Arsecast Extra Episode 665 - 03.11.2025

0:11Hello and welcome to another Arsecast Extra as always with James from Gunnerblog. James another goodly morning to you. Another one. Racking them up now. Not bad. Not bad. I could get used to this. How are you doing this morning? I'm good. I've got coffee. I've got a biscuit. I've got your company to talk about another Arsenal win. Could be worse. You're living the dream right now. What sort of biscuit? A ginger type thing. Not like a ginger nut, but like something a bit more fancy. A posh equipment. Yeah, one of those sort of, you know, Tesco, what's their kind of refined... Finest. Finest. Tesco finest.

0:55That's it. Yeah, it's one of theirs and it's very nice. Fantastic. Yeah, you are living the dream right now. Yeah. As are we all. Top of the Premier League. Not bad, is it? Not bad. Could get used to it. Well, long may it continue. Yeah, another good weekend. I mean, you know, not necessarily a weekend where, like the previous one, all the results went as we would have dreamt or desired it. But we did our job. We did. I mean, that's the thing, you know. Weekends like last weekend, you've got to take advantage when the other teams drop points. And then weekends like this one, you've got to do your job just to sort of maintain the status quo or the gap that you have, you know.

1:39And we've done that. We're a very quietly professional, efficient, no-nonsense kind of team so far this season. There's not a lot going on. Sometimes we've sat down to do this podcast and it's like, oh God, we've got to discuss this crazy decision or that crazy thing that happened or whatever. It seems to be like low fuss so far. And I like it. I have to say. I like it. Yes. Arsenal is a club in its recent history, I think it's had quite strong association with drama. Right. You know? Yeah. It's felt a bit like a soap opera at times on and off the pitch. And this is very drama free. What's the opposite of a soap opera?

2:35Exactly. It wouldn't win any soap awards. But it's thoroughly satisfying as a supporter. I think doing the player ratings on RS Blog News, for the last month, all I've been able to write about David Rye is didn't have a lot to do. Yeah, he is coasting to that golden glove right now. Yeah. I mean, look, I'm being facetious because, of course, Of course, I recognise the part he plays in the organisation of the back five and claiming crosses and all sorts of things. But he may be on for a record all of his own in terms of most clean sheets, you know, versus number of saves actually required. I think the summer we bought him or loaned him, I should say, from Brentford, I think he'd made more saves cumulatively that season than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League.

3:36So he's earned this respite, I think. Yes, I think he has. I mean, the involvement he has is quite minimal from a saving shots on goal perspective because we had another game where the opposition did not have a shot on target. I haven't heard back from the dubious shot on target committee about Eddie Nketius last week. So it does stand in the record books, the statistics books. So it makes it one shot on target. But of course, we don't accept that. We don't believe that was a shot on target. We don't recognise that. No, we refuse. We will always refuse. It's a travesty. It is. It's a miscarriage of justice.

4:17It is. We actually had a question from Nard in the Bay who said, I had a weird feeling during the match prior to the Edwards free kick, which you may recall was in stoppage time, I think, at the second half. I found myself on edge and nervous that it would be a shot on target, not a goal. Can you relate to this feeling? Has this Arsenal team broken your brain as well? I sort of know where he's coming from there because you get to that point and you kind of go, I know this is essentially it's meaningless, right? Essentially. Because the game is won, the three points are the most important thing.

4:53But there was part of me going, don't get a shot on target just because. I had an email actually from someone called Michael Lee Michael is from New York and he said over the last couple of seasons when it's late in the game we're winning 2 or 3-0 the main thing I care about is the clean sheet but this year our defence is so dominant and clean sheets are so common what I really care about is no shots on target he said we need a term like clean sheets but for no shots on target he said here are some ideas I'd love your thoughts perfect sheet, spotless sheet, pure sheet, immaculate sheet, cleaner sheet.

5:31He says a no shoddy, which is very American, a keeper sleeper. You know, and this is clearly where people are going with this stuff at this point in the season. You know, again, without getting too carried away with it, the parameters have been adjusted a little bit, haven't they? Yeah, I quite like spotless sheet. I mean, ultimately what he's saying is he wants to be able to shine a UV light on that sheet and walk away satisfied. Unlike someone from crime or CSI going into a seedy hotel room in Florida looking, ooh, look at all the stuff that the UV light has shown up. Could we call it like, remember in Trainspotting, if you've seen the movie Trainspotting, there's a moment where one of the characters, I think it's Spud, wakes up in either his girlfriend's, is it his girlfriend's house or something the next morning?

6:23And because of the consumption of drugs that he's had the night before, he wakes up to a very not clean sheet. It is a bespoiled sheet without wanting to go into too much details. So can we call it a reverse spud or something like that? A reverse spud. Yeah. Perhaps so, yeah. I think it's his in-law's house. Yeah. It's not a pretty scene. No. It's very much the opposite of the sheets we've got. So yeah, a reverse spud will do for me. I mean, it is absurd, really. It's, you know, it's... They're almost not... I mean, I don't mean to downplay Arsenal's victories here. I know they're hard fought and hard won, but you couldn't call them a contest, some of them, in any real sense because Arsenal very literally are keeping the opposition at arm's length.

7:23Well, more than a very long arm at that 18 yards or so, basically. That is a long arm. And yeah, it is a very long arm. And David Ryder, yeah, I mean, he's having a whale of time back there, you would think. I mean, that Edwards shot, by the way, which hit the post, if it's on target, it is in, I would say. I think he's probably beaten on it. So maybe that's the only way to score against Arsenal right now, direct free kicks. We saw Sobberzla do it. If you're in opposition, if you're the Sunderland manager or the Slavia Prague manager right now, you'd have a big direct free kick session, I think, during the training preparation.

8:05Yeah, I mean, that requires you to get one. We're pretty solid defensively. I know there was a tackle by Gabriel and he got a yellow card for it in the end. He went sliding in. maybe because they're so desperate to keep another clean sheet, you know, that they're throwing their bodies on the line in the 94th minute or whatever it is to try and stop a shot. Or maybe they're talking about the shots on target as well. But yeah, it's very impressive. Very impressive. Very efficient. Very professional from Arsenal. So, I mean, let's get into the game and talk about how it played out because the opening part, you could see exactly how Burnley were set up because they got men behind the ball, as you would expect.

8:53And they said, well, they didn't say it, but you could see the way they played. When Gabriel and Saliba had the ball, they were like, okay, you had the ball. That's fine. But as soon as the ball went wide, whether it was to the fullback or whether it was to one of the wingers, they sprinted out really, really quickly. So they were content for Arsenal to have it in central areas, but they wanted to make sure that we were not able to stretch the pitch, you know, because that's how you try and deal with these low blocks. So, you know, as a tactical plan, I think, well, for 14 minutes or so, it worked pretty well.

9:34Yeah, I mean, they had, you know, five defenders on the pitch. They clearly set out with a game plan, as you say, to kind of, trigger their press at certain moments and make life hard for us. But, you know, without wishing to repeat ourselves, Andrew, a set piece opens the game up for Arsenal. And it's happening time and time again. Everyone's talking about it. Everyone's got a point of view on it. Do they? Nobody seems able to stop it. Well, listen, because we haven't had the live blog running for the last couple of games as we try and, you know, don't fix it up technically. You know, it serves as my reminder for the game.

10:15You know, when we sit here and we do the pod, I often have the live blog open. So it gives me this record of the game and the bits and pieces that happened. But I had to do it old school. I had to like sit down with a piece of paper and a pen and write stuff. And I don't know about you, but because I type all the time now, my handwriting is like, what did I write there? Hieroglyphs. It is essentially hieroglyphics. But I've worked it out. I've used the AI of my mind to work it all out. And... How high tech of you. I know. Amazing. Amazing. Actual intelligence, I think they call it, rather than artificial.

10:55But anyway, 10 minutes I wrote, ooh, this is going to be tough, because of the way Burnley were well organized. They were tough. And they did make it difficult for us. And I was thinking, you know, it's one of those games that if it gets to 20 minutes, then 30 minutes and you don't score. It starts to get frustrating when a team plays like this. But then we get the corner. And it's like this, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. Declan Rice stands over it. Gabriel's at the back post. And there's Victor Jacarez to just knock it home from close range. It must feel like that for the opposition. and you know this is a slight take on what they've been doing on Spanish television Phil Costa noted this last year that you know when Arsenal get a corner sometimes the commentators go chung chung chung chung chung chung chung chung because it feels inevitable that the great white shark of Arsenal are going to come up from the depths and score a goal that's not mixing my metaphors too much yeah and Baba Yaga Gunnar got in touch to say is it finally time for the Emirates crowd to begin humming the theme song from jaws every time we win a corner it is yeah it'd be hard to coordinate i think i think it is yeah yeah yeah i'd like to see us give it a go we might need a conductor we might need someone to stand at the front of the north bank with a baton um if there's anyone willing to come forward but i yeah i don't really know what to say that we haven't already said about Declan Rice's delivery, Gabriel's desire to get to the ball, his timing.

12:39Leandro Trossard, I think, plays his part, you know, at the back post, sort of making a nuisance of himself, doing a bit of kind of Ben White antics almost, just kind of dragging markers away and getting them involved in tomfoolery. But yeah, I mean, it's just exemplary. And as I say, everyone knows about it. Everyone's talking about it. Nobody seems to be able to stop it. No, and they couldn't and they didn't. And it was 1-0 and Victor Jokeres was there and scored the goal. And I think, you know, some of the other things I noticed in this first half was, you know, we're talking about clean sheets and not allowing shots on target and all of that kind of stuff.

13:19But, you know, it's a consequence of how hard this team works, you know, not just defensively, but all over the pitch. and you can see the minute the ball sort of is in any kind of transition or it breaks down, how quickly the Arsenal players react to get the ball back or to keep possession, you know. And that was evident in that first half. I think this first half was quietly one of the best first halves we've had this season so far, not just because of what we did, but how well we controlled the game, but also how hard we worked. And I think it is worth pointing out that keeping the opposition at arm's length the way we do is a real collective effort.

14:05And it takes a lot of hard work and it takes a lot of organization and defensive discipline. But, you know, you see players like Eze, like Jokerez, like Saka, like Trossard even. As soon as the ball is there to be won in midfield or in the wide areas, they're snapping into the tackles like straight away. and I think that's just such an impressive and maybe underappreciated part of what makes this team as good as it is or as good as the start of this season has been is literally these players just working their fucking bollocks off. I think so, yeah. And it starts at the front, goes all the way through the team.

14:46I think as well, when you're winning and when you're keeping clean sheets, there is a kind of momentum to that where there's a desperation and a desire to keep that going. And Arsenal are just a team on a roll at this point in time. They are a machine. I think that is the right word for this team in terms of the level of organisation, commitment. They are a machine and they are very difficult to dismantle and every single player on the pitch plays their part in that. and Jokeres I thought whether it was the rest in midweek or whether it was an early goal ending a run of Premier League games in which he hadn't scored had a fantastic 45 minutes maybe his best 45 minutes in an Arsenal shirt I agree I think I texted that to you at halftime I think it was I know and I've co-opted that no that's fine that's fine I think it was though you know it was really really impressive from Jokeres and he was involved not just in the goals.

15:55We can talk about the second goal now in a minute, but he made chances for others as well. There's a chance for Bukayo Saka. Yeah, I mean, that first one in particular, I think Bukayo Saka will be the most disappointed person, obviously, because he knows from that kind of position he should be able to finish from there. But it's great play from Yakares to set up that chance. really good centre forward play just kind of taking the ball and turning it around the corner I mean that's the thing you say this is one of our better halves and I agree and although we did get the opener from a set piece we created quite a few chances in open play you know there was that one where Saka went through shot on his left I agree he'll probably think he should do better there there was another great move with about half an hour play Declan Rice receiving the ball under pressure giving it to Eze who found Yoko Reyes who again played in Saka this time shot with his right foot I actually made this a pretty good save for the Burnley keeper he gets a hand up I think he sort of anticipates this ball going across goal and dives almost the wrong way but then gets a hand up to stop it and then Trossard really unlucky on the follow-up I mean a smart attempt to fire the ball between the Burnley defenders but they blocked it right on the line Yeah I mean, it was dominant from an Arsenal perspective.

17:17I think, you know, in terms of XG, Burnley had none because they didn't even have a shot in the first half and we were at 2.4, something like that. And of course, 2-0 up through Declan Rice with the second goal. This came from a Burnley long throw, which Gabriel is just amazingly committed defending from Gabriel. He sort of runs from miles away and leaps and heads the ball away and Saka heads it on then to Jokeres, who produces a pass which has got people talking, I think, because some people think he was trying to play it to Eze. It looks like an amazing cross field pass. I don't want to really delve into whether he meant it for Eze or Trossard or not, but I think it turned out brilliantly and it looked great.

18:10That's as much as I think we need to say. Yeah, it looked great. It also looked a bit unusual, so I can understand the debate. I originally thought, wow, what a pass. You know, he's fizzed that one out to Trossard. Having seen it from a different angle, I'm like, oh, he might have been looking for it. He's making a run through the middle of the pitch. To be honest with you, I think rather than microanalyse the pass, maybe what's more interesting is to look at the run, you know, the speed on the break. We spoke last week about him lacking maybe that bit of acceleration or separation from defenders.

18:43And I do think he looked much better for having that midweek completely off. And, you know, when Arsenal break, and we know that he can be so dangerous in those transition moments, he really did play his part. By the way, I think it was Gabriel, I think won two consecutive headers because I think it was two long throws back to back from Burnley. First one he cleared away and then the second one as well. And it's just a beautiful goal, this actually. Like once it gets out to Trossard, the way he clips that cross into the box and Declan Rice times his run to perfection, hits it back across into the far corner.

19:23Really, really lovely goal. No, it really is. I mean, the one thing I will say about the pass from Jokeres is that if you are looking for Eze in that moment, you don't hit the ball the way he hit it, you know? It was sort of laces, whereas if you were looking to curl that into the path of Eze, you'd be, you know, using your instep. So I'm going to give him credit for the pass because it was brilliant. Trossard, very, very good down the left-hand side, stood up the cross, Declan Rice is there. And you look at the ground that Declan Rice covered for this goal as well, you know, when the ball breaks.

19:55I'm just looking here. He's in, just on the edge of our box, you know, as the ball breaks out to Jokeres. And yeah, I mean, that's what you get. You get rewarded for the commitment. You get rewarded for the effort to get into the box. And it's good. He's looking around. I mean, there's a last-minute attempt from one of the Burnley defenders to get near him, but basically they've left him alone. It's a very good header as well, isn't it? You know, puts some power on it, beats the keeper, 2-0. And I don't think you could argue that that's any less than Arsenal deserved. No, not at all. I thought it was excellent.

20:33And I can't find it just now. but there was a quip from somebody saying, are we taking it too far? Now we're scoring from opposition set pieces as well as our own. Yes, it was palm tree, palm tree on blue sky. But yeah, I mean, I think, you know, again, there's this discourse around set pieces but if you look at our last couple of games, I thought the goal that when Airey scored against Brighton was a really beautiful goal. I thought this rice header was fantastic, a brilliant end-to-end move. So I think Arsenal are delivering a bit of a riposte to that sentiment and scoring some pretty impressive open play goals.

21:17I agree. I agree. And look, it was a very good first half from Jokic. So it was a bit disappointing then that he had to go off at the break. Mikel Arteta said afterwards he reported a little muscular niggle. So do you think it's possible that at this moment in time, given the absences we have in the forward line, you know, Havertz, Madweke, Martinelli, Jesus, Odegaard, that the players are being told, listen, the minute you feel anything, particularly the forward players, the minute you feel anything, you've got to let us know. don't try and play through any kind of pain because you know we have to be completely risk averse at least with our forwards because I'm not saying we're down to bare bones but the options aren't really there at this moment in time yeah I think especially at 2-0 up you know at Burnley you're in a commanding position where if you don't need to take chances you don't have to In a funny sort of way, I wonder, I almost feel like how well Jokeres played could have played into the decision to withdraw him in that, like, look, he's had a great half.

22:30He looks sharp. He looks like a player we don't want to lose for any stretch of time right now. So let's get him off. Equally, when the games come as quickly as they do right now, it doesn't have to be a big injury or a major injury to make you miss some matches. Sure. And, you know, we played Saturday afternoon, we played Tuesday, I mean, virtually afternoon. However much of a precaution it may have been, you'd have to still think there's a chance he might miss at least one game just because it's right around the corner. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I think if there's any risk at all, you just leave them at home for the trip to Slavia Prague.

23:18You know, there are options, and I think I have some questions about potential options so we can do those in part two. But, you know, going into what I think is going to be another very tough away game against Sunderland next weekend, that really feels like the kind of game where you need someone like Jokeres because it's going to be hard fought, it's going to be very physical, and not dissimilar from the Burnley game in terms of the challenge that we face against a newly promoted team, albeit one that's doing very, very well so far in the Premier League this season. So I would imagine if there's any risk, they'll just say, no, hang on, let's do something else for Slavia Prague.

24:04What we did on Saturday, obviously, was bring on Mikel Marino, who has played there. And listen, you know, I've said before, I like Mikel Moreno. I think he's a really good member of this squad, a valuable member of the squad. But I think we very obviously missed what Jokeres brought to that first half in the second half. And part of it might have been, listen, we're 2-0 up. We can control this game. We can keep the opposition at bay. We don't have to risk anything. But it was noticeable, wasn't it? the sort of the difference between the first half and the second half from an Arsenal attacking perspective.

24:41We really didn't create very much in that second half, whether we needed to or not. That's a debate or that's a conversation we can have. And I'm not putting it, you know, all down to Mikel Moreno. But I think it was obvious when Jokic went off, we lost a bit of forward momentum. Definitely. And I saw moments on the pitch where, you know, players looked up, I think hoping to play a pass into the channels or in behind. and there wasn't necessarily a run there because that's not Mikel Moreno's forte. And I think, you know, Arteta was quite critical, wasn't he, of our second half performance. I was maybe less so.

25:20Like I saw this as a case of, you know, being in control of a game, holding the opposition, as I say, at arm's length. It's not like we came under significant defensive pressure or Davi Rai was forced into a series of saves. To be honest with you, as soon as that substitution was made, I thought, well, there's a bit of a chance that this second half becomes a write-off in a way, you know, a bit of a non-event. And actually, I think to Arsenal's credit, certainly defensively, that's kind of what it was. I mean, it was game over at halftime, as far as I could see. Yeah, I think, you know, if we got another goal in that first half, if it was 3-0 at halftime, I don't think Arteta would be too bothered about the second half at all.

26:08You know, the fact that it's 2-0, one moment leaves you on a nice edge. The most dangerous league in football, of course. Well, yes, of course, unless, you know, you're this version of Arsenal. He talked about, you know, we dropped the standards, which I guess, you know, might be the case, but we also missed, you know, probably our best player in the first half and somebody who plays that centre-forward role very differently from Mikel Moreno, you know. As well as that... I also wonder as well, to what extent that's just a bit of managerial shenanigans. You know, he's looking at a week of three fixtures, Burnley, Slavia, Prague and Sunderland.

26:44None of them are marquee games. They're all games Arsenal might expect to win and he might just be looking for the kind of marginal gain of like, how can I refocus these players' minds? How can I ensure that despite this being a relatively routine win, they are concentrated ahead of Prague, ahead of Sunderland? Is that second half just an opportunity for a bit of messaging and sharpening of minds? I do wonder if that might have been his thoughts. Maybe so, maybe so. I mean, I think ultimately, as you say, it was essentially a non-event. It was a thing that happened in the universe in which we all live.

27:27But beyond that, beyond that sort of free kick towards the end, I'm really struggling to think of anything that happened of note in that second half. You know, Burnley made changes. They tried to get back into it. You know, last 15, 20 minutes, they started to press a bit higher. They needed to get some goals. So they took a bit of a chance. I don't think Arsenal were able to, you know, use the bit of space that they left particularly well, but then we didn't need to. I think the main thing I would take away from the second half was that Declan Rice cemented his first half performance, which was really good.

28:12a goal and I guess a pre-assist, you can call it, but a brilliant set piece delivery. With one of those sort of, whenever the ball was sort of slightly potentially dangerous from a Burnley perspective, he just seemed to be there. I don't quite know, you know, how he did it, but you know, he's there to make a challenge. He's there to make a tackle. He nicks in and takes the ball away. He makes clearances. I thought he was absolutely outstanding in the first half, obviously, but I also thought his second half performance was brilliant too. And that was the thing that stood out for me in that second half because we did make changes, I think, in Capier and when Eric came on for Calafiori and Eze.

28:58Burnley made a load of changes, didn't really make any difference to them. But the player that stood out for me in that second half was Rice and the amount of ground that he covered. and the fact that, you know, it ties back into what I was saying earlier on about how hard these players work. You know, there was no resting on his laurels in any way. You know, he's just, I don't know, what do they call him? Did he say they call him the horse? Because he sort of, you know, he's just running all the time. I mean, he was brilliant in that second half. Absolutely brilliant. Yeah, and he was kind of the guy who stayed on, right?

29:34So Mendy and Eze in the midfield both came off. Trossard, Jokerez, both came off as well. Rice was there for the full 90 minutes and I thought gave a complete performance. Defensively outstanding, ball-carrying, scored, created the opening goal with the set piece. It was a monumental display from him, really. And I thought a clear man of the match. Yeah, he is a fantastic, fantastic player, and we are very, very lucky that we have him. Yes. So, you know, 2-0, clinchy, no shots. Is it easy to start taking this for granted a little bit? That this could become... Maybe, I mean, it felt very routine.

30:30It did, yeah. I sat down with my editor before the game. I had an editor from The Athletic working, And he was like, I reckon we'll get a routine 2-0 win here, goal from a set piece and a clean sheet. And at the end of the game, I sort of was able to go back to him and say, yeah, you called that spot on. I mean, this was kind of exactly as AI or actual intelligence might have predicted it, right? AI. Played out like... Editor intelligence, I guess. It played out exactly in that fashion. And yeah, I think we could start to take it for granted because it felt, I mean, I use the word machine. You know, we are just in a rhythm of doing this right now.

31:25I have to be honest and say there doesn't appear to be any obvious sign of it slowing or stopping. but then I guess the story of past seasons and football previously is that there often doesn't until yeah very much is yeah you keep going until you get stopped somewhere along the way and that's why I do I do actually think it is important that while it does feel routine and I think the the headline I used on the blog on Sunday was like cruise control you felt like Arsenal if we really needed to could go up another gear or two or three like if we needed to you could see how we could we could try and uh up the ante a bit but we didn't need to and you know again it's hard work and it's commitment from all of these players to make it look as routine as it does but i do think it is worth appreciating because you know it won't always be as good as this one day james the opposition are going to get a shot on target and we'll all be sad um so i think while it still There'll be a goodly morning if they have a shot on target.

32:30Yeah, we're going to have to readjust the parameters of goodly mornings as well. They had a shot on target. We won 5-0, but they had a shot on target. What are we talking about here? You know, I think it is worth appreciating that what we're doing right now and the way we're playing and the way we are winning games. You know, I mean this in the sort of the bigger picture. I'm not talking specifically about set pieces or anything like that.

33:00it's not normal. I don't think it's normal, right? Because this is the best defensive start that Arsenal have ever had to a season. So it's not normal. It's out of the ordinary. And I think it is worth appreciating and just taking a moment to step back, you know, after a game like this, don't assume it's always going to be like this, but appreciate it for what it is right now because it's just so impressive. It's, you know, as you say, machine or cruise control or momentum, all of these things. It's brilliant to be experiencing this. You know, I remember in the past, we've had great teams and I've sort of looked back and thought, you know what, I haven't always taken the time in the, because it's also outcome based, right?

33:50Whether you win the title or whether you don't win the title, that your experience of it is sort of tied to how the season plays out. But during the season, there are times where you can say, actually, this is great. I love this. I love what we're doing. And I hope we can keep it going. But, you know, until such time as we have to talk about something else, just, yeah, I love this team. I love what it's doing. And I love how they're doing it. Yeah, I think that's really interesting because, you know, There has been and there may continue to be some criticism of this team externally. And to an extent, I can understand that.

34:33I think as a neutral, whoever is a neutral, what is a neutral? But as someone who's not involved in the title race, you want – we started the show talking about the absence of drama. And TV companies and the neutrals, inverted commas, they want drama. And Arsenal, the way they're playing right now, have kind of eliminated that. I mean, you know, people want end-to-end. They want goals going in at both ends of the pitch. Well, that doesn't happen in our games. So I think we are going to get some criticism and take some stick and not necessarily be, you know, the nation's darling. But what's really great is that what I'm seeing online and in the stands from Arsenal fans is taking a real pride in the way that this team is playing and the way in which they are defending and celebrating those aspects of the team.

35:35And I think as a supporter, as a fan, that's absolutely the right position to take. And yeah, I mean, listen, if it gets on everyone else's tits, then frankly, that's fine by me. No, I mean, that's the thing. They're literally having to invent things to sort of try and create drama around our song. You know, as you said, we have been guilty of maybe creating drama ourselves and falling victim to some of that drama. But now it's like, oh, are they, you know, is it the set piece thing, whatever it might be, or they're boring or whatever. I don't find this boring, I have to say. I really don't. this is sort of my ideal scenario.

36:20Tim wrote a great column about this as well a couple of weeks ago, by the way, you know, where if Arsenal are pissing people off, he's, you know, very, very happy with that because that's sort of part of his Arsenal heritage. But I think there is something to that, that people might dismiss it as boring. They might dismiss it as whatever. But, you know, we have experienced the criticism when people say, well, when are Arsenal going to learn? When will they ever learn about this? When will they learn about that? When will they become more efficient? When will they stop pressing that self-destruct button, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera?

37:00And now that we've done that, they don't really have anything to have a go at us for. So they make stuff up about set pieces or whatever it is, you know. So for me, it's just very, very enjoyable. And, you know, going into games, I can remember not too long ago. I remember a podcast we did. It might have been End of Emery, End of Wenger or Early Arteta. I can't remember exactly when. Sort of making the observation. There used to be a time you could look at the fixture list and feel confident that Arsenal, right, we're going to win that game. we're going to win that game. We're going to win that game.

37:40And there was a point where you were going, I don't know. I don't know if we can win that. I don't know if we can beat that team, you know, and that's not a good place to be. This is a far better place to be for me anyway. The less drama, the better, I think. Yeah. Couldn't agree more. I mean, you know, what is a machine? Well, a good machine is reliable. you know, is systematic, is perfectly honed for the completion of its task. And that's what this team looks to be right now. It has all its parts working together in perfect units. I could stretch this analogy as far as you like, to be honest.

38:24We're just very good. We're just very good. Like Terminator? Yeah. Yeah, I should have mentioned it's that sort of machine. Yeah, we're that sort of machine. So just look. Well, it's interesting, right? Because, you know, Man City win again yesterday. Erling Haaland produces his robot celebration. We've got the robot versus the machine potentially in the title race. Yeah. So, yeah, I mean, yeah, it's all taking shape. And I think as well, like your point about don't take it for granted, it was interesting sort of looking back, you know, eight wins from 10 at this point, looking back and seeing sort of which sides have done that previously and the extent to which they went on to win the league or not.

39:15And what you see actually is that it comes with no guarantees. I think it was like four of the seven teams in the Premier League era who've kind of reached that many points at this stage didn't go on and do it, including ourselves in 2022-23. So that is a bit of a, you know, it's just something to give you a bit of caution, isn't it? And like you say, appreciate it and not take it for granted because there are no guarantees that this will necessarily continue. For sure. There's a great foundation and I have confidence that it will, but you just never know. Well, listen, I don't think internally the messaging is going to be anything other than, yep, great start.

40:01That's it. That's it. You know, after three second place finishes, there is literally no way that Mikel Arteta is going to allow this team or any of his players to believe that it's anything close to being done and dusted at this point, because obviously there's still such a long way to go. But I think the experience of being runner-up three years in a row comes with a world of pain that they don't want to experience again, you know? So I think what we're seeing maybe is a reaction to those runners-up seasons, You know, that this season feels like, so far anyway, we do not want that again. We don't want that again.

40:50And we will work hard and control games and do things with a minimum of fuss and won't get distracted. You know, Arsenal are too emotional. Remember that? We're not anymore. We're not too emotional at all. You know, we are mature. Is that the right way of putting it? I don't know, but we are ultra-focused and ultra-determined to go one better. I think you can see that in the way the team is set up, by what we did during the summer, by the way we're playing, by the way we're talking. You know, the manager and the players, you know, when you hear them talk, there's no, nobody's getting carried away.

41:37Nobody's taking anything for granted. and it's going to be a case of, right, one more down, next. One more down, next. You know? The supporters too, by the way. I think supporters are being very circumspect in the way that they're discussing Arsenal's kind of title credentials and I completely understand that given the recent history. I think as well, you know, something that was evident in this game, wasn't it, was the way Arsenal chased back, you know, even at 2-0 up, the way they fought to protect their goal. I think that they are playing and operating like a team who understand that every minute of this Premier League season could matter.

42:23And from first until last, their commitment does not waver. And, you know, things change. you know a bad result a bad injury touch wood none of these things happen but things can swing in football very quickly we've experienced that ourselves if you look at where Liverpool were a few weeks ago and where they are now but I think you're right to say let's enjoy it for the time being this is an outstanding run of form Arsenal doing something really remarkable in the defensive part of the pitch um and yeah let's enjoy it let's enjoy it because the consequence of that is three points and um that's nine wins in a row five wins in a row in the premier league if either of us had a mountain of hair this would have been a great day would have been a great day but we don't that's true we don't unfortunately i listen i will um what shall i promise i will i feel like there's got to be something about you know i i will grow that haircut if arson can see the very shots on target well listen you know if we were capable of that um we would make that commitment to help the cause but anyway well we can rest easy in the i think so i think so all right let's leave it there for part one we will be back with your questions and more in part two right after this

44:06Welcome 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, also at arseblog.com. You can also fire in your questions on the Arseblog Discord chat server, which you get access to if you are an Arseblog member on Patreon. James, I'll give you the honour today. Oh, thank you very much. Well, we touched on Declan Rice in that first half. We had quite a few questions about him. I thought the wording of this one was interesting. Henry Moulin said, goodly morning, guys. Is Declan Rice the most complete midfielder Arsenal have ever had?

44:43We've been blessed with talent over the years who can excel across attack and defence. But I can't think of too many who get as close to Rice across all areas. We also had a question about this on the Discord from Mr. Snrub. He says, I know it's been an Arsenal meme, but did we actually finally replace Vieira when we signed Rice? And there were quite a few questions like that, drawing comparisons between Declan Rice and Patrick Vieira. Listen, I think what's, you know, we talked about his set piece delivery. We talked about his goal. We talked about how hard he works. We talked about how defensively good he is.

45:25Maybe the one thing we didn't say is that, generally speaking, there's been a level of consistency to Declan Rice's performances since he joined Arsenal. That is remarkable. you know that the the the high level at which he plays it's sort of noticeable when he drops below that and the fact he drops below that so rarely is kind of amazing you know um i know maybe last season he had a bit of a slow start to the campaign but you know he'd been uh it was a long hard season for arsenal then there was the the the summer tournament i think was that england going all the way to the final. You know, so you can understand why physically maybe it took him a while to get going last season.

46:13But I think this season, he's probably gone up a level in terms of that all-round consistency in his game. Like when he takes a bad corner, you're like, whoa, where did that come from? You know, genuinely. And I think it is the hardest thing in football is to be at a really high level and do it with almost unmatched consistency. You know, I think that's what separates the great players from the very good players, right? Is the ability to produce something, whether it's a goal, might not be an overall performance, but it might be a goal, an assist, something magic every week, more or less. And I think Declan Rice isn't that guy necessarily, but what he is is somebody who gives you like a eight out of 10 performance pretty much every week.

47:02And sometimes, as we saw against Burnley on Saturday, it's higher than that, you know? Yeah, you'd pay 105 million again for him now if they said you had to, you know? That's just how good he is. Yeah. It's interesting, actually. Like, you know, I think Arsenal have such a richly talented group of players. I was chatting with Amy Lawrence this morning and we were saying how, you know, Declan Rice almost has a special quality that I think is virtually irreplaceable. I think there are very few players of his calibre available in world football. Arsenal did the right thing by pushing the boat out to land this one.

47:49You know, the Vieira comparisons are interesting. I think obviously what he shares with Patrick is like extraordinary physical gifts. athleticism, you know, he's got great technique as well, be it in a different way. Vieira was more of a dribbler and an open play passer, whereas with Rice, I mean, that outstanding dead ball quality is notable. I think another facet that they share that maybe is talked about less is the personality, is the leadership. You know, Vieira was an inspiration to his teammates, to the people around him. He had that personality that could drag Arsenal through games or affect games in crucial moments.

48:40And I think Declan Rice has always had that as well. He had it at West Ham when he was a kind of Roy the Rovers figure for them, scoring big goals, producing big performances, leading them to a trophy. that showed that he was special and he's carrying that over into Arsenal. And I actually think that is where they are closest in that they are natural figureheads, natural leaders for a team. So yeah, totally understand why that comparison is being drawn. I mean, I'm going to lean on you, Andrew. The initial question said, is he our best all-round midfielder? Yeah. What would you say to that? Absolutely.

49:25He can defend. He can attack. He can carry the ball. I know what you're saying about Vieira's dribbling. Rice is, you know, is different in the way he carries the ball. But he can carry the ball over distance as well and drive the team up the pitch. He can score goals. He can make goals with his set-piece delivery. You know, good in the air. Brilliant with his feet. has the energy of a, you know, a stallion, whatever you want to call him. He's just unbelievable. The engine is ridiculous. So yeah, I think he is, by a distance, the most complete midfielder we've had since Vieira. Since Vieira, right.

50:09Yeah. I think Vieira, yeah, for me, Vieira edges it still, just, but then you look at what Vieira won in his career and that's the main differentiator between the two. But Rice has an opportunity to change that, you know, starting this season. OK, what about this question, which I thought was kind of interesting, seeing as we touched on the sort of no drama thing. But Gunnar Owl, 14.bsky.social, says, After 10 games in the current season, does the improved disciplinary record of the team reflect better officiating by referees slash PGMOL? Or is it a sign of greater control by the team? well do you know what i meant to say and i forgot to say if you were doing a direct comparison between rice and viera that is a distinction i mean viera had this temper um and particularly in his early days he was prone to that being prone to being provoked right yeah albeit in some pretty unpleasant ways um yeah neil rudderick etc etc yeah yeah etc etc but you know he did have that fuse that would go at times.

51:22Rice, with the exception, of course, of his disgraceful kicking the ball away incident against Brighton, which we all remember so fondly, is incredibly level-headed on the pitch. And I think that that is characteristic of the way in which the team seems to be evolving. I mean, Gabriel is another who really symbolises that. I know he got a booking in this game in the 95th minute, but the way in which he is now managing himself through matches and situations and seemingly so much more mature and controlled, he's kind of emblematic of the way the team are playing. I mean, in the period where we were getting players sent off seemingly every other game, we spoke more than once about the reasons that was happening.

52:11And some of it was personality and some of it was red mist, but a lot of it was a team that was stretched, being forced into desperate challenges. And we are now the opposite of that. We are so controlled and structured and secure. You know, something's gone wrong for one of our centre-halves even to have to go to ground a lot of the time because they're not being called upon to. What was it, Filippo Eau Claire, you used to always say it was about Paolo Maldini that if I used to drag out this cross, if I have to make a tackle, I've made a mistake. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. I wanted to get through 90 minutes with his shorts clean, essentially.

52:56Yeah, and that's a bit like this Arsenal team at the minute. But they still have a bit of... You need a balance, right? You still need a bit of need or a bit of aggression. I actually thought Trossard brought some of that against Burnley. He was embroiled in a right old battle with Karl Walker. Yeah. And there was another incident where, did he have a little kick out at Laurent at some point in time? He did, yeah, yeah. I saw people talking about that a bit. I've got a question about Trossard now in a minute. But yeah, generally speaking, though, we're very, we're not giving them, by them, I mean the officials, the opportunity to make decisions which can hurt us.

53:41No. And I think that is very deliberate. I think that's from, you don't want to take the edge off players, right? Because to play at this level, you need the edge. You need the competitive edge, but you've got to know where the line is. And I think probably what Mikel Arteta and his coaching staff have drilled into these players is, you know, know where that line is. Do not cross the line in any way because ultimately it could come back to hurt the team in a game. If you get suspended for a game or three games because you've been a bit naughty or whatever, maybe that costs us points. And I think it's all connected to the approach of this season, to what I was talking about at the end of the first half of the show, where there is this determination to achieve something this season.

54:29And part of that will be to maintain a really good disciplinary record. I don't know how we stack up against everybody else. so far, but I don't know what the fair play league... Do they still do that? Discipline stats. ESPN have a table.

54:52We're 20th. We are bottom in terms of points accumulated. No red cards, 10 yellows. Transfer marked have a fair play table, 25, 26, and we are top of that table, which is the good place to be. 10 points. Manchester United next, 13. Then Leeds, Burnley, Man City, etc. Chelsea, not unexpectedly down the bottom because they keep getting red cards. But yeah, that tells you a story so far this season, doesn't it? Yeah, absolutely. That's amazing. Very interesting that that's spun around like that. You said you had a question about Trossard. Should we do it now? Yeah, why not? Why not? Okay, here is the question.

55:40Well, a couple of questions about Trossard. Desi Arse on the Discord says, What did you think of Leo's performance against Burnley? He's always in the goals and assists, but I'm usually quite annoyed with him during the game, especially for holding onto the ball for too long. And 2 underscore KS says, After another excellent contribution by Trossard, I can't help but feel that the fan base as a whole hasn't connected with him in the same way that it has with much of the rest of the squad, despite his consistent output since he signed. Why do you think that is? That's an interesting question. I mean, I think he's made a big contribution again this season and he's had to.

56:24Madueke's been out. Martinelli's now out. Although Trossard was starting ahead of Martinelli on merit, you know, before the injury. he got the assist, beautiful cross, might well have had a goal, shot cleared off the line. Linked very well with Calafuri, didn't he? There was one brilliant pass into Calafuri, which I was convinced was going to be a goal. Yeah, just, yeah. Yeah, that was a really lovely move. I think, I think Mikel Arteta sees Trossard and Calafuri as a bit of a pairing, a bit of a partnership at the moment. maybe sees Martinelli and Lewis Skelly as an alternative pair I think he sees a chemistry with Califuri and Trossard that seems to work

57:15why haven't people connected with him it's an interesting one isn't it because I have seen him compared valuably by some people to sort of a Freddie Unberg figure in the seemingly whatever he you know whatever you may think of his all-round game and even if he's not necessarily having his best game he always has that threat where he can pop up with a crucial goal um and his timing and his finishing like freddie are very very good i do wonder how much of it is connected to the signing the way in which it happened you know he wasn't the player everyone was excited about people thought we were going to spend 100 million euros on mihailo mudrick and trossard was very trossard should have his own throne for that you know if people are upset they have a statue exactly yeah the same just absolutely saved a 72 million pound statue of leo trossard you know if you think about the the level of hype over let's say the arrival of an eze or iokares like he was never going to get that right because he was never he was never the dream signing for for many arsenal fans and as well because of his age you know he was 27 when he joined and there was i think there's always been this slight sense of maybe he's just sort of passing through you know that he was kind of a holding player until we got the real left winger you know i think that's been part of the kind of discourse around him.

58:47Yeah, I don't know. But I think he's so valuable. And like Mikel Arteta, I think, absolutely loves him. Really wanted him to stay. Really wanted him to get that pay rise. And I think that decision has been vindicated at this point in time. Yeah, I agree. Three goals, three assists this season. You know, he's up there with our best performers in that regard. I think I can sort of understand why he frustrates people as well, though, because, you know, I think there's maybe a first half versus second half illustration of that here where in the first half I thought he was excellent, like really, really good.

59:28Second half, like most of the team, wasn't quite at the same level. I think what it is with Trossard as well is that he backs himself in difficult situations. He will try difficult things pretty much all the time. And sometimes, sometimes I think he might just be better served doing the simple thing. Just every so often, do the simple thing rather than the hard thing. But, you know, there's a risk reward to that. You know, he does try things. He tries to make things happen. So I get to an extent why he might frustrate people at times. I just think there's a sort of an output to him that's fantastic, you know, and has been since he arrived.

1:00:15The goals stack up well. The assists stack up well. He's a very available player for us as well. Touching wood, of course, you know, that he is sort of always there. So, look, I like him a lot. I think we talked about him earlier in the season. We talked about how Arsenal would have been stupid to sell him if there was an offer from Turkey after the window closed because ultimately he is a very important player, a very valuable player, somebody who gives you a lot. Maybe he's frustrating at times, but I can live with that, to be honest, because of what he delivers. Yeah, I think so too. And 100 Premier League appearances, I believe.

1:01:06There you go. Well, wise Mark Clon Discord says, Andre Hariman-Anous or Mikel Marino up front tomorrow against Slavia Prague?

1:01:21I mean, I think it'll probably be Mikel Moreno, I would imagine. there was another question I had about this because we're sort of making the assumption that Jokeres might not be fit for this one or it might be a risk on Blue Sky Eric Bolden said if Jokeres isn't available till after the international break would you start Marino or try Trossard or Weneri up front I think we know what Arteta will do I think it will be Marino because we just don't have the numbers in the in the in the attacking third if Jacarese is absent you know yeah no Martinelli no Marueche Winery is the nine is that too early Arteta talked about him as a potential number nine but he did but he also talked last week didn't he about you know seeing his seeing him in this sort of central midfield role and I think there's a real sort of concerted effort it seems to to focus his playing time there I mean I suppose this is a special circumstance but I felt that when he was talking about that he was sort of talking about quite far into the future I think if personally I wouldn't risk Jokeres in Prague I think we're going to need him on Saturday at the Stadium of Light and I think we might have enough to win in Prague without him.

1:02:51I suppose Trossard is an option but then who are you putting on the left? Yeah. I mean, do you think this is a game where Arteta can rotate quite heavily? I mean, there's no Zubimendi because he's suspended. So is this a sort of game where Christian Norgard starts in midfield and maybe Wuneri starts in midfield and Ben White and either Louis Skelly or Piero Ncapier at left back? Mosquera comes in. is that taking too much for granted? Or is this exactly why we built this big squad? The games like this ahead of what's going to be a difficult game against Sunderland at the weekend. And this one, you know, let's not forget it was Saturday afternoon and it's going to be Tuesday.

1:03:38So it's a relatively short period. It's not like Saturday, Wednesday kind of thing. You know, we talked about, or maybe we didn't obviously, but talked on the Arscast on Thursday after the Brighton game, how it was important to get minutes into the legs of people like Ben White and Norgard and Incappier, et cetera, et cetera. So this is another opportunity to do that if and when we need those players for, in inverted commas, more important games. Yeah, I'd like to see a few changes. I think Eze might be one who is due for rest. He obviously was the only guy who stayed in the team for the Carabao game.

1:04:17And I just wonder if this might be an opportunity to give him a break, maybe play Ethan, as you suggest. And, you know, yeah, I think probably Marino up top. I thought Harman Anoush did pretty well against Brighton, Brighton but the Champions League is a different kettle of fish and away game as well I think it's a big ask I think he may well he'll probably travel and be with the group because the under 19s have got a game anyway but I think starting this one might be a bit soon for him so yeah I think I would go Mourinho I think I would probably bring in Norgard for for Zubomendy, maybe Ethan for Eze.

1:05:13Maybe swap one of the fullbacks or potentially both of the fullbacks. Here's another question while we're talking about this. Troop says, what do you make of Incapier coming off the bench ahead of Louis Skelly? Is it just getting minutes into his legs or is it a shift in the pecking order? Good question.

1:05:38I think right now it's the former, but I am a little suspicious of it being the latter two. In that, you know, when he signed, I thought, well, this is not a guy who's come here to be a backup. You know, this is a starting level player. And I know Miles is too, and Ricky Calafuri is too. But, yeah, when you hear Mikel Arteta talk about Pierre-Eincapier, it's very clear how highly he thinks of him. He's very effusive about him. And interestingly, he uses a lot of the same words that his very good friend and former Leverkusen manager, Xabi Alonso, also uses. So I'd imagine they've had quite a lot of conversations about this player.

1:06:24Yeah, they did say they talked before the signing, yeah. There you go. and they both have described in Capier as a warrior which feels very, very specific. So, is it shifting the pecking order? I don't think it's, I think it's too soon to say. I think it's too soon to say and he's a player who needs minutes and it's a great opportunity to give him minutes. I think fundamentally he's probably seen as a more defensively secure option than Marz and that's probably why we saw him when we did. You know, just sort of closing a game out. But Myles has already shown this season in little glimpses that he has a lot to offer from that position.

1:07:09I mean, obviously set up Ethan the other night. What was the game where he produced a brilliant assist running through the middle of the pitch? Atletico Madrid. There you go, Atletico Madrid. Yeah. So we do have a lot of options in that particular position. Yeah. I think we're going to have to wait and see. What do you think? Again, like you, I think it's too soon to say. I do think having three players of the calibre of Calafiore and Capier and Lewis Skelly, three into one doesn't go. Something's got to give somewhere along the way, and I don't quite know what it is or how it plays out. I think it's probably right to say it doesn't mean that if Capier and Calafiore become the two regular left backs or whatever, it doesn't mean that Lewis Kelly's Arsenal career is over because I think there is scope for him to play elsewhere, you know, and that's something we've discussed before as well.

1:08:13Yeah, I mean, would you have any interest in seeing him? Gunnar Getcher said, with Zimmerman suspended for the midweek fixture against Slavia Prague, would you rather see Norgard or Myles Lewis Kelly in the number six position? I think at this moment in time, Norgard, that seems a more like-for-like change. I don't mean to say that isn't a job that Miles could do at some point in the future. I think where I'd be more interested to see Miles is maybe in the left eight position. You know, I think that probably suits him a little more than the six right now because he is still only 18, 19 years of age.

1:09:02I think what we've seen from him on the ball, put him in that position, I think it would be very interesting. so if you do need to give or feel like you want to give Declan Rice a break or you want to play Waineri and maybe Lewis Skelly together ahead of Norgon I don't know but you know I think that would be more it feels more natural to me than putting Lewis Skelly as a six right now anyway Interesting yeah I mean I've seen him play that position for the for the 19s as a number six and I probably would if I was picking the team I probably would be more curious to see that than Norgaard but then I feel like are we going to be having a conversation in three years about why was Norgaard never held dear you know like in the same way we are about Trossard is it just because I have that feeling of being you know he's kind of fine but not like a dream signing or anything so I'm sort of fundamentally a bit underwhelmed whereas with Lewis Skelly I'm massively invested because he's an academy baller I've got a bias there I don't know.

1:10:08I mean, there is a question as well here that I, you know, spoke about the lack of drama and at the risk of sounding like we're trying to inject some. Mark Settle says, Timber is having a storming season. Ditto Califiori. As a result, White and Marzo Skelly rarely play. White didn't come on versus Burnley. MLS came on in injury time. With a World Cup looming, how much do you fear they'll look for a loan or worse in January? or is it a case that there'll be injuries and cup games and that will be enough? I don't fear that at all in January. Absolutely not. No way. I don't think any player... They're probably quite like, especially if there's a chance of a Premier League medal.

1:10:51Well, that's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying. Are you all right there? I mean... Oh, sorry. I thought you fell off your chair or something. No, no, no. I was just thinking like...

1:11:05that seems obvious to me Premier League winners medal but playing in a World Cup like for a player does Ben White really really really really want to play for England in a World Cup evidence would suggest no yeah no I think he is open to it now but you know in some ways I think he'd also have to understand that he's not really been part of the group And I think it's going to be very difficult for him at this stage to get in there. But Miles say, you know, he is in a fight to be the number one starting left back for England at the World Cup. Thomas Tuchel says domestic form matters, playing time matters.

1:11:51Sure. I don't know. So you think you're not worried about January? No, I'm not worried about January. I mean, I think, you know, if come the summer, those guys are peripheral, then I think you have to worry just because it's inevitable that players are going to want to play. And if there's no room for them in the team, then they'll consider their options. I just think this season of all seasons, I don't really see anybody within this group, World Cup or not, agitating for a move away from a team as good as this. because you very rarely will have the chance to be part of something as good as this.

1:12:30You can go and play every week for somebody and maybe that's enough for you. Maybe that's satisfying. Maybe that's just everything you need. But I think the fact that you're in a team as competitive as this is quite rare. So I don't really worry about it in January. I do think there is... I think particularly... Go on. Yeah. No, I was going to say, I think especially for Myles as well, you know, having been at Arsenal so long, being an Arsenal supporter, being a local lad, I think it would be a huge wrench to leave at any time. But particularly what could be halfway through a very successful season.

1:13:14And, you know, I almost think if there's a risk that he goes at some point in the future, he'd almost want to make sure he'd experience success with Arsenal first, if that makes sense. I agree. I agree. And I think as well, we just have to maybe recognize that, you know, the age of these two players or the age of Miles rather, and we're sort of lumping Ethan Weneri in there as well, as sort of an example where you have your Norgar, you have your Marino players who are maybe more trusted by the manager at this point because of their experience. right? Yeah. But who are there to do a job in the medium to short term to then hopefully create the pathway for more experienced Louis Skelly and Weneri to make their mark at Arsenal.

1:14:01You know, there's a development process you know and I think this could be part of it if we have in Capier and if we have Calafiori battling it out for left back because they're the players is that Mikel Arteta really sees as the ones he wants in that position. There has to be a decision about Miles, about whether or not you repurpose him into midfield, which is where he grew up and started playing, or whether it's elsewhere. But for now, I'm not that worried about it. I think it's fine. And interestingly, if it is to be midfield, you look at the age of Norgard, You look at the age of Marino potentially and you think, okay, there could be a real opportunity there.

1:14:51But we will have to wait and see. I do think these conversations, by the way, around, you know, let's say Lewis Skelly or Ben White and Ethan too, to an extent, like are inevitable. And the reason they are inevitable is because they're really good players. Like they would get in what, every other Premier League team? More or less, yeah. you know maybe maybe one or two they wouldn't but you know they walk into most teams Miles is a starter for England so when they're not playing there's going to be people looking at that what's his competition for left back for England well Jed Spence played there in the last game I believe there's Lewis Hall at Newcastle.

1:15:45He's just close to coming back from injury himself. There might be others that I'm forgetting. I mean, Luke Shaw is playing for United, but he's playing more in the three, isn't he? He's a left-sided centre-half. I think Myles is good enough and unique enough that he could keep that England place, even with relatively few opportunities at Arsenal. Because I don't see another player who can do exactly what he does, if you know what I mean. If Tuchel decides, I want an inverting left-back who can drop into midfield and be a playmaker from deep, well, Myles is the outstanding candidate. Yeah. So that may work in his favour.

1:16:37we'll see okay we'll see here's a question from RG GZP's GZP's .bsky.social if you had to give up one of set piece goals or clean sheets for the rest of the season which would you choose and why?

1:16:56Mikhail's two beautiful children must choose one set piece goals or clean sheets

1:17:10that's tough you know actually no it's not i don't think it is you don't think it is i mean as i always say you can keep 38 clean sheets and be relegated um but it's never happened i i think i would give up the set piece goals i think yeah me too me too i think we have enough in other areas that if we keep the clean sheets, especially with the little lead that we have, I think we'd win enough games to be right there or thereabouts. But is that your rationale? That was mine, yeah. Clean sheets always give you a chance of winning games, even with one goal. So that one seemed obvious to me. And, you know, we don't want David Raya having his train spotting moments, you know?

1:18:04um no i wonder if he remembers how to save a shot do we know like you i have this vision of like someone having a shot on target and him just watching the ball go in the net and they'll be like oh yeah fuck i knew there was something i was supposed to do putting his book down and then being like ah sitting there in his Eames chair, you know. Exactly, right. Glass of brandy beside him. Oh. Yeah, I know. He'll have to put his pipe out and then get back to it. Yeah. It's so funny because, like, this time a year ago, he was making saves left, right, and centre, bailing Arsenal out at times. Yeah. Yeah.

1:18:51Now he's in his armchair. Lovely stuff. Long may it last. Long may it last I mean we're going to get this question every week I think but I'll just throw it to you for the latest on your view Varis G who says Good morning gents What do you think about Man City's threat after their most recent win against Bournemouth Erling Haaland seems to be in robot mode Will City's reliance on Haaland come back to bite them or will they grow into the season? John Boy 152 said Instead of praying for Odegaard to get fit should I be praying for Haaland to get injured? Well, that's the thing. I mean, people say we rely on set pieces.

1:19:30They need to look at the proportion of City's goals that are scored by Erling Haaland. That's real reliance. He's scored 13 of their 20 Premier League goals so far this season. Yes, I believe no one... I think he's got 13 and the next... I think they've had two own goals. Yeah, Steve from Burnley. He got two own goals. And I think that's their next top scorer. I think everyone else has got one for City. Well, that tells you quite a story. I guess it's sort of just inevitable, though, to an extent, when you have a player as good as he is, as clinical and lethal as he is, that he is going to score most of your goals.

1:20:11But, you know... What's interesting is he does miss chances. That's the thing. Yeah. Like, he could have had a hat-trick yesterday. He went through and go and didn't finish. but they just can't, no one can seem to stop him just running through. Like he's absolutely devastating in those positions. Yeah, he's an unbelievable player. And I think we talked about him a couple of weeks ago. And, you know, if there was an idea that maybe he was a little untidy in other aspects of his game, I don't think he's ever going to be a guy who, you know, makes 50, 60 passes at 100 % or anything like that. But I think technically his game has really improved at Man City as well.

1:20:52So it is kind of scary. It does present City with a problem if they lose him for any reason, though, whether it's injury or suspension or whatever it might be. But a bit like the Terminator discussion from part one, he is essentially indestructible. So I don't really see that happening. So, yeah, he is something that we are going to have to contend with.

1:21:18slightly linked to that is a question from Jack, thatjackrice.bsky.social. He said, in order to win the league, do we need a player to go supernova? I don't think any team has ever won the league without a standout player. I think that player is sacker for us, but so far he hasn't been able to sustain good form. So I don't think we're ever, I don't think we're going to get somebody who can do what Holland does for Man City, but do we need someone to kind of come close to that? Maybe. I mean, I saw a bit of criticism of Saka after the game. People felt he was below his usual standards. He missed that good chance, you know?

1:21:58I think that was it, you know? Yeah. Yeah. He'll be frustrated he didn't score. I'm not sure we do need that necessarily. I think we're proving that right now. I mean, I think there's a case, by the way, that Gabriel is having that sort of season. I really do. It's just different for a centre-half. And your name's not on the score sheet quite as much. But I think he is having a supernova period in his football career.

1:22:36What do you think? Do you think we need that kind of explosion in attacking areas? I just think maybe we don't need somebody to go supernova, but I think what we need is somebody to get on a run of scoring. You know, someone like Saka, like Jokarez. I don't think it'll be Trossard because I think that there is a sort of

1:22:59relative inconsistency with him. You know, I think you can only expect so much from him, But I think someone like Saka, if we can get Bakayo Saka into good form, good goal scoring form, he doesn't need to do what Haaland does. But I think you do need somebody to contribute on the regular, if that makes sense, to sort of win you those games. So like Freddie Jumberg, remember that season where towards the end of the season, when we needed a goal, there he was. He'd just pop up with those goals. It does feel like every season needs one player to just, even for a short period of time, hit a level of consistency in terms of end product.

1:23:39But then I think we've got players all over the pitch who can score, you know. Zubamendi scored, Timber scored, Calafiore can score, Gabriel scores, Rice scores, Odegaard, we know it's in his locker. Saka, Jokerez, Trossard, Martin you know there's enough there I think to maybe offset that if it doesn't happen but maybe we do need to get a couple of those forward players back and hopefully I think Mikel Arteta was sounded relatively confident didn't he that after the interlal we might have one or two of those players back I think so yeah Odegaard, Havertz Madueke could all potentially be in contention for that North London derby which is a huge huge boost just on City by the way just scanning ahead in their fixtures it's a really interesting period for them coming up obviously they play Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday night but then their next two league games either side of the international break are Liverpool at home on Sunday the 9th and then on Saturday the 22nd of November away at Newcastle at St James' Park so you know on the same is that the same day we face Spurs in the North London derby Yes, I think so.

1:24:54We're the following day. Sorry, we're the 23rd. So that first weekend back could be a weekend with some significant ramifications. Hotelcalafiori.bsky.social asks, would a Liverpool win next weekend be better than a draw? That is a good question. I don't believe it would. So a Liverpool win would put them on 21 points. Um, closing the gap. Well, could be four, could be seven, depending on whether or not we've beaten Sunderland. Um, no, a draw is better for me. Yeah, me too. A City win, I think, is the worst outcome, actually. Mm-hmm. I don't rule Liverpool out by any means, but I think City are, at this point anyway, the one team I'd be most worried about.

1:25:51and we know historically they are not a team or a manager you want to sort of build up ahead of steam i was kind of you know do you see pep in his post-match press conference he was asked about the title race and he deflected it and said well we have to see if arsenal will ever concede a goal first or something like that maybe one day arsenal will concede a goal again something like that yeah it was very definitely done actually um and i sort of it kind of made me shudder a little bit because I was like, this is where he's really comfortable. Like, you know, when he's able to kind of push the suggestion away, be a little bit of the stalking horse, get to that halfway point of the season and then just go hell for leather.

1:26:38We've seen it so many times. So, yeah, I think a City win would be potentially ominous. but let's see it's a really interesting one Liverpool obviously got their win back thanks in part to Emi Martinez but they still look somewhere short of their best I was just wondering we'll discuss that no doubt in the 30 Andrew yes we will we'll talk about all the weekend's Premier League action I was just thinking about the phrase stalking horse when you said it there and where it comes from because you very rarely see a real life horse stalking it's not really in their nature but apparently it's not many convictions screen with the trojan horse a screen traditionally made in the shape of a horse behind which a hunter may stay concealed when stalking prey so the prey is like oh there's a horse nothing to worry about here everything's fine the horse has got a gun oh it's blown my fucking balls off shit i'm looking at a picture of a stalking horse and i'm going to describe it from the wikipedia page for the phrase stalking horse it's a man with a rifle um carrying what looks like sort of the hull of a boat but it's basically a giant wooden horse that he's hiding behind uh it's quite a surreal sight to be honest with you yes i guess because horses are not considered that threatening to pray.

1:28:19I guess. But this, you know, that's Pep Guardiola crouching behind a wooden horse. In the shape of Erling Haaland. Yeah, exactly. Now Haaland looks devastatingly good and that will be enough against many teams. Yeah. That will be enough. Cherky as well is showing some signs, I think. He's a really lovely player. Yeah. I hate to say it, but. he's good fun and he had a couple of assists at the weekend and seems to be finding some rhythm. So, yeah, I mean, it could be, it could be quite the title race potentially. Imagine if horses were carnivorous, we'd be in a lot of trouble. That's a horror movie waiting to happen.

1:29:03Surely like the birds, but it's horses. Horse, the new film from who's that guy that does the horror films? M. Night Shyamama. Yeah, but then that would just be, in the end, the horse is not actually a horse. It's a zebra or some fucking bullshit twist. Pep Guardiola. Disguised. The other guy, though, the Pan's Labyrinth guy, he could make a really scary horse movie, I reckon. Del Toro, yeah. Yeah, Guillermo Del Toro. Yeah, I don't like to think about carnivorous horses. Okay, I think we should make that. I want to see his Frankenstein, by the way. That's out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That looks good, actually.

1:29:40That looks good. might try and catch that in the week who knows right let's leave it there as James said we will discuss all the weekend's Premier League action in the 30 later this afternoon over on Patreon if you want to join us it's patreon.com forward slash arseblog for now though thank you as ever for listening thanks for being with us and we will catch you on the next one bye bye