Arsecast Extra Episode 681 - 16.02.2026

0:12Hello and welcome to another Arsecast Extra as always with James from Gunnerblog James goodly Good morning to you. Goodly morning, Andrew. How are you doing? I'm okay. Like, I'm ready for all the drama and tension and nervousness to return. But this was a relatively chilled out weekend in footballing terms. It was. Enjoy it while it lasts. That's it. I did enjoy it while it lasted. It's now over, but hey. Yeah. We can worry about all what's to come down the line. I've been watching In the Night Garden this morning. Are you aware of In the Night Garden? I think I've heard of it, but now all I can think of is Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

0:59I think that's a bit different. I think so.

1:06In the Night Garden is a sort of a fever dream of a show for young children where like the Ninky Nonks and Upsy Daisy live in this sort of fantasy land. Sort of like, what was the one with the... It's like Teletubbies. That's what I was thinking of, like the really stoned weirdos. Yeah, it's like Teletubbies on acid, I would say. Okay. This is your choice, is it, to watch this or is it something to do with your young son? No, Rocky wanted to watch Midnight in the Garden. Of Good and Evil. Yeah. How you doing, sport? He was really pushing hard for that. It is good in the night garden, but it's got quite catchy songs in it, and I find myself wondering if they could take off as football chants.

2:00Right, sort of applying them to various Arsenal players. Or just singing them about Upsy Daisy. You know, Upsy Daisy is a happy, optimistic dolly who dances through the garden and she's got a song. It goes, Upsy Daisy, here I come. I'm the only Upsy one. I'm the only Daisy do. It's the Upsy Daisy do. Can you imagine that in the North Bank? Certainly can. Certainly can. I just Googled Upsy Daisy to be like, I wonder if I'm getting these lyrics right. The first thing that comes up is, you know how Google does questions people also ask? The first question is, is Upsy Daisy a slag? What the fuck? That's the first question on Google.

2:46That's what people want to know. Every single day, despite the way this technology connects us and has enabled us to have this wonderful career in what we do, which I enjoy and I love so much. But every day I see something that makes me just think the internet was a mistake. A mistake. A big mistake. Let's save the question, is upsy-daisy a slag for part two, of course. Yes. Where we deal with the questions. But yeah, as you can tell, I'm in a relaxed mood this morning. There's been no Premier League football. That's fair. We've had a lovely time in the FA Cup. And it was a lovely time. I mean, I think, you know, we have to acknowledge or make the point that we were playing struggling League One opposition.

3:34But, you know, that's not our fault. I mean, the whole podcast has got a caveat around it, right? Which is Wigan are not good. They're League One and they're not near the top of League One. They're more near the bottom of League One than the top. That is for sure. They're in a sort of, you know where Spurs are in the Premier League. They're about there in League One. Oh, listen, I think that's a bit unfair on Wigan, comparing them to Spurs. Come on. That's cruel, actually. Yeah, it is. The fans did sing at one point, Are You Tottenham in Disguise? I think after the second or third goal, and I thought, that's a low blow, you know.

4:15We need to be better than that. I think I did. I could be wrong. Did I hear the Wigan fans singing, How Shit Must You Be, It's Only 1-0? something like that. I think they did. So they were probably asking for a little bit of that. Yeah. And they know. They know they're not very good. Yeah. But, you know, it doesn't mean it wasn't good fun or interesting. It was for about half an hour. That's true, actually. About half an hour in, I was going, oh, is this the day where we just go goal crazy? Go mad on the goals. Elliot's fabled to 10-0. Yeah, yeah, yeah. or our friend Tony, as you know, has been waiting for the eight his entire life.

4:58We've nearly got there. Mikel's record is, I think, the 7-1 in Eindhoven. Eight is very, you know, the lesser seen eight, really. I mean, it was there. It was there. It was there for us. And we let it slip. And now I'm in a funk. Now I'm just going to go all in. We bottled the eight, Andrew. You know what? Listen, it was good to get the four. And then after that, I think in the grand scheme of things, if you're complaining that we didn't score any more in a game like this, like I get it, it would have been nice. But, you know, it wasn't necessary. It wasn't necessary. Maybe there was a, you know, a tactical reason for it as well.

5:40Beyond Arsenal taking the foot off the gas, if that's the right way of putting it. Maybe. I mean, I think what Wigan did tactically in the first half was... Uh... Insane? Yes. Mm-hmm. It was like, I mean, it, you know, wouldn't have looked out of place in the night garden, Andrew. It was that naive and potentially insane. Okay. And it was, it was, the thing is, we very rarely will get teams who will play a high line against us. But to do it quite so badly was a particular gift. It tends to be more of a feature of cup football, cup competitions when we play in Europe. Not that teams necessarily play a high line, but there's certainly a different approach from teams in Europe.

6:27And maybe, you know, Wigan, Glenn Whelan, former Stoke player, of course, in charge of Wigan temporarily. Maybe he looked at, you know, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan. Said that's the way that you really get at Arsenal, despite the results. I don't know what they were thinking. They played a back five or three centre-halves and wing-backs, but they also played them much higher up the pitch than you ordinarily would if that's your approach to a game like this. Like, you would have imagined they were cognizant of the gap and the golfing quality. Nevertheless, cup football, a bit weird at times, can throw up the odd upset.

7:07They probably had a plan to say, let's keep it tight for the first 15, 20 minutes. Maybe the crowd gets a bit nervous. Maybe the team gets a bit nervous. And then we'll see you nick a goal from us. You never know. You just never know. They just didn't quite do the whole keep it tight thing. No, that didn't really pan out for them. I mean, yeah, they played into our hands really with that. And particularly the way we ended up lining up and the amount of pace we had in our front line. It was a bad combo. for them. So there was a bit of a switch around right before kick-off. We thought we were going to see never mind the eighth goal the just as rare sight of Myles Lewis-Skelly playing in midfield.

7:57Yeah. That seemed to be the plan anyway when the team was announced about an hour or so before kick-off. I kind of want to leave that discussion to part two because I've got some questions about it. So we'll maybe talk about Myles in part two. but the issue as you said was an injury for ricardo calafiore in the warm-up i didn't really see what happened or you know um what what the issue might be are we any the wiser this morning as to what the uh what the problem is not really i mean i i didn't spot anything myself and i've scoured social media because usually there's some intrepid bloke with a camera yeah someone's got Yeah, yeah, yeah.

8:40And sees somebody sort of gingerly limp out of the circle. But no, no sign of what's happened to Carlo Calafuri. I think it's the second time this season drawn from a warm-up. Yeah. But yeah, obviously disappointing for him. So that meant a bit of a late change, which meant that Bakayo Saka came into the starting line-up and Myles Lewis-Gelly was shunted back, unceremoniously shunted back to the position he plays in all the time, which is a left back. Yeah, yeah. Was there any surprise for you that it was Saka who came in? I was just looking at the bench and seeing what our options were. I suppose, you know, you could have put one of Rice or Zubemendi, but that would have been a shame, I think, given the obvious need for those guys to get around.

9:33Yes, I think that was the priority. I mean, I think that's why Miles was picked anyway. You know, when I was previewing the game on the blog, I was thinking, who are they going to put in midfield? Because you can do the Norgard-Ezza thing, but who else is going to play in there? And I was like, well, maybe one of Rice or Zubimendi kind of has to play this game because we don't have Marino. We don't have Martin Odegaard who was injured. We don't have Kai Havertz. So options were limited, and I think that was the main reason why he chose Miles there, was essentially to give a rest to Rice and Zubimendi.

10:08So I suppose... He could just put in Capier, I suppose, straight swap. Mm-hmm. But... Yeah, maybe he's resting in Capier. Maybe there's like a slight, you know, little niggle that they're looking after. I don't know. That might explain it. Well, to be honest, I think Saka just needed minutes as well. That was the thing. I mean, anyone who saw Bakayo Saka against Brentford, I think it's fair to say he didn't look necessarily at his sharpest. No. So giving him the minutes made some degree of sense and also presented an opportunity to look at him in a different position, which I think was really quite interesting.

10:50Yes, I agree with that. I agree with that. But actually, I've done the, we're on the miles point now. So I might as well just drop this question in. So we had one on the Discord from Wendels who says, were you as sad as me that we didn't get to see miles in midfield? And we had a number of questions about that particular issue, not seeing Miles Lewis-Gelley in midfield. I will say that if you were to give me a straight choice between seeing miles in midfield or seeing Bakayo Saka playing in a more central area, I would go for the latter a hundred times out of a hundred because it's something I think we've spoken about on this pod in the past, right?

11:31I'm sure I've said, I think he's got the quality and the ability and the talent to play more centrally and to play in central areas. I'd sort of thought about him maybe as a sort of a left eight at times. I think he's got that within his locker. So I would be much more interested in seeing Bakayo Saka in midfield than Myles Lewis-Skelly in midfield. And that's not any criticism of Myles. It's just when I think about what we've got available to us right now, who we're missing, and how we might need actually to sort of find something or do something a little bit differently with the team. It just struck me that Saka in that position, he was in the Odegaard position, I guess you would say yesterday, is probably more beneficial than seeing Myles get a run out because that's where he played when he was a youth player.

12:30Yeah, I mean, I kind of feel, A, if Calafiori's out for any length of time, then having Myles in the rhythm of playing left-back is probably going to be useful. He's going to need to have minutes there. B, I kind of feel like Miles was only really in midfield as a sort of last resort, really, because of the injuries we've suffered, the need to give Rice and Zubomendi a rest. I'm not sure that him being selected there initially was a sign of some great change in Mikel Arteta's thinking around Miles. I think it was more a sort of needs-must scenario. And I'm kind of inclined to agree with you that the Saka experiment might have more value to us moving forward.

13:15And to sort of like skip to my sort of major outtake, really, I'm not saying Saka had a blistering 45 minutes or anything like it, but I actually think that him being in this position is something that Arsenal could come back to, maybe even as soon as Wednesday. because for me, I think having Saka in that team in central area sort of just frees him up a little bit. And I think Nani's on a decent run on the right-hand side. And there were a couple of moments in this game where those two combined or overlapped, certainly brought up to the third goal, that I thought were really promising. And I think in the absence of Kai Havertz, who I think had kind of made that position his own in the space of a few games, I think Zaka could be a serious option.

14:07I agree and Arteta was asked about it afterwards and was asked about what he could offer in that position he said he's more central, he's closer to the goal it's a bit more difficult for the opponent to get his reference constantly which I think is another interesting aspect of that when he is out wide it's not that teams always shut him down but they kind of know essentially more or less where he's going to be in terms of where he picks up the ball Arteta continued. He can interchange positions with the wide player as well. He's so good at picking those spaces. When he's there, he can really hurt you with the ball.

14:40Again, with the caveat of the opposition, he had, let me have a look, statistically two shots, one key pass, which led to the third goal, that interchange at Madueca and the cross, passed it at 96 % completion. So it wasn't like spectacular, I agree with you, But I think it was very tidy, particularly as he hasn't really played there a great deal for Arsenal. And I thought there was certain aspects of where he was picking up the ball on the pitch that were really, really interesting. And I think the other thing, if you're going to talk about him in that position, is that he's a very forward-thinking player, right?

15:25Bakaosak. Like his instinct is to drive at defenders, to make things happen, to create and to get shots off. That's what he does when he's in the wide positions. Nobody typically takes more shots than him, puts in more crosses. So I think what he brings in that position, and this isn't meant to be criticism of anyone else or Martin Odegaard in particular, but Odegaard is much more comfortable dropping deep and trying to link play and helps us recycle the ball you know and at times I think I've said this I would like to see him play further forward like I can't envisage Saka in that position dropping back between the center halves because that is not where he wants to pick up the ball so if we're thinking about how a slightly different player in that position might influence the the dynamic of the team in the way let's say that Kai Havertz did because of how he moves and where he is on the pitch in as much as what he does with the ball or doesn't do with the ball I think Saka in that position is a really really interesting thing to consider and I've seen people say have we stumbled upon the Marino up front thing it's too early to say but I do think it might be something that we have to consider between now and the end of the season particularly if the injuries continue in midfield Yeah, and I think when you look at the zones Saka was playing in, I think it was kind of more akin to what Havertz has been doing than what maybe Martin Odegaard does in that position.

17:00Yeah, definitely. I would have it in serious consideration for Wednesday and the Premier League at Wolves. I think it might be worth another go. I mean, again, you're not taking anything for granted, but do you think that because it is Wolves and they're a team that have been struggling this season, Is it not a risk-free way, but it's a low-risk way of seeing how it translates to higher-caliber opposition? Definitely. And also, you don't have that many alternatives. I mean, Kai Havertz is out. Martin Odegaard was out for this game. We don't know what condition he'll be in by Wednesday. You know, your other option is you flip Eze back into that position.

17:45but obviously he struggled in that kind of role at Brentford, had a much better game on Saturday, but I thought in quite a different role, playing much deeper. So, yeah, I'd be curious to see it again. I mean, again, look, obviously you put the caveat on it of it's Wigan and all those things. They played a high line, which I highly doubt Wolves will on Wednesday night. But I did think there was a nice chemistry about this attack and a nice balance. We've spoken sometimes this season about maybe a lack of balance in the attacking options, but I thought this front four worked quite well because you had three players in Martinelli, Saka and Madueke who all are willing to run beyond.

18:30And that makes a nice compliment to Gabriel Jesus, for example, who wanted to drop in. I mean, he was often in some of those Odegaard positions, right, coming a lot deeper into midfield. yeah I don't think Arteta will you know name the same four against Wolves but I do think there are elements from this attack that might be worth persisting with do I mean you mentioned Ezzard do you think there is something to be said for him playing on the left as opposed to the right or more centrally that suited him in this game because that that's kind of where he played a lot for Crystal Palace, you know, not exclusively, but that was essentially his area of the pitch was that sort of inside left, left eight, whatever you want to call it.

19:16That was the area in which he operated best for Crystal Palace. So do you think that balance, if you're talking about it, you've got a sort of left-footed Saka in the right eight position, you've got a right-footed as in the left eight position. I think there's a huge amount of football intelligence between those two as well. and they did seem to connect quite well in this game. So maybe that balance, we not stumbled upon it, but we had to go that way because of the injury to Calafiore and maybe we found something that's worth having another look at. Maybe. I mean, I suppose the sort of argument against that would be, I think as he was playing, you know, almost in that sort of two closer to Norgaard.

20:04And I just see when we go to Molineux, I can't see past Arteta picking Rice and Zerumendi in those positions. I think Azad had a great game and some really lovely passes from deep and two beautiful assists, I think, for the first two goals. But do I think Mikel Arteta would pick him there? Ahead of Declan Rice, yeah. Ahead of Declan Rice. You know, I'm not sure I consider that realistic. But it was interesting to see Eze flourishing in a slightly different role, as you say, over on the left-hand side and a little bit deeper. I think Wigan really played into his hands as well because that high line just gave him the opportunity.

20:50But he had the vision and he had the technique to deliver it. I mean, the first goal to come up to it from Adewheke is a really, really great assist from Eze. It really is. I mean, it's a great run, by the way. It's a really smart run from Matueke in from the right. But the pass from Eze is superb, isn't it? I mean, it's one of those where the pass is so good, the only thing Matueke can do is what he did. Like, he doesn't need to do anything else. the weight of the pass the trajectory of the pass it just says finish finish me yeah first time hit me I mean he did it very well Matuake but the quality of that pass is exceptional it really is and it's a lovely little kind of shimmy to beat his man it's almost a bit of a no look pass isn't it he sort of feints as if he's going to go it wide and then just the weight on the ball is perfect it's almost like a golf shot the way it kind of rolls into to Madueke's path.

21:52Yeah, brilliant. Just, you know, a great moment for his end. Probably what he needed, obviously, after a difficult night at the GTEP where he came off half-time. And a demonstration of what he can do, what he can offer. And it's not his first assist from deeper areas. I mean, we go back to that winner against Manchester City, right? The ball over the top for Gabriel Martinelli. Although we think of him as a final third player who makes contributions in that kind of last 25 yards of the pitch, he has shown a propensity to pick these passes from the centre circle, which play through the lines. And yeah, great goal.

22:29I mean, one thing I thought about our goals in this half was that it feels like you don't see Arsenal score these goals in the Premier League. Sure. Is that because we don't encounter teams who play in the fashion Wigan did or as ineptly as Wigan did? Is it because we don't necessarily pick someone like Eze in that position to play those passes through? I'm a big fan of Martins of Mendy and Declan Rice. I'm not sure they quite have that pass in them. So yeah, I don't know. I thought it was interesting, but I did feel that these were kind of anomalous goals almost really within this Arsenal season.

23:13Maybe so. So, I mean, maybe it's just a question that the teams you face in the Premier League are just much, much better than Wigan. And therefore, you don't get A, the time on the ball. Defenders are more alert to the run of Matueke, for example, or a midfielder steps across and cuts that pass out before it goes through the lines. You know, I think there is some merit to what you're saying there for sure. And I think there are games maybe where, listen, I think both Rice and Zubamendi are unbelievable. They've been both fantastic this season. I do wonder if there are certain game states where it ought to be more one of those on the pitch.

23:55Do you need both in every game or in every minute of every game? That might be another way of putting it where I think, let's say, and I don't want to throw out a negative hypothetical, But let's say we're at Molyneux and we need something to change in the second half. Do we need Rice and Zubimendi? Or can you, let's say, if Eza doesn't start, can you shift it around? Let's say you bring Zubimendi off, drop Rice deep, put Eza left, Saka on the right or whoever's going to play in that right eight position. And then you've got these two creative players behind the front three. Yeah, I think that's an interesting discussion.

24:33And to be fair to Mikel, we have seen that here and there. I forget, there was a game recently, was it Forrest, where he dropped Rice into Holy Midfield and kind of went for it a bit more. But yeah, they've both been so brilliant. I'm not in any way trying to detract from what Rice and Zabemendi have contributed this season. But it is a question of sort of balance and need and what's required on a game-by-game basis. He's got so many options at his disposal, Mikel Arteta. And I think this is just an interesting look at, you know, some of what he's got up his sleeve, potentially. Ezzer got the assist for the second goal.

25:13It's a nice ball into him from Christian Norgard. Played with real pace. He takes it well. Spots the run of Martinelli. Left-footed pass this time from Ezzer, by the way. Left-footed pass. Found Martinelli. Martinelli runs onto it, takes a touch and finishes with his left foot, which he's more than capable of doing. Maybe could have done the other night against Brentford, but let's not go there. But a good finish from Martinelli and again a nice contribution from Eze. And, you know, people will say it's only Wigan. It's only Wigan. It's only the FA Cup, et cetera, et cetera. And I don't think anybody would argue with the fact that we haven't quite got as much out of Eze this season that we thought we would on a consistent basis anyway.

25:58but I think you have to look at it as a positive for him. If you're looking for a guy to find some form, find some rhythm, find some confidence, find a little bit of belief, regardless of the fact that it is League One opposition, when he has the kind of game that he had yesterday, it can only be a good thing, in my opinion. Definitely, definitely. Like I say, I think this was actually quite an important game for us. I think a lot of eyes were on him coming into it. Yeah, I mean, sorry to interrupt. I suppose if he didn't do it, people would be saying he can't even do it against Wiggins. So there's that flip side, yeah.

26:35I think there was a degree of pressure. I think his role was tweaked in the moments before kickoff as well. I think he probably would have been playing somewhat differently, somewhat higher and more to the right-hand side if Myles had started in midfield. So there was a bit of an adjustment for him. But, you know, I thought he did everything you would want him to do in that first half. I love this assist as well, the way he sort of takes the ball and control lets it roll across his body to his left foot on the outside and then just slides it down the line into Martinelli's path. Again, for an attacker like Martinelli, it's a dream of a pass.

27:08He knows exactly what he needs to do, attacks it, gets onto it and finishes really, really well, to give him his credit. So, yeah, another really, really nice, easy on the eye goal. Third goal, good combination between Madueke and Saka, which is what Arteta was referencing post-game. Saka put the ball across. I think it hit the bottom of Gabriel Jesus' foot and bounced up and hit the defender and into the back of the net for an own goal. Yeah, own goal on the score sheet again. I think I'm very interested by the sort of Saka-Madueke dynamic. You know, it strikes me that for years, it was almost difficult for Arsenal to buy a player for that position because everybody knew Saka was the man and then the player we end up signing is one of Saka's closest friends in football I just think it's really interesting you've basically got these two mates ostensibly in direct competition and they've signed up for it kind of willingly and they both seem to be really supportive of each other so I think it's a really fascinating dynamic and I know Mikel is kind of interested in chemistry between players He always spoke about Fabio Vieira and Gabriel Martinelli and the sort of understanding and rapport that they had on and off the pitch.

28:31Well, that worked out all right, didn't it? And maybe I'm making too much of this. I don't know. I just feel like there is something there with Maduweke and Saka. They are in some sense kindred spirits. I think they have an appreciation for each other's game. that I think is interesting and maybe could unlock something a bit different in this Arsenal. Yeah, I mean, I suppose the thinking was that this season it would be an either-or situation with those two, you know, if it wasn't the case. Or Mataveke on the left. Mataveke on the left, I was going to say, yeah. Was looked at in pre-season quite a lot, wasn't it?

29:15But Trossard's form, I think, kind of put paid to that. But, I mean, if I was picking my team for Wednesday to come back to it, I do think I'd want both in that starting 11. How you do that is kind of up to you, Mikel. Yeah. I think on form, I think, well, less form in Saka's case, but quality, you know, you'd want him in. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I mean, it's interesting. It is interesting. We're coming back to him in the middle or coming back to, you know, a slight change of, I mean, I really do think, and I think we said this maybe with regards, there's my chair falling apart. maybe with regards Havertz coming in, you know, the positive aspect of a change of dynamic for the team, I think in the final stages of a season, you know, if you can add even just a little bit of unpredictability or something a little bit different where it takes, you know, no opposition analyst until yesterday is looking at Arsenal and preparing a game against Arsenal and saying, well, we have to consider the possibility of Bakayo Saka playing in midfield.

30:25Because Bakayo Saka always plays on the right. That's where he plays, and for obvious reasons. But this is something slightly different. Maybe it's just a case of needs must on the afternoon. But again, I think there was enough that was encouraging about it and the link-up with Matueke, as you say, for Arteta to give it some serious consideration. So let's see. Fourth goal, nice ball over the top. Another good run from Gabriel Jesus. Again, I think you're probably looking at defenders of a League One side just not being aware enough of the movement of somebody like Gabriel Jesus because he runs across the line.

31:05Norgard plays a really good pass. Good touch, good finish, 4-0. That's 27 minutes. Yeah, Norgard had a good game. Again, it's not a game that tested him hugely, not a game that tested any of these Arsenal players. But I think he was given the man of the match, Norgard. He was on TV. And yeah, nice, nice little touch from Jesus. I think this might've been the one where the offside line was particularly bad. Like, yeah, there was a guy standing about like two meters behind. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that just kills you obviously in a situation like this, but yeah, lovely finish from Jesus. You know, 4-0, 26 minutes on the clock, 27 minutes.

31:49you're thinking this could be anything.

31:54That's all it was. That's all it was. I mean, listen, they had a chance. I think one of their guys sort of wriggled in behind and got a shot off and Kepa made a save. Yeah, decent save that point blank range. Kind of straight at him. Yeah, it was a good chance for them. Taylor, I think it was. not great defending from us in the build-up actually as an all god i think could have cleared their lines a bit better but i mean the real action andrew was at half time don't know if you were aware of this i've seen more questions about this than anything else it was it was big it was gunasaurus versus crusty the pie of wigan in a penalty shootout They obviously showed this on TV, did they?

32:47I think just the stands were packed. Because a lot of people, a dinosaur versus a pie is the kind of contest that's keeping the magic of the FA Cup alive. It's the pinnacle of elite football, really, isn't it? Yeah. I think to give Gunnasaurus his due, I mean, he's done well there. Because Krusty the Pie, when Krusty the Pie is, facing you in a penalty shootout. He's got some circumference on him. That's the problem, though. I think his head is just too big. How do you coordinate your feet with a head that's that size, you know? That's the problem. Gunnosaurus is more proportioned. Therefore, he's got an advantage.

33:34It's like if Krusty the Pie had, like, a really tiny little button head, but a gigantic boot. you know i understand but crusty the pie i again and i i do think this merits this level of analysis crusty the pie has got his legs fully out of the pie you know what i mean are you are you looking at crusty the pie right now i'm not i mean should i get it up get it up crusty we're gonna do this it's like monday night football and we've got this the clips up on the screen we've got the giant ipad out that's it so look crusty they are crusty the pie his legs are effectively free yes yes his top half is encased in pastry and his hands are coming out of his face that can't be good for your balance either that's true but then dinosaurs have little arms little t-rex they've all got their challenges what i'm saying is credit where it's due the pressure was on And Gunnasaurus delivered a 3-1 victory.

34:45Did he then devour the pie man? Or are dinosaurs... Intolerant of pastry. Yeah, that's it. He needs gluten-free or something. Yeah. He removed the lid, ate the insides.

35:02So that, you know, I'd say after that is really where the entertainment ended. There was a halftime change, of course. Victor Yacarez came on for Bikai Osaka, which I assume was just sort of common sense. Yes, and presumably Victor saying, have you seen that high line? Please, God, get me on there. Yeah, didn't quite work out. He did hit the post. A couple of really nice passes in this half from Ben White, who tried to make things happen. I think he created that chance for Yacarez. He created a chance for Gabriel Jesus, who shot at the keeper. but it was really just sort of 45 minutes that happened, that had to happen because of the laws of the game and stuff.

35:47You have to... And the laws of time and all those things. Yes, it occurred. The Yoccares one that, you know, flashed against the post, that was sort of it really for significant incident. Ben White gave us all a scare by hobbling off. We saw a couple of cameos. Marley Salmon came on. We did. Initially at centre-half and then switching out to right-back when White went off. And at long last, Andrew, the long-threatened goalkeeper substitution. Yes, we have a question. I've got to find the question, though. So hang on. Let me do it. I'm trying to think if there was anything else really noteworthy in that half.

36:36I did like this one. Benedict Ossal, who's at Benny Ossal on Blue Sky, said, why was Setford really brought on? Was it deserved game time or was Arteta testing Kepa to see if he'd actually come off? Because he had the opportunity, didn't he, to do something really quite funny there? By refusing to come off? Yes, that would have been good. yeah I I mean he was he was perfectly happy to in the end wasn't he but I suppose there was no threat of penalties at that point no it was unlikely that it was going to go that far yeah that's a rare a rare show of sort of sentiment I think from Macau it was a strange one so ruthless in his decision making I wonder what it was actually because, you know, Setford was on the bench.

37:38David Raya was not in the squad given a day off. I mean, was there some discussion, you know, on the training ground if it's like this, we can throw you on for a few minutes. We can save a sub and give you a chance. I don't know. A whim in the spur of the moment. I don't know. I mean, obviously it gives Tommy Setford his home debut. I think he played maybe at Preston. for arsenal he did played in the efl cup last year um i suppose you know he it's a kind of thankless task isn't it he's the third choice goalkeeper he travels with the group a lot he's rarely on the bench even doesn't get much of a look in it's just a way of sort of acknowledging his contribution i think michael said something like everybody's played their part and we wanted to recognise that.

38:33I wonder, does it get him a medal if we were to win it? I don't know. I don't know. But, yeah, I mean, listen, if you can't do it at 4-0 up at home to Wigan, when can you do it? Sure. I mean, his first involvement was to come and catch a sort of long, high, free kick that was pumped into the box. And he really enjoyed that moment, didn't he? He had a little bit of a kind of woo-hoo, high-five with one of the defenders. I can't remember who it was. But, yeah, listen, a nice moment for him. And, you know, 4-0 up, like you say, in the 86-minute. Chances are it's not going to be the kind of change that impacts a game too heavily.

39:14No, I mean, I think I've seen a few of the first-team players, Declan Rice and the like, been over commenting on his Instagram, saying, you know, well-deserved and how pleased they are for him to get that chance. I do think Marley Salmon is sort of quietly, quietly indicating how highly he is rated by Mikhail Arteta. Were you surprised that he just came on at centre half for Saliba and that Ben White didn't sort of shift inside, play Salmon at right back and sort of Ben White is there to, you know, to guide him through the game? I think it maybe did say something that he was brought on at centre half.

39:56Yeah, because he'd come on twice this season, but right back at Portsmouth and at Bruges. So I think to bring him on at centre half, as you say, he could have easily made the switch and put White in there. I think that shows you sort of long-term what they're thinking is with him. But I just think it's very unusual to see a 16-year-old in any game state, you know, FA Cup fourth round senior football playing centre-back. Same. Really, really rare. I'm not sure I've seen it before at Arsenal. I'm trying to think. Not a 16-year-old centre-half? No, don't think so. When they're that young, they tend to be like a forward, a winger, you know, someone like who was young when they came through.

40:41I mean, Fabregas, obviously, but he was different. Jack played off the right wing when he was 16, really. Yeah, Zell-Olem, Gideon Zell-Olem, when he played a few cup games, Carlos Vela, you know, young guys, they tend to be attacking players more than defenders and certainly more than centre-halves. Yeah. So obviously we've only seen glimpses, but I think he's clearly really well thought of. I mean, he didn't, listen, I know it wasn't the biggest test in the world, but he didn't look out of place at all. Didn't look at all flustered, didn't look at all worried about having to come in. And listen, the game was won probably at that stage.

41:19Well, definitely at that stage. But I think there's, you know, there's an unusual assurance or confidence about him at 16 as a defender, which I think is very, very interesting. Yeah. And I think that was kind of what was evident about him. First time I saw him play, you know, he probably would have been 14 or 15. And he just has that real sense of calm, which is obviously what you're looking for, I think, in a lot of modern centre-halves. Really comfortable on the ball, really composed. So, yeah, another opportunity for him to get a run out. Yeah. There was some shots near the end, weren't there?

42:03Ezza had a couple of shots near the end. Martinelli had a header that might have done better, maybe. It's a decent cross from Zubermendi. Trossard fizzed one across goal that was cleared from under the bar. But, yeah, I mean, it's so off in the way, isn't it? That when you monster a first half and rack up a load of goals, the second half can be a bit of a non-event. Yeah, and listen, I don't have the inclination or the gumption to complain about that in any way, given the schedule that we have. You know, there's no need for Arsenal to go hell for a letter. It would have been nice if we'd scored another couple of goals, but there's no need for us to go chasing and overexerting ourselves.

42:47We've got a busy week. You know, this will be, I think I'm right in saying that since Tottenham last played, we'll have played four times. Is that right? I think it is. Because they maybe played ahead of us the other day. So we played on Thursday. They didn't play at all at the weekend. So three times at least, anyway. We'll have played three games before we play them and they'll have had all that time off, you know. So there's no point in Arsenal players taking any risks physically. Just control the game, see it out. That's what we did. and the draw for the fifth round is later this evening. Yeah.

43:32Do we know all the teams that are in it? Well, it was a kind draw, wasn't it, to us, the fourth round, to be honest, a home draw against a League One team. We couldn't have hoped for much more. I'd very happily take something like that in the fifth round as well. I was looking ahead at where that fifth round game falls. you know it could be sandwiched in quite a hectic period potentially we have Chelsea on the 1st of March Brighton away on the 4th and then it'll be that weekend that weekend which could be as well before the Champions League in midweek so you know we have the squad and the capability to go all the way in the FA Cup equally when you look when I look at the four competitions we're in and And I'm like, which one might get squeezed a bit, come under a bit of pressure?

44:25You'd have to say that fifth round weekend, the timing of it is potentially problematic. Sure. So the teams in the draw for the fifth round are Liverpool, Fulham, Sunderland, Southampton, Wrexham, Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham, Mansfield Town, Norwich City, Port Vale or Bristol City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Newcastle United, Manchester City, Macclesfield or Brentford and Leeds United. There's a couple of games tonight, I think. So there's potentially some very difficult draws. There's also potentially some kind draws in there. I would like, listen, I don't want to be too greedy here, but if it's Mansfield in the fifth round, Port Vale in the quarterfinals, Macclesfield in the semifinal, and then Wrexham in the final.

45:23A showpiece final, a Hollywood final. Won't be sunny in Philadelphia that day, I can tell you. Yeah, I'll take that all the way as well. And a home draw would be good too. Very nice. So yeah, all eyes on that fifth round draw this evening. All right. Well, I think that's sort of everything that happened yesterday, isn't it? Is there anything else? No, I think that's it. I think that's it. Okay, well, look, we'll take a little break here and we will come back with your questions and more in part two right after this.

46:06Welcome back to the Arsecast Extra. This is part two of the show where we answer the questions that you send to us on bluesky at gunnablog.bsky.social and also on the, I think I include myself in that as well, don't I? Arseblog.com on Blue Sky. And also on the Arseblog Discord chat server, which you get access to if you are an Arseblog member on Patreon. Let me go there for the first question. Okay. It comes from Van Pike. And they say, seeing professional performances from Ben White and Christian Norgard, Are you disappointed that Arteta hasn't offered them more opportunities as a means of freshening things up?

46:51Yeah. Do you know what? I'd say a bit more on the Ben White one. I just think of Leiter and Timbers looked a little bit fatigued. I think he's not quite had the zip that he might have had. I know that he obviously went through on goal against Brentford in the 90th minute or whatever it was. but I do think his performance level has just dropped a touch and there have been games where I've thought surely this is primed for Ben White to step in and it hasn't necessarily happened but that is one I find a bit curious on the Norgaard one I think it's hard just because I think Rice and Zubamendi have been kind of imperious really in those positions.

47:40And I feel like with all respect to Norgaard, who clearly is a very competent player and a very good guy, I feel like the gap between Timber and White is smaller than the one between, say, Zubamendi and Norgaard. Sure. Like I think, yeah, go on. Yeah, I don't know. So, yeah, I sort of have a bit more understanding of that one. But that's not to say there haven't been points in games where we've been cruising or in control and maybe, you know, could have given him some minutes here and there. Yeah, maybe. Maybe, you know, it could be recency bias, but I'm finding it hard to remember games where we've been completely in control and we've been able to look at the team and say, right, we can take Declan Rice off with half an hour to go.

48:33I don't think that's happened too many times. Certainly not enough times for my liking. I'd like a bit more of that. I mean, I think when you look at the games in which Norgard has started, he's done really well. But then when you look at the games in which he started, let me have a look here. Slavia Prague, Club Bruges, Kairat, Portsmouth in the FA Cup, Wigan in the FA Cup, Port Vale in the EFL Cup, Brighton in the EFL Cup, where did he play? He played centre-half that day against Brighton. I can't remember. What I'm getting for this, Andrew, is big game player. Well, I just mean that I think he's been good in those games.

49:20And I think yesterday he was really good. He was just calm, experienced, really brought control to midfield. There was an assurance to the way he played. But again, it was against Wigan. And then you look at the Premier League minutes and he has played a grand total of 32 Premier League minutes so far this season for Arsenal. Hasn't started a single game. And again, I think it's down to the fact that it's Rice and Zubimendi who are in the positions that he would play in. I mean he's going to be a bit more involved isn't he just because of the injuries we've had yeah for sure and I think as well it's not really a question of his ability or competence but what I think is if you're making an assessment of him as an Arsenal player against I don't want to say inferior opposition but lower calibre opposition than you would get in the Premier League and I accept as well by the way that he did play against Premier League opposition in the AFL Cup, you know, with Brighton and Palace, and we won those games.

50:30So, like you, I understand the Norgard won a bit more than the Ben White won. Like, for example, I think Ben White could easily have played in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea, where Timber started again, having started that Saturday against Leeds, and then he started the next game, didn't he, away to, or at home to Sunderland. I don't think, as you say, the gap between Ben White and Jurian Timber is that great. Certainly not defensively. I think Ben White's very good. so I'm a little more surprised about Ben White because he had been such a stalwart for Mikel Arteta you know somebody who he absolutely relied on unless there is something behind the scenes physically that is an issue for Ben White that Mikel Arteta knows that we don't know I'm surprised that he hasn't played more this season as good as Timber has been I think he has been really really good I am surprised that somebody of the quality of Ben White has not played more, which, as we've said, or as the question intimates, there's a benefit as well for Timber, isn't there, that maybe when he goes through on goal the other night, he's got the legs to take the right touch and go outside the defender and apply the finish rather than looking a bit tired and fatigued, as I think he was at that point.

52:09Yeah, and I think, by the way, it's sort of fair to speculate on Ben White potentially having an issue or carrying an issue given his recent injury history, right? And the sort of dramatic change in his usage from Mikel Arteta. I can understand why you might ask that. And I think we probably won't know, but I think it's kind of fair to speculate on that. What about this question from From Martinelli the Elephant, who says, Goodly morning, gents. Wolves in midweek is our rearranged fixture because of the Carabao Cup final, whereas City's fixture against Palace is yet to be scheduled. Does this give us a psychological advantage in the title race?

52:57Taking nothing for granted, of course, I'd always rather have the points on the board than games in hand. I agree with the elephant. Yeah? Yeah. Yeah. I think it is an opportunity. You know, we play first or play ahead of them, get those points on the board if we win. I think that is, at this point in the title race, in any title race, the points are better than games in hand, particularly when you're already in the lead, right? Yeah. Like if it was neck and neck, I don't think it matters quite as much. But I think when you have a four-point lead like Arsenal do, if we can make that seven points before City play again in the Premier League, it does add a little bit of psychological pressure, something for them to contend with.

53:48Like I think if you're City, right, and you've seen over the last 10 days or so what was briefly, briefly, I think it's right to point out, a nine-point lead become a four-point lead, and you're like, ooh, but then all of a sudden it goes back to seven, I think there is something there to deal with psychologically. It does put a little bit of pressure on you. And I think if Arsenal can go to Wolves on Wednesday night and get the right result, which, you know, we all obviously hope we do, then yeah, it is a little bit of an advantage. I mean, I don't think it's going to make City fold up or anything like that, But I would be of the opinion, get those points on the board and let them deal with it rather than the other way around, obviously.

54:38I've just been having a little dig around when that City Palace game fall. It looks like it's going to be game week 33, which is mid-April.

54:55So, yeah, I think, I mean, funnily enough. Mid-April is when we play Man City. It could be around that game, possibly the days afterwards. When Eddie Nketiah scores the goals that destroy Manchester City's title challenge. Is that the one you're talking about? Could well be. Could well be. I mean, so yeah, look, I totally agree. I'd rather have the points on the ball, but you've got to go and get the points. Yeah. So yeah, I mean, it doesn't drastically change my thinking. and you've got to win this game like you've got to win every game. But you'd like to think, I mean, Wolves away, you'd like to think we'd have enough to win it.

55:39By the way, while we're talking about this and looking ahead, there were a couple of questions last week which I completely ignored and a couple of comments about, you know, the way when we get to the end of the season, we typically do like a prediction. Oh, right. Yeah. I'm not doing it. I refuse point blank to do it this year. Okay. Just, I just want to put that out there. Sorry to disappoint anybody. Yeah. But I'm not, it doesn't work for me this time. Just does not work for me or my brain. And I mean, if you want to do them, that's fine. I'll just sit here and not listen to you. Yeah. I wouldn't flip that on you, Andrew.

56:23Thank you. Thank you. We had a question or two about the warm-ups. Jordi says, should Arsenal consider changing their warm-up routine to something that does not cause injury? And Garza says, what's with all the injuries during warm-ups? Feels like we lead all teams in Europe's five best leagues in this category besides everything else. Is it just like a bit of a mad coincidence, or are the warm-ups more intense now, or is it because of all the rain? What is it? You know what it is? They're not warming up enough before the warm-up. Ah, the pre-warm-up warm-up. It's the pre-warm-up warm-up. Right.

57:01I mean, to be honest, I really don't know. I mean, my worry would be, is this a warm-up problem or is it a Ricardo Calafuri problem? You know what I mean? Like, I think it's the second time it's happened to him this season. But Kai Asaka also got injured in the warm-up, though, as well. He's not really a get-injured-in-the-warm-up guy. that's true although that one is one of the ones we actually have footage evidence for and it's so innocuous like you wouldn't look at anything he was doing there and say shouldn't be doing that yeah he's overexerting himself yeah um so i don't know i no i think that's i think it's probably more about i think it's probably less about the actual warm-up and more about what players are carrying or prone to.

57:53I mean, to what extent are you worried about Ricciardo Calafuri picking up another injury? Quite. Quite worried. I guess we have to wait and see what it is. If it's something different, maybe that's better. If it's a recurrence of what it was before, whatever it was, was it CAF, I think? Yeah, I think so. So if it's a recurrence of that, then you would be worried. Because, you know, I think he was one of our best players in the opening part of the season. Like the consistency that he showed defensively and the impact that he had on the way we attacked and controlled games, I think, was really, really positive.

58:42I mean, Capier's come in and done well and is beginning to look a bit more comfortable. Would that be the right way of putting it? Where I think he does look a bit more comfortable with what's expected in the Premier League. But Calafuri was excellent. He was really excellent. It's a shame that we're going to be without him, but there is a history or a frequency of injury that comes with him that you can't help but be worried about because when it happens enough, we've all seen the players, you know, to whom that happens and how often it happens. And it's very, very rare that they sort of solve that problem.

59:26Do you know what I mean? It becomes just part of who they are. For example, Tomiyasu or Zinchenko, right? We saw a really unfortunate injury for him. I think three minutes into his debut for Ajax, he's done his knee. And that's, yeah, I mean, it's terrible for him, but you're not surprised it happened, you know? no absolutely I mean it is a worry you know look I don't know how reliable transfer marked is as an injury resource but just looking at his page on there I think it's I think it would be a ninth injury since joining Arsenal I think he's missed over 200 days of availability wow so yeah it is definitely a worry you know and I think probably that concern is partly why Arsenal decided to do Piero and Capier as a signing in the summer just that as well as Calafiori was playing I think there's always that fear that the next injury might not be too far around the corner and it's a real shame because I think he was absolutely outstanding really in those first couple of months of the season but it feels like we've sort of lost him since then yeah well hopefully it's nothing too serious we'll wait and see what kind of information we get from Mikel Arteta when he meets the press tomorrow ahead of our game against Wolves we'll be looking for some updates on Martin Odegaard as well who spoke about his injury in the programme said he sort of extended his knee and it was very sore but yeah it didn't look clever I have to say so I'd be kind of surprised if Odegaard was available for Wednesday night well again not to keep banging the same drum but I sort of think no need to rush him necessarily I'd be curious to see a bit more of what we saw on Saturday on Odegaard by the way Mikel was very clear that he got injured in the action around Brentford's equaliser right are you a bit surprised that having picked up that injury on the pitch that he stayed on in that situation Like, was that the right thing?

1:01:50I mean, we don't know the conversation that took place between the player and the physio. I suppose the fact that he'd only come on at halftime might have played a part in him wanting to continue. Who else was on the bench at that point? At Brentford. I mean, Lewis Gelley, Gabriel Jesus, Christian Norgard, Calafiori Martinelli. Was there a way of reconfiguring the midfield without Odegaard? Like I saw it when it happened and when I saw what happened and when I saw him play the rest of the game, like I'm not at all surprised that he didn't make this game. It felt like I think anyone who's played football will have done this at some point where you hurt yourself, twist your ankle extend your knee whatever it might be and you kind of with the adrenaline you're able to you're able to run around until the final whistle and then yeah at the final whistle you go actually you know what shouldn't have done even the next day yeah exactly yeah swelling comes in exactly how many how many of us have woken up you know having like turned your ankle playing a game of football and then you wake up the next day and you've got a balloon instead of an ankle.

1:03:11I think we've all done that at some point, you know. So that's kind of where I think we are with Odegaard. Yeah. I just sort of thought, because, you know, we've got this big squad now and it affords the opportunity to be quite ruthless with his changes. I just wondered, like, if they were aware that he was hurt, could they have changed it in that last 20 minutes? But as you say, maybe it wasn't clear until post-match. how bad it was. Or maybe Mikel felt, I need him out there. Yeah, I mean, that could have been it. That could have been it, you know. I think if he had Havertz or Mikel Marino available to him, maybe he makes that change.

1:03:53But without those options, yeah, you sort of try and hope he can run it off. But, I mean, I think you could see very clearly, by the way, in the final stages of that game that he was completely inhibited by the injury. So, okay. Is it your question or my question? I've got a question here. Go on. It's sort of a continuation of a theme, but MB273 on Blue Sky says, I have long thought Saka should be the answer to our longstanding search for a number nine. Could what we saw today be the start of his transition to a more central position, starting with a 10 role and then long-term possibly moving to centre-forward in this team?

1:04:39No. Okay. No, no, no, no, no, no. I mean, I think there is a case to be made for Bakayo Saka to play more central, which we discussed in part one. I think centre-forward... Is it too far, do you think? Yeah, centre-forward is such a specific position. And I don't think for all of his qualities, and he has many brilliant qualities, that is the best way to get the maximum out of Bakayo Saka. I think you can make a strong argument that getting him on the ball in more central positions, where with his left foot, by the way, he can open up the left-hand side of the pitch. But he's also smart enough to play and interchange with someone like Matuweke, right?

1:05:25If you want to go right. The angles are there for Bakayo Saka to play in a more central position. but if you're asking him to play as a center forward like I just don't think that's I don't know yeah I can't see that at all I really can't like can he play on the edge of the box sure but there's a lot more to playing center forward than just sort of hanging around the D as Victor Jokerez demonstrates what you need to do as a center forward is to make lots and lots of runs into the box and then look exasperated when the ball doesn't come anywhere near you. And I don't think Saka has that. Seriously, though, I think absolutely we could get quite a bit out of Bakayo Saka centrally against certain opposition in certain game states, etc., but not as a centre forward.

1:06:17Yeah, I think that's totally fair. I mean, I wouldn't rule it out just because, you know, Would I have believed he would be a really effective left-back? Maybe not. And he's shown a propensity to adapt to different positions already in his young career. And I understand where the suggestion comes from. It's kind of that Cristiano Ronaldo thing, isn't it? Where it's a wide player turned centre-forward. I guess Messi, to an extent, did it more as like a kind of false nine.

1:06:53I don't necessarily see that for Saka but I would never place a limit on his adaptability or potential Never say never Never say never I'm going to say never For the time being and especially given our requirements at the minute I'm more invested in this idea of him as a sort of number 10 Fair enough I will say never even though you never say never Okay, that's good I think it's good to have a strong take. All right. What about this? We had a couple of questions about this particular issue. Thornley29 on the Discord says, Did we make a mistake loaning Ethan to the most combustible manager in football?

1:07:34He's now left. Ethan was an unused sub at the weekend for Marseille, and we're looking thin in midfield. Can't help but this season. It should have been all hands to the pump, all hands on deck. If you want to be on Mikel Arteta's boat, let's not forget. Yeah, the fun boat. And Magnus Holmberg on Blue Sky, who's at magnusholmberg.bsky.social, says, any thoughts on Ranieri and what's happening to him in the chaos in Marseille? Can or should he be called back? Wow, it's been a very eventful period for Ethan Ranieri in Marseille. Scored on his debut, didn't he, almost immediately.

1:08:16bombed out of the Champions League and then off goes De Zerbe into the sunset which is always a risk with a manager as combustible and emotional as that and I think I'm right in saying he's kind of fallen out of the team now as well I think he was taken off at half time recently and then didn't play a minute for Marseille in their last game, left on the substitutes bench. So I wouldn't say it's going exactly to plan. I don't think we can recall him. There's no facility in the deal for that. Is that a mistake? Or is that just what you have to do? Like if Marseille are going to commit to a loan, they're going to say, you know, if Wernary goes there and is fantastic, and they need him, but Arsenal then say, right, we want him back, you don't get that loan deal done in the first place, I guess.

1:09:18Yeah, well, I'm not sure even what the rules are outside of the Chancellor window. If you can re-register a player in that situation, I don't actually know. Forgive me. But yeah, if you're Marseille and you're like, we're working on this loan deal for Renéry, there's only a few days until the deadline. You know, if you're going to call him back at one minute to the deadline and leave us completely in the lurch. That's not ideal, is it? So particularly when you're paying out money, you know, it's not like someone's doing you a favour. There's a loan fee involved here. So I can understand why they would not be keen on a recall clause.

1:10:04Marseille didn't even beat Strasbourg the other day and he didn't get off the bench. Yeah. Let me have a look at the timing of the goals. I can't be arsed. My slightly boring answer is to say, like, it's to sort of chalk it up to all good experience, to a certain extent. I mean, we don't know what's going to happen there. I think they have appointed a new coach, have they?

1:10:40perhaps not actually perhaps not no their sporting director has quit has also gone it's just the ideal stable environment yeah i mean what i would say is when you pick marseille i think you know it's not the most stable club i know you're not necessarily expecting the sporting director and the coach to be gone in a matter of weeks but it is a place that's quite volatile so yeah i i really hope that obviously whoever comes in sees the talent ethan has and finds a role for him it would be a terrible shame if this was a wasted opportunity but i was a big advocate of him going out on loan And so, you know, I'm not really, I'm not going to suddenly do a vault fast on that and say it was a mistake.

1:11:38I think it was the right decision. Was Marseille the right club? Right now, you'd have to say it doesn't look it. Yeah, I suppose that the thing to add as well is the context that at the time when he went out on loan, we had Kai Havertz coming back. We had Mikel Marino. We had Martin Odegaard. We had Eberreche Eze. And, you know, it was difficult to see where, whenever he was going to get playing time. Some people might say Arsenal should anticipate an injury crisis because it's been just seems to have been part and parcel of our experience. But I think, you know, at that time, the case for when Harry going out on loan was very solid.

1:12:19Also, yeah, what do we gain? Yeah. You know, it's like, yes, it would have been useful to keep Ethan around, but the value we might get from him having a few good months in Ligue 1 I think is greater. But I understand the concerns right now. It's been a wild few weeks for that young man out in Marseille. I hope they find some stability and he can flourish there because, yeah, I think it's an important phase in his development. But, you know, I don't think it was the wrong decision. Personally, I don't think it was the wrong decision to send him out. I think that was understandable in the circumstances.

1:13:03Sure, sure, sure, sure. hindsight though it's always it's always 50-50 isn't it hindsight hey here's a believe it or not there's an angle of the Saka thing we haven't covered get the fuck out of here I know Liam Klain says morning gents with Saka's recent hamstring injuries playing on the wing is he going to go in goal for Kepa do you think moving him more centrally is a way of protecting the player no So I don't think that's the thinking. I don't think that's the thinking. Do you think there's any benefit there? Possibly. Is it less sprinty? It could be less sprinty than playing on the wing, that's for sure.

1:13:49But I don't think it's, I mean, maybe it might suit him. You know, it might suit his hamstrings and all of that. But I don't think that was the thinking yesterday. No. I wonder, yeah. I do wonder, like, is it more physically demanding to play on the wing or in that central position? Because on the wing, you know, you've got defensive duties to do as well, but you do in midfield also. Yeah, I'm trying to think about the type of contact you're getting as well from defenders. It's like when he's playing high and central, it's a lot of, it'll be a lot of sort of back to goal stuff, you know. that can be pretty rugged too.

1:14:36So yeah, I'm not sure how much protection he'll get in those central spaces. I think he might avoid a few sprints, a few of the longer sprints maybe. But part of the reason you want him centrally is because of his capacity to sprint and run beyond. Well, yeah, that's maybe another aspect of him in that position when we talked about it in the first half, when I talked about him playing higher up the pitch, I suppose the thing that you would say about the way Saka plays is that he is much more inclined to take a man on. You know, that's part of his game. It's part of his game when he plays outside.

1:15:14He's, you know, facing up the fullback and he'll go inside him or outside him. Maybe he's a bit more or will be a bit more inclined to do that in central areas. maybe more than let's say Odegaard would be Odegaard's looking for a pass Saka might be looking to take the man on so yeah and looking for the shot as well that's it that's it okay John Rokesmith on Discord says your thoughts on Christian Mosquera for me he's the most one of the most promising young players we've seen added in years I think any new defender will fly slightly under the radar in light of the main defensive partnership we have.

1:15:55Do you see him as a Gabriel type, a Saliba type, or genuinely a different kind of defender? He reminds me of earlier very proactive types, but has adapted to Arteta's defensive vision quite quickly. He's not under my radar, I'll tell you that. And I actually think most Arsenal fans recognise we've got a bit of a bargain there, it seems, a real gem. you know it didn't go unnoticed to me that he played on the right hand side of the defensive axis at the GTEC against Brentford and then on the left here so he's partnered Gabriel in one game Saliba in the other shown looked equally at home on either side in terms of is he a Saliba type is he a gabriel type i think excitingly he's kind of a bit of a hybrid in some respects um i think he has got the composure and the ability on the ball that you associate with saliba but i think he's got some of that uh bite and power that you maybe associate more with gabriel um i think if i'd say i think i'd say he's a bit more of a saliva than a gabriel yeah i agree He's quite as aggressive as Gabriel, is he?

1:17:15No, I agree with that. I think he likes to get on the ball in the same way as Saliba does. And he's always showing for the ball. But I think what we've seen from him this season is, like it's a testament to how good he's been, that while it would be a real blow to be without either of Gabriel or Saliba at any point, if Mosquera's asked to fill in and do a job there, not that you're not worried that you're without one of your best defenders, but you feel confident that he can come in and get to the level required. Yeah, and there's some very experienced centre-halves in that squad. I'm thinking of people like Pierre-Ein Capier or Ben White or Jürgen Timber.

1:17:57But I think Mosquera has kind of shown himself to be the third central defender in that group, which is some going, really. Calafiore, another option there. so I think he's been a bit of a revelation and actually like when you're assessing the summer transfers on an individual basis I think he's probably in my eyes second only to Martin Zubemendi as a piece of business when you consider sort of price expectation and return pound for pound you know if you're weighing him out pound for pound which we will be doing with all the summer signings at the end of the season Exactly. We're going to get in industrial scales and weigh them all pound for pound and make our assessment on them there.

1:18:43No, he's been great. He's been really, really good and just such a promising player. I mean, I think that's probably as much as we can wring out of all of this. I've got another question about Mikai Saka. Do you though? Okay, come on. No, I haven't really. I'm ready. I'm ready for any more. I mean, I have got more, but we've sort of talked around this so much. I mean, it was kind of the main thing out of the game. Yeah. Let me ask you this, Andrew. Do you think we'll see that on Wednesday?

1:19:18If Odegaard is not fit, I think there's a good chance that we could see that on Wednesday. Yeah. Yeah. I, I think we might see it too. I think we might see it with Rice and Zubamendi behind it. That's what I mean. Madueke on the right. Madueke on the right. And then I'm, you know, the left could be Trossard, um, probably Jokeres up top. That, that, I'd be, I'd, I'd sign up for that right now, but. Yeah. let's see let's see what happens anyway we'll talk a bit more about that game tomorrow over on Patreon we'll have a preview podcast where we get more information get a bit more team news and we have a better idea of who's going to be available you know in as much as we ever get that from Nicola Arteta we'll talk about it over on Patreon patreon.com forward slash arseblog if you'd like to join us for that for now though thank you as ever for being here hope you enjoyed your FA Cup weekend the tension the drama the stress all ramps up again as we take on Wolves on Wednesday and then look ahead to a North London derby next weekend.

1:20:23For now, though, folks, take it easy, and we will catch you on the next one. Bye-bye.