Arsecast Extra Episode 676 - 12.01.2026

0:12Hello and welcome to another Arsecast Extra. As always we're James from Gunnerblog. James, a goodly morning to you. and a goodly morning to you too, Andrew. How are you today? I'm all right. You know, I actually sort of enjoyed yesterday for the kind of no stress, what's the word I'm looking for? Game of football? There was another word I was going to use which would make me sound smarter, but now I sound like an actual idiot because I can't remember that word. Yeah, I mean, without all the stakes of the league, I guess Exactly Although I don't know If I felt like that Three minutes in Well yeah I guess that's true I guess that's true It was a bit of a Chaotic start to the game But generally speaking I was able to Sort of just relax A bit of Que sarasara In terms of What happened on the pitch Obviously I wanted us To win the game And I thought we would Win the game And obviously We did do that But it was nice Just to sort of Ease into an afternoon And not be sort of Stressing and worrying and have this sort of anxiety about every single thing that encapsulates our Premier League games this season.

1:28So I enjoyed it from that perspective. I'm going to do something unusual and start with a question because you were there yesterday, you were working, and on the Discord, Snuner Gunner asked, six years ago when we played Portsmouth in the FA Cup, James endured a cramped seat in the press box, pillars obstructing his view, cold KFC in his bag, stinking out his items, and an Ibis hotel. So my question is, has anything changed since that last visit? And fucking fair play to that guy for remembering all that detail of a game that happened six years ago. I was like, we played Portsmouth in the FA Cup six years ago?

2:07Oh yeah, Mick Oeteta was manager, I believe. Eddie Nketiah scored. Still don't remember? Yeah, early 2020, I think we won 2-0. I mean, I had forgotten the detail of KFC in my bag. Is it still there? I'm delighted to inform you that no KFC in the bag on this occasion, but the smell haunts me still. That's what that aroma is. Every time I open my rucksack, I'm like, what is that? Of course, it's the Colonel's secret recipe. No, it's very cramped. It's very cramped. I don't know what these sort of old Victorian press boxes are made for a smaller breed of human than I and I was sat next to Dean Ashton if you remember Dean Ashton the former West Ham player yeah he's a big lad as well and I dare I mean he's still in good nick but I dare say he's slightly bigger than he was when he was playing so the two of us in next to each other it was a squeeze sort of like sort of like being on a Ryanair flight.

3:13You sort of battle for leg room, what little leg room there is. You're sort of having to battle with the person beside you. It's actually sort of quite sweet, touching, almost romantic, because it's so tight that you can't help, but every so often your thigh brushes against Dean Ashton's. And there's sort of a moment of like, oh, sorry, but was it deliberate? Is it part of some 90 minute flirtation that's playing out between the two of you? But what can we do? lucky for you it wasn't Chris Sutton that's all I will say that's true and like with these little press boxes it's such a it's like such a tin of sardines that once you're in you're in so you know you can't be getting out because you want to I don't know stretch your legs or go to the bathroom from about an hour before kickoff until a little while after full time you're there nuzzled against Dean Ashton in the freezing cold, like Arsene Wenger clinging to Pat Rice at West Brom all those years ago.

4:15But listen, I enjoyed it as well. I know what you mean. It's kind of a palate cleanser. It's like, it's devoid of so much of the weight of stakes and narrative that we have to endure week in, week out in the Premier League. And also, it's a different ground. It's a different team. I just feel like there's not the baggage around these fixtures that there is around some of the league games. And it's a nice opportunity to see players we don't necessarily see starting week in, week out. I really enjoy that aspect of it. Yeah, that's fair. And I guess one of the unintended consequences of this game might be after an FA Cup game, we might like just not get articles about people telling Arsenal fans to relax and enjoy it.

5:10Seems to have been like so many of those over the last couple of days. And I get it. I get the intention. And I understand if you're looking at things objectively, but I am a bit tired of people just, you need to relax, enjoy it, et cetera, et cetera. We'll do it the way we fucking want to do it, you know? Because like, as I said to somebody the other day, there is the weight, as in the heaviness of 20 plus years without winning a title. And then there is the weight of over 20 years for a title. So the weight and the weight is considerable for Arsenal fans. But that's why I enjoyed yesterday. It's why I enjoyed the team selection.

5:44It's why I enjoyed the game and even the madness of conceding a little bit early. So there were 10 changes from the team that played Liverpool. Gabriel was the only player in the starting lineup who started against Liverpool. The absence of William Saliba meant Christian Norgard was starting at centre half alongside Gabriel. Midfield trio of Eze, Wanari and Mikel Moreno. Gabriel Jesus gets a start up front. Ben White is in. Myles Lewis-Gelly is in. Kepa is in. In goal. And Mikel Arteta said, we started exactly how we didn't want to start. Look, I think the first 10 minutes or so were kind of nuts from an Arsenal perspective.

6:25But you've got to give Bormouth or Portsmouth rather some credit for the way that they played this game. Because the expectation was, right, they're just going to come. They're going to sit. They're going to sit in a deep block. And actually, they said, fuck it. We'll have a go. We'll press high. We'll try and cause Arsenal some problems. And they did that. Yeah, they did. And I think they've played a five at the back at times this season. but they started with a four here and pressed really high, worked incredibly hard. And yeah, unsettled Arsenal, I think it's fair to say, in those first few minutes.

7:02And they got their reward too. Obviously, there was a brilliant atmosphere there often is at Fratton Park and for the visit of the team where top of the Premier League and the Champions League, you know they're going to be up for it. And yeah, they got themselves in front and I thought, you know, we had a hell of a shock involving a Premier League team on Saturday with Christian Palace going out. And I thought, you know, they were separated by six tiers, right, of English football. I think it's the biggest, is it Macclesfield? Yes. The biggest, technically the biggest shock in FA Cup history. But I was sort of thinking about it.

7:36And although Portsmouth are just one division below, given, you know, where Arsenal are at and how well Arsenal have been playing and the expectations that are on them this season, And this would have been quite extraordinary in itself. There was a few nervous gulps from me about three minutes in, but the good news was there was a long, long way to go. Yeah, the first few minutes were really strange. It was almost like Christian Norgard forgot he was playing at centre-half a couple of times. Honestly, he was in midfield positions where I was going, that's not right. You know, that can't be right.

8:10That's not the instruction, and that's not where you stand if you're a central defender. And listen, you know, he's not a central defender. He's a central midfielder. So I get it. But it was really weird to see that sort of lack of shape because normally Arsenal are very well organized, very well disciplined in terms of their positioning. And I was quite baffled really by some of it in that opening five or 10 minutes. And obviously we conceded the goal. There was a shot which Kepa, I think, probably should do a little bit better with. He should push it a bit further away. It fell for, is it Colby Bishop?

8:42I believe so. Sounds like a star of dynasty or something. Yeah. It's a real football manager regen name. Yeah. But yeah, Kepa, he almost, I've not seen a great angle of it, but it almost looks like he dives beyond it. And then his, so his hands sort of push it back in when really he wants to be pushing it wide. But yeah, good, decent reactions from the striker. And there you go. Pompey have their big moment. There was a great bit on the TV. I don't know if you had TV footage for replays in the press box or anything like that, but there was a moment just before we took the corner from which we equalized.

9:25They showed a replay of the goal because apparently there was an incident in the crowd and they stopped the game, paused the game for a couple of minutes just to get on top of that particular thing. So they showed the replay of the goal. They showed the replay of the Portsmouth fans celebrating, And then they showed a replay of Mikel Arteta's reaction to the goal. And there's one of the coaches just sort of. Sam. Yeah. The guy with the ginger beard. Sam Wilson. There you go. So Sam Wilson sort of looks at Mikel Arteta, who turns his head and closes his eyes. And at that moment, I know these are very, very well-paid professionals who have a job to do, and they didn't do their job well enough in that moment.

10:08There was a part of me that kind of felt, oh, I feel a bit sorry for these guys because they're going to get it at halftime. Like they are absolutely going to get an earful. And I think, you know, in that opening 10, 15 minutes or so, I grew more afraid for the guys on the pitch because of what they were doing wrong. You know, there was a real casualness to Arsenal in possession. We kept giving the ball away. Nani Matueke in the first 10-15 minutes must have lost two or three duels, which, again, you know, we know what Mikel Arteta is like. There's some previous in an FA Cup game where a player didn't quite commit properly to the duels and found himself hauled off away from home at this stage of the competition, which went through my mind a bit with Matueke in the first 10-15 minutes because there were moments where I was like, well, what's going on here?

11:00And I'm guessing, despite the fact that we equalized from that corner, there would have been a lot of frustration from Mikel Arteta about the way that his team were playing. Yeah, definitely. I have seen that clip. Sam Wilson has the fear of God in his eyes. He looks at Mikel Arteta and Arteta is just sort of turning away, looking disappointed and potentially furious. Yeah, it was an iffy start. I think Arsenal did look... Rattled is probably too strong, but set off kilter maybe, you know, like just, and you've got to remember it is 10 changes, right? So, you know, maybe there is a period of adjustments, 10 changes.

11:43It's people like Christian Norgard playing an unfamiliar position at the back. Someone like Reno even playing an unfamiliar position as a number six. And those connections, those relationships may be not quite there. So I think it's understandable. But yeah, I was a bit worried. And Madueke, who had a kind of fascinating game, I think, really. I mean, if you were asking someone what sort of player is Noli Madueke, you know, you could just give them the tape of this match. And I think it would tell that story quite eloquently. Yeah. But yeah, he had a couple of bad moments early on where you sort of, I did see someone posit on Blue Sky, oh dear, are we going to see a Nuno Tavarez situation?

12:31I mean, he had, yeah, we might come back to him, obviously, because he was very involved in a lot of stuff in this game, for better and worse. You know, the nice thing you might say about his game, it was very busy, but there were obviously things he could have done better in certain moments. But at the same time, you know, he ended up the game with two assists, two excellent corner deliveries, which we'll come to in due course. But that goal, I think as well, that sort of quick equalizer probably was really important in terms of, you know, just reacting to that early shock, if you want to call it that.

13:10And I think what we saw in the, you know, after about 15 minutes was Arsenal coming to terms with the Portsmouth press and being able to play through it. And we didn't necessarily progress the ball as well as we could have once we'd broken through that press. but we came to terms with the press. Midfield wasn't quite clicking the way you would like. Although I do think, you know, in that first half, when things weren't great, we got a really mature kind of senior professional performance from Mikel Moreno, who I think helped sort of glue everything together. And after about 20 minutes, 25 minutes, you could see that Arsenal were well and truly on top.

13:52I know we were probably ahead at that point. About 25 minutes, yeah, we went ahead. And after that, you know, everything started to feel a bit more cohesive, players understanding where they needed to be. But in that difficult period, I thought Marino was, you could see the seniority, right? You could see the sort of mature technical security that he brought to the team, which I think we absolutely needed. I thought he was very classy on the day. I really did think it was an excellent performance. Again, in a relatively unfamiliar position. I mean, he's a dream for a manager. He's not a defensive midfielder.

14:29Yeah. Finally, Marino is DM, I know. But when we need him to be a number nine, so he's a number eight. But when we need him to be a number nine, he can do it. When we need him to be a number six, he can do it. And I think the reason for that is he's a very tactically astute footballer. You know, what do number nine and number six share? I think they really share a need to kind of understand positioning relative to your teammates. And I thought he did that very well on the day. There were moments where Portsmouth went long, where he dropped in almost like a third centre-half at times. I thought he was really secure in possession.

15:09Obviously, there was a beautiful first-time through ball to Gero Martinelli, but there were one or two kind of trademark turns in midfield as well for Mourinho. And then the other thing, I just thought, like, this is a guy who seems to sort of recognise this cup tie for what it is. Like, he knows we're away against a team who are going to harry us and be physical and work hard. And we have to meet that with our own levels of physicality. You know, it was the kind of cup performance you expect from, and forgive the stereotyping, but sort of an English player who knows the competition inside out.

15:47I felt he really had that there. And yeah, I mean, I suppose that was, you know, partly why I was given the captain's armband on the day as well. So I thought in the first half, yeah, he was the outstanding player on the pitch. Yeah, I mean, that pass you mentioned, he plays a little sort of one-two with Eza before sending that ball through for Martinelli. It really is an excellent pass and maybe Martinelli should score there. Martinelli absolutely should have scored from a Ben White pass, by the way, at the back post where he just sort of stabbed it onto the post. But in the meantime, obviously, he had got on the score sheet.

16:22We got a corner. I think this came from a nice pass from Ethan Warneri, who I also thought had an interesting performance in this game. It took him a little while to get going, but I liked the way that he played. way that he played i like that there were passes he chose to play which weren't the simple passes there was one from let's say the right hand side of midfield over to the left hand side which found eza and he had to sort of thread it with pace through a collection of midfield players and that was not the easiest option to take and i really enjoyed that aspect of his game that he uh he looked for the more difficult pass rather than play it safe considering he hasn't and playing a great deal of late.

17:08You know, you can understand or you could understand maybe a player going, right, I'll just do the simple thing and make sure I don't give the ball away. I don't want to get in the manager's eye line for giving the ball away. So I really like that about Wernary. But I think he played a pass to Mattaweke, which ended up as a corner. Mattaweke took the corner and Gabriel Martinelli flicks home ahead at the near post. And he's not the Gabriel that you would expect to score from a corner for Arsenal. No, he's not. But he is decent in the air. And Michel Antetar mentioned that afterwards and spoke about his movement and his timing inside the penalty area.

17:43I mean, I always remember when Martinelli arrived here as a teenager under Unai Emery and his first few appearances with the first team were as a centre forward, I think in pre-season and then maybe in the League Cup. And he scored a couple of decent headers, I think, in that little stretch. And it was partly, I think, what gave people the confidence or the idea that he might develop into a central striker. But, yeah, I thought this was a great delivery, great corner. Someone said to me before the game that Portsmouth don't have the best record defending set pieces. I don't think they've got the best defensive record full stop, given their place in the championship.

18:22But I suppose if you're struggling to live with championship teams at dead balls, Arsenal are sort of your worst nightmare. Yeah, yeah, for sure. And that obviously played out over the course of this game. As I said, there were other chances. The Martinelli one that he put wide from the Marino pass. Martinelli hitting the post where, you know, he really should have scored that one. And then there was a penalty. Nani Maduweke fouled in the box. Former young gunner, Zach Swanson was the guy, by the way, who fouled him. Yeah, he was with us for 14 years. There you go. So, yeah, Arsenal heritage. I mean, Maduweke is a fascinating one.

19:05I thought coming into the game, I really thought this is going to be a big game for him just because I think the level of dribbling ability and ball carrying and speed and athleticism that he has, for a championship defence and a struggling championship defence at that, I just thought was going to be really, really tough. And it did kind of play out like that, really. I mean, I think he was very impactful. Wins the penalty here. I've got to say, I don't know if the TV pitch has caught it, but he immediately picked that ball up. There was absolutely no debate, no negotiation. It was going to be him.

19:47I guess that's something that they would have worked out, though, before they go on to the pitch, right? What's the penalty-taking pecking order? I would think so. I did notice that Eze was sort of, as it was awarded, he kind of lingered by the spot a little bit. Maybe optimistically, I don't know. But when he saw that Noni had that ball and was not going to let go of it for love nor money, he backed off. I mean, you know, it was interesting because obviously Madureki had a bit of history at Chelsea with penalties.

20:22He had a row, didn't he, with, I think it was with Nicholas Jackson. over a penalty that he wanted to take, which I believe Cole Palmer ended up taking. Perhaps we saw why. I mean, listen, I applaud the confidence. I applaud the decisiveness. You know, if a player feels like they want to step up and take a penalty, great. Yeah, especially when they've earned it. Like, you know, there is a sort of, I know Thierry Henry was kind of of the mind. And he used to not take a lot of the ones he earned, superstition or whatever it might be. Yeah. But I guess as well, we spoke about stakes in this game feeling a bit different.

21:06I do wonder if it was kind of three Premier League points on the line, if it might have been different. But maybe, was Arteta asked about it after the game? He wasn't in his press conference. I don't think so. No, not on TV either. There was no question about that. So it would be interesting to know if... If he was designated. Yeah, if he was the designated number one penalty taker on the pitch. Because, like you say, he has taken them for Crystal Palace. Gabriel Jesus, who I know is not the most convincing penalty taker, but has certainly scored a penalty or two for Arsenal down the years. And is the number nine, might fancy his chances of taking it.

21:40But anyway, Maduaka... Marino, I think, would probably take that. Yeah, Marino takes a good penalty too. And as captain, maybe he could... Martinelli. Yeah. Anyway. There's a few. There were. There were. Anyway, he puffed out his cheeks, did a little stuttery run up and then put the ball wide, which I sort of felt in many ways kind of summed up his half of football in that, you know, winning the penalty was, you know, down to his own endeavor and driving into the box. And, you know, you could argue all day whether the foul was a significant one or not. But anyway, the referees pointed to the spot.

22:21He won the penalty. He was on the ball and he was trying to make something happen. So that's good. But then that was bad. The penalty take itself was bad. And I felt like there were moments in this game where he got to sort of the edge of the box or got into a dangerous position. And then it just sort of fell apart a little bit. So it was a weird half to try and analyze for him because, or even a weird game to try and analyze for him because he got two assists. He delivered good balls for Gabrielle Martinelli to head home. And I don't think we need to take anything away from Gabrielle Martinelli either because he, you know, he had to finish those chances and they weren't easy, particularly the second one.

23:04But Matueke gets the credit for those good deliveries. But then, you know, the penalty was bad and some of his early work in the game was bad. And at the same time, he was sort of always there. I think it was he who got fouled in midfield, wasn't it, when we scored the third goal. Miles Lewis-Kelly took a quick free kick, but it was Matueke driving through midfield who got fouled. so there was there's sort of like this weird uh effectiveness with a kind of side helping of you know what i mean i don't know how best to describe it no i i know what you mean you know he he does so well often to get into dangerous positions and then there's a kind of element about element of roulette about what you get at the end of that and i almost am surprised that his corner taking delivery is as good as it is because his execution of like his ball striking and in those sort of decisive moments, isn't always what you would want, but he actually takes a really good corner and he has done, you know, whenever I think he's been in the team, he's, he's created opportunities that even against Liverpool on Thursday, it was a decent one to the back post, which Gabrielle met and then two to the near post here for Gabrielle Martinelli.

24:21I guess I'll declare I really enjoy watching Madueke. I know that he can be frustrating, but I really admire the relentlessness with which he plays. And I feel like there is a real determination and willingness to sort of take responsibility. I guess we see that with the way that he grabs up the ball for the penalty. But I just like the way he'll go at that fullback again and again and again. And granted, I accept, once he gets beyond them, it's not always the outcome that you want. But I do feel that, sort of, by and large, he does it so frequently that there's usually one or two very good moments in a game.

25:14And that can be enough sometimes. I think that's true when you consider maybe how Arsenal have been, maybe we've lacked, we talked about individualism loads of times on this podcast, right? We talked about someone like Alexis Sanchez, and I'm not saying Madueke is like Alexis Sanchez, certainly not of the same quality. But there is that either license or willingness on his part to do things or to take chances to dribble in areas where maybe other players might pass, you know. He is a bit of a maverick. Yeah, he's a bit of a, you know, he's kind of a joker in the pack. And I'm not saying that it works all the time, but I do think he brings that individualism and that ability to kind of break lines and dribble the ball.

26:09You know, I don't think this is a squad blessed with tons of brilliant dribblers, particularly in those sort of congested final third areas. And I think he does that. I mean, I can totally get the allure of Madueke as a coach as well, Because you must look at those raw ingredients and think, if I could just, you know what I mean? Like the temptations, if we could just put that final piece on it, you would have an absolutely top level player. I suppose I would say at this point in time, you know, how likely is that? Or is this just sort of fundamentally part of who he is? And even if it is, I still think he has a valuable role to play.

26:53in the squad. So, yeah, I think he's always going to be a player that divides opinion a bit because of that slightly erratic end product. But I like his spirit, I would say. Fair enough. I enjoyed the breakdown of his rating. He got a 6.9 rating on SofaScore. You know how much I love made-up player ratings and arbitrary numbers. But they do a rating breakdown. I've just sent it to you on WhatsApp there where he gets increased marks for passing and dribbling, but shooting and defending have cost him some points in that one, which I think goes some way to explain his overall performance in this game.

27:362-1 at halftime to Arsenal. And I think it was on TNT Sports afterwards where Martin Keown suggested to Mikel Arteta that he might have had a few words to say to the players at the break and Arteta sort of knowingly said yes. I mean, yes, but equally, the game should have been over by that point. Absolutely. It should have been like 4-1 at that stage at halftime, you know? And that's probably part of what Mikel Arteta had to say about that. I think, you know, this is a game that Arsenal could have had out of sight at halftime, you know, based on the chances we created in that first half and also the fact that we missed a penalty.

28:14So there's that like, oh, you know, are we going to pay the price for that? But I think as well, the second half performance from Arsenal was far better than it was in the first half. You know, having warmed up and come to terms with the way that Portsmouth were playing, I think it was, yeah, it was not all Arsenal because I can remember just before we did score that third goal, Ben White had to make a very good block in our box. I think it was maybe after a Portsmouth corner and Ben White got across and defended very well. but it was Maduweke fouled in midfield. Myles Lewis-Gelly took a quick free kick, found Gabriel Jesus.

28:50This is an excellent pass from Jesus to the back post. And Gabriel Martinelli this time made no mistake. Yeah, I thought it was interesting. Martinelli, he sort of went with his wrong foot this time because he missed the chance in the first half off his left. And I think he was like, I'm going to use my right on this one. Just sort of reached out, prodded it home. Good quick thinking from Myles. it was interesting Marino and Gabriel were straight over to Miles afterwards lots of sort of pats on the back pats on the head because he hadn't had the easiest first half either I would say Miles I think that's true yeah and Gabriel Jesus a great delivery I mean I suppose we shouldn't forget this is a guy who played actually right wing for Man City for about half his time there so I think you saw a bit of that there it was just beautifully played across the box and Martinelli Well, this time he couldn't miss.

29:44No, he couldn't and he didn't. There was a lovely Ben White moment, which made me laugh a lot when he got nutmegged and just pushed the guy over, which was hilarious. I really don't understand how he didn't get a yellow card for that, but I think the ref was just like, that's too funny. I can't give him a yellow card for that. It's just too funny. Mikel Arteta made changes then, and he brought on Martin Odegaard, Jürgen Timber, and Kai Havertz returning to action for the first time since the opening day of the season on for Jesus Warneri and Ben White. And that's a big moment, I think, in this season.

30:27It's a big moment for what lies ahead, rather, I should say, between now and May, having Havertz back and having Havertz look pretty sharp, it's fair to say, in the 20-odd minutes that he played. He was obviously involved in the move which led to the fourth goal, held it up nicely in midfield, played a ball behind from Matueke. Matueke in the box probably took a bit too long to get a shot off. This is another one of those moments where it's like, oh, a great run, drive into the box, be a bit more decisive. But he sort of Matueke'd around a little bit. We got a corner and then Matueke delivers again for Gabriel Martinelli to head home.

31:08And actually, I think this is a really, really well taken header. Credit to the delivery. Portsmouth did not learn their lesson at all when it came to defending their near post. But the way Martinelli heads this home is really, really excellent. You know, I think if sort of a more, how would you say, like as somebody who's considered more of a target man, a striker, a stereotypical. Yeah, it reminded me a little bit of a goal. I know it didn't go quite the same way, but I remember Olivier Giroud scoring a goal, maybe in a cup tie as well, where he sort of flicked it on from the front post all the way to the back post.

31:46But it's that kind of movement and that kind of header, you know, using the neck muscles to guide the ball home. And it's a great moment from Martinelli, his first ever senior hat-trick, his first Arsenal hat-trick. and yeah, a great response from Gabrielle Martinelli, who, by the way, I don't know if you know this or not, was involved in an incident with Connor Bradley on Thursday. Were you aware of that? Passed me by, actually. Totally passed me by. I swear to God, every 10 seconds on TNT, every time Martinelli got mentioned on TNT Sports, it was like, oh, well, you know, he's reacted to the Connor Bradley incident there and, you know, and he has apologised, of course, but Martinelli, who was involved in that incident with, it was just like, shut up.

32:30I know. And also, I'm not entirely sure it works, really, because his football ability was never what was under the microscope or in question, you know. It was about his character or his conduct, I should say. Yes. And, yeah, but I suppose, I mean, It does show you what a crazy and weird life it must be to be a Premier League footballer that you can have this huge array of experiences within a matter of a few days. And I was pleased for him to get the headlines for the right reason. I think that will have meant a great deal to him. And it's a really good header. I'm watching it now. He sort of does a little 180-degree spin as he's heading it.

33:17He sort of ends up facing completely the opposite direction. So, yeah, he did well in that situation. And I was a bit surprised it was his first hat-trick, actually. I think I'd invented one in my mind when he scored early doors. But, yeah, full-time, he was straight over to that match ball. So he'll definitely remember it. It's a shame it's just such a horrible ball. Yeah, I thought that, actually. I'd be a bit gutted about that. With that horrible, pinky, peachy FA Cup ball, I can't stand it, I swear. It's not a nice ball. But yeah, Kai, I thought you were right to point out, looked sharp. He did a lot of Kai Havertz things, really.

33:59I mean, I think the first thing he did was like receive a ball in midfield in a tight area and it stuck to him. The novelty, Andrew. Well, certainly people have, I don't know, I've seen people talking about Mikel Arteta's comments about Kai Havertz when he came on. And what he said was, in the last few minutes, I was watching him move and his awareness, the way he needs to move, when he needs to move in relation to where he moves. It's just a joy to watch. And people have sort of interpreted that as relating to other players or another player that we have whose movement has been under the spotlight.

34:38light. What I don't want to do today is just have another Jokkeres conversation. So I'm going to leave it there. But I did notice that certainly when Havertz came on, there was no rustiness in the touch, which I think can be an issue when you come back after such a long time out. And let's not forget, you know, it's August since he played and he did play over the course of the summer. He returned at the end of last season to make some appearances, but it's nearly going on a year since he started a game so you might expect a little bit of rustiness there but I didn't see it and I did see certainly Martin Odegaard in particular looking for a way to get Kai Havertz a goal in the last few minutes of this game where listen we know he's got that ability we know he's got the craft and certainly you could see that that Havertz was trying to catch Odegaard's eye as much as Odegaard was trying to find him as well.

35:35Yes, definitely. And I do think, again, not to make it about Victor, but there is a chemistry between Odegaard and Havertz on and off the pitch. There is a chemistry between Saka and Havertz. So I'm interested to see if, fingers crossed, Kai can stay fit and stay around the first team. I think sort of plugging back into those relationships could be really profitable for Arsenal. I must admit, in the first 15 minutes of the game, I was watching it out there and thought, I'm not sure this is a great game to bring Kai back into. Like it was quite physical, quite intense, quite closely fought at that stage.

36:14But I think the degree of comfort that we showed in the second half that, you know, our performance came up a level, we were firmly in control that made it much more amenable, you know, for him to come on and yeah, great to see him. I mean, that was another big boost on the day. And pleased for Marley Salmon as well to get another run out right back. I thought he looked pretty tidy too. He did, yeah. The youngest ever player to represent Arsenal in the FA Cup. I enjoyed Minkiel Arteta talking about Marley Salmon's debut on TNT Sports afterwards. He obviously forgot he played him earlier in the season.

36:50In the Champions League. In the Champions League, no less, yeah. Because, yeah, there was a question about, you know, who we were going to use at the back, who we might use defensively. I think what you can see, you know, he was good and tidy and used the ball well. But I think you can see there is a physical gap, right, at this point, which is completely understandable given he's 16 years of age. It's not that he doesn't have the height, but what he doesn't have is the sort of the physique quite yet. And that will come, obviously, in time. But the idea that maybe that he might start a game like this, and I think you can sort of understand why that didn't happen.

37:26But given the fact we were 4-1 up, we were able to take Gabriel off, put Shuri and Timber into the centre of defence and play Salmon at right back for the last 20 minutes. Really nice afternoon for him. Yeah, it was great. It was great. I mean, you know, there were a lot of nice little subplots and stories on the day. And like I say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. And I do think you hit on something by saying that it's almost a relief to be playing in a different competition without that relentless pressure that we face in a title race in the Premier League. And this is a competition, you know, I know opinions on the domestic cups vary, but when you look at the squad we have, when you look at the 11 we were able to field, despite the fact we made 10 changes, we ought to be going far in this competition.

38:20and yeah you know I'm intrigued to see what the draw holds for us probably Man City away yeah probably I mean we could do we could do with a kind draw again to be honest we haven't had a home draw would be great yeah a home draw against a sort of lower league team would be would be really nice again just to sort of have a not an easy game but you know an opportunity for some of these players to play and help us make progress be a lovely reward for Macclesfield wouldn't it a tie at the Emirates. Yes. Yes. I'll take my chances against Macclesfield. Okay. If the, if the draw gods can handle. Yeah.

38:56So that draw takes place a little bit later on this evening, I think around half six or so this evening. And, and look, I think it's a beneficial outing for, for a lot of those players, you know, some of them really haven't played a lot of late, But when you look at what we've still got to come this month and the amount of games we've got left to play and some of the trips we have to take as well before we play at home again, you know, it's useful, you know, for guys like Madueke, for Eze, for Lewis Skelly, who did struggle, I think, in that first half, but kind of grew into the game a little bit.

39:37You know, Martinelli maybe playing himself into the team for Wednesday night. Who knows? You know, on the back of a hat-trick, the manager might feel he should keep him in the team. So, you know, I don't think anyone failed to do themselves justice or take some kind of benefit from this game. Absolutely. I think, you know, in the next few weeks, we're playing in all four competitions, right? And we're going to need those players who I consider sort of the second layer of the squad, the kind of 12th men. You know, I would say Martinelli, Marino, Marueke. Players like that are going to get game time, minutes.

40:20I suppose Eze as well, actually, you'd have to say as part of that group. And I thought a lot of them performed in promising fashion here. So, Gabriel Martinelli seems to be spearheading our attempts to win everything but the Premier League, basically. Yeah, he likes a cup goal, doesn't he? He does. Yeah, well, why not? And look, it wasn't a great weekend for some of the other teams in the Premier League, in the FA Cup. Manchester United went out yesterday. Did you see Alex Ferguson's face? Did you see it? No, I saw Danny Welbeck's face, and he looks plenty happy about the goal he scored. Hang on, I'm going to send you a screenshot that I just had to take.

41:03I sent it to my brother last night just because we had to have a laugh. I really enjoy this sort of Indian summer of Danny Welbeck, I must say. He's just a player I always really, really liked and really rated. And one of the things I like most about him is his insistence on scoring against Manchester United and also his insistence on celebrating those goals fully. Yes. I mean, I will sort of caveat that with, like, you know, he could do it against us and it would be really annoying, but he does seem to like a goal against Manchester United and in the FA Cup as well, if you remember. We did. Yeah, of course.

41:39Yeah, so I think I've sent that to you. So you've sent me Alex Ferguson's face. Hang on, let's have a look. The reports. Oh, dear. Oh, dear. He doesn't look happy at what you see in there. He certainly doesn't, does he? Darren Fletcher you've let the great man down I know right Michael Carrick currently the favourite I believe to step into that to that role so yeah I mean they are they're fun to watch and yeah I mean apart from that Liverpool play tonight don't they Man City scored 10 twice yeah Yeah. Just grow up. At least it wasn't 10-0. I would have been gutted for Elliott if they'd actually got the 10-0.

42:30Scoring 10-0. Exeter got themselves one in the Stuttgart time. Yeah. But yeah, like I say, thoroughly enjoyable. And now on to... Now on to Wednesday. Another cup game. Yes. We have some questions. We may have questions about that. We certainly do. We certainly do. All right. Let's take a little break here then. And we'll come back with your questions and more in part two right after this.

43:04Welcome back to the Arsecast Extra. This is part two of the show where we answer the questions that you send to us on bluesky at gunnerblog.bsky.social and at arseblog.com. Oh, sorry. Wow. That was me fiddling with something I shouldn't have. Listen. Yeah, I'm playing with things. Anyway, questions, questions. Blue Sky, Blue Sky, Discord, blah, blah, blah. I think that's it. Do you want to go first? Will I go first? You go first. Okay. Given that we were just referencing Wednesday, Shatner's bassoon on the Discord, asks, is it totally ridiculous to see Wednesday as our biggest game of the season?

43:52We and Arteta really need a trophy. And this is our first shot at it. Add in the abysmal semifinal record, the opponent and the likely opponent in the final, and it all starts to feel a bit bigger than a normal Rumbelos Cup game. Is this just me?

44:12I think it might not be just you. I mean, I think Mikel Arteta would agree. And the reason I say that is he would just always say the next game is the biggest one. I don't think it's quite as big as some of the league games. even Michel Arteta I think said it the other day he said something about we want to win a trophy and we want to win the big ones or something like that I do think there remains a sort of distinction between the Premier League, the Champions League and the other competition I think there's kind of more equity placed in those big two but it is a big game I think it's probably a bigger game for Chelsea because they've got a brand new manager.

45:06This is one of their routes to silverware this season. They don't, like us, I think, have a realistic chance of sort of landing the big ones. So I think it's a big game. Biggest? Probably not. No, I wouldn't say it's the biggest game of the season, but do you think the fact that it is a bigger game for Chelsea or might be perceived as a bigger game for Chelsea will to some extent inform the way Mikel Arteta approaches this game above and beyond the fact that it is a semi-final, away from home, London derby, a cup competition. And I know people's mileage varies on this cup in particular a bit more than the FA Cup, you know.

45:53But I also do think that this is a group of players who have come very close to winning something and haven't won anything yet. And that there could easily be a benefit in just sort of getting that monkey off their shoulders, if you like, and getting over the line and lifting a trophy and feeling like, okay, we, I know you can caveat it all you want. It's only the EFL Cup, et cetera, et cetera. But like, as I often say, if we get to the final of this competition, Arteta will pick his strongest team and everybody will be watching that game desperate for Arsenal to win it and to lift a trophy, regardless of where you prioritize this particular competition.

46:39Once you get to this stage of a tournament, you're sort of in it to win it, you know? I agree. I think he will be I think he will be inclined to go pretty much as strong as he can in this game I think he will too and actually I think that the greatest indicator of that is the amount of changes he made at Portsmouth right and I think look at it there's an opportunity to bring a lot of those players back in the final is in mid-March March 15th it's you know we're already playing the two semifinals. So it's not like winning them adds massively to our picture congestion. It's one more game to win the whole thing.

47:27I think there could be a big benefit to getting that monkey off our shoulders. As you say, it started on our back and it is now climbed up to our shoulders. Yes. And it's hitting us over the head repeatedly. I think going into the second half of March, April and May, having ended the wait for a trophy could be a really beneficial thing. So I think Arteta will go strong, stronger than some would like, stronger than some will anticipate. I think it will be pretty much as strong as he can pick. What about this follow-up question from Subordinate Clause, who says, has Martinelli earned a start for the League Cup semi-final or should Trossard come back in?

48:19What would being dropped do for Martinelli's confidence, also considering he's our top scorer this season as well? You'll remember Mikel Arteta handed a start to Mikel Moreno earlier this season after a hat-trick for Spain because he said, you know, he was in such a good moment. You know, he had this confidence and was full of belief, et cetera, et cetera, which, you know, you understand he scored a hat-trick. Same apply here? It's a tough one, you know, because obviously Trossel's had a great season and been in really good form. I think I think Martinelli as well his two goals two of his three goals came off dead balls set pieces so it's not as if it's necessarily like a an outstanding case he made an open play I mean I think he was good don't get me wrong and I think his movement and his speed is is always going to be difficult for a defence like Portsmouth to live with I really don't know I think it's a bit of a toss up if he's left out I would say that dropped is not really the word you know I think it's what this performance has done has shown the value Martinelli brings and and Michel Antet is in a very privileged position to be able to choose between him and Leandro Trossard and I guess it will be a kind of a horses for courses choice and also one based on combinations I do think Martinelli plays better when Gabro Jesus Jesus is our number nine.

49:51They just have a really good rapport. And there's something about the positions Jesus takes up, or rather the ones he vacates, that I think really benefits Martinelli. Who do you think he's going to start up front in this game? I think he'll play Jocaves. I think he'll play Jocaves. What do you think? Don't know. Yeah, he's got choices now. He does have choices. I mean, we talked, didn't we, last week, about like what he might do up front for this game. And we'd sort of advocated for Gabriel Jesus to start because, you know, he needs the minutes and Jocarez hasn't exactly been pulling up trees.

50:30I thought Jesus was okay yesterday. It was a great pass for the Martinelli goal. I don't know. I mean, I've seen very mixed stuff on his performance. I personally quite enjoyed it. I thought there were a few really, really nice touches in there. And it was odd, actually, watching an Arsenal centre-forward at times be in the centre circle, knocking the ball about with the midfield and dropping right in. It's such a contrast to the way Jokeres plays. Some might say that's maybe a bit too deep. and that you do want your central defender to be, or centre forward rather, to be higher up the pitch in moments where you can get the ball into the box and he can contribute there.

51:16Like, I get it. They're two extremes, I think. Almost, yeah. Jesus and Jokereza. Is Havertz the one in the middle then? Is Havertz the one who sort of operates in that sort of middle ground of being able to crash the box? But also, when he does drop, he doesn't quite drop that deep into midfield. I think so I hope so but is Havertz ready to start at Stamford Bridge I'm going to say I don't think he will be I don't think so either I think the fact that we have Jokka Rez and the fact that we have Jesus allows Mikel Arteta to ease Kai Havertz back into action without overburdening him I think that's the last thing you want to do for a player who's been in and out for almost a year I think you have to respect the time it will take to get back to proper match fitness.

52:08And I think you're looking at giving him 20 minutes here, 30 minutes there, etc., etc. As he builds up, you know, that kind of match sharpness and match fitness. So it would be too soon, I think, for me to expect Havertz to start on Wednesday. Just on Jokeres, was any part of you surprised that he didn't get sort of 10, 15 minutes against tired Portsmouth defence? where there was space, there were opportunities, potential chances in that last period of the game. Did you think that Arteta might have been tempted to give him some minutes? No. I did think, and I think I said this on the preview podcast or in the preview on the blog, that if Jesus starts this game, the most useful thing for Arsenal would be to give those 20 minutes late in the game to Havertz rather than Joachares.

52:58Because Joachares has played a lot. and Havertz needs to be reintegrated and we need to get him back. And I think the longer term benefit of those 20 minutes, if Jacarese had come on and scored a couple of goals, people would say, well, you know, it's just a couple of goals against Portsmouth, bottom of the championship. They finished the game with 10 men, you know, still doesn't mean anything for Jacarese. Even if I think, you know, you could say he'll probably benefit from that in terms of confidence, but I don't think in the bigger picture it would be that significant. Whereas I think getting Havertz back you know that might also have an impact on Jacarez you know if it lights a fire under Victor Jacarez when he does play again and sort of redoubles his efforts to score some goals then all well and good but I did think from a strategic point of view if I was Mikel Arteta and I was thinking about how I could get the most out of my players and the most out of my squad the Jesus 70 minutes Havertz 20 minutes thing would have been first in my mind and you know if Jacarez doesn't come on well that's you know that's just the way it goes i think to come all the way back to martinelli as we're talking i think i've sort of landed on the idea that i i think it does kind of depend on the nine i think it does kind of depend on striker my gut tells me that martinelli and jokeres is not an ideal combination because they kind of want to run into the same spaces in some respects whereas you know whereas trossard if you're playing him off jokeres i think he is happier sort of being on the ball a bit deeper maybe being more of the creator i think martinelli's at his best when he's always playing that left wing a bamiang style with a center forward dropping in like a like a lacazette used to for over um and him just running in behind so i i think if jesus starts martinelli makes a ton of sense If it's Jokerez, I'd go with Trossard.

54:50All right. What about this from Jensen on Blue Sky? Morning, fellas. What are your thoughts on Marino being captain over Gabriel? I found it slightly weird given his tenure, leadership, and importance to the team. And then he adds a non-issue or something more underlying, given we may be looking at Gehi for the summer. Oh, I don't really see the connection to Mark Gehi at all. I don't really think it's a big deal. I think Gabriel is part of the leadership group, isn't he? Mikel Moreno, I think, you know, you can see why Mikel Arteta loves Mikel Moreno. And it's not just, you know, the connection of the club or the first name or the nationality.

55:35I think if you were to sort of lay out the qualities of both of those men as players, really selfless, really professional, really dedicated, solid pros, are they the best players ever? No. No, but do they ensure that in every game they're properly prepared, they're committed? All of the qualities that you want from a squad player are evident in Mikel Moreno, and they were there in Mikel Arteta as well during his time at Arsenal. You can see Arteta's entire career has been built on absolute dedication, professionalism, and hard work. And take nothing away from him as a player. He was a very skillful player.

56:22You know, when he played for Everton, he was somebody that I really wanted Arsenal to sign, actually. I remember writing about it and saying, we should really sign this guy because, you know, when he was playing further forward for Everton, there was a lot about his game that I liked. But I think a lot of those qualities are there in Mikel Moreno as well. Leadership, lead by example, you know, I don't see it as a slight on Gabriel at all. Do you? I just think it's Arteta's preference. And ultimately, I think we get a bit too hung up sometimes on the armband issue and who's wearing it and what it means for who's not wearing it.

56:59Marino was probably, aside from Martinelli scoring the goals, as we touched on in the first half, I think he was our best player on the day. And he was kind of the leader that we needed in that first half. And if that's a consequence of him having the armband or not, I don't think it really matters. I couldn't argue with the way that he led the team yesterday. No. And I have to admit, I was a little surprised to see Marino with the armband over Gabriel just because of their status in the squad. But perhaps I shouldn't be because Marino is thought of so highly by the coaching staff, even if he doesn't play every game.

57:35You know, I spoke about the versatility he's displayed this season, the tactical intelligence. I think his character and his personality generally is something, you know, that a lot of people in the club really, really admire. I think it's a testament to him really and actually like in this season where as focused as we are on the league it is about more than the league by this point we're in one semi-final, we're into the fourth round of the FA Cup going really well in the Champions League I do feel that second layer of players are going to be really important, you know when we reflect on the Invincibles for example we talk about the XI and everyone can name that XI But we also talk about Sylvain Wiltord, Kahanu, Edu.

58:21Pascal Segan. Pascal Segan, exactly. You know, other players who made massive contributions in that season, despite not necessarily being obvious starters. Ray Parler would be another one. Martin Keown. Yeah, and I think Mourinho has the quality and the character to sort of be considered in that fashion, should we prove to be successful this season, even though he's not necessarily first pick, an automatic pick, I envision Jim having a really big role to play. I agree. I agree on your point about, you know, those fringe players, those players who are considered not first 11 players. You know, they're really valuable.

59:04They're really important in a title-winning season, you know. Pascal Sieghan, 18 appearances in the league winning season the last time we won the league, you know. Gail Clichy with 12, Wiltord with 12, you know. So those players are quite valuable. And before we move on to the next question, which is kind of a follow-up question on the one we have, there's a bit of breaking news. Per Mertesacker, the club's academy manager is confirming he'll leave Arsenal at the end of the season after eight years in the job. Bit of a surprise, I suppose. There have been not too many public rumblings about that.

59:47Mertesacker says, I remain focused on finishing the season strongly, continuing to nurture and develop our young talent and support a seamless transition until my very last day with the club. So he's been in charge of what he called, I think, the strong young gunners. Was that the catchphrase or the turn of phrase that was used? Yeah, yeah. and obviously his connection with Arsenal has been quite significant at this stage It has it's been a long time here and I guess his legacy will be in the players who were produced by the academy during that time I think the likes of Ethan Ranieri and Marzlo Skelly, Max Dowman will always be associated with Per Mönsaka's tenure but you know change is also an opportunity And I think there is a feeling that the Arsenal Academy could be doing a bit more in terms of producing players, perhaps not necessarily for Arsenal, but producing players who are profitable to Arsenal.

1:00:47I mean, let's just sort of unpack that a little bit. To what extent is that the responsibility of someone like Murtisacker? Obviously, he heads up the academy, so he is the main man there, right? But is this like, is it to do with the structure? Is it to do with the coaching? Is it to do with the coaches? Is it to do with, let's say, the best players, for example, from the academy in recent years, the likes of Myles Lewis-Gellie, Ethan Wrenary, Max Damman now, have maybe not had as much football at that level than people might have imagined. And therefore, that has an impact on how that level is perceived.

1:01:31let's say last season Arsenal don't have the injury issues that require us to use when Arian Lewis Skelly and they play a bit more at underage level and there's a bit more success at underage level how do you sort of unpack that whole thing? I think it's really nuanced and there's a lot of different factors that go into it I think a lot of it's about recruitment to be honest with you academy recruitment and they're working within difficult limitations now post Brexit as well in terms of being able to bring in European talent. Can't even bring in an Irish lad until he's 18. Until he's 18. Happy 17th birthday to Victor Shambuna, who was 17 last week.

1:02:17He's one year to go until he's an Arsenal player. But I think, I don't know. I actually think it's a sort of interesting philosophical discussion almost about what an academy is for. because in one respect, I think, during Per's time, the academy has been incredibly successful in that it has produced three first-team-level talents, which is a great return and could save Arsenal, without exaggeration, over£100 million, maybe even more in terms of the market value of those players. At the same time, the other primary purpose of an academy really, in an age of financial regulation, has to be to make money for a club.

1:03:12And I think Arsenal have done less well in that regard. is that um is that a how would i put this a matter of perception in terms of like if you know you're going to get a young player from arsenal you know you're going to get a good young player right across the board and obviously the the dozens and hundreds of young players who play academy football for arsenal and every other academy most of them never make it to the Premier League. And they may have a career in the game and they may end up down the leagues a little bit because of the way the level goes as you get older and you mature. You've got to be really special to play in the Premier League.

1:04:01But is it about, let's say, if a club decides we want to take a young player from Arsenal, Arsenal or that club knows that this is going to be a high level player, at least in terms of the coaching and education they've got and the benefit to Arsenal might not necessarily be in the the initial move or transfer but potential sell-on fees or clauses and things like that yeah perhaps so perhaps so I think a lot of it is reputational and I think it's about there being precedent like I think when the club goes to Man City now and they're buying an academy player from Man City who's barely had a kick at first team level I think it's kind of ingrained and established that you're going to have to pay proper money for those players like you know there are clubs paying out 15 million quid or whatever for guys that you and I frankly have never heard of and I don't think and it's the same with Chelsea to an extent and I don't think Arsenal have quite established that um now granted that's because a lot of that you know there's three major academy talents we've listed that they don't want to sell and wouldn't be interested in selling um uh so maybe that offsets it a bit or that skews it a bit but i think that is kind of the dichotomy that is the sort of dilemma of of an academy in in this day and age and i think it's a relatively new phenomenon because I think the financial rules sort of force you to look at it as something that's there to generate money um that's a necessity when you're having to work within you know spending parameters constrained by revenue um so yeah I listen I think Per is a terrific guy and I think he's installed some great principles in the academy and produced some great players I would expect Arsenal's sort of next phase for the academy to be um maybe more you know certainly to have a focus on how can we make this something that financially benefits the club that would be my guess all right well we'll see what happens and I guess we say thank you to Per Mertesacker, who, you know, basically went straight from playing to this role as head of the Arsenal Academy and has been working there for eight years.

1:06:30So probably might need a little bit of a break or some time off himself. Definitely. And I think he would like to be, you know, he's spoken before about having designs or potentially being a technical director or a sporting director somewhere. It wouldn't surprise me if... Back to Germany. Once he's had that respite. Yeah, he pops up in that sort of realm somewhere. Yeah, and I think you're right. as well to highlight the, what I always liked about the way Per Mertesacker ran the academy was the fact that he had this focus on the human element, you know, educating players, not just as footballers, but as young men to help them either make a career in football at whatever level or cope with not making a career in football.

1:07:18When your hopes and dreams and expectations are so high as a young man, there was always that focus on, listen, you're going to come out of this Arsenal Academy, hopefully a better footballer, but definitely a better person or a more rounded person. And I think that's not always the case or certainly hasn't always been the case at academy level where young players maybe haven't been treated with that kind of respect. And I do think that's a very important part of Murtisacker's remit. so yeah and listen he is he's a great if you ever have any concept of Per he's a great person and I think he brought a wonderful like human dimension to the academy in his first role after playing as well where he was doing a lot of learning on the job and I think yeah he's it's funny isn't it because he and Mikel were kind of a real pair as players They were sort of the twin leaders of the squad and they've kind of both been at Arsenal through this period too.

1:08:27So, yeah, I'm really interested to see what direction Arsenal go from here and also interested to see what's next for Perth. All right. I did want to follow up on a question. You mentioned Mark Gahey and sickburps.beastguy.social asks, what did you make of David Ornstein's reporting this week that we have an interest in Mark Gahey as a summer option? I found the timing of this a bit strange and the fact that the info got out at all. Could we be trying to muddy the waters in the hope that he won't go to City this month? And there was also a question on the Discord. Andy Gunner, 16. What do you both make of the Mark Gahey rumors?

1:09:05Would you be on board with us bringing him in this summer? And if so, what do you think that means for the current defensive roster? well he's a long-term target in that you know i remember having conversations about mark he last summer potentially the summer before he's always been a player arsenal like um in terms of him coming in imminently i mean i suppose you know either either now or more likely the summer um i'm a little bit more cautious on that only because i'm not quite sure how it makes sense for him to be honest with you even saliba and gabrielle i know there was a question earlier about you know gabrielle not being given the armband i i don't foresee arsenal wanting to disrupt that partnership and they both relatively recently signed a new long-term contract so So, you know, I'm not particularly worried about one of them going at this point in time.

1:10:06Touch wood. So, yeah, I don't really see it from his point of view. I don't think he would be first choice at Arsenal. I think he probably would be first choice at Man City. Certainly in what remains of this season where they've got a lot of injuries, he'd play an awful lot of football.

1:10:23My gut feeling is he probably goes to Man City before the month is out and that this may all be part of like quite a public process of sort of extricating the right fee from City. But I do like him. I think he's really good. But yeah, I just don't quite see it making sense for him. That's my read on it. I don't think he's better than William Saliba or Gabrielle. No. And that means, listen, we've seen this season we've been without both of them, so you could make the argument there's probably plenty of football to go around, but I don't think he's better than both of them. And I think he's at a point in his career where he wants to go somewhere and be an undisputed first choice.

1:11:10And Manchester City, given the defensive issues that they have right now, that does make sense and that does seem to be the right kind of option as well. maybe Liverpool in the summer, if he hangs on, gets that free transfer to Liverpool, where I think, you know, 34, 35-year-old Virgil van Dijk can't go on forever. I think he'd certainly get into the team ahead of Kanate, the way he's been playing this season. So I think he's got better chances of regular first-team football elsewhere than he does at Arsenal. So, yeah, I'd be very surprised if anything happened. But it goes without saying. Well, A, you know, if Dave is reporting it, I don't think you'd report it unless there was something to it.

1:11:54And B, if you can sign a player of Mark Gay's calibre for free, it's a hell of a coup. So, yeah, it'd be interesting, one to watch. But I just have a feeling you'll end up at City this month. But let's see. Let's see. We had some questions about Miles and about left-back. I thought this one was interesting. from MB273 on Blue Sky. And they say, is it me or do we invert our left back much less now? In Myles Lewis-Galli's top performances, thinking the Madrid games, for example, he was essentially bossing the middle. Is it any surprise he looks off it when he's barely spending any time in midfield and playing more as a conventional left back?

1:12:39I don't think that's true. I don't think it's true. I think he was inverting quite a lot yesterday. I think he did spend time in the middle. and maybe the issue that he has at left back is the space that left backs have to deal with at Arsenal. I think what we've seen from Myles this season is a young player. We talked about second season syndrome, didn't we, last week a little bit. Maybe there's some of that, you know, where maybe there's an element of doubt in his mind. Whereas I think what would you say was like the most obvious thing about Myles last season was this sort of easy confidence with which he came into the team, right?

1:13:19There's a kid who got booked before he even set foot on a pitch for Arsenal during that Man City game, you remember? There was a sort of self-confidence that was there, which when he did get the chance, translated into the sort of performances that we saw from him. He looked a confident player, right? And maybe part of that is because you are young and you don't have the fear and you don't have much to consider. You're just like, hey, look at this. I'm in the team. I'm playing. I'm going to go for it. I'm going to do things. He didn't get everything right. There were moments last season where I think he did get exposed a little bit, but he was still willing to sort of pick himself up, dust himself down, and charge upfield, charge through the Real Madrid midfield and defense with the ball, right?

1:14:05That was cloud nine kind of stuff for him, if that's the right way of putting it. And I think what we've seen this season from Miles is maybe a bit of a reality check. And maybe that confidence is not there. Maybe that self-belief is not there for understandable reasons because he hasn't played a lot. When he does go on the pitch now, he is thinking more about what he can't do rather than what he can do. You know, and form and fluency and rhythm and all of those things are applicable to every footballer. And I don't know why they wouldn't be applicable to a young man like Miles. And I hope, you know, over the coming weeks, if he has to play a bit, that he discovers or rediscovers some of that form and some of that confidence.

1:14:47Because he was great last season. He really was. He was such an encouraging part of what was overall a pretty frustrating and hard to take season for Arsenal. So, listen, you're only as good as your last game, as the cliche goes, right? But I do think as well, people do need to just be a little more understanding of why this season he hasn't quite hit the heights that he hit. And you referenced it in part one where that quick free kick, that moment where he was on his toes and he played that quick free kick to Gabriel Jesus. It resulted in a goal. And you said Gabriel and Mikel Moreno were over there patting him on the head, giving him the encouragement that they obviously know he needs at this moment in time.

1:15:35And I think he can do better. He can defend better. He needs to defend better. But I don't think the role of left back, based on the way he played it last season and what he's being asked to do this season, has changed in any significant way. interesting I I think it may have changed a little bit and that is pure I mean it's partly because I've been watching Pierre and Capier play it for the last few weeks and obviously it changes when he plays it because he's not that player he's not Miles Oreskele he's not Alexander Zinchenko I was I was chatting with Sam Dean yesterday when we're watching the game and in the first half I think if I think in the first half Miles was more conventionally at left-back than he was in the second.

1:16:23I think there was a little shift there. As Sam was saying, and you'll have to forgive me for me sort of cribbing this from him, but he was saying he wonders if Declan Rice, dropping in a little bit deeper in midfield at times into that almost double pivot with Zubimendi, has kind of meant Arsenal playing with a left-back that plays higher and wider at times. And certainly when Ricardo Calafuri plays, I think that is the case. So I don't know. I think there might be something happening in that evolution of that left-back spot, which may not necessarily fit Myles perfectly. I think he's still doing it at times when he plays.

1:17:13And I think generally the issue with him is more about performance level than tactics. But yeah, I'll have to keep an eye out because it's not something I'd necessarily sort of seen before. But yeah, we were kind of observing it yesterday and it could be one to watch. But I think with Miles, the issue, like you say, is more confidence. And actually, in terms of why he's not at that level, I sort of feel like the anomaly, the sort of strange part of it is what he was doing last season. Like that's the sort of crazy part in terms of how did he produce that level of form consistency, having been so new in the team.

1:17:56I do wonder as well, like, are we seeing just that kind of almost stereotypical second season thing where opponents are a bit more wise to him now? You know, they understand where he's strong and where he's weak. Yeah, I did. I just had a quick look at the heat map from yesterday. And there is obviously the left hand side, the classic left back position is the heatiest bit of the heat map. but you can see that he's popping up in midfield, popping up in the opposition box, and also popping up on the right-hand side of midfield as well at times. So I think he isn't playing the role any differently from the way he played it last season.

1:18:37He's just not playing as well as he played last season. What about this one from Peter Hust, who says, Goodly morning, gents. What is your take on Arsenal appointing Thomas Grunemark as a throw-in coach?

1:18:55Well, it's interesting, you know. I remember speaking to Andres Yorgsen, who was Nico Yoba's predecessor as set-piece coach at Arsenal. And I remember asking him about throw-ins. And he said to me, throw-ins are not part of a set-piece coach's remit at Arsenal. He said they are led by the general coaching staff. They're considered part of open play, effectively. I remember thinking, like, I wonder how long that will hold. Because throw-ins are so unique and so specific. And I often think so difficult. I mean, it's actually quite difficult to retain possession at a throw-in. Did you, I mean, just bring it back to Miles.

1:19:39In the first half yesterday, one of the things that struck me was how the sixes and sevens he looked when we had a throw in which is a bit unusual you know but i i think there is now more focus from the opposition on making sure that you don't allow the opposition to get an easy throw yeah i mean so on gronemark i think appointed is an exaggeration i think he from what i understand has come in and done like a bit of a like a few days workshopping kind of thing sure and um i think that process will be ongoing he'll sort of feed back to arsenal and they'll implement it and learn from it but it was more sort of uh kind of guest seminar than than him being a new member of the coaching staff sure sure sure sure but i think it's really interesting really interesting and godmark is like the leading expert on throw-ins i mean he's worked with a lot of different clubs and players and, you know, is sort of the guru around particularly long throw-ins at this point in time.

1:20:44I mean, one thing I think we're interested to keep an eye on is part of his key principles

1:20:51is taking throw-ins quickly. Good luck with that, buddy. But that's something we can keep, that's something he could definitely help us with. I think that is true for sure, yeah. So, yeah, I think he said, something like throw-ins either need to be long or quick or something like that um yes i think i think the i do remember arsenal had that little spell might have been last season where they had quite a lot of success with quick throw-ins down the line do you remember like yes it was a period where they would sort of throw to the byline almost um and and running behind against it and that seems to have gone now there's such an emphasis on uh the long throw but i'm i'm not really a believer in our long throw i've got to say i know yes arsenal will have all the data and all the you know access and they've got chronomark's expertise now to rely upon i just kind of feel like declan rice's delivery is so good with his feet couldn't we just throw to his feet.

1:21:57You know what I mean? Rather than have him just chuck it in the box. I'm with you. I'm like a real, real long throw skeptic. If you don't have a player like, let's say, Michael Coyote or even Antoine Semenyo who can really throw it long and cause danger, you're just making it easier for the opposition defense even if you say, oh, well, maybe we're pinning them back in their box and we're going to win the second ball. I just think, yeah, unless you can do it properly, don't do it, would be my thinking on it. And yesterday we saw, you know, a couple where the ball was thrown back to a center half to volley it up the pitch.

1:22:33That's how difficult it was to find throw-in recipients yesterday. And that was something that I noticed. So there you go. By the way, I think Phil Costa has an interview with Thomas Cronenmark on his podcast. It's the Football Vision podcast. if you want to seek that out Phil has a very interesting chat with him about the whole kit and caboodle of throw-ins so if you want something else to listen to this afternoon after you finish this go check out that episode on the Football Vision podcast yeah, I look forward to listening to that actually can't remember what we're talking about now I don't know, I think that's kind of I think that's kind of everything really Hickory Victory Yock said, goodly morning, gents.

1:23:21The next time we get a penalty when Saka and Jokeres aren't on the pitch, should we just ask to take a corner instead? I like that one. No, I think that's kind of it, really. And listen, people have got to listen to this and get focused on Chelsea game. Chelsea game coming up, exactly. Exactly. There's a press conference tomorrow, I think, for Mikel Arteta, and we'll have a preview podcast because it is a big game. It is a cup semifinal. It's against big opposition. So we'll do a little bit of a preview podcast for you over on Patreon, which you can join up to at patreon.com forward slash arseblog.

1:23:56For now, though, I think we'll leave it there. Thank you so much, as always, for being with us. We really do appreciate it. Thank you for listening and downloading and sharing and subscribing and all of that good stuff. For now, take it easy and we will catch you on the next one. Bye bye.