Arsecast Extra Episode 707 - 10.08.2026

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1:15James McNicholas: Hello and welcome to another Arsecast Extra as always with James from Gunnar Block. James, good morning to you. Good morning, Andrew. How are you doing? I am good. Thank you very much. How was your Whistle Stop tour of Ireland with Elliot? It was a lot of fun, actually. Yeah, we did. Yeah, Whistle Stop is about right. We drove from Dublin to Dingle in County Kerry on Thursday. That was fun. I introduced Elliot to Guinness. That'll sound strange, you know, because Guinness is a worldwide brand and people have it everywhere. But there's Guinness and then there is Dingle Guinness. Dingle Guinness I don't know what it is It's a step above The Guinness you can get anywhere else That is a hill that I will die on It's Something in the pipes Yeah something in the pipes The technical explanation there So it was really good How did he get on with it?

2:15James McNicholas: Was he into it? Yeah I mean it's beautiful down there As you know The views and the scenery and the sea and everything is really quite spectacular. So yeah, I think he had a great time. We ended up in a pub called Dick Max, which people might know it's a very famous pub down there. We sat at the bar. The night was almost over. They were kicking everybody out. This guy walked past with his girlfriend and stopped and did a double take and went, kind of, what the fuck are you two doing here? I listened to the podcast. It was like, this is the last place I expected to see either of you. So it was good.

2:53James McNicholas: We went to Galway then on Friday. There was a bit, maybe too much Ed Sheeran, Galway Girl, being played in the bar we were in. But, hey, it was a good time. And then back to Dublin on Saturday, and he went home yesterday. So all in all, a very nice week. Lovely. Lovely. Well, yeah, but we had a great time doing the live show out there. Yes. It must feel ages away to you now, Andrew. It kind of does. When I think back to those riskful days at the Sugar Club in Dublin when we were being asked, what's our percentage on the Vinicius Junior deal? And we were all quite like, we were a bit optimistic.

3:33James McNicholas: You were 50-50. You got yourself to 50%. I think Elliot said 90, didn't he? He said 100 % it was happening. But I do think that... I was very relieved the next day that we hadn't recorded and put that out. I think I would have been accused of getting people's hopes up. To be fair, his tongue was a little bit in cheek in that sense. But yeah, we were hopeful at that point, weren't we? And then, well, then life, contract renewals, they happen, and you have to go in a different direction. But we got our Brazilian. We got a Brazilian at the very least. We did. We did. Bruno Guilherme. Unveiled at the game yesterday, no less.

4:12James McNicholas: Yeah, I saw that. I was watching that before the start. I was wondering if they would do that, you know, just bring him out. And he seemed to get a good reception. He did the walk to the centre circle, turn around a bit, wave and walk off thing. I mean, is there a point where some football is going to do something different? Sort of get to the centre circle and break dance or something? Yeah, do a few somersaults, tumbles. I don't know. Just walk backwards. Just walk on backwards. Just for something different. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He turned his back at his unveiling. he turned his back on 60 % of the Emirates crowd.

4:52I feel like at Real Madrid or what have you, they like doing sort of keepy-ups and stuff, but that's quite high pressure, isn't it? Like, can you imagine 60 ,000 people watching and you miscontrol the ball or you don't want that?

5:06James McNicholas: I think there've been a few like that, haven't there? There was somebody unveiled maybe at Barcelona one time and they were doing the keepy-ups, but it was like the first time they'd ever seen a football. I don't know. Was it Alex Song, mate, by any chance? I don't know. No comment. No. Didn't Villarreal introduce Santi Cazorla in like a, what looked like a time machine or something? Am I misremembering that? Am I wrong? Am I wrong? Was that like a time machine? Really? Well, it looked like a time machine. It looked like something again from, you know, Doctor Who, you know, it was like a capsule and then there was smoke in the capsule and then he emerged.

5:46James McNicholas: Am I dreaming this? A theatrical magic trick in 2018. The returning Santi Cazorla. The club partnered with the illusionist Juncker. Ah, yes, Juncker. The 33-year-old player seemingly materialised out of thin air from inside a smoke-filled, glowing, transparent cylinder on the pitch. Wow. There you go. There you go. I'm watching it now. so yeah it was it was it's the it's the magic in the pipes andrew there's a big pipe and there's a load of smoke coming out of it and then santi cazola appears and emerges there you go it's all about the pipes today wow yeah i want to see something i want to see stuff like that yep i want to see people coming out of trap doors on the penalty spot and things like that you know sure listen arsenal if you're listening when you sign esri concert we got to go all out on this one right if esri concert doesn't abseil down from the roof of the emirates then i'll be furious yes you've always remember during when we signed gabriel jesus there was a a very good picture i think it's tuat mfarlane picture of him on the on the roof seemingly at the end certainly up in the gods kind of doing the christ the redeemer that's what it was yeah Yeah, that's what it was, though.

7:08But it felt like a missed opportunity for him to sort of zipline down to the pitch, you know?

7:13James McNicholas: Yeah. Well, listen, the standard has been set now by Santi Cazorla and Esri Canza. The thing about Santi Cazorla is you can fit him in a little box. Like, he was probably up the magician's sleeve. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. Just one shaker. Wow. Where did he come from? He was in my top hat the whole time. Tell me this. Tell me this. I know that you, like me, have had some opinions on Bruno Guimaraes during his time at Newcastle. How are you parsing the move from Newcastle to Arsenal? Did you watch his video? He came across pretty well, I thought, in his first interview. but you're saying the right things, of course, when you join a new football club.

8:03James McNicholas: Are you able to sort of separate the player from the person a bit? And are you willing to allow yourself to be won over by Bruno the guy now that he's one of our guys and not some sharp-elbowed wanker playing for Newcastle? Yeah, I'm getting there. I'm getting there. I think it's all relative, isn't it? I mean, the links with Christian Romero really put things in perspective. We'll talk about that. We'll get to that. But I, yeah, I'm getting there. I mean, I did see a very funny sort of photoshopped image on social media last night saying, I think you'll find this is what happened. And they'd swapped it around.

8:42So it's Jorginho elbowing Bruno in the head. Yeah, we're all kind of finding our way round to liking this guy. I think one thing that gives me sort of some comfort and some reassurance is that the Newcastle fans, certainly until the last few weeks, absolutely loved him and he had a real bond with those supporters. And, you know, he was kind of really at the heart of that football club and that wider community. So I think when, you know, they're often players you dislike, but it's when you look at how they're perceived by their own fans, that often gives you a bit of an insight into them and their character.

9:19He did say all the right things. I liked the detail of Declan Rice dropping him a message saying, you know no more fights we're friends now and yeah and and clearly he's got a good bond already with big gabby and and the rest of the brazilian contingent um i think moreover i'm just sort of uh i i think it's a really good signing actually the thing that gave me the most sort of satisfaction was sort of seeing the way that supporters of other clubs reacted to it yeah i was going to

9:54James McNicholas: mention that to you because it's something I noticed myself I had a look at the um the reddit the soccer reddit reddit soccer and I just went to have a look because I wanted to see what uh not that I really care but I just thought it was interesting to see what other fans or fans of other clubs were going to say about this particular signing you know because it came after obviously we'd we'd found out we weren't getting Vinicius Jr and he was going to stay at Real Madrid so I went on had a look and it's like Liverpool fans Chelsea fans Man United fans Tottenham fans all going fuck that's a really good signing for Arsenal like their midfield is actually fucking insane now so yeah yeah I thought that's interesting that we both sort of uh felt that but I or observed that but I saw exactly the same all across socials, people being like, you know, even people have been like, oh, is it, is it a lot of money?

10:51Is it, you know, is it, is the age right? I think there was sort of a universal acknowledgement that this is a signing that makes Arsenal a lot stronger going into this season coming up. So yeah, I take a lot of heart from that and I'm really interested to see how he gets on. And it's good to see him at the ground and yeah, I can't wait to see him in action.

11:14James McNicholas: Yeah, for a bit more, obviously, on him, you can read Phil Costa's profile piece, which is on the website on arseblog.com. And for our Patreon members, there's a new player podcast, as always, myself and Lewis Ambrose talking about him there. And Mikel Arteta was asked about what he will bring to the team. And he said, on the pitch, versatility to play in two different positions in relation to what the opponent or what we do. a player who obviously has tremendous timing and intuition to win the ball back and progress the play very very fast he's a player that's comfortable putting people through pulling between the lines pulling behind and then he's a goal threat he's got a smell and a really good timing to get in the box and he has the capacity to finish the actions so i listen i completely and have done from the start understood why you know when you expend energy in disliking a footballer at another team it's hard to sort of put that to one side it's easier when they're a really good player and for me that's always been kind of the the thing that's made this a bit easier than some of the others because he is a really really good player and that's kind of why you dislike him as well if he was just a sort of a joey barton figure who was interested in acts of random violence You'd be like, well, just fuck that guy forever and ever and ever.

12:34But the fact that he is a good player is also part of why you dislike him

12:40James McNicholas: because you're sort of like, this guy can hurt us with his elbows and with his feet. Exactly, exactly. I think it's the kind of signing that, you know, United made for many years when they were on top, you know, just go and cherry pick another outstanding Premier League player. You know, while you've got sort of your foot on the throat of the league, it is the time to capitalise and push on. And I think we're doing that here. So I think it was good as well. I don't know if it was deliberate or by design, but the announcement came a little bit later than anticipated. So the sort of Vinicius thing kind of played out as it did.

13:24And then there was a bit of space, which I think allowed people to get into the right headspace to be like, appreciate this transfer on its own merits.

13:32James McNicholas: Yeah, yeah. An announcement on a Saturday, which is a little bit strange, but there you go. I don't suppose it really matters too much when the player is announced. He couldn't play, obviously, in the Emirates Cup game against Borussia Dortmund, which we'll talk about now in a second. But do you expect him to be involved against Como? yeah I do I do I think he will be the sooner the better kind of I think so yeah I mean I don't know what sort of shape he's in but obviously we've had our Brazilians back and with the group and playing minutes for you know coming up for a week now so they'll want to get him up to speed as fast as possible and everybody's back now right I think as of today or yesterday as of the weekend Declan Rice Bakai Saka I think that everyone's back in for us.

14:23James McNicholas: Yeah, the Spain and England contingents are back in and everybody will be back in training this week. And yeah, there was some interesting bits and bobs from the Borussia Dortmund game, which, you know, I think we've been around the block too many times to get overworked about pre-season, about results in pre-season, I think. I know it is the way of the football fan to sort of be a bit, they can catastrophize or we can catastrophize a little bit, can't we? When things go wrong, it's like, oh no, everything's wrong. And then when things go right, you're like, oh, this is the best thing in the world.

15:00James McNicholas: So I think we have to recognize, so pre-season, it's a really weird pre-season as well in that players are coming back at different periods. So it's a staggered return. So players are at different levels of fitness, et cetera, et cetera. I think with Real Betis, we played a team that were playing their sixth pre-season friendly and we certainly weren't. I think maybe, I could be wrong on this, but Borussia Dortmund were just a little bit ahead of us as well in the physical aspects of the game. So those things play a part. But, you know, the game itself and some of the bits and bobs that we can talk about I think are worth discussing.

15:40James McNicholas: Sort of not to co-op my own blog this morning, but I do want to start. Martin Odegaard started the first half an hour of this game. And that's what we've done with big players. We brought them in, given them half an hour in the first game, and then taken them off and eased them back into action that way. And I thought we were, despite the fact we'd gone 2-0 down by the time he went off, I thought we saw things from Martin Odegaard that we really need to see more of from him and from this team in the new season ahead. that ability to find the passes and sort of unpick defences a little bit, I think is going to be an important factor.

16:18James McNicholas: And I think that's part of why Bruno Gimaraes is in as well. Yeah, I mean, when you're reeling off that list of qualities that Arteta gave for why you signed him, I think the forward passing, the passing, the through balls into people, that's really what we hope will bring another dimension to this team. And an informed Martin Odegaard can also do that and showed some flashes of that during the game yesterday. I think it's interesting you mentioned the sort of first half hour thing that's relatively novel and I can still see it throwing people like people who aren't watching the game after half an hour sort of panicked texting me saying he's only got injured what's happened you know he's come off after half an hour but I think it's it's a really good way of approaching these friendlies because problem is if you only want to give a player 30 minutes but then you give them the last 30 often with these friendlies the game has kind of lost its way a bit by then the team structure the team shape the personnel will be a far cry from what we might actually see on the opening day so i think these sort of little taster introductions that mikhail has used throughout pre-season is a pretty smart approach actually we conceded early um and then conceded just before uh the half hour mark as well a couple of goals behind um listen i think the defending and the defense is probably a topic of discussion.

17:38James McNicholas: Given the injuries that we've got, we've got some updates on Saliba and Jurian Timber, which we can talk about in due course. I liked Christos Solis in this game. Again, I know it's pre-season. I'm not going to over-index the performance or anything like that. But I think if you're looking for something that is encouraging from pre-season and certainly the game yesterday, then I think Solis was that guy. the set piece delivery is excellent, by the way. How interesting is it to you that in Solis and Bruno Gimaraes, we've brought in two players who can deliver set pieces really well and really consistently?

18:24James McNicholas: Because obviously we've got Bakayo Saka, we've got Declan Rice. They're the guys who do most of it. But I was really impressed with his corners. We scored from a corner the other night in Dublin. It was his corner that Piero and Capier headed home. And there were more than one set piece yesterday that he delivered into really dangerous areas. So that was an aspect of his game that I thought was quite interesting. Yeah. And funnily enough, with Bruno, I think it's something that a bit like Declan Rice, he's added to his game, which I think will have impressed Arteta, you know, that mentality to always be looking for areas to improve upon.

19:00And Solis, I think, is another one who's got excellent delivery. and yeah it's an interesting ingredient I mean look we're very blessed particularly from that left hand side that in swinging corner we got a lot of options now and yeah when you look at some of the centre halves we're linked with as well I mean I guess that would be people who would be another threat in set piece situations so it's obviously going to continue to be a focus for us I thought Solis was really good is involved in most of the good stuff Arsenal did he's got a very short dribble. Like when he carries the ball, you know, like on FIFA, like there's a shoulder button you can hold down.

19:43That's, I think it's like the finesse button. And when you're dribbling, it's like, it keeps the ball really close to your feet. It feels like that with him. Like his ability to sort of carry the ball in tight spaces is very, very good. You saw that on his assist. I thought on the left-hand side, like just finding little increments of space, in the way that kind of Martin Odegaard sometimes can do. You think of that Trossard winner at West Ham, the way he kind of just shifted his weight and found the moment. I think Solis has a bit of that about him as well, which is a real compliment. And I think we're going to spend a season sort of finding ways to describe him that aren't, he's very reminiscent of Trossard, because he is very reminiscent of Trossard.

20:26James McNicholas: Yeah, I think that's true. I mean, he's not the quickest, but I think he's got really quick feet and a quick brain which allows him to find the space to deliver the ball into dangerous areas. You mentioned the assist. It's a really good assist. Pulled it back. Ethan Nguyeneri with a nice finish. I mean, it was close range, but we've seen players fail to hit the target from there before. And he won the penalty, of course, that Victor Jokerez dispatched very well. I mean, I would be like free kicks from outside the box. We don't tend to get a lot of those, right? No. And I think part of the reason, apart from just the sheer quality and brilliance of the two strikes that Declan Rice scored against Real Madrid in the Champions League the previous season, right?

21:16James McNicholas: They were unbelievable goals in their own right, but I think it's sort of like more special because we just don't score or free kicks from outside the box. We don't really have a great deal of threat. Like, I'd like to see Solis take one and not for Victor Jokeres to launch the ball into orbit like he did yesterday. You know, maybe a bit more finesse around the edge of the box is required. I understand what Jokeres was trying to do in that situation. It was a routine and they got the players in front of the wall, et cetera, et cetera. But another player who could maybe provide some threat in that regard would be pretty beneficial to the team.

21:52James McNicholas: over the course of the season, if we can get some free kicks? I think so. Yeah, it's weird, isn't it? It feels almost like since he scored that brace against Real Madrid, I can scarcely remember Declan Rice taking another free kick in those situations. And I think it is because so much of our build-up happens on the flanks and that's where we generate a lot of our set pieces, which we found a way to make work for us with the delivery and with the aerial threat that we provide. But Solis is one who you would want to see over the ball in those situations. I just think he looks very, very technically sound.

22:24He looks intelligent. I think there's maybe a final step for him to take in terms of when the Premier League resumes. I think the level of physicality will be a step up for him from what he's faced either in Belgium or in these friendly matches. So I think that will be a challenge that he has to overcome. But it won't be new to him. This is a guy who's played in England before, in the Premier League, in the Championship. He'll know what he's getting into. So, yeah, I think he actually, he goes into the season certainly as the man in possession of the shirt and probably as one of our most informed pre-season players.

23:04Yeah, that's true.

23:06James McNicholas: So, yeah, Jokic has got one back for 3-2, defending for the third Dortmund goal, not particularly great. Some nice finishes from Dortmund, I have to say, like on the first couple of goals, they were great goals. The second, yeah, the second one, I think Gabriel stands off too much and allows him the space to shoot, but it is a brilliant, brilliant finish. A lot of kids got on to see out the game. Then we had a penalty shootout, which we scored five out of five in. I quite enjoyed Elan Melier ignoring Inyaki Kenya's coaching, which is dive out of the way as quickly as you possibly can for penalties.

23:44James McNicholas: He said, fuck this, and actually made a save. So well done to him. I did actually think about, You know, like after all the big penalty shootouts, often like some intrepid photographer will manage to get a snap of the goalkeeper's water bottle. And it will say like each taker dive left. I was thinking about like mocking up an Inaki Kanya one, which just for every penalty says dive out the way very early. But no, I'm pleased for Ilan Melia. I've got to say, because the reception, the reaction to his signing was a little bit, I think, unkind in some respects. You know, I think it was a moment in the window where people were looking for more exciting additions and reinforcements.

24:27And listen, his last couple of years at Leeds have not been the best. But I think he's come in and had some decent showings in preseason. He's probably looked better than Kepa, I would say. That is true. yeah that is true some would say a low bar indeed but you know the bar exists and if you want to

24:48James McNicholas: raise the bar then you go and get a guy from leeds as they say now what i would say omelio is that um i think he's about 26 now and his career has you know i think for him to end up as sort of third choice somewhere it does show you that his career is maybe not where it was expected to be but he was a goalkeeper of massive potential at some stage. And I think there was always ability there. So, you know, who knows how long he'll be at Arsenal. You'd imagine he'll have designs on playing again at some point in the not too distant future. But I'm really pleased with him with the start that he's made.

25:24And yeah, maybe he can push Kepa, you know, maybe he can really challenge for, I don't think he's got any chance of displacing David Raya as number one, but he can certainly be breathing down his neck for those cup games when they come along.

25:36James McNicholas: Yeah, absolutely. He hasn't done himself any harm at all during pre-season. By the way, on the penalties, any sort of, obviously we lost a pretty significant shootout in May. I saw a few people lamenting how good Piero Incapier's penalty was when, sadly, I think, you know, he was just in no fit state, was he, to take one by the time the shootout rolled around? I think he basically did, you know, everyone's talking about you don't do the stutter penalty. He's bringing it back. He did it like a double stutter and then just rolled the ball home. It was really good. The reaction of the Arsenal players, I think it was Solis in particular, was looking over at somebody else and just sort of laughing at the penalty.

26:19James McNicholas: I liked Gabriel Martinelli's penalty and Ethan Wenares as well. But Martinelli just sort of ran up and fucking twatted it into the top corner. You know, after a summer in which some of those stutter penalties have looked bad, for some of the best players around as well, best strikers or best finishers in world football. You know, the uncomplicated version of taking a penalty, maybe that's the thing that's going to make the comeback. Maybe, yeah. They were good pens. And listen, nice for families and people like that who went along that we could sort of depart the pitch on a high after what was actually a defeat.

27:03Should have been a draw, really. I mean, I don't know how that Gabriel Martinelli goal was awarded offside.

27:08James McNicholas: I know, I know. They said it was, what's her name? Sian Massey. That's her last game in English football yesterday. They were saying that on the commentary. So maybe she just wanted to go out with a bit of a controversy. Who knows? She was on the beach. You know what they should do? they should introduce some kind of video technology which everybody would get behind to show whether that was onside or offside yeah that would be brilliant and i would never complain about never never no listen you know it was one of those when the goal was ruled out i was like no way no way is that offside i've seen some i've seen some images since which make it look like it definitely wasn't offside.

27:57James McNicholas: But I couldn't give a fuck at this point. I think we're going to have more contentious offside decisions over the course of the season, you know? Probably. And I, yeah, what about the result? I mean, I've seen a few people mention that last year, I think Arteta himself brought it up. We lost friendlies consecutively against maybe Villarreal and Spurs. So it's not necessarily a bad omen to lose a couple of pre-season friendlies. But what did you make of sort of the result and the performance overall? I mean, listen, I can understand why people might be a little bit concerned about certain aspects of our game.

28:36James McNicholas: Coming off the back of what was a bad performance in Dublin, can we say that? Like it was bad. Arsenal were not good at all on the night. And it was, you know, disappointing, I think, for the fans who had gone along hoping for a bit better. Even if you put it in the context of preseason, it was a bad performance. This was not as bad, but it had some elements to it that might get people a little bit concerned. It doesn't mean, though, that this is who we are and that's who we're going to be for the season. And when you look at the list of names of the people who weren't in that team or in that squad yesterday and who are on their way back, most of them anyway, Declan Rice, Bakayo Saka, Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Marino, David Raya, Jurian Timber not there, William Saliba not there, Eberachie Eze, Nani Madueke, you know, whatever way your mileage might vary on what he can bring to the team.

29:35James McNicholas: Bruno Gimaraes. You know, when you get those players back, I think it's likely you're going to be better than we were yesterday and you've got a better chance of winning the game. So I don't get too hung up on preseason results at all. But I, you know, I do think if we are going to be part of an ecosystem in which every aspect of the club is analyzed, I think you can still recognize that there are certain things that you would like to see improve or be improved while recognising that it's not urgent or an absolute disaster for those things to exist right now? No, yeah, I feel similarly. I think there are a couple of interesting threads to pull out, mainly in that kind of defensive area.

30:24Because, you know, there's a bit of a... That's kind of a shared quality across the last couple of games that Arsenal haven't looked as solid at the back as you might anticipate. And of course, there are these absentees, which is a little bit of a worry heading into the new season just because Jürgen Timber and William Saliba are such important players for us.

30:49James McNicholas: Well, I mean, William Saliba is one of the best central defenders in the world. No two ways about it. And I think any team would be weakened by his absence. France wouldn't be as good, and Arsenal certainly won't be as good. It doesn't mean you can't cope, but it is a worry, obviously. Jurien Timber, one of the best fullbacks in world football. Hasn't been seen really since March. He did make that cameo in the Champions League final. That appears to have cost him a chance to play at the World Cup, if he would even have been ready without that cameo at the Champions League final. He had to have a little procedure.

31:33James McNicholas: So that's a worry, you know, for me, that those two players, back injuries, you can never say 100 % this is how long it's going to be. You know, if you break your leg and it's an uncomplicated break, you can put a very definite timeframe on a player's return when it's something as amorphous, really, as a back injury where you don't quite know how well it's going to heal. that's you know it's a concern and timber we don't know arteta said saliba's on rest and timber is still a few weeks away i think the thing with timber is it's like you know how is he going to respond to the increased workload he's obviously had quite a bit of rest and he's still not ready and and it's now august and he's been out since mid-march so clearly there is something that they are struggling to get on top of there right yeah that is a bit of a worry and especially when you look at our starts of the season you know there's some big intense games in there and you sort of think how do you manage the reintegration the reintroduction of someone like Julian Timber you know how do you handle that um once the season actually gets underway it would have been ideal wouldn't it to sort of have him available in pre-season and be able to build him up slowly Whereas I think once the competitive action starts, it's that much more difficult to do.

32:51As for Saliba, I mean, as you say, I think a timeline on that one is probably incredibly difficult to nail down. He's at zero now, right? Mikhail said they've had to basically ask him to do nothing to try and let presumably inflammation subside and see sort of what course that injury follows. They decided to go without surgery, which is the conservative option. And when it comes to the back, almost always the right option, I guess. You really want to avoid that at all costs. But predicting the prognosis and how it will play out, not straightforward. So, yeah, we're certainly going to be missing them both at the start of the season.

33:38and yeah I do think defensively well listen you notice you notice the absence of two players that

33:45James McNicholas: quality of course you do so you know where do we stand on what needs to be done in that sense then because the the clamor for a signing is significant and I think the need for a signing by the way maybe that's the right way of putting I think there is a need for Arsenal to make a signing in this area of the pitch. We've heard names mentioned. Some that you go, well, I'm not sure I really want that guy. And then others where you go, I definitely do not want that guy anywhere near my football club. Do we know that this is something that Arsenal are currently pursuing and with what kind of urgency?

34:24I think it's pretty high on their priorities. I think they know they need to do something there. I don't think the Romero one is going to happen. I think there are a lot of people within Arsenal who really rate the player and think he would be a good addition. And if we believe some of the reporting around it, he would be open to making the move across North London and coming. But I think for Spurs, it's unthinkable really to sell to Arsenal. I mean, some would say, I think I saw Tim Stillman say if Spurs really wanted to fuck us, they would just sell him. Well, that's it.

35:03James McNicholas: I mean, is this the most that Arsenal and Tottenham fans have ever been aligned on anything? They really don't want him to go to Arsenal and we really don't want him to come to Arsenal. You know, I think... Yeah, I mean, I think so. But then I have seen a few... I don't know if they're just playing devil's advocate, but I have seen a few Arsenal fans kind of saying, well, obviously it would be funny. No, no, it wouldn't. It wouldn't. It wouldn't. Anyone who would welcome Christian Romero to Arsenal is in need of serious help, in my opinion. Yeah, I think it's one of those things that sort of, I think I was one of the first people to say that Arsenal were interested in.

35:50And now it's sort of a bit more widely out there. Again, in the context of Spurs, I think having no real interest in doing that deal. But I do find it fascinating that Arsenal would look at him seriously. Because I've got to say, from where I'm stood, I just see him as like a time bomb, basically. Oh, me too. Me too. He's an idiot.

36:13James McNicholas: and if he came, if it did happen, I would give him a zero in the player ratings every week, no matter what he did. That's my commitment to the Arsenal fan base. Yeah. I don't know what it is. To be honest, there are some parallels, I suppose, with the signing of Bruno in terms of an experienced player, an aggressive player, someone who is perceived to have leadership qualities, although I think he leaves his teammates in the lurch far too often for my liking. So, yeah, I just, like everyone else, I was very surprised to uncover that information and I remain sort of intrigued as to the thinking behind it.

37:07But moreover, I feel relieved that it looks unlikely to happen.

37:13James McNicholas: Who could possibly find themselves in alignment with an Argentinian centre half whose play is at times overly aggressive and maybe a bit mad? Who is it within the Arsenal set up that could possibly? I don't know. Don't know either. We will try to uncover that. Am I right in saying as well that the assistant manager, you may or may not be alluding to, when he had a row with Fergie at United, also tried to engineer a move to Liverpool? Correct. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, he's not someone who's worried about crossing these boundaries either. I mean, listen, to give Arsenal their credit, they generally haven't, like if they were doing Arsenal transfers by committee, there are lots of players in recent years they probably wouldn't have signed.

38:10You know, if they'd asked us, they wouldn't have signed, you know, I don't know, Kai Havertz or Jorginho or Noni Madueke or Aaron Ramsell. Maybe even Trossard. Yeah, exactly. Maybe even Raya, when he signed, there was a bit of resistance around that particular deal. So I think to give them their credit, you know, they have kind of demonstrated that more often than not, that they've got it right. But this one, yeah, like I say, I'm relieved that at the moment the chances of it happening appear slim. But that does leave Arsenal with a question and a problem to solve. You know, who's it going to be?

38:56I mean, Esri Konza, we've been reading about all summer. We gather Aston Villa value him at£60 million. Arsenal, I think just, you know, a little more than half that. Um, so that's a big, big gap to close, but as time wears on a bit like with Bruno, how we ultimately found a compromise between what we were willing to pay and what Newcastle deemed acceptable. Do you think that's one where they might, they might try and close that gap?

39:26James McNicholas: They might need to, to be honest, depending on who else they've got their eye on. Plays right back as well. Yeah, can play right back, can play centre half. I mean, listen, I've said before, it's a difficult one because you're ultimately asking someone to play backup ultimately to William Saliba and maybe Shurington Timber and Ben White. You know, this is a guy who is a regular first team player for Aston Villa, but when everyone's fit again might be a bench option for Arsenal. And then it's about where you find the balance between your need for a player and how much you're going to have to pay for them.

40:07James McNicholas: I will say, I will say, while I wasn't necessarily a fan of the link when I first heard it, the fact that he might be an alternative to someone like Christian Romero makes him a lot more attractive. That's the Arsenal comms strategy. Yeah. They saw that people weren't that taken with Konza and then they obviously planted the Romero story. Yeah. Just to make it palatable. Yeah. I have to say, I, for slightly different reasons, I'm coming round to the idea of maybe you just have to spend 50 million on Esri Konza. Like, I know it sounds an awful lot of money. It is an awful lot of money. But I think it would give Arsenal like a very, very, very dependable third option at centre-half.

40:56I'm not saying he's going to be the new Van Dijk or, you know, I don't think he's quite the level of a Gabriel Saliba. But I think the degree of Premier League and international experience he's amassed already, I think means you can sort of slot him in without any real drama. and would I put it past Mikel Arteta to occasionally play him as a right back with Saliba and Gabriel and Incapiette left back and go with just four big bastards across the back? I wouldn't put it past him at all, especially if Jurgen Timber continues to have injury issues.

41:34James McNicholas: Yeah, that's a fair point as well. So yeah, we'll wait and see what they do there. What else has been going on? And I suppose the little snippet that was interesting in the piece that you were involved in for The Athletic regarding Bruno was the idea or was the suggestion or the information, perhaps, or the fact. Is that the word I'm looking for? The fact. Thank you. Sorry about that. We got there. I got there at the end. That in 2022, when we were linked with Bruno Gimaraes before, it was Mikel Arteta who decided against doing that deal. And I think that was one maybe that Edu took a bit of flack for, took some pelters for.

42:18James McNicholas: Why didn't he get that deal done? We should have bought this guy. Arteta didn't feel he was right at the time. Clearly feels he is the right guy now. And I did see a few people getting a bit unhappy about that. But I suppose you kind of have to put it in the context of the time. And also maybe what we did the following window, which was sign Declan Rice. So maybe if you sign Bruno Gimeraj in 2022, you're not really in a position to sign Declan Rice, you know? Yeah, I think, listen, I don't think Eddie would have been shy about doing that particular deal, given some of the connections, given his knowledge of the player.

43:04I gather that Tim Lewis was involved as well in kind of scoping out that deal and effectively putting it to Mikel Arteta as this is a player we could go and get perhaps across more than one window I think it was floated. January 2022 being the last time and the time that he ultimately joined Newcastle. I mean the shape of the squad was different then. We still had Thomas Partey on the books for example and yeah within about eight months of that we were sat down with the representatives of declan rice thrashing out what would eventually become his record-breaking move from west ham so but it was really i was really um a little bit surprised like it's one of those things you put in a piece you know like this is quite a nice detail but it kind of took on a life of its own online a little bit yeah i think it's because it subverts some of our expectations and prejudices about like decisions at Arsenal.

44:02I think there's, there's been a kind of tendency to believe, well, the good decisions were Mikel and the bad decisions were Edu, you know? And I think it's always more complex and more layered than that. And, and actually like, I don't think it's necessarily like ultimately, yes, Mikel was maybe misguided or, or didn't anticipate the impact that Bruno would have. have in the Premier League. But there was an element of risk there. You don't necessarily know how a player is going to translate. And I think in those days, there were question marks over, does he necessarily have the athleticism, for example, to be a true box-to-box Premier League player?

44:42And I think it took him a bit of time to really grow into that role and shine at Newcastle. And he absolutely has done. And I think where you've got to give somebody like Mikel credit is that he's open to changing his mind on a player or recognising that a player has improved or circumstances are different. And to be fair, he's been after Bruno, not just this summer, but for a couple of years now. It's a player he's really, really admired. So I don't think it took him long to realise that this is a player that would absolutely fit into his system.

45:17James McNicholas: Yeah, Mikel Arteta doing the Joe Bluth at home, you know, I've made a huge mistake. But, you know, he got his man in the end. He got his man in the end. so yeah yeah and yeah it's just interesting isn't it all these deals you know and Mikel he probably had his reasons at the time for not being especially taken with that option and who knows maybe we sign Bruno then maybe we don't end up with Declan Rice 18 months later you never know you never know you never know alright is there anything else we need to talk about in part one before we before we throw it over to everyone else I'm not sure what other bits and bobs of news there are I don't think so I mean we've got some questions which sort of you know touch on the Vinny thing and stuff like that so I feel like I feel like we'll be well covered Okay Alright well why don't we take a little break we'll come back with your questions and more in part two right after this

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48:26James McNicholas: welcome back to the arse cast 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're an arseblog member on patreon and you can do that by going to patreon.com forward slash arseblog for just six dollars a month at a time when everything in the world has got more and more and more and more expensive. Our Patreon subscription price has not gone up since the day we launched in 2018. So that's value for money for you there. $6 a month plus VAT or sales tax, depending where you are in the world.

49:02James McNicholas: And you can get there at patreon.com forward slash arseblog. Can I go first? Because obviously we had the Vinicius situation last week, but then there's the sort of what now element to it. We've got some questions about that. So Monk771 on Discord says, with the Vini non-transfer, the only player consistently linked is Alvarez. Even that looks like a complicated deal. So do you think the realistic outcome at the end of the month is that Arsenal will keep the powder dry and try again in January or next summer? And non-flying Dutchman asks, what do we do with the attack between now and the end of the window?

49:41James McNicholas: Are we in a position where, unless the fee for Barcola or Alvarez comes down, we go into the season with what we have personally i think banking on the fitness of saka and havertz and improving the attacking output from odegaard ese martinelli etc is a little naive would you spend the 120 million plus to either bring in an alvarez or a barcola and maybe 80 to 90 yield is as a wild card so you know do arsenal just need to spend the money or is there something to be said for keeping the the powder dry like a man city got antoine semeno last january that's true yeah and it helped them quite a lot didn't it because you know he scored quite a lot of goals in the second half of the season and made that title race a little tighter than we would have liked yeah scored in an fa cup final um so yeah i i mean it's interesting as well i don't know if you've noticed but over the last 48 hours there's been a lot of uh a flurry of speculation around gabriel martinelli uh being linked with galtasarai and i've seen roma mentioned but to my mind at least you can't you can't really countenance letting gabriel martinelli go at this point without knowing you're getting somebody coming in um i think it has to be in play the idea that we stick with what we have like i'm not i'm not advocating for it yeah yeah but i think it i think it's i think it's certainly one of the possibilities um because even in that question you know they make it sound very straightforward you know i'll just put down 120 million on alvarez but i don't think that deal is that straightforward i don't think that's necessarily possible.

51:32I mean, if Atleti are to be believed, they just don't want to sell him this summer. I mean, there's probably a number which they'd change their mind, but it's probably a much higher number than that. So yeah, I do worry a little bit about how many of the supposed or theorised options are off the table. You know, Rodgers to Chelsea, and it's just renews. Gordon to Barcelona.

52:07Barcola seemingly wanting to join Liverpool, although there's still a gap to be closed there between PSG and Liverpool's valuations, which could create an opportunity, but then it's a high number that you're going in at. Yeah, I slightly worry about what is left out there and whether or not it truly represents an upgrade on Gabbro Martinelli. Yeah, how are you feeling about the left wing right now?

52:42James McNicholas: I think as I said to Elliot on the Arsecast on Thursday, when you go for somebody like Vinicius Junior, you raise the expectations because we can all see what he might have brought to the team and how he would have improved us, right? Regardless of how difficult you thought that deal was or how likely it was to get done, I don't think anyone could argue that if Arsenal signed Vinicius Junior, they weren't bringing in a player who would really, really improve the team, right? In terms of individual quality and all that kind of stuff. But like you, I sort of look at the names and Barcola is good.

53:21James McNicholas: Alvarez I like but I can understand why Atletico Madrid don't want to sell I think part of the reason why they don't want to sell is because there is maybe I'm wrong about this but it feels like there is a dearth of top level attacking talent on the market or even out there do you know what I mean there's a lot of like good players but the really standout exciting players are they seem few and far between and yeah diamante is another one that's off the market now of course yeah madrid yeah um like i don't know if it's a if it's a an issue of scouting or clubs are not prepared to take chances on players coming um you know to them at an early age or from a lower club and and trying to make them into the attacking talent that they want to be and it may be the way we're trying to do with Christos Solis right maybe that's what we are trying to do and we could be sitting here in 12 months time and saying that was a genius piece of transfer uh business by Arsenal they went they went to Club Rouge they got a guy whose numbers are good and look he was able to translate pretty well to the Premier League and look at what he's delivered for Arsenal and and everything else I don't know who we should go for now to be honest I don't know who's out there and at what price and what would satisfy people as well, because, you know, not that Arsenal promised anything to anybody, but when the possibility of someone like Vinicius Jr.

55:01James McNicholas: is, well, it feels like it's within touching distance. And this sort of like, everything feels a bit, you know, substandard after that, right? But, yeah, I don't know. I don't know what they're going to do, to be honest. I mean, I have to say, if there's any way you can do Alvarez, I do think that is a potentially transformational signing, albeit not for that position. Not for the left wing, though, yeah. No, but I think a front three with Alvarez in it, you know, is an improvement on where Arsenal are at currently. So, you know, if that is viable, then I think Arsenal should chuck what they can at it.

55:51James McNicholas: Do you think it's viable? Do you think that Atletico's stance is more about, right, well, we're not going to sell to Barcelona, and in order to continue to not sell to Barcelona, we're going to make it clear we're not going to sell to anyone because the other aspect of the Alvarez thing is that he wants to go to Barcelona. He doesn't necessarily want to go to Arsenal. He might be persuaded that Arsenal is a good move for him, but that's not where he wants to go. And probably if he has a good season with Arsenal, you can look forward to a load of Barcelona stories for the remainder of his time in England.

56:30So you've got that shadow hanging over you. I mean, I think Arsenal's... So I think I take Atletico's stance from all the kind of digging I've done around it at face value. They don't want to sell this player. Occasionally, I'm like, have we got something that we could trade them that might offset that? You know, there's been talk about Victor Jokeres potentially being used as a make-weight in that sort of deal. Would that save them some face? And could they present that as, you know, a kind of coup for them to get a player like that in exchange coming from the Premier League champions? Maybe, but yeah.

57:05And that's a swap I would make, but I'm still very dubious about how viable that is. And swap deals in particular, I mean, they never actually happen, right? They're very, very rare. They're very, very rare. Very, very rare. I did make a list of left-wing names. I'll read it to you. These are all like varying degrees of plausibility, but just like looking at what was out there and what we've been linked with. Nico Williams, Kenan Yieldis, Illiman and Di, Antonio Noosa, Marcus Rashford and Rafa Liao. Yeah. Do any of those feel like they would meet the bar for you?

57:57James McNicholas: You could see, I mean, to varying degrees. Mike Yild is a really exciting player, isn't he? But I think Juventus have made it clear he's not for sale. Again, though, if you've got the financial firepower, you could push that one hard. Who else did you mention? Noosa looks tidy enough. He's had some serious injuries at 21, which I think would count against him. Maybe so. I don't think Rashford wants to join another Premier League club. He joined Aston Villa. Yeah, he did. Maybe he learned his lesson from that. I don't know. The United have just given him a new squad number, haven't they? Have they?

58:41They're going to keep him? I think it's stay at United or move abroad is what I'm hearing on that. Right. Who else did you mention? I mentioned Nico Williams.

58:51James McNicholas: Yeah, we actually had a question about that. Hang on, let me see. Yeah, it comes from DanLab01 on the Discord. He says, with our need to find a new attacking target, can James or anyone else explain why Nico Williams has not been mentioned anymore? A young, talented winger, lots of potential, and a release clause a lot lower than the crazy numbers mentioned for most. What am I missing? Yeah, I think his release clause is up to about 78 million sterling now. 78 million sterling. Yeah, because he started a new contract not too long ago and I think it got a bump. It was closer to 50, wasn't it? I mean, the truth is he's not had a brilliant period since the Euros.

59:42Obviously, he was part of that Spain team. He had those two really exciting young wingers. And yeah, he's not had a brilliant couple of years with Athletic Club. and even at the World Cup, sort of was recovering from injury, was not properly embedded in the Spain team. I thought he had good moments. I thought he came off the bench in the final and made a difference. And clearly he's a player with a lot of talent.

1:00:09James McNicholas: And someone we know that Mikel Arteta has liked for a long time. Yeah, yeah. I mean, in terms of plausibility, I would say that ranks pretty highly among that list of names that I've just thrown out there, which is entirely sort of back of a fag pack hit, you know, where next. But yeah, you'd have to say that when Andrew Berta and Michel Arteta put their heads together and figure out what's out there, his name must be in that conversation. Sure. It must be. Yeah. I mean, someone like Raffaella Yao as well. Is he better than Martinelli? I really don't know, to be honest with you. Maybe it's not so much.

1:00:53James McNicholas: Well, of course you want to upgrade and you want to bring in a player who can make your team better. But maybe the thing that might be in his favour is that he's sort of different from Martinelli. Do you know what I mean? In that he gives you a different kind of way to play. They're both more or less the same age, aren't they? you know, Nico Williams is 24, Martinelli is 25.

1:01:24James McNicholas: Maybe that's, you know, what you need to do for your team or for the squad is to sort of say, okay, well, we've come this far with Martinelli. And if we are going to bring in another left winger, he's going to be the guy to go, right? Because, well, we've already bought Christos Solis. So, and we were trying to buy Vinny. And I think if you were trying to buy Vinicius Jr., I think that puts a lot of doubt over Martinelli's playing time, right? Having bought two players to play in his position, like what normally happens there is the incumbent moves on, right? But Trossard's gone, Martinelli would probably go in that sense.

1:02:05James McNicholas: I mean, I like Nico Williams and I was sort of excited by the idea of him a couple of years ago as well. Thank you. He does feel like he's sort of stagnated a little bit, doesn't he? Yeah. But then maybe you need a change of scenery and a change of club to get yourself going again. I don't know. There's no, like, this is the guy we must 100 % go for guy, though, is there? You know? No. But then how does that make you feel about the search more generally? Like if I said to you now, we stick with what we've got in attack, do you feel like that is something that's going to cause us problems this season?

1:02:50Yeah. Right. Yeah.

1:02:54James McNicholas: Like I think we can improve our goal output in different ways for sure. Like maybe Solis scores a good few goals and maybe Bruno comes in and we have a bit more creativity and he scores a few more goals And maybe we get Bakayo Saka back to something like full fitness and he scores more goals and you get more out of Odegaard and you get Havertz and Jokerez. Maybe you get more out of them. But I wouldn't feel going into a new season that we had done enough to improve our attack if we just go in with what we've got now. Would you? Like I accept that the market is difficult and I accept that there's no perfect solution out there.

1:03:34James McNicholas: And I accept that the options are maybe limited in that regard. But I also think as Premier League champions, to go into the new season with an attack that was, despite the fact that it won the league, flawed, to not do anything about that would be disappointing. That's for sure. Yeah. And I think sort of where I'm at, sort of thinking it through live as we're talking about it, like I think Martinelli is a better player than he gets credit for at times. I think he gets quite a rough time of it from certain sections of the support. but when I ask the question like you know would we be better off with Nico Williams it's hard to give a definitive answer to that but yeah I equally think it doesn't feel like we'd be much worse off you know and I sort of think the left side it kind of hasn't worked for long enough now that we almost might as well take the opportunity to refresh and try something different um whether that's an NGI or whether it's a Williams or whoever it might be I kind of think it might just be the right time to yeah to pull that lever and sell Gabriel Martinelli a decent price hopefully and bring in some fresh blood and fresh ideas and and then sort of let Solace and whoever that new person is fight it out and maybe one of them you know does kick on in a way that you can't anticipate and become sure the star that we currently feel we're probably sort of not really able to, to sign.

1:05:25Um, so yeah, I think I would be in favor of, of changing it up and pursuing something different. Um, almost for differences sake at this point.

1:05:36James McNicholas: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know exactly what you mean. Um, well, we'll see. It's obviously a, it's not an easy one. It's not an easy one. Um, But I would be really disappointed if we went into the, not into the new season, I will clarify. If we go through the rest of this transfer window without signing anybody, unless there is a long-term plan for someone they might think shakes loose in January or something like that, it will be really disappointing to me. and I think you know sometimes you need the vibe of a signing as well this is kind of what I mean you know aligned with what you're saying about it being the right time and maybe Nico Williams isn't like you know if they're both 85 out of 100 and in FIFA or whatever if that's the way it is do you know what I mean you just need to do it differently you need different qualities maybe a different impetus.

1:06:39James McNicholas: And I think, you know, that can play a part in things as well. Like not just change for change sake, not just spending money for the sake of spending money, but looking at what, okay, if we're happy to keep Martinelli, but we worry a bit about his progress, you know, maybe the thing to do is sign somebody who is as good as Martinelli, but potentially a little bit better or might bring more to the team, generally speaking, you know? So I don't know what the answer is, but I really feel like they need to do something. Here's a question on the transfer front from Gaz AFC on Blue Sky. And Gaz says, does Arsenal's valuation of players such as Rodgers or Barcola adequately account for the lack of elite options in this position?

1:07:28James McNicholas: Just repeat the question again. Yeah. So does Arsenal's valuation of players such as Rodgers and Barcola adequately account for the lack of elite options in this position? So basically the fact that if we're valuing them way less than they're probably going to go for? Exactly. Yeah. Like, are we being realistic in saying we think these players are worth 70, 80 million, but then there's only a list of half a dozen of them that we think are actually going to improve us? supply and demand playing a part in the valuation of a player rather than how good the player is. Yeah. Exactly. I mean, I think that might be true.

1:08:06James McNicholas: I think that might be true. But as long as the market is prepared to pay what they're prepared to pay, I think we had this discussion a couple of weeks ago, didn't we? That you might well have your valuation of X, Y, or Z, but if Chelsea come along or if somebody else comes along and says, well, we're going to pay 20, 30 million more than you're willing to pay, well, there's only one club that's going to get the player. So I don't know. I mean, they had a valuation on Bruno, didn't they? And they've had to raise that valuation significantly. Would that be fair? Yeah. Quite a lot. Anyway, I mean, listen, they were looking at something like 60 million.

1:08:52James McNicholas: They've gone to 75. 15 million pounds is a lot of money, but it's not like doubling the price or anything like that. But that's kind of how Arsenal had to adjust to both the context of the sale from a Newcastle perspective and the way the market itself impacted what Newcastle could realistically say Bruno was worth, you know? And also there were probably internal pressures as well. So let's say, you know, Arsenal end up not getting Vinicius. I think there's a degree to which there is an onus on them to close the Bruno deal. Do you know what I mean? There's kind of a relationship between those things.

1:09:33If for no other reason that they've got a very demanding manager who'll be saying, where are my players? When are you going to get the players? Yeah, exactly. I need them now. I need them yesterday. So, yeah, all these things are linked. But I do think that idea of we have our valuation, it's all well and good. But if it leaves you empty handed, then that's potentially a problem.

1:10:04James McNicholas: What about this question from John Larkin, who says, Kai Havertz only has two years left on his contract. There's been very little talk about an extension. Considering his wages as well as his fitness over the last 18 months, would you be looking to renew as soon as possible? or does he have to show he can stay fit this season before any decision is made? I think it's very difficult to talk about a new contract for Kai at this stage because we haven't seen him stay fit for quite a long time now. And I think that's exactly right. He has to prove that. He has to show he can do it. And, you know, two years, yeah.

1:10:43Ideally, you'd be talking about renewal or making the decision on a player's future at this point in time, I just think the injury situation with him means that's not actually possible right now. I think, you know, even if it's six months, you know, if he gets through to Christmas and he's looking like the guy who's evolved and crucially he's playing a lot of minutes, playing a lot of games, being available, then by all means we can have that conversation. But I think it would be a little reckless to get too deep into a renewal until we have more clarity on that. What do you think?

1:11:16James McNicholas: No, I'd agree with that. I'd agree with that. Like, you know, I like him. He would be my, you know, number one starting striker, even if I think in preseason he's played a bit like alongside Jokeres or maybe a bit more of a midfield role. But I think that's sort of needs must because of the players that we have available to us or don't have available, right, at this moment in time. So he's being asked to play a particular role. He would be my first choice, I think, for most of the games. that we would play, but I would not be entering into new contract talks until, like you say, he has delivered both in terms of goals and, you know, a sustained spell of fitness.

1:11:58James McNicholas: Because listen, he had the unfortunate hamstring injury, and that was followed by a knee injury. And I think the, it's the hamstring injury, or not the, sorry, the knee injury, I think that's the more complicated one. And whether there's some knock-on effects of that, I don't quite know. But And yeah, yeah. It's one of those that if he does succumb to more fitness issues, then you really do have to consider his future. Yeah, and his return last season was very carefully and conservatively managed, wasn't it? It was quite a slow reintegration, almost building up to that Champions League final. but we can't really afford to wrap him in cotton wool like that once the new season starts.

1:12:46You know, he needs to be available. He needs to be playing minutes and we need to be able to count on him. So, yeah, I'm optimistic. I hope that that's what we'll see. And I think if we do, then I can see a new contract being in his future, but he's got to prove it on the pitch. This is a question from Windles on Discord. And they say, I watched today's friendly, yesterday's friendly now, a bar that apparently is owned by a guy who's Kadak O 'Neill's father's cousin. He was absolutely beaming with pride at Kadak's performance, which leads me to the question of which of the Academy kids has impressed you most this summer?

1:13:31I guess we're excluding Max Dowman.

1:13:33James McNicholas: Yeah, you kind of have to exclude Max because he's sort of there as a first-team option now. It's a good question. I mean, they haven't really had a lot of opportunity. You know, it's the end of games, the end of the game against Royal Bettis in Dublin, Arsenal 3-1 down, the end of the game yesterday against Borussia Dortmund. I will say, and I know this is an area in which we are extremely well stocked, but Ife Ibrahim has looked maybe the most eye-catching in terms of how comfortable he looks in midfield and in the team. I like the simplicity of his game. He wants the ball. He gives the ball.

1:14:22James McNicholas: The ball generally ends up where you want it to be. And I know my sample size is very small, but he would be the one I think that I'd pick. ahead of anyone else. He's an interesting player. He started out his career in development as a centre forward, I believe, and sort of developed into this holding midfield role. But he's just very, very composed on the ball and he's got real size to him as well, even at his young age. You know, he's got physical presence on the pitch. I think he's been really impressive. I think Marley Salmon had a really eye-catching moment yesterday, didn't he? racing back to make that challenge one-on-one.

1:15:08I'm sure we'll see more of him in the cup competitions because he's so highly regarded. But yeah, if Abraham were a player, I don't mind saying I did not know very much at all about coming into pre-season, and he's made a really, really positive impression.

1:15:22James McNicholas: Yeah, I suppose Ethan as well, a little bit, obviously scored a goal, but I think we're talking about the young youngsters rather than the old youngsters, you know, the veteran youngsters. What about this? from Matt Buckle, 2002. We sort of touched on this a little bit in part one, but the set-piece deliveries, he mentions Christos Solas, and he says, after watching his set-piece deliveries this preseason, part of me can't help but wonder if we'd be more of a set-piece threat with another six-foot player in the box. In brackets, Rice. Do you think Mikel Arteta will swap them at times this coming season?

1:15:55James McNicholas: So as a way of getting another big boy in there, we could have Solas on the corners and Declan Rice in the box? Yeah, it's an interesting question that because I think I remember noticing during the World Cup that even when Declan Rice wasn't taking corners, he wasn't in the box for England. He was kind of hovering around the outside, looking to pick up the pieces, maybe looking for the short corner or if the ball broke to him. I'm not sure that Declan Rice is an outstanding header of the ball. a bit like William Saliba, you know, although he has the size and he's so physically dominant in many respects, I'm not sure that is necessarily one.

1:16:41And I think a lot of coaches make the assessment that they, they value his delivery and his technical quality over his degree of aerial threat, which is interesting, isn't it? Cause like, yeah, on, on paper, you know, he's a guy who can finish, you can score goals. you want him in there, but invariably it doesn't really happen. So, you know, I don't necessarily see that changing. I do wonder if, you know, again, I alluded to this in part one, but when we're talking about Konza, you know, does a name like that, does that, does Mikhail Teta think of that as another potential target in these set-piece scenarios?

1:17:21You know, is it someone else they can hit? Because he is a threat, can be a threat in those situations. but yeah I think it's going to continue to be a weapon for Arsenal this season and I think the only thing to kind of negotiate will be how the officiating adapts and changes and yeah will we fall foul to some new directives in those first few months it wouldn't surprise me

1:17:49James McNicholas: no yeah we'll wait and see what those new directives are of course as well no Brazilians the Premier PGMOL say no Brazilians in the Premier League they've outlawed corners yeah I don't know here's a bit of a contrarian perspective from Andrew on Discord who says goody morning gents my question is about the need for a centre-back to cover for Saliba I may be in the minority here but I don't see the need for one this is why we bought Mascara and without proper game time he is not going to improve just like Kivior covering for Big Gabby use the money and get an excellent left winger instead yeah we've already talked about the left winger thing and I think the two the two things can be distinct what I would say is I like Christian Mascara as well I think he's shown a lot of promise since he joined the issue beyond William Saliba is that we don't know when Jurian Timber is going to be fit again And Ben White has had some trouble with injuries.

1:18:54James McNicholas: I think Ben White, for all the jokes I make about his golden thighs, is a fantastic player. When he's fully fit, an absolutely fantastic player who I still think can do a great job for Arsenal. And he looks fitter to me. He definitely does, yeah. I mean, I saw the little welcome back video and he basically said he'd been training all summer to come back from the knee injury and to make sure that he's ready and hopefully he can stay fit. but we're short, you know, potentially quite short, like one injury on the right side of defense to Ben White, to Christian Mosquera, and then what do we do? Because we don't have Timber and we don't have Saliba.

1:19:32James McNicholas: The depth is not there. So while I admire the willingness to let Christian Mosquera play more and develop, which I think is important, obviously, it would be remiss of Arsenal. It would be such a big risk of Arsenal not to bring in a player in that position. And it's not about getting in the way of anybody. It's about the reality of what we need. We're going into a new season where we played 60-odd games last season. We could play that many again. And as it stands, we've got Ben White and Christian Mascara. We need more. And that's it. Yeah. See, I can understand where Andrew is coming from because I have had moments in the summer where I've sort of looked at the shape of our squad on paper and been like, I think we've got a lot of defenders.

1:20:20I think we've got a lot of numbers there. But then I think the kind of missing ingredient in that on-paper analysis is what Arsenal may know or fear about the physical condition of Jurgen Timber and William Saliba and the uncertainty that comes with their reintegration. It's all very well to say, well, you know, Timber should be back in a couple of weeks and Saliba hopefully, you know, in a couple of months. But it's like that's assuming the smoothest possible progress and no further injuries in other areas.

1:21:01James McNicholas: And based on the assumption that they come back and they're at 100 % straight away, which is not the case. And I think we've talked about this maybe with regards to Saliba before where he is that guy who, when he is out and his rhythm is interrupted, it takes him a little bit of time to get back there. And I think Timber, as we said, has been out since March. It could be coming up on six months of no competitive football at all for Jurian Timber by the time he comes back. That takes time to reintegrate and to get yourself back in. I've seen people talk about, well, we could use Declan Rice at centre-half.

1:21:40James McNicholas: What about Martin Zubamendi as a right-back? Like, you know, would you be in any way comfortable with those as your fail-safe options? I mean, I have to say I wouldn't. To be honest, I don't really see the point in as much as I think Declan Rice could do and has done a great job at centre-half in his career. You don't take one of the best midfielders in the world and play him as a centre-half because you can't find the right guy, you know, in the market. That just doesn't seem like good planning. No. And we know that when it comes to the defence and transfers, Mikel Arteta doesn't really take chances.

1:22:14Like he has adopted a more is more approach to defensive signings pretty much since his first day in the job. And I think it will be the same in this window. The other thing I'd say is I really like Mosquera. I think he's fantastic. I think he's been an excellent signing. I have to be totally honest and say I've not been hugely impressed with him in pre-season. He hasn't put in performances that have made me think, this is fine, we're not going to miss Saliba at all, as yet. Now, he gets the same pass as everyone else. It's pre-season, it's a friendly, he's finding his way back to fitness, et cetera, et cetera.

1:22:50But it's not like he looks so secure that I have no concerns heading into the competitive season. So I am on the side of a signing. And, yeah, increasingly I sort of think someone who's Premier League ready, whose experience you can step straight in, would be of real value to us.

1:23:12James McNicholas: Alex P. So Romero it is. No, no, no, no. Come on. We've got to maintain some standards here. Yeah. You know, we want to improve the team, you know. Romero is not the answer to the question unless the question is, do you want to add more idiots to your side? which I don't personally I'm not in favor of that at all Alex P on discord not on discord on the other one blue sky morning lads any news on Arteta's contract renewal it was quite rightly pushed to the summer to allow everyone to concentrate on the end of the season but it's since gone very quiet the season is two weeks away and I'm worried that we've heard nothing yeah I've not heard of any major developments myself I must say I think presumably the transfer window is taking precedence and priority and maybe there's a degree to which Miklarteta is waiting to see how that window plays out not not in the sense that oh if he's not happy with it he's going to walk away but more so because he probably recognizes he has a bit of leverage in the situation right now.

1:24:23Sure. You know, Arsenal are a club who are looking to demonstrate to Mikel Arteta that they can match his ambition. And that's not a bad thing to have in his favour during the final weeks of a transfer window. So I'd be very surprised if he reached an agreement before the window was out. I think his focus will be on delivering the players and making sure the club delivers the players that he wants. And I think if there's that bit of jeopardy of, you know, what about his contract? No, Mikel Arteta, he'll use that to his advantage. Sure. No, I think you're right there.

1:25:03James McNicholas: It seemed to happen a bit with Wenger as well, didn't it, that it was sort of after the transfer window when contracts were signed, typically. in those years when it was an issue. So, yeah. I think it'll happen early in the season, but after the window closes. What about this? I thought this was interesting from Michael Massey on Blue Sky. And Michael says, do you think our selling tactics should shift from trying to extract a fee to using larger than normal sell-ons? E.g., why not sell Vieira at 5 million euros or 10 million euros, but include a 50 % sell-on to get more money at a later date.

1:25:47Would this not be a better approach?

1:25:54James McNicholas: I mean, I don't know how feasible it is. The buying club has to agree to that. I mean, it helps them get a player cheaper, all right? It does, but it also means they're not rewarded for developing the player. Yeah, not to the same extent. not to the same extent maybe that's their gamble to take maybe that's the slight risk that they can take in order to get a player for a cheaper fee I don't know I mean I'm sure Arsenal have they must be exploring things like that right buy one get one free those kinds of things I think it's yeah loan Fabio Vieira and get Sabi Laconga free I think with a free Rhys Nelson on the side I think that there is I think there's sort of a sound argument by the way in the question did I say it was from Michael?

1:26:49Michael Massey I think you said yeah that was it I think it's a perfectly logical case that he's making I think there are two issues one is part of the club's investment in a player is about the return and so we it might not sound a lot to us to commit five or 10 million euros to a player that you're effectively only acquiring 50 of the economic rights for but i think for hamburg that is a significant sacrifice um the other aspects of it is how much does five million euros help us on the books now like the the business logic of take a lower fee but take a higher sell on yeah that's great but that's hypothetical money down the line and in a sort of regulatory environment that is assessing you year in year you're probably better off or you might have a need to generate cash uh in the short term to present the books in such a way that gives you greater latitude in terms of your own spending.

1:28:07So I like the thought, but I think there's probably a bit more pressure to actually deliver some money now. And I think sales, what are we now? August 10th. I think the sales aspect of Arsenal's remaining business is going to be really interesting. You know, there are players that have kind of been marked for sale, that they would be open to letting go. We've spoken about them before. Norgard's gone. That's one of them. Gabro Jesus. Yeah, there's some chat about Napoli. Yeah, I don't know yet on that. It's on my list for today to kind of dig into that. Buongiorno, Napoli. Exactly that. Exactly that.

1:28:54We've got some good links with Napoli. We took Maurizio Michele, one of Andrea Berta's assistants, from them. So I think it'd be an open conversation. He shares an agent, Jesus, I think, with the Napoli coach. Right. So, yeah, there's some connections there.

1:29:11James McNicholas: Oh, yeah, the old Eric 10 hag job. Just get players that come from the agency that you're part of. It's one way of doing it. Yeah. But, yeah, I'm intrigued to see, like, what develops there. I mean, Ethan's a really fascinating one. He's had a decent pre-season, I thought did well yesterday, scored. Is somebody going to come forward for him? If so, will Arsenal accept it? If nobody does, do Arsenal begin looking at other options for sales? There seems to be a little bit of noise building around Martin Zubemendi. Yeah, there was a question here, if I could find it. James Marlowe, hearing noise about a Zuby departure.

1:29:51James McNicholas: Is this just clickbait twattery? Twattery, if there's any substance to it, it seems a bit short-sighted given his performances at the beginning of the season, which only faded once he'd been run ragged. Some talk of Chelsea and some talk of, I think, Real Madrid is the other one, the other name that I saw major, but I don't know to what extent those are true. I think it's a little bit of two plus two, isn't it? Because Real Madrid wanted Rodri, he's going to Barcelona, and who's his immediate backup, really, for Spain, who's the next player in line, it's Martins of Mendy. Real obviously also wanted him when he joined Arsenal.

1:30:26The manager who wanted him was Xavi Alonso, who's now at Chelsea. So there is a certain degree of logic. I think Richard Hughes, who's the sporting director at Liverpool, wanted him when Liverpool were interested in the player. So I think there are a lot of clubs who would love Martin Zubemendi. And one of the things we discussed during the Dublin live show was like, what does this Bruno signing mean for other players? and I don't think it's great news if you're Martins of Mendy when it comes to sort of your automatic spot in the midfield. I think that's in some jeopardy now. I don't think Arsenal are looking to sell Martins of Mendy.

1:31:07He's not one of those players who would have been on that list. Sure. You know, departures. But I guess it's one way if the player agitated for it, maybe it would come into the conversation. I would not be in a hurry to do it. I think this is a huge season for him. I think he's got to find his level again, find his form, show what he did in the first half of the campaign. I think if he doesn't, then maybe at the end of next season, he's one who might go. But yeah, I'd be a little surprised if Arsenal let him go right now. But equally, I can imagine there are other clubs looking at his situation and thinking about having a nibble there, maybe.

1:31:54James McNicholas: Yeah. I mean, we're going to call it a day now, but I just thought this was quite an interesting one from Nevermind on the Discord about asking if Arsenal need to hire some kind of external PR team to build more hype for some of the players who are trying to sell. It seems ridiculous how low the offers are for players that have finished in the top two of the Premier League for four seasons in a row and gone deep into the Champions League for three consecutive seasons as well. If not this, then what do you think we should do? because something needs to change. The point that occurred to me there is that the players that we're trying to sell haven't really been part of that to the same extent as many others.

1:32:31James McNicholas: You know, Fabio Vieira, you know, he didn't play a great deal. Rhys Nelson wasn't part of why we finished second. Gabriel Jesus over the last few years has obviously been injured a lot. Christian Norgard didn't play in the Premier League last season. So the players who are trying to play are not the players who were fundamental to those second place finishes, you know, which is where it gets a little bit complicated. But I do agree, you know, something needs to change and we'll wait and see what they can do in the outgoing transfer market. And obviously we'll wait and see what they can do in the incoming transfer market once it's not Christian Romero.

1:33:07Exactly.

1:33:08James McNicholas: And the next friendly Wednesday night against Como. Against Como, managed by former gunner Cesc Fabregas. So Arteta versus Fabregas will be an interesting one. He's doing a very good job there. And I hope, obviously, that we get a better performance from Arsenal. Are you going? Are you spectating? Are you working? I'll be at home, actually. So I'll be watching. I'll be streaming, hopefully. No, you won't. Definitely won't. No, to be fair, I worked over. Isn't it the eclipse that night as well? I think we've got a big eclipse. There is an eclipse. We've got a better eclipse than you do in England.

1:33:42James McNicholas: Oh, really? Yeah. Yeah. I think the plane of the eclipse, is that how you call it or the whatever it is? Yeah, we're getting what's being described as a deep partial solar eclipse. Yeah, I think in certain parts of Ireland, it's almost like a 98 % eclipse, almost a full eclipse. But until then, it remains a partial eclipse because that's how it works. And of course, I'm going to, before I watch the Arcel game, I'm going to stare at this eclipse with my eyes because I hear that's what you're supposed to do. Stare at it. Yeah. They're talking about it as like maybe the most significant eclipse in London, certainly since 1999.

1:34:29Right. And I distinctly remember Dr. Alvarez, our physics teacher, coming into assembly to give a warning about looking at the eclipse. I presume that was in 1999. I've never forgotten him saying, you only have two eyes. Protect them. I've just never forgotten that. So I'll be doing exactly that. I'll be covering my eyes.

1:34:54James McNicholas: That is the most Alan Partridge piece of advice I think I've ever had. You only have two eyes. Yeah, just to be clear, I'm not going to stare directly at an eclipse and nobody should be staring directly at an eclipse. I think the next full eclipse is like 2090. I'm not 100 % confident I'll be around to see that one. We'll be doing the podcast, don't you worry about it. Why are Arsenal no good at selling players? Yeah, can we sell Fabio Vieira in 2019? And the answer will be no. Hamburg have raised their offer by a euro. Rhys Nelson going out on loan again. Yeah, another plus one. Another one-year extension and Rhys Nelson is going on loan.

1:35:42James McNicholas: Anyway, right, we better leave it there. As ever, thank you for being here, folks. Thanks for listening and for all the rest. We'll have something for you a bit later in the week. Thursday, obviously, after the Como game. But for now, take it easy and we will catch you on the next one. Bye-bye.

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