Arsecast Extra Episode 703 - 12.07.2026

0:00James McNicholas: Do you keep hearing podcast ads like this one, for example, but always wonder how you actually get involved with them for your own brand or organization? Well, it's easier than you think. We're Acast, and we give you the platform to do it all yourself. Browse thousands of popular podcasts, choose the shows that match your perfect audience, set your budget and launch. And if you want a hand, our podcast specialists are there to help you launch with confidence. This is podcast advertising without barriers. Get started at acast.com slash advertise.

0:49James McNicholas: Hello and welcome to another Arsecast Extra. As always, we're James from Gunner Blog. Good morning to you from good afternoon here.

0:58Andrew Allen: Good morning, Andrew. Yes, from my morning to your afternoon. How's it going?

1:04James McNicholas: It's going okay. It's going okay. Sun is shining, still very warm, so enjoying this little bit of summer that we're getting here in Ireland. So it's all very pleasant. And, yeah, I'm hunky-dory. How's it going, your end? Not too bad. A little bit hungover, I must say. Celebrating something? What could that be?

1:24Andrew Allen: I watched the England game at a fan park yesterday. Okay. And there was an incident with a margarita, basically. So I was served this margarita and it had a fly in it. And I was like, excuse me, there's a fly in my margarita. And I thought they'd make the drink again. But what they did as a sort of recompense is they poured half of it away and just filled it up with tequila. and they were like that should disinfect the drink right and i was like thank you i guess and then basically drank a sort of basically about a pint of tequila essentially um and yeah i do feel slightly worse for wear today but i did enjoy the match so okay you know swings and roundabouts you've got to take the rough with the smooth then i guess so i guess i was waiting for

2:20James McNicholas: something a little more traditional you know the waiter there's a fly in my soup kind of gag here but uh no no no this is how they do things in america i gather it's an unconventional way of dealing with a problem i mean they probably say what's the logic like the fly is on the top of the drink right and whatever fly business he might do or not do probably doesn't have the requisite jet power to get i guess halfway down the drink that's where they decided

2:52Andrew Allen: that's what that's clearly what they're thinking they're also thinking i'm working this bar under considerable pressure i can't afford to remake this man his drink i know i'll pour half of it away and replace it with more valuable liquid i mean even though i would say i don't think that

3:12James McNicholas: made it taste particularly nice no there's a balance required for for cocktails isn't there you know if you give somebody well here's a margarita and you give them a pint of tequila and just sort of a squeeze of lime that ain't gonna work if i'd wanted that andrew in many

3:28Andrew Allen: ways i would have ordered it but i didn't but nonetheless so anyway so i felt quite relaxed during the game uh but then over the course of the and because the game was quite early it was sort of like a lunchtime no it's like 4 p.m not here it wasn't but anyway and then but then the problem was i stopped drinking after the match um after a couple more sort of regular margaritas but then by the time i went to bed my body was very much rejecting the poison i'd put into it unless it was a trace of the fly well that's what i'm thinking maybe it's the fly that's got to me

4:08James McNicholas: That's what I'm thinking now. What's the Brundlefly thing from that film about the fly? I can't remember the name of it. What's it called? Oh, yeah, the fly. I think it's called a fly. The bus that wouldn't slow down. Yeah, maybe that's what it is. You've got fly DNA now. Can you see in all kinds of different directions?

4:32Andrew Allen: Yes, I can. Okay, I'm sorry to tell you. And I'm hovering above the ground as we speak. But I daren't go back and tell them this because they'll hold me down and inject tequila directly into my veins.

4:43James McNicholas: Yeah, to cleanse you properly. They only have cleansed you. Well, that's an experience, certainly. What was it like in the fan park? Like, what was the mix of fans? Because, like, here, I was out in town last night having a bit of dinner before coming home to watch the game. There were so many Norwegians in Dublin last night. It was crazy. It was crazy. Vikings. Yeah, they were everywhere. All in very good spirits, I have to say. So was it like a mix of English and Norwegians and neutrals?

5:22Andrew Allen: Kind of. And it wasn't immediately apparent who was who because the national colours have a lot of crossover. Yes. There was a lot of red and white, which made me feel very at home. but I think it was about an even split but I think the neutrals probably were siding more with Norway I don't know if you're aware but sort of Erling Haaland has become yeah a kind of darling of the American public so they were all team Holland for this yeah until you were substituted off at which point I guess everyone jumped ship to uh jumped Viking long to the English.

6:04James McNicholas: Well, I mean, it was a very interesting game, don't you think?

6:09Andrew Allen: It was, and there was quite a lot of Arsenal involvement as well.

6:12James McNicholas: Yes, Declan Rice started the game. Was that a good idea? I don't think so. I don't think so. Because, listen, we sort of make jokes. I made a joke yesterday on the blog about how it's a bit like that Monty Python and the Holy Grail thing with Declan Rice. You know, it's just a flesh wound and he's sort of going about on his bloody stumps. But, you know, physically, he did not look right at all. There were reports pre-game, of course, that he'd been suffering with illness. Thomas Tuchel said after the game, he was basically in bed for three days before playing. And he looked okay sort of when the ball was in the middle of the pitch and he didn't have to move too much.

6:57James McNicholas: And he was sort of popping passes off here and there. But when I saw him take a bad corner and then take another bad corner, I was like, something really is not right here. Like, my guess is he just did not want to sort of overextend, you know, for fear of the Gary Lineker fear. You know what I'm talking about? The follow through, you know?

7:24Andrew Allen: Of course. Well, yeah, I believe, I don't know if this has been stated, publicly, but the suspicion was food poisoning. Probably got a fly. Well, this is it. You know what he needs? A pint of tequila. That saw him right out. But yeah, he, I mean, he looked a shadow of himself and there've been kind of injury related reasons for that of late, but you add the illness on top and the heat as well. Yeah. The humidity that they were playing in. And I'm not sure that was a great idea. And he came off after 45 minutes. As did Nani Madueke, who started for England on the right-hand side, Ed Bukaiosaka.

8:09Andrew Allen: What do you... Sorry, go on. I was going to say Saka and Eze both came on at half-time.

8:15James McNicholas: Yeah, I was going to ask, like, to what extent do we take the starting of Nani Madueke in games like this as evidence that Bukaiosaka is really struggling with injury?

8:30Andrew Allen: Well, I do think you're getting a little bit more rotation in inverted commas in this World Cup than we've seen in previous ones because it's bigger and there are more games to negotiate. And I think we're seeing some bigger stars sit out the odd game here and there, particularly those who have been nursing injuries. So it's not quite as straightforward as you pick your best 11 every single match, which is what you normally do in a tournament like this. I think it shows that they're having to be a bit careful with him. I mean, there's no doubt Tuchel likes Madueke and has picked him several times throughout his reign and consistently throughout his reign.

9:14Andrew Allen: And clearly sees something in him that he really finds valuable and useful. But yeah, I do think it suggests that Saka is not at 100%. I think we know he's not 100%. But even so, I thought in his time on the pitch, he had a couple of good moments. There was one really nice curling cross to the back post, one very good run where he went on the outside and fizzed it across goal. No one was quite there to put it in. So of the two, I thought he was the more impressive. And in fact, I sent you the clip this morning. Zlatan Ibrahimovic didn't really pull any punches in his, or indeed taekwondo kicks in his analysis of Nani Maduweke.

10:00James McNicholas: No, he basically said that England were playing with a man down because of Maduweke, which is maybe a little, I guess, exaggeration. Yeah, I think that was a bit harsh. Yes, but it wasn't great from Maduweke. Like if Rice came off, and I think Rice came off, it wasn't tactical. It was to do with, you know, his illness, obviously. But Madueke coming off wasn't really a surprise. Like I don't think he was particularly good. And at that point, it was 1-1. And we'll talk about the goals in a second. But yeah, there is a sort of tendency, isn't there, sometimes in punditry to say something, you know, that'll catch a headline or, you know, hammer home a point when, you know, you could probably make that point in a different way.

10:49Andrew Allen: Yeah, I think so. But that's last time for you, I guess. Yeah, the non-Izaka thing is interesting. I mean, they really have kind of shared the minutes at this World Cup and with two games for England remaining. You would imagine Saka will get the nod, but we shall see. And then obviously on the Norway side, Martin Odegaard played and played well.

11:12James McNicholas: Yes, again. Again, it was another good performance from him after a good performance in the last game. But he's gone home now. He gets some rest, gets some holidays. And I do have a question about Martin Odegaard, which we'll probably save for part two. But what did you make of the first half and the way it sort of played out? Norway went ahead through a guy whose name I can't say. And then just before the break, England scored a goal, which has turned out to be a little bit contentious because of the idea that the ball hit a cable from the goal kick, Nyland's goal kick. Norway seemed quite convinced that the ball hit the cable and then fell down in a, I don't know, in an unusual way.

12:01James McNicholas: It fell straight to an England player. England then brought the ball forward. Jude Bellingham did really, really well and scored a very, very good goal to make it 1-1. FIFA have the technology, of course, to know if a hair, mere hair, has brushed the ball. But in this instance, it couldn't pick up a cable if a cable was hit at all. Where do you stand on this one? Because Norway, we're certainly convinced, but England, Thomas Tuchel said, well, if FIFA don't say something happened, then nothing happened.

12:35Andrew Allen: Yeah, I've always wondered if this would come into play. You see those big spider cams above pitch level and the cables. I mean, I've watched the footage several times. Personally, I don't think it's conclusive one way or the other. The ball does seem to fall out of the sky somewhat. But my feeling is kind of, there's quite a lot of sky for it to fall out of. and I'm not sure how that disadvantages one team over the other particularly. But yeah, I kind of think it's a bit of fuss over nothing. But the interesting part is the technology aspect and FIFA's insistence that this didn't happen and that they have this kind of definitive tech within the ball that shows any deviation or change of pathway.

13:32Andrew Allen: which is obviously designed to help with offsides and the like. And they're insistent that there was no deviation, whereas Norway are absolutely convinced there was. So quite an interesting distinction there. And I think by the letter of the law, if the ball is touched by something outside of the 22 players and the woodwork, I think it's a dead ball at that point in time.

13:57James McNicholas: Yeah.

13:57Andrew Allen: So I don't know. What do you think? Do you have sympathy?

13:59James McNicholas: I mean, there was still plenty for England to do after the ball fell, you know. That's kind of how I feel. Norway could have defended it better. And like you, I've watched the footage. It does seem inconclusive. I will say I completely distrust the FIFA technology in the ball, by the way. I have no faith in that whatsoever as a way of saying it did or didn't happen definitively. because you know people share that yeah exactly you know we talked about the talked about the croatia one you know where i just don't believe that it it was able to detect a strand of hair i simply don't believe that that is the case um so in this instance i i'm not inclined to take fifa at their word but i think you know what's maybe a more interesting part of the discussion from a footballing perspective anyway, is the opportunity Norway had at 1-0 before this even happened to make it 2-0.

15:01James McNicholas: They had a break. They went through on goal. I think it was Sorloth, Alexander Sorloth, who had to make a pass to Erling Haaland, who would have had a one-on-one chance with Jordan Pickford, which, you know, given the way he's been scoring in this World Cup, you would back him to put away. but yeah they made a mess of that one didn't they I think they made a real mess of that

15:24Andrew Allen: that chance to make it 2-0 yeah I mean he must be a confident boy Soloth to think I reckon I'll take this on myself rather than simply playing in early Harlem yeah I think the adopted Norwegians around me were very frustrated by that one yeah that was a big moment. Norway had a goal ruled out as well for VAR. I felt correctly, even though Elliot Anderson, I think he's pretty cute in terms of making sure he goes to ground there. I think if he doesn't go to ground, I don't know if it is pulled back.

16:00James McNicholas: I think it's very soft, you know. It's just sort of one of those where two players are grappling and Holland, you know, it gives him a little push to make his move and make his run away. as you see players doing all the time and Anderson sort of falls over. I think it is probably the right decision, you know, based on what we've seen. But I don't know. It felt soft to me. Like I'd be a little bit annoyed if an Arsenal goal was ruled out for something like that, you know. Even if I could understand why the officials came to the decision that they did. Well, you may have to prepare to be quite annoyed.

16:41Andrew Allen: next season andrew i think so i've got a feeling i've got a feeling call me a crazy conspiracy theorist but i've got a feeling we may see that happen to arsenal once or twice yeah yeah um but once it happens to everyone else by the way once it happens to everyone else that's fine i guess okay yeah we'll see eventually it might yeah but um yeah i thought norway just played really well and i must say like throughout the game i was in sort of whatsapp dialogue with various people back home including yourself and and i think norway were on top you know particularly in the second half of normal time i really thought at one stage if there was a winner i only really saw it coming from from them um but i think england is very fortunate they have in jude bellingham a player who really does have a remarkable knack of making match winning goal scoring contributions

17:35James McNicholas: you know I think I sent you a text last I'm just saying he is so good like in in the sort of that hypothetical game of like pick any player in the world to join Arsenal you can have one right and I think most people are going to go like well I'll have Mbappe that'll do me uh Bellingham would be really high on my list of players that I would sign for Arsenal if I could that kind of magic signing. I think he's, I think he really is exceptional. I, you know, you can tell me, you know, I did see stuff doing the rounds today, articles from people who said he shouldn't be brought to the World Cup because he's too decisive a character or divisive a character, I should say.

18:20Andrew Allen: He's very decisive as well.

18:22James McNicholas: Well, I mean, he was very decisive yesterday, wasn't he? And he's been decisive in this tournament. Was that four goals, five goals so far? I think it's five. I mean, from midfield as well, you know, when the leading scorers are your Mbappes and your Canes and your Messys, etc., etc. You know, five goals from midfield is a really brilliant return. Obviously got the goal that won it for England. I think there were shades, weren't there, of Mikel Moreno, who we'll talk about in a moment. Six goals. Sorry.

18:55Andrew Allen: Six goals. Wow.

18:57James McNicholas: He's sensational. Like, he's a sensational player. I just can't believe any self-respecting England fan who's also a journalist could make the case that England would be better off without Jude Bellingham. That seems to me to be insane. Insane. I don't get it, you know. England have a lot of good players, but, you know, he's in the top tier. and I just, I cannot understand how anyone would think England would be better without Jude Bellingham.

19:31Andrew Allen: No, I think that's fair. He's really proven his worth and his quality and there was debate coming into the tournament about who would start in that position. Thomas Duckel had kind of shown an inclination towards Morgan Rodgers. I mean, I have to say that on reflection now, that looks to me like quite smart management. I think that whatever he, I think Thomas Tuchel has sort of lit a bit of a fire under Jude Bellingham. And I think some of the media narrative around Jude has certainly been unfair, but I think not making him an automatic pick looks to have brought the best out of him. And actually there was interesting kind of more creative tensions between manager and player last night.

20:24Andrew Allen: I don't know how closely you followed this, but Thomas Tuchel was quite critical of England's performance and said, we lacked quality. This wasn't good enough. We were a bit lucky tonight. And Jude Bellingham was asked about that, again, in the immediate aftermath of the game and clearly sort of exhausted and emotional. Jude Bellingham slightly bit back at that suggestion and said, look, this was a really hard game and you can't always play good football. Many people are extrapolating that to sort of mean, oh there's trouble in the camp but actually I do think that a little bit of friction between Bellingham and Tuchel has been very productive thus far and sometimes sometimes you need a bit of that so yeah I think he's been superb I think he's been I mean I think Erling Haaland was asked about him and said he's maybe the player of the tournament you know there's some stiff competition because this is a tournament where a lot of the biggest stars have actually showed up and produced but yeah if he takes England to a final first World Cup final since 1966 it's going to be difficult to argue with this case that he's been together he's been superb and not just in goal scoring that's worth saying too in the course of the game yesterday Tukwu actually explained afterwards he started as a 10 he played as a then a left 8 then he moved into a right 8-10 he played three different midfield roles in the course of 120 minutes.

21:52Andrew Allen: He's made some big defensive contributions as well, made an amazing interception against Mexico, which along with the two goals kind of completed a hat-trick of sorts. It was a goal-preventing challenge. He's a superb athlete and superb footballer. We had him at Arsenal for a meeting when he was leaving Borussia Dortmund. He did a bit of a tour of many, many clubs. kind of exploring what his next choice, his next decision might be. I'm not sure it was ever massively realistic or anything that ever developed or advanced, but we did have the conversation with him and I would have absolutely loved that.

22:40Andrew Allen: But I think he's a guy with quite a clear career plan and I think Real Madrid was probably always... Real Madrid and Liverpool, I think it was between at that time. And he went for Madrid.

22:52James McNicholas: chose the right club, I think. Yeah, so a big, big win for England. Norway a bit unlucky as well, though, like you say, in the second half of the second half. You know, they hit the bar. Pickford was beaten all ends up as well, wasn't he? So there was, yeah, I guess you have to ride your luck a little bit along the way. But the goal that England did score, like I said, it had shades of Mikel Moreno, who came off the bench for Spain against... Why can't I remember who Spain played? They played, I want to say, Portugal. No, that was the first one that he scored off injury time. And this game only happened a couple of days ago, so I really should be able...

23:41James McNicholas: Belgium! That's how I knew it was a European country. Yes. Yeah.

23:48Andrew Allen: That had been managed by Roberto Martinez. I knew those things.

23:51James McNicholas: Yes. But yeah. Apologies to all the Belgian listeners.

23:55Andrew Allen: Apologies to Leandro Trossard.

23:56James McNicholas: And to Leandro Trossard. Yeah. So the goalkeeper at fault. This was a really interesting one, wasn't it? Where Courtois, the game at 1-1. And Courtois has an injury in the second half. And I think what he said afterwards was the injury would have prevented. I could have played on, but the injury would have prevented me from taking goal kicks and stuff. You know, got to get back to the good old days, you know, where the center half, the goalkeeper can't do it. The center half steps up and boots the ball down the pitch. You don't see much of that these days. Center halves, you know, they do take goal kicks, but they pass it three feet to the goalkeeper and play it out from the back, you know, instead of fucking wellying it over the halfway line.

24:43James McNicholas: But he obviously, the Belgian manager, Rudy Garcia, chose to make a change and he brought on Senna Lamens, the Manchester United goalkeeper. Spain eventually brought on Mikel Moreno. They brought on a couple of far inferior forwards in the shape of Ferran Torres and Nico Williams before Luis de la Fuente decided enough is enough. I know what we need I know what the world needs I know what Spain need is Mikel Marino there was a shot from outside the box the goalkeeper spilled it and who's there first took the ball away our man what a man he is and what a tournament he's having you know you're talking about Bellingham being up there for player of the tournament you know neck and neck with Mikel Marino I'm joking I'm joking but he you know he's had a big impact in the last couple of games for Spain and And, you know, those penalty box instincts that we've seen at Arsenal more than once have come to the fore.

25:47Andrew Allen: Yes, yes. If he'd started every game, the golden boot race would be over. That's for sure. I like Mikel Moreno very much. I'm very grateful to him. He's made me look very clever out here because I think before the previous round, I was eulogising about his ability to come off the bench. and make clutch contributions to the locals. And he's proven me right, which is, you know, always a lovely feeling. He is so, so good. I mean, I spoke about Bellingham having that knack of being in the right place, the right time, anticipating, you know, understanding where the ball is going to be, where it's going to drop, having that nose for goal.

26:33Andrew Allen: Mourinho has all those qualities too. and the way that he's kind of blossomed into this impactful goal scorer, there is a kind of a correlation as well with when he switched into that centre-forward role at Arsenal and that really does seem to have elevated his attacking instincts

26:55James McNicholas: and helped him discover new parts of his game.

26:59Andrew Allen: So it's an incredible weapon for Spain to have in their arsenal to have Marino on the bench. And no, you're bringing on someone with that game intelligence to make that kind of impact. And also that composure. I mean, this was another good finish. It's not just that he gets in the right place at the right time. It's that he finishes so, so well when he gets there.

27:17James McNicholas: No, he's just, yeah, he's such a, I don't know. I know when he arrived, there was a bit of scepticism about whether or not he was the kind of midfielder that Arsenal needed. And maybe that's a conversation that's still, you know, not without some merit, right? But I think over time, people have grown to appreciate what, A, you know, I think he is a really, really good footballer. He can do a great job for us in midfield. If you think about, was it the first goal we scored against Spurs in the North London Derby last season? The Leandro Trossard goal. And it's a pass over the top from Mikel Marino, you know.

27:56James McNicholas: So there are elements to his midfield play which are very helpful and very useful as well. But that's spell up front where we needed somebody to do a job and they asked him or they decided that he was the guy who was going to do it. And I remember having the conversation with you after the Leicester game where we were sort of, I guess, a bit dubious about this idea that was doing the rounds that Marino wasn't told that he was going to be playing there. Because it goes against pretty much everything we thought we knew about Mikel Arteta, about how prepared he is and how organized he is. And Marino himself said afterwards, they only told me on the day or just before I was coming on that I was going to do this, et cetera, et cetera.

28:41James McNicholas: But I think he is just such a good pro, seems like such a good guy as well, but the perfect teammate. I don't know if you watched, I mentioned this on the Arscast on Thursday with Kaya, but if you've watched the little documentary that Arsall put together about Mikel Marino and his injury, it's really well worth watching. but you just can't help but like him as a guy as well. So he's the all-round package, I think. A really good footballer, very versatile, can make contributions whether he's playing in midfield or up front. He's gone away to Spain. I think even the hardest Arsenal hearts would have found it difficult not to be anything other than absolutely delighted for him and the contribution he's made, particularly after missing the second half of the season for us.

29:28James McNicholas: And, you know, you can't help but think or wonder would a couple of the games that we played in that second half of the season have gone a little bit differently if we'd had Mikel Moreno as an option, you know? So I'm, yeah, really, really happy for him. I think he's a great guy and a great player.

29:44Andrew Allen: Yeah, and it's exciting to imagine what we might see from him next season. And I agree, I think he's a really able midfield player, but I've almost come to think of him differently, like as a kind of unique specialist in a way, almost like a joker card that you can play at times because, you know, he's able to find space and opportunities that other players seemingly can't. And so much of that is in his head because we know he's not necessarily the most rapid. It's his intelligence, his understanding, his reading of the game. And that's why a lot of his teammates think, you know, he might be a coach one day because he sees the patterns.

30:25Andrew Allen: He sees the spaces. Yeah.

30:27James McNicholas: In that documentary, there's a bit where he's like, he's talking about how when he watches the games or when he was watching the games, you know, he was trying to watch it with, I think he said with a manager's head on. So when he goes down to the dressing room at halftime, he can tell the players what he's seeing from whatever angle he's sitting at, you know, in the stands. And that's really informative about, you know, what kind of a character he is. But he also said at the same time, there's part of you that is experiencing it like a fan. You know, he was talking about the West Ham game. and he was like you know when you're on the pitch when something like that happens it doesn't feel the way it feels for us as fans watching from afar right because you're involved in the action and you're not experiencing the same level of emotion and he said i kind of understand now what it's like for the fans because he was just sitting at home nervous and screaming at the telly and all that kind of stuff.

31:35James McNicholas: So to sort of have those two hats on where you're trying to be analytical and you're trying to impart what you've seen for the benefit of your team when you go down and you say, listen, the fullback is doing this or there's a bit of space here or there. And Trossard has often spoken a bit like that as well, hasn't he? When he comes onto the game, he sort of analyzes the game state and then sees where it is that he can make an impact. But I thought that was fascinating, you know, for a player to then go, oh fuck now i really know what it's like uh for the fans when they're going through it and that you know that west hand game was one where we we definitely went through it just a bit yeah just a

32:13Andrew Allen: bit um can i ask you andrew you mentioned your uh skepticism about fifa's in ball flight technology sure um do you have any sympathy do you have any yeah do you give any credence to the kind of conspiracy theories around fifa and argentina's continued uh good fortune maybe

32:42James McNicholas: i think

32:48James McNicholas: I think I was very invested in that Egypt game, I have to say. I thought the disallow of that second goal was it denied the world one of the great World Cup goals. I think by the letter of the law, can you say it wasn't a foul? Probably not. Was it worth going all that way back to disallow a goal like that? I don't know if another team would have got that decision. That would be how I think about it. Maybe Portugal might have got a decision like that because I think we know on top of all the other terrible, reprehensible and disgusting things that Gianni Infantino is, he is a star fucker of the worst kind, right?

33:48James McNicholas: He wants to be seen on the same level as Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and all of these people. So I don't know if I can verge completely into conspiracy, but I do think that Argentina were given decisions that maybe other teams would not have gotten. And I also think Egypt didn't get the same level of, what's the word, VAR interference ahead of the winning Argentina goal. Because I think the one about Salah, I don't think it's a penalty. I don't think it's a penalty. I think it's just the threshold for a penalty is higher than a foul outside the box. We know that. What I do think was a foul was Alexis McAllister on, I can't remember the name of the Egyptian player, but as he's running into the box, he pulls him back.

34:48James McNicholas: It's a foul off the ball. And if you're going to go all that way back to deny Egypt one of the great World Cup goals, then I don't know why the same rules don't apply to Argentina. Or, you know, maybe I do know why the same rules don't apply to Argentina. Is it something that concerns you or is it something you think England are going to have to contend with?

35:10Andrew Allen: Because obviously... I was going to say, it's starting to concern me now that I've got a semi-final to consider.

35:14James McNicholas: Well, this is it. I mean, listen, England versus Argentina is a hell of a fixture. For a World Cup semi-final, there's history galore, right, which we don't have to go into. but is it something that you as an England fan are going to be hyper attuned to or hyper aware of now when this game takes place? Is it when it's Wednesday, isn't it? The England Argentina game. Like, you know, I saw people complaining about some of the decisions in the game last night, like the penalty that England were awarded, which was then overturned. Like, let me ask you this. It's England versus Argentina. It's the 113th minute.

35:56James McNicholas: It's gone to extra time after a thrilling 3-3 draw in normal time, which has left, you know, everybody else highly entertained. And Enzo Fernandez does what Jed Spence did and steps in front of Esri Konza and goes down and the referee points to the spot. Do you think there's going to be a VAR review? Do you think that's going to get overturned if it's the exact same incident? Or are you worried?

36:30Andrew Allen: I'm worried. I think where I'm at is, I mean, Gianni Infantino is going to want to see Lionel Messi take that penalty.

36:37James McNicholas: So would England. If it's given, so would England, given the way he's been missing them in this tournament.

36:42Andrew Allen: Yeah, I think I'm back in Pickford. Well, I don't know about that,

36:46James McNicholas: but you could put it over.

36:49Andrew Allen: Yeah, I... I'm kind of not by nature a conspiracy theorist, but I'm sort of at the point where I think if you are a conspiracy theorist or believe in the Argentina conspiracy, I'm sort of at the point where I have empathy with that. You know, I can see where you're coming from, certainly. Did you watch the, did you see any of the game last night? I just wondered what you thought, if you saw it, of the Brea Lombolo red card.

37:17James McNicholas: I saw little clips. I didn't see the game because it was on too late. It was on overnight here. So, yeah. So, basically. He was booked earlier in the game.

37:28Andrew Allen: He was booked earlier in the game. He was on a yellow card. Switzerland had just equalised to make it 1-0 with Argentina. And Brea Lombolo is seemingly fouled by Leandro Paredes, who kind of steams over towards him. There's a bit of contact and a yellow card is given to Paredes, the Argentinian. But then the referee is called over to review the incident. And not only do they rescind Paredes' yellow, but they give a yellow for simulation to Mbolo, who is then sent off.

38:15James McNicholas: Yeah.

38:16Andrew Allen: Um, and the debate around it is sort of whether that was a justified swing. Now, my view, and I don't know if, again, I don't know how much you've seen it is, it is simulation. I've seen the incident. It's a dive. It is a dive. It's more obvious than Jed Spence's, I would say, in terms of throwing his leg out to initiate contact.

38:45Andrew Allen: but the compelling sort of discussion that I've seen unfold is is it simulation which in that part of the pitch would bring about a yellow card in ordinary play if witnessed first time or would a referee simply just wave play on? I thought that, yeah. I think that's the tricky thing. Like, by all means rescind the yellow card, but I think flipping the yellow card for it to result in a red, that is a big, big call.

39:22James McNicholas: I mean, it is 100 % a dive. There's no two ways about it. It's a silly, silly thing to do when you're on a yellow card.

39:33Andrew Allen: Totally agree with that. I just wonder, does it open a Pandora's box of some kind where I didn't think VAR could overturn or could get involved on yellow cards? That's new.

39:51James McNicholas: Right.

39:51Andrew Allen: That's new.

39:52James McNicholas: So does that mean every dive or active simulation, regardless of where it is on the pitch, whether you're trying to win a penalty or just trying to win a free kick on the halfway line, does that leave those incidents open to VAR adjudication in every game from now on? because I think if the ref sees it, if the ref sees that as a dive in real time and gives him a second yellow card, there could be no argument whatsoever, I don't think, regardless of where it is on the pitch. I think it's so blatant and so just daft. I don't know what he's trying to do there. I think he just obviously had a, maybe he anticipated contact, but you can see there's a sort of, the way he sort of throws himself and jerks his body.

40:42James McNicholas: it's just a weird silly thing to do when you're on a yellow card already so i don't know yeah i

40:50Andrew Allen: heard an explanation by an ex-pro i don't know how much credence to give this who sort of said when you're a player in possession and you see a player sprinting over to you at the speed that paredes was you know there's degree to which you anticipate that contact and almost kind of um uh sort of you you sort of pre-fall so it's partly to sort of spare yourself and i'm like yeah that could be true i i can accept that could be true pre-fall i love that that's my word not his no

41:24James McNicholas: no no i get it but i like it as an idea you know i'm just i'm just pre-falling here just waiting

41:29Andrew Allen: for you to kick me i mean he was incredibly emotional in bolo afterwards and and i have to say like that elicited a lot of sympathy i did think that was presumably partly his kind of frustration with himself i mean he must have recognized this was an insane thing to do the way in which it was overruled is to do with a new wording of a law around mistaken identity so there has been var for cases of mistaken identity previously but before the world cup But that was expanded to include situations where a player was booked, but the offense was in fact committed by the other team.

42:13Andrew Allen: So, yeah, I don't know if we'll see more of it moving forward. But listen, again, in isolation, I think you can make a justification for the official's course of action. And like you say, it was simulation and it was foolish on the part of the player. But I just think in the context of the wider discussion around Argentina, it just feels a little bit spicier. That's all.

42:41James McNicholas: Okay. Okay. Well, listen, they did make their way through thanks to a brilliant goal from Julian Alvarez linked with a move to Arsenal, linked with a move to this parish. hell of a goal to to put Argentina ahead and they got a goal to wrap it up through Lottaro Martinez as well so we've got some interesting semi-finals you know England Argentina that's a hell of a game Spain versus France William Saliba's France that's a hell of a game big Arsenal interest in all of those games apart from of course well Argentina the only team without any real Arsenal interest.

43:27Andrew Allen: Until the Alvarez deal goes through, Andrew.

43:29James McNicholas: Yeah. So you're saying it's happening. Exclusive. Aggregate this.

43:36Andrew Allen: Aggregate this, guys. No, but I do think that it's, I mean, we talked about it a little bit last week. I sort of don't necessarily have the kind of,

43:49Andrew Allen: what's the word? I'm not sure I would write this, but I'm happy. I'm just telling you guys, right? So it's fine. It's just me. Just me.

43:56James McNicholas: Yeah, exactly.

43:57Andrew Allen: But like, I don't rule it out. Don't rule it out. I think there's an awkward situation there, isn't there, with him wanting to go to Barca and Atleti being unwilling to deal with them, certainly at the level that they've come in at. Part of me wonders if a kind of a third option might be a meanable solution to Julian Alvarez and maybe to Atleti. But I think it's one of those we're going to have to kind of watch and wait and see. And what I do know is that Mikel absolutely loves this player. And whenever Mikel Arteta is enamoured with a footballer to the degree to which he is enamoured with Julian Alvarez, I can just never quite rule out him getting his way.

44:50Andrew Allen: um even if i think it's practically in terms of the money and what it would cost and what it might mean for our forward line as well uh there are very very very significant hurdles

45:03James McNicholas: sure so this is this is a bit like you don't rule it out but it is the dumb and dumber so you're saying there's a chance kind of i guess so but like you know my detractors on twitter

45:14Andrew Allen: to always say I love to rule things out. That's true. And spoil everyone's fun.

45:19James McNicholas: That's true.

45:20Andrew Allen: So I suppose all I'm saying here is that I'm not entirely ruling it out. I still, yeah, I just think whenever I hear that the manager is sort of as, a bit like with Alexander Izak a year ago, you know, it always looked difficult, but you could never quite say never because we knew that Arteta loved him. and it didn't happen for reasons that Julian Alvarez might not happen but I do think it's a worthwhile conversation and I wouldn't tell any Arsenal fan this morning who's watching that goal feeling a little bit excited about it that they're entirely wasting their time right okay so they're definitely going to aggregate that and then when you happening you heard it here first

46:08James McNicholas: And then when you write the article on August 31st about how actually Julian Alvarez is not coming, it'll be all your fault as well. I look forward to that. You've got a lot to come. You've got a lot to come. I know, mate. Well, there you go. Anyway, listen, we talked about the France game and Morocco on the Arscast on Thursday. So we don't need to do that. William Saliba's back appears to be holding up okay, although I'm sort of watching him closely. There was a moment in not the Morocco game, but the game they played previously, and I think he sort of chased somebody down and won the ball in the corner flag, and everyone was going, what an amazing piece of defending that was.

46:51James McNicholas: And all I could see was just this wince on Saliba's face after making that run, because he's got this back problem One that may or may not require surgery, but certainly not one that's going to get fixed between now and the World Cup final, if France get there. Right. Will we take a little break and then come back and do some questions? I think we should. Why not? Okay. Well, you guys go get yourself a cup or a beer. It's a Sunday. You're allowed to have a beer on a Sunday. We'll be back with your questions and more in part two right after this.

47:58James McNicholas: We'll be right back. Name your price tool. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law. Here's a tip for you. There's a podcast out there with fans waiting to be your next customer. They tune in every week. They trust the host. And that host wants to talk about brands like yours in their own words to their audience. The problem is you just haven't been introduced yet. We're Acast, where that introduction happens. As the world's largest podcast marketplace, we let you browse shows, see who's listening, and book host-read sponsorships or run your own ads all from one platform.

48:36James McNicholas: Transparent pricing, real-time data, complete control. Start advertising on podcasts by visiting acast.com slash advertise.

48:49James McNicholas: Welcome back to the Arscast Extra. This is part two of the show where we answer the questions that you send to us on Blue Sky at gunnerblog.bsky.social and at arseblog.com. Also on the Arseblog Discord chat server, which you get access to if you are an Arseblog member on Patreon. And we did our first new player podcast of the summer, James. The exciting, enthralling arrival of Elan Melier as the backup slash third choice goalkeeper. Fun times.

49:19Andrew Allen: Bringing you the stories you want to hear. Once again.

49:23James McNicholas: Oh, fucking Gunnar Blog wrote about it and then it happened. Fucking Gunnar Blog ruining our goalkeeping whatevers. If you just hadn't reported it, it wouldn't have happened.

49:35Andrew Allen: We might never. I don't know how much we'll see Elan Melio play for Arsenal, but I'm thinking probably not a great deal.

49:42James McNicholas: Well, I mean, it all depends on what happens with, you know, with Kepa.

49:48Andrew Allen: That's true. That's the main focus this summer. can we keep kebba i know but those fans who uh are sort of like when are we going to do our business i don't think they've been sated by the arrival of no free transfer i don't think so okay

50:07James McNicholas: not quite yet not yet not yet actually there was a question about transfers which we might as well do first i do have the odegaard question which i want to do but seeing as we've talked about transfers and the timing of deals on the discord sky major 73 asks or says this arteta said the following about this transfer window in the post psg presser he said if you want to reach another level we're going to have to show that ambition because we are way more capable of doing it but it demands to be very, very ambitious, very fast, and very smart. We may well be ambitious and smart, but we definitely don't appear to be very fast.

50:55James McNicholas: Do you think he will be frustrated at the lack of moves both in and out so far?

51:04Andrew Allen: Probably because that's the kind of guy he is, I think. and because he's kind of the necessary friction in a lot of these conversations, always pushing for more, agitating for more.

51:19Andrew Allen: I think he probably will because he's so demanding. But yeah, as you were reading that quote, I was like, okay, this all sounds good. Then you got to very fast and I was like, I bet there was someone upstairs in the club who was like, I wish he hadn't said that. I wish he hadn't said that.

51:36James McNicholas: Yeah, very smart. Good. Yeah, like it. We can do that. Very ambitious. Yes. Very fun. No.

51:42Andrew Allen: For fuck's sake, Mikael.

51:43James McNicholas: He said the F word for fuck's sake. I mean, we're fast.

51:50Andrew Allen: We're not, we haven't been super quick off the mark. But then, and I feel like I might have everyone shout at me if I say this, but has anyone? Like, isn't everyone kind of a little bit beholden to the World Cup and what that does to the transfer window? I know City bought Elliot Anderson, for example. Sure. And he did his medical in the States and it all got sorted. But, I mean, that is the exception rather than the rule. It's quite rare to see a transfer of that size completed during a tournament.

52:28James McNicholas: Yeah, a lot of, you know, anything really that has been done has been non-World Cup-y, you know?

52:36Andrew Allen: Indeed, yeah. Jeremy Monger signing for Manchester City, for example. Mark Cucurello maybe going to Real Madrid as one. Cucurello went to Real Madrid, that was a big deal. But by and large, things are on pause. I mean, think of Leandro Trossard, for example. or we've reported fee agreed, but it's kind of in a holding pattern. Well, perhaps not. Now Belgium are out. Yeah, true. We may get some news on that. But yeah, I think Arteta will be frustrated because I think that's who he is. And I actually don't think anyone around him in seriousness would want it any other way. I think that the demands he places on everyone around him are a big part of what's made Arsenal successful.

53:25Andrew Allen: And I think we as fans particularly should want him to be pushing for more and demanding more from the club, from the owners, because it means good things for the football club. But I don't think he'll be tearing his immaculate hair out quite yet.

53:49James McNicholas: Yeah, still time. Still time.

53:51Andrew Allen: And there's only a week. I mean, you know, we've talked about the World Cup a lot as an obstacle and a barrier and what it does to the timeframes. But there's only a week left of it, Andrew. Only four games left. Six games. Or five games. Is it?

54:08James McNicholas: I don't know. Two games and a final. Four games, you're right.

54:12Andrew Allen: Two semi-finals and a third-place playoff that no one really wants.

54:16James McNicholas: Yeah, that's it.

54:19Andrew Allen: but so in a week's time it'll be over so I I I suppose let's see where we are in two three weeks I mean it is it is remarkable how soon we're kind of back into pre-season

54:35James McNicholas: yeah there's a training camp isn't there this week the players are going to Marbella I believe a warm weather training camp so we'll see who's there I see who's in the pictures when they emerge on the Arsenal website. Yeah.

54:53Andrew Allen: And then we play, we're three weeks away from playing Girona, I believe. Is that the first? I think so. And then it's Dublin the week after. Right.

55:06James McNicholas: I might be here for that. But yeah,

55:11Andrew Allen: no panic for me yet on the transfer front. But I, yeah, it's certainly fair to point to what Michele Tett said and query whether we've truly been fast. I mean, also, let's be fair. When he says fast, what does he mean? Does he mean getting deals done early? Or does he mean moving with alacrity at the appropriate moment in the window?

55:40James McNicholas: Maybe not. I don't know. spinning all the plates all the time. At some point, you've got to unspin the plate and put the plate on the table and serve up the transfer. I think that's what he's saying.

55:55Andrew Allen: I think that might be, but, you know, the plates are still spinning, aren't they? As far as we know. Including the Julian Alvarez plate, presumably.

56:03James McNicholas: In the background.

56:05Andrew Allen: Yeah, exactly.

56:05James McNicholas: That's a very small plate. It's a side plate. It's a side plate. Let me ask you the Odegaard questions then. And we had a couple. Daniel Constable on the Discord. How good was Odegaard against England? It was like watching the old Odegaard before injuries. I now think if an offer does come in, it has to be something very high above the 60 million mark. What do you think? And Joseph Laycock on Blue Sky, who's JG Laycock, says, Martin Odegaard, where do you stand on the debate around his future and the place in the team? He's an incredible captain, midfield glue, outstanding in the press. but somehow it's hard to imagine his relentless all-action play translating back to Arsenal.

56:48Andrew Allen: I thought he was good. I think he's had a good World Cup.

56:51James McNicholas: I agree. I think it's been a very useful World Cup for him. Yeah. The sort of one thing it does make me think is,

57:02Andrew Allen: is Norway his team in a way that Arsenal kind of was his team at a point in time and doesn't feel quite the same anymore? Like is Norway kind of set up for him to flourish and to lead and to be the sort of chief instigator in a way that Arsenal have slightly evolved away from. That would be my caveat, I guess, against the performances. On his future, what I can say is that in the strongest possible terms, I've been told that his focus is on principally the World Cup and then coming back to Arsenal and being a big part of things at Arsenal next season. I don't think he is looking to move, agitating to move.

57:58Andrew Allen: Yeah, I think he's very happy in London and Arsenal and wants to continue to build a legacy there.

58:08Andrew Allen: Well, you know, obviously that's not entirely down to him. I mean, he's got a contract, but clubs do deals for players above their heads all the time. I don't necessarily see one developing or emerging for Martin Odegaard. I'm not sure. I certainly struggle with this conversation with who that buyer is, who that buyer would be. And that's not to necessarily be dismissive of what Martin offers. I just don't see the obvious fit or the obvious place for him to go, who could invest at a level that would make it worthwhile for Arsenal. In terms of what I would do, I feel very relaxed about it. I can see the case that Martin Odegaard is 27, he'll be 28 in December.

59:01Andrew Allen: He's been a big part of things at Arsenal, but his body has let him down a bit in the last couple of years. There is sometimes a necessity to cut ties with big names or beloved players to renew and refresh. And I think Odegaard, you could have that debate about in conversation. The counterpoint to that is, This is a team that can lack creativity and technical quality. And I think few players in the squad bring that quite as much as Martin Odegaard. So, you know, would it be a mistake to allow him to leave at a time when his attributes are sort of precisely what we need more of in the squad? I think that's the strong counter argument when it comes to the prospects of selling to Martin.

59:49James McNicholas: I mean, I would not let him go unless there was like a ridiculous offer that we couldn't refuse, you know, and that's true of, you know, almost any player really. I've said, I think the World Cup could be very useful for him. I think the issue or the issues around Martin Odegaard are nothing at all to do with his quality as a player or his talent or his ability. they've been entirely down to injury where I think he has been negatively impacted by you know big ankle injury the season before last and then last season a couple of knee injuries a couple of shoulder injuries he did not have any kind of fluency or rhythm or form to produce the kind of football that we know he can produce and I think you know as you've said we're a team that needs as much creativity and craft as we can get so unless the offer is big and unless that money is then used to bring in players who can offset what you would lose from a technical perspective with regards Martin Odegaard then it's not a deal I would do you know the ideal situation for me is now that Odegaard has gone he's had a world cup he's found some form he's found some rhythm he wasn't overworked last season because of the injuries that he had he can now have a you know bit of a break bit of a holiday and come back and hopefully take that world cup form into next season for Arsenal because yeah if he can do that then I think you know we stand a chance of winning more games.

1:01:34James McNicholas: So no, it's not something I would countenance, you know, unless the money was ridiculous and unless Arsenal were absolutely prepared to reinvest that money in players who bring a level of technicality and creativity to a team which, you know, really needs it. And as we've said previously with Leandro Trossard going, we're losing some of that from the left-hand side of the pitch as it is.

1:02:01Andrew Allen: now i think some people believe there might maybe an association between martin odegaard's future and ethan oneri's future we had a question here from matthew miller who's at king clovis on blue sky and they say last month the news that emerson oneri was set to leave the academy was interpreted as an indication that ethan was on his way out too Now it's being reported that Emerson is staying. Does that change your thoughts on Ethan's future at the club? Yeah, we had the same question on the Discord from Lisa as well, who asked the very same question.

1:02:38James McNicholas: I mean, I don't know the ins and outs of this, to be honest. Reporting about stuff at youth level is quite difficult, isn't it? Because, you know, the players don't have contracts which tie them down. they can't sign those contracts at a really young age and stuff. I mean, I guess on the surface, you'd have to say it probably is a good sign. I don't know what it means for Ethan next season.

1:03:12James McNicholas: I had a bit of a conversation with Kaya about this on Thursday on the Arscast, where I think when you look at the midfield options Arsenal have, and if they bring in Morgan Rodgers and if they bring in Bruno Gimaraes where does Ethan find the minutes he needs next season and my sort of contention would be a really good loan move a Premier League loan move would be very beneficial for Ethan we don't have to make a decision on him at such a young age and if he goes to a Premier League club and really does well then it stands Arsenal in good stead. I would prefer for Arsenal to keep Ethan Rennery than to sell him this summer by some distance.

1:04:02James McNicholas: Maybe the Odegaard situation is related to that. I don't know. Maybe if they are prepared to let Odegaard go, they see Ethan as that guy. Not necessarily sure. It's a like for like, you know? I think they're different players. Even if you could say, right, well, you know if you were to list out the squad who would be the sort of analog for martin odegaard in terms of position and playing style when erie will come into that conversation you know he's he's good on the ball he's left footed you know but i don't see him as a very similar player to martin odegaard i don't see him as somebody who could for example control the tempo of a game I think what he can do is add bursts to a game, if that makes sense.

1:04:53James McNicholas: You know, I think he's the kind of guy who can make things happen in the final third or apply the finish in the final third in a way that Martin Odegaard doesn't always. I don't think it's something that's completely beyond him. But Wernheri, for me, is a bit more Rosicki, if you like, than someone like Martin Odegaard, who I think people have been impressed over the course of this World Cup with the way he has controlled games for Norway. Yes, I know what you mean.

1:05:26Andrew Allen: Does that make sense? I think Ethan is kind of more impact. Martin is more control.

1:05:33Andrew Allen: on this topic, I mean, listen, if, if Emerson Ranieri stays with Arsenal, that's a really good thing. He's a very highly rated young prospect. Um, a lot of people think he's going to be a very, very good player. Um, and we don't want to be losing talented boys from our academy. What I would say is that I suppose it's a positive indication that like the relationship with the family remains intact and professional. And, you know, clearly there's no issue between Ethan's father, for example, who man looks after and guides two players career and the club because he wouldn't, you know, he wouldn't agree to keep Emerson in the academy if he had serious concerns.

1:06:20Andrew Allen: But I also think that those people around Ethan will surely make their own decision for him individually. You know, he's not going to stay somewhere just because his brother's there. Sure. And I'm not saying that's a scaremonger, but, you know, only because when you start listing those midfield options and you do add in people like Bruno or Morgan Rodgers, I think it starts to look very, very crowded. I did see a story this week about Christian Norgard potentially going out. There was a link with the Middle East, maybe. So, you know, that would offset that problem somewhat. But, yeah, I think Ethan's family and the people around them advising them will make a distinct decision over his career from Emerson's.

1:07:18Andrew Allen: And I hope that's to stay at Arsenal. I really do think he's still got a lot more to offer. And I have this nagging feeling that if we let him go, we will come to regret it.

1:07:30James McNicholas: Yes, I'm with you on that one. Like at least without what feels like, and it's sort of a, not the right way, but a fair shake. You know what I mean? And I'm not saying he's been treated unfairly. but I you know when I when I see a 17 year old breakthrough and nearly get into double figures for goals in their first senior season you can't help but be excited by that because even somebody like Cesc Fabregas only added goals to his game once he had matured you know quite a bit and I know they're not playing in the same position etc etc and Ethan was playing in more forward positions because he was deputizing for Bakaio Saka at that period.

1:08:19James McNicholas: But I think there's just talent there and there's an ability in the final third that's there. That's people, you know, will say, and I understand it, even if I think, you know, something you had said about where Arsenal see Ethan in the longer term was a more central player, right? Than a winger. I understand why people will say, well, why are we paying 45 odd million for Nani Madoeke when you have Ethan Wannery there? And I know it's not exactly that. I know it's not like for like and all that kind of stuff. But I would be really disappointed if Ethan Wenaire's time at Arsenal came to an end without us being able to say as fans sort of definitively or not, okay, I can see why Arsenal made that decision.

1:09:17James McNicholas: The only reason I can see right now for Arsenal to make that decision is financial. Yeah. And there's a sort of, there's a logic to it. If you keep spending, you're going to have to bring some money in. And who are the players who are most valuable? The ones who cost you nothing. The ones who've come through your academy, right? The hashtag pure profit, right? Which, whether you like it or not, does make sense, at least on that level. But I don't think there's a real footballing case to be made that we should be letting a player of that talent go this early in his career. And if you think he still has, you know, work to do, or if you think he still has to develop or mature or, you know, improve aspects of his game, that's fine.

1:10:09James McNicholas: But that's what a good loan deal could do.

1:10:12Andrew Allen: Yeah, that's interesting. So would you be thinking about a loan potentially again for Heath this summer?

1:10:17James McNicholas: Yeah, but not to fucking Marseille. I know there was some method in the madness there, right? because they thought De Zerbi was the kind of coach who could help when Aerie and when Aerie suited the kind of football that he wanted to play. But with hindsight, not a great move. And I think, you know, coming into a new season, you know, all the way through a summer, whoever's in charge of making the decisions and working with players when they go out on loan, like, are you telling me there aren't like seven, eight, nine Premier League clubs that wouldn't take Ethan Wieneri on loan this summer? Of course, I'm sure.

1:10:59James McNicholas: You know? So that's what I'd like to see, but we'll see what happens.

1:11:03Andrew Allen: Yeah, I think it's interesting in an episode where we've talked about Jude Bailey and Mikel Marino, that capacity to find space, find opportunities in the penalty box and the composure to convert them when they arrive. You know, I do think that's where Ethan really, really excels. He's got that ability. and it's quite rare it's quite rare when you find it so I think it's really worth trying to harness that talent and use it to our advantage um I mean I have a slightly adjacent question to

1:11:38James McNicholas: this if that's all right because there is I don't mean to say an elephant in the room but there is maybe another consideration that we haven't really talked about and you know it's like would the Ethan Wynary situation be different if there were no Max Dowman? And Rowan Patel on Blue Sky, who's at Gunnar Rohan, asks, Max is full-time this season. What are your hopes for him? With so many of our senior attackers going deep into the World Cup, he could be massive early on. How many minutes do you reckon he gets, and are we mainly seeing him on the right wing or more a central? What a good

1:12:18Andrew Allen: question. I think Max is a little bit, I'm not going to say he's a problem for Ethan because I do think they're very different players stylistically and I think they can play together. But if they do see Max in a central area in the longer term, that might prove an obstacle for Ethan. And they clearly feel the need to sort of prioritise a pathway for Max. You know, there is a bit of a pressure to do that because he's such a big talent and in such demand and, you know, doubtless Arsenal have made certain assurances over his involvement. So, yeah, I think that's a really interesting question. Maybe Arsenal do feel like they have to make a choice there.

1:13:12Andrew Allen: How much do I expect from Max next season?

1:13:18Andrew Allen: I think he'll be involved. I don't see it being dramatically different to last season, really, where I think he'll play in the cup competitions. I think he'll make a lot of substitutes benches. I think he'll get on in the right game state. I think he'll probably still be playing more on the right-hand side. I just think he'll get afforded more opportunities there, particularly early in the season. If you think Maduweke and Saka will both be coming back from quite long World Cup campaigns, I think there might be a bit of an opportunity for him on that flank. I think he'll certainly get games there in pre-season.

1:14:02Andrew Allen: And if, like last summer, he impresses, that could translate into the Premier League. And then who knows from that point on? I mean, I think we'll see more of him. But you've still got to remember, he's still very young. He's still 16.

1:14:20James McNicholas: Yeah, yeah. I think pre-season will tell us, you know, a bit about what we might expect. Even if, as you say, you know, there'll be some absences during pre-season because of World Cup and World Cup commitments. By the way, I've just seen a headline. Arsenal pushing to seal quick transfer for Argentina's World Cup hero, Julian Alvarez comes from Miguel Delaney, who says Arsenal are attempting to get a deal for Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez done before pre-season, as competition for the player looks to have regressed. Is he listening in? Are you outside my window, Miguel?

1:14:58Andrew Allen: Interesting.

1:14:58James McNicholas: Miguel?

1:14:59Andrew Allen: I mean, but equally, there are stories doing rounds about Barcelona stepping up their interest again. I mean, part of me thinks when a player scores a goal like that, in a moment like that, there are always going to be headlines. But as I said in part one, I don't think it's entirely out of the question. I think, you know, but you know, lots of things happen in football. I mentioned Jude Bellingham, you know, coming for a meeting with Arsenal. I would be staggered if Arsenal weren't trying to have those conversations with a player like Julian Alvarez. but whether they come to fruition is another matter entirely.

1:15:40Andrew Allen: He's been very clear about his wish to join Barcelona. So that's the first major obstacle.

1:15:46James McNicholas: Yeah, everywhere else will feel like sort of a letdown or a second choice or settling or something, won't it? And presumably if we did sign him. That's a weird dynamic, isn't it?

1:15:59Andrew Allen: Yeah, if we did have a sign him, we'd have to put up with Barcelona transfer stories every summer.

1:16:04James McNicholas: Oh, yeah.

1:16:06Andrew Allen: So we'd have that to look forward to. That would be quite nostalgic for me, really, to have our players linked.

1:16:12James McNicholas: Then we just sell them Christian Norgard for 15 million. It would be fine.

1:16:15Andrew Allen: That would be good, yeah. The Alex Song strategy. What were we talking about before Julian Alvarez? Max Diamond. Max Diamond. Ethan Winery.

1:16:27James McNicholas: All of that.

1:16:28Andrew Allen: Yeah, I still think right-hand side for the time being, predominantly, do you?

1:16:33James McNicholas: I think so. I think so. At his age, you know, there's a lot of physical development still to go when you're 16 years of age.

1:16:41Andrew Allen: And that's the great unknown, Andrew. That's what I was about to say. That's the thing that we won't have seen at close hand and which will only get sight of in preseason, which is how has his physical development accelerated, plateaued? Like, where is he at on that side of things?

1:16:59James McNicholas: There's always, yeah, there's always one player, isn't there? Every summer he goes, like, he's four inches taller. Yeah. And there's only, like, eight weeks between the end of the season and the start of preseason. You're wondering, where the fuck have you gone in eight weeks? What's happened in eight weeks? Have you got that much taller? How have you become, like, so hench in just eight weeks? But, you know, maybe there's a sort of finishing camp. I don't know.

1:17:25Andrew Allen: Indeed. And I think it's slightly uncomfortable, I guess, talking about the kind of physical development of a young lad like Max. But my perception is, my understanding is that people feel that he will actually be quite a powerful player as a full-grown adult. Like he's quite a tall boy for his age. And I think there's a feeling that he will grow and fill out and become physically a real problem for Premier League defenders if he's not already. But the trajectory and the timing of that is probably much more difficult to anticipate.

1:18:08James McNicholas: So you're saying he's going to be Arsenal's Jonah Lomu? Is that where we're going with this?

1:18:12Andrew Allen: I'm saying, yeah, he's going to be six foot six.

1:18:17Andrew Allen: You heard it here first. Aggregate that. Yes. Yes. No, but I'm excited to see Max again. I mean, particularly in pre-season, because that was such a thrilling part of last summer, wasn't it? Getting the opportunity to watch him and see him in a first-team environment, the degree to which he flourished. And obviously the competitive season, we saw glimpses. He had a significant injury as well, which ruled him out for a number of months. I mean, that's my major hope. Let's hope he avoids that again. I don't think it did him any harm, really. Like, I think it kind of took him out of contention at a point in the season where it probably wouldn't have been hugely appropriate to be selecting him anyway and he came back to score the Everton goal and be part of the title and all those things um I think him being out the limelight for six weeks or ever wasn't necessarily the worst thing in the world but yeah I hope he avoids that this year and he's able to be more consistently yeah I think

1:19:12James McNicholas: we kind of need to leave it there and get this out but I did enjoy this question from Josh on the discord josh said i had a dream last week that josh cronkey was trying to buy arse blog and you guys asked me to tag along to help you decide if you if you should go through with it we ultimately decided it was a bad idea for objective journalism that being said what will be your absurd condition you would negotiate with josh p.s i am not josh cronkey that was the bit listen josh show us the money yeah um what would be what would i negotiate on josh cronkey yeah

1:19:51Andrew Allen: there was a time where my stipulation would have been that he rid himself of the beard

1:19:57James McNicholas: um did you think it was too long did you think like it was a good beard this was like a this was like a lockdown beard as well wasn't it yeah you know but it was too long it was almost like this is sort of evil villain length.

1:20:11Andrew Allen: Yes, but I think he's got it in a good place.

1:20:13James McNicholas: He has. He has. It's looking good now.

1:20:15Andrew Allen: I don't know if it's just the fact that he's also, when I picture him now, it's also lifting the Premier League trophy. That does help.

1:20:22James McNicholas: Standing with Saliba and Gabriel, you know, he's got the beard in a good place now. So I couldn't really negotiate around that. I think it went too far.

1:20:29Andrew Allen: And I would tell him this to his face.

1:20:32James McNicholas: Face to face. I mean, I might have to stand. Beard to beard. I might have to stand on a box to get face-to-face with Josh Kroenke because he is quite tall. He's very tall. He is quite tall.

1:20:43Andrew Allen: He's a good mentor for Max Dowman in terms of tallness. So, no, he can keep the beard. I'll let him have that.

1:20:56James McNicholas: Julian Alvarez, is that the one? Yeah, that's a decent one. Get us Julian Alvarez and then we'll talk. Then we'll talk. Then we'll become your mouthpiece. you know it's no problem yeah for the for the greater good your hand up my backside

1:21:12Andrew Allen: hang on what am i okay with this i think you're i was thinking like to operate me like a puppet

1:21:17James McNicholas: yeah yeah yeah came very graphic it did rather i'm i'm sort of struggling to understand how you yeah want to be josh kronky's ventriloquist dummy uh but you know i think you might have just let something slip in your hungover state here so i did say i like his beard

1:21:40Andrew Allen: all right well look listen i think it's best i stop talking i think so i think so um i think that uh that pint of tequila is still swilling around yeah and the and the fly jizz that's uh coursing

1:21:54James McNicholas: around your bloodstream right now as well so right right yeah okay well listen all right let's get this out to the people. Let's do that. You go about your Sunday and have a wonderful time in Chicago. Oh, oh, oh, I promised the people that there would be a deep dish pizza update and somebody said, are you just going to ask him if you had the deep dish pizza? And I said, yeah, probably that'll be it. But we're counting down now because your time in Chicago is finite now. It's coming to an end. There's only, as you said, four more games in the World Cup and then you're back you're being cast aside returned to sender back to london so you've only got really what a week to do the deep dish pizza if you if you haven't already and you're not about to surprise us with a an exciting pizza deep dish pizza update so this is the update the master of suspense that i am okay i have not yet eaten the deep dish this is it you're brilliant at this you're like bringing it on to the to the next episode the listeners

1:23:04Andrew Allen: emotionally involved yeah podcast you know um cliffhanger always leave them with a cliffhanger now the twist is that i have been in the presence of my wife while she ate deep dish pizza and she

1:23:22James McNicholas: was like fuck out of here and you didn't yeah she was like are you gonna have some and i was like

1:23:27Andrew Allen: no because i'll tell you for why okay because we were not in one of the recommended okay

1:23:36James McNicholas: deep dish places okay okay that's good this was like bog standard deep dish this was bog standard

1:23:43Andrew Allen: deep dish and i was like i'm not gonna allow after these weeks of drawing this out my first bite of deep dish pizza to not be one of the ones that people have messaged me saying you must go did camille like it or uh yes she really liked it okay and i really wanted to try it but i couldn't I think I'm going to go to Pequod's Pizza. Is it? Pequod's? Pequod's? Pequod. Pequod.

1:24:15James McNicholas: P-E-Q-U-O-D. That's the one that everyone's been saying you've got to go.

1:24:20Andrew Allen: I mean, there's been a few, but that's the one that's occurred most frequently. Right. So that's where I'll be. One day. If you're out there for the next seven days, you will witness me go in and order a deep dish pizza. All right. And I'll try and document it in some way for you all. Seems like the least I could do.

1:24:47James McNicholas: That seems like a good idea, you know.

1:24:49Andrew Allen: Because the people are desperate for this, Andrew.

1:24:51James McNicholas: I mean, it just, you know, in the absence of more exciting signings like Elan Melier, you know, people are desperate for some great hashtag content.

1:25:03Andrew Allen: In my defense, I never said I would be very fast in acquiring the deep dish pizza.

1:25:11James McNicholas: That's true. Anyway, we look forward to next week where it's just you going like, this is delicious. Just chewing.

1:25:20Andrew Allen: It was like me at an airport going, I've never went to Pequons. Get me some deep dish pizza before I get on this plane.

1:25:27James McNicholas: All right. Okay, well, we look forward to our deep dish pizza update next week. The World Cup semifinals take place on Tuesday. It is Spain versus France, and then Wednesday, England versus Argentina. We'll talk about that later in the week. We'll talk about those games on an Arsecast later in the week. For now, though, folks, thank you so much as always for being here. Hope you enjoyed the show and we will catch you on the next one.

1:25:50Andrew Allen: Bye-bye.

1:26:17James McNicholas: Choose the shows that match your perfect audience, set your budget, and launch. And if you want a hand, our podcast specialists are there to help you launch with confidence. This is podcast advertising without barriers. Get started at acast.com slash advertise.