looks nailed on right now as the first choice left back. But, and I'm touching wood here, don't want to jinx anything, we know he's got a bit of a checkered injury history. We've already had injuries in the middle of the park for Ranieri. You know, could Eze end up playing more on the left? Is Martin Odegaard ready to recapture his best form? If not, he could well come to the fore. There's a long, long way to go. Yep. Yep, yep, yep.

1:09:34What else have I got here? We had a question from S. Walsh who said, Morning, gents. Obviously, it was a short debut, but what do we think if Incapier looks like an Arteta player? I mean, I don't know about you, Andrew. I just think it's way too soon to say that. I'm looking forward to seeing him on Wednesday. Sure. Sure. way too soon. We didn't really see a great deal of him against Crystal Palace. We saw like a couple of minutes of him against Athletic Club, just sort of seeing the game out. But, you know, the profile of the player, the way he plays, the way Arteta spoke about him in his press conference last week or the week before, I thought was really, really interesting.

1:10:13You know, he sounded very, very enthusiastic about what this player can bring, you know. If you watch the compilations, and I know probably, I'm almost certain that Arsald didn't sign him off the back of a YouTube compilation. But if you watch, if you watch some of those compilations, you can see, you know, what his game is about defensively, but also in the opposition half, you know, the way he likes to drive and maybe do things a little bit differently from Califuri and even Lewis Skelly to an extent. So listen, I'm hopeful. I like the look of him. He's very big, quick, powerful. You know, we are a big team.

1:10:53We don't get pushed around. You don't bully this Arsenal team. And, you know, if you can bully a South American defender, then you're doing a good job, I think, you know. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing more, and hopefully we get a bit of that on Wednesday. I've got a couple of other topics, actually, that I'd like to touch on. so a few people have asked about the kind of set piece versus open play thing I'll give you a few questions how can Arsenal become more of a goal threat in open play this season Gunnar Al said I've enjoyed us getting over the lines with some gritty performances but we are seriously lacking creativity no service for Jokeres what's the solution Stuart are you finding a lot of these games a chore to watch or is it just me?

1:11:46I feel like performances need to go up another level if we are to keep up this good form. What do you make of that kind of ongoing debate? I do understand it. I do understand it. We had some people mentioning, I think, where is it? Righties Golden Tooth on the Discord. It said the BBC has put out a table showing the league table without set-piece goals. We're well and truly back. clouds you know yeah yeah yeah i mean i mentioned it in part one but i think the data says for open play um i think we're 17 xg we're near the bottom yeah basically is that an area in which we can improve absolutely do i think that is something that michael arteta is not aware of no he knows fine well he'll know fine well i guess the the sort of conundrum or the the sort of two sides of this is that we do play quite a dominant game you know we do play in a way which for a lot of teams the the way to cope with arsenal is to sit and defend.

1:13:04And a consequence of that is a lot of corners, a lot of set pieces, you know. Are teams going to just come out and open up against Arsenal? I don't think so. So the key for Arteta, I think, is to try and find a little bit more. I think we've maybe seen a couple of hints at what might be, what we might try and do, you know, with balls over the top, quicker balls over the top. As we saw, I think it was something that Gabriel was trying for Trossard quite a bit in the game yesterday was that ball over the top and he hit it a bit too heavy a couple of times and the one he got really right was when Trossard dinked it across the goal and Saka might have been there.

1:13:54Then maybe you just get accused of playing long ball football. I don't know. Would I feel a bit more comfortable, confident if we were scoring more open play goals? Yes. I don't know how concerned I am about it at this moment in time, though, because I do think we have quality. Players like Saka and Trossard, Martinelli, Eze yesterday, Rice, Odegaard when he comes back. I mean, I don't think it's a case that we're lacking the players to score those kinds of goals. I just think the way this season has gone so far has made set pieces more important. And we've been absolutely on fire in that sense.

1:14:42I don't know. I mean, I will say, like, going back to Jacarez, we're not really making chances for him. at all. There was a moment yesterday beyond that one where he could have taken it down the middle, right towards the end of the game. And it was a bit like the goal he scored against Leeds. We sort of went down and then he ran across the box. And then I think he played a pass to a ghost. I don't know who he saw, but he gave the ball back to Crystal Palace. But, you know, it's not a case that we're getting balls into Jacarese and he's getting tons and tons and tons of shots off. And I don't quite know if that's a him issue or a team issue or a little from column A and a little from column B.

1:15:31And I don't know how different it would be if Kai Havertz was playing as well, you know. So maybe there's something there to look at or something there to sort of try and unpick something or be a bit better when it comes to actually making chances for our centre forward rather than giving the ball to our centre forward and expecting him to, I don't know, make like Thierry Henry and just make something happen from a ridiculous angle or from miles out or doing what Thierry Henry used to do. beyond players and making chances, you know? Is that fair, do you think? I think it is fair. I need to go back and check.

1:16:17I have this sort of memory that maybe it was the season before last that we also started the season with, like, really scintillating form on set pieces and quite underwhelming, quite underwhelming open play data. And I seem to recall that basically the set pieces dropped off and we suddenly were like, ah, it's a shame we don't score goals from open play. Listen, that may be a false memory. It may be something I've imagined, but I do have a recollection of that and of writing pieces about open play, chance creation, and how that sort of proved to be Arsenal's undoing because the set-piece thing ultimately didn't sustain.

1:17:15Was that the season where, like in the second half of the season when Havertz moved up front and we scored something like 59 goals in that run of 18 games where we won 16 and lost one and drew one? I think we scored 59 goals and conceded nine, something like that. It was ridiculous. So what am I worried about, I guess? Yeah, maybe we're set up for, you know, explosion in the second half of the season. Yeah. Maybe the team, I don't know. Maybe it's a lot to do with Kai Havertz. I mean, one thing I do think is, in terms of creating chances and one route to that is high turnovers. And I do think when we're in that 4-4-2 shape, as hard as Eze and Jokere's work, I don't think they're close to Odegaard and Havertz in terms of the press.

1:18:07I don't think they're, I think those two are sort of elite really in that. And that can help you create chances in situations where you have a bit more space or a bit more opportunity to get in behind, especially with Declan Rice pushing up high as well to join them. Yeah. It's something to keep an eye on. I'm, you know, those, though I agree that set pieces and our reliance on them is kind of a function of the way teams play against us and our style too um if we've won the league I would expect those open play numbers to be different yeah to be honest with you yeah and so I think if we do want to win the league they will have to improve but I suspect Mikarsleto knows that and what he'll be delighted about is the fact that even though we're not actually firing on all cylinders from attacking front we're still picking up a lot of points.

1:19:06Sure, just one more on the set piece thing this one comes from Bluesky Heinquin Heinquin .bsky.social, I don't know how to pronounce it, I just thought this was interesting he said what what's this team's achilles heel i think it's actually set pieces they're so critical that injuries will have a larger impact than in open play where we have cover for rice and gabrielle except for their roles in set pieces it's like an nfl team losing their field goal kicker i just thought that was quite interesting because we talked about you know saka and rice the the quality of the delivery is a really important part of being good at set pieces like gabriel can be as good as he is in the box but if the quality of the delivery is not what's required then you're not going to score as many goals i just thought yesterday we saw trossard for example take a couple of corners after rice went off um saka we didn't have a corner on the left hand side for for saka to take so i wonder who would have taken it if we got one over there in the second half after he went off, you know?

1:20:16So, yeah, I think that's an interesting point. And actually something I've been thinking about a little bit, it's like we talk about Arsenal being a real threat and set pieces and how they score a lot of goals. And, you know, the commentators always say, look at them, they're all giants. And it's true. But I, again, my gut tells me that like 70 % of the time it is Gabriel who gets there. Like he is sort of freakishly good at it. And as much as we are good at set pieces, I think he is exceptional. Like even yesterday, you look at the game, he helps create the goal. He hits the bar with another effort.

1:21:01He's right there at the back post, potentially to score another when Jokeres nods wide. I don't think we have another player maybe Havertz is the closest who can replicate his level of threat in the air he is just absolutely outstanding and it would be a big miss would be a big miss right now yeah I think he's the best in the world I think that's fair and actually like we had a question about Gabby. Who was it from? Let's have a look. Alex Stannett said, Carragher made the point yesterday that Gabriel was currently the most influential player in the Premier League yesterday. Do you believe he's the person we would miss most if injured?

1:21:51Personally, to me, he's currently the best centre-back in the world. I don't have a lot to add to that. He is genuinely brilliant in both boxes. I saw Carragher say right now, if it carries on as it is, he thinks he could be Footballer of the Year. I mean, it would be extraordinary for a central defender to win Footballer of the Year because it so rarely happens. It has happened. Van Dijk, Terry, I think, has won it. We're talking about it's rare and it's top, top level players who do it. Yeah, exactly. and Gabriel would be the first non-evil central defender to win it if he does. But look, I completely understand why he will be.

1:22:37Well, if he wins the golden boot, which, you know, he could do. He could do. Look, you know, he does have these little scoring streaks and he gets a number of goals every season. I think the fact that he is able to couple the attacking prowess with the defensive prowess is what makes him so outstanding. You know, Thomas Vermaulen scored quite a lot of goals for Arsenal, but defensively maybe not quite as good as he was at banging one in from 30 yards, you know. But Gabriel, like you say, there's a hunger to score when he's in the opposition box and there is an even greater hunger to defend when he's in our box.

1:23:21And that's evident by the way that he plays, you know. It's always been there, but I think now we're looking at, what is he, 26, 27? He's 27, is he? So we're looking at the peak of his career right now, and I think what we're seeing is him in an already outstanding player in the best form of his Arsenal career to date. And yeah, he's hugely, hugely important. We do want to finish a bit of news that we didn't really talk about. Peter Hust says, Downman signs a new contract. How big of a deal is that? And obviously, the reporting, I think, from David Ornstein was that he's going to sign scholarship forms with an agreement to sign professional terms when he turns 17.

1:24:11Arsenal have clearly demonstrated a pathway for him, which I think is important for a player of his talent and his ability. and good news obviously that you know that pathway has demonstrated to him a seriousness about you know what his career could become at Arsenal. That's great news I mean he's been at Arsenal for some time he comes from a family of Arsenal fans that was all in the club's favour but I would imagine that family of fielded calls from every club under the sun legally or otherwise I just think otherwise he's one of the most prized young talents in world football so for Arsenal to secure him for now is fantastic and this will probably be an ongoing process because there are limits on the lengths of agreements and contracts that players can sign in those early days a bit like we've had with Ethan where you know you sort of have to jump through these these negotiation hurdles but yeah I'm really excited to see more of him hopefully starting on Wednesday.

1:25:19Against Premier League opposition, I'm not sure he'll start, but I'm sure we'll see him. Yeah, for sure. For sure. He's got to get some playing time, I think. And he's been playing for the under-21s as well, you know, so they're trying to give him minutes, but that integration and inclusion in the first-team squad, you're looking at the EFL Cup games as part of that. So, fingers crossed. All right. I think we better leave it there get this podcast out to everybody so thank you all for being with us thank you all for enjoying another set piece again olay olay and thank you for all your questions as ever for now take it easy and we will catch you on the next one bye bye