Arsecast Extra Episode 692 - 27.04.2026

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1:18James McNicholas: hello and welcome to another arse cast extra as always with james from gunner blog james for the first time in what seems like fucking ages goodly morning to you Goodly morning, man. Goodly morning. It's good to be back on the right side of things. Yes. It must be the Everton game, right? Is that right? It must be. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was almost like we enjoyed that too much. You know what I mean? Karma was coming for us. I couldn't help but think about that game, actually, you know, during the game against Newcastle because of, you know, how tense and how on edge I felt. And we were one nil up in that game.

2:04James McNicholas: And the Everton game was what? Nil-nil going into the last couple of minutes before we got those two goals. How did we cope with that? I don't know, man. I don't know how we survived it, to be honest. And I am genuinely worried about whether I'll make it to the end of the season based on Saturday. Yeah. Yeah. You had an experience, I think, on Saturday in that you were watching the game without any commentary. So you weren't, for example, being inflicted with Gary Neville on Sky Sports and the Sky Sports commentator. I can't remember who it was. Maybe it was Rob Hawthorne or one of those guys.

2:46James McNicholas: And in the second half, you know, they kept going on and on about, oh, Newcastle, they're really coming to life here. in Newcastle are really doing their Newcastle, Newcastle, Newcastle. And it was not really reflected in the performance. And I sort of wondered if, listen, I don't think Arsenal played well, and we'll get into that. I did wonder if that was a not insignificant part in how many people who viewed the game on television experienced it. Like, it was already tense. We were already anxious. We're already on the edge of our seats, et cetera, et cetera. But then you have Sky going on and on and on about how, well, you know, a Newcastle goal here is pretty much inevitable.

3:32James McNicholas: That's the kind of vibe they were giving off. And that does play a part in how you come away from the game and how you experience it during those 90 minutes. But you had no commentary and you were still, like, fucked up by it. Yeah. I mean, I did have your texts coming through saying things like, fuck this for fuck's sake. I nearly threw my laptop at my TV screen, that kind of thing. Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry. That doesn't help either. So I didn't need Gary Neville. I had you. But no, I think, well, maybe listeners will be interested to hear. I was just as afraid, I think, by the experience of watching it soundless.

4:12And to be honest, I think it was less about what Newcastle did and more about what we didn't do. Yeah. Yeah. Because Newcastle, and I think that this is an important point when you're talking about this game, like they came to the Emirates in pretty dismal form to mix with you. They are not a good team right now. And yet, I think this game was, you know, perilously close for long periods, even if I totally accept it's not like they had a host of opportunities. It's more just one really that sticks in the mind. To be honest, they should have taken.

4:52James McNicholas: But this is like the story of our season in many ways, isn't it? Having these really tight games, these fraught experiences, whether you're in the stadium or watching on television, wherever you are in the world, it feels like a running theme throughout this season that from our side, we get ourselves into a position where you kind of think, okay, scoring after 10 minutes against Newcastle. That's good. Early goal. We haven't scored too many early goals. That'll settle us down, settle the nerves. And you're sort of looking for the team to build on that. And we haven't really been able to do that enough this season.

5:32James McNicholas: And we don't give ourselves a cushion in games. We don't give ourselves any margin for error. And at a point in the season when there is no more margin for error, there is no more wiggle room whatsoever so ever when it comes to results the games themselves are exactly like that we put ourselves in a position where okay we have something now we better not fucking lose it but we didn't do anything more to sort of give ourselves that little bit of a safety net in terms of the performance you know that that it just seems to and i know it's maybe not true to the extent that it is now but certainly in the first half of the season you know we had games a bit like this but you felt more confident in our ability to see them out because we were so defensively parsimonious now we're in a different a different phase if you like yeah we are we are I think we're I think we're slightly different team to be honest I think our performances are a lot substantially less complete i think now than they were back in the autumn and heading into the winter um i mean listen we got the job done that is that is the primary thing and maybe maybe i'm wrong to have expected anything else other than a bit of a scrappy game one where it was just about getting over the line about getting back in the the goodly morning column sure you will um but yeah my overriding feeling was one of this to me to me it fit a pattern of our recent performances which have been kind of by and large less than convincing and i was certainly one of those people who came out of the city game thinking aha well we may have turned a bit of a corner there you know if if we continue to play like that we'll win some of these final games that's for sure and of course we have done that in terms of the result and i'm not trying to dampen that or take anything away from it but I would say this performance um it did leave me with kind of as many questions as as answers in some respects and it hasn't it hasn't filled me with confidence yeah what's to come I know what you mean and I think the argument that at this point of the season performances are less important than results is perfectly valid right the job was after one win in six to get a win against Newcastle, and we did that.

8:04James McNicholas: And I think, you know, it goes without saying that that is the single most important thing. Nevertheless, you know, what we do is sit here after a game that we play at the weekend and talk about that game and how that game made us feel or how we experienced that game or what we thought of the performance or what we thought of the opposition performance or certain decisions that happen in a game. So I think, you know, going into this or going into where this discussion is going to go, and it probably won't be, when we talk about the performance, it's not going to be particularly glowing or anything like that.

8:41James McNicholas: I think we just have to sort of pin it up on the wall that we won and that's brilliant and we're delighted by that. But we also have to talk about how it happened and what we did and didn't do on the day and some of the incidents that happened. And that's just kind of what this is As we've often said, there's a measure of catharsis in talking about it and certainly for people listening. You know, the end of this game, the final whistle, I was so happy, but not just because we got the points, but because I didn't have to endure that game anymore. You know, there is that. And I can't sit here on a Monday morning and I feel, listen, I feel a bit more sanguine about it now than I did at full time.

9:29James McNicholas: I sort of had to just sort of sit there and stare at the wall for a few minutes to decompress. Like, I do feel better about it this morning because some time has passed. But in that moment, at the end of that game, I sort of felt like I'd gone through something. And, you know, I know this is an absurdity and it is just football and all of that. I recognize that. But, you know, this is our experience as fans and our desperation to win something. And, you know, I would love for Arsenal to go out and score two, three, four goals in a game. We didn't. We won it 1-0. And by doing so and by scoring quite early, we had sort of a...

10:11James McNicholas: Do you remember like a North London derby years ago? Thomas Rosicki scored a fucking amazing goal after about a minute. Remember he rocketed that one in the top corner. And then it was just like 89 minutes of, oh God, can we hang on to this? it was a bit like that, you know. But I do think some interesting aspects that we can talk about overall. Yeah, and I think what's interesting is if you talk about that derby now, all you remember is the Rzitzki goal. And it may be that, you know, in the annals of time, particularly if we do go on to win the Premier League, this game will just be, you know, an Eberce as a wonder goal and the rest of it will fade away.

10:56I certainly hope so because I don't need to hang on to it too much.

11:00James McNicholas: No, no, no. Nobody does, I think. I mean, listen, let's talk about the team he put out, which I think was similar to the one, obviously, that started the previous game against Man City. It was Kai Havertz up front. We had Odegaard Neze in the team again. Ben White at right back. The midfield is or was pretty much what we expected. I think the way the goal came about is really interesting. And the frustration maybe that was apparent early on in the game that we were taking short corners is kind of fascinating. Because in the cold light of day and when you stop and think about it, you could clearly see what was going on.

11:52James McNicholas: but i think to what extent do you think the the angst or the discombobulation about taking short corners was about those short corners in and of themselves or do you think the very early chance that newcastle had really kind of put us on edge because this was a game i was thinking come on you're at home the sun is shining 5 30 kickoff everyone's had a few beers last week's disappointment has been if not forgotten i think what what people tried to do whether it's a coping mechanism or not was to look at aspects of that manchester city performance and take some encouragement about how we might be able to play going forward as as you referenced and you're looking for arsenal to to come out of the blocks, start hard, start fast, take control of the game, pin Newcastle back, get the crowd up.

12:47James McNicholas: But in the first minute, Newcastle had a really, really good chance to score a goal. It was Osula who went through and he did that thing where he just sort of touched the ball with his standing foot as he was swinging his leg at it and he kicked fresh air. I really think that moment sort of contributed to the way we were looking at those corners because it was a case of, oh, geez, we've got a corner. Just fucking put it in there to the big man or the big man to Gabrielle and to Saliba, et cetera, and try and score. What are you doing this fannying around with a short corner for? Yeah, I think there was another moment in the first five minutes where maybe Zubimendi was dispossessed out on the right-hand side and it ended in a Bruno shot that went over the bar.

13:31So there were just a couple of instances of little defensive lapses, maybe, that suggested Newcastle might be carrying some threat, might be able to hurt us. I think on the corners, probably fans in the stadium feel, you know, those balls into the box for the likes of Gabriel have been such a strength of ours this season that, you know, I think there's a lot more confidence in our capacity to create chances from those situations than from open play. So going short probably felt like an opportunity missed. And I think it's one of those interesting instances where there's kind of a disparity between the team's instructions and the fans' aspirations or intentions.

14:17You know, it reminds me in a way of those moments where David Raya puts his foot on the ball, where clearly that's what the manager wants him to do. but it seems a little bit at odds with, you know, the atmosphere, the urgency that the supporters feel in the stadium. And I guess these short corners were part of that, you know, the 60 ,000 people there saying, get it in the mixer, but Arsenal have got something slightly more considered that they've worked on. And I think this is pretty remarkable, really. I think we had three corners and attempted to do effectively the same thing every time. I mean, there was a real persistence with it.

14:57You know, normally with a routine like that, you would imagine that a coach might say, okay, if it's on, look for it or, you know, use it here and there. But clearly, Arsenal just felt, let's keep spamming this basically before Newcastle have time to adjust to it.

15:15James McNicholas: Yeah, I think that's a really interesting aspect of it is that the corners came in fairly quick succession, right? The first one, you could see it was Odegaard who dropped in. He tried to play it to Eze, and I think a Newcastle player just got a toe on it, and that pass was sort of cut out. And then we got another corner, and it did come to Eze this time, and he had a left-footed shot which went wide. And then we got another corner, and again, Odegaard dropped deep, and there was some people were a little bit disconcerted about it. But this time he played it to Havertz. And we can talk about the finish because it's just a brilliant, brilliant finish.

15:58James McNicholas: But, you know, to what extent do you give, I mean, I think Arsenal, obviously, when you look at this, identified something in the way Newcastle set up from corners that they could exploit. Yeah. And I think credit to Arsenal and to the players for sticking with that instruction and recognizing that despite the fact that it happened twice, Newcastle didn't adjust. So I think they deserve a lot of credit for that. I think the execution of the third corner is really, really good. It's a lovely pass from Havertz. The finish from Eze is brilliant. I mean, Newcastle, should they not have been a bit more on their toes?

16:37James McNicholas: Like it's third time lucky from Arsenal. but like if if maybe it's the fact they came so close together they they couldn't get some instructions on the pitch but if you've seen Arsenal take this corner twice I don't think you should let them do that again because like my alarm bells would be ringing as a defender going right they've done this twice what have they seen how can we stop that happening they didn't really do anything to stop that happening so there's probably a little aspect of of Newcastle being caught flat-footed by this. Definitely. I mean, if you're a Newcastle fan, I think you're looking at that as a bit of a failure of coaching in terms of getting that message on and maybe a failure of leadership from the players.

17:22You know, somebody taking the initiative and seeing what was happening and contravening coaching to go out of their way to stop it. But Arsenal recognise that opportunity, seize that opportunity. I think we've got to give credit to our coaching staff. I think clearly that's something they... planned, worked on, you know, it's another set piece goal, but probably not the type anyone was expecting.

17:45James McNicholas: I think it does a little bit of, it is a nice set piece routine, but sometimes you just kind of feel a finish like that is done a disservice by putting it down as a set piece goal. Because people think that's just kind of like route one, industrial, whatever it might be. I think there's a lot more craft to this one. Yeah, exactly. I think it's not just playing the percentages, is it? I think Niko Jova probably needs to split his goal bonus for this one with Ebrecht Scherze, who does do a lot of the hard work on it. Yeah, it's a brilliant finish, isn't it? Absolutely. I mean, I was going to say he's the only player in the team who might make that finish, but maybe you could see Declan Rice pulling that one off as a kind of hit that Declan Rice has produced from time to time as well.

18:30James McNicholas: But, you know, they got Eze into that position. Didn't work the first time. It did work the second time and the shot went wide. Third time, third time's a charm, into the top corner. And it's 1-0 to Arsenal after, what, 10 minutes? And you're thinking, okay, the start hasn't been brilliant, but this is the thing. I think that will settle us down and allow us to get control of the game. But I don't think that was necessarily the case. I think Newcastle had more of the ball in our half than I would have liked. Let me put it like that. They did. They had a decent little spell. I think second half of the first half, they came into the game more.

19:11There's one cross from wide that David Raya had to come and claim. Joe Willock had a shot from the corner of the box that was pretty close to Raya. But yeah, I think the goal ought to have given us such a brilliant platform, but I'm not sure it did. And then I think another huge moment in that first half is Kai Havertz picking up that injury and going off. You know, even in those early exchanges, I think his ability to link the play, we obviously saw him set up Eze for the goal as well, was evident. And so losing him, I think it was a blow to the crowd and to the team as well.

19:52James McNicholas: Yeah, it did felt like one that kind of rippled a bit, you know, not just because his season has been so hit with injury and he's just, you know, starting to establish himself in the team again. Scored against Manchester City, scored the goal in Lisbon, obviously, that saw us through to the semifinals of the Champions League. But I do think there is a recognition generally that despite the goals that he scored this season, as a team, we feel a bit more cohesive with Kai Havertz up front. And I think that's, you know, in part because he has established relationships with some of the players on the pitch that Jochrez maybe doesn't, you know.

20:35James McNicholas: the Odegaard-Havertz relationship is very well established whereas Odegaard and Jokerez haven't played together anywhere near as much so yeah I think that was a real blow to lose I think at this stage of the season any injury is bad any injury is bad I think by the end of the first half Newcastle had had more attempts on goal than Arsenal I think it was 9-3 there wasn't any one that was massively dangerous there was a shot from tonali i think which was wobbling all over the place with that uh with that ball the puma ball which is a bit wobbly isn't it and raya made a decent save but it wasn't a case that we were under concerted pressure or raya was having to make save after save it was more about arsenal not really being able to play the game in their half or to create chances up the other end Yeah, we had one shot from open play, I believe, in the first half, which is not really, you know, it's not what I want to see or expect to see.

21:44I'm not going to come on here and tell you that Newcastle had us under the cosh and we were really struggling to cope with it. I don't think that would be true. I think they're quite light in attack at the minute and we certainly have the players to cope with that. as I say it was much more about what we didn't do what we failed to do and the manner in which we didn't kick on after that early goal I guess I mean not something I was particularly bothered about but a lot of people are talking about goal difference as an important factor in the season too that feels quite a fanciful consideration for this Arsenal team

22:24James McNicholas: Yeah, I know what you mean I mean, it was something Arteta played down in his pregame press conference. He was asked about it quite a bit and just sort of said, listen, we have to win. First and foremost, we have to win. And I understand, you know, why he spoke like that and why he framed it in that way, you know. But it doesn't make that reality untrue or it doesn't make our desire for this team, I think, you know, above and beyond the idea that we might be comfortable watching an Arsenal game. You know, there is that desire knowing that like two goals or three goals in a game could potentially be the difference between winning the title and not winning the title at this stage, you know?

23:11James McNicholas: So it is there in the background for us as fans. Although I do, you know, I do know why he sort of played that down in the press conference. Yeah, I think at this point in our season, we just had to get the win, you know. Unfortunately, we did, but not before a nerve-jangling second half. Well, yeah, there's another aspect of this in that, you know, get to halftime, you're 1-0 up, you didn't play particularly well in the first half, come out in the second half and set the tone again. That didn't happen. You know, Newcastle, I think 10 or 15 minutes into the second half had 75 possession from the restart.

23:58And that's like, that's not good.

24:01James McNicholas: However you want to frame it, it's not good that they were that dominant in that part of the game. And listen, we weren't helped, of course, by the injury to Eberachie Eze, which took place, what, about five minutes into the second half. He went down, he was replaced by Gabriel Martinelli, which meant sort of by default, well, not default because there were maybe other options on the bench for Mikel Arteta, but we had that front three of Madueke, Jokerez and Martinelli, which we've spoken about more than once and which is not really effective for Arsenal. Were you a little surprised that it was Martinelli over Trossard, given the issues that front three has had before?

24:53And listen, this is not the front three he chose from the start, but he did maybe have the option to bring Leandro Trossard on.

25:01James McNicholas: And, you know, maybe there's a fitness issue with Trossard and Martinelli's a bit fitter and faster and, you know, able to run up and down against a hardworking physical Newcastle team. So I maybe understand it from that perspective. But was that something he had to consider, that you're going to end up with that trio up front, which, you know, is an issue? The front three of doom. Mm-hmm, the front three of doom. I mean, yeah, listen, it just doesn't work. And we've said it on multiple occasions this season. So it is a bit surprising that Arteta goes back to it. You know, maybe there's a case that he trusts Martinelli slightly more out of possession than he does Trossard.

25:44But when I look at that Newcastle team, I think they had Lewis Miley playing at right back, who's really, you know, a bit more of a central midfield player. I'm not sure he's someone who's going to get forward and bomb on and overlap and give you loads of trouble on that side. So I think we should have been able to carry a trossard in that position quite easily. I suppose Mikkel probably knew he had Pekai Saka up his sleeve and he probably wasn't that far away from using him.

26:12James McNicholas: We also were pointing out that, you know, because you've had to make two and four substitutions, you only have one more window in which to make changes. Yeah. I mean, I wonder how tempted he was to use Saka at that point in time. What was it, about 52 minutes as they went down? He would have always thought Saka's going to get some minutes in this game. Would he have given consideration to that extra 10, 15? It's probably right that he didn't. We don't want to be taking risks with him at this point in the season. But yeah, look, it did add to that feeling of, you know, this being a difficult game.

26:45And I do think those injuries, not quite either side of halftime, but relatively close to it, definitely sort of impeded us. And actually that thing of the opposition coming out for a second half and knocking the ball about and having good spells of possession. I feel like that's a bit of a trend in this recent run.

27:06James McNicholas: It is. And it's sort of at odds with the way, like I can remember us having a conversation or more than one conversation on this. show about how, well, you know, after the break, Arsenal have been, you know, really quite effective. We found a way to come out in the opening stages of second halves and score goals. Do you remember that? That was a little trend that we had. Didn't last as long as we would like, but it seems to have gone a bit too far the other way. Yeah, I think I've made this point. I can't remember if it was on here before or not, but I also find it interesting, you know, that the club placed a lot of emphasis on kind of kickoff and building up the atmosphere for kickoff.

27:48And then it often feels like the second half, start of the second half is a bit of an afterthought. And I just wonder, like, does that have an impact on player performance? Not to put it on the crowd or anything like it, but I almost feel like we need to be as refocused, as re-energised for that second 45 minutes collectively as we are for the first kickoff. And at the moment, it feels like we just allow teams to be a little bit too comfortable in that phase of the game.

28:16James McNicholas: Yeah, I know what you mean. I think just the sort of natural dynamics of halftime where people come back to their seats, you know, having... A bit later. Yeah, doing whatever they need to do at halftime, whether it's get a beer, go to the Jacks or whatever it is. You know, there is a sort of dynamic there that I think is not about Arsenal. I just think it's wherever you go at halftime, there is that. I think this sort of circles around that idea of, well, do we need the crowd to lift the team or should the team lift the crowd kind of thing? Yeah. I think it's, you know, for me, it's more on the team and the players and the intent with which they play, you know?

29:01For me, it's shocking that fans would rather go and have a beer and chat to their mates than watch Gunnasaurus do penalty shootout. you have the opportunity to see a Jurassic era creature attempting to save penalties from children, you know? Yeah. And you turn your nose up at it, call yourself fans, honestly. Yeah.

29:23James McNicholas: It is a worrying trend though, because I do think, you know, you can like have all kinds of ideas and thoughts about why we are struggling to play the way people would like us to play at this moment in time um but i you know ultimately you've got to go out there on the pitch and just do it and i think that period after halftime it just sort of exacerbates the worries and certainly the nervousness that i had about this game was exacerbated by the fact that early on in that second half we let Newcastle control it and yeah I I think yeah there's there's just something whatever you want to talk about in terms of style of play or how we play or the attack or what works and what doesn't work and I get all that and I think they're all perfectly valid I cannot escape the idea that given where we are with four or five games to go and this was the you know the fifth game, game one of five of the new season, that there is something about the pressure of this situation, which is inhibiting the team.

30:38James McNicholas: I think it's impossible to avoid that conclusion. And whether you think that's right or wrong, I don't think it makes it any less true. You know? No, I agree. It's interesting because something Mikel has said, and it's something I agree with, is that the situation we find ourselves in provides us with clarity. You know, there's enormous clarity about what is required between now and the end of the season. And that's great, but it doesn't make it easy. It doesn't make it more manageable or less pressurised. The clarity is you have to win every game. Or else. Yeah, basically. Yeah. Basically. And your reputation and a summer of celebrating or mockery is in the balance.

31:24And I think, yeah, how can that not weigh on you? It weighs on us, right? And we're not even the ones out there or necessarily in the stadium. So I think that's absolutely inevitable. And I think we as fans need to recognise that too and be understanding of it because it is a big burden. It is a big burden to carry.

31:53James McNicholas: Yeah, I mean, the idea that at this level of any top sport, football, whatever it is, that there's no pressure and that pressure doesn't have an impact and it doesn't manifest itself on performance. You know, it happens all the time to top sports people. And then the difference makers are the ones who can get it over the line, of course, or the ones maybe who deal best with that stress. And I think maybe part of the worries that we share as fans are we haven't necessarily been as convincing as we would like in some of those moments, you know, when the pressure is really on, do we have what it takes to dig in?

32:29James McNicholas: Is there somebody who can rouse the team or whatever it might be? can I just say before we move on to the next incident uh the most uh one of the most important incidents I think in the game is the the Nick Pope thing um yeah that I've seen it said and I'm not saying I agree with this but I have seen it said that Arsenal fans are a problem right and I don't think it's fair I don't think it's right I think you know during the Bournemouth game people's normal human reactions were on display. And I think there is a fundamental difference between being a fan in the stadium and being a cheerleader.

33:12James McNicholas: Those are two very different things, right? I think Arsenal fans have been unfairly criticized for not doing enough to support the team and for the atmosphere not to be as helpful to the players on the pitch as it might be, right? And again, my feeling on this is that this is player-led. This is performance-led, first and foremost. Like that, what do you call it? That sort of circular thing, like is it chicken or egg? Like whose job is it to get the crowd up? Is it the crowd to get the team? Is it the team to get the crowd? I think on Saturday, and I'm watching this on TV in Dublin from afar, and your experience will be different because, you know, you didn't have any sound on the TV at all.

33:59James McNicholas: I think the Arsenal fans were really, really good on Saturday, that they really did their best. They did as much as possible to try and lift the team in terms of the support. And I think given how poorly we played, there's no question in my mind that the crowd did their bit on Saturday. So I just wanted to say that because I think it's really unfair the way it's framed to to blame fans when the team doesn't play well or when you know collectively or individually we fall short that's not the fault of the fans at all but they really really uh got behind the team on saturday so i just wanted to to actually say that yeah they looked very animated well yeah from the pictures i saw it is weird by the way watching football without sound it feels entirely incomplete to me of course yeah yeah without commentators it would be great but if you just had crowd noise i think there is yeah yeah yeah it adds so much so much dynamics to to the experience um but everything i heard i must say from people in the stadium was that the fans were amazing yeah i thought it was great you know and in a tense situation as well yes where you wouldn't blame anyone in that stadium i'm not saying everybody was doing because you're going to have people who are freaking out and, and, you know, their way of coping with that is to, to scream and shout.

35:24James McNicholas: And maybe it's not necessarily, come on chaps, do a little better here. You know, there is a, there is a way of letting that out in the game, which I think is perfectly reasonable, you know? And I don't like the idea that, that, um, fans are policed by, um, pundits and columnists and things like that. So I did just want to recognize how I thought the fans played their part on Saturday. So let's talk about the Nick Pope incident when it's Martin Odegaard plays a ball in behind. Nick Pope comes out to sweep up, doesn't get there, takes out Victor Jochrez. The referee gives a yellow card. What's your thoughts?

36:02My first thoughts is it's quite, it's really poor from Nick Pope because the ball is actually in his path. Like he's, it's his to get all day long. And this is why Newcastle, I think, have been trying to move on from him because he's, you know, pretty poor with his feet. And in these situations, he looks very, very uncomfortable. Misses the ball completely. Jokeres goes past him. I mean, I must say in real time, I thought he'd be shown a red card. Clearly, Mikel Arteta thought he would be shown a red card.

36:39I've got it frozen I've been watching it just as we've been sort of talking about it in the Builder and at the point where Pope fouls Jochores I can see obviously the Newcastle defender is it Malik Tua is that his name? Malik Tchao yeah Tchao thank you I think he's kind of 50-50 with Jochores in terms of who's going to get there and to me like that's the decision It's a knife-edge decision. It's 50-50 on the basis that if they – I can't tell you in good faith who's getting there out of those two. But I kind of think for the cynicism of the challenge, I'm surprised it wasn't a red.

37:20James McNicholas: Well, here's the thing. They were talking about a covering defender, right? Yeah. But if Nick Pope is the last man and a defender makes that challenge, they're gonna say guys that's a that's a last man denial of a goal scoring opportunity he's got to go and i recognize that i mean i think you know when i saw it i was like oh there is a defender there yeah i suppose yellow is all right but like within a couple of minutes i was like hang on a minute i think this should be a red card because basically the goalkeeper has been given special dispensation to make a foul that a defender would be sent off for.

38:01James McNicholas: Like if that's a defender, if it's the other way around, if it's Malik Chow who takes out Jokerez and Nick Pope is standing on the edge of his area, red card. So I don't really see why it's any different for the goalkeeper. It's a great point. I think psychologically in terms of the referee's decision about it, I wonder to what extent the fact that Jokeres never touches the ball. Like it's never him carrying the ball. I wonder if that weighs in his hand. Like if he touches that ball around Pope and is hauled down, I think the referee doesn't think twice. But because it's sort of a loose ball, a free ball, and it's arguably, as I say, a 50-50 between the centre-half and the striker who gets there, I think that might be why he arrives at a yellow, but I can't.

38:55Yeah, I understand Mikhail Teta's frustration because it would have been a huge moment in the game. It would have given us a degree of comfort that, frankly, you know, I'm not sure we ever really had from that point on.

39:07James McNicholas: No, not at all. So, yeah, I was a little bit frustrated by that. He came out quite big on it, Arteta, didn't he? And he spoke about the City one as well. Which I can't remember what you said about it. I didn't think the City 1 was really a red. No, I was the same. I was, you know, and I know people's opinion on this is different from ours. My sort of thinking on it was like, if that was the other end and Gabriel or Saliba leans into Erling Haaland and he goes over, you know, I'd be really unhappy with that being sent off. But, you know, people have said, if you look, there's a clash of legs and I don't know.

39:49James McNicholas: That one for me is certainly a bit more 50-50. This one I think is 100 % a red card. But, yeah, because of the circumstances, because it's the goalkeeper, and I think your point there about, you know, if he was in control of the ball and he was fouled, then it would definitely be a red card. But because he was chasing onto a pass that was for him without having touched it, then, yeah, maybe that's it. I still think it was red though. Yeah, I agree. I mean, I think irrespective of what you may think, you know, if we sort of play the referee in these situations, Mikel's still done the right thing by coming out, going strong on it.

40:24And, you know, I think applying that bit of pressure around decisions, you know, when the margins are so fine, I can understand why he's taken that stance. I mean, the only thing he would say is it hasn't worked brilliantly for him previously.

40:41James McNicholas: No, true. But I think, you know, I think you kind of have to say it. You have to try and apply any bit of pressure on the officials. And listen, conveniently, don't mention the Gabriel thing from last week either. That's fine. Just focus on the Kuzinov and Havertz one, you know. So, you know, people will pull him up on that, I'm sure. But like you, I understand why he went big on it. And it's sort of easier to do when you've won a game. You're not using it as an excuse as to why you didn't win, right? So you're sort of doing it from the best possible position. That said, we were, I think, very, very, very fortunate not to concede a goal with about 10 minutes to go.

41:26James McNicholas: We talked about Newcastle not really making any clear-cut chances. And then they made maybe the best chance of the game for either side with about 10 minutes to go. Nick Valtemata plays a ball really smart pass over the Arsenal defense into the path of Jon Wisser who has just David Raya to beat. I think if you're going to be generous, you might say that the goalkeeper rushing out put a bit of pressure on Wisser. I think so. But if I'm a Newcastle fan, I'm saying that is a fucking terrible miss. and I would be going absolutely spare at my fucking striker for missing that chance at that stage of the game.

42:12James McNicholas: I think it's a terrible miss from a player who is well capable of finishing that ball, finishing that pass from what, seven or eight yards out and he put it over the bar. I think it's a really bad miss and I think we got very, very lucky. I mean, yeah, and I think no one will be more disappointed than Volta Marder because I think that would have been a really beautiful assist. I've watched Martin Odegaard try to play that little dinked pass for about three years, and it's only come off once or twice. I thought it was beautifully done. David Raya, to his credit, not only does he get out quick, he stays very, very upright.

42:51I mean, some would say that's an invitation to Whistler to just try and get it over the ball, keep it low, go either side. But fortunately for us, he absolutely skies it, and it's a huge moment in the game, in the season, in the title race. It's a let-off for sure. And yeah, I mean, there's nothing else to say about it really. It was a heart in mouth moment. And I was thrilled to see it go over.

43:22James McNicholas: There were a couple of moments for Arsenal. Bukayo Saka had a shot after coming off the bench. Saka had a shot which I think hit Dan Byrne and went behind for a corner. There was an Odegaard shot. We actually had our best openings in this period. And I think it's partly Saka coming on. I think so. He gave us a bit more control, if that's the right way of putting it. It was a bit more tidy, you know? Yeah, I think so. So sort of consistency and quality of execution. And also the game was becoming a little more stretched at this time. Newcastle obviously had to go for it. They'd thrown Volsmar on as a kind of midfielder almost, which meant there were a few more gaps to exploit defensively.

44:12So, yeah, I think if you were looking for positive from the game, I think Saka's introduction and his impact in a relatively short space of time was certainly one interesting as well to see Myles Lewis Skelly get on in central midfield.

44:27James McNicholas: Yeah, I've got a question about that. So I'll save that for part two. But like I said, there was the Saka shot, the Odegaard shot, which Pope saved. There was an overhead kick from Gabrielle Martinelli. I think it came from the corner after the Saka shot was deflected. One of those where it looks like an easy save for the goalkeeper because it's basically straight at him. But if he hits it in a different part of the goal, it would have given him some problems. that's for sure i'm just looking at my live blog here um seven minutes of injury time and then my comment is i think i might die um because i certainly felt like you know there was so much on the line and then we have that moment when there's a break down the left hand side and i think it's bakayosak and gabrielle martinelli are in the middle victor jacquez down the left hand That was the moment, James, where I came very close to fucking my laptop at the TV screen.

45:23James McNicholas: And I'm not really one for outbursts of environmental violence, but I came very, very close there because it's not a difficult pass. I'm sorry. It is not a difficult pass to make. You've got loads of room for those boys to run into, loads of room to roll the ball into. And you just cannot, even with your wrong foot, even with your left foot, you cannot play that ball three yards straight into the legs of the closest defender. You just cannot do that. You can. Oh, yes, he can. Vic McCarthy. Yeah, I mean, I agree. I don't have much to add to that. That's the thing about it is that when you look at it again, it's not a question of needing to play it square.

46:14He can just roll it into space. I mean, as we saw, Nick Pope's never getting there. He doesn't want to come and get that. There's just acres of space to roll it into, and he gets it all wrong, Jokeres. And, you know, the crowd, as I say, were – I mean, I didn't hear the noise of the crowd, but I heard the noise of the pub at that moment.

46:36James McNicholas: I'd say it was very similar to the noise of the crowd. It was like, I couldn't believe it, honestly. It's just, and listen, shit like that can happen. It's just one of those moments where at that stage of the game, you kind of feel like we had this chance to put ourselves 2-0 up and let everybody go home and feel relaxed. And you can't help but feel the worst. You can't help but go like, oh, well, that's going to come back and bite us. That will definitely come back and bite us in the arse because we did not make the most of that. But fuck. Yeah, I guess that was kind of our Max Dallman moment, right?

47:14Against Everton. Yeah. We had the chance to set the seal on it and change the atmosphere and allow everyone that room to breathe in those final few seconds. I wonder as well, like, did Jocarez carry some of the fan frustration as well about another guy? Habert's injury in that moment, you know, did that kind of compound things a bit. He had that moment, didn't he, where the fans, I'm sure, must have been really behind him because he chased a loose ball and sort of, you know, sprinted back.

47:47James McNicholas: Oh, got it down in the corner flag. Yeah, I remember. Yeah, exactly that. So he sort of, you know, he worked hard in his time on the pitch, but this was just a poor case of execution. I think if you watch it, I think Mikel Arteta is sort of pointing towards the corner flag, actually, at that point in time, just saying, carry it. No, I mean, that's wrong as well. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. That's absolutely the wrong thing. I mean, I can sort of understand it, but it's also wrong. Like, no, just execute that pass. You've got two on one and, you know, it's Saka and Martinelli versus the goalkeeper. I know we found goals a little bit hard to come by of late, but I'm pretty confident that would have been a goal.

48:32James McNicholas: Yeah, it was a bad one. It was a bad one. But I mean, one thing I would say is that as torturous an experience as it was for the viewer, with the exception of that Whistler chance, I do think we contained Newcastle relatively well. And the important context of that is that, you know, they're in a bad run of form. They're a side that's probably looking down at this point in the table rather than up. They have to start looking over their shoulder a little bit. But we, it's not like we were on the rack and really, you know, having to do loads of last ditch defending. I think we looked about as comfortable as it's possible to look with the stakes this high and the scoreline so finely balanced.

49:18James McNicholas: Yeah, I think that's fair. I think that's fair. It's just when it's 1-0, you've got a one goal lead. Yeah, of course. And we're at this point in a title race. You know, if everybody's nerves were frayed, I think that's just normal. I think it's completely normal. And it's hard as well. I think for, you know, the majority of people who are going to be listening to this, for example, will have watched it on TV, right? beyond the 60 ,000 that were there in the Emirates on Saturday. And that sense that your perception of the game is in some way informed by the commentary that you're experiencing is hard to escape as well.

50:05James McNicholas: I did think it was curious that you were so nervous without having to have Sky tell you every two minutes that, you know, Newcastle are really turning it on here. This is, you know, it's Newcastle's time, but, you know, maybe it is just... That's what they came to see, isn't it, Andrew? Let's be honest. Yeah. Yeah, it's true. That's what they came to see. And they probably felt it was on. And I can't disagree with that assessment. I mean, a better Newcastle, the Newcastle of last season, get something in this game, in my view. but you know we ground it out and I think if you know my feeling after certainly after the Bournemouth game maybe less so after the City game was that if Arsenal are going to do this this season if we are going to get ourselves over the line it's going to be by leaning into the kind of foundational principles of our game I don't believe we're going to become another team in the final four or five games of the season.

51:17And when you step back from this, you can see, okay, a clean sheet, a goal from a set piece routine. Three points. That feels like Mikel Teta's arsenal. Yeah, it does right now.

51:33James McNicholas: Yeah, yeah, that's for sure. It's a building block, I think. You know, it's a little bit of a... But Mikel has spoken again in the last month or so about identity and the team not being sort of true to who they really are. I'm not trying to tell anyone this is a good performance. I'm trying to say that I think for me, it fits that idea of if we're going to do this, I think it's going to be by leaning into those sort of core fundamentals as a bit of a, yeah, a bit of a crutch. at this point in time. Because I think it's required. Well, however you win them, win them. That's where we are, you know?

52:14James McNicholas: And it may not be pleasant for us to watch, but hopefully, you know, come the end, we can sort of forget the experience and just enjoy the, what was Arteta's quote about the journey and the destination and all that kind of stuff, you know? It's like a fucking long car ride when you're a kid, isn't it? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? that's what it feels like so it's maddening for the kid and it's maddening for the parents having to listen to it the whole time but but this is this is what it is and when the stakes are asleep in the back and then you know michael arteta can carry me out the car when we've got there that's my preference yeah that would be nice wouldn't it we're here we made it yeah we did it put me straight in my cot yeah yeah premier league trophy just yeah took you in good night son that's all i really want well look we did it and that is you know a positive thing and i'm very happy that we won and i'm sort of happy to have talked about it and hopefully never have to think about that game ever again quite right and it's just on to the next massive massive game yes all right well look why don't we take a little break here we will come back with your questions and more in part two right after this.

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55:44Immersing yourself in all things soccer ahead of this summer's World Cup? I'm Alex Abnos, senior sports editor from The Guardian. And whether you're a soccer beginner or you know the game inside and out, we've got you covered. Read, watch, and listen as our journalists connect the dots between the games, the cultures, and this political moment. We'll have daily newsletters throughout the tournament, reporters on the ground with all the big teams,

56:06James McNicholas: and the legendary Football Weekly podcast, The Guardian. Bringing you the whole picture on soccer. Search Guardian Soccer for more.

56:15James McNicholas: Welcome back to the Arsecast Extra. This is part two of the show where we answer the questions that you send to us on bluesky at gunnerblog.bsky.social and at arseblog.com. Also on the Arseblog Discord chat server, which you get access to if you are an Arseblog member on Patreon. Before we get into the questions, a lot of people have been asking about the live event at Union Chapel. So I'm happy to announce that tickets will be going on sale on Wednesday. First and foremost, those tickets will be available to our Patreon members, Patreon members of Arseblog and Arsenal Vision Podcast, of course.

56:58James McNicholas: And the rest of the tickets will go on sale on Thursday, general sale. The event is taking place on Saturday the 16th. Is that right? Yes, Saturday the 16th of May. Saturday 16th of May. The reason it was delayed in terms of the announcement, etc., was because we had FA Cup commitments and we didn't quite know what was going to happen if we continued to make progress in the FA Cup. Unfortunately, the team had that covered for us, Andrew. Yeah, they sorted that out. So we know it is going to be happening now on Saturday, May 16th, times, etc., etc., to be decided. But that is the date. Put it in your diary.

57:37James McNicholas: If you fancy coming along, your best chance of getting tickets is if you are a Patreon member, patreon.com forward slash arseblog, etc, etc. And just a note as well or a mention too of the fundraiser, which is coming to an end at the end of April so far. The total is£416 ,526 raised for the Arsenal Foundation. once again the incredible community that we have here and over at arsenal vision as well have come together to do something extraordinary and wonderful and to to raise that money for the arsel foundation is just incredible so thank you very much to everybody who has contributed to that in the month of april um you're amazing and we love you and thank you very much indeed yeah absolutely incredible and still time before the end of the month to become a patron contribute to that cause and get potentially early access to the live event as well although if you do come to the live event you will potentially miss out on the ending of um a Manchester City versus Chelsea Cup final hope you're going to be okay with that um I think we can guarantee there will be no mention of the outcome of that game at the live event?

58:59No.

58:59James McNicholas: Yeah, because last year, obviously, we were, I remember in the, what do you call it, the dressing room, the green room, the backstage area of Union Chapel before the show started. You know, I get a little bit nervous before we do these things. So I tend to pace around and walk around and it helps keep me calm. But I remember you were sitting on the sofa. you were so relaxed sitting there on that sofa with your phone in your hand and you went, 10 minutes of injury time. I was like, fuck. What game was that? It was Crystal Palace. The Aberace has a final. And Palace were winning 1-0. And then you said like 10 minutes of injury time.

59:40James McNicholas: I thought I was going to lose my fucking mind. Because obviously I wanted Palace to win. And well. Yeah, there was a good outcome that day. My worry about this final is there is no good outcome. Yes, true. True. True. But there you go. It should be a really good night. Yeah, we're looking forward to seeing everybody. And hopefully it's a night where we're still talking about possibility and potential and success and all of those things. So, you know. I mean, you've got to remember, City will have lost to Everton and Bournemouth, I think, by then. So it'll be fine. Don't worry about it. Okay. Well, good.

1:00:13James McNicholas: I'm glad to hear it. I feel much more relaxed about everything now. Right. Let's do the questions. And I said I had one on this, which I do, but I've got to find it. Okay. It comes from Josh IRL. I don't know if that's Josh from Ireland or Josh in real life. He might be both. He might be from Ireland and also a real life human being. And a real life Josh. Anyway, whichever flavor of Josh you are, thank you for the question. He said, what did you make of Miles Lewis Skelly coming on in midfield in a close game like that? He came on for Martin Zubomendi, who Mikel Arteta revealed afterwards had been ill, wasn't feeling particularly well.

1:00:58James McNicholas: He said, do you think that tells us Arteta sees him as a legitimate option there during the run-in? Yeah, I didn't know we were allowed to do that. You know, it feels like it's not been one of the options. Nikola Teta has given great consideration to. I mean, my main outtake from this is, as a day, unless there's something we didn't hear about, it was pretty bad news for Christian Norgard. If the amount of Premier League minutes he's played to this point hadn't made that clear enough. I actually saw somebody on Blue Sky was flagging the idea that, I think it was Matt Haymes, said Eze has played more for Palace this year than Norgaard has played for Arsenal, which I've not verified.

1:01:44I think that could be true.

1:01:45James McNicholas: I think Norgaard's Premier League minutes are something like 56 Premier League minutes. If you just take Premier League, that is true because I think Eze played a full game for Palace, didn't he? Or maybe, yeah, one game, I think, for Palace. There you go. So his omission from the squad, I thought was interesting. At this critical stage of the season, I guess we're getting a few players back, so people are going to have to be left out. One of the value that Myles brings is versatility, his ability to cover out fullback, but also midfield. I was really pleased to see it and pleased to see he had a decent little cameo.

1:02:25I mean, one of his first actions was a nice pass through the middle of the pitch into Saka. Do I think he's going to start again between now and the end of the season? probably not but could he be a valuable option in a situation where you know we can afford to bring one of the mendy or rice off or we have to bring one of the mendy or rice off god forbid uh quite possibly quite possibly and i i think yeah i'm glad that it's back on the table or on the table

1:02:56James McNicholas: i'm not sure it ever really has been to be honest yeah it's sort of you know around the table you you know, on the floor near the table. I have to say, I think there was a really interesting coaching moment here that if we are going to use Myles there or if he is seen as an option there. And I think, you know, clearly that was a decision Mikel Arteta had to make. And not only did he need him as a left-back option, but, you know, with Zubimendi unwell before the game, he could have erred on the side of caution, couldn't he? and sort of kept Norgard in the squad as another Mitchell option. It's interesting that he didn't, isn't it?

1:03:32James McNicholas: I think that is quite telling. Well, I mean, I think he was just stacking his bench with attacking players because, you know, that might be what we need. But there was a moment in this game where, I don't know how we lost the ball, but it certainly broke towards Newcastle in their half and Valtemada ran away from Myles Lewis Skelly, who I think should have made a foul really high up the pitch in that moment. Martinelli, I think, got booked for something quite similar a few minutes previously, where he stopped the Newcastle break. And it looked very clumsy for Martinelli, the way we sort of coughed the ball up.

1:04:15James McNicholas: But he made a foul, which meant Newcastle couldn't break forward. Valtemada, he ran about 50, 60 yards up the pitch. And I think perhaps he's a little bit scarred by that moment against Wolves where he made a similar kind of foul, right? He made a cynical foul in the opposition half and got sent off. But I think there's a way of making that foul. If you are going to play in midfield, there's a way of making that foul, which isn't quite as cynical as just sort of tripping him up and giving the referee a bit too much to think about, perhaps, even if that sending off against Wolves was an absolute travesty.

1:04:51James McNicholas: but you know interesting to see him in there that's the moment I think if I was Mikel Arteta and the coaching staff probably Gabriel Ayncia will be the one to sit him down and have that conversation that you know you you've got to make that foul when they're breaking forward because it ended up with a kind of scramble in our box and the ball was popping around all over the place I think we got a free kick in the end but it was it could have been more dangerous and I think you just have to be as a midfield player in moments like that in games like this, aware that there is a level of cynicism required to get results like this and to ensure they get over the line.

1:05:31James McNicholas: So that would be the only thing I'd say about Miles. I think he did well otherwise. I think you make an interesting point on the Wolves thing. And I actually think even aside from that, there've been a number of occasions where he's come on sometimes to relieve a player who's been on a yellow card and he's got booked quite quickly. Yeah, yeah. And I do wonder if that's kind of countered against him or in his mind in some way. On the subject of those cynical fouls, I've had cause to watch a bit of Man City over the last month or so. They remain the undisputed champions of those cynical fouls. It is extraordinary.

1:06:09The way in which they are so cynical about snuffing out the counterattacks and they managed to do it in a way which is very unfussy. like they just gently clip someone's heels and they jog away from the referee and half the time they completely avoid the booking it is i mean i know they've been doing it for years but i just raise it to say they are still at it and i think you mentioned that martinelli one sometimes the way we do it there's a little bit of a naivety or a clumsiness there um yeah on cynicism level And listen, it's not like I'd be especially proud of us being the champions of the cynical foul.

1:06:50But I think there is a layer of kind of professionalism still to add for us in that.

1:06:55James McNicholas: No, I completely agree. I think it is part of the game. I think it's what you need to do and people might not like it, but it could be the difference between, you know, two points or one point and three points in a game, you know. um Bernardo Silva for example is absolute like the man is made of Teflon nothing fucking sticks to him whatsoever you know and he is I mean he's not even that subtle about it sometimes he's actually quite dirty but he gets away with it because he's this like tiny little man you know but I I do think there are are certainly elements to the way we can how do you say get on top of moments like that in ways which don't make it look quite as bad as as it is like it's not guindouzi fucking rugby tackling somebody you know we've got we've got to be a bit more subtle than that what what a time that was um on miles by the way i i'm not gonna sit here and tell anybody that i think miles should have been playing loads more premier league football at left back you know i I think this was another storming performance from Pierre and Capier I thought was one of the better Arsenal players on the pitch, really.

1:08:07James McNicholas: Perfectly suited to this kind of game, though. A really guttery, disgusting kind of game. And he's just like, yeah. True. But I do think, Miles, even in that brief cameo, I do think you see that there are attributes in his game that I think we have missed at times this season. I'm not saying that he was necessarily the guy who should have played more or the guy to deliver them, but his ability to break lines with passes and carry the ball, I think is something that we have lacked a little bit, particularly in the second half of the season. And I suppose when Ricardo Calafuri came out of the team, that may have been a factor in that too.

1:08:51So I was really pleased to see him involved. And he's felt quite disconnected, I think, for large chunks of the season. So I think it would probably have meant a lot to him to play part in what is such a big win. So we've got a question here, Andrew, and shots have been fired in our direction by Apne Man, no less, who says, Goodly morning, gents. With Havertz, Eze and Saka unlikely to be able to start, name your front three to start against Atletico. Now, please explain why you have picked Martinelli, Jochores and Madueke and yet will criticise Arteta when he does the same.

1:09:36James McNicholas: Well, I'm not picking that front three. That would be... That's quite an easy one, isn't it? Just don't pick that. Yeah, exactly. I can't fucking sit here and say that never works and then say, well, actually, that's what I would pick against Atletico. I think what we will see is Jokerez, Saka, and Trossard. That's what I think. And potentially, depending on the injury or what injury news we get, maybe he has it as available. I don't know. He did say afterwards he was fine, But then he said that when he came off against whoever it was. I know. I know. And then he missed like a month in the cup final, you know, I'm fine.

1:10:21James McNicholas: Don't worry about me. And then like, you know, but if, you know, if I had to pick, that's kind of what I think he would do. We had questions about like, is there anything else we can do about the number nine? If Kai Havertz is not there. and I'm sort of really tired of the Jokeres discussions and debates because like every time we talk about it, people say, well, you're giving him too much of a hard time or give the guy a break. And I can only be honest about what I think about him as a player. I think he scored a lot of goals and I recognize that. I just don't know that the team plays as well as it can when he's up front.

1:11:09James McNicholas: And that's not to say he's the only issue, but it just seems to be a discussion that comes up every single week. And I think if you are having to have that discussion every week, that kind of tells you something about the way people feel about that particular player. But in the absence of Havertz, who else is there? Well, Ainsworth on Blue Sky said, given Victor is terrible, that's Ainsworth's statement, not ours, and Havertz is injured, should Trossard get a run up top? His form has been crap admittedly, but he can at least trap the ball and link with others despite his physical limitations.

1:11:46James McNicholas: I mean, there is Gabriel Jesus as well, but I don't think based on how he's been used or not been used that Gabriel Jesus is a player who can start a Champions League semifinal against Atletico Madrid. I mean, there is no perfect solution. I think the reality of where we are at this moment in time is that we still have, as we did last season, a kind of issue at centre forward, which probably can only be solved via the transfer market. You know, this time last year, it was Mikel Marino playing up front. I still think there is a case that Mikel Marino has been the kind of best exponent of that number nine position.

1:12:35James McNicholas: Let me ask you this. If we had Mikel Marino available, and let's say Kai Havertz is injured and he's going to miss this game. If we had Mikel Marino available and you have to pick a team for a Champions League semifinal away at Atletico Madrid, and essentially your choices are Victor Jocherez, as your top scorer with 18 goals, or Mikel Moreno, both of them fully fit, who would you pick for this particular fixture? I would go Moreno, to be honest. Me too. I think it's going to be more his sort of game. But in Jokeres' defence, I believe he scored twice against Atletico in the group stage meeting.

1:13:17James McNicholas: We had a question on this. So, I mean, while we're on it, RDM on the Discord, Timber and maybe Eza are the only players unavailable to us that started the 4-0 defeat of Atletico Madrid earlier in the season. Jacare started and scored twice. Does this bring you any comfort?

1:13:37It could do. I mean, funnily enough, one was from a through ball by none other than Myles Lewis Skelly, wasn't it? Storming from the left-back position through the midfield. I'd love to see that in Madrid on Wednesday night if they can reprise it I guess it gives him some confidence I mean I think I'm right in saying every team we are set to play between now and the end of the season I think we've beaten I think we've already beaten so we should be able to derive some confidence from that I mean even if you know if we get through to a Champions League final rather against Bayern that will also be the case could be PSG though could be PSG yeah

1:14:23James McNicholas: and I can't help think about PSG last year in the Champions League where we won early in the season 2-0 and beat them you know I think quite well I think we were really good that night it was a good 2-0 performance from Arsenal maybe at a period where we were able to exert maximum control over games and also score goals. So I can't sort of help but think of that, you know, when it comes to Atletico Madrid and we beat them 4-0 and we beat Bayern 3-1. Like, I think that does give you a bit of confidence, but it's no guarantee, obviously, that when you face them again, it's going to turn out the same way.

1:15:00Well, I think what happened last year is that PSG... Got good. They had really transformed. And I think, to be honest, we've had a bit of a reverse PSG journey this season, where I think we were a much stronger side back in kind of October as compared to what we are now.

1:15:21But yeah, on Jokovic, believe it or not, I have two further points. One was just to sort of see what you made of that moment where Martin Odegaard, I think it's about 20 minutes left to play and it looks like he can kind of play him in, in that inside left channel. and he goes back in field to Martin Zubemendy. I just wondered, I've seen a lot of commentary about that online. I wondered what your reaction to it was.

1:15:45James McNicholas: I think Odegaard should make that pass. Yeah, me too. I think if it's Kai Havertz outside him, he makes that pass. Do you think there is a bit of a trust issue there? I think so. I mean, I can't say for sure, but I don't really understand why a player, where, like, remember, what was the goal that he scored, Jochrez? He scored two in the game. It was at home, Leeds. Was it? Yeah, the second goal against Leeds. He ran through for Drove in field from that left. And it was Odegaard who played a really nice pass into him, and he did well. He sort of held off the defender and finished with the inside of his foot, like, opened up his body and finished really, really well.

1:16:31oh you might have been it might are you thinking of the spurs away game oh spurs away that's

1:16:35James McNicholas: exactly what it was yeah yeah yeah yeah and that was an odegar pass and a more difficult pass i think to make than the one he had open to him the other day i don't really understand why he didn't make that pass and i guess it's too easy to say well he just doesn't trust jokeres but that was kind of where my mind went with that like i don't know why you wouldn't play that pass to your striker. I agree. Unless you sort of - Is that not one of the issues with the team? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. The pass selection is more about will we keep the ball or will we get counted on? I feel at times. Yeah, but I think in that instance, the worst thing that happens is Yacarez has a shot with his left foot that goes wide or gets saved or whatever it is.

1:17:24James McNicholas: I think you have to take that opportunity. I think it's a pass that Odegaard absolutely should make, you know, but I couldn't help but wonder why a player like Odegaard wouldn't make that pass when it's the obvious pass to me, you and everybody watching. Like, I don't know. Go on. What was your other? My other point was just something that I saw a comment and I've not been able to find it. I have looked back since, but somewhere on social media, you know, a thread about your career is potentially about that misplaced pass late on in the game. I saw somebody remark that he has looked all season like a player who's on loan.

1:18:07And I thought that was a brilliant distillation of some of the issues. It does feel like a player who does feel like a bit of a loan signing, where sort of the fit is a bit awkward, not quite right. And it doesn't necessarily feel like there's been great strides on the side of either party to kind of make that work or meet in the middle. It just feels like a player from another environment has been plonked into our team. And I don't think it's hugely benefited either. and if it was a loan, I don't think you would be making it permanent.

1:18:55James McNicholas: Yeah. And yet he has 18 goals and he's our top scorer, you know, so I, you know, he. But then like, you know, I remember people may scoff at this, but I like it. I remember when Julio Batista came on loan and scored like 15 goals. I don't know if you, maybe it wasn't quite that many, but again, he had that same thing of sort of never really looking like a fit. and it didn't feel like, you know, but you know, there was always that case of like, oh, we've got to adapt our style to Jokka Riz. Like, I just don't think that's happening. And I don't think it's going to happen at this point in time. No, I don't think, I mean, I think, you know, it's common sense to say you should always play to the strengths of your players, right?

1:19:38James McNicholas: But I think it's a two-way street. The player has to adapt to you as well. The player has to be technically at the level that you need. and like the the the moment late in the game where he didn't make that pass i mean that's where my concern around him has been like i don't i don't really worry about what he's going to do when he gets the ball in front of goal like he misses chances like every striker every striker misses chances but generally speaking if he can get the ball out of his feet with a side of goal he's going to have a good go at scoring, right? I think that's completely fair. And the data bears that out in terms of like how many, his shot conversion rate is very, very good.

1:20:24Yeah, but it's the other aspects of his game that give me

1:20:31James McNicholas: and have given me since the first time I saw him play for Arsenal. And here we are, you know, eight months later with 34 league games and however many cup games, you know, I do have concerns about his technical level and whether that is a sort of insurmountable issue for this team in terms of like what people expect to be able to get from Jokeres or from the team to be able to get out of him as well, you know. Well, he's going to be starting and playing some big games over the next couple of weeks at least, I would imagine. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, and hopefully he can deliver and hopefully he can deliver the goals and hopefully, you know, I'd like nothing more than for him to score the goals that help us to a title win.

1:21:19James McNicholas: But like, I can't sit here and say I'm not worried about it. I am a bit and yeah, I guess we just see.

1:21:32What have we got here?

1:21:33James McNicholas: Have you got a question there? I'm sure I do. uh oh yeah here was one from uh fuck i have it one second just w bennett um i thought this was quite interesting why do you think we took the decision to take short corners which ostensibly is an idea you know that newcastle have lots of big men in there and we might be better served to to do things a little bit differently. So why do you think we took the decision to take short corners, but have Raya kick long every time? Why didn't we press the ball and let Newcastle come forward? It seemed to be a confusing set of instructions. And we have been, I think of late, much more inclined to take the, the goal kicks long than take them short.

1:22:27James McNicholas: We feel a bit like, don't feel the confidence is there to play the ball around at the back, the way we were doing earlier in the season. Maybe that's common sense as well. I don't know. Maybe. I mean, I also wonder how much it's got to do with our difficulties breaking down that sort of Man City block and we're seeing that crop up and reoccur in some of our fixtures now. I also think that going long feels like another element of the Havertz-Jokeres debate. I think Kai has a much better success rate in those duels and gives you a bit more of a platform up there. So maybe the tactic was kind of designed around him.

1:23:08I think you've probably nailed it when you've said it's a bit of common sense. You know, maybe at a time when our build-up is a bit less convincing and fluid, we'd rather play the percentages higher up the pitch and keep the game in the right areas. I mean, how many times did we say against Bournemouth were playing in the wrong areas. If we're going to look a bit longer and try and win the second balls in the 50-50s in the opponent's half, especially when you've got a player like Declan Rice, who that's kind of his superpower, I guess I am probably more comfortable with that at this point in time.

1:23:47Sure. Yeah. Can I ask you a good one? Sorry.

1:23:53James McNicholas: No, you go, you go. I'll keep it. Okay. This is from Daniel who says, why all the injuries? What is it about our club that results in the players getting so many injuries and what can we do about it? I'm convinced with far fewer injuries, the title would already be in the bag. Yeah, I think that's true. I wrote about this today on the blog. I don't know the answer. I wish I knew the answer. If there was a magic smoking gun bullet type thing, whatever it might be. I added up all the Premier League games that Arsenal players have missed this season. Right. It's 141 games collectively. So that's three and a half seasons worth of games with the injuries that we've had to individuals.

1:24:44James McNicholas: I know that's not kind of how it works, right? But when you add up all those games, it does tell you that we have a, I think it is a problem. right i think injuries in football are inevitable like i don't think it's possible to go through a season without some injuries i think there is an element of bad luck in some cases like you know michael moreno for example another day he just has a sore foot not a broken foot you know and that's kind of not something you can really legislate for you can't mitigate that right a guy stands on another guy's foot you know you can't do foot exercises to make your foot stronger you probably can but you know what i mean this is not about um muscles or hamstrings or calves or whatever it is you know it's just an accident and that can happen in footballs you know same with odegaard falling awkwardly a couple of times and hurting his shoulder and banging his knee another day that's like you know we've all done it playing football you bang your knee off another knee and it's sore for a bit and you just sort of carry on and then you know away you go in Odegaard's case it was an injury that kept him out for a little while so you know there is an element of bad luck but there's only let me have a look here one player this season who hasn't missed a Premier League game through injury.

1:26:14James McNicholas: Well, no, there's three, actually. That's wrong. Zubimendi has played all 34 Premier League games, played in all 34 Premier League games. Eze has made 29 appearances. He did have a spell out with injury, but it was cup games that he was missing for. And he's been available for all of our Premier League games. Miles Lewis-Gelley as well. He's only had two starts and 14 sub appearances for 411 minutes. So that's kind of why he's not been impacted by injury. But every other player has missed games this season. Timber, yeah, everybody. Like some of them, a lot of games. And I think it has to be something that Arsenal look at.

1:26:52James McNicholas: You know, there has to be something about how we play, how we prepare, how we train, how we rehab, what the demands. I accept there are demands that are external as well. you know the game is played at a furious pace these days etc etc but there's no question like if we had Havertz Odegaard as a and Saka fit all season that I think we would be a in a more comfortable position at the top of the table and be playing a lot better playing much better football you know because it's not just the individuals you miss it's the combinations of players that you can play and the relationships that they developed during the season as well you know so you go if only we had Kai Havertz but yeah if only we had Kai Havertz playing with Odegaard and playing with Saka and playing with Eza and you know having all of those things available to us more often it's a problem it is a big problem and it's one the club have got to really sort out I mean do you have any theories as to what it might be is it you know is it just a collection of injury-prone players?

1:28:02James McNicholas: Is it Mikel Arteta's demands? Is it like a cocktail of all of those things? I think it's unlikely to be a case of one smoking gun, like you say. And I think it's something that Arsenal looked into quite extensively last summer, but clearly that hasn't provided the solutions or the answers. I think an inquest of some sorts is probably necessary. Whether this is the right time for that, I'm not so sure. I think obviously at this point in time, you want everyone pulling in the same direction and just focused on the immediacy of the task at hand. But come the end of the season, I think some sort of root and branch review of why this is happening to Arsenal time after time after time is necessary.

1:28:52And it is probably the biggest inhibitor of our success. for all the sort of talk about psychology and pressure and nerves and needing to get over the line, our inability to put our best players on the pitch consistently, I think maybe is the defining thing.

1:29:14James McNicholas: Yeah, and there's a through line between how we play and who we have available as well. You know, and I fully accept that there are conversations and discussions to be had about the way we play under Mikel Arteta. but I don't think you can ignore the injuries. And then, of course, the issue that injuries causes is a higher burden on other players, which sort of leads me to the question I was going to ask you. Arsenal downunder.bsky.social says, why do players look so much more fatigued than every other team, our players? Man City played at the Club World Cup and looked fresh. Is it Mikel's playing style?

1:29:50James McNicholas: Is it mental fatigue from the build-up of the last four years? He said, this is a big worry with Atletico resting their players for the Champions League. And there was a reply to that from yenkotara.bsky.social. He said, Martinelli collapsed to the ground at the full-time whistle against Newcastle after coming on at 53 minutes after a week off. I don't get it. And I saw those pictures, you know, at the end with the Arsenal players slumping to the ground and hands on their hips and hands on their heads. And, you know, you can look at it in two ways and think, Jesus Christ, fair play, lads. You put in a huge effort there, you know, really ran yourselves into the ground to get the three points for Arsenal.

1:30:36James McNicholas: We love that. But also, is that not in some way part of the problem or part of the issue that it is so unbelievably exhausting? Like how often has Declan Rice talked of late about being knackered and exhausted? You know, there is, if not a self-fulfilling prophecy, if you feel tired and you say you're tired, you're going to feel even more tired, you know? Yeah, absolutely. I must say I was a little bit, you know, I noticed that at full time, the way the players reacted. I noticed it after the Lisbon court final as well you know that when the full time whistle went and we secured progression to the Champions League final it wasn't a celebratory scene you know it was just a scene of like relief and exhaustion and the onus was almost on the stadium DJ to kind of pick up the mood and while this was a bit different in that the full time whistle was I imagine very warmly received by the crowd and a big moment.

1:31:48Certainly Mikel Arteta was full of energy and giving it the big vamos. When I looked around the pitch and saw where those players kind of on their haunches and some of them on the deck, that did worry me a little bit. I've got to be completely honest about it. You know, I'm sure they're knackered. I get it. They have my sympathy. But I suppose what I think is if I was a Man City player, seeing that, I might, I think I'd be pleased to see that. I think I'd feel good about that. And it made me actually reflect on my expectations for this midweek game. You know, I've always been quite confident that we would have enough to get past Atleti.

1:32:35And I still think in terms of our quality, we do. It's not like they're having a great season or even a particularly good run. But when I saw what it took out of the players to get past Newcastle, and I looked at the next fortnight ahead and those two huge semifinal games with Premier League games that are equally massive off the back of them, I just had a feeling of like, I don't know if based on that at full time, And maybe this is unfair. I don't know if we've got all of that in the tank. I really don't know. And I do wonder if something may fall by the wayside somewhere. Because I just, I don't know if, I find it hard to envision a situation or a scenario where Arsenal's players look that knackered for half a dozen more games with good outcomes.

1:33:36I don't know. That was my fear. I'm being very honest and transparent about that. I saw that reaction full-time and thought, they look gassed. They look really gassed. And I guess we kind of knew that. But when you think of what's ahead of them over the next few weeks, if they get through it and they win all those games and they get themselves through to a Champions League final and are still in a controlling position in the Premier League, it will be some feat. And I think my responsibility at that point will be to say, look, no criticism for style or quality of performance. If you've pulled that out the bag after looking as done as you did at full time on Saturday, then I can do nothing but doff my cap to you.

1:34:24James McNicholas: Yeah, they're going to have to dig so deep, aren't they, physically? And I think it's a combination of it is physical fatigue. It's also mental fatigue, which is tiring as well. Like if it can get tiring for us to just watch the games, imagine, you know, living with that pressure on your shoulders and the expectation and, you know, the desire they have as well to get this over the line. I think it's a cumulative thing where the pressure is tiring and the preparation, probably not the preparation as much, but what they've got to do on the pitch and particularly the way we're winning games or have been winning games this season.

1:35:09James McNicholas: Like, you know, there's no room for taking your foot off the gas at all. like you see teams go 2-0 up 3-0 up if you're 3-0 up with 70 minutes to go it's not that you sort of uh stop trying because you got to keep going but you know how often do we see it where a team has a commanding lead you can make a few changes the opposition kind of know they're fucked and those last 20 30 minutes of a game are not having to be played at 110 percent like that game against Newcastle was. Yeah, I think that's absolutely right. And in terms of like the comparison between City and Arsenal, I mean, Manchester City have kind of masterminded this thing of players seemingly peaking at the right time and somehow finishing the season looking fresher than they did in August.

1:36:05James McNicholas: If only Mikel Arteta had some, you know, insight into how that might happen, having, you know, worked at Manchester City. Yeah, yeah, you would think. But I also think, I think there's something to be said for the sort of how the players feel emotionally. One of the things that I think is really striking about Eze, for example, is that in my mind, he looks like one of the few Arsenal players who's enjoying it at the minute. And maybe there's too much projection for me there. I don't know what these players are feeling inside. But the way he carries himself, the smile on his face, the way he conducts himself in his post-match interviews, he has that same sort of breezy swagger that Man City have at this point in time.

1:36:59You know, if you swapped him into their team, he would absolutely fit in terms of the way he's playing and in terms of the way he carries himself. And I think that makes him, by the way, utterly essential. I mean, fingers crossed he's not out for too long at all because I think that is a huge thing he brings, is that personality to really thrive and enjoy these moments. All the things Mikel Arteta says about this is a beautiful challenge. We've got to embrace it. when I look at the team on the pitch, Eze's, he might be the only one, maybe in Capier as well, where I sort of feel like it's true for them.

1:37:44James McNicholas: Do you not think that that is related to the fact that they have not been through the trauma, in inverted commas, of having come second three years in a row? Fantastic point. That they, for, you know, their outlook on this is, I have joined a team which has finished second three years in a row, I've got a role to play to help them go one better and that I'm here to relish that opportunity. And Cappier, by the way, has got some experience of going the distance in a title race with Bayer Leverkusen. He was part of that team that went unbeaten. So I think there might be something in that aspect of it.

1:38:25Yeah, yeah, very interesting.

1:38:28James McNicholas: What about this one then? Um, P.D. Blackstock. Sounds like a policeman, doesn't he? Hello, P.D. Blackstock here. Do we have to accept that there won't be a pretty performance from this team for the rest of the year? And instead, we're just going to get seven, six or seven ugly, tense games. I think it will be easier if we just lean into that for the last few weeks. Do you think that's true? I kind of think it is true, to be honest with you, Andrew. that it will be easier or that there won't be any pretty performances? I think there might be a pretty performance here or there. I mean, historically, we've played our better football in the Champions League.

1:39:12Now, whether Atletico Madrid are a team who are going to allow us to do that, I highly doubt. But, you know, I watched, I don't think Burnley have got a lot left in the tank. For example, I watched their game against City. I think on another night they would have shipped four or five. I could conceivably see this Arsenal team having quite a comfortable day against them, even given our present difficulties and some of the things we've discussed today. But I do think, as I said in part one, that if we are to get over the line, it's probably going to be based on the fundamentals that have brought us to this point.

1:39:55And I think expecting us to become a different team to unlock some kind of open play chemistry and magic that hasn't really been there for quite some time is probably unrealistic and probably unfair. And I think as supporters, you know, outcome and performance haven't necessarily both been, you know, as we'd want in recent weeks. But maybe we are at the stage where it's all about outcome. And we just have to kind of cheer this team over the line by any means necessary. Yeah, I know what you mean. It was marathon day yesterday, Andrew, in London. Oh, yes. And there's plenty of people who finished that marathon.

1:40:46And let me tell you, they're not running with the same grace that they were at the start line, you know? Yeah, amazing. And I feel like that's a bit who we are at this point. You know, we started off the marathon looking pretty good. And right now we're kind of like that guy in the diving suit, you know what I mean? just sort of plodding towards the finishing line. But we may well get over that line.

1:41:13James McNicholas: You often see these videos of guys who are like coming towards the finish line in a marathon, not necessarily the winners, and certainly not running it in under two hours. What a fucking, holy shit. Like that's insane to me. But you see these videos of people, as soon as the finishing line comes into sight, the legs start to go. You know, whatever energy they've got to get them this far, it's almost gone. They're sort of wibbly wobbling, like, you know, those kind of inflatable men outside car dealerships. They're a bit like that. And that's kind of how I feel we are. I mean, with regards to the question, I think I've accepted already that, you know, we're not going to do things the easy way.

1:41:55James McNicholas: We're not playing football as well as we can, but I don't think it's going to be any easier by accepting that for me anyway. I think it's just going to be - a nightmare. Yeah. It's going to be living hell. But, you know, hopefully we get it over the line. But you just never know with football. Maybe we could score a couple of goals and just have a nice, relaxing afternoon in the sun. You know, that would be lovely. I'm thinking of a Fulham game, for example. That would be very nice indeed if we could do that. You know, I think we all deserve that. I think the players need it as well. Like, we can talk about why they're not doing it, why it's not happening.

1:42:36James McNicholas: I sort of feel like that would be really beneficial for them to have a game like that where just bang, bang, score a couple of goals, bang, get another one before halftime. And then, not that you relax, but you just don't have that weight on you for 90 minutes and then seven minutes of fucking injury time. You know, I think they need it. I think they need it. Yeah. I'm not sure we're going to get that in Atletico, in Madrid on Wednesday night. I wouldn't have thought so. I wouldn't have thought so. But look, we can cross that bridge when we come to it. I think we better leave it there and get this podcast out to everybody.

1:43:14James McNicholas: We will have a little bit of a Madrid preview for you tomorrow. We're going to do an episode of The 30 over on Patreon, patreon.com forward slash arseblog. There's a Monday night football game tonight, so we'll include that and do a little bit of an Atletico Madrid preview as well. So please feel free to join us for that, remembering of course that every single penny of our uh patreon revenue in april will be going to help good causes details of those to follow this week um for now though thanks for being with us hopefully i feel a bit better now having talked it all out james don't know how you feel i do too yeah i do too how do those guys in the marathon who are regretting their choice of novelty costumes what drags them over the line right it's the people lining up along the sides and that's us right now so we just got to do our part and do whatever we can run you cunt yeah that sort of thing there's a guy who sits behind me who shouts that a lot actually all right we'll leave it there thank you to everybody for listening uh thanks again for your contributions to the fundraiser a final uh total on that to come later this week for now Now take it easy, folks, and we will catch you on the next one.

1:44:27James McNicholas: Bye-bye.

1:44:54for fine margins, fun debates and full-blooded tackles football weekly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts and watch the full episodes on YouTube.