Arsenal Women Arsecast 134: Gunners maul London City Lionesses

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1:26Jamie: A debut goal for the ages!

1:55in the end. So we're going to look back at that 4-1 win over London City Lionesses. And here to do that as ever is our co-host Jamie Spanger. Jamie, how are you doing?

2:05Jamie: Hey Tim, I'm good. WSL season off to a flyer, 4-1 win. I was worried and probably not excited to record this after the first 20 minutes, but glad it turned around. However, I feel like of the 90 minutes, I probably watched 45 because all international fans will probably sympathize with the fact that the stream was genuinely woeful. And I went back and watched the Sky Sports highlights and they were also woeful. So I don't know what went wrong, but it was like watching through a microwave. And then last night, all four of the WSL games just didn't show up on the streaming service. It's been a bit of a weekend in terms of being an international WSL fan.

2:38Jamie: So I miss the Emirates. I had a lot of FOMO, but I'm very excited for the three points. And I think there's a lot to actually unpack about this game. Yeah, absolutely. There is. And I assume they share a world feed because I'd seen this pretty much everywhere and actually we have a question about it um as well on blue sky about you know the the experience of of all of that and obviously um the broadcasters are trying new things and we'll talk about all of that but before we get on to this game the last time we recorded on thursday was transfer deadline day that episode did not date because nothing did happen as i didn't think it would but some some good news i think arsenal had been saving up i think i don't know for sure but I kind of I've lost track of the timelines on this but somewhere around the end of last season I was told that Russo contract was nearly done was not expected to be a problem and you know I think obviously she had the Euros and everything like that but that that was as good as done and I don't think it's a total coincidence that Arsenal put it out at night after deadline day after not signing anyone, I think.

3:46And I think when I saw that press release come through on Thursday afternoon, I definitely knew Arsenal weren't doing anything then because, yeah, their comms people obviously, you know, weren't expecting to work on anything else that evening. But we should say, Jamie, great news. I think that Lesley Russo at the age of 26 has committed to a long-term contract into her peak years.

4:10Jamie: it's super exciting it's it's a big it's a relief but it's not a surprise I think this team is being built around Alessia Russo right now and as it should she's such a such a good striker and the fact that she's 26 she's not really her prime yet like we've seen so much of her and I think as Arsenal fans as well we have seen a bit of an upwards trajectory in terms of her form and her growth over the last couple years so just for her peace of mind going into a really busy season like she's locked in for a long-term contract this is your time to just make this your team now like You're no longer the new striker.

4:40Jamie: You're no longer the new kid on the block. You're the number nine and you're going to be for a big chunk of the future. So, yeah, this is so exciting for all parties involved. I'm so excited. To have a player like that commit their future to the club is something that I think we may be overlooked because of the sad news of Leah Volte and fans were saying, oh, yeah, we kind of expect Alessia Russo to stay. But when you really think about it, this is a massive player in terms of the women's game. She's a Golden Boot winner, Belendor nominee. She was absolutely incredible in the Champions League last season.

5:09Jamie: So for her to lock her down is incredible. And I think maybe we need to just soak it up a little bit more because this is a great player that we have in our ranks. Yeah, absolutely. And I wrote my analysis piece on the LCL game, which is on Ask Blog News now, kind of focusing on her performance because I think there was just so much that was so good in her performance and all that kind of, I guess, under-celebrated, slightly boring stuff that number nines have to do. that I think she does better than anyone. She doesn't do sticking it in the net better than anyone. She does that well, don't get me wrong, but everything else about being a striker, I think she's totally and utterly elite at.

5:50And yeah, I hope this is the first of some other contracts as well. Daphna Van Domsalaar, Emily Fox, Victoria Pilova, really want these guys signed up as well as part of that kind of core of players in their mid-20s. But you mentioned it there, Jamie. We did say goodbye to Leo Valti and we covered that in the last episode about Leo Valti leaving and what that means for Arsenal and everything. But one of the things, you know, when we had the story last week, I was thinking, I really hope that there's an opportunity for her to go on to the Emirates pitch before the game and kind of soak up that adulation.

6:28not least because this isn't a player who scores a lot of goals so like having those moments with the fans is probably something she doesn't get a lot but um really nice really nice for the club really really nice for her I think to get to get that moment in front of the fans did did you manage to see that on the the microwave stream can I be honest I didn't because not only is the microwave

6:50Jamie: stream glitchy it also starts like 10 or 5 minutes before kickoff so no play game for us which is upsetting especially because it's cool that the WSL this season have committed to such a big hour of build-up but I did see all the all the recordings many videos fan angles which might have actually been better because they they showed the atmosphere a lot better so yeah honestly what a player I'm so glad she got that moment I was very worried that she wouldn't get that moment the fact that she gets to be celebrated she never scored at the Emirates so like you said Tim it's a great great moment for her to be celebrated for the fans it did kind of hit home though I was like oh yeah this isn't our player anymore she's moving on and and that's really that's leaving a bit of taste in my mouth but it's a perfect send-off you win the Champions League you say goodbye to the fans at the Emirates and then you go do your business in Italy yeah absolutely and there was there was even greater well there's additional fanfare I should say Leah Williamson coming out with the Champions League trophy and seeing champions of Europe all around the all around the kind of perimeters I saw you know before the the game on the podium above the armory they were giving fans the opportunity to have their photo taken.

7:56I know my wife and my daughter waited in line for about an hour for that. I think a lot of people waited that long. And actually, one of the things that was quite interesting, both managers were kind of asked about, you know, the occasion of this. And actually, both of them, you don't usually hear managers say this, but Jocelyn Procher, that's it, yeah, who manages LCI, actually really impressed by his press conference, did that thing that a lot of people do where he kind of apologized for you know supposedly poor english and then didn't miss a beat and spoke perfect english the whole way through um but he talked about you know yeah this is quite new for us you know we've just come up from wsl2 and actually this isn't even some of those bigger players that we have like this isn't a normal thing like playing in front of 40 ,000 and the trophy before and even Renee said before the game Jamie she said I don't usually get nervous but I was nervous about this because of the kind of build-up and the emotion and actually one of the things Jocelyn says was actually but the way we started the game I could see we weren't bothered by it but Renee said that she felt a little bit nervous before the game about having a bit of an unknown quantity and having this kind of big build-up.

9:16I thought that was really interesting for both managers to kind of admit that.

9:21Jamie: Yeah, I think so too. I think we don't often see managers be candid about pressure factor. They want to kind of say that their players don't face this sort of pressure. It's outside noise. It's exciting to have the crowd, but it does make a difference in their performance. And I think that is untrue. And I'm glad that both managers said that because this is a massive occasion. Yes, the Champions League trophy, the crowd, it's a new WSL season. But the fact that LCL are completely unknown to every club and WSL made this game a little bit shaky. And I didn't, I wasn't, I was very confident heading into it because yes, they're an unknown team.

9:51Jamie: They're also a new team and that transpired in the way I think we all thought it would. However, you don't know this team. You don't know the pressure that they bring. You don't know the pressure that the players bring. Like you can't measure this to the LCL you saw last season. You can't measure this to the newly promoted teams we usually see in the WSL. So I think Arsenal suffered because of that. And I I think the LCL really, really capitalised on that. But the way that Arsenal corrected is so much quicker than we've usually seen. So I'm very, very impressed by that. And I think that's something that I hope takes an overall trend this season because it didn't last long.

10:21Jamie: There was a dark, shaky period at the start. And then I think it dissipated. And I think that's something that doesn't happen as quick as it. It happened way quicker than it maybe used to. Yeah. And let's go with the starting line-up as well because conversations we had a lot at the end of last season. It's like you can pick 10 of these players probably in the starting lineup and then it's like, maybe does Beth Mead start? Does Kate, two of those three kind of wingers. But this time we didn't really have Plova as a starting option last season. She starts in the number 10 with Frieda Mornham on the bench.

10:59The wingers, I think with those four wingers, pick any two basically. it clear and it's going to be, you know, if you're trying to predict the lineup, flip a coin because any two of those four could start. And one thing's for sure, the other two are going to come on with kind of 20, 30 minutes to go as well. So, you know, I don't, I think in my predicted lineup, I went for Caitlin and Chloe Kelly. Chloe Kelly does usually start under Rene, but they went for Olivia Smith from the start. But the really big one, Jamie, was Katie Reid starting at centre half, which I don't think anyone outside of Arsenal saw coming um what did you what did you make of that um when you first saw it I guess your kind of initial reaction and then after we can talk a little bit about her

11:46Jamie: performance yeah when I initially saw it I kind of just ran to the subs bench and thought is one of the centre-halves maybe injured like is she yeah is she a backup but yeah I guess and then I saw I'm not taking credit for this analysis at all it wasn't me it was Chloe on on X or Blue Sky I think her at is Puckinghell, maybe. She said they've played Katie Reid because Isabel Goodwin is a giant. And I thought, of course. I'm very disappointed in the fact that I didn't pick that up straight away because Isabel Goodwin is a very, very tall striker. However, at the same time, I'm interested to see what happens next week against West Ham because I think in a situation where Leah Williamson's fit, Renee Sleggis doesn't worry about Ariel Hyatt of Isabel Goodwin.

12:26Jamie: She plays Williamson. She plays Catley. And I think Reid will talk about her performance more, but she did enough to prove that maybe this could be something that can be considered against the bottom half teams in the table. I wouldn't go in Stadardo against Chelsea or Man City or Man United, those pressing teams with really, really good strikers. However, I think that there's merit to that, that it's not just Oshie's tall. I think there might be something more to it where Katie Reid is a player that maybe is just playing beyond her maturity right now and Rene wanted to trust her in this opening game.

12:55Jamie: When you're talking about playing an 18-year-old at the Emirates, there's probably no better time to do it when London City are unknown, but Katie Reid's also completely unknown to London City. Like, is this the best chance to play her? So, yeah, I think I was like, this is crazy. But also, I said this to a couple of friends, like in a group chat, I was like, if Renee Slakers wins the Champions League, I'm not doubting her until we lose. Like, let her start who she wants to start until we lose and then we'll nitpick it and then we'll analyse it. So, yeah, I think I could see why it happened, but I'm interested to see what happens next week.

13:24Jamie: Is it just a height thing? Is Katie Reid maybe given a chance with Leah's absence? Not sure. Yeah, I'm with you. If Leah Williamson's fit, there's no way that she doesn't start the game. I think the other angle as well is that Katie Reid has played a lot with Isabel Goodwin. I think they've played together a lot in the England youth ranks. And so maybe she had a little bit of that intel as well. But I'm also really interested to see on Friday evening. And I think on one hand, I kind of think we see this with René sometimes, like, oh, Steph Catley's playing centre-half today. I wonder if that's, nope, that's a forever thing.

14:05And then it's like, oh, Mariana playing in midfield. Is this just the Liverpool-Morale Madrid? No, it's forever. but at the same time like she made some changes in this lineup so i think that does hint um at maybe greater flexibility at looking at opponents and saying actually if i haven't got my first choice center halves i've got three really good ones um and i can flex a little bit but But one thing I do know, Jamie, is that Katie Reid is rated inside the club. I think in January, I'm not 100 ,000 % on this. I think at the beginning of January, they were thinking about a loan, but she impressed in training and they kind of thought, let's keep her around, particularly when they knew Laura Wienreuter was going to go.

14:58And it's like, okay, so there's a numbers issue. Lotta wasn't really fit the whole season. they decided to keep her from what I gathered there was never any question of her going on loan this summer and given that there are four other senior centre-backs that's that suggests that they see her as a key part of the squad but I mean one of the things I asked Renee about starting her and you know she really talked up her performance but she said the thing I really liked was when she gave the penalty away it didn't affect her that she just kept playing and I think I saw a stat that she won more ground duels in this game than anyone else and I think the thing is I don't actually even remember her having many aerial challenges to be honest like to me a lot of it was along the ground and actually I don't think I'd ever seen her over a 90 minute period before she's pretty quick across the ground as well and like I think that was a big part of what impressed me about her?

15:56Jamie: Yeah, I think for her height, that's something I noticed as well, Tim. Her pace is actually very impressive for a centre-half, and I think that's something that's very exciting. She's obviously a young player that always kind of comes with it, but that's exciting having an aerial dominant player that's so tall in stature but can also get across the pitch. And yeah, Reid had the most ground jewels. Goodwin lost the most ground jewels, so there's a direct match up there. She had a responsibility and she dealt with it really well. I thought she was really, really good, and I thought she was great distribution-wise.

16:21Jamie: She opened up Emily Fox a lot. Emily Fox played so high up the pitch in this game. And that goes to show that Katie Reid was there. She was there for the coverage and she was there to kind of unlock Fox and allow her to go forward. But the big thing with Katie Reid was this penalty. She, I thought this is a bad thing. This is not a bad thing because I think Arsenal are going to lose the game, but this is a bad thing because a young centre-back has just given away a penalty and a side have gone down 1-0. And I think her mentality, as you would expect of any young player, is going to be shot here.

16:48Jamie: And the way that she responded was like she didn't miss a beat. She absolutely didn't miss a beat. And I think, listen, that penalty is just a thing about experience. That's just Kosovara Aslani is an experienced captain who knows exactly what she needs to do in that situation. It is a stonewall penalty. I'm not arguing that it's not, but it's an inexperienced defender versus a player that knows exactly what she needs to do in that instance. So, yeah, Katie Reid, it's a bad mistake, but she picked up on it. And, yeah, I was so, so impressed. And that's why I'm thinking, like, is this going to be something we're going to see a lot more?

17:18Jamie: Like Leah Williamson comes back and takes her spot back. I think that no one is doubting that. But in the next few weeks, I'm interested because I think she did more than enough to prove, hey, I can play against a quicker opponent. I can play against a taller opponent. So, yeah, Katie Reid is definitely one for the future. Again, excites me because I think she shows a lot more promise than maybe these players that we're watching right now did at this age. Yeah, definitely. And I think there's such a clamour for like a new centre half that like, I mean, I'd always said all summer, like we've got five of them.

17:47like at least two of them are going to have to go um you know for that to happen um but yeah yeah I thought she was excellent and I have to say Jamie I wasn't it's not that I wasn't you know worried when she gave the penalty away or anything and I know we often do that thing with young players particularly academy players where we're kind of a bit like completely understandably we let them off a bit, but that wasn't really my focus when LCL got that penalty. At the moment they got it, I was typing out a slightly pissed-off tweet because I just really didn't like the way Arsenal started the game.

18:29And the first 15, 20 minutes or so, right up until LCL's score, the goal was kind of coming. I think I could see Arsenal were in trouble And my issue with it was, I think, you know, LCL's best athletes are in the forward line. Goodwin, Paris, Aslani is a great athlete, even I think she's 35, 36, like still supreme athlete, great pressers in there. And then I look at the back half of their team and I see good players like Kumagai and Katie Zellum, but I don't see the same athletes. and I was just getting really annoyed because I was like why are we playing in the areas where they're really strong and that LCL press for the first 15 minutes or so like we didn't really work that out at all.

19:25Jamie: No I completely agree I felt like this was this seemed in the mail for opening day Arsenal though like there always is a little bit of that like let's play into the opponents and let them do exactly what they want to do and we'll try to figure it out from there and the opening 15 minutes, I think, were still indicative of that. And I wasn't worried though, Tim, because I think a team like LCL is always going to come out so firing. And I didn't think that they had the legs to withstand it for even 45 minutes. And that turned out to be the case. But Arsenal have an ability sometimes to kind of sit back and let it happen.

19:56Jamie: And I think that that's something that Renee is really trying to stamp out of this team and something that she did stamp out successfully last season. But we've had a lot of repeats of this exact same instance where it's like, okay, let the game kind of figure itself out and then we'll act on it. And I think the biggest thing with Renee Sagan is she wants to be proactive. She doesn't want to react to the game state. And that's what we saw yesterday. She had to react to the game state because it felt like they sat back and they said, let's absorb the pressure. We know that they're going to come at us because they're going to have to press high straight away.

20:24Jamie: It's just how it is with a newly promoted team. And then we'll figure it out. And I think that costs them because of that penalty. And I think a day where Arsenal maybe aren't at their best, that causes a little bit more of an issue. However, I think, again, I mentioned this earlier, Rene's ability to correct in those situations is supreme to what we've seen over the last few years with Arsenal. So that was going to happen with LCL. I think a big part of this result is that they just ran out of legs. They didn't have the legs for it. They weren't prepared. The team hasn't played long enough together.

20:49Jamie: But that first 20 minutes was their 90 minutes. They needed to come out strong and they did. And I think Arsenal sat back. And whether that was the game plan, that's the game plan. Absorb the pressure, sure. However, I think we don't want to be doing that with every team in the league. We don't want to be doing that every weekend. So, yeah, maybe shake that one out of the game plan for now. I'm glad they corrected it in the end. Yeah, I mean, we saw some slow starts in some games last season, like West Ham, for example, next opponents. And, you know, these teams have players that will punish you now, which maybe wasn't the case three or four years ago.

21:22But I asked Renee about it afterwards, about like LCL's press, and I asked her, you know, did you tweak anything? Did you change anything? She said, not really. She said, we knew they were going to press that way. And she kind of put it more down to early season rustiness. And she said, we weren't quite with it. We weren't quite connecting. And she put the change down to just the team warming up a little bit, essentially. And when I watched it back, I kind of believed that. LCL were doing some interesting things. They were like with Alana Kennedy, you're going to get a great crossfield ball. They were really pushing their full backs up.

22:02going into a back three, sometimes building with a back four. They were getting into their wing backs very, very early. But Rene said that none of that was a surprise. It just took them a while to get into the game. But for me, I just felt Arsenal were playing with their food too much in the first 15, 20 minutes. And once they got the ball forward into their threats, I was talking to my good friend Clive during the game, and he always has a great way of distilling this kind of stuff. and he just said, like, we've got the ballers now. You know, referring to Chloe Kelly and Olivia Smith and Victoria Pilova, he was like, give it to the ballers.

22:40And that's kind of, I think, what we started to do. And I do think Arsenal had corrected just before this happened, but clearly the big momentum shifter, we got it to a baller in Olivia Smith. and if ever a player, if I was trying to explain to an alien or someone who'd never watched football why Arsenal bought Olivia Smith, I think she showed it there, didn't she?

23:09Jamie: This is incredible. You speak about ballers. I actually think I posted on Blue Sky and Twitter after this. I was like, Arsenal finally have their baller. That's exactly what it is. It's a player that can get a team out of these tight moments, can make something happen. And she is just like, the audacity to do that in your debut is just incredible. And it's exactly what Olivia Smith is as a player. She's so direct. And she just thinks, when she has the ball at her feet, she thinks, I'll just do it myself. Like, I can do it myself. I know I can. And that's what we saw in this moment. The finish is elite, but she's also taken on three midfielders to be able to get off that shot.

23:41Jamie: So it's a player that's just so good with her feet. She's so quick, but she's so technical. So that was incredible. I'm very, very excited about that. I think I've watched that goal about maybe 75 times since it happened. I keep just being sitting on my couch and I'm like, oh, Olivia Smith, like that's exciting. But, you know, that's exactly what it is. I think it's a game changer player, like someone like Olivia Smith, Chloe Kelly, these are the players that Arsenal haven't really had over the last few years because they've played such a – they want to play a good-looking style of football where it's fluid football, possession-based football.

24:10Jamie: They don't have someone that's kind of going to just go in there and disrupt, and I think that's the hopes for Rosa Kofagi maybe. But Olivia Smith has come in and really stolen that spot. So I'm very excited about this. Like, honestly, Tim, I'm very excited about this. This is a 21-year-old that is scoring goals, like, top corner. She's taken on three midfielders. Rock it as well. It's not even like she's kind of curled it. She's actually sent it. Like, she's put so much power on that shot, and she's so little. So, yeah, what a player. Chloe Kelly as well. Two players that have just got, like, infinite aura in that forward line.

24:41Jamie: I'm so gassed about it. Yeah, and it's just something that maybe Arsenal didn't. Like, Frieda can hit a shot, you know. I'm not sure Frieda would go around three players before doing it. Katie McCabe's got a shot, but again, I'm not sure she'd dribble around three players before doing it. It reminded me a bit of Mariana's goal in Lyon, where it's just like, I mean, against Lyon, we were playing well at this point. I think we just started to find some spaces, but it's just like at some point sometimes you just need someone to smack it in the top corner and you know she can clearly do that I mean I think she'll do a few of those that might go astray a little bit but that's what I really liked about her game actually I think she had three shots in the game and they were all well judged it wasn't just I'm just going to get the ball and spam it at the goal every single time like it was that you know there was there was a a decent amount of shot selection, but just having the personality to do that.

25:45And, you know, I think like the first time she receives the ball, actually, she does like a little chop with both of her feet and gets a foul. And it's just clear that this is a player who's, you know, who's got that kind of give the ball to me, like real personality on the ball, which I think we really needed. And at that point, like I said, I felt like we were a bit more switched on a couple of minutes before that, but that really kind of launches it into the stratosphere. And Arsenal, they start building some pressure. Russo gets a header. Olivia Smith then has a volley from a little Russo kind of cross.

26:23And now LCL can't get out and they're going long and everything like that. And then right on halftime, fantastic work by Lesley Russo in the box. And also you can see the pressure as well because LCL tried to clear the ball and it goes as far as Emily Fox. And Emily Fox is on the edge of the area. That's how penned in LCL are. But I love this goal as well. I think Russo in the build-up and Chloe Kelly, I think you can really see that those two have played together a little while at international level as well.

26:58Jamie: Absolutely. And this goal is what I'm talking about in terms of correcting. This is a change that's come before halftime. The team's just completely changed. They're no longer sitting back and letting London City have possession. and they've pushed so high up the pitch. And London City are under pressure. That defence, like they've got a lot of good players, LCL, but they don't have a lot of quick-minded defenders. Like I know my Australian friends will be upset about this, but Alana Kennedy is not the player. Like she's not the player in terms of if you're going to put anyone on a high-pressure scenario for Alana Kennedy, she can woof the ball 90 yards, but she can't get you out of a tight space.

27:32Jamie: And I think that's so similar of Eleanor Lennari. I think they've got two players that are so similar in that back line that it really, really hurt them in the end. And Arsene did really well to just switch on and say, OK, let's just press them, capitalize on that. Emily Fox is there. She finds Alessio Russo. Like the cross in, the pass in from Alessio Russo, this is why she's so good. She's just instinctive. Like she's so good at making things happen and she's so good at knowing exactly where her teammates are. And yes, she's played a lot with Polly Kelly, but we see this with so many players.

28:00Jamie: She's just so instinctive. It's a great ball in. And again, Alana Kennedy is the wrong side of Chloe Kelly. The defending here is pretty woeful. But Kelly's one-touch finish across the body, it's a great finish as well. You have to praise that. So, yeah, it's a great goal. And I think the biggest thing for me in this instance was Arsenal notice. Just press their defenders because they're going to make mistakes and we're going to be able to outlast them in that way. So a great goal. But I think just the way it came about was really, really impressive as well. Yeah, absolutely. I just love the way Russo does those one-touch turns.

28:30Like, you know, she doesn't control the ball then turns. she makes the first touch of the turn and it buys her space so often. And I saw that a lot when she was at Manchester United as well. It's one of my kind of favourite little details in her game. So, you know, Olivia Smith kind of really gets the momentum going and then you get a goal right on halftime. And at halftime, I still felt on edge at halftime because I respect the quality that LCL have. And I think in the vlog, I kind of said this, you know, this game's not over um you know lcl are going to come here and they've they've got players on the bench they can bring on but didn't really materialize and the phrase that brochure used after the game he said we barely existed in the second half he said he was really disappointed in the second half because i i didn't you know i thought they'd have moments and other than like a kind of mishit cross which hit the post they didn't Arsenal still dominated but while it's 2-1 it's still kind of nervy isn't it well it's 2-1 and you look at London City's squad you think

29:40Jamie: any one of these players just need one moment like they just need one moment so I was like they need to Arsenal need score they need to go forward they need score because they're dominating possession like London City I agree with pressure they were nowhere they were absolutely nowhere however it only takes one moment for one of those stars on that pitch to make something happen they don't need to be playing the best game of their life so there's nerves there however the dictator like it was they dictated the game arsenal like LCL weren't there and I think that's why a lot of people are maybe quick to say like oh they're going to change the table and they're disrupting the league their investment is disrupting the league Michelle Kang is for sure going to make a tangible impact on the WSL they're still not going to go down like I know that they're not going to go down especially watching yesterday's um games or today's Sunday's games for everyone in Europe.

30:23Jamie: But it just takes time. And I think that's what we saw with this LCL team is there a lot of superstars, 16 new first team players, like nine of them didn't play at the club that started last, none of them that started played at the club last season. It's going to take time. And that's what we saw in the second half. It's a team that have played together, won the Champions League together versus a team that are completely new. They're running out of steam. They don't really know how to correct when things aren't going in their favour because they don't have their football philosophy yet. And I think Arsenal just did a good job at steadying that ship, using the possession, being able to unlock the players.

30:53Jamie: And then Renee looks at her bench. And again, like we didn't really, I didn't really mention this at the start, but when I saw the lineup, I looked at the bench and I thought, this is amazing. Like this is probably the first time in a while where this bench is unbelievable. Like any one of these players can start in most teams in the WSL. So it's about time. I'm very excited about that. But I think, yeah, LCL, they're a team that are just going to take time. They've got the players. They aren't going to immediately come out and get a great run of fixture results. That's not going to happen, especially at this level.

31:21Jamie: And I think Arsenal did enough until they scored those third and fourth goals to be able to just nullify any possible threat that they may have posed. Yeah, and Proche has pointed to the subs afterwards. He just kind of said, I'm not going to offend anyone by doing an impression of his accent, but it always sounds good in a Kaelic accent when he was just like, they bring on Caitlin Ford, Bethneed, Blackstenius. and he just goes, it was too much for us, basically. And, you know, even at the time, like, I love Caitlin as a sub, not least because she's so bloody intense and she must be, like, so irritating for fullbacks, but particularly for a fullback that's got 65 minutes in their legs because she's just utterly relentless.

32:13I think she's got a bit you know of the kind of Katie McCabe gene in that respect just like I'm going to keep going and going and going and like you're not getting a moment's rest and you know I was slightly I didn't want to see Olivia Smith come off but apparently she got hand stamped on or something like that and you know like what a pair of subs those are so you get Caitlin Ford and Frieda coming along quite good subs but then as in Lisbon Steiner and Beth come on and I think that's really when it kind of goes into orbit and you know Beth Mead two assists in 90 seconds Steena Blackstenius scores when it could have been Frieda then Frieda scores 30 seconds later and you know I think we spoke about this a lot Jamie but particularly with Beth Mead I just I really like she'll start plenty of games I'm certain like I say those four wingers I wouldn't be surprised if she starts on Friday against West Ham, but I think her intelligence from the bench, and I think we saw this in the Euros as well, and Susie Rack did a really good interview with Beth about this.

33:21You can see she's a player who really watches a game from the bench.

33:25Jamie: Certainly. I think that's the biggest takeaway I took from Beth Mead's game is you could tell that she was watching this game and she knew exactly what she needed to do in order to split open that LCL defence. And she was just superb when she came on. And it makes you so happy as well for a player like Beth to just play this good football because you know that she can and you know that she probably gets more flack than anyone in the Arsenal squad. And a lot of it I just don't really understand. I don't really understand where it's coming from. So for her to come on and she just analyses the game and she's so quick to be able to say this is what I need to do when I come on and that's exactly what happened.

33:56Jamie: I think her and Caitlin Ford both did such an excellent job at that because immediately they just run behind LCL's fullbacks in a way that Chloe Kelly and Olivia Smith like to cut in under Renee Slaggers. These two are running wide. Like Caitlin Ford takes Yana Fernandes for a spin, runs around the pocket. Alana Kennedy doesn't know what to do with it. And then the next time Caitlin Ford gets the ball, she runs directly at the goalkeeper. So the players don't really know what they're doing. And Bethme does the same thing, right? They're so intelligent in the way that they don't just say, okay, this is how I'm going to get around the player.

34:22Jamie: They say, okay, I'll do this and then I'll do this. And they're not going to know how to track me. And that's how these two assists come about. Beth Mead is just absolutely untraceable. And she does so well, especially the second one. Like the way that she, instead of just powering that into the side netting or having a shot or getting it blocked, she like flicks it over. She curls it over. And then it's a great finish from freedom on them. So this is a player that's so intelligent. I think with Beth Mead, she's such an exciting dynamic player. And people get so excited by the fact that, you know, she cuts the ball back quick.

34:50Jamie: She scores goals. She's very fun to watch, but she's very intelligent. I think that gets overlooked, and this is what we saw in this game. I think her and Ford both came on and said, this is what we need to do, and they completely broke down the LCL defence. It wasn't just tired legs. I think it was tactical. They both came on, and they did such a great job. So Beth Mead, this is exactly why Arsenal need her. This is why the depth is important. If anyone can look at that game and say, oh, Arsenal don't need all four of those wingers, we should have sold one of them. Why? Why? This is the first time this club has been in that place.

35:21Jamie: So, yeah, I was stoked for Beth Mead and equally Frieda and Steiner. Yeah, like they changed the whole front four, basically, and that's what every coach wants to be able to do. You know, most of your changes are attacking, and that's why, for example, unfortunately, you know, Lotta doesn't come on, Kyra Cooney Cross doesn't come on, Jenna Nyswong is not in the squad. It's because largely your changes, unless they're enforced, are generally focused on the attack and the whole front four, changes and they all do something incredibly useful in that last kind of 25 30 minutes and I think and hope we're going to see that a lot this season and having four like top quality wide players who flip a coin not even just like who starts but they all play both sides as well which I think is another like when it started with Liv and Chloe Kelly I was like okay I don't know who's going to go on the left and who's going to go on the right and it's you know it's and to be able to finish a game with Beth Mead and Caitlin Ford who you know for years and years and years had to play 90 minutes of every game basically it's it's it's a big luxury and I think it is gonna it's gonna win us some games it's gonna break open some games this one just finished the game that the Arsenal really needed to win so 4-1 before we go to a break and do questions for part two.

36:46Is there a particular player we haven't talked about that you'd like to pick out?

36:51Jamie: Yeah, I want to speak more about one of those subs in Steena Blackstenius because I thought she was superb when she came on and something I noticed a little bit more and I think this is a direct result of the fact that her and Freedom Ornum have such a good link up when Freedom Ornum is in the 10 and Steena's in the 9 and that's again no disrespect to Alessia Rousseau, she's incredibly russile, I meant to say versatile so there you go, Rousseau is versatile and I think that's something. Roussatel, exactly. Unlock the Roussatel. I think that's something that Rene can rely on a lot. But the way that Friedemann pushes up the pitch allows the centre-backs, it forces the centre-backs to have to drift towards her and it gives Steena more space.

37:27Jamie: And I think when you play a high 10, it just allows Steena to be able to do what she does best. But her hold-up play was really impressive. And this is something I think that she can do, but it's not her attribute at all. It's a Lessie Russo's attribute. Steena runs in and behind. But I think that she, a couple of times, did really well to kind of carry the ball, hold it up, and then play it into either Bethmead or one of the midfielders. So I thought Steena played her role really well. Again, it's against a team that are a bit beaten down by this stage, but she does the beating down. And I think this is a player that is so integral to Arsenal's success this season, because Alessia Russo is the starting nine.

37:59Jamie: Again, they're building the team around her. But Steena Baxini has such a role. When you can't unlock these teams, she needs to come on and she needs to act. And she scored something like nine goals and two assists in her last seven competitive games since the Champions League finals. So this a player in form and I'm glad that she carried that on and I'm glad that she also poached the the goal off Frida's head because that's a number nine put the ball in the back of the net don't be saving it if that's not 100 % going in the back of the net put it in yourself so yeah I thought that she had a strong performance and I'm excited to see how she takes up this role this season yeah yeah it's you know um you know I have to admit there were times last season where I was kind of like has the Russo Blackstenia Sting run its course but um no it's the answer to that I don't think it has I think the player I'm going to pick out actually is um is Steph Catley um I thought she was just really really good again I but the reason I wanted to pick her out is you know this was more about Arsenal dominating and keeping the ball but I think it's another perception thing and I do understand it because Steph Catley's been a left back and a really really good one for a number of years but I think we still look at her as almost like a temporary sticking plaster i still think as a fan base we're looking at her going oh that's a left back playing center back and and it's not like there are three other left backs in the squad she's not playing left back and renee has basically never played her anywhere else and really supremely trusts her i still think lotto wubamoy can give her you know can you can compete for that place And I do also understand and share a bit the kind of, is there enough aerial dominance?

39:42And maybe we're picking Katie Reid as well because do we have the aerial dominance with Steph? I don't think she's bad in the air at all, but obviously against someone like Isabel Goodwin, that's not going to work. But I just think she looks like a really good centre-back. That's my too-long didn't read. and I kind of feel like we as a fan base haven't quite shifted our perception into that yet like we're still looking at her as like a bit of a temporary solution and I kind of don't think she is and I kind of think performance wise she doesn't look like a left back playing centre back to me she looks like a centre back you know she had a great game in a Champions League final against Barcelona at centre-back.

40:26Like, that's the credential we're talking about. So, yeah, a bit of a lever, I think. But, yeah, I thought she looked very good. Again, very assured. Why don't we take a break there? And in part two, we will come back with your questions submitted on Blue Sky. So stay with us right after this.

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43:00Okay, we're back for part two in your questions after Saturday's 4-1 win over London City Lionesses. And Jamie, question I'm going to ask you from at Jolo Moko. And he asks, I feel Renee shows us how she sees her team, Steph left centre-back, Mario, centre midfield, etc. And I'm curious to see if Reid is really seen as a preference to the other right centre-back options now. So kind of what we talked about a little bit in the first part. no KCC at all surprised me but which choices Renee made in this game that make you curious

43:38Jamie: over the next games I think we spoke enough about the Katie Reid one I think that's that's one that we spoke enough Victoria Pilova in the 10 I think is one that interests me a lot and this is something that we knew at the back end of last season Renee had her starting 11 for the important games and went with that starting 11 and people were saying oh look this is this is raising questions I think for the game state of last season, it had to happen, right? She was a new manager. She had to just say, this is my 11. I'm taking you to the Champions League final, and this is what we're going to do.

44:07Jamie: So this season, I don't expect her to be doing that again in terms of, oh, this is the player I picked to play here. You're going to play here for the whole season. I think that she's got the squad now, like a lot of players returning from injuries. There's new players in the squad as well for her to be able to rotate it. So I don't think it's going to be a case of, oh, this is my starting 11 anymore. And I'm very excited to see how she navigates that. And that's been my biggest question of Renee this whole season is how does she navigate the squad depth and how does she choose her players against certain oppositions?

44:32Jamie: Because I think that she's got the tactical awareness to be able to do that well. So I'm excited about that. But Victoria Plover in the 10 is an example of that, right? Like Freedom Ornham started almost every game last season. She had a really strong season after a tough one the year before. How do you replace that with a player that's coming in back off the back of injury that's so strong and we know how good Victoria Plover can be. So that is one that I think is going to be really interesting because I don't think the Victoria Plover is going to be a rotated midfielder with freedom on them only.

45:00Jamie: I think Victoria Plover is going to play across a lot of the midfield. And that's something I'm interested to see because I understand in this game, I think this game, LCL aren't going to be playing a really strong possession-based football out of the back. They're going to kind of be playing strong defensive block and you need the players that are going to get you out of tight spaces. So that decision made complete sense to me. And I think that's something that I hope we see evolve across the sense of the season is that, okay, this opponent requires this of my midfield. This opponent requires a box-crashing Frida Mournem who's going to be a physical presence.

45:29Jamie: This one requires a Victoria Plova who's going to be quick on her feet or Kyra Kuni Kroos who's going to break lines. So that is something that's really exciting about this season. I don't think it's nerve-wracking. I think it's exciting. How does Rene navigate the squad? And I think Victoria Plova is the perfect example of that. Like Mariona, you can play in a lot of places. Where are we going to put you depending on the opposition? Yeah, and it's interesting the way the season starts is you get one game a week for four weeks so there might be slightly less I still think I think in the forward positions there'll be plenty still but then when the Champions League kicks in you start getting Champions League midweek games and then you've really got to change things around I think that's when we'll see where some of these players really are in Rene's estimation do you have a question for me yeah this one is from Shoyra at Gunashu Mariona didn't seem like her usual self.

46:19Jamie: I know it's only one game, but could she do with a rest? I can't remember the last summer she had off with international tournaments and going deep into the Champions League with Barcelona all the time and then winning it with us. And then in brackets, we won the Champions League in case anyone forgot. But Tim, your takes on Mariona's performance? Because I do think she was a lot quieter than usual, but maybe the game didn't demand that of her. So I think she started slowly. Yeah, definitely. and I think some of that might have been connected to, you know, she didn't start the West Ham pre-season friendly.

46:50I believe she did play in the BCD friendly where they did first team against second, where they did the internal friendly. But yeah, maybe like a little bit of rustiness there having missed the pre-season game. But I felt it was a mixture. I do think that once she started playing, Arsenal started playing, And actually, if you look at her data from this game, it's very good. Actually, I think it was just a bit more about losing some of that rustiness, finding the spaces. Like if you go and rewatch it, she has a really good game. But I do also think that this wasn't a midfield game for me. I actually think Kim was quiet in this game.

47:37I think she was the quieter of the two. But I think it wasn't that type of game. And actually, in hindsight, I might have played Kyra instead of Kim, because for me, this was a game about getting the ball forward more quickly, getting it into areas that would hurt LCL. I just don't think it was a five-a-side kind of tic-a-tac-a-midfield game, really. Once Mariana got on the ball and started driving forward with it, I think you saw some stuff. But for me, I was watching that first 15, 20 minutes with my Alan Brazil head-on, and I was like, get it forward. Get it forward. Get it into the areas where they're weak.

48:15And yeah, I don't think this was really like a Mariana and Kim game in the end. But I think it was a Mariana. Every game is a Mariana game as far as I'm concerned. I think she played well. I think she just started slowly. And that's all. What about this one then? We talked a little bit about the broadcasting thing. So I might come back to that. But okay, well, we've got West Ham away on Friday, and this one's from at House 517. Any starting 11 predictions for Friday? Any changes? Does Reid keep her place? What kind of level of change do you think we'll see against West Ham? And do you think we'll see Lotta, Kyra, you know, what do you reckon about Friday starting line-up-wise?

49:06Jamie: Well, if we're looking at how Katie Reid played and why she played against maybe if the idea, if the thinking was, okay, look, Isabel Goodwin's really, really tall. Let's play Katie Reid, who's also really, really tall. There's no reason why that doesn't happen again on Friday night. Like, if you look back at when Arsenal played West Ham at Meadow Park last season, Amber Tizziak scores two set pieces. She is very tall centre-half that comes on corners. West Ham love corners. They really, really like to play and score their goals from them. So, look, I'm thinking, like, if that is the case, if Renee has played Katie Reid for that reason, I don't see why she doesn't retain her spot against West Ham.

49:43Jamie: They weren't bright against Tottenham yesterday either. I don't think this is a team that's going to cause immediate threat. I think they will later on in the season with some more time. So I think if you're going to say, hey, get some more games under your belt, you don't need to introduce Lottowob and Moy to WSL football. You need to introduce Katie Reid to WSL football. Off the back of a strong performance at the Emirates, where she's kind of backing herself in now, and she's still got a lot to bring to that Arsenal defence in terms of the aerial threat when you're playing against someone like West Ham with Ambitysiak in centre-half.

50:11Jamie: They've got a lot of tall players, but she's the one that stands out. I think that she keeps her spot, and I wouldn't be upset that if she doesn't keep her spot. So that's something I expect that we see. I also think that we maybe see a change in the midfield. Kyra Kunicross does play well against West Ham. We saw that in the pre-season. I think that they really like to – like their front line is so fluid. So you almost need to have like a counteract to that in the midfield. Arsenal need to be a bit more dynamic and a bit more movable, I think. So I think maybe Kyra Cooney-Cross comes in. Otherwise, probably one of the wingers changes.

50:43Jamie: The wingers probably change. And again, I don't care at all who starts on the flanks for Arsenal right now. And then Alessio Russo plays. But yeah, I think the biggest one that I'll be looking out for is the centre half. And I don't see a reason why Katie Reid doesn't get another game just to kind of consolidate her experience in the WSL and just give her another 90 minutes against a team that Arsenal should probably be beating comfortably given how they played against Tottenham. Yeah, one of the interesting things, I watched the West Ham game today, and that's an hour and a half of my life I'm never going to get back.

51:14But where they were so dangerous against us last time, they were playing Shakira Martinez off the left. And I think Iweki didn't play in that game, but they've got that front three of Iweki, Asai and Martinez, which is very fluid. But in this game, they were playing Martinez off the right, and I don't think she's as effective there. and I think it's a bit of a luxury issue but the issue West Ham have I think is Asahi and Martinez are very similar players and they probably both like to play off the left I think Katie Reid will start as well I just kind of think having played this well Rene will kind of keep her going and I wouldn't be surprised if we just see her in every game in this block quite frankly I also wouldn't be surprised to see Kyra.

52:05I think Frieda will come in for Victoria Pilova. And yeah, again, the wide players, toss a coin really, but it will be interesting to see like how we look after Kim Little. You know, maybe it's a bit early to really kind of start thinking about that. So I wouldn't be surprised if it was Kim and Mariana. Speaking of Katie Reid, we had a good question here. I can't remember if I've put this down uh do do do no I haven't um so basically someone asked and forgive me I really can't remember the handle I didn't copy and paste it onto my uh onto my running order there but someone was asking about you know Arsenal got Man United away and Man City away, probably before Leah Williamson comes back.

53:01And the question they asked is, do you just keep going with Reid and Catley? And I feel like, Jamie, if they do that against West Ham, then that will be it for the rest of this run, right?

53:14Jamie: Yeah, certainly. To give credit, I was going to ask you the same question. I think we can both answer it. It's from NDMW. And basically exactly that. Looking at the upcoming WSL fixtures, three of the next four opponents feature quite classic physical targets up front, Martinus Turland and Bunny Shaw. It's very true. Elizabeth Turland's also in very strong form as well. So I think maybe you do need to stick with a centre-half pairing. And Katie Reid, again, she brings like, I'd be more concerned about it, sorry, if she was just an aerial target that didn't have the pace to track back and track these players.

53:42Jamie: But she does. I think she can keep up with someone in terms of her leg speed. So I think I'm with you, Tim. If she starts against West Ham, I don't really see you going into a Manchester United or a Manchester City game and changing the centre-half partnership against teams that are higher up on the table. You want to strike for consistency. That's the positions on the pitch that require the most consistency. So I think the West Ham game is going to say a lot because I would be more comfortable with playing Katie Reid against those teams than Katie Reid playing against West Ham and then us bringing in Lottoa Benoit, Laia Kadina for the United away game.

54:11Jamie: Because the day we win at Lee Sports Village is the day we win the league. So if we could just go in there with some consistency. So I'm excited. I think it's hard to answer that question until we see the West Ham line up because I think if Katie Reid plays, it would almost be silly to change that for two big games. Yeah, definitely, definitely. Do you have a question for me? I do. This one is actually from the exact same person. Great question at NDMW. Thoughts on the set pieces? May just be poor memory on my part, but don't recall Mariona taking so many last season, especially with Chloe Kelly on the pitch, and we didn't seem to create much threat from them yesterday.

54:49Jamie: Is this something you picked up on at all? Yeah, when I rewatched the game, I didn't really look back at this. It struck me we went to the back post a lot and tried to hit Katie Reid on the back post. I didn't really pick up the detail about Mariana taking them instead of Chloe Kelly. And I wonder if it's just something to do with trajectory, because when Chloe Kelly takes them, she drives her foot through the ball, almost like a sand wedge type thing in golf. and she really drives them in. And often Arsenal have used that when they're at a height disadvantage because when it's really driven in, it's difficult to get your headed clearance up and away.

55:35You just kind of slightly graze your head on it and Arsenal will look for the second contact. I wonder if maybe it was about, we've actually got quite a big target now in Katie Reid, which we don't usually have. And so they wanted a bit more of a slightly loopier delivery for her to be able to to attack but that was clear like it's clear the decision to start katie reed was made reasonably early in the week because they clearly were targeting her from the set pieces they were clearly targeting on the back post i'd have to go back and look at the the the exact detail i don't necessarily it didn't strike me that we were necessarily poor at set pieces i thought you know there were some bits and pieces there we didn't really create much of a chance i I know Russo had a header on the back post, which I think kind of deflected wide, but I didn't necessarily pick up that we were poor.

56:30At the same time, I think LCL are good at defending them as well. They have Isabel Goodwin for a start, and Alana Kennedy for all the things she can't do. There are things she can do, and one of them is head the ball. And I wouldn't mind wagering that she got ahead. She reminds me actually quite a bit of Millie Bright. I don't think she's quite as good as Millie Bright, but she's that type of defender.

56:56Jamie: Chelsea fans aren't going to like that one. Good thing they're probably not listening. But she's a big penalty box defender, great in the air. Alana Kennedy's got a good diagonal pass on her, like Millie Bright. Like I said, I wouldn't say as good as Millie Bright, but yeah, I think she's that kind of model. So, yeah, I wasn't really concerned about the set pieces, to be honest, even though I agree we didn't create an awful lot from them. How about then this one? Oh, yeah, let's switch to, I mean, to be fair. Well, no, yeah, let's switch to this. It's from Biased Arsenal Chicago Stars. We talked about this at the top of the show.

57:42there's been some kind of broadcasting changes, some things that being experimented with in game interviews with managers, for example, but this one's from biased Arsenal Chicago stars. And they ask after week one, what are your thoughts on the four games simultaneously on Sky at noon UK time on a Sunday? How wedded do you think Sky are to this idea? I think I'll try it this season and see how it works. Might they change the time slots if it's unpopular? I'd probably say not this season. But what did you make of the four similar, like all of the Sunday games being at the same time? And Sky in the UK, they gave you the opportunity to do multi-view if you wanted.

58:26So they're all on one screen and you can hop between them. What did you make of that in week one?

58:32Jamie: It's so overwhelming. So overwhelming. Like four games at the same time. I think it's different in the Premier League when you have a lot of games kicking off at the same time because there's so many more games. But when there's only six, it feels like why are four of them on at the same time? That's really frustrating. That's basically the entire league. But some people love the multiview. I just hate watching football on a multiview because it feels like I'm watching those memes that people have videos playing and then they have subway surfers in the top corner. That's what it feels like. I'm like, I don't know what's going on.

59:01Jamie: I can't focus on any of these games. But people have preference. I think there's some big fans of the multiview. In terms of the 12 p.m. slot, yeah, like how many people are going to be able to take that? You have to take your Sunday afternoon. Like you can't go and do things. Like families are stopped from doing things when there's four games on at 12 p.m. You can't, like you're just going to miss football. I don't think that's a good football spot for travelling fans, for people watching at home. I don't like the 12 p.m. kickoff at all. For me it's fantastic. It's only 9 p.m. to keep the 12 p.m.

59:30kickoff.

59:31Jamie: It was brilliant. It was like I still got an early bedtime, could watch Formula 1. It was great. But yeah, I just think it's a bad time slot. I think when four of the six games, maybe when the league expands, it's less bad. If you're going to have four games, it's not as bad. It just feels like you're missing out on so much of the league. I hardly could watch Brighton Villa. Don't really know about those two teams. And I think they're two teams that are really going to shake up the WSL this season. The Merseyside derby was so good that I basically just watched that in the end. I binned off Spurs West Ham after about 40 minutes because I just thought this is going to end exactly how we all know it's going to end.

1:00:03Jamie: It was rubbish. Yeah. Yeah, rubbish. So it's disappointing because I feel like you can't get a watch. And I knew Man United Leicester was going to be a blowout. So I was focusing on Spurs-West Ham and the Merseyside derby in the end. So, yeah, it's frustrating. I'm not a fan of it. I'm really not a fan of the 12 p.m. kickoff. I think it makes the game inaccessible. And we've seen, even in terms of the attendances, it was the lowest Anfield attendance they've ever had, the Liverpool women. So that's not good at all. And it's a Merseyside derby. And then Arsenal is their lowest opening day attendance since 2021-22.

1:00:31Jamie: do. I think a lot of that also comes from the fact that it's frustrating because you've got a men's international break but you're playing against a team that doesn't have a men's side. You can't really convince a lot of those Arsenal fans to come across. So I'm not really worried about that at all. I think Chelsea should be worried about their attendance on Friday night though. Not even bringing up discourse. I think that's pretty poor. So yeah, I think you're stopping a lot of fans from seeing football and I don't like it. I don't like it. yeah i so personally i i can't do multi-view at all i'm i'm you know neurodivergent can't do it um i i have to watch one game and concentrate on intensely which is what i did so i completely missed all the other um games but i think where they might have got the idea from is the men's Champions League you know moving to this league phase one of the things it's done is that last match day match day eight when all the games kick off at the same time and they've tried to turn it into this big like broadcast event almost it kind of almost reminds me of like the NFL draft or something where it's just like and and it's all there and you can hop between the channels and And I think UEFA have found some success with that by turning like Matchday 8 into this big like television event.

1:01:51But the thing is, that's kind of a one-off. That's the whole point of it. It's like it's the final kind of match day. And there's so much because of the league format, there's so much to sort out. There's a lot going on. Whereas like every Sunday in the WSL, I'm not really sure. But at the same time, I recognize it's not really aimed at me. you know like it it's probably you know believe it or not i'm not part of the younger audience um anymore so it you know it's it's probably not really aimed at me anyway um so i i'm i'm still like open-minded about it it's not for me really i i don't have a big gripe about the kickoff i kind of do and i don't basically the problem is and it's a problem in men's football what works for tv and what works for people in the stadium are completely incompatible and that's not fixable that is not fixable because the reason people are at home watching tv at certain times is usually because transport's crap it's sunday lunchtime who the hell's going out sunday lunchtime who the hell's going out monday night you know it's and that's why it's completely incompatible for stadium goers so i just don't see a solution there i don't see an elegant one um as ever i went for that so i'm going to ask you a question now um how about this one and it's from um yeah it's from at dickie burn how many shots are we likely to see from outside the box this season um is that something that's trained is there an allowance from renee for certain players to have the freedom to have a go.

1:03:37Free-to-shoot-on-site policy seems to have eased in recent times. So, Olivia Smith banging one in from 25 yards out is how Arsenal get back into the game. How do you read that? Do you think we'll see more of that or do we think that it's unlikely?

1:03:57Jamie: I had this question as well. I think this is a really good question because the point about free-to-shoot-on-site policies is very true. I'm glad that that has eased a little bit because when she does it, she picks her moments. It's strong, but sometimes it's frustrating. It was like when I was at the Euros, I was so glad I wasn't English in some of those games where England were losing because Georgia Stanway just wants to like put it into Rosie every single time. And I think Frida used to have a little bit of that about her. But yeah, I think we'll definitely see more about this. And I think that's just because of the profile of player that Arsenal have now in terms of both of these wingers, like in terms of starting wingers, so Olivia Smith and Chloe Kelly, if they're played on opposite sides to what they used to, They like to cut in.

1:04:34Jamie: And Olivia Smith, like she was good on the left wing because she cuts in on her right foot. And I think that's something we'll see a lot more of, especially with Chloe Kelly. And I think the profile of these Arsenal players are players that want to shoot now. And they've also got the ability to do so in terms of their channel. They want to cut in and they want to have a shot. So I do see this being an overarching thing. I think Victoria Blover needs to have more of that in her game. I think she needs to take more shots. She doesn't take enough shots. She wants to be the creator. But Frida Mornum coming on, especially if these 10s, so-called if you want to call Victoria to pull over a 10, rotate a lot.

1:05:07Jamie: I think Frida's going to come on to a game state where she can take more shots. So that's going to maybe creep its way back into her game. So for the short answer for a long drabble, I think that we will see it because of the profile allows that. And I think that that is a good thing because you've got different players that can do different things and you need to have that in your game as well. Because sometimes, like when Chloe Lacasse scored that goal against Man United two seasons ago, So sometimes you need that to happen. Like just take a shot from distance if you can't break down a back four.

1:05:34Jamie: So, yeah, yeah, I think that will happen a little bit more and I'm excited about it. Yeah, I don't think you sign Olivia Smith if you don't like players shooting from outside the box. Yeah, a friend of mine tweeted a GIF of a unicorn and just said the world if Victoria Pilova could shoot. Same as Emily Fox crossing. That is the same thing. I just do need that. Let's do one more each. you ask me one and I'll ask you one. This one might be a little bit more difficult for you to answer, but I'm going to ask it anyway. Maybe you can give some insight on Spurs and West Ham. It's from Pullover21AWFC.

1:06:11Jamie: Having looked at all the teams on match day four, who do you think could be the biggest challenges for us in this season? My money is on Everton or Villa. I guess, do you think either of the teams that you watched, what you've heard from others, what do you think will happen there? Yeah, I mean, I still think the top four will be the top four. I do think it is getting closer I see teams that can win games I see teams that are going to I can see LCL taking points off of any member of the top four at some point particularly at home Villa, they've got some really good players I like their coach a lot and now she's had a proper pre-season with them But I think the team I do like is Everton, Jamie.

1:06:57I've said many times, like, I like Brian Sorensen as a coach, not just because he follows me on Twitter, so he knows ball, you know. But I do like a genuine, I think he's a really, really good coach. And I think he's done a really, really good job with Everton with about 12 players sometimes. And now they've got a bit of investment. I think they've signed some really interesting players, you know, like as as we saw today i think but they've you know i really like the signing of ruby mace as well and like they they've got a bit of a squad now like he's got something to work with and he's not having to play like i think he was playing is it had to play izzy hobbs when she was like 16 um and now she's gone on loan into wsl2 and that was like two years ago so yeah i like everton like i guess it's it's always that question every year like who's going to finish fifth isn't it and like i think west ham have got the players as well they they've like once they got shakira martinez in they looked interesting last season but i wasn't that impressed by what i saw today um but yeah and everton are my one to watch um i think um why don't i then let's wrap up uh with this one i had that one down um as well um at rebar asks we haven't had like an extended conversation about this.

1:08:23Kyra was heavily involved in pre-season, strong 90 minutes against West Ham. I can understand the utilisation of subs in other positions for the LCL game, but surely Kyra has to get playing time on Friday. But my gut feeling is she won't start. What do you think about that situation? Are you concerned about that or are we still too early to be concerned about that?

1:08:48Jamie: We're still too early. I think we're still far too early. Kim Little and Mariona, again, like they finished the season so well. I think we didn't see them in preseason. Kim Little doesn't need to have an incredibly long preseason at her stage of her career. And Mariona played at the Euros up until the last day. So it's understandable that we saw more of Kyrie Kuni Kwas. And Renee Slagers is probably trying to figure her out during preseason. What's your role? I still think that she has a very strong future role within this squad. I don't think that Kim, I say this every year though, I don't think that Kim is going to have as many minutes as she maybe did last season.

1:09:21Jamie: I think that there will be a lot more opportunity to rotate this squad. And I think that Kyra has a place in this Arsenal squad. So I don't think we need to worry. I think there are opponents that Kyra plays in against. And again, I spoke about this earlier in terms of I'm excited to see how Rene adapts to different oppositions. And I think Kyra will play a big part in that. Which teams do you need to rotate the midfield against? When do you need to play like a six or a defensive midfielder in the pivot that can maybe break the lines a little bit more? Likes play a long ball. there are going to be teams that require that.

1:09:48Jamie: So I think let's just wait. Let's see how Renee likes to adapt against teams now that she is the head coach. She's had a pre-season and she's got her signings that she wants. I don't think we need to worry right now. I also think we're in good hands with Kim Little and Mariona. So we don't need to stress about it. It will happen when it happens. And I think there's definitely, I have no doubt there's a spot in the squad for Kyra Kuni Kros. Above the other players that didn't get minutes, I think that she's one that Renee really values and she will have a role in this team. Yeah, I mean, ultimately they let Leo Valti go.

1:10:17and they must have faith. I'd also say, and again, I don't know this for sure, but I'd say Kim and Mariana each missed one pre-season friendly, one of the pre-season friendlies that we know about. And I do wonder if there was a kind of, they need a 90-minute game for fitness purposes because usually I think I'd maybe expect Kim to come off in this game for Kyra. I don't think Kim's going to be a 90-minute player until we're in the Champions League final again and stuff like that. I do think we saw this last season as well. She was coming off like 65, 70 minutes. So I'm not yet either. And I liked what I saw of Kyra in pre-season.

1:11:04But it remains to be seen what happens on Friday. I wouldn't be surprised if Arsenal do stick with Kim and Mariana. I do think, though, that Kyra will play some part on Friday. I think at that point they might take him off. So we'll see anyway. But Jamie enjoyed kind of looking back at that. That was, you know, after the first 20 minutes, I wasn't feeling great. But after that, the sun was shining, the birds were singing. And that probably won't be the case on a Friday night in Dagenham, to my knowledge. But looking forward to looking back on that game with you as well.

1:11:43Jamie: Thanks as ever, Tim. glad to be back speaking about football I did get FOMO for Saturday less FOMO for Friday night Chigwell Construction Stadium have fun Tim have fun you know you'll press that up and enjoy the game and I'm excited to break it down with you yeah it's it's actually it's quite interesting like in we're recording and it's it's coming up to midnight in England but obviously in Melbourne um it's not so like Jamie's sat in like quite bright morning sunshine and I'm sat here whispering in the dark because my family's asleep upstairs but there we go um thanks so much for joining us we'll have another podcast for you probably over the weekend at some point given that it's a friday night game against west ham um until then take it easy bye

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