Arsenal Women Arsecast 131: The need for Mead + listener mailbag

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0:49Hello and welcome to the Ask and Women Ask Cast on askblog.com. With me, your host, Tim Stillman, back from holiday. as you can probably tell from messing up that intro ever so slightly I'm not quite back in the groove I've had you know phone off uh for the last kind of two weeks or so uh not answering calls not doing content I think that's the longest I've ever gone since about 2005 and not producing any sort of content at all so uh well well kind of uh well relaxed um but back in the chair now to do another kind of summer mailbag episode. And with me as ever to do that is the now Melbourne-based, again, Jamie Spanger.

1:34Jamie, how are you doing?

1:36Jamie: Tim, I've gone back to the old days. Honestly, I'm feeling like a sense of deja vu, but at least I have you here with me, Tim, because back in Melbourne for the 2025-26 season, I've deferred my uni course for far too long. I finally needed to get it done. So I'm doing that based in Melbourne. However, I'm very happy to say that I will still be on this podcast. I just have to throw it back to the midnight to 2am Arsenal watches, which I was so glad to be rid of. So back to that. But yeah, back in England very soon. However, it'll be a slog. But yeah, sharing the Arsenal love with the Arsenal Australian fans.

2:13Jamie: So we'll make it happen. Yeah. So I guess the move towards more midday kickoffs in the WSL English time, is that better or worse for you than 2 p.m.? Honestly, right now, for the start of the season, September, October, brilliant for me. It's like a 9 p.m. That's nice. That's good football time. It's like you're in Europe, right? Yeah, yeah. So I'm not complaining about it. Later in the season when the clocks change, it makes it a bit more difficult. That's pretty rough. However, I'm going to make do. It could be worse. The 12pm is better than the 2pm. So if Arsenal could just be on Sky Sports all the time, that would be grand.

2:51Yeah, I used to cover South American football and particularly Brazilian football. And, you know, having family over there, I'm kind of well-versed with this anyway. But it used to be, they actually changed daylight savings in Brazil. But it used to be like four hours and then two hours difference. But for the majority of the football season, it's a four-hour difference. And in Brazil, midweek games kick off at 10pm local time anyway. Because of a not widely known fact, actually, outside of Brazil, the reason they kick them off so late is because the novellas, the soap operas, they start at 9pm and they're so popular that football doesn't compete with them.

3:31So they kick off at 10pm. So it's like 2am English time. And so I used to spend one night every midweek watching a midweek Brazilian game, 2 to 4am. and it's horrible because you don't know whether to do i go to bed and wake up or do i just try and push through and actually neither of them worked particularly well to be honest but um there we go anyway uh while i've kind of been away and you've been moving back to the other side of the world some stuff has happened which is why we're doing a podcast reasonably swiftly namely jamie the the news dropped on Friday that London City Lionesses made a bid for Beth Mead obviously we know all about Michelle Kang and London City Lionesses and the funding that they have and that I think we've known all along that they're going to look to be disruptors in that sense which I think is good for the WSL I think it's good to have a team that's coming up that you look at and think they're probably not going to go down they've made an offer we can talk a little bit about you know, my understanding of the situation, etc.

4:42But what was your initial reaction to this news?

4:46Jamie: I'm not at all surprised, Tim. They've shown their intent straight off from the transfer window, already made some big signings of the senior level, obviously someone like Daniela Vandedonk, a very experienced player at the back end of her career. They're bringing in these players that know what top level football is about. Not only do they know what top level football is about, but more specifically the WSL right this season. So a player like Beth Mead who's maybe being pushed, maybe not pushed out, but her position at Arsenal is very contested right now. Like it's very up to form. You've got a player that's had a marvellous career at the top level, the Euros in 2022.

5:22Jamie: She's won the Euros twice. Everything but the FA Cup with Arsenal, this is a seasoned player. I'm so not surprised by the intent of London City Lionesses and what we've seen from them so far that they are going to put a price tag on an experienced footballer like that. I think I would be much more surprised if they were going to put a price tag on someone like maybe like Victoria Pilova or Frida Mornham earlier in their career, maybe Frida less than Victoria Pilova. However, Beth Mead, seasoned player, experienced, a good proven footballer. I'm not surprised that Michelle Kang has her hands all over that one.

5:54Jamie: So yeah, I wasn't surprised at all, to be honest. Yeah, I think for a club like LCL, it'd make a load of sense as well in terms, because obviously they have the funding, I think, to do stuff like this. But obviously, like we say, they're a disruptor, as it were. They're not tied to a men's club anymore. They were Millwall Lionesses a couple of years ago, but they broke away and they're an independent club. So, you know, they're trying to build a fan base as well. And I think if you sign someone like Beth Mead, that goes a long way to doing that. And obviously they've already made signings, I think, that show they're very serious.

6:30quite a lot of them either from Arsenal or ex-Arsenal players like Daniela van der Donk and they already were doing this last season in Championship WSL2 so I think it makes a lot of sense for them to really have like a franchise player who will bring fans into that stadium and I'd personally understand it from Beth's point of view as well she's 30, she's got one year left on her Arsenal contract I'm assuming that LCL would be upping her salary. And when you're 30 years old, if someone, I don't actually know the terms of the deal that they're offering to her, but let's say it's a two or three year deal on a salary increase for a 30 year old player.

7:13You have to seriously consider that. My kind of understanding of it is that obviously Beth hugely, hugely valued and valuable player, not because, not just because of her kind of history with the club. Like in terms of Arsenal signings in the last 10 years, she's in the top three for sure. You might even make an argument she's the best. But obviously still, I mean, I think Jamie, a really, really valuable player, as we saw in the Champions League final, even if like her role is not quite the role it was when she was podiuming for the Ballon d 'Or. but my understanding is it will take a big offer for Arsenal to consider it.

7:57But, I mean, what do you think about that? Like, particularly, you know, Beth, Caitlin, Steiner, I believe they're all out of contract at the end of the season. There's a couple of other players in that situation. I believe it's the same for Leo Valti, like Kim Little, I think, signed for a year. I don't know if there's a plus one there. You know, potentially there might be a lot of turnover next summer. So I have seen the argument from some Arsenal fans, which I think, you know, I can understand this argument that perhaps it's best to get ahead of that a little bit and spread that work out and perhaps take a big offer for someone like Beth Mead and kind of spread that rebuilding work out.

8:37What's your kind of opinion on it? What would you do in this situation? Would you stick or twist?

8:44Jamie: I can definitely see and sympathise and understand the argument that, OK, you want to get ahead of the curve, right? You've got a player that's out of contract next summer. It's Beth Mead, right? There is names involved in this conversation that will be hungry to sign her on a free transfer. And there are names that are maybe, and clubs in the WSL and in broader Europe that don't want to be involved in the conversation with London City Lionesses, fighting for that pay rise, the salary increase, having to break the clause that she has with Arsenal. But next summer, when that doesn't exist, and when it's almost like there's more market power for these other clubs, there's going to be more names there.

9:18Jamie: And Beth Mead's very obviously going to be drawn away from Arsenal in that situation, because you've got Olivia Smith, you've got Chloe Kelly, right? She's going to be competing with her position. So I'd be very surprised if there's a world where Beth Mead maybe stays beyond next summer, but that's maybe me being a pessimist. However, I think for Arsenal right now, and this is something that I think as Arsenal fans, as a collective, we often fall into the trap of undervaluing the players because we get used to them too quickly. And I think Beth Mead is a prime example of this. We've spoken about this with many players, Tim, and the fact that we forget how good they are because we watch them every week.

9:51Jamie: We've seen them play through the ages. We're kind of like that with Leah Williamson. She is such a fantastic footballer and we almost undervalue her because we're used to watching her play football. And I think Beth Mead falls into that category. Look, she's not at the level she was before she did her ACL. She was one of the best players in the world at that time. And she's come back from the injury. It's not just the injury. She's just older. She's in the latter stages of her career. But I think Arsenal right now, if they are to sell Beth Mead, have a very, very big gap and a massive risk in the fact that this is a player of a high quality.

10:22Jamie: We saw what she did in Lisbon with the assist, Estina. She's a player that can turn it on. She can make things happen. She's a very, very good footballer. and then you're left with a situation where, okay, you sell Beth Mead, come March, Caitlin Ford's away for a month. You have to bank on the fact that Olivia Smith and Chloe Kelly can play full minutes across every competition in a very condensed schedule. So I don't think that this is a situation where unless Arsenal have a young winger replacement lined up that they think, okay, that's a target that we can really go for. I don't think it's a very smart move to be able to get rid of, just go and sell her just because you know there's going to be a financial increase.

10:57Jamie: I think that it's a massive risk because you leave a gap and we've finally got to the situation where there's four wingers in this squad, four very competent and fit wingers in this squad right now, that I think it's too big of a risk. Why would you sell someone as good as Beth Mead, as competent and as experienced as Beth Mead when you don't have the backup plan? plan and I think when you know a winger's going to be away for a whole month you've got two you've got Olivia Smith as well who is a fantastic player right but she needs nurturing she's 21 just earned 21 she's very young she played well at Liverpool but you're coming into a team now where you're going to be playing in the Champions League hopefully contesting in all competitions so yeah you need a backup there I think it would be it'd be too quick and maybe a bit irrational for Arsenal unless again the bid if the bid's high and LCL are willing to pay you can't really say no to money but I think there's a bit of risk involved yeah I completely agree I've said um quite a lot over the last season I think Beth is a very undervalued player I think again we saw that in the Champions League final I actually think um you know I wouldn't even call it a squad role I think that really underplays it like if Beth stays she will start plenty of games um you know there's a lot of games there and like you said there's the Asia Cup um as well next year as well and And I completely agree with you.

12:15I think her value is really underappreciated. If you look at particularly the end product numbers, they're still really, really strong. And actually, I think one of the things we kind of underestimate is sometimes I'm not sure that is a role for a younger player always. That kind of, you know, can I come on and affect the game? You know, the way Beth did that in the Champions League final, I think did that in a number of other games last season as well. like the equaliser at home to Manchester City, for example, earlier last season, she comes off the bench, like having that game intelligence to really plug into a game.

12:49And I think because Beth can do a number of things, she can play inside, she can play outside, she can play right and left. You know, I think it would be a big player to lose. I do definitely understand the point of view that a lot of people have put across that you can't hold on to players forever. You've got to move on at some stage if the money's good. and all of that but I'm with you on that like it's all very well the money being good and if it's ridiculous you kind of have to take it I think but if the money's good that only really matters if you've got someone in mind who can really kind of come in and do the role to a similar standard and if that's the case fair enough but I'd also say I really think Arsenal need to win the league next season I think they have an excellent chance of doing so and I'm just a little bit wary about disrupting too much, particularly this kind of light in the window.

13:47I do feel like it would maybe, it would be a little bit of a distraction, which is why I think, you know, it would need to be really, really ridiculous kind of money. But I'm with you. I think she's really undervalued personally. But there we go. We'll see, I guess, in the next few days. How about then? I'm not sure how much there is to say on this because literally on the last podcast, we were talking about Rosa Khfadji going loan to Brighton. And now we've got the news that Michelle Agymang, very likely to join them. I also understand for what it's worth, that's very, very likely to happen. And I can't remember, I think on the last podcast, you might have even said that you'd like Agymang to go to Brighton, actually.

14:34So should we just repeat everything we said a couple of weeks ago.

14:39Jamie: Yeah, let's rerun the tape. No, I think this is a good move and not just because she just spent the season there under Dario Videsic and in the Brighton set up, but Nikita Paris has also left Brighton and that opens up a central role that they don't have fulfilled right now. They need a kind of higher nine. And I think you look at Michelle Adjeman and the impact she made at the Euros, right? Dario Videsic is probably looking at that and saying, I had you as a bit of an unproven attacker and I played you on the wing to kind of get you those senior minutes. but now there's more of a central role and we know you can do it at the Euros.

15:08Jamie: Why can't you do it in the WSL? So I think it's an even better move than it was 12 months ago for Michelle because there's more of an opportunity for her to develop in her natural position. So I am excited about this. I think that it's a good place to be. As I mentioned on the last podcast, I think Brighton and Dario Videsic is a great hub for young talent, producing young talent. They've done that with a couple of players that have moved on to other clubs as well. So yeah, but the biggest key for me is she's hopefully going to be playing more of a central role because for Michelle now it's about developing as a nine not just developing as a as a player in senior football it's about playing in the position that she wants to play in yeah definitely and like you said there's perhaps a bit more room there at Brighton and I think Arsenal were pleased with the kind of work and Michelle played right and left at Brighton last year I think that'd be really good for her development as well to play a little bit out wide and I do kind of think Brighton are a bit perfect for it because obviously it's that sweet spot between I think she'll get plenty of game time but also they're an attacking team Brighton and that's why I think Rosa will go there as well so it's not like you could go on loan to a team outside the top four who play 5-4-1 and whack the ball to the centre forward which is a perfectly valid, justifiable way of playing, but probably not how you develop an Arsenal player.

16:28I think under Videsic, Brighton, and the thing about Brighton as well, for better and for worse, they play the same against everybody. And, you know, sometimes that works and sometimes we saw that against Arsenal last season, right? The Emirates took them apart. At Brighton, they took us apart. They go for everyone. And I think that would be really good for Michel Ajamang and again at the risk of um we we had a little bit discussion on the last pod about Ballon d 'Or um bring up Rio Ferdinand gift please um we've since had uh confirmation of Arsenal uh of Arsenal's nominees I really like some of the responses um when you know the main Arsenal account kind of said you know rightly I think you know doing the right thing like these are all the players from across the club who've been nominated for the Ballon d 'Or and people were putting up that meme of um oh god i've had a total blank on that on i think kobe bryant and another uh and one of his teammates and it's just something like combined they they had like i don't know 158 points last season and it was like kobe bryant got 155 of them something like that um but yeah so we've got uh renee slagers is up for coach of the year um i think it's gonna be really interesting between her and Serena who might win that I think we can say that that's probably going to be won by a Dutch coach who coached an English team to beat a Spanish team in the final of a European championship and then we've got Michelle Ajamang up for the Copper trophy Daphne van Domsala for the women's Yashin trophy please give that a better name please name it after a female goalkeeper guys and then for the and then Arsenal up for club of the year that should be uncontested really we won the Champions League will get bigger crowds than everyone else.

18:20And then players, Steph Catley, Emily Fox, Frieda Mornham, Mariana Caldente, Leah Williamson, Alessia Russo, Chloe Kelly. So seven players, which, you know, if you'd given me that number, Jamie, before, I'd have said, yeah, that's probably about right, seven. Let's go with the kind of the good one first that might have been the kind of pleasant surprise of Steph Catley. being in there, but perhaps also I think the kind of notable and I think really disappointing omission of Kim Little. What did you make of those lists?

18:58Jamie: I'm going to start at the top with Kim Little because I think that is just absolutely ludicrous. It's ridiculous and it's happened for years and years and years where this fantastic footballer who's one of the best women's footballers of all time just continually gets overlooked. And I don't really understand. and I don't compute it because if you look at some of the other midfielders, especially in the Ballon d 'Or nominations, you've got someone like Lindsay Heaps for Lyon who didn't have a best season at Lyon at all. She actually wasn't that impressive. And then you direct her into the Champions League as well.

19:30Jamie: And Kim Little was just better than her at all stages of that competition. So it does feel like it's a little bit tiresome, like just tiresome voting these are the players that we know these are the ones we're going to put in the nomination. So Kim Little, yet again, it's so boring and tiring how often she gets overlooked as one of the best players in the world of all time. In saying that, when I go about, okay, they're just picking the players they know, to see Steph Cattley's name on that, I was absolutely shocked. And that's not me saying she didn't deserve to be there. I was ecstatic. Like, it's very, very exciting for her to be nominated in a season where it's probably her best season for the club.

20:08Jamie: She's been transformed into a centre-back. She's played, she's captained her national team, obviously not across competitive fixtures. But for this year for Steph Catley, it was a very, very transitional year where a lot of people were saying, OK, this is probably a play at the latter stage of her career. What is her role at Arsenal going to be behind Katie McCabe at left back? And she's come in, locked down that centre-back position and been outstanding. Her and Leah Williamson, the only two centre-backs on that list, which is just, it's 100 % understandable, but is also incredible. just to go and see what Renee Slagers has done for this team and for Steph Cattley in particular.

20:41Jamie: I was surprised it was her. If I'm talking from an Australian perspective, I did think Caitlin Ford would be there over Steph Cattley. I'm not saying Caitlin Ford was snubbed, but if I'm going to pick an Australian, I was surprised. But I'm not going to complain because, yeah, again, it's a left-back playing centre-back and she's a European champion. So upset for Kim, angry for Kim, but absolutely stoked for Steph. Yeah, I mean, I think probably Kim has admitted because she doesn't play international football anymore. And I kind of understand why that would be an impediment to her winning it or getting on the podium or anything like that.

21:17For her not to make a list of 30 on that basis, I think is just absurd. Like, what if she'd played five or six games for Scotland last year? Very sorry to our Scottish listeners, this isn't a dig at Scotland, but who cares, frankly? like um kim was by miles the player of the match in the semi-final second leg by miles and one of the ways you can really tell that jamie is who people ask for in the mix zone afterwards and kim was i mean we didn't get to speak to her for nearly an hour because everyone wanted to speak to kim little after that game and when that happens you know everyone has seen the same thing that you have, that this player has totally dominated a massive game.

22:05And she's in, I think, definitely in the conversation for player of the match in the final as well, coming up against maybe the best midfield ever, Impatri, Bonmati and Alexia, and kind of really shutting them down. And I think playing better than any of those three, which is an enormous compliment as well. And I do think there is also, you know, there are a lot of things that govern these kind of awards that maybe shouldn't if you're going for a totally objective, who is the best player in the world at the moment, which I think is impossible anyway, which is why I don't put a lot of stock in these.

22:42But I think we can see that isn't always the criteria and there are intangible criteria that are attached. Like Chloe Kelly, for example, didn't really play the first half of the season. Not saying she shouldn't be in there on that basis, but like there are so many reasons that there are for players who are on that 30 strong list that you could easily say, well, they, you know, where were they for the first couple of months of the season or, you know, who had big moments. And I think, you know, particularly in what is certainly going to be like the end of her career, like she's in the very latter stages of her career and everything she's done.

23:21Like, I really do think that given that there's clearly loads of intangible reasons for people on this list, reasons of emotion and things like that, I think for Kim to not be in there, I find it a little bit disrespectful. for I have to say as much as I don't put a huge personally don't don't really care that much about the Ballon d 'Or but players really do and I do think there comes a point where you know some players you really should kind of recognize and I think given who votes for these things as well I find it quite disappointing that she's not on the 30 like just put her on the 30 strong list she doesn't have to win it she doesn't have to like you know just give her that like mark of respect there are plenty of players who could have come off that list um for me but we've seen all the nominees who we talked about on the last episode who we thought was likely to win it if if um we lived in a world jamie where the ballon d 'or was now voted for by you and only you who would you really like to see win it i want alessia russo to win it tim i really do

24:28Jamie: So I really want Alessia Russo to win it. I think that she's a real hot shot to win it. I know a lot of people are speaking about Alexia Pateas and say what you will about, you know, stat padding the Liga F. But Alessia Russo is a European champion at a club and European level. She's a league golden boot winner. She's not just a nine, right? Like she's winning the golden boot while also doing so much around the pitch. I just think she's a phenomenal footballer. And this was the year where this time last year we were saying, yeah we hope that 2024-25 is is a season for her to kind of break into Arsenal because you know last season was it was sorry the season before now we can't really say last season anymore two seasons ago was obviously an introductory year for Alessia Russo and and she did her bit at Arsenal a little bit like she was settling in but we really saw some potential in her at the latter half of the stages and I feel like this is the season where we saw her reach her level and we know how good she is she's equalized for England in a Euros final she has pulled up in all the biggest moments and I just think if you're going to put an Arsenal player on the podium in the in the Jamie Spangard Ballon d 'Or I think Alessia Russo I want her to win but I also think she deserves to win and she very much could so yeah I'm on the Russo train I'm leading that bandwagon sign up find me on the streets of Melbourne I'll have my sign I'll be there yeah I I'd love for Leah to win it um I really, really, I think, and Russo, by the way, voted by UEFA into the team of the tournament for both the Euros and the Champions League.

25:56I think it's kind of forgotten that she scored a lot of goals in the Champions League as well. Like didn't score in the final, but semi-final, second leg, quarterfinal, showed up, put up in the group stages, the qualifiers as well. I'd just love Lear to win it. I mean, you mentioned earlier there are only two centre-backs nominated, which I think also exposes some of the folly of the Ballon d 'Or anyway to only have two centre-backs in there. But, you know, Captain England to another Euros. Again, both European finals in the conversation for player of the match as well. You know, international level lost her long-time centre-back partner in Millie Bright.

26:39I know England didn't defend brilliantly for the whole tournament. I don't really think that was down to Lear. but in the biggest moments, I think she really showed up. And, you know, again, there's emotional baggage to that position. Something I should have said at the top of the podcast as well is, obviously, it's summer holidays. So Ever Stillman might make an appearance on the track. And as well as that, we have very thin walls to our neighbours and they have three children as well. So, yeah, some of that might show up on the track, but it's the summer holidays. And that's also why I'm kind of working slightly reduced hours over the next couple of weeks.

27:21But we knocked the first two weeks out in Corfu. So that's all good. Jamie, should we take a break there?

27:29Jamie: Let's do it. Okay, we'll take a break. And we will come back for part two with your questions submitted on Blue Sky right after this.

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28:26okay we are back for part two uh for the kind of mailbag section um of the podcast with your questions submitted on blue sky um i'll say at the top on kind of transfery stuff i haven't really looked into anything for ages um jamie i got beat to the punch on the olivia smith um story probably by a matter of hours by tom gary i was literally working on that when he broke it but you know look no no shame losing to Tom G on stuff like this and and basically since then a mixture of I haven't had time and I've been on holiday as well so I've not really looked into anything for a while you know some bits and pieces came to me on holiday that I didn't look into because I was on holiday so I'll look into those had heard beginning of the window something about a player that might not happen this summer, it might happen next summer, but I've really got to look into that and bottom out the detail before I do anything on that.

29:32So unlike transfers and stuff, really I don't know at the moment, but I believe Arsenal are still open for business, but I have no idea if anything's close or what position that'll be in or anything like that. So I'll say that at the top. But Jamie, first question from Jess Eve Kennedy. What are you expecting from Victoria Polova's role in the team next season? She was the best player for the Dutch at the Euros and seems to have found a bitter form again post-ACL. Do you think there's room for her to emerge as a starter and where positionally do you think she could force her way in?

30:12Jamie: Best player for the Dutch at the Euros is not a high one. I mean, it's a low bar, admittedly, but she did look good at the Euros. She did, she did, especially in the two games where they were pretty, pretty, pretty poor. I thought she was the best player against England and France. So I agree. However, the Netherlands, a whole separate podcast. Maybe we can rebrand. Victoria Pilova next season is going to be a very interesting one because we saw at the Euro she's fit. She's raring to go. She's no longer having any injury worries. Back off the ACL and really, really looking strong. Back off the ACL.

30:44Jamie: You're breaking into a midfield right now where Renée Slagas has kind of dug her teeth in and really cookie-cutted something out of a midfielder that maybe we didn't see not too long ago, right? I think a lot of it depends on the roles of each midfielder. And Arsenal are in such a position where so many of the midfielders, you don't really, can't really put them in one position other than Leovolte is a six, right? Freedom on him is a high 10, but everyone else's roles are very transitional. Obviously, Renee wants Kim and Mariona. I don't think that's a long-term thing, right? We don't know how long Kim Little has in her legs.

31:17Jamie: We don't know how injury prone she might be next season. Same as Mariona Caldente. She's been very fit and non-injury prone. Long may that continue. But again, I don't think that is the midfield partnership in the kind of double pivot that Arsenal are going to see going forward. I do think it will be maybe a recent one. We're going to see a little bit more, but it's not a future investment. So I think for Victoria Pulova, it's about figuring out whether she's an 8 and a 10 in this Arsenal squad and whether Renee Slagas-Caesar is an 8 or a 10 because we've seen how much Renee favours Frida Mornham in that position.

31:49Jamie: She has got that position on lock. That is her spot. Anyone can take it off her if they try, but Frida has done enough to prove that she deserves to be in that spot. So I think it's interesting. And the question I have about Victoria Plova's role in this squad is when Renee tends to take Frida off, it's always Alessia Russo that drops into the 10 and Steiner comes on as the 9. So whether or not Victoria Plova is the 10 or whether she is the 8, I think it's about what her role is due to the manager. I think Victoria Plova is a great eight. I don't really know if she sees herself as that. I don't know if Renee sees herself as that.

32:21Jamie: But I think there is a world where if you maybe invest in an out-and-out six, you've got a Victoria Plova and Freedom Ornam kind of eight and ten role. Then it begs the question about Mariana Caldente. So for me, I think Victoria Plova is the player fighting for her spot in the next couple of months. I think it very much will be, okay, you need to fight for your spot and work your way into the midfield. Because if you want to bend and be more of an eight, there is more room for you to win that position. If you want to be a 10, you've got to contest with Frieda Mornum, who has basically owned that position for the last 18 months.

32:53Jamie: So to answer the question, you don't really know. I do see her being a part of this squad because of how high her ceiling is. Two seasons ago, her and Lottowobamoy were the best two players. Now they can't even start in the squad. So there's room for it, right? We've seen it at Arsenal, Tim. There's so much turnover. People win spots that you don't really think are up for grabs. So for Victoria Plover, I just think this season, especially the first half, is going to be about finding out what her role is at Arsenal, whether she's happy with that and who she can kind of pit for the spot. Yeah, I remember asking Jonas about this when she first signed and because of injuries, she was popping up like on the right wing quite a lot.

33:29She was playing the 10 sometimes, she was playing as an 8 sometimes. I think she sees herself as an 8. She's another one. I think her contract is up at the end of next season as well. and maybe this isn't information speculation on my part, but maybe she'll have a look and see like, what does my role look like before committing? I don't know. But Jonas kind of said to me, Palova's one of those players, you see where her qualities best fit in your team and you put her there. And I think that's probably still the case. Do you have a question for me? I do.

34:01Jamie: This one's more of a broad one. This one's from Grumpy in France. It's a great username. I would like to know how you evaluate the gap to Chelsea in the league and if you still think there is one I don't think that there is a gap in terms of talent but then I haven't thought that for years quite frankly maybe the Covid season I look back at and that's maybe the only one where I really felt Chelsea were stronger personnel wise where Arsenal kind of had a year where I don't know if they're a bit uncertain about finances. They didn't really massively strengthen. I think they missed quite a lot of big targets in that time as well.

34:43And Chelsea kind of really beefed up with Harder and Kerr and players like that. But really, I don't think there's been a talent gap there for ages. And I still don't. I think it's just down to stuff that we've discussed. And you can see in the one-off games between Arsenal and Chelsea, they go backwards and forwards. They're very, very 50-50. and I think that tells you a lot about the actual quality of the teams, but it's the discussion we've had a lot. Chelsea, I think, have had better squad usage. They've better been able to roll between Champions League away game to WSL away game, win totally forgettable 1-0 wins and all of that stuff that adds up at the end of the season.

35:25I think that's been the only difference. It doesn't look like there's going to be a big squad overhaul or anything like that this summer. so really it comes down to for me those players who were sat on the bench and you know um kind of cleaning boots at the end of last season who are probably capable of more than that like what what's their role this season what's Jenna Niswonger's role what's Taylor Hines's role what's Kyra Cooney Cross's role what's you know players like that I think it really comes down to I think having you know hopefully having like four really top wide players really really helps um as well but yeah i think a lot of it's down to that kind of that rotation piece but also we can see and we saw it in the champions league that game for your life arsenal can beat anyone when arsenal really put their minds to it they can beat absolutely anyone and they did they beat everyone um you know in that Champions League run and beating Chelsea plenty of times City plenty of times etc etc it's more about that kind of yeah it's Aston Villa away on a Wednesday night or it's Aston Villa away on a Sunday night and we've been away in the Champions League on a Wednesday night you know can we do that every single time just go into autopilot and instinctively know how to win games when maybe you rotate four or five players and and accept that you're not going to be at your best but can you just get the result get back on the bus and go home um that that to me is the difference and that's that's what Arsenal have to develop I think Arsenal have the coach I think Arsenal have the talent um and I I'm really expecting us to challenge very very significantly for the WSL this year and if we don't I'll be very disappointed so um I think we're better positioned than we we've been for a while um so yeah I don't think there is a massive gap but they've got to go and show it basically um what about then uh you already spoke about caitlin ford's kind of a mission as it were for the ballon d 'or here's one obviously arsenal have 11 wsl home games at the emirates next season hoping for another uptick in attendances maybe not quite post euro 2022 boom because that was from a much lower base but arsenal won the Champions League.

37:50England have won the Euros. Arsenal have got loads of England players. I think we are expecting probably even better crowd numbers next year. And this one's from Julia Dash Thomas. Building off the UW, CL and Euros, what does a successful season at the Emirates look like? Reaching a certain baseline attendance across all games, X number sold out, embedding a strong and loud atmosphere. What does a good season at the Emirates look like in terms of you know, fan experience and everything.

38:23Jamie: Selfishly, it's just the absolute worst time to be away from North London. So I'm devastated because honestly, to answer that question, I think this is a really, really amazing opportunity for both the club and the WSL to capitalise on the momentum because Arsenal did it perfectly after Euro 2022 and no one really knows why because you look at that squad, obviously there's Beth Mead, there's Leah Williamson. That makes a lot of sense. But there's a lot of big players in that Euro 2022 squad that didn't play for Arsenal. And those clubs didn't really reap their benefits. Like you look at someone like Millie Bright, Fran Kirby, like Chelsea didn't really experience what Arsenal did.

38:58Jamie: So this is a club that we know we can hop on about it. Attendance FC, like we know how to increase fan experience. We know how to bring fans through the turnstile. So this is an opportunity for Arsenal to really, really do that again with the Champions League. And I think the Champions League is where I see it making more impact than the Euros because I think this club has won over the kind of young fans. You've got little girls wanting to come to the Emirates. They're bringing over their families. I think this is now an opportunity for the club to capitalise on Arsenal fans that maybe don't watch the women's team.

39:28And I think that that's a lot that the Champions League can do.

39:31Jamie: It's a very prestigious competition, right? A lot of men's fans, maybe they'll watch the men's Euros. They'll watch the women's Euros because it's England, right? There's patriotism involved in international football. You just want to watch your country. But I do think that there's an opportunity to wear every games at the Emirates. Like I can't get tickets to watch the men's team for my son and my daughter. I am a men's season ticket holder. I can't bring my family. Let's go watch the women. They won the Champions League. Like I think there's an awareness there where it's no longer just, okay, let's get the families involved because England won the Euros.

40:02Jamie: It's, okay, let's get the Arsenal fans that maybe love the club but haven't really watched the women's team to the Emirates. It's regular. It's every second week. They're going to be there. Let's bring that fan base over. And I think the Champions League is going to have a good effect for that outside of just, yeah, let's bring the 10-year-old girls that want to be Beth Mead. That's all well and good and so, so exciting and amazing. But I think there's something else to be unlocked here and I do really hope that that transpires this season. Yeah, definitely. I think it's maybe harsh to call it a mistake because I don't know all of the circumstances behind it, but having those couple of games like Palace and West Ham at Meadow Park in that busy winter period.

40:42And it really took a toll on the pitch, I think. And we had some home cup draws and maybe like we had a load of games that the Emirates bunched together at the beginning and then in the middle, like a bit of a gap. And like we shouldn't have that this time. There's a number of other things coming into this as well. There'll be certain areas of the stadium where you can drink a beer. For example, next season, which, you know, we wait to see whether that has an effect both on atmosphere and maybe more people being inclined to come like all the stuff you've said and I can have a beer while I watch the game like you know that's that's I'm not pretending I'll put thousands on the gate but it it might make a difference um to some people but I just think like the crossover moment here I was watching um the men's friendly against Villarreal the other day and when Declan Rice took the penalty Perry Groves was on commentary and he said oh it's the chloe kelly-esque penalty and i love that i think those little things really tell you how much of a cultural impact the lionesses have had and someone like chloe kelly has had um as well like chloe kelly was already i think quite faint but like now she's mega famous you know um she's she won't be able to walk down the street anymore and like i think stuff like that really tells you how much it's like in the the imagination of the average fan and I I had another like little crossover moment like that when Leah Williamson did her ACL and I was in Bank of Friendship near the Emirates before a men's game just walking past to the bar I had like two different conversations about it and like you know from people just just like idle pre-men's match pub chat and I think like yeah I think there's been a real real kind of crossover moment there um i am going to ask you another one jamie um and there's kind of two questions here that are very similar um from apple over 21 awfc our issues at to the end of last season was speed and maybe our b team players do you think we've done enough to mitigate those issues with new signings uh for example smith for speed heinz and barber for backups or do you think we need more personnel Now, quite a similar question from Dick Byrne at Dickie Byrne.

43:05What are your thoughts on combating the transition? Do you see that as our only biggest weakness next season? Do you believe the answers are in the squad already? So we talked a lot at the end of last season about maybe height and speed being issues. Do you think we've done enough to combat those or are those still concerns for you?

43:24Jamie: I think there's still concerns in the central areas, just because the areas that we saw Arsenal become vulnerable with the speed in transition were up the centre, especially against Brighton and Aston Villa in those horrible latter WSL games that we dream to forget. I think that there is still a bit of an issue that's dependent on the centre-back pairing. I think that this goes, I think that we're worried about this in the case that we think that Williamson and Catley are going to be the starting centre-backs. We don't really know if that's going to be the case. I assume that to be the case, but you've got an opportunity for Lota Wobbenmoy to be fit this season.

43:56Jamie: She had a really hard season with injuries last year. She kind of offers a lot more there because she's quite a physically demanding player, but she's also quite quick. She can use both feet. So I do think that there is aid in the squad. And maybe we do forget a player like Wobbenmoyed two seasons ago was our best player. And she had a really, really tough year with injuries. And also she was edged out of the squad just because the left footer was available and did the job really well. So I do think there's remedy in the squad in terms of that. I still worry a little bit about the midfield pace because I think Kim Little and Leah Valti, obviously they're not at their quickest stage of their career and also Kyra Cooney crosses defensive discipline I've gone on about this so many times on this podcast but that worries me in transition so in the central areas I think there is remedy and I do think that it can be made to work it really just depends on how the squad's set up in the early stages of the season I think on the flanks there's a lot more comfort in knowing that Olivia Smith is offering a lot of pace up front and this is a direct winger that I don't think Arsenal have had for a long time Maybe Beth Mead did her best, but they're not the same profile.

44:58Jamie: Like Olivia Smith is so quick. So I do think that that is very helpful. And the fact that Olivia Smith is quick can charge the channel, but then you can bring on someone like Beth Mead, who is so defensively disciplined and can then help with that transition because she does know how to drop back. So Taylor Hines is another one that's very good at pushing up very quick. Sometimes struggles to defend a little bit and drop back. I think a lot of Liverpool fans maybe like her to Trent Alexander-Arnold and the fact that she's superb going forward. sometimes struggles on the transition, but you know that Katie McCabe is probably going to have that spot on Luck as well as Emily Fox, and they don't have any issues in that regard.

45:32Jamie: So I do think there's still a bit of a wariness for me in terms of the speed in transition. However, I think that there is a way for that to be stopped and we won't see that until we know who's going to be playing regular minutes. Like last season, we couldn't have called the starting 11 that Renee was going to start. I think we might see a little bit more of that transition this season, purely because the age profile of some of the players. So to answer the question in the flanks, I'm a lot more confident. I think this is a pace, a squad with pace. Chloe Kelly as well, she can run quite quickly when she wants to.

46:00Jamie: So that's an improvement. In the central area, still a bit more nervous, but I'm still confident in the fact that that can be a rammy dig. Yeah, I think Lota, Pelova, Kyra Cooney cross, solve quite a few of those problems in the centre, but it's a case of how much they play, isn't it? Basically. Do you have a question for me? I do. This question is from Nicksclip72. Does Katie and Jenna, nice swunger, scoring in the recent behind closed doors friendly, suggest that they were being played up higher? And do you think it's possible Katie could be a backup winger for Caitlin if Beth were to leave, especially with Jenna and Steph both able to fill the left fullback position, just like the role of the fullback going into the new season, Tim?

46:45Yeah, I think that's really, really fascinating. I mean, potentially, yeah. It's weird. we haven't seen Katie on the left wing at all for a couple of years now, since I can really remember it happening. Obviously when she plays left back, she goes into midfield so much. She pushes up so much and is almost kind of a left winger anyway. She's perfect capable of playing that position. I guess, I think if Beth leaves, I still want another winger. I know it's tempting as fans, we're like, oh, okay, but maybe Victoria Plova could play on the right. like maybe she could maybe Katie McKay can play on the left wing well we've seen her do it before we know she can but I just have that voice in my head that says we're trying to win the league and retain the Champions League and what do teams who are trying to win the league and retain the Champions League do they don't tend to make do amends they just bloody well go out and buy someone basically so like I find the left back situation fascinating I really do to have brought in jenner and not really played her and then to bring in taylor heinz um you know i i i am really intrigued to see what happens there like the short answer to this is i don't know um really what i do know is that all three of those left backs are very similar they all play very similarly so whoever of them plays it shouldn't be massively disruptive to the team because they all do very very similar things i think i'm intrigued by what taylor heinz would do at right back for example um or maybe because also we don't really know with the manager maybe she wants to move towards a more multifunctional squad maybe she's looking at it and like yeah some games maybe i want taylor heinz at right back maybe some games i want katie reid at right back and almost switch to more of a back three and really push the left back up so like she she could really be looking at I don't know, but you could really be looking at a kind of multifunctional squad.

48:47You know, I think obviously Arsenal have played a couple of behind closed doors friendlies and that's when you try that stuff as well, isn't it? Basically, like there's a reason you put those kind of friendlies behind closed doors. And, you know, yeah, I wouldn't be surprised they tried some things out, particularly because they were playing championship opposition a couple of times. That's the benefit of playing behind closed doors. In terms of other friendlies, I don't know for sure. I'd be shocked if there wasn't something in front of fans before the season kicks off. But I don't really know on that at the moment.

49:25But yeah, could be. Could be. I'm as intrigued as everyone else because I know as much as everyone else on that. Basically, I think it's really interesting that Rene's had two transfer windows and a left-back's come in both of them. Maybe it's an Arsenal thing, just like the men's team having loads and loads of left backs. How about this one? Where was it? Ah, yeah, let's have a kind of fun one, which is from Echoes of TH Workshop. Wondering if there was anyone at the Euros you'd like to see at Arsenal, European champions in case we've forgotten. personally enjoyed Clara Ball and would love to see her in red and white she did just sign a new contract by Munich very recently cheers from James now I followed up with James on this and kind of said do you mean realistic or do you mean screw realism and he kind of said one of each so why don't we both do one and I don't mind if you do the realistic one or or the one that you know Do the fancy one, Jamie.

50:37Who would you love to see from the Euros at Arsenal?

50:40Jamie: Yeah, I was going to say, I'm not really clued up on every player's contract situation. So I'm going to do the fancy one. Clara Buell's a great shout. I do enjoy that. Eula Brand is another good one. I've really, really, really liked her at the Euros. I think we obviously know how good she is already. She's 22 years old, but she's just signed a big contract with Lyon, left Wolfsburg. So again, not a realistic one. But Eula Brand is a very, very fast winger. I remember watching, I was at the Germany-France game, the quarterfinal, and it went to 120 minutes. And I was on the left flank that she was playing on in extra time.

51:12Jamie: And she was not stopped. She wouldn't stop running. And she was gassed, absolutely gassed, would not stop running, an absolute workhorse, covering every inch of the grass. But at the same time, she's so technically gifted, so good on the ball and so, so incredible with her flair. The other player I'm going to say, I'm going to give two, I'm cheating. um Vicky Lopez of Spain 18 years old it's it's sickening her talent is absolutely insane like I was at I think it was the Spain Portugal game um and she'd come in for Aitana Bonmati because she was recovering from a viral meningitis and it was like oh Bonmati's not starting this is is this going to be an issue for Spain and then you've got an 18 year old come on and she was unbelievable like the way that she controls the ball she's got a bit of like a a technical like she's like Lauren James and the fact that she doesn't look like she's running when she's running, but the ball is just like moving so fast.

52:04Jamie: And yeah, she's incredible. So if I could bring in Vicky Lopez and you're LeBrand. I don't know if there's a lot of squad room for Lopez, but brand definitely. So yeah, I'll go with the pair of them. Yeah, my totally unrealistic one might be Lauren James, actually, even though she was largely injured for the Euros. So we definitely didn't see the best of it there. I'll go with my slightly boring, more boring, like functional one then. forgive me on the pronunciation of this because I don't speak any German but I really like the look of Elissa Sens who I believe plays for Frankfurt as like a pure like quite destructive ball winning midfielder particularly if you look at Arsenal and you think they're maybe slightly light in the number six position I think Lea Valt is going to miss start of the season because she's needed more surgery and everyone knows I really like the idea of moving to more of a single pivot and two number eights.

52:58And I think having someone like Sens at the base of midfield would be really, really good to move towards that because that really is a, don't worry, leave it all to her, kind of almost like Erin Cuthbert kind of type player. And I liked the look of her at the tournament as well. So that's my slightly boring one. I'm going to ask myself a question here, Jamie, but then I'm going to throw it to you to wrap up because we had a couple of questions about the goalkeeping situation, about Manu Zinsberger with, oh, my God, my brain is just sort of vertigo, and it gives me brain fog. And the goalkeeper that we signed from Wolfsburg, Berber?

53:46Jamie: Yeah, Erber. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Sorry, I get complete brain fog at the moment. But yeah, a couple of like any rumours on the goalkeeper front. Surely I don't think Manu wants to stay as number three. Borba, that's it. Borba might be pronounced like that. Again, German, didn't do it at school. And surely she didn't come in as number one from Wolfsburg to sit in the stands at Arsenal. That's from Andreas Guna. And then, yeah, Kartiko at KO Cricket 5208. Any news on the goalkeeper front? Haven't seen much of links with Manu, having already sort of signed her replacement. So let me do the information side of that, which is, again, like I said earlier, haven't checked in on anything in ages.

54:30Was told at the end of last season that basically the position was that Arsenal wouldn't stand in Manu's way if she wanted to go. So I don't think it's quite a Laura Wienreuter, like, you're not in our plans, sorry, type thing. I think it was more of a, like, you know, we wouldn't stand in your way. told that by more than one person um that i trust and arsenal then signed another goalkeeper which made me think okay yeah um but like like i said i haven't checked in on anything in ages so i really don't know uh the situation with manu at the moment might change might not have um don't really know but what's what's your kind of what's your opinion on that situation jamie i mean we have seen like with chelsea for example they've probably got three like first team quality goalkeepers or albeit in Peng I think they've got like quite a young one and they've they've done that model quite a lot really of having like three but maybe one of them a younger one so they've got Peng they've got Becky Spencer as well do you think there's room for three like international quality goalkeepers or what do you make of that situation?

55:41Jamie: Yeah I think when we speak about Chelsea they need to just be an anomaly because they seem to have every player on their benches happy so even a situation when they used to have Mucevic and Hampton and Katrin Berger like it's just a bit ridiculous so no one think about them when you're thinking about squads just don't put Chelsea on your mind just cast them away be original let's not think about them though City have signed another one as well they signed Arthur Cummings so they're another one who've got like three international goalkeepers now that will be one to watch as well because yeah we're not talking about City but Gareth Taylor loved Yamashita but it Cushing like Kiara Keating.

56:17Jamie: So who knows? There's a lot of goalkeepers floating around if anyone needs one. Yeah, I think this is an interesting situation. Obviously, Daphna van Domstelaar is the best of the three. She's the starting goalkeeper. She is the future of Arsenal, still so young, nowhere near her prime. It's absolutely astonishing and so exciting that she's a part of the football club. I think I can't speak enough about Balboa because I haven't watched her play enough. I don't really have a read on her as a talent. I'm sure I will quickly. I'll also need to do my research. Forgive me guys. I'm back at university now.

56:46Jamie: I'm having to regress a few years. So I don't really know in terms of the gulf of talent and the disparities between her and Zinsberger. I don't really know where they are. For me, I think Manu is a fantastic goalkeeper and such a good player to be in the squad. I'd hate to see her leave, not just because of her goalkeeping abilities, more so because she seems like the teammate that everyone wants to have. Like she is such a good part of this squad. And I often like when she She even does press conferences and stuff. She's so good with the media and she's so informative and she really, really wants to kind of tell the players' stories and shed light on their situation.

57:22Jamie: She's just such a human. So I would be upset to see Manu go because she's the ultimate hype woman. She's obviously done wonders as well for Daphne van Domstelaar. I think that the training group and the goalkeeper union that they've had with Naomi Williams last season has just been like so special. It seems like the environment they've cultivated is very special. So I don't want Manu to go for that reason, but also for the fact that if I'm taking Belbo out of the equation, I don't know her enough as a goalkeeper right now. I think Manu Zinsberger is such a fantastic keeper to have as a number two.

57:51Jamie: That's an embarrassment of riches. I think from a personal point of view for her, I would be so surprised if she's willing to do that job because I think she can start for a lot of teams in the WSL and in other European competitions. So I think for the player, I wouldn't be surprised if there's maybe a departure. However, I guess it just depends what she's looking for. She's still in the prime of her goalkeeping years. She's probably got a few years of her prime left. So there's a goalkeeper there that she starts for the Austrian national team. She's got a lot of growth there still to come. So she probably wants to be playing football.

58:21Jamie: But for Arsenal, having her would be fantastic. If she doesn't want to leave, why would they push her out the door? But yeah, so I'd want her to stay, but I would also understand. And I think that the hands we're left in with Daphne van Domstelaar are still the best in the world. Yeah, yeah, definitely. And obviously, you know, Manu's got a young child and all of that. you know, has to think of all of that. You know, it's not just across Europe as well. NWSL, that's a league where, frankly, there are 12 teams that can pay you a good salary. So I think we will see a lot more movement between NWSL and WSL, particularly for players who kind of fall out of the tree.

58:58The bigger clubs, not saying that that's what Manuel will do. Like I said, don't really know at the moment. But yeah, I think it's a really intriguing one. another one maybe a bit like the left back situation that that I'm kind of keeping an eye on because um yeah I think a lot of it will be down to kind of Manu's decision um if that makes sense and and look maybe she'll think I'll see how it goes maybe you know maybe I back myself um to get back in and if in January it's not happening reassess um like I say don't know on that but I'll try and find out but like I say like until particularly with the men's season Premier League season starting this weekend got a lot on the plate summer holidays and all of that so I'll try but I can't make any promises but there are lots of great reporters out there very little slips under the radar nowadays so we'll find out one way or another but Jamie we're just in under the hour mark I think that will do thanks so much.

1:00:00Jamie: it's been it's been an absolute pleasure tim glad that you're back from your holiday glad that i've settled in let's get down to business yeah indeed indeed and uh yeah we'll probably come back god what date is it i've like i've forgotten like i've lost touch with what date is 11th of august um yeah we'll perhaps do another one in like a fortnight um or so and then do like a big like pre-season preview i think that there's like a wsl media day um at the end of next week so maybe we'll have some well we will get some content out of that, we just don't know what it will be yet so yeah, keep an eye on that and as ever we'll have all of our usual stuff over on AskBlog News and if you feel like helping to fund the site we have a Patreon as well patreon.com forward slash askblog that is how we are funded, we have no advertising on the website whatsoever we're entirely funded by readers and listeners um and for a decent price every month and that funds all of our women's coverage as well it pays me um and jamie so there you go um but anyway begging bowl away and uh we will talk to you very very soon thanks so much

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