Arsecast Extra Episode 666 - 10.11.2025

0:11Hello and welcome to another Arsecast Extra as always with James from Gunnerblog James good morning to you Good morning, Andrew. Episode 666. I guess it's appropriate then that I watch the new Frankenstein movie last night. It's pronounced Frankenstein. Very good. Is it? Guillermo del Toro. Yeah, I liked it. I mean, I looked at it, it was like two and a half hours. That gives me a lot of pause for thought these days, you know? Two and a half hours of a movie, can I really commit to that? But it went by, it didn't feel like two and a half hours, which is a good thing. Although I will say, you know, Frankenstein, the monster, whoever you think the monster is, but the monster monster, we're kind of cheekbones like that.

0:59There's some undertones there, I think. Yeah, why did the Doctor create that monster? Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. You didn't have to make him that pretty. Exactly. I was trying to figure out who the guy was. He played Elvis in some movie. Oh, it's that guy. It's that guy. Oh, he's a pretty boy. I don't mind. Not one of, yeah, I mean, there's a few Elvis's, but he was in the one, I think it was Priscilla, rather than Elvis, the Elvis story of Elvis, you know? Right, right, right. But you know what? It's quite apt again, because I had a quite horrific dream last night involving you where oh dear yeah well listen i had to get a new host co-host for the arse cast extra because you were in jail okay um what had i done well it began with the disappearance of gabrielle martinelli and nobody knew where he was and then after a while news emerged they found a boy strangled to death in Poland.

2:10Good God. And it was you who strangled Gabrielle Martinelli to death in Poland. I don't know why you went to jail. The upshot of that was my new co-host for the Arsecast Extra was Ange Postacoglu, who refused to turn on his microphone. So we're sitting there and I'm going, you've got to turn your microphone on. And he's like, nah, I don't think I will, mate. And I'm like, no, you've got to, because otherwise people won't hear what you're saying. And he was like, well, that's their problem, mate. It's just who we are. Yeah. It's just who I am. Everyone knows I'm a microphone skeptic. It was like, what the fuck is going on here?

2:55But thankfully it's not true. You haven't strangled Gabrielle Martinelli to death in Poland. Just assure me of that. um oh god damn it where were you on the night it's just because i did a news story the other day saying you know martinelli out for sunderland could be back for spurs it's all part of my elaborate cover that's it yeah yeah i'm creating an alibi he's still alive everyone he could be back for spurs what do you mean he's still alive don't worry about that i didn't kill him yeah Wow, that's a lot to unpack there. Yes, yeah. I don't know. Listen, I can only say, the problem is saying these words I think will make me seem more guilty than if I just said nothing, but I'm going to say them anyway.

3:45Okay. I haven't murdered Gabrielle Martinelli. It's on the record, folks. Okay. There it is. Aggregators, get that out there. Do your thing. I want to read that on AFC stuff within an hour. The perfect cover. Yeah. Come on, Garthick, pull your finger out. James McNicholas at Gunnerblog confirms he did not murder Gabrielle Martinelli. Wow, Ange, of all people. I know. Truly, this is episode 666, Ange. People asked how we would market. Well, your subconscious took care of that. Yes, and Arsenal gave us a helping hand as well by conceding a couple of goals. the weekend too so oh yeah spooky there's a lot to get into there's a lot to get into on on this particular episode after a 2-2 draw with Sunderland away at the Stadium of Light um we nearly doubled our goals conceded tally for the season yeah it is mad isn't it you know I was gonna I was trying to write like a London bus type gag in the blog the other morning but it's going it can't be a london bus if it's in sunderland and i don't know what the public transport situation in sunderland is like i presume they have buses but maybe maybe they've got a highly evolved tram system that i'm not aware of and my bus joke would fall flat i wouldn't have thought so well you just never know we don't know to be fair i didn't go speaking of transport because there were no trains you probably had to get a bus there frankly i know but i'm you know our good friend west anton had to fly to Newcastle to get there.

5:25Nice Newcastle, I know. A lot of people took that route. Some drove. But yeah, the club did lay on some coaches as well, I think. Organised extra coach support. But well done, anyone who made that trip. It was a daunting one. And yeah, 2-2. I mean, a lot to get into, Andrew, about this game. I think so. I think so. We might as well start with the first half. I mean, there's not much point in discussing team selection from an Arsenal perspective, because I think it was what it was. It was always going to be that team, you know, because we don't have the options in the forward line to do anything else.

6:04And behind that, I think those players have more or less picked themselves so far this season. But the game itself, the first half itself, I think is worth maybe unpacking a little bit, because if Sunderland could have written the script for that first half, I think that's pretty much exactly what they would have come up with. You know, make the game scrappy, physical, stop-start, really hard to get any fluency. They score a goal. They now have something to hang on to. It was hard going that first 45 minutes, wasn't it? It was, yeah. Sunderland are sort of unapologetically what they are. if that makes sense.

6:45They know what their strengths are. They know what they're good at and they knew what was required for them to get something from this game. And they executed that plan, particularly in the first half, very, very well. Yeah, I don't think we were at our best. I don't think we were particularly fluent. I mean, it was a great atmosphere, I'm told as well. crowd that was seriously up for it and into it um and it yeah it played out pretty much as they would have planned as you say yeah a little bit of maybe post-european fatigue or you know the way it can happen sometimes in the first half even if we did play on tuesday it can often be the case that the first half of a game when you play at the weekend having played in midweek is not necessarily your best.

7:38You know, you can be a bit flat, I think. And I think there was an element of that. But I do think as well, it was just a really hard game. You know, it was very physical. There was that moment pretty early on, wasn't there, that involved Mikel Moreno and Dan Ballard. How did you see that? Because I've seen a lot of people talking about how they felt it should be a penalty, potentially a red card for Ballard. What was your take on that? I think I err on the side of sort of unfortunate collision. I think a sending off for that would be incredibly harsh, I have to say. You know, it's two players competing for a ball and one catches the other, in my view.

8:18I do understand the argument of if you do that outside the penalty box, you know, is it a foul? I can understand people mounting that argument. But then I do think that the bar for a foul inside the box and outside the box is different and has always been different. And I sort of think it's a bit of a false equivalence to say that. So I don't know. What did you think? I thought it was unfortunate rather than malicious. I think if you're the defender there, you know Mikel Moreno is coming in to challenge for the ball. You're going to make yourself big. You're going to put your arms out. I think it caught him on the ear, did it?

8:58Is that what it was? Is that why it was so painful? Because they were checking him for ages afterwards. I was going, what's actually going on here? Because there wasn't any blood and they weren't sort of checking like cheekbone or something like that. For me, as a defender, I think you make yourself big to protect yourself and also to make sure that the opposition guy can't get to the ball. if it were up the other end this is how i try and always um apply how i feel about these things like um think about it if it was the other way around and if if it was gabrielle or william saliba penalized for that i wouldn't be at all happy so i think it's obviously a really sore one for michael marino but i yeah i didn't have a big issue with um with no further punishment uh whether it's from the penalty spot or a card for Ballard?

9:51No, no, nor me really. But that delay actually, I did think sort of slightly helped us that first five minutes. I mean, it's been the case whenever we've gone away of late, you know, although we've won games comfortably, there has been a little bit of needing to weather an early storm and Sunderland did come out of the box blocks pretty quickly. But I did think that delay worked in our favour. After that, we saw Arsenal controlling more of the ball maybe, but without necessarily creating chances in the first time. I thought there was on Sky, they said around the 35-minute mark that they've played 34 minutes or 35 minutes.

10:31The ball has been in play for 13 of those minutes, which I think says a lot or told you a lot about how that game was going. And then they get their goal. I thought maybe, maybe generously it might be a free kick for Sunderland with the Zubamendi tackle. What I thought was absurd was the booking. I really didn't think that should have been a booking, considering there was, I think, worse tackles were let go. I don't know why he decided to book Zubamendi there. I think, by the way, that's related. I think it was one of those where it seemed to me that Zubimendi was sort of getting a booking that probably should have been handed out five or ten minutes earlier.

11:18You know, when a referee is like, I've let a few go, and now I need to sort of put my foot down. I felt like Zubimendi was a bit of a victim of that, to be honest, that it was sort of one of those curious cases where it's kind of a cumulative booking for the match rather than necessarily a booking for that tackle. That's fair. So, yeah, I think he was very unlucky. But, you know, because I have seen some gripes about the free kick and about the award, I think when a free kick is given 65 yards from your goal, you still have to take responsibility for what follows. Oh, absolutely. And I think we, you know, maybe for the first time in the last 8, 10 games were really found wanting defensively.

12:03It's not been the case, obviously, because we've had, all those clean sheets, barely any shots on target from the opposition in however many games it's been. But I think in this instance, we can look at the way we defended. I don't think Declan Rice on the edge of the box really challenges properly for the header. I think he just sort of tries to ease Dan Ballard out of the way. They win the second ball, which is unusual in our box. and Ballard reacts more quickly than Rice, runs off him, it's a touch and a hell of a finish from close range. But defensively, you can see why that goal should not have happened.

12:46Yeah, it was funny, wasn't it? Because in the build-up to the game, everyone's talking about former Arsenal player Granit Xhaka for Sunderland. Yeah. And Dan Ballard, I think, took that pretty personally. He was on a mission in this one. I mean, look, it's not brilliant defending and I agree with you, Declan Rice will be disappointed with his part in it for sure. I think we also have to say Sunderland are good at what they do. I know on the one hand, it's like a very simplistic thing, you know, launching a ball into the box, but it's not something a team like Arsenal have to face a great deal.

13:22You know, people piling six, seven men into the penalty area and just chucking it in there. And I think you saw that, you know, we were a little bit uncomfortable with it and they're specialists. So, you know, it was a great finish as well. Yeah, that's interesting though. Do you not think that is something we're going to have to face? Well, I think it certainly is now. Well, yeah, based on the way the Premier League is going this season, the way that teams are using long throws and using set pieces, and we're certainly one of those teams as well. Like, I don't know. I think that is something that we're going to have to contend with quite a bit.

14:02To me, this is sort of, like you say, it's a 65 or 60-yard punt from the goalkeeper to the edge of our box. I think if you don't win the first header, you've got to win the second header. And we don't do either of those things. And that then creates the problem, you know. I mean, Gabriel doesn't challenge for the header. Maybe he can't get there. Rice doesn't challenge for the header properly, you know, on the edge of the box when the initial ball came in. And that's where I think you run the risk. And I think when they analyze that goal again, when Mikel Arteta and his coaching staff, they'll say, we had two opportunities to make clearances there or to at least compete for the ball to make it more difficult for it to fall in the area that it did for Dan Ballard.

14:41And we didn't do that, you know. So I don't think there's anything particularly complicated about what we needed to do in that moment. We just didn't really do it well enough. Yeah, and I think that's true. I think that's true. and I think that they you know they load that box and they make it hard for you but when if you look at the two goals obviously we'll get to the second one I think there's there are more errors for me on actually I don't know actually I was going to say I think this one's worse but then I'm I'll reserve judgment on that because actually I've got a few bones to pick with the second one okay what I would say about this first goal is what's the first thing that like every defender is taught as a kid don't let the ball bounce you know and arsenal do let that ball bounce in the penalty area and it's kind of chaos from that point on yeah so we've been so so good defensively and these errors are kind of uncharacteristic in some ways um but i suppose we would you one or two sure case maybe yeah as the case certainly was i mean it was quite tetchy as well there were there were some good lip reading moments um trossard trossard why don't you whistle for me there was a moment where he was fouled about uh four or five times while he was trying to hang on to the ball and then he touched a sunderland player who fell over and they got a free kick and he went a bit crazy there and then when jacka granita jack has booked for a foul on ese he turns around and goes what a fucking joke he shouts at the ref um you could see those quite clearly uh on tv but from an arsenal perspective.

16:20Definite booking that one. It should have been a second yellow. Second yellow for shouting at the ref. The best chance that we had in that first half came really late in the first 45 minutes. It was Bukayo Saka who nodded the ball back into the path of William Saliba on the penalty spot and he blasted the ball over the bar. Sunderland wanted a free kick there and I don't think there was a free kick to be given. And it was just Saka standing up and the Sunderland defender dropped to the floor, hoping that he would get the free kick. The referee was not inclined to do that. So it was a big chance that for Saliba, I think.

17:01It was. Am I right in thinking that in the same move slightly earlier, there was another moment where I think a cross came in from Rice and he just couldn't quite get contact with his head. That was also a decent chance. May have been Marino, but I think it was Saliba who was already up there in the box. and then it comes back to him for the volley. I mean, I suppose he's not the player you'd pick to be in that position for Arsenal at that moment in time. He's certainly no Gabriel or no Dan Ballard when it comes to his finishing instincts. Yeah, I did think about that goal he scored at Brentford though.

17:39Bournemouth. Or was it Bournemouth, yeah? The left foot. The left foot, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think that may have been a bit of a red herring when it comes to William Salivas finishing personally. You know, I think that may have set up an expectation he's not necessarily able to deliver on. But it was our best chance of the half, for sure. And it was a good opportunity to get on level terms. Sunderland went up the other end in the lengthy stoppage time period and had a chance themselves. Mukiele, I don't know if you remember that. Yeah, just wide of the post, yeah. That was a decent chance too. So a couple of chances at both ends.

18:17just before half time. I'd be curious to know, you know, what Mikel Arteta's team talk was like because it certainly did provoke a response in the second half. Yeah. We were much better after the break. It definitely did. I was going to ask you, what do you put that down to? You know, are we sort of, you know, after the first 45 minutes, are we warmed up? Are we properly ready to go? Is it down to whatever the manager said at the break? Because I feel like every team talk, this season has probably been, not many of them have been reactive. You know, they've talked about, or they talked on TV about Arsenal being behind at halftime against Newcastle, being behind at halftime against Manchester City as well.

18:59You know, three times this season, we have been behind at halftime and not lost any of those games. So that's a good thing. But for the most part, I think Arteta's halftime team talks were probably just keep doing what you're doing. We're in a decent position here, et cetera, et cetera. Whereas this time he had to elicit more out of them. And I'm guessing the importance of every single point is hammered home at the break. Whatever he said, whatever he did, whether there was a tactical tweak or not, but I couldn't really see anything. I just think Arsenal were more effective in the Sunderland half than they were.

19:36They sort of put pressure on pretty early on, and it told, you know. I think in the first five or six minutes of the second half, there was a shot by Eze. It was blocked. There was a Zubimendi shot. He popped up in the box. Nice touch. Left foot shot wasn't very strong, easy for the keeper. Then Zubimendi sets up Saka, who'd sort of drifted in from the right and was in that inside left position where we've seen him score goals in the past. Timber was starting to overlap. And then that pressure became a goal because Sunderland were careless in midfield. Yeah, and I have to say, in terms of thinking about how the game changed, there was an odd carelessness about Sunderland in those first five, six minutes of the second half.

20:26And I think we deserve credit for maybe increasing the intensity of our press too. But even before Le Fay was caught on the ball in the build-up to our equaliser, there were one or two moments where they just took a chance in possession somewhat needlessly. And it invited a bit of pressure from Arsenal and I think encouraged us into the game. So I think they actually contributed a little bit to their own downfall in the early period of the second half. I made a note as well that it looked to me like Eze was playing closer to Mikel Marino, that maybe we were trying to, you know, move up the pitch a bit, make sure we were pressuring their centre-halves a bit more.

21:02Whatever it was, it worked. Declan Rice as well, I suspect, was a bit of a man on a mission. Having made that mistake on the first goal, I think he was doubly determined to make up for it. And he did really well to win the ball off Le Fay in the build-up to that first goal. Yeah, it was good pressure in midfield. I think he laid it off to Eze, to Marino, then to Saka. You know, I know the Trossard goal, which we'll come to, is the one that is probably the most spectacular spectacular because it really is a hell of a goal. But I don't think this Saka finish should be played down at all. It's his wrong foot.

21:35And there's not a lot of room for him to squeeze that ball between the goalkeeper and the near post. And that goalkeeper, by the way, has been really, really good for Sunderland this season. So, you know, he's no clown at all. It's a great finish. You know, the precision and the power with his right foot is just top class from Saka there. Yeah, it's a brilliant finish. It's one of those, actually, that because it was over the far side of the pitch from the TV cameras, as it sort of hit the back of the net, it almost looked wrong. I was like, how's that gone in? I found myself thinking, has that deflected?

22:09Is it a goalkeeping error? How's he squeezed that one in? And it's just a brilliant strike in at the near post. I mean, he has really added that right foot finish to his game over the last couple of years. And this is as good an example as you'll find. I also think as well that the way Arsenal work it is really good. I mean, obviously, Rice wins it back, but I think it's the first time left foot pass from Eze on to Marino. Just quick thinking, quick play. Marino then turns it on for Saka. And yeah, as two touches go in terms of left foot to put it in front of his body, right foot to fire it into that near post, just incredibly efficient.

22:47Yeah. I mean, we could have scored again pretty quickly. there was the brilliant pass from Trossard through to Zubimendi. I sort of reflected a little bit on Zubimendi's performance. You know, in the immediate aftermath, I was like, oh, yeah, you know, he was fine. But I think there are elements of his game which, when I think back on it and look back on it, you know, he got into the box quite a lot, way more than you would expect a nominal six, let's say, to be operating. you know, like I said, he hit the bar. He had that chance that Trossard set up. He set up that chance for Saka. He also had that shot early in the second half as well.

23:33So there's sort of elements. He recorded an assist as well, Andrew, with that pass for Trossard. Generous assist. It's a very generous assist, I think it's fair to say. But he'll take it, I'm sure. Assist bonus in his contract, no doubt. But yeah, really unlucky not to score with that one that came off the bar as well. Yeah, I mean, that was a hell of a strike. I loved this Trossard pass into Zubmendi. It would have been a really beautiful goal. Kind of does everything right, really. Just sort of turns it on towards the far post, but just dribbles wide. But that pass, I think, was kind of emblematic of what I saw from Arsenal in this half, where I did just think there was a bit more zip and imagination about their play, maybe than we've seen for periods of this season.

24:18You know, with Arsenal dominating the ball so much and Sunderland sitting so deep, there was an onus on us to be a bit more creative and to be a bit more inventive. And I thought, personally, I thought Trossard actually was one of the people who really sort of took that responsibility on. Never more so, obviously, than with his goal. Yeah, it was one of those games where I wondered why, as the game was going on, I was wondering, why is he not going outside his fullback very much? He didn't really try that. It's often a good source of corners for Arsenal, but he was determined to come back inside a lot.

24:56And I know that's the thing about Trossard that can frustrate people a bit. But when he does what he does to put Arsenal ahead, I can live with that, to be honest. It's a genuinely brilliant goal. I think many of us had the same reaction to it beyond like, ooh, it was so reminiscent of that Andre Arshavin goal at Anfield a few years ago, where I think he was just inside the box when he scored that goal. But Trossard from outside the box made space to shoot. And God, is there a better sight than the ball still rising as it hits the back of the net? Goalkeeper on the stretch. It's just a brilliant, brilliant goal from Trossard.

25:36It really is. I have to say, actually, it reminded me more of a different Arshavin goal at Old Trafford. I don't know if you remember that one, but he similarly picked the ball up like 30 yards out and just launched it into the near top corner. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember that one now. Funnily enough, I meant to say on Monday that Trossard of late is reminding me a little of Arshavin. You know, we've spoken about his capacity to frustrate as well as excite and his tendency to try the more difficult things. That passing to Zubmendi was arshaving all day long. And, you know, we've been wondering where in this team that sort of streak of individualism might come from.

26:20You know, would it be from Maduweke or would it be from Eze or Ethan Maneri or something like that? And I think at the moment, Trossard is providing that. And just a spectacular goal that really did deserve to win the game. You know, I was doing that fan thing where you kind of throw forward and you're like, and when we're at the Union Chapel in May, we'll say, and when Trossard scored that goal, that's when I knew we won the league. You know what I mean? I was already there in my mind. It wasn't to be. I was like, file it alongside Perez at Anfield. You know what I mean? Sure, sure. Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.

27:01It's that kind of a goal where it makes you, you know, it makes you realize that within this team, there is the quality to score goals like that, which feel so significant, not just because of the scoreline, but because of the manner of the goal and because of the quality of the goal. You know, that is just one of the best goals you'll see in the Premier League this season, you know. So it does. Yeah, it's absolutely brilliant. And I think you're right. That was a goal that should have won Arsenal the game. It didn't turn out that way, obviously. I'm trying to sort of weigh up the whole substitution thing because I know this is a discussion.

27:45It was a discussion that maybe we had on WhatsApp or whatever. But the fact that Sunderland, about 60-odd minutes in, changed their entire front three, right? Yeah. Which I think is, we've got to take that into account when we think about what Arsenal did or what Mikel Arteta did with that one goal lead. Sunderland had already changed those three players. So they added completely fresh legs in the front three for the last half an hour. Arteta's decision to put on Christian Mosquera in the, let me see, when is it? 88th minute it was. 88th minute. Okay, so we got to that point without making a single change, which I thought was strange enough anyway, right?

28:35I really had the feeling that Mikel Arteta was like, it's the last game before the international break. I'm going to ask these guys to give me everything until we get to that final whistle. Just squeeze every bit of juice from them that I can. That was what it looked like to me. Yeah. I mean, the decision then to put Muscara on, with hindsight, you can say that was the wrong decision. Personally, I felt like we could have made some different changes because, you know, one way of defending is to make sure that the ball isn't in your own half, right? So there are players with fresh legs and energy who even defensively could give you something a little bit more.

29:24You know, you've got Louis Skelly and Incapier who could come on. Calafiore doesn't always do 90 minutes. I think he was looking a little bit tired towards the end. Could you have put Ethan Wieneri on for Eberachaeze to give you a player in their half as well? You know, I know we don't have attacking options, but I found it very strange that we didn't use more of the defensive options we have. You know, Ben White, a really high quality player, Jurian Timber has played a lot. And I'm not blaming any of these players for the goal that we conceded per se. But I did wonder about that decision. I can see it from Arteta's point of view, right?

30:07We're really, really good defensively. Have been all season. We've got a one goal lead. It's a difficult game. We're heading towards the last couple of minutes. Let me try and shore it up by putting another defender on. like I completely get that logic and if this game plays out 2-1 to Arsenal nobody has a thing to say about the substitutions we made or didn't make but I also just think we have this squad we have these players could we have been more secure if we changed a couple of things yeah I mean I sent you a clip over the weekend didn't I do you want me to play it here I have this yeah I think it's interesting it's not about us this game specifically it's more of a general principle but it's interesting.

30:52Yeah, here's Cesc. I don't know when exactly he's talking but this is what he had to say. If you are winning 1-0 for example and you change a midfielder or a strike and you put a defender in the last 10-15 minutes you're playing with a back five all of a sudden because you saw from outside that they are playing with really high full-backs or whatever reason. Inside the players, you see that he's taken a striker off. He's put a defensive player on. So automatically, your mindset is, oh, the coach wants us to defend. We have to sit back. And you attract pressure and you invite them to have the ball more and you invite them to attack you more and to be more dangerous.

31:39And the more they are on your pitch, yeah, one day it can happen that you can kill them on counterattack and score the second goal. But 80, 90 percent of the time, it backfires because you invite pressure and there's a penalty. There's a little free kick or cross rebound. I mean, I'd like to say, show me your workings there when it comes to the sort of 80, 90 percent of the time. 80, 90 feels high. It does. It does definitely feel high. But then this, I think, is a is this about your overarching philosophy of the game, really? You know how you react in a situation like that? Is Cesc saying that at 1-0 or 2-1 away at Sunderland, he would put on another attacking player or certainly wouldn't put on a defender so as to avoid that kind of mindset?

32:28But then again, if you're a team that is as good at defending as we are, is that not something to lean into? It's one of those discussions that's really hard to sort of get to parse out what's the right thing. When you concede a goal, it's wrong. but is it you know you're going to get results based analysis right you know if Astor would held on and and you know Sunderland don't get the break of the ball in the box and they don't get that finish over the line then we'd be saying Teta got it right he brought Muscara on to deal with the aerial threat they saw it out you have to try and stand back and be objective I think that's really interesting from Cesc to be honest less so as a coach and more so as someone who's just stop playing to say that as a player if my manager brings on a centre-half for an attacker it changes the way I play the game you know what I mean I think that is insightful and I think I would have liked to see more changes made and I promise I'm not saying that because Sunderland equalised.

33:33You know, I felt Arteta was really squeezing the lemon here to get everything he could. I think that's a phrase he's used himself before, squeezing the lemon. But I, yeah, I just think there were changes to be made. I know we don't necessarily have the capacity like Sunderland to swap the entire front three. But we have made changes to our back four when protecting Leeds before in this season. also could we not have done something like put Ben White on to play in front of Jurien Timber or Miles Lewis Skelly to play in front of Riccardo Calafiori was that not an option? Christian Norgard a hugely experienced Premier League midfielder was he not an option just for some fresh legs?

34:21As Sunderland pushed forward there were opportunities to break on them I think our breath had kind of diminished as a very tired Bukayo Saka was no longer able to break into space. Trossard was running to the ground as well. Kel Marino trudging around up top, having done 90 minutes. And also, could we not have controlled the game more by sort of keeping possession, right? Yes. By having an attacking threat of our own. Yes. Yeah, I think there were subs to be made there that didn't happen. And I think the manager was a little bit guilty of sort of feeling that we could hold on. And I'm not saying the mascara sub was wrong, because as I said earlier, Sunderland do pose a unique and dangerous threat.

35:10And having a six foot three centre half, an extra one on the pitch to help you defend those scenarios. I totally get that logic. it's more the substitutions in other areas that we didn't make that I that I felt was a mistake yeah I think it was it was more about energy more about having legs more about you know perhaps being able to stop that cross before it comes into the box that they ultimately score from you know the ability to close down more quickly in midfield because you've got those fresh legs on the pitch, you know? Yeah, yeah. And it felt like a bit of a throwback to, you know, I've really praised Mikel for his use of the squad this season, his willingness to rotate and to make substitutions and make surprising substitutions at times, bringing off people like Bakayi Saka or Martin Odegaard, whoever it might be.

36:02Victor Jokic once or twice has come off early. And I felt like this was a bit of a return to an Arteta Revolve where, you know, there was a slight lack of trust maybe in the options he had at his disposal. Now I know we're carrying half a dozen injuries and it wasn't an ideal bench, but in Capier, Louis Skelly, Nguyeneri, Norgard, White, I feel that those are players he could and should trust in this situation. I completely agree with that. Completely agree with that. but we don't need to sort of batter this one into the ground. No, no. And that has been a big change this season. You know, this is an anomaly in that respect.

36:46I think so. And, you know, maybe a little bit of a lesson as well, you know, because of the way it turned out, because of the fact that Sunderland scored a goal to equalise deep into injury time. I mean, it's one of those where, again, we don't win the header in our box. I think it's Zubimendi who goes for the header with Dan Ballard. I mean, we don't close the ball down quickly enough in midfield. It gets clipped in. Ballard wins the header. I think Saliba gets attracted to the ball a little bit as well. And he's sort of caught in no man's land. And then it breaks for Brian Robby who produces, I think, a really excellent finish.

37:29sometimes you just have to give credit to the opposition because Sunderland made this game really hard for us they fought really hard as well they kept going right until the end I think if that's an Arsenal team that scores that late goal you know there's all kinds of chat about character and how we're determined not to lose a game I think if you're a newly promoted side you're 2-1 down to the league leaders you don't always get that kind of a response I think it's a very, very good finish. I think there are aspects of the defending, which you've already said you want to get into, so I'll let you do that.

38:08Arsenal were complaining afterwards, but I don't think there was anything wrong with that goal other than our defending. No. If anything, I think Brobby's having his shirt pulled by Gabriel, which makes the finish all the more extraordinary. Credits to Dan Ballard, who we've spoken a lot this season about Gabriel's presence in the penalty box and how outstanding he is. Well, Daniel Ballard, you know, was the dominant figure in the penalty box on Saturday. And, you know, we might not like to say it today, you know, having dropped two points at the weekend, but he is a good news story for Arsenal and the academy.

38:44You know, it's great to see a player who came through our system thriving at Premier League level. And he's had a big journey to get back there. Oh, by the way, can I just give a little, let me see if I can find it here speaking of Dan Ballard I think it was Daily Cannon on Blue Sky talk sport presenter and former Sunderland star Michael Gray has demanded that Thomas Tuchel call defender Dan Ballard into the England squad despite the fact he's played 32 games for Northern Ireland no I know that's very funny I mean he has had like I say he's 26 now so he's been around the block He went to Swindon on loan from Arsenal.

39:26He went to Blackpool, Millwall, and then he's come up into the Premier League with Sunderland. And I'm pleased to see him doing well. Just a bit disappointed he did so well on Saturday. So tell me about the goal from your perspective. Well, yeah, I think Saliba gets caught in no man's land, really. He gets caught between two stalls a bit. For me, I think David Raya had a really good game until this moment. He made two plunging saves at the feet of Brian Robbie before this. One was offside, but he wasn't to know that. I think this is an error from him. You know, I think he panics a bit in his decision to come.

40:08And my feeling is if you come in that situation, you've got to take everybody out. Like, he's got it. I think he comes and he sees Gabriel there and he kind of hesitates. Yeah, he pauses, doesn't he? Yeah. Because he's thinking, I don't want to punch my centre-halves head off. And that's a reasonable, logical decision. But I think as a goalie, when you've made that, you've had that instinct to come, you just have to barrel through everything. Yeah. If you get hurt, you get hurt kind of thing. and he just pulls up a second early. But then I also have to say, it is an extraordinary finish. I mean, he's got a goalkeeper in his face.

40:54He's got Gabriel tugging his shirt from behind. It's about five feet in the air. And not only does he get there, he turns it into the net. So sometimes sort of miraculous things happen. And I do think that finish can be fouled in that bracket. Yeah, high foot. But, you know, at the same time, he is having a shirt pulled by Gabriel. You know, if Raya comes and gets that, maybe VAR has a look and says there's a foul there as well. I agree with you about Raya. I think what it is, is that the previous two saves kind of got his blood up a bit, you know? Yeah, I totally agree. And we know, and actually one of his strengths as a goalkeeper is his reading of the game and the fact that he can be decisive.

41:44He comes off his line and he deals with stuff. Exactly, exactly. I think it's a rare case, isn't it, of him getting it wrong? In this instance, I think he probably should have just stayed there. You know, the finish from Brobby is very good because it goes over the goalkeeper and in. If the goalkeeper is standing three yards further back, it just goes into his arms. you know so i i think it was raya you know blood up and made those uh saves and down at the feet of brobby for one of them as well i think it was and he said fuck it you know we're in the last minute i'm going to be decisive i'll win the ball or i'll make a block or whatever it is and that's part of how we've defended so well but yeah on this occasion i think he got it wrong yeah and as i say i think when when your blood's up and when you've made that decision like it just needs to be 110 % otherwise you're in trouble and yeah that's what happens and yeah I mean 94th minute I am sort of ruefully laughing because it was sort of it was the only way a Sunderland goal was going to happen you know was a launch ball into the box and and it came off for them and And yeah, it was a bit of a gut punch because I really feel that had we survived that moment, we would be celebrating this as a brilliant turnaround and a massive three points.

43:07As it was, we nearly got three points because it was a brilliant cross from Bakayo Saka. Ricardo Calafuri header at the back post. The keeper makes a great save. And Marino's there for the follow-up. And Dan Ballard makes an extraordinary block. I think it's a brilliant, brilliant piece of defending. I actually saw people criticising Marino for not scoring from here, but I don't think you can blame him. He doesn't do anything wrong. He gets there quickly. He's on his wrong foot. He doesn't wait for it to come to his left foot. He hits it with his right foot as soon as it drops, and it's a brilliant piece of defending from Ballard.

43:43Yeah. Listen, I think if you're going to look at anyone, you could maybe look at Califuri. Maybe, you know. He doesn't get much direction on the ball. You know what I mean? Like it sort of, it doesn't get it down at all. But it's point blank. It's point blank. It's a brilliant cross from Saka. And Marino, by the time he's there, Ballard is there. When I talk about being 100%, you know, committed into a challenge, that's exactly what Ballard is in that moment. You know, there's no thought for his safety or even really the jeopardy of a potential penalty. He's just like, I've got to get there. And he does.

44:26Yeah, that would have been quite some moments. But there you go. Full-time 2-2. Yeah. And I think it's one of those where Arsenal will feel they should have won. And I feel Arsenal should have won this game. But Sunderland too will probably feel like they worked hard enough to get something from it too, you know. I guess both those things can be true. Yeah, I think so. Mikel Arteta, in situations where Arsenal have dropped points to late equalisers, I don't think he would mind me saying, historically has been quite a surly figure in his post-match demeanour. And I thought he was a lot more calm and rational after this one.

45:18Did you observe that as well? Yeah, I did watch the press conference. It was quite short, generally. Well, a long way to go home, I guess. Well, that too. I do wonder if, you know, he might reflect on the things he could have done differently. You know, maybe that was in his mind rather than what his players did or didn't do defensively, you know. I think if I were the manager and I'd made one sub away from home after, is that three away games in a week? Yeah. You know, if I'd made one sub away from home after three away games in one week, I might think, you know what? I've got to take the, I've got to shoulder, not that he wouldn't shoulder the responsibility, you know what I mean?

46:08But I think I wouldn't be angry at the players so much as myself because I feel like, you know, maybe I could have done more. Maybe there was more I could have done to prevent those goals being scored, particularly that last goal, you know? Yeah, I think as well, he must just recognise that the players have given an enormous amount, not just this week, but in this block of fixtures and in this start of the season. And, you know, I think it's always disappointing to lose a lead so late. But I don't think this was, I don't think this is, in the context of where we're at in the season, the players that we're missing, the amount of football we've played, the three away games in a week, Sunderland's form, you know, their first really big home game.

47:01I don't see this as a bad result. I really wouldn't. I think it is a bad result in the context of where we were in the 95th minute before they scored. But, you know, overall, I think you do have to step back. You know, I looked at the games that we've played between the last interlull and this interlull on the blog today. So we played seven. We've scored 15 goals, 44 shots on target in those seven games. we've only allowed 11 shots on target in those games six of those goals came in the brighton efl cup game by the way and there was still that dubious eddie and kettia shot on target which doesn't count so aside from uh that game against brighton and that ridiculous eddie and kettia stat it's four shots on target in six games yeah defensively so good you know six clean sheets and a load of injuries, a load of injuries.

48:05You know, we talked there about what maybe he could have done with his bench, with the players he had available to him on Saturday. But, you know, what way would he have operated in that second half if he'd had Jocharez, Martinelli, Havertz, Madweke, Odegaard, Jesus at his disposal? He would have made five subs, honestly. I agree, yeah, I agree completely. I agree completely and he you know he probably would have swapped the entire front three yeah and you know so that is a mitigating factor in the decision not to make changes but like I said earlier I just think there were changes there you could make that would have helped us but yeah I mean the defensive record has been absolutely outstanding obviously we lost our clean sheet streak in this one we had another record we were looking to break didn't happen I'll be I think that's really interesting moving forward because, as I said earlier on, I am sort of of the mind that, you know, even though this is kind of the set-piece season, I've heard it being called, I do think Sunderland are, even within that kind of an extreme, you know, the red and white stripes, you could be forgiven for thinking this is a Stokes side or maybe even a Brentford side of a couple of years ago where it is a huge focus and a huge weapon for them.

49:26But I'm sure other managers of other clubs, particularly those maybe in the bottom half of the Premier League, will look at those Sunderland goals and think, is that the way? That seems to be the only way anybody has hurt Arsenal of late, is to put them under that degree of strain, that degree of pressure. And is that something we're going to see more of? I think, yeah, I think that's going to be really interesting over the coming weeks. Yeah, I mean, it probably is, but I don't think it would be in any way unexpected. And look, whatever you feel about the result on Saturday, I think when you look at where we are, what we've done in the start of this season, where we are right now, top of the table.

50:12We'll talk maybe about Manchester City and Liverpool in part two. We've got a couple of questions about that. But, you know, if somebody had said to you, right, going into the final interlust of the season, you're going to be top of the table. you've only conceded what five goals is it four or five goals in the Premier League yeah five goals you're going to have a four point lead over Manchester City I'd have bitten your hand off for that you know I think the team has done extraordinarily well like we've been so so good and Saturday was a little blip but if that's as blippy as it gets I can live with that because I think we for the most part have deserved the results that we've got We've played well.

50:53We showed a lot of character. And maybe, maybe, maybe the injuries caught up with us a little bit on Saturday. I know the errors were defensive. But like I said, I think if we had those attacking players available to us, there would have been different changes from Arteta. So in that sense, it's caught up with us. But I think we have to step back and look at just how well they've done and how well we've performed in general and just be pretty happy with our lot, I have to say. Yeah, I mean, someone I saw put it that at the start of the October international break, we were one point clear at the top of the Premier League.

51:29Start of November 1, we're four points clear. So I think there's a lot to feel happy and satisfied about. And yeah, I think it's been a tremendous effort from the players. And I think what they need now is a bit of an injection of energy and freshness from getting some players back. What did you say? I think it was in your athletic piece. The cavalry are coming. So we need the cavalry. We really do. Okay, well, look, why don't we leave it there for part one? We will come back with your questions and more in part two, right after this.

52:15welcome back to the arse cast extra this is part two of the show where we answer the questions that you send to us on blue sky at gunnerblog.bsky.social and also at arseblog.com also on the arseblog discord chat server which you get access to if you're an arseblog member on patreon Just before we get into the questions, Arsblog has been nominated for the Best Fan Media, Best Friend Marita, at the FSA Awards 2025. That is the Football Supporters Association Awards. We've won it before. We'd love to win it again. So if you had the time to vote for us, it is an open vote. If you could take the time to vote for us, it would be very, very much appreciated.

52:56You will find a link to the voting form in the show notes. There are also some other Arsenal votes you can make. I think Declan Rice is up for the best men's player. And there are two women, two Arsenal women, in the running for Women's Player of the Year, Alessia Russo and Mariona Caldente. So you could vote for them as well as voting for Arsblog. If you have the time or the inclination or both to do that, we'd really, really appreciate it. And as I said, you will find a link to that voting form in the show notes. Right, let's get on with the questions. Do you want to go first or will I? I'll go first, actually.

53:30Okay. Because we were discussing the cavalry and there was a question along that theme, which you'd think I'd have to hand. Here we go. It's from Prashant on Blue Sky. And Prashant says, hi, guys, can you please name the one injured player you're looking forward to having back the most and why? yeah a similar question on the discord from atx bird camp lover 69 69 420 which of the players that we hope is returning soon have we missed the most slightly different angle on it which one am i looking forward to having back the most uh it's a good question i think I'm sort of torn between Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz.

54:27Well, I think mine is Kai. So why don't you explain about Martin and then I'll take over. I just think that we, I was encouraged by what I'd seen so far from Martin Odegaard before the injuries. You know, he looked a bit more his old self, I should say. so it was really unfortunate that he picked up those injuries, the shoulder injuries, I think hampered him a little bit. I just think there's a sort of creative, creative edge to him that sets him apart a little bit from Eber Echeheza who plays that position in a different way. I think your observation that he played a bit closer to Mikel Moreno in the second half is an interesting one where he plays maybe more like a classic 10, you know.

55:19Odegaard, I think, I mean, it's hard to say we've missed any of them because we've done so well in terms of results, you know. But I think what we miss with Odegaard is just a little bit of energy, a little bit of the way we press is more intense, it's more structured. And maybe a game like Saturdays with that kind of addition to it, maybe we're not worried about it being you know one goal lead in the final minutes it might have been more you know so I just think Odegaard has such quality in the opposition final third but like I said you know we've scored so many goals and won so many games I just think there is something maybe a little bit extra about him when he is in his best form and I think we were sort of on the cusp of seeing that from him before he got those injuries and that big injury in particular.

56:14So, yeah, he's kind of the one for me. But I understand why, you know, you might go for Kai Havertz as well. You know, I think we're talking more about the longer-term injury players, right? Rather than, let's say, Jokeres and Martinelli, who've played a lot in this period but have missed the last couple of games. Yeah, I mean, look, you can make a case for all of these absent players and the impact that they might make. for me personally I'm really looking forward to seeing Kai back I think it feels to me like we've been without him for most of this calendar year I mean that's true I guess actually he obviously had the big injury in February was it he was starting to come back into things towards the end of last season and then into pre-season I was really tantalised by that fantastic goal he scored at the Emirates in pre-season where he ran through from halfway.

57:10The power he showed there. You know, there was a lot of discussion, wasn't there, of his new physique after a few months in the gym. Well, he's had another few months in the gym now, so it'll come back looking like the Incredible Hulk, I should know. I just think that he lends so much to the team with the way that he plays the number nine role. I think as well, you know, assuming we get Jokeres back soon, I think he's going to really help Victor as well. I think it will benefit both of them to be able to swap around, to rest, rotate as required, to share games. So, yeah, for me, it's Kai. And, yeah, I hope we see it sooner rather than later.

57:55It's going to be interesting, isn't it? We've got Spurs is the first game back. It's a bit of a challenge for Mikel Arteta because there's no way you can, even if he does get, say, I don't think he'll get all six injured attackers back, but let's say he gets three or four maybe in time for the Spurs game. You can't possibly throw them all in, I don't think. It's going to have to be quite a managed, staggered process as he reintegrates some of these players, but with incredibly competitive games. I mean, our three matches after the break are Spurs, Bayern, Munich and then Chelsea away. Yeah. Yeah.

58:38Yeah, he might just have to sort of bite the bullet on a couple of them and say, you're going to have to play this game. I remember when Odegaard was injured last season. Was it a Chelsea game he came back for? Possibly. He's the one that Mikel Arteta has shown us previously he will throw in. Maybe because he thinks he's so important. Maybe it's something about the way he adapts. Yeah, I think he started against Chelsea. Come on, hadn't he, in the San Siro? I think I'm right in saying. Yeah, but he played like it was like 96 minutes. He played all 96 minutes of that game. Yeah, he was really, really good.

59:16So I could see Odegaard if he's ready starting the derby. Obviously, Martinelli's been brilliant as an impact sub. So if you can get him back in the squad, I think the bench is kind of ideal for him. And you would imagine they'll be working really hard to get Victor Jokeres ready. I don't think you'd want to throw Kai straight into a start Martin, obviously, without another centre forward in the group. Again, Gabriel Jesus, even if he's declared fit by then, you wouldn't start him in a game of this size. Jokeres is the one who would have the chance if he can be fit. I think it will be pretty close to the wire, that one.

59:57If you think about when the injury occurred and it's a sort of muscular problem, it's probably a minimum, what, three weeks or so. So it'll bring him right up to that mark. so we'll have to wait and see Fingers crossed, fingers crossed Okay, what about these questions Mr. Snrub on the Discord he said, good morning gents, a horrific new thought that's crossed my mind is that Arsenal and City are the two best equipped sides to deal with absences during AFCON Personally I feel both teams will put daylight between themselves and the chasing pack during that period Are you mentally prepared for another city title race?

1:00:40And Apostle Ted of Church Madueke says, does anyone else hear the Jaws theme song when you look at the table? How long are you going to keep yourself from the existential dread of Manchester City chasing us? Yeah, it's interesting. I was actually looking at just that this morning regarding AFCon. Arsenal are one of three Premier League teams who don't have an African player in the first team squad. And I don't know when the last time that would have been. Obviously, Thomas Partey's departure in the summer has created that situation. Chelsea another, which is really unusual for Arsenal and Chelsea.

1:01:18They've both got really rich history of African representation in the squad. So a bit of a departure there. I suppose we have to talk about Chelsea as well. I mean, look, I don't think anyone's saying they're going to win the league, but they've got that in their favour. No African internationals. they're only six points off they're there about for sure yeah so you know you'd have to you'd have to have them in the conversation but yes there is something very ominous about Man City did you watch City Liverpool? I did without giving away all your content for the 30 I'll say what I think I was very disappointed in Liverpool I think they were pretty unlucky to have Virgil van Dijk's header ruled out made them pretty unlucky there But I think other than that, they didn't really turn up.

1:02:07I mean, they'd beaten Villa and Madrid, and I was kind of wondering, okay, are they, in inverted commas, back? And I think the answer is no. They did not look back against Man City, and City just steamrolled through them, frankly. Bear in mind, they missed a penalty as well. Maybe generously awarded, but there you go. So, yeah, I think City are the ones that we are looking at. And Pep Guardiola gave a pretty ominous press conference last night after the game. Did he? I didn't see it, no. He kind of, I'd be paraphrasing, but he said something to the effect of it's not the team who's top in September, October who wins the league.

1:02:57It's the team that keeps growing over the course of the season. When I think back to when we've won the league previously, month by month, we've got better. And he was like, right now, I feel that with this group, we are getting better. Now, look, who's to say Arsenal won't continue to improve and get better. But when Pep's saying that, we all have a bit of PTSD, don't we? For sure. For sure. There's some trauma there. Yeah, listen, I think it is going to be, I think if we finish above Manchester City this season, we win the league. That would be my thinking. But then I think that's Mikel Arteta's thinking as well.

1:03:43Yeah. And obviously, you know, we still have to go to the Etihad. Do you know what? I'd really love it if we went to the Etihad, drew nil-nil and won the league, just because it would shut up all those pundits. Do you know what I mean? like they're like they've got to go there and win love it if we didn't i would love it if we did but it'd be very funny if we went there got a nil nil like batten down the hatches kept the points kept what it was and everyone was like yeah they had a chance to knock them out there and they didn't and then we went on and won it that would be really amusing yes um i prefer to just go there and win though i hear you yeah i hear you that would also be good but it would what would upset me about that is that paul skulls would sit there and say yeah i've been saying in this for years.

1:04:29That's what they needed to do. I don't want to give them, I don't want to give Gary and Paul that opportunity. But City, I mean, Erling Haaland is robots, as discussed. That would give anybody a chance. I feel like, as an Arsenal fan, you're slightly tearing your hair out because you're like, well, last season we faced Mo Salah in sort of record-breaking form and this season it looks like Erling Haaland may be on one of those. But we're a very, very, very, very good team too. So, you know, they will be as worried about us as we are about them. I'm sure of that. I think, you know, there is a feeling we might be fearing, oh, is this the old Man City?

1:05:20You know, are they back to being Man City? Whereas I think other teams looking at Arsenal and thinking, is this a new Arsenal? Is this a different Arsenal? Yeah, yeah. We've got to prove that. We have got to prove that. And I, yeah, there was a point in this season where I thought, I'm not sure how strong the field is. You know, I'm not sure if there is an outstanding kind of rival to Arsenal in this race. And I'm now looking at City and what they're doing and thinking, And, you know, they've got potential to really be right in the mix all the way to the end. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I think City had an off-season, but last time out, you know.

1:06:09But the idea that they were finished somehow, I don't know why anybody would have thought that, to be honest. Rodri back after the international break as well, apparently. But, you know, let's see. Nobody ever said winning the league was easy. You know, you've always got to beat the big teams and the good teams. And they got beat at Villa, what was it, two, three weeks ago, you know. So they're not invulnerable. For sure. But we are moving. It's setting up for a fascinating second after the season, that's for sure. All right. Your question, I think. My question. Yeah, okay. we had a few Eze questions okay this one's from JDH who says good morning big fan of the pod do we lose an element of control with Eze playing centrally given his lower touch game compared to Odegaard as well as Rice and Zubimendi could he have more influence playing a freer Trossard type role I think there might have been another one that I saw on Blue Sky as well now um oh that is that question from jdh so yeah it's more it's on as a in that sort of central right a role i remember at one point in the game on saturday just looking at him moving across the pitch whether he was with the ball or moving to to accept a pass or whatever it was.

1:07:46And I thought to myself, I am so glad we have Eberreche as a really happy that we have him in the team. I sort of understand questions about whether or not that's his best position, which I think typically he's played more on the other side of the pitch, right? Either as a left winger or played more as sort of a left-sided attacking midfielder. He seems to be certainly deployed from the start a bit more on the right-hand side in that Odegaard role, for sure. But, you know, he's a high-quality, experienced player and I think he maybe had more shots than anybody. Maybe only himself and Saka had the same amount of shots on Saturday.

1:08:29So there's that sort of level of, not end product, but product, you know, that you get from him that can be really useful, as we saw against Crystal Palace a few weeks ago. he scored the winning goal there I think it will be interesting to see where exactly he plays as and when Odegaard is fit and 100 % fit and available will he be the deputy there will he play on the left a bit who knows but in a period where we haven't had Odegaard when Saka's been out injured for a bit we've talked about all the forward injuries his presence and availability I think has been a key component to this run that we're on.

1:09:14Maybe people expect a bit more, something a bit more spectacular from him at times. You know, I wonder if, you know, those really eye-catching moments he had for Crystal Palace are sort of what people expect from him all the time in an Arsenal shirt. But I think just having him there and being part of the group, you know, He was involved in that first goal for Saka on Saturday as well. So I don't worry too much about Eber Echeiza, and I think we'd be in probably a worse position if we didn't have him. Yeah, I think the shots are a really interesting part of his game. I think he's always offering a goal threat wherever he plays.

1:09:54Even in this game, there were a couple of attempts that he took on first time and went relatively close with. I think, I mean, we say move him over to the left. Right now, he'd have a job on his hands to displace Leandro Trossard, who leads Arsenal for goal contributions this season, four goals, four assists. Leads Arsenal for 2025, in fact, for the calendar year for goal contributions, which is some going. But, you know, 20 million would have been very useful, you know. Yeah, yeah. I think there are some apologies, Odle, I think. But he... I do think that will ultimately be where he plays the majority of his football this season.

1:10:39particularly once Odegaard gets back to fitness yeah it's interesting I'm starting to see a bit of conversation online about Eze about you know is he producing at the level that we expected or anticipated I mean God forbid he should struggle to live up to the hype I don't know if anybody could live up to the amount of hype there was around his transfer but I still think he's been hugely valuable and has enabled us to sort of ride out this period without Odegaard pretty well. Yeah, I do see him a bit more on the left. And it'll be interesting to see if Mikel Arteta shares that view and can he see him dovetailing with Riccardo Calafuri or maybe even, I don't know, Pierre-Ancapier, somebody like that.

1:11:27It'll be as much about that partnership on that left-hand side. Trossard and Calafuri, and Trossard spoke about this in the press conference the other day, have struck up a real understanding. And that's why I think those two at the moment have got those positions now down. All right, what about this one from Adam Singh, one, two, three, four, five, six on the Discord? I think that's also his password, if anyone wants to hack his account. Jeez, I hope it's not. Anyway, he said, do you think there's a reason, tactical or otherwise, why Saka has no assists this season? He's joined top scorer with six goals, but no assists, which is quite different from this time last season when I think you guys were discussing whether he might beat Thierry Henry's record.

1:12:07Yeah, that record's old news. It's all about the goals conceded record now. It's a really good question, isn't it? Especially because we've spoken so much about our threat from set pieces this season and obviously he's on half of those corners.

1:12:28I do think he's playing a little bit more in sort of central areas at times was there a moment in this game where he went through on the left-hand side yeah we talked it was the first half pass from Zubimendi yeah yeah and he's doing that a little bit more either switching over to that side towards the end of games or just popping up in that position to bring a bit more variety so maybe he's playing a little bit closer to goal would be one rational thought. But no, I haven't got a clear explanation for the lack of assists. And to be honest, I would expect that to change. I would imagine that by the end of the season, he will end up with, you know, 10 assists.

1:13:10I think it will even out over time. And maybe the balance with goals will shift a bit. I mean, I don't know, have you got any potential theories? I think it's just a little bit of an anomaly, really, because normally he does get assists, not just from set pieces or corners from that side, but from open play as well. I think maybe the more interesting thing to look at would be chances created, how many chances he's creating rather than how many assists he's got. And I haven't looked those up, which I probably should have done before now. But I think, yeah, I think it will, the numbers will start to rack up over the course of the season.

1:13:54I think we're just in a little bit of a weird period where, because he's sort of been out of the team a little bit as well, with the injury, when he still has six goals. He's in the last seven games has scored four goals for Arsenal. So he's beginning to really find his shooting boots, you know, which I think is probably more important for us as a stat from Bakayosaka than the assists. Particularly at the moment when we're without two of our, well, three of our centre four. here is a question from Charlie J on Blue Sky and Charlie says good morning chaps Ben White what has he done to find his way into the Mikkel Arteta untrusted group there's no way whatsoever that he is not good enough to have started one game last week given the opposition were two promoted teams and a limited Slavia Prague and there's another one De Noronha says Ben White seems to have lost the confidence of Arteta Do you think he has a way back?

1:14:57I do think it was a bit strange That he didn't play more this week With three games away from home I sort of expected him to start the Slavia Prague game Yeah, I think I did too, to be honest I don't know if I can go as far as to say That he's lost the trust of Mikel Arteta I do wonder if there might be some worry about his fitness, because I think we know from previous history that he is a player that Mikel Arteta trusts implicitly. Mikel Arteta will pick Ben White. He will pick an injured Ben White to do a job for him, knowing that he's injured. Do you know what I mean? So I don't think there's any question that in terms of what Mikel Arteta thinks Ben White can deliver for him on the pitch if he's fit enough, that that's an issue, you know?

1:15:51He did say something a couple of weeks ago about how he was now in a slightly better place with the injury, that he'd had a little bit of a setback, they were managing his minutes, etc., etc. I do think it's a bit strange he didn't play a bit this week, but I can only assume that it's something to do with fitness rather than the quality of the player or what Arteta thinks he can get from him. Yeah, I think physical issues must be part of this decision. Equally, you've got to say, Julian Timber's form has been absolutely outstanding. And I do wonder if in this period where we're shorn of so many attackers, Mikel Arteta was tempted to rely on kind of the consistency of that defensive unit.

1:16:43You know, we had the clean sheet after clean sheet after clean sheet. And I wonder if he just thought, I'm just going to lean into that and use the likes of Timber and Gabriel and Saliba as much as I can or need to in this period. That said, yeah, I did think it was a bit odd. And like I said, I think there were opportunities to get him on the pitch against Sunderland. We didn't take them. I mean, it's interesting, isn't it? Mosquera even, you'd say, is ahead of him now as a centre-back in this team, in this system. So I think he has kind of, his status within the squad does seem to have shifted a little bit in the, you know, I remember when Timber was signed, people were asking, well, how's it going to work?

1:17:33Because Ben White's been so very good. Then obviously he's had injuries since then. Timber came back in fine form. Ben's had his own issues and it does feel like he is just seen in that position slightly below this kind of Premier League 11 I wouldn't write him off yet though I think it's a long season he's a really really good player and I think as well you know maybe the injuries or maybe the injury issues or the fitness issues that he's experiencing now are you know a consequence of him literally putting his body on the line for Arsenal and playing through the pain. You know, that season when Timber was injured, Ben White basically had to play every game at right-back because he didn't have a right-back.

1:18:23Or if we did change it, it was a player who didn't really suit, you know, at right-back. So I think a little leeway there, and I think he will find his way back in because this is a long season. And we do have some questions, a couple of questions about rotation maybe you know when we come back from the international break we might see a bit Big Red Arsenal says would you be in favour of playing a heavily rotated second string team against Bayern so that we can put everything into the Spurs and Chelsea games Bayern is a game we can afford to lose but we really need maximum points from the Premier League games to keep City at arm's length and also on this Joe who's at jhez1991.bsky.social says, how tough is the three-game run of Spurs, Bayern and Chelsea?

1:19:12Assuming we have players to come back, how much rotation do you think we'll see for those games? It's tough. I mean, we obviously had a really tough start to the season that we discussed a lot. But this kind of October, November block of fixtures, although intense and a lot of games, the fixtures has been relatively favourable, you'd have to say. and we've done really well, and we've plundered the points during that period. This is a really tough trio of matches. You know, I know Spurs aren't necessarily flying at the moment, but it's a derby, right? And strange things can happen in derbies. Chelsea, I think, are a more serious outfit than they've been for some time, or at least I think that until their next terrible result, which kind of seems to be the pattern with them.

1:20:08and Bayern I mean I understand the idea of second string 11s I'd say if you're hoping for that you're probably going to be disappointed I think that's very true I think that's very true you know if you're hoping to see I don't know Max Dowman and Andre Harriman and Noose and Tommy Setford and Goal it ain't going to happen not a hope but we are blessed with a squad where I think there are changes we can make without substantially weakening the team. I mean, we've seen, we've started to see changes at left-back, for example, in Champions League games. Myles Lewis-Skelly started against Atletico.

1:20:53Hincapié started against Prague, right? So I think I would expect to see that position change. Maybe it'll be Hincapié, who's obviously played, you know, we'll know Bayern very well, coming over from the Bundesliga. Maybe he could play at centre-half even, I don't know. We'll have players coming back from injury. So you would imagine, you know, that might be a factor in selection. Is this a chance to give someone like maybe a Gabriel Martinelli a game or somebody like that? I think we will see three or maybe four changes from the Spurs game to the Bayern game, but I don't think you could, in good faith, call it a weakened team, what we'll see.

1:21:40Yeah. What do you think? Well, I think he's got to use the squad. The discussion we've had all season is, if you're going to spend that much money, if you're going to assemble a squad of this quality and experience, you've got to use those players. And this goes back to maybe the discussion that we had in the first half about not using subs in the Sunderland game where that's kind of Arteta of old. But I think he's got to, you know. You're playing Spurs, you're playing Bayern, two of those games at home, so there's that thing. But then you're going away to Chelsea, which is going to be a difficult game.

1:22:23So I think he is going to have to rotate a little bit. But I think if we get some players back, if we get three players back from injury, the scope to do that becomes much greater, you know? Definitely. And I also think that when it comes to the Bayern game, there is zero chance Arteta is going to say, okay, well, listen, Chelsea is more important than Bayern Munich, which it might be, you know, it might, you could make an argument for that, right? But I don't think that is the way Mikel Arteta is going to think about this. I think having beaten Atletico Madrid 4-0, I think what he's looking for from Europe this season is to sort of really cement Arsenal's place as one of the top teams in Europe.

1:23:09And if you rotate too heavily against this Bayern Munich team who score a lot of goals with that guy who's scored a lot of goals against us in the past, there's no way he's giving them an easy run in that game. And I don't want to see that. No, I don't either. But like I said, I think there is scope to make changes if you have players back. If you've got Odegaard back and Jokeres back and Martinelli back and maybe who knows one of the others, whether it's Madueke or Havertz, we'll have to wait and see. If you've got those players back, then your scope for making changes becomes much greater. So, yeah, we'll wait and see what he does.

1:23:55But yeah, I think it's going to be a huge push. And then even after that, you know, we've got a home game against Brentford, which is a midweek Premier League game against Brentford on the Wednesday. And they've been tricky for us at home, I think, in recent seasons. And then a trip to Aston Villa. It's never an easy one at all. No, so it's a difficult little run of fixtures. But, you know, if you want to win the league, if you want to be the top team, you've got to navigate those runs. You do. You do. You know, it's going to be fascinating, actually. And I think, especially once we start getting these players back, he's going to have decisions to make, for sure.

1:24:40What's that? We've kind of done that. That was sort of Sunderland. By all means, jump in if you've got something that's particularly… Yeah, I had one here. It's not really Arsenal-related, but jumppunchkick.bsky.social says, I'm no fan of PGML, but have you enjoyed the lack of time-wasting, especially keepers flopping to the ground after taking a cross? Is this the first time a new rule has been introduced that has actually improved watching a Premier League game? Although apparently everybody hates the Premier League now because it's all just about throws and corners. Not about Leandro Trossard cracking one in the top corner from 25 yards.

1:25:22That didn't happen. you know another set piece goal from arsenal somehow you know yeah it's a good point that actually i mean now i think about it even from our i mean we've mainly been leading in games but i don't think i've seen david riah doing quite as much of the falling on the ball you know um And so, yeah, I think that probably has served its purpose. So, you know, reluctantly, I will give them some credit for that. Yeah, I think, although, you know, there are other issues to address in terms of ball in play. I mean, look at the Sunderland game, right? The first 35 minutes, was it 13 minutes in play?

1:26:11Something like that. as set pieces increase in their importance, I think more time is going to be taken over them. Few teams take more time over them than Arsenal. Yeah. And so something our own fans have raised with us at times saying, you know, why, why, why the delay? So yeah, they might, they might have to look at other areas beyond just goalkeepers, to be honest, if you want to get that in play time up. What about this one? It's also from Blue Sky from Elon's Musk. I'd say that's gross. Anyway, he said Sunderland moved ad boards closer to the pitch and negated some of the set pieces. How proud would Mikel Arteta be?

1:26:51Very proud. Very proud. I mean, we don't have a long throw. I know we've got like Rice sort of chucks it and Calafiore sort of chucks it, but we don't have the proper line. What's his name? Mudieke? I don't know. The guy Sunderland have gone. Yeah. Or the guy that Brentford have got, Coyote, who, you know, the goal that they scored yesterday against Newcastle, the first one, that long throw, it seemed, the ball seemed to be in the air for like about 10 seconds. But the trajectory of it, I mean, that's something we're going to have to face, obviously, when they come to town in a few weeks time.

1:27:26Definitely. Well, you know, what we need to start doing is putting all the advertising audience really close to the pitch, but only in the half the opposition are attacking. And then at halftime, while Gunnasaurus is doing his penalty shootout, switch them all back round. Yeah, it's an interesting one, that. Because obviously, if you do that, if you bring the hoardings in, you're impacting yourself. Yeah, that's true. It's kind of a trade-off. What about this? I like this format. It's actually, it's nicking your statements, Patreon. Okay. But Jack Abele has provided us with three statements and wants you to agree or disagree.

1:28:06So statement one, Trossard has turned into a top three Mikel Arteta signing. Ooh. That's quite hard, though. That is hard because there are so many good signings. Gabriel, William Saliba, Martin Odegaard. Saliba is pre-Arteta. Oh, yes, he is, of course. He is.

1:28:29I mean, he's got to be close. He's got to be close. In terms of value as well, you know. In terms of his output and what he's delivered with goals and assists and, touching wood, availability, I think he could be very, very close. Yeah. I think he's certainly far exceeded expectations. It depends what your measure is. But I think, yeah, maybe top three. I think Gabriel will be right up there. Yeah. I think David Rye. David Rye is close. I'd have Rye a little bit below Trossard, I have to say. Like, I think Rye is a beneficiary of our brilliant defence, and it's to take nothing away from him because he absolutely plays his part.

1:29:13And I think the way that he, you know, sweeps up is integral to our defending, right? Rice, Timber. They're the names I think would be in the frame. but obviously Rice, again, if you're looking at value, I mean, he's been fantastic, but he was over£100 million. But worth it. Oh, listen, worth it all day. Absolutely worth it. Trossard's got the bargain in his favour, you know. I mean, the thing, you know, you look at Declan Rice and the£105 million we paid for him, Liverpool paid£130 million for Alexander Izak. He didn't get off the bench yesterday, which is kind of crazy. And nobody's talking about it, really.

1:29:56I feel like that would be a bigger discussion point if it was a different club, but there you go. We'll talk more about that in the 30 later on over on Patreon, by the way. Okay. Statement two, Yacarez's absence showed how important he is and doesn't get enough credit. I mean, yeah, I guess, you know, but Yacarez's absence, you know, it was compounded by the Havertz absence as well. So I think just having a center forward is fundamentally, important to a football team, whether it's Victor Jokeres or Kai Havertz or somebody else. Like, Jokeres has done well and played a lot and worked really hard.

1:30:35So, of course, we're going to miss him. But I don't know that it's a big thing, is it? Yeah, no, I mean, we obviously didn't miss him really in Prague. And I have to say, watching that second half performance, I don't think you were looking at it going, where's Jokeres? You know, I think we played some really good stuff there and scored a couple of great goals. So I think the general point of maybe he doesn't get enough credit, I can see that, but I'm not sure these two games, I think what we missed most was the option from the bench to change it. That's my view, maybe more so than any specific individual.

1:31:09The third statement is, Miles Lewis Skelly will get enough minutes with Arsenal to get an England call-up for the World Cup. Left out of the squad. Left out of the England squad, yeah. this week I don't know I really don't know I feel like you could get fewer minutes at Arsenal and still make the England squad but we had this discussion didn't we last week was it last week or the week before you know about Miles and his playing time I'm gonna say yeah what was it what do I disagree with this or agree with this Do you agree he will get enough minutes to earn an England call-up for the World Cup?

1:32:00I don't know if I do. Yeah. Right now, I don't know if I do. Things can change very quickly in football, as we know. So this could seem completely foolish in March when he's playing all the time and everything else. Yeah. I mean, I'm looking at the squad now. So who was named? Jed Spence, who's playing left-back for Spurs at the minute, and Nico O 'Reilly, who does look a player, I've got to say. Yeah, he was good yesterday, wasn't he, against Liverpool, I have to say. He's very physical as well as technical. He's got a lot going for him. I think O 'Reilly could be a problem for Lewis Skelly if he stays in the side and Myles doesn't.

1:32:47Yeah, I'm not sure either. I don't have a great degree of faith he is going to get those minutes at this point in time because I'm just looking at it and with both Calafiori and hincapié to accommodate, I think it'll be tricky. But somebody reminded me in the week, it may have been Sam Dean of The Telegraph was saying, well, look at how little Myles played in the first half of last season and how much he played in the second half of last season. But that's because he hadn't really made the breakthrough in the first half of the season. I think we're now talking about a player who is established rather than a player who's waiting for a chance, you know.

1:33:26And he didn't necessarily have all that ahead of him. Well, Calafiore was injured. Kieran Tierney was around, but, you know, often injured. Alexander Zinchenko, well, there's a guy who lost the faith of Mikkel Arteta, absolutely, you know. Yeah, that's true. So the opening was there. The pathway was there. That pathway now is like a nightclub. He's trying to get in and Calafuri and Incapia are the bouncers going, show me your ID. It's 21s, mate. You can't get in here. And even in midfield, it's pretty congested. You know, when Havertz and Yocarez come back, Marino goes into contention for those midfield spots.

1:34:12you've got Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard, Ezen, Orgaard. It's not easy. So I think he's got a real challenge on his hands there, Miles, and I'm interested to see how that one plays out. See how it plays out. Okay, what about this one? Just to finish us off from Peter Hust on the Discord. He said, with this being episode 666, who would you put in the top three of all-time Premier League opponents, players and teams? Now, when he says opponents, what do we rate? are we saying our like most challenging opponents or the ones who we deem most evil? The ones we deem most evil. Jose Mourinho. 100%. So can we sort of, can we put Jose Mourinho's Chelsea as one for, you know?

1:34:55Yeah. Yeah. That's, that's easy enough. In the history of the show or us doing this, I guess I mentioned them earlier actually, but I do feel like Tony Pulis' Stoke probably should be in there. Hmm. I'm not saying they always provide us with our sternest test, although there were a few times at the Potteries where they did, but the enmity between the two teams was quite something. And obviously the Aaron Ramsey situation and everything around that. Yeah, what's his name? Ryan Shawcross. Wish all the best to Aaron Ramsey, by the way, he's going through it. Oh man, that was too much for me. It was too sad.

1:35:37You know he's left... Yeah, he left Mexico and everything now because of the dog thing. It was just... Very sad. I've got to say, I was really impressed. Craig Bellamy, who might have ended up on one of these lists himself, you know, he wouldn't be too far away. He's not the most popular player. He's the Wales manager now, and he was asked about the Aaron Ramsey situation. He gave an incredibly sort of empathetic answer and really spoke brilliantly about it. So I'll take my help. Right, I'll have to look that up. I didn't see what he said. That was good. I mean, you've got to put... I mean, we talked Chelsea, didn't we?

1:36:18I mean, Spurs is sort of a given, so they're sort of more inept than evil, really, even though fundamentally quite evil at their core. I mean, players, you're looking at John Terry. Yeah, I mean, a lot of that's Mourinho's Chelsea. I think, if we're being honest, it's probably, it's probably, it's probably Pepe or a city, isn't it, in terms of the 115 charges and all of that? I mean, that's, you know. Yeah, that's pretty, pretty evil. But, yeah, it's been given this sort of facade of respectability because of the way that the, the way the Man City has been put together. But yes, at its core, could not be any more evil.

1:37:10Again, another quite funny outcome this season would be if, you know, they push us all the way in the league and then... Oh, just deduct the fucking points off them. Just all of the points. Please. Just, you know, come on. Come on. Surely it's time for the universe to right itself a little bit. I'm going to say as well, FIFA and Gianni Infantino. Infantino. Who has absolutely taken brown-nosed evil to a whole new level. The way that he has used FIFA for his own stardom and, yeah, sort of aligning himself with some of the worst people in the world. using football, which, you know, is a thing we all love, but using football to sort of coin it in whilst just presiding over what is a corrupt entity.

1:38:19Like football needs an exorcism and FIFA is the demon that needs to be exercised. So I think we would be remiss if we didn't mention him. There's probably like millions who we've mentioned on this podcast down the years and everyone's screaming at us now going, how could you forget Robbie Savage? How could you forget Joey Barton? Just there's a litany of names. We know. We know. Yeah. Yeah. But that's not a bad selection. No. I think we've done well with that one. We've done well with that one. Okay. Right. Into the interlull we go for a bit more on the weekend's Premier League action. You can join us on Patreon later for an episode of the 30, an eventful weekend in the Premier League.

1:39:00We'll talk more about that Man City-Liverpool game and the implications for the title race. You can join us over there at patreon.com forward slash arseblog. For now, though, folks, thank you as ever for listening. We really do appreciate it, and we will catch you on the next one. And remember, I didn't murder Gabrielle Martinelli. Bye-bye.

1:39:24Thank you.