Arsecast Extra Episode 682 - 19.02.2026

0:12Hello and welcome to a kind of Arsecast extra, a sort of half an arsecast extra as always so with an Arscast Extra. It is with James. James, good morning to you. The bat signal went up and lo I am here. Lo and behold, you are. I mean, just to set the scene for people I was supposed to record with Phil this morning who is indisposed, got an injury in the warm-up, basically, but you've come off the bench in fine fashion and hopefully nothing too serious with Phil. I don't blame him if he didn't fancy it. I don't blame him. He did send me a message saying, I'm really sorry, I can't do this. I was all ready to talk about this game.

0:57He obviously had plenty to say. The bullets were loaded. Just to set the scene as well. You've already done a pod this morning, so this is number two. So this is, I feel, in the verge of cruel and unusual punishment. But I don't think the Geneva Convention matters a fuck these days, apparently. So thank you for being here and thank you for stepping into the breach. My pleasure. I don't know. I don't know that that's my displeasure. Yeah. I mean, look, it's good to talk. I feel like I sort of should just kind of let you go. Really? I mean, because I read your blog this morning. Obviously we were in touch last night as well.

1:43How are you feeling a few hours on from the, I keep nearly saying from the defeat, but the draw at Molyneux? The draw that feels like a defeat. I'm sort of, where am I now? I'm in a kind of phase of intense worry, having shifted from huge frustration and real annoyance last night. You know, I'm, as I said in the blog, you know, it took me a while to get to sleep. And I also then just woke up at 5 a.m. And literally the first thing that popped into my head at 5 a.m. when I woke up was, you have to get up now and write about that shit last night. And I love what I do. And I never take it for granted.

2:30But that's how sort of to the front of my mind it was. You know, sometimes you wake up and you go, oh, what time is it? Oh, what's going on? And it takes a few seconds for you to sort of come to terms with the fact that you're awake again. But this was like, bing, straight away. It's like, you've got to write about that. And I feel like I got some shit out in the blog, to be fair. And now I just feel worried and concerned and struggling to sort of really find an explanation for what's going on and what went on last night. because maybe the thing that I should say is that I guess it's a surprise.

3:21On paper, it is a surprise that Arsenal, top of the table, didn't beat Wolves, who are bottom of the table and have lost like 17 or 18 games this season. So on paper, yes, it's a bit of a surprise, but I'm not that shocked that we experienced what we experienced last night based on some of the things that we've been seeing from this Arsenal team of late and maybe throughout this season. Is that fair? Yeah, it's kind of, it's interesting, isn't it? Because there's been this sort of super narrative around Arsenal of fan anxiety. And at times it's almost felt like everybody on the outside trying to convince us as Arsenal supporters that we're crazy.

4:12Do you know what I mean? Like people telling us, it's fine. You're going to win it. What are you worried about? And then I feel like last night was kind of a sort of horrible opportunity for us to go, this, this is what we're worried about. We fucking told you. You wouldn't listen to us. Kind of. I mean, I, you know, I think to people on the outside, They might be like, wow, you know, Arsenal dropped points at Wolves. It's come from nowhere. But I think most Arsenal fans would look at the Premier League form sort of since the turn of the year and feel like there have been signs. There have been some worrying signs in the performances.

4:54For sure. You know, I'm looking back. In 2026, we won 3-2 at Bournemouth, which was not a straightforward game or performance, but we did get the points. we then drew at home to Liverpool 0-0, drew 0-0 away to Forest, lost to Manchester United we beat Leeds away handsomely, we beat Sunderland at home very well as well but then two draws off the back of that, Brentford away, Wolves away it is kind of anomalous in quite how bad it was last night but I do think it does sort of form part of a troubling pattern Yeah, it didn't happen in a vacuum. You know, it wasn't just like a one-off. And like, you know, I can sort of more easily live with a Brentford away because I think they played very well.

5:45I think they're a really decent team, Brentford. They are a really decent team who made it really difficult for us. They had a very specific game plan for Arsenal, which we couldn't necessarily contend with or get on top of or shift the dynamic. And that can happen, right? I'm all right with finding it difficult against a good team. Where I really struggle is when you're very, very bad against a very, very bad team. And look, I want to give Wolves their dues a little bit here because, you know, I always say you can't take anything for granted in the Premier League. And I do think that's true. And last night was maybe a demonstration of that.

6:27But I also think that Wolves deserve some credit for not giving up, for not letting the heads go down when they were 2-0 down to the team that's top of the table, for continuing to make life a little bit difficult for Arsenal. So I don't think it was a case they just said, oh, fuck it, we'll roll over or anything like that, you know. That clearly wasn't the case. But I also recognize that they are not a good team who don't play well, who don't score a lot of goals, who don't create a lot of opportunities, who still managed to take a point or two points off Arsenal, come away with a point for themselves.

7:06and we can talk maybe about how that happened or the way it happened but I think there is a stark difference between a draw at Brentford and a draw at Wolves not least because you're 2-0 up in this game and I think perhaps what's most worrying is the fact that at that point where you know in the second half where we scored that second goal we weren't playing particularly well we didn't come out of the blocks well in the second half which you know has been sometimes a feature of this team, we kind of scored against the run of play. Then you expect the experience and the quality of Arsenal to help you control a game.

7:46And I think what's interesting maybe about this is that earlier in the season, there was so much focus on control. Arsenal are the best team in the world at controlling games. When they have a lead, when they've got 1-0 up, 2-0 up, they can control, they can keep you at arm's length. that quality appears to have gone by the wayside now. Yeah. And to be fair, that period of the season is a period where the stakes are significantly lower. And it's, you know, we all hate as Arsenal fans, the kind of bottling narrative. And in my case, I've been pretty resistant to it for quite a long time. But I do think that the missing component for Arsenal last night was a mental one.

8:37They just could not execute what they're supposed to do. They couldn't do, you know, they lost their basics. They lost their shape. They lost their technical level. And there's no explanation for that, really. I mean, maybe fatigue you could throw into that, I think, as a factor. but I do just think mentally we were way off it in that final 20 minutes or so. And crucially, I think, you know, I mentioned that run of results and none of them you could say were sort of disastrous or sort of, you know, appalling results in their own right. But this one is. This outcome from being two goals up is a catastrophe, to be honest.

9:29And it's the first time, Andrew, in Premier League history it's ever happened that a team bottom of the table have come back from two goals down against a team at the top of the table. It's literally never happened before. We are unbelievable at this kind of stuff, aren't we? There is no better club at setting these weird landmarks. Yeah. Can we get a parade for that? Can we have a parade for that? Maybe. I mean, yeah. So it's, it is a calamity. And that's why everybody's freaking out. And like, I'm sorry if like people, you know, I'm sure there'll be some people listening saying, oh, you know, you're overreacting, but well, yeah, I am.

10:10I'm freaking out a bit. That this freaked me out is my honest reaction. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I think, you know, it is just a terrible, terrible result. The manner in which it happened as well, I think, is crucial to this because you talked about how there have been signs, right? And this team has developed certain habits over the course of this season, which for me, I remember we talked a couple of weeks ago, and I was explaining why I was feeling nervous and why every Premier League game felt so intense. I think I said to you there's a couple of reasons why, above and beyond just the high stakes, there have been things in the way that we played that have concerned me.

11:01One is conceding quickly after we score. That's a bad habit we've got into. And the other one, and for me, maybe the most worrying one of all, was the fact that this is a team that has, over the course of this season, conceded a lot of late goals. It must be six, seven, eight goals in the 90th minute and beyond. And that is a bad fucking habit to get into because I think it undermines your confidence. It undermines your ability to see games out when the margins are tight. And so many games this season, in the Premier League anyway, have been really, really tight. Tight margin games. And a lot of them we've come out the right side of.

11:55But I think when you, in the back of your mind, think, oh God, could we concede another late goal here? I don't know if it's like a self-fulfilling prophecy or something, but it's got to be there in your mind when it happens again and again and again. Not all of these goals cost us. There was one against Kyra, for example. It didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. We still won the game, but it just sort of ebbs away or chips away at that little bit of confidence that you have. Definitely. And that serenity that was there in the first few months of the season and composure is eroding. And to me, somebody like David Ryer is kind of the canary in the coal mine to a certain extent because he is so composed, right?

12:44When he's at his best, he is absolutely unflappable. And I think for the vast majority of his Arsenal career, certainly after that first few months, has been. But I think, if I think about the Brentford game, I think about this game, there are just a couple of indications to me that there's a bit of a shakiness there. And I think if you're seeing it in him, who I regard as maybe, along with Saliba, one of the coolest heads in the team, that's a worrying sign. Let's just go back to the start again, because the team selection saw Bakayo Saka in midfield, midfield and we were talking before the game and we're both quite interested and curious to see how that played out and the game couldn't really have started any better from an arsehole perspective you know the the early goal it's a declan rice cross but kiosak is there makes a good run stoops heads home between the keeper's legs it's one nil after five minutes and wolves looked shaky, rattled, nervous, as they might do against a team that's top of the table that scored first.

13:59I mean, I think there are bigger disappointments, obviously, in this game, but perhaps the fact that we didn't really build on that lead and didn't really step up the pace, didn't really squeeze Wolves in that opening half an hour, 35 minutes, before they started to feel their way back into it a little bit. I mean, I think this is another thing where you're going, is this the measure of champions? Scoring early? Okay, yeah, good. But then you score again, you score again, and then the game is done and it's over and you don't really have to worry too much. Was that a worry for you that despite the domination that Arsenal had, it's very like what Arsene Wenger used to call sterile domination, loads and loads of possession, loads and loads of territory.

14:47did the keeper have to make anything spectacular in terms of a save did we create clear-cut chances i'm not sure we did and and that to me as well is is sort of a worry where when you put yourself in a really good position the best teams i know it's not always true but but the teams that typically go on and win leagues are the ones who who make the most of that who who maximise that early setback that you inflict on the other team? Yeah, I thought Wolves were absolutely there for the take. I thought they looked really shaky, couldn't keep the ball, their shape was all over the place. I thought they were absolutely there for us to go on and dominate.

15:35And I think it's really interesting that kind of by any measure, what happened last night was sort of a defensive collapse, you know, to have that two goal lead and let Wolves back into it and give up those two goals and two points. That's primarily a defensive issue. But I find it so interesting that if you go on social media today or you talk to your mates or Arsenal fans, so much of the conversation is about the attack. and I think that's because that is a sort of wider, longer-standing issue. Yeah, which I think is absolutely right, by the way, because, you know, there are always going to be mishaps and goals and pieces of brilliance and, you know, hang on, I have to find some crazy stat.

16:29I think it was James Bench who posted it last night. James Bench. It was James. So let me get this stat up here, which is kind of crazy.

16:41Where did I see it? Arsenal have conceded 19 goals in the Premier League this season. Six of them have been from shots worth 0.04 XG or less. The 19 shots that have resulted in Arsenal conceding have a combined XG of 2.99. Which, to lay it out in layman's terms, is, you know, the shots basically add up to three goals and we've conceded 19 based on the XG metrics. That is the biggest overperformance by opponents in the Premier League since the 2021 season by a quite ludicrous margin, he says. So there is like, there is something a little, how would you say, extraordinary about some of the goals that we've been conceding this season.

17:32How do you view these long shots that are flying in from all over the pitch? Is it just crazy coincidence? Is there more we can do defensively? Is there an issue with the goalkeeper from these type of attempts? Or is it just a kind of mad run or perhaps a combination of all of those things? I had to fight so hard to avoid the temptation to say, can we have a parade for that as that stat went on and on?

18:04I think there is a bit of a tactical issue, actually. And this is kind of anecdotal. I've not sort of looked that far into it. But when I look at these Wolves goals, and there was some good analysis, I thought, from Paul Merson after the game about... I couldn't watch. Genuinely. Yeah, I know he's got very mixed reputation. No, I don't mean Paul Merson specifically. Yeah. I just had to turn the telly off because I couldn't... No, fair enough. I couldn't bear it. I think he can be very insightful. He's very inconsistent with his punditry, I would say. But when he's good, he's very good. And he was pointing out the kind of passivity of Arsenal's midfielders and attackers when Wolves had possession sort of 30, 40 yards from goal on both goals.

18:52And I do feel like whether it's psychological, whether it's instruction, there is sometimes a sense with Arsenal particularly when they have a lead of we'll let the centre-halves and the keeper deal with it. You know, if it comes in the box we'll deal with it. But I don't think there is enough intensity or urgency from those in front of those players to win it higher. I think particularly when we're in front there is almost a relaxation into, well, we'll dominate our own box. And the trouble with that is, if it goes wrong, as it did in stoppage time last night, you're in really big trouble. And when you're talking about long shots going in against Arsenal, my hypothesis would be, are we doing enough?

19:46Are we doing enough in the middle third of the pitch, in the front third of the pitch, to stop those from happening? Like I think in the first goal, I mean, the guy was a corner which gets cleared. I don't think we cover ourselves in glory in the way that the Wolves player retrieves the ball in midfield and ultimately plays it out wide to Hugo Bueno or they shift the ball out to their right hand side. Like there's a couple of challenges in there that I think Mikel Arteta as a man who places a lot of stock in how committed you are in the duels will be particularly pleased about. I also think Incappier maybe could close him down a little quicker.

20:28It's a great hit and it's a very good finish. But like every goal, you can look at things that maybe you could have done better. And the fact that goal came like, what, two, three minutes after we'd scored the second. you know that I think rattled us as well I think that is a that I think played into what I agree with you when you said that Arsenal played with with fear or they were afraid I think we were more afraid after conceding that goal we were more afraid of conceding another one than actually stepping it up again and trying to score a third you know and how that manifested itself tactically or technically among the team is very difficult to really explain, isn't it?

21:15Because it is a complete intangible fear or mentality or whatever you want to say. I know there are some people who pay short shrift to that, who believe it's not really a factor. But I just don't agree with that. I think you can see when a team is confident. If you believe in confidence, that's to do with mentality as well. when you can see that a team is lacking confidence, that's all tied in with mentality too. Are you strong enough to pick yourselves up and go again within the game itself? And we can come maybe as well to what the role of a manager and the coaching staff might be in terms of that, whether they can make changes from the bench, whether they can provide better instruction from the bench, all of that stuff.

22:03But you could see that Arsenal were rattled by that goal. And that, I think, played out in the last 30, 35 minutes of the game. Yeah. Look, I'm not saying it's the only factor, but I think just because it's hard to measure doesn't mean you can dismiss it. I think clearly it's having an impact. And yeah, there's almost a kind of mythology at this point in time around Arsenal and second place and this time of year. And the players are not immune to that. They are, you know, human. And I think they know the consequences of not doing it this year and what that will mean for their credibility, really.

23:01And I think that's weighing on them. And I've seen people say like, oh, well, the fans are part of the problem. And I sort of feel like, I think I've said it before, they're the professionals do you know what I mean like the fans will feel today like their fears have been validated so yeah I think fear is definitely a component and there were some worrying things last night I mean the body language I don't think was great certain players looked like you say a bit tentative others looked furious I mean Declan Rice was like apoplectic through most of the second half Mikel Arteta on the touchline just was desperately trying to get messages through to players and they weren't being received or certainly being acted upon and then I thought Mikel afterwards in my eyes looked as shaken as I've seen him this season I mean I think he was obviously choosing his words pretty carefully and determined to sort of not make more of this than is necessary but you know he had the kind of red-eyed look to him you know i agree i mean i do wonder to what extent a message from the sidelines to calm down is effective when you're jumping around and gabrielle anza is jumping around and nicholas jover is jumping around you know i listen we could be reading too much into body language, you know.

24:43But I do recognize what you're saying. And you could see that, like, when the first goal went in, Saliba has his hands on his head as if it's like a goal we've conceded in the last minute. Yeah, that's exactly what I mean. Yeah, you know, so it felt like a real dagger to them. And I want to bring it back around because I think, you know, what you said about the defensive lapses are absolutely right. They were a cause of Arsenal's, I was going to say defeat, but dropping of points last night. But I think we need to bring it back around to the attack. Do you think there is a connection between that fear manifesting itself in our performances, making us jittery, making us unsure of ourselves, not being able to do the basics?

25:38Like we didn't pass the ball well last night. I was looking at the stats and, you know, first half, I think our pass success rate was 85%. In the second half, it's 76%. You know, and after the Wolves goal, it falls to nearly just 70%. And Wolves made more passes than us in the second half. I think they had more possession. Yeah. So is there a connection between an uncertainty with regards to our attack? Like I think we talked about this last week, did we? Or maybe I talked about it on the last Arscast, I can't remember, with Ryan maybe, about how every goal feels like hard work for Arsenal. Even though ostensibly it doesn't really stack up because of the amount of goals that we scored this season over the course of this season.

26:32But in Premier League, I think in particular, it feels like hard work to score. You look at our leading goal scorers, Jokeres has got eight, Zubimendi, Saka and Trossard on five. And after that, you've got some players on four. You know, we have too many players who are not scoring at the rate you would like in the Premier League. And I do wonder if that is a factor in how these players feel going into games when you get yourself a two goal lead and then you concede one and you think, oh, fuck, you know, we've got to score again. You know, I do think there is something there in how this team, I think, despite all the quality, despite all the depth, and I don't even want to go into like individual performances, although I want to talk about the makeup of the front three a little bit.

27:25I feel like this team feels inhibited from an attacking perspective. And that, I can't escape the connection between that and maybe what we saw in the second half yesterday. Yeah, I mean, oh man, there's a lot to get into. So I think it's a longstanding criticism of Mikael, really, that he's inherently maybe more conservative-minded than some would like, tactically, that is. And I think there's merit in that, to be honest. I mean, you know, we've been saying it for six years, so I think it kind of is what it is at this point in time. And I've spoken before about how I feel that winners typically, or certainly the winners sort of I grew up watching, they have that kind of gambler element to them where, you know, they roll the dice, they go for it.

28:27And I've got to give Mikel his due. Like there've been times this season where he's done that, where he's made bold substitutions. But the fear is that as we're sort of getting into the second half of the season, the run-in approaching, that conservatism is kind of bleeding into the team a little bit. And there is this feeling of sort of, we'll protect this lead rather than extend it. And I agree on like goals feel hard to come by. you know obviously there's been a leaning on set piece goals this season in open play it does sometimes feel like we have to work pretty hard for opportunities is some of that because of the opposition the way they set up against us absolutely but that's the challenge that's the way it is I mean that's not going to change anytime soon we need to be better We all knew coming into the season, well, a lot will depend on how successfully we break down low blocks.

29:33That's not a new problem or something we can claim to have been blindsided by. So, and I think the point about the composition, the attack's a really good one. I mean, again, it's been a theme throughout the season, but Mikel's got this variety of choices at his disposal. But I do feel like sometimes the chemistry isn't right. And I don't know if that is a style issue with certain of our players just being incompatible, but it does feel a bit like too often he picks an attack that doesn't really click. That doesn't really have the right balance or the right combination of qualities. Because I think, you know, you said it on your video, maybe about with Jokeres and Meduake and Martinelli, you've got runners who like space in behind.

30:29Their ability to exploit that space in behind sort of varies between them, but they, in sort of broad terms, are those kinds of players. And listen, I think that as a trio is, it's toothpaste and orange juice for me. it does not work. It really doesn't work. And we've seen it enough times to know that it doesn't really work. I do have, you know, I recognize that the options at centre forward are a bit limited. We don't have Mikel Marino. We don't have Kai Havertz, who I think would be playing in a game like this. Gabriel Jesus came on for Victor Jokerez. Don't think he was any better. He wasn't, no.

31:17I think you could ask a big question about how if we knew low blocks were going to be difficult to break down, why we signed a striker who doesn't really solve that problem in any way. No. I wonder maybe if you are going to play Matiweke on one side, if you can't play Trossard on the left, why can't you play Eberachieza on the left to give yourself a little more technical quality? Or does the ghost of Mati Cash haunt Mikel Arteta's dreams when it comes to Eberachieza when he sees him and thinks about where he's going to pick him in the team? So for me, that doesn't work. That combination of players in the front three does not work.

32:07And I don't know how many times we need to see it for that to become more evident to the manager. Maybe there's information we don't know. And I think we have to acknowledge that he picks his team with greater information than we have available to us. But if you're looking at the balance and if you're looking at the qualities and if you're looking for your team to be an attacking force, I don't know how you lean into that combo. I mean, can we take it back to midfield as well? Do we have to play Declan Rice and Martin Zubomendi in games like this? I mean, I thought they were both well below their best last night, by the way.

32:48I mean, you could say that of everybody, but it's just notable with those two because they're usually so good. Yeah, I mean, if you're going to play Madueke and Martinelli, What about the guy who laid on two goals for them at the weekend with brilliant passes through the lines? I don't know. The Eze on the left thing, I mean, you joke about the ghost of Matty Cash. And Mikel has been asked about this and sort of battered it away. But we haven't really seen him there since. And that is kind of absurd, I think. Like, I understand the frustration or the disappointment of that error made, but to sort of draw a line under that experiment there seems kind of self-defeating.

33:39I agree. I agree. Who knows what difference he would have made? But I do think, I've said this before, something Arsene Wenger was brilliant at was finding the right chemistry in the attack, you know, to have maybe a creator on one side, a sprinter on the other, someone, a nine who could link the play and genuinely join those dots together. and I don't think that's I don't think that's Mikel's strength I really don't I mean he's partly impacted by the resources he's got available that you know he's maybe not got his ideal players available but it's hard to have too much sympathy with the manager who's had that much backing and that much expenditure on the squad Yeah Yeah, we'll come back to Mikel and a bit of a discussion about him.

34:36But, you know, we talked about the first goal. What about the second goal that we conceded deep into injury time? There was a weird sort of situation, wasn't there, where Trossard got injured. And I think this is actually, this is not any excuse for Arsenal, who were the masters of their own downfall yesterday. but I saw people saying Trossard, you know, he was winding up the Wolves fans by going down and getting back up and then going down again, and that gave them a sort of impetus. But he actually got a really, what I think is a snide shoulder, and it's quite hard. He took a real blow to the face, to the side of the head.

35:15Very deliberate. I think it's borderline red as it is for me because the guy just has a look and then does him with his shoulder and given the height difference between those two players, I think it's actually borderline violent conduct. At the very least, it's a second yellow for a guy who was already booked. But I think Trossard is just sort of discombobulated. I don't know if it's concussed or whatever, but I think when you take a blow to the head like that, it has an impact on you. I think that's what it was. I don't think he was trying to wind them up. I don't think it was gamesmanship or anything like that.

35:53But there was a moment then afterwards, we brought Califiori on for Trossard, who had to come off. He hadn't come on long before that anyway. But there was a moment when Gabriel Jesus went through. Yeah. He had the ability or the potential to either score a goal or to square the ball for Gabriel Martinelli. A lack of conviction, a lack of decisiveness in the final third, which I think ties into some of the attacking issues that we've had. Wolves take the ball, bomb it downfield. And then they put what I think is just sort of like a hopeful cross into the box. Could we close it down more quickly?

36:33Maybe. Where do you stand on this one? Is it a case that if Raya has shouted, Gabriel has to get out of the way? or is it a case that if Raya is coming for that, it is incumbent on him to make that his ball, regardless of the fact that Gabriel is there? By the way, before I answer that, almost identical position, isn't it, from which Wolves scored their equaliser at the Emirates Stadium in the reverse game. I think it might even be the same player crossing into the box. This one is not a great cross. I mean, it's down the keeper's throat. For me, that's keeper's ball. And I just can't believe that David Raya would not have made that shout.

37:24You know, obviously, I think there's fault on all sides here, really. But my guess would be Raya's shouted for that and Gabriel's got involved unnecessarily. That's what I think. What do you think? I'm just going to watch it again. I think it's... Yeah, I know. I just put myself through it. It is, Matt, because it's 30 seconds between Gabriel Jesus being through at one end and us conceding at the other. Mm-hmm. So I'm watching again. The Wolves guy lays it back. Maybe Zubomendi could get out a bit. I mean, I think it's just one of those... if the keeper comes, he's got to get it. I think Gabriel has already made the decision when Raya decides that he's going to come as well.

38:19I don't know. Yeah, I mean, in Gabriel's defence, Raya should be aware that Gabriel is kind of, he can see, if he's aware of what Gabriel's doing, he knows Gabriel's going for it. They've both got their eyes only on the ball. that's basically the error right they have no awareness of each other's positioning but where where i think you you would uh the where i come down on it is that gabrielle is facing the ball raya is facing gabrielle and the ball and therefore the the greater responsibility lies with him because he can see that gabrielle is there and is likely knowing gabrielle to try and head that away so i think it falls more on raya i see i you know i i see it slightly more on Gabriel simply because I just think I I mean I'm I don't know I just cannot believe that there wouldn't be a shout there that there has to have been a shout from the goalie um and there was an incident with Gabriel like a few minutes earlier where I think a Wolves player had a shot or a cross or something and he like threw his head at the ball in a way that like I think he ended up needing a bit of treatment or something yeah oh he ended up getting a kick in the head something like that and i think i just think he had entered that state where he's gonna go for everything he's gonna go for everything yeah and and and that can work brilliantly for us and has worked brilliantly for us before but there is a kind of adrenaline fueled um side to his game sometimes where he makes maybe more emotional decisions and so i i do wonder if that's what's happening here but frankly yeah i mean the thing is like it is kind of a freak girl like you know that we have to be honest and say what it's not like wolves had a string of chances we conceded a great shot from outside the box and a total up and you know it's two goals kind of out of nothing and that is i I think why there's going to be so much focus on what we did with the ball and what we did in attack, because these things can happen.

40:37But they're happening a lot this season, aren't they? Yeah. And also, if you've put three or four past Wolves and killed the game, it doesn't matter. That's true. That's true. I mean, I think Gabriel's reaction is like, you know, when he turns around afterwards to Raya, I think what he's saying is, I was going for that. You knew I was going for that. You should have let me do it. I mean, it is unfortunate, slightly unlucky as well. I think Califuri is a little bit unlucky not to block that away. Like his defensive instincts are quite good. Yeah, yeah, I agree. I mean, I'm glad it seems to have been given not as an own goal because I think that would have been very harsh on Califuri and very harsh on the lad who comes on for once for his day.

41:22By the way, when you saw him come on, when I saw him coming on on the sideline. Here he comes for his Wolves debut. All I could think of was like, I fucking know what's going to happen here. Neil Miller, exactly. Neil Miller, Marcus Rashford that time at Manchester United. I think that's probably when I texted you to say, a Wolves goal feels inevitable here. Like I just knew. I mean, sometimes there's a fatalistic element to like, oh, I knew we were going to concede. I knew, you know, and it's typical of many football fans. It's like, oh, I knew we were going to let it go there. But I can't explain.

42:00It was like something deep in my soul that I knew we were going to concede. But, you know, we can talk about it as a freak goal. But in the context of fear, panic, miscommunication is exactly the sort of thing that goes wrong. You know, that cool headedness, that awareness deserted Gabrielle and Raya in that moment. And I think that's why we can't just write this goal off because it feels emblematic of a psychological issue in the team. Yeah, I think it's absolutely tied into how that second half went and how we played and how whatever energy we had sort of transmitted itself and manifested itself on the pitch in terms of the performance.

42:56I mean, the question now is like, what next? Because I think there's maybe two ways this can go, right? One is, okay, we've been in bad form. we've only won two of our last seven. You know, this was, as you said, a catastrophe. I think it was a diabolical result. There's no escaping how bad that result was, particularly, you know, when we're 2-0 up away from home. But the sort of report, well, it's back in City's hands now. It is, but it's also in Arsenal's hands. It still is in Arsenal's hands. It remains in our hands. So it's like, right, this is bad. we have sort of hit a kind of mid-season rock bottom we get our shit together we write the course and we go again that's one way it can go or the other way it can go is this is where people will say well that's where it came off the rails Andrew Allen said to me it sort of reminded him of the Birmingham 2-2 in 2007-2008 and I can I can see that I can get those vibes you know yeah i absolutely can and and i wonder how you you know particularly with a game that we've got on sunday that kind of game which is a which is a mental game at the best of derby games as we know are kind of crazy like how do you envisage the next few days going at arsenal because if there is a fear if it is the pressure of the title race and the psychological pressure and the desire to do well.

44:38And I've got no, like, I don't doubt that these guys are absolutely desperate to win the league and to do well for Arsenal. I've got no compunction about saying, I think they are all highly, highly motivated and really trying to do their best, but not reaching that at this moment in time. What can Mikel Arteta do? What should Mikel Arteta do between now and Sunday to try and write the course. As you said, he looked very shaken afterwards. I have no doubt there were some home truths spoken in that dressing room last night. He wasn't prepared to do it publicly. I have a fair idea that the players themselves had plenty to say.

45:22But how do you write the course in a short space of time against a team who haven't really played any football in the last couple of weeks? If fatigue is a factor, that's something we're going to have to contend with as well. but we've got to pick ourselves up off the floor here, but also do it in a way, like try and find a way to make this team effective again and to put that fear to one side when it's got to be, you know, sitting right there on your shoulders as you go into this next game. Yeah, it's not a question of motivation or hunger to do it. And Arteta actually did say that last night.

46:00He said, it's the opposite. and I guess the inference there is it's almost like they want it so much that it's almost paralyzing, you know? I mean, would it be funny if Mikel came out on Friday and just did the exact same press conference he did after the United defeat, you know, where he's like a boat. Yeah. He might change a boat for a, you know, a beautiful spaceship or something. You need to get on the jolly train guys. I mean, Because that's the problem, is that he's kind of given that address. I thought that was no perfect. I thought he smashed that when he came out and was like, we took a moment to bring the temperature down and we want, you know, we've got this beautiful challenge in front of us.

46:45I was like, that's spot on. But you can only give that talk once. So what does he do now? I don't know. I really don't know. I mean, he went with the soft approach publicly and privately, as from what I understand it, after the United defeat and emphasising enjoyment and, you know, the excitement of the challenge. And that makes a ton of sense. It's a way of kind of reframing the situation and alleviating some of that pressure. But now that pressure is, you know, ramped up even further. So what is that sort of mission statement on Friday? I don't know. Genuinely, I don't know. I don't know either.

47:26And I guess that's why he's paid millions and millions of pounds. But the thing he's got in his favour is he's got a fixture on Sunday that ought to motivate itself, right? That, you know, the derby is a final unto its own. And, you know, we will and have to be up for that. It's kind of, it's a non-negotiable. So I guess he might be hoping. There's some big games now. So it's Spurs and Chelsea, isn't it? Next in the Premier League. I guess he has to sort of see that as a blessing in disguise and hope that it elicits a response. Is there, I mean, there's always scope for managers to do something different with their teams.

48:22But, you know, I've seen a lot of people saying, why isn't Norgard playing more? Why couldn't Ben White come on last night? And I think that's a very valid question. And one I had myself when I saw Jurian Timber, who, you know, I think we all agree is a fantastic player, looked like a shell of himself in the final 20 minutes of that game. Like he couldn't pass the ball. Ahead of him, Gabriel Martinelli couldn't run. and that, you know, whatever you might say about Gabriel Martinelli, some of his decision-making, the last thing you expect to see, because there was a moment, wasn't there, where Trossard picked up the ball and he sort of sprinted into midfield and played a pass to where he thought Martinelli was going to run, but Martinelli didn't or couldn't run.

49:08I mean, does he have to do something different with the team? Or is it a case that the closer you get to the finish line, the more difficult it is to make a change because there is an element of uncertainty or risk with that. Or are we at a point where we have to sort of take our chances with the risk reward element of a tactical change, a positional change? We saw a little bit of it with Saka last night, but ultimately, despite the goal, I don't think you can say it worked particularly well. But then again, we're coming back to a front three like Madueke was disappointing. Martinelli was disappointing.

49:50Jokeres was disappointing. So it's hard to sort of say, right, if you swap out these individuals, the collective issues are going to be fixed. I feel for Mikel a bit because in terms of sort of doing something different I do feel like he found something in Havertz in that sort of almost support striker role and it was taken away from him I mean he's indicating he thinks Kai could be back in contention for Sunday I find that very hard to believe that he'll be ready to start based on the timelines that I was hearing when he was originally injured um but i do feel for him in that he kind of he i think he did land on something there and then uh it went away from him as quickly as he'd found it but yeah i think he does have to think pretty long and hard about his selection i do think as well though as much as we could talk about the tactical issues and the mentality there may also be an element of like putting these guys back out there a lot a lot of them not all of them but the vast majority of them but back out there to kind of avenge this performance because that you know for for all the sort of structural issues or psychological issues we might pinpoint they're definitely better than they showed last night well that was yeah that that was the thing that i was going to sort of end up this conversation with because as frustrated as you are and disappointed or angry or worried or whatever else, I think at the heart of it is the sense that you know that this is a team that is capable of much better.

51:31Yeah. Right. That has hit some kind of a roadblock, whether it's physical or mental or whatever it is. You know, there is a reason why we still remain top of the table. Five points clear? Five points clear at the top. There is a reason for that. And it is that we are, generally speaking, a very, very effective team. We're not the most exciting team. We're not the most enjoyable team to watch. I would like it to be more fun, but it is what it is right now. And I don't think that is going to change fundamentally between now and the end of the season. I think I've heard him say it before after a bad result where he says, well, what we need to do is just remind these players of how good they are.

52:16and that is kind of I think at the heart of how disappointed we all feel because if we were if we were fielding a team of I don't want to go into the names but everyone can just pick their own names from the front of their brain right now and if you're fielding those kinds of players you kind of go well yeah that's inevitable you know shit like last night that's what you get when you play players like that. But I think what we're seeing is an underperformance based on the quality of the team, based on the investment in the team, based on what we know this team is actually capable of. So maybe it is about reminding them how good they are.

52:59I don't know exactly how he does that. Strap them to an electric chair and make them watch, you know, games where they played well or something. I just don't know. I mean, I think that is the trick of maybe the great managers is that ability to elevate the psychological at this point of the season, because that can be the difference. yeah and listen it's taken us best part of an hour to get to we're five points clear and I'm sure there will have been some people listening have been sort of screaming that house for however long there's other people who don't want to hear it though as well and I I respect that too that's true that's true I mean I still think Arsenal are probably the best team in this league.

53:57And again, I don't know if people want to hear that today, but I look at the table. I think they have been until now the best team in this league. What worries me is just that idea that, you know, I still don't think Man City are going to turn a corner and become this juggernaut. I still don't see that. But if we play like we did last night, They won't need to. That's it. They won't need to. And that's what really, really, yeah, has given me the willies, Andrew. It's given me the willies. You're freaked out with the willies this morning. I'm freaked out with the willies. People can interpret that however they want.

54:42Yeah.

54:46I mean, imagine. They obviously had the massive boost of the win at Anfield, which they absolutely snatched a stoppage time goal to win that one. Imagine that, yeah, the mood at the Man City training camp this morning coming in off the back of last night. Well, yeah, that's another element of this, isn't it? That whatever we've done, however we've done it, it is a sort of a fillip for Manchester City. You know, if you're chasing Arsenal and you see them stumble, you see them stumble, you know, yeah, Yeah, it's got to make you feel like, okay, we really do have a chance here. And this is what I mean about the psychological aspect of how this run-in might play out.

55:31And listen, there's a key difference or there are key differences between the clubs and the managers, but they have a guy who's done it over and over and over again, regardless of what you think about how he's done it or how he's been helped to do it or the clubs that he's done it at. what he's got is that ability to do it. And I think that's where we have a kind of a roadblock, you know, because we have it. That is our challenge. I mean, is quality an issue for us in some areas? Maybe. But we're still, as I said, we've still been the best in this league overall. The whole thing now is, can we take that final step?

56:15Can we overcome that psychological hurdle? and unfortunately it's something we're yet to do and based on last night I can understand anyone who feels we're not necessarily closer to it and I think actually one of the really interesting things about last night in terms of how much reaction there's been and the sort of outpouring of frustration and disappointment from Arsenal fans is that we're talking about four competitions all the time we're in four competitions we're in four competitions I think this Premier League title is absolutely enormous to this football club. I think no Wembley day out.

57:02I think at this stage, even the Champions League success, which would be historic and monumental and massive, is secondary to the importance of getting over this finishing line. I really do feel that failure to win the Premier League this year would be very difficult to shake or overcome. Like after the summer expenditure, I was quiet about it because I'm an Arsenal fan. I don't want to create unfair expectations, but I did in writing call it a sort of no excuses season. and given the position we were in coming into the new year, I haven't really shifted from that. I don't really... In previous years, there kind of have been excuses, but with the squad that we have and the experience that we now have, I think we really have to win this Premier League title.

58:02And if we don't, I'm sorry to say, we will be the laughingstock of the country. Listen, I agree that there is no hiding place this season for the manager in particular, you know, who got pretty much everything he wanted in the transfer window and the expenditure was huge.

58:27Maybe, and I think, you know, if we were to win the Champions League, I recognise completely what you're saying. And I think there is something over the 38 games, but doing something historic might also be just as beneficial. But I recognize that if we don't win the Premier League this season, based on what we did in the summer, based on where we've been this season, based on the opportunities we've had to step up and to extend the lead as we had last night and we let it slip last night. and it's not the first time we've let it slip, there's going to be a lot of pointing from external sources at us, and I can shut that out and I don't deal with all that kind of crap.

59:13But a lot of the criticisms, which I don't think have always been valid, if Arsenal don't win it from here, I think it becomes very, very much a tipping point for this project and this manager. Yeah, that's the thing. And it will ring true this time and it will feel justified. And of course, look, if we're saying we're in the end of May and we've won the Champions League, maybe all this will be forgotten. I suppose what I'm saying is that like the outpouring of kind of premature grief I saw last night. I don't know if we went out of the Champions League in the next round, if it would be quite at that level, because I just think there's been such a build to this potential Premier League title that to kind of not deliver.

1:00:11I think the fans would find that very, very difficult to rationalise. Sure. And I think I'd be with them, to be honest. Well, look, the only thing that we'll say is that it is still in our hands. There is time to react. We simply must win all our games, Andrew. That's all it will take. It's a very simple fucking thing, you know? And we won't. And the thing is, that's the one thing I know. We won't and City won't. And unfortunately, you know, City may stumble soon and suddenly the picture looks brighter. But right now I fear we are kind of – it's like that moment when you've been thinking – you're at a theme park and you've been looking at a roller coaster and you're like, I don't know if I fancy it, but everyone else is going.

1:01:02And this feels like the moment where the bars come down and they click in and you're like, oh, shit. this is what I'm faced with yeah yeah yeah but that's from our perspective you just have to sit there and cling on for dear life you know for the team we're not there driving the thing yeah I mean I have seen and you'll have seen as well the people who this morning who are like it's over you know what I mean I'm certainly and I don't want to give the impression that I'm anywhere near that I am very much not saying that um my fear is it started you know what i mean we're sort of like rather than it's over yeah like what you know you see somebody and they they sort of get up and they stumble and there there's that sort of moment where they either write themselves and find their balance or they do a face plant and they end up on some kind of youtube compilation fail army you know that's where we are we're at that moment are we going to find our balance again or are we going to face plant so i hope we find our balance um that would be good yeah i would like that too and and it's perfectly plausible it's perfectly plausible and it's probably necessary but yeah i think we're allowed to have a day of being freaked out yeah i i don't i don't think there's anything wrong with it it's good to talk it out and i thank you uh for making time today i really do appreciate it.

1:02:35We'll talk on Monday, obviously, after the North London Derby. Hopefully, a much goodlier morning than this morning. Don't forget, you can join us tomorrow for a proper preview of the North London Derby as well, over on Patreon, patreon.com forward slash arseblog. For now, though, take it easy, folks, and we will catch you on the next one. Bye-bye.