Arsenal Women Arsecast 135: Gunners Iron out West Ham

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1:19Hello and welcome to the Ask the Women Ask cast on askblog.com with me, your host, Tim Stillman. you will probably hear a third host in the background at periods during this podcast because my five-year-old's kicking around because it's a Sunday morning that we're recording. Looking back on Friday, a rainy Friday night in Dagenham. What better way to kick off the weekend? A 5-1 win away at West Ham United. I'm really interested to get into this one because a lot of the reaction online from what I've seen has focused so much on who's not playing and not the fact that Arsenal have won 5-1. It's really quite interesting.

1:58And we've got some really good questions in the second half as well. And here to break the game down with me as ever is our co-host Jamie Spanger. Jamie, how are you doing?

2:07Jamie: Hey, Tim. I'm very good. At the point of recording right now, Arsenal are on top of the WSL and the Premier League. It may change by the point of listening. However, it's been a nice weekend. Like waking up on Sunday morning Australian time and having no Arsenal games to worry about, six points and how many goals was it in the end? Eight goals. Wow, nice weekend. So yeah, I'm very good, very positive. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And when the starting lineup came in for Friday evening, one of the things we discussed on the pod last week, obviously Katie Reid was a slight surprise selection against London City Lionesses and it's one game and it's kind of, oh, I wonder if that's just because LCL have a very tall striker that she knows very well or whether this is a little bit more long-term.

2:50And I found that very difficult to read, if you'll pardon the pun. But I think we got the answer because Katie Reid started again. And I think that tells you, that answers or clears up maybe the question from the first day of the season because she starts again ahead of Lota Wubamoy and Laia Kadina. Any surprise there for you at all, Jamie?

3:14Jamie: I think it's a bit it was a bit of an excitement moment for me Tim I think this is a very exciting selection I know we spoke about whether it be just because of LCL's game today or whether it be because this is maybe a centre-back partnership that Renee wants to experiment in the absence of Williamson I think that she had to reward Reid's performance against London City because bar the penalty she was exceptional and I also think by not playing Katie Reid you maybe do risk a little bit of a disjointed centre-back partnership in Steph Catley and whoever that may be in lots of Wobbenmoyla, Iakadina, that haven't really had a lot of time with each other against a very good front line in West Ham.

3:46Jamie: I think people are maybe undervaluing that, especially with the reaction after this game and how good that front line of Rico Iweki, Viviana Sayi and Shakira Martinez is. So you kind of want to have a little bit of fluidity if you can. And obviously, if Katie Reid and Steph Kelly are those starting centre-backs, they would have had that over the last few weeks in pre-season as well in the lead-up. So I think it was a good decision. It paid off yet again. And I'm excited in these kind of low-state games that you still really need to win. but the opposition is in a top four team. It's the time to be able to solidify Katie Reid into the team.

4:15Jamie: So I was excited by the selection and then also excited by the performance. Yeah, absolutely. I think it's interesting as well because we're talking about maybe some of the players who aren't playing. It strikes me as maybe in one or two cases quite early to have that conversation, but we'll have it later anyway because there are loads of questions about it. But there's this kind of like, this player's not playing, this player's not playing. And I feel like we're kind of ignoring the fact that we're selecting 18, 19-year-old at centre-half. And that kind of surely suggests that there are chances for players to fight their way in.

4:48I don't think anyone was picking Katie Reid in their kind of predicted line-ups for the LCL game ahead of either Lotta or Laia Kadina. So there are some paradoxes there in terms of clearly there are opportunities available. And I feel like in the conversation about some of the players who haven't been getting on the pitch, we've kind of missed that one a bit. If you'd have said this time last year that we'd be starting WSL games with Katie Reid and Steph Catley as the centre-back partnership with Mariana in central midfield, that would feel quite an odd conversation to have had a year ago. So I think quite a lot has changed under Rene and I think that should give hope to some players.

5:28But the other rotation we saw, Jamie, I thought was a bit more predictable and in line with what we'll definitely see this season. All three players behind Alessia Russo changed. One of those enforced with Chloe Kelly having a slight knock. I believe it is only a slight knock from what I understand at the moment. But with the depth Arsenal have in those wide positions, like starting Beth Mead and Caitlin Ford, that's not a problem, as it proved. Frieda Mornemann for Victoria Pilova. I mean, I think we're going to see this a lot, Jamie. I think those three players in particular, those three roles are going to switch a lot from game to game.

6:05Jamie: Yeah, nothing about this bothers me. It excites me so much, Tim. I think when you have a scenario where Chloe Kelly, who's been so impactful for Arsenal since being at the club and then so impactful last week against London City, isn't able to play and then you are able to just start Caitlin Ford and Beth Mead and then have an opportunity for someone as good as Olivia Smith to come on. It just goes to show how much improved this depth is. And it's something that I think we're overlooking in these conversations that we're having after these last games. Because two massive victories, and we'll obviously come on to that result and that discourse later.

6:33Jamie: But there's also such an improvement in depth across so many facets of the pitch, and that also happens in the channel. We come to this situation this time last year. Let's say it's one of Caitlin Ford or Beth Mead that gets the knock. Arsenal are in a way worse position there heading into this game with the depth of the channel. But now they have these players to come in and be seamless. And I think the freedom warning for Victoria Plover change is something we're going to happen to see a lot. And it's something that we need to see a lot. And it's very exciting. Again, you've got two very capable players that can play fluidly in that midfield.

7:01So, yeah, we're in a good place in terms of the squad.

7:03Jamie: And I think to have that much attacking talent is something we've not seen for a very, very long time. Absolutely. And where, again, personally, I think maybe some discussions are happening slightly prematurely, He wants to stick a pin in. Something I think is definitely a conversation is Jenna Nyswanger's absence from the squad. And we didn't really touch on it much with the else. I mean, we've talked about her a lot in pre-season, about not really understanding where she fits in. I think she's definitely seen as an option in midfield, from what I understand. But to not have her on the bench and have two goalkeepers instead, I mean, that feels very pointed to me.

7:51That feels very pointed indeed, almost punitive. You know, if I was a player, I'd be very, very unhappy about that. And I mean, we've talked about it a lot over the summer, Jamie, and ever since she's arrived. I don't understand this signing at all because it happened on Rene's watch. And, you know, maybe it was agreed and everything before Renee. Perhaps, I don't know, I'll try and find out. I can't get my head around this situation whatsoever.

8:22Jamie: Yeah, my understanding of the Jenna Nicewinger signing is it happened in January, in January alone, with conversations with the head coach at that time, who was Renee. So this is so baffling to me and it just continues to baffle me. I don't really understand. I think you can look at it from two perspectives. From a playing perspective for Jenna Nicewinger, this move has just created absolutely nothing for her. She's fallen out of the USA squad. She was in it last summer at the Olympics. She was a very, very big part of it as well, coming on the pitch for Crystal Dunn. She's then left Gotham and fallen out of the USA squad, and rightfully so, she's not getting selected.

8:52But she's not getting selected for squads over two goalkeepers is genuinely baffling to me. And I think that goes to show maybe a little bit about her role in the squad going forward.

9:00Jamie: So in that respect, I think I can understand why fans are concerned. But then from a fan perspective, I think that there is a little bit of an overreaction because this is always going to happen to players in squads, right? We've seen it happen to Chelsea and players in that Chelsea squad. Eve Perisset was not getting any minutes. She had to leave. That was a signing that just didn't work out for the club. And I think that's going to be something that we see with Jenna Nicewomber. It's unfortunate because she's a great player. But from a fan perspective, you've got Katie McCabe, who is one of the best left backs in the world.

9:24And then you've got someone in Taylor Hines who is completely capable, a very, very strong backup, a first choice left back for many clubs in the WSL. And now she's coming in to cover that spot. So you've got someone like Jenna Nicewomber. Yes, she's versatile. But at the moment, Arsenal have a lot of versatile players that can play across that front line. and in the midfield. So there is a bit of an issue with fans. I don't think it really matters to fans. And I think that we're creating a problem that's not really there in the fact that, oh, if we let Jenna Niswonger go, the squad's going to completely collapse.

9:50I think in this scenario, it's unfortunate because I really like Niswonger. I think she's a great player. I really enjoyed her playing in the NWSL. But I don't think it's something that we need to call home and panic about that she's not getting the game time. Sometimes in football, signings don't work. They don't work. The coach got it wrong. And then maybe someone comes on that's better. Taylor Hines on a free transfer and Renee says, look, you fit more in my system because I think that you invert a bit better or I think that you're more attacking. So sometimes things don't work, but I do feel bad for the player.

10:17And I think if I was her, my eyes would be looking elsewhere because it's a bad situation to be in. Yeah, definitely. I think I'm definitely with you in terms of like a particular big club like Arsenal. Players are going to fall off all the time. It happens pretty much every transfer window. So, like, Laura Wienreuter was a really good player and then she wasn't wanted. And then Catherine Kuhl and Gio. And you just, you see it all the time. And that happens at every big club. And, you know, it's, the world goes on. You know, the players get replaced. I think with this one, it's just the speed of it.

10:52Like, we've barely seen her, really. And, you know, this is not a situation that's developed over a couple of years. It's like we bought her and immediately not used her. I don't really understand why she wasn't just let go in the summer, if this is where she is in the pecking order, or why it's so bad for her that they'd rather have a third goalkeeper on the bench. That's tremendously pointed. It really is. Like I said, the LCL game, it's a bit like someone has to sit out, but on this occasion, someone didn't necessarily have to sit out. So it's a bit of a weird one, one to keep an eye on. definitely another one that was a bit of a weird one was how West Ham take the lead in this game with a looped cross and I'm sure everyone who wasn't there could see this on the broadcast but for avoidance of doubt the heavens opened a couple of minutes before kick-off incredibly greasy ball very windy very wet wintery weather which clearly had a massive contribution to what happened in terms of Daphna and the post getting in the way and everything.

12:06So there is at least some mitigation. But Jamie, how much mitigation for you for Daphna van Dormsalada? Yeah, that's a blunder. That is a bad, bad blunder. And that's something you're lucky happens against West Ham when the team's in form enough to score five goals. If that's happening against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and the rain's coming down, then there's issues there because those are the things that are unavoidable. But it's out of character for Daphna van Dormsalada. I'm not going to say, oh my gosh, I'm so worried. get her out of the net right now, she's going to do this a million times.

12:33But it was a bad blunder. Yeah, definitely. And really, it was the only thing West Ham created kind of in the whole game, to be honest. They ended up having four shots, two of which came in the 97th minute. So they had two shots, really, in real terms, I think. And, you know, Arsenal slowly got back on top. It was interesting because West Ham, I think, slightly surprised Arsenal. They went to a back five instead of a back four. And they decided to be very aggressive in their pressing and going player for player and committing a lot more. And I think it just took Arsenal a bit like the LCL game.

13:16It just took Arsenal maybe 20, 30 minutes to really, really discover where the space was. And they started to get on top. and then Freedom Ornam with an equaliser, a really good reverse pass by Beth Mead. You know, good play. And I think you could see at that point that Arsenal realised West Ham were jumping out very quickly. So moved the ball more quickly and the players delivered with a nice one-touch move.

13:43Jamie: Yeah, certainly. I think this is in-game management by the players in order to just say, look, they're man-marking. They're playing touch-to-touch football right now. Just find the spaces. And I think Freedom Ornam is so, so strong at doing that and pressing up into the, like Amber Tizziak was out of position so many times in this game. And I think Frieda Mornem was the first one to actually realise that and say, hey, we'll help Bolesi Russo out because Russo will, of course, drag the centre-backs away and Frieda Mornem finds and picks up that space. So I think that's a really intelligent run from Frieda and just a great play from Beth Mead.

14:12She was exceptional in this first half. I thought that she was the best player on the pitch, to be honest, in this opening 45 minutes and her intelligence to find that space. So, yeah, I think this from the players is a little bit

14:21Jamie: of in-game management. And I think that's what we've seen them really grow under Renee Slagers, is they're able to adapt and say, look, West Ham are marking us now. Let's find the space. And I think Frieda Mornham is a 10 and attacking 10, almost playing as a high nine is the best player to do it. So it's a great assist. It's a great goal. And I think it's just very intelligent football to just lay out what West Ham are doing and say, OK, let's take this game on. And that's exactly what they did. Yeah, definitely. I agree with you on Beth as well. I think she was finding that kind of corner of the penalty area just coming in a little bit.

14:51But yeah, I thought she had a tremendous first half. I also think, you know, Renee said something in pre-season. I think after the Spurs game, she was talking about more WSL teams pressing now. You know, obviously there's better strength and conditioning available and things like that. And also a little bit like the Men's Premier League, a lot of these teams have good players now where they don't have to just sit 10 players in their penalty area. and the way West Ham play as well is they leave two of those forwards up. They're a very rotating front three. And I think Uweki, Asai and Martinez are really, really good players.

15:28And they leave two of them up so that they can really kind of get at you on the counter-attack. And Arsenal just left Steph Catley and Katie Reid on them. And I thought both of them dealt very, very well with West Ham's threat, kind of extinguished it. And then, so it's 1-1 at halftime. And then Rene makes a tactical change. There was no injury. Steiner on for Frida Mornham. Now, Rene said afterwards, and I think we saw that Frida had a really good first half. And Rene kind of said afterwards, it wasn't like a comment on Frida's performance. The question I asked Rene was, I think back to this game last season, and Steiner made both the goals when she came on, because West Ham do squeeze that line quite high.

16:14And because they were jumping out, they felt that Steiner was well-placed to exploit that. So Rene kind of described it much more as it was about getting Steiner on, not about getting Frieda off. But Blaxsinias coming on at halftime, did that hold any surprises for you at the time?

16:32Jamie: I think it did purely because of Frieda's first half performance. But something I noticed when I watched this game back was you want to get Steiner Blaxsinias on the pitch. And I completely understand that reasoning. But I also think it worked because it allows Alessio Russo to drop back into the 10. And I'm not the biggest Alessio Russo in the 10 fan. But in this instance, because West Ham plays such a high line, you can't really play the ball in and behind when it's so wet. And there were so many times in the first half where the ball just overran. Like Mariona's tried to put a ball through, it's overcooked.

16:58Jamie: And as soon as Russo comes into that midfield, she's able to stabilize the ball a little bit more and then play in and behind. It kind of adds a middleman. And I think Arsenal really, really needed that because Frida likes to play such a run and dash, the box as a 10. Russo likes the ball at her feet, which is ironic given the fact that one of them's a strike and one of them's not. But I think adding that middleman really, really helps for Arsenal because it gives them a second dimension. I think in the first half, they're going so much to the right side to Beth Mead. Caitlin Ford's not got a lot of the ball.

17:25Russo comes in. She adds that extra player and it allows Steiner to run and dash. It allows Caitlin Ford to get way more into the game, which I think happened as a result of that change as well. So I think it's a great change. Exactly why René Slag has made the change was to bring on Steiner Baxinius, but I think it gave a lot to Arsenal in the fact that it brought Alessi Russo more into the game and then it allowed them to get control of the midfield. Because I did think in the opening 45 minutes, West Ham had a little bit more of control of the midfield. They were able to run that territory and the ball was slicking through a little bit from Arsenal.

17:53They weren't controlling it as much as they'd like to. So I think this substitution made the world of a difference and I thought Frida was exceptional in the first half. I was kind of shaking my head, but in the end, I think it worked more than just bringing Steiner on the pitch. Yeah, definitely. And we see that in the goal where Arsenal take the lead, basically, where Mariana, again, Arsenal start finding those little kind of pockets behind the full backs. Russo, great hold up play. And Steiner, I mean, we know Steiner can finish. For me in this game, Jamie, it's I saw her holding the ball up and turning defenders and putting balls in behind full backs, which is that's the part of her game I've always doubted.

18:32and that's three consecutive games now. She's come off the bench to score a goal and her output over the last 10 games or so has been really, really high. It's not always that Steiner runs on to the ball with her left foot with time to think that I'd always back her to put it away. But I did on this occasion. There just seems to be, even though she's still not starting games, there just seems to be like a new confidence for this player.

19:04Jamie: Certainly. I think we saw tiny glimpses of it against London City where she at least tries to hold the ball up in turn and a couple of times she's successful. But in this game, I remember sitting there and thinking like that must be Alessia Russo. That's not Stina Blackstinius. And I put out some posts on like social media about how it does seem like she's developed that area of her game. And I do think at the Euros as well, she did that a little bit more for Sweden, whereas usually for Sweden, she's just hit and run, like go get the ball. We'll put it over to Stina Blackstinius. So this is so exciting.

19:31Jamie: And I also think like we talk a lot about confidence and knowing your role under Renee Slaggers, at least the starting 11. And it feels like Steena Blackstinius is a player that really knows her role now and she knows how important she is. I think she's probably the best sub in the WSL right now in terms of impact. And for her to know that role and know that I can come on and make an instant impact, I thought she was sensational in this game. Honestly, I really did. I thought she did more than just score that goal, like you said, Tim. Her hold-up play, her ability to just at least take a touch and settle and put that ball into the back of the net.

20:00I think this is a player, like you said, dripping with confidence and just knows her role within the squad. And it's maybe a little bit more secure in the fact that you're not being replaced by Alessia Russo. You're just being asked different things. And I think right now she's answering that. Yeah, definitely. I think, you know, maybe it's just a burst of form. Maybe it's a load of things. Maybe when you come off the bench and score the winner in the Champions League final, it convinces you even more of the importance of that role and puts a bit of a spring in your step. I don't know. But I'm with you.

20:31I suspect there's something about the clarity of, okay, this is the last year of my contract here. I don't know whether she'll extend or anything like that. But with Azurman coming up behind, maybe not. Again, this is total speculation, but maybe she just knows. It's just like, okay, this is my role. I feel comfortable with it now. I'll give it all I've got this season, try and win the league and all of that. And that's kind of that. And maybe that just removes some of the anxiety when you have your role clarified like that. And Arsenal go 3-1 up pretty quickly. I think the jackboot comes down in the second half.

21:11I think that tactical change, I think finding some of those spaces, particularly in behind the full-backs, one of the players who constantly found space was Caitlin Ford. And I thought it was really interesting. In the first half, it was Beth Mead on the right. and in the second half it was really Caitlin Ford, you know, like forcing last-ditch tackles and just before the corner comes in for her goal, very close to getting a penalty, very close to doing what Olivia Smith actually does, like in stoppage time. And it's a great header, short corner, great delivery by Frieda Mornham. And Jamie, I thought Caitlin Ford was sensational in this game again.

21:53and I think she's such an undervalued and underrated player.

21:58Jamie: She was sensational. The first half I thought was Beth Meads and the second half I thought was Caitlin Ford. I think they were the standout players of this game and it goes to show that, again, there's depth in the channels but then there's players who have played from minute one that are growing into the game and I think that's what Caitlin Ford does in this instance. She had the West Ham right back, sorry, I think it was Nystrom on toast for most of that game and she just opens up the play in the second half And again, like I'll go back to what I said about Alessia Russo. I think Russo offers her and Russo offers Mariona a lot more service in order to open up that left channel.

22:30Jamie: So Arsenal aren't relying on Beth Mead as much. They're not just relying on putting the ball into the right side. So it allows Caitlin Ford time of the ball because in the opening half, she's actually making really good runs. She just wasn't getting the service that she maybe would have hoped. So she comes alive in the second half. She gets the ball. And I just think Caitlin Ford, when she's playing direct and you can tell that she wants a goal, and I think the best thing that happens to Caitlin Ford is she scores a goal, gets ruled offside and you can tell that she's absolutely seething because then you know well she's going to score now like you know she's going to make something happen because she's that kind of player she lives off the energy and she lives off the buzz so yeah these wingers right now they're in really good form and then olivia smith comes on and does the same thing so yeah caitlin ford it's just that directness for me i think we saw maybe two seasons ago under yonas aidevall she just kept running it to the back line and now she's cutting in she's being more direct and she's really playing with katie mccabe and i think that relationship building has helped arsenal a lot Katie McCabe being the left back at all times there's not a rotation with Steph Catley it's not who's going to play left back it's that's the left side partnership and I think they do so well because they can both invert and they can both swap so yeah Caitlin Ford is is in some form and she has been for a little while now.

23:33Yeah absolutely I just think she's one of the most relentless players I've ever seen like I've always been quite aware of like her foul count for example which is actually quite high but she's such like when she runs at a player she runs at them like a train and even if it looks like she's miscontrolled the ball she's going to lose it she's all over players like a rash I imagine she's a nightmare to play against and yeah I think it's just one and I completely understand it like we've had the player for nearly six years we've all of us been clamouring for more like greater depth in the wide areas and we've got Chloe Kelly and we've got Olivia Smith but I think it's probably happened to Beth and Caitlin that we kind of in the rush I don't think people were necessarily rushing for those players to be replaced or anything or thought that they were bad players but it's just like you know you want something new we've got something new but I think it's always worth reflecting on what you've got and what you've always had I think Caitlin's just been such an important player for such a long time now and her kind of availability in particular at a time when we didn't have a lot of depth out wide.

24:44You know, she might have been my player of the match for this game. You know, at this point, we start to get some substitutions and a lot of those substitutions make a real difference. Again, should pause and put a pin in the fact that it's Victoria Pilova who comes on for Mariana. So it's not Kyra Cooney Cross. That's two games in a row now where she's been an unused sub. Any concerns over that for KCC at the moment?

25:13Jamie: Have you seen social media, Tim? I feel like they're trying to change my mind because this game ended and I thought, oh, well, these things happen. It's game week two. I don't think there's a lot of reading into this that we need to actually consider right now. I think especially the thing that I think I've seen a lot of uproar about Kim Little, she's 35, she's getting all these minutes. But Kim Little didn't really get much of a preseason. She didn't play a lot of preseason minutes. I think it's super important in these games, almost to no disrespect to West Ham and London City, but the buffer games of the WSL to be able to get minutes into Kim Little's legs, I think is so important.

25:47The thing that does, I guess, concern, not even necessarily concern me, but I raise an eyebrow at maybe Victoria Plover coming on instead of Kyra Cooney Cross. Victoria Plover has had a good preseason. She's played a lot of minutes. She obviously played a lot against London City as well. and Kyra has not played a competitive game since she got taken off against Aston Villa, I think it was, at the back end of last season. So I guess there is some concern there. And I'm not trying to tell people don't be concerned because I think as Arsenal fans over the last five, six years, there is an ongoing trend that there's this young talent and then they leave because they're not given a chance over these players.

26:19And I think we all are a bit worried that that's going to happen to Kyra Cooney Cross. But I really do believe, and I'm happy to be proven wrong. I won't be happy to be proven wrong because I don't want this to be the case. but it's game week two of the league season. Arsenal are in five competitions. It's September. I don't think that we need to be too concerned about it. I think that there's a lot of time to come for Karakuni Cross and I do still think Arsenal don't let Lievolte go. They don't let Lievolte go, Tim. You said this last week. I really think that there is a spot for her in this team.

26:47Right now, you're going to have to play these players. Kim Little needs her minutes against these bottom half sides. So maybe I'm not being concerned. I think that people are very, very concerned but at the end of the day, not every player is going to get minutes. There's five substitutions. You have to bring on Lottowob and Moy because Steph Catley gets bulldozed over into the terrible runoff at Chigwell Construction Stadium, by the way. And then you want to bring on these forward subs, make a half-time substitution. So the one that does worry me is Victoria Plova. But then you do want minutes into a player that's been off a whole season with an ACL injury has just come back to competitive club football.

27:21So I'm not calling home about it yet, Tim. I refuse to worry. I think people are being maybe a little bit reactionary. And I think that when a team wins 5-1 and wins 4-1, there's less concern about who's not getting minutes and maybe more praise towards the fact that West Ham away used to be an absolute bogey game and they've gone and blown them out of the water. And that's a statement of intent because this time last year, we had drawn a game and it wasn't great. Two seasons ago, we'd lost the game and drawn a game. It's two wins with nine goals scored. I think let's focus on that and then worry about Kyra three, four months time if she's still not getting playing time.

27:53Yeah, I think it's one to stick a pin in for sure. Or like you say, once the Champions League kicks in, we're not that deep in that position. I fully expect her to get quite a lot of minutes. But at the same time, I think it's a valid conversation because this is her third season at the club and it's not quite happened for her yet. So I completely understand why it's a conversation and Pelova coming on in that kind of deeper area ahead of her. Joe Montemoro was at the game on Friday night. He's over at the moment, I believe he's been at the training ground this week. and obviously there's the Asia Cup and all of that.

28:26So it's one to stick a pin in, but I'm with you. We've won 5-1 and 4-1. And I think one of the things, again, that seems to have washed over us really as a fan base is this time last year, the phrase deep block had lost all meaning to me because of how often we were asking Jonas Iderval, like issues around deep blocks and all of that. the number of goals we've scored, Arsenal scored under Rene Slagers is amazing. Like if you just go back and look at it, in every single home game, there's been a minimum of four goals. And you look at some of the stats that the attackers have at the moment. And obviously some of those bigger games are the really defining ones.

29:08But I think we showed last season, Lyon, Barcelona, like they can handle those bigger knife edge games. So I'm really excited about what I'm seeing. And I kind of worry about Kyra later, to be honest. But yeah, West Ham at this point, when I spoke to Rhianne Skinner afterwards, she said she moved to the back four at 3-1 because she felt like they had to go for it. And at that point, Arsenal really start picking them off. And getting in, particularly getting in behind those full backs, Olivia Smith comes on. I mean, I think if you're 3-1 down, you've decided to take a defender out of your formation and then Olivia Smith's coming on, that's problematic for West Ham.

29:55And Rhianne Skinner said to me afterwards, yeah, she felt they were okay for 65 minutes, but they got tired. Arsenal went to the bench and that was pretty much the difference. and Olivia Smith coming on, Russo double. I mean, the last kind of 10, 15 minutes I felt were pretty devastating.

30:14Jamie: Yeah, it was almost hard to watch from a West Ham point of view, but that substitution again, oh my gosh, you just have to lick your lips. It's 3-1 and you're bringing on a player of that calibre. It's so exciting. It's something we've not seen for so long. Olivia Smith's first WSL assist, and I've been really bloody going on about this on this podcast as well, saying, oh, she hasn't got an assist yet, but I do think it's because of the quality of striker. It's clearly because of the quality of striker. She does really good to set up Alessio Russo. And then when Alessio Russo is putting it top bins from like an absolute power cut as well, like this is excellent.

30:48This is exactly what we think Olivia Smith's going to be able to do. She no longer has to be this direct, I have to do everything myself footballer. She can see Alessio Russo and say, let me play it off. And then I think something I value so much about Olivia Smith's ability to break down these back fours or back fives, whatever the defensive structure is.

31:04Jamie: She's so good at running in behind and she's so good at picking apart her fullback, but then she's so intelligent when she needs to do something else in order to beat her fullback. And this is when she cuts in and she serves the Lesse Russo. Or then she comes directly into the penalty box, draws the foul, and then there's another goal. It's 5-1. So this is a super, super exciting player. And I think it just goes to show we're in a position at Arsenal right now where the depth is so exciting. And you look at that bench and you just think this is so great. And this is not a position that Arsenal have been in over the last few years.

31:32and that is why they've lost the league. It's why they've struggled to maintain domestic cups because the quality's not there. So, yeah, it's a devastating game, to be honest. And I think the thing that I really, really pride the side on over the last two games is they've refused to take their foot off the pedal. And I think so often Jonas Ainoval maybe is 2-1 up in Dagenham and he would maybe bring on Kyrie Kunicross because it consolidates the midfield and you're, okay, let's hold on to this win, get the three points. Whereas Rene Slager says, let me bring on a forward, we'll win by more goals because we've got them now we've read them we know how to pick apart their back four and I think that's the biggest thing I've seen under Rene is okay we'll just accelerate accelerate accelerate win keep scoring goals and then that in-game management again is just so so clever so yeah a really harsh last last maybe third of the game for West Ham but a very bright spark for Arsenal.

32:21Yeah definitely and Rene said after the game as well that I thought there was a really interesting quote because I kind of heard and she's talked about as well like she's really focused on culture and all of that and like really trying to get that consistency that winning mentality through culture on the training ground and all of that but she really referenced for the first time I think you know I guess issues around that consistency in the past so let me just read out what she said um yeah this is how you want to start a season I'm really pleased with that there's a lot of good things but we can't relax we can't get complacent that's why we get this result today because we're so on top of everything we knew what we had to do we knew that last season yes we had a fantastic high performance against Barcelona and the whole Champions League journey but we also saw those moments in the season where we didn't and that's why these types of games are so important for us right now.

33:22So I think that's the first time she's really openly kind of said, this wasn't happening enough last season, or at least, you know, relatively speaking, there were one or two times where that didn't happen. And one or two times costs you the league, quite frankly. And so there's a, there's like a focus on that, that relentlessness. And my mind just constantly goes back to that Chelsea game in January, where they bring on four attackers and we bring on two and one of their attackers wins a penalty and they win the game and and I think there are games in a season uh I call them lighthouse games that teach you something about yourself where you really take the lessons into the next season and I'm looking at like the depth now and the fact that two games in a row we've brought players on who you know got their G's and A's in, as it were.

34:15Something you said on this podcast last season, Jamie, was that you wanted Russo to be the penalty taker in the team. Kim Little was on, but Russo was the one who scooped the ball up and said, I'm having it. It remains to be seen whether that's a long-term arrangement, but Kim's conversion rate has dropped a little bit in the last couple of years. Do you reckon that this is a sign that Russo's going to be the penalty taker or maybe she's just smashed one in top bins and she's feeling herself a bit

34:44Jamie: I think it might be a bit of a ladder I don't think Renee really wants a penalty taker to be fair and if that's what she wants to do that's what she wants to do I don't really see an issue with it I think that Alessia Russo puts one top bin she can do it and again something with Russo that's so funny about her penalties is she does the exact same penalty every single time goalkeepers still don't happen to like they don't really know how to save it like she's not missed a penalty since the Paris FC shootout like she scored and converted every single one and she always puts it to the bottom left corner across her body.

35:12So maybe something if any opposition goalkeeper is listening to, probably start diving. But then they're unsavable. Like she's doing so well to just hit that into the cobweb. So, yeah, I'm not commenting on the penalty discourse, Tim. Honestly, I get slandered enough. So I'm not telling you who I want to be the penalty taker as long as they score. Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, Arsenal go on to win the game 5-1. That's a 4-1 and a 5-1. I think it would be more of a test, obviously. at Manchester United on Sunday. I am quite happy they're playing twice before that. And they've got a massive game on Thursday night as well.

35:47But before we go to a break and then take people's questions, is there a player or a performance so far? I mean, we talked a lot about a lot of performances. There were a lot of very good ones, but maybe a player we haven't mentioned that you want to give some metaphorical flowers to.

36:04Jamie: Yeah, big metaphorical flowers to Emily Fox. probably one of the only players we've not mentioned of this podcast. But yeah, she just does the job every single week. And I think, again, Arsenal fans, maybe they're excited about this result, but maybe I think we're underrating how good that West Ham front line is. I honestly think that they're one of the best in the league, that front line. And Emily Fox doesn't make them look boring at all. Rico Eki can't get a touch on the ball. Viviana Say, who's caused Arsenal a lot of trouble in the past, can't get a touch on the ball. So I think Emily Fox, she's just such an incredible player.

36:35And maybe she's not the best crosser of the ball, but I think she does everything almost perfectly. So yet again, doesn't put a foot wrong in this game. And we don't notice her. We're not speaking about her anymore, Tim, because she's not playing badly or she doesn't make a mistake. And I think that we're just taking her and knowing that she's going to do the job. So we no longer have to give her her flowers. So Emily Fox can have some flowers for me because she's just, she's incredible. Yeah, I think you're right to mention the defence because obviously we focused on the attack because Arsenal have scored five goals and brought subs on and all of that.

37:04But I guess we had the discussion about Katie Reid discourse-wise. But like you said, West Ham's front three is really, really strong. One of the better ones, I think, outside of probably the best one, outside of the top four, the big four. And Katie Reid as well. We left Steph – I would have said Steph Catley, but I said her last week as well. We left them one-on-one with Ueki and Martinez and Asai. and they got nothing. They were absolutely nothing out of this game. Four shots, two of which were in the 97th minute. West Ham didn't have a sniff at home. And there were points where they went for it as well.

37:45They weren't just sitting in their penalty area. They were trying. They were leaving those two players up. But I thought both centre-backs just dealt with absolutely everything. I think Katie Reid has to start the next game. I kind of think until she does something wrong or someone gets injured, I think the shirt's hers, really. I think that's the way it should work. I think that's the way it will work as well. And again, I think it's really worth commenting on the fact that somehow we found another centre-back out of our academy who's 19 years old, who's starting games for Arsenal ahead of players who've won international tournaments.

38:22So that's really significant. And I think it's worth highlighting again. um that's all for part one we'll take a break here and in part two we'll come back with your questions submitted on blue sky right after this this ad is sponsored by zocdoc hi it's danny pellegrino from everything iconic have you been putting off that annual doctor's appointment because you don't want to make the call or maybe you've been meaning to find a new dentist but you have no idea where to start. I find that's especially true when you move. It's hard to find your people. I've been there, which is why I use ZocDoc.

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41:01Okay, welcome back to part two of the Arsenal Women Ask Cast on arseblog.com with me and Jamie looking back at Friday night's 5-1 win over West Ham in Dagenham. How about I'm going to start with this one from at Jolo Moko. Do you think fans are mistaking Rene not using many defensive or central midfielders as subs compared to forward with a lack of depth versus making the choices that put the teams away so far? I think much of this is due to much of the discussion is about KCC not playing currently. I don't personally see depth as an issue beyond central midfield, but I also don't think that's why KCC hasn't played.

41:48So I guess this is a question really about the discourse, as it were, because we're seeing loads of rotation substitutions in the forward areas. It's very rare. You change your centre backs from the bench, basically don't do it unless there's an injury. but about that kind of that central midfield rotation or lack thereof and are fans mistaking the lack of change with a lack of depth?

42:14Jamie: Yeah, I think maybe I just, I really, I feel like there's at least 100 ways to answer this. And I do think we have to try to do this on this podcast because I understand the concerns. Again, I do. The defensive changes, I think Joe in this thread comments another question on the same vein about the lack of defensive changes. And like you said, Tim, you don't do that. You don't make a lot of defensive changes at the end of the day. Like, you look at the men's team. If Gabriel and Saliba are both fit, or right now it's Gabriel and the scaring, why would Mikel Arteta make a change when you're winning 3-0 against Forest?

42:45It's the same thing in this game. I don't think you need to consolidate the midfield if you are cleanly putting away a team. And I think that happened against London City and that happened against West Ham. I don't really know why there needs to be a defensive midfield change in this team other than giving Kyra Kuni-Cross minutes for the sake of it. And I think Renee's probably looking at her bench right now and thinking, OK, I've got two players. I'm going to go on about the fitness of Kim Little again. But you've got two players in Kim Little and Kyrie Cooney Cross, which we're basically assuming are the straight spot now that Leiboldi is not at the club.

43:13Kyrie Cooney Cross has had a full preseason where she's been at the club. She's been on training camps and she's played preseason minutes. Kim Little has had some injuries.

43:21Jamie: She's not had a great preseason. She's not played all the preseason friendly. So I think that you've got two scenarios where Rene Sligas is saying, I don't need to consolidate the defensive midfield position when my team is dominating and West Ham can't get a touch on it beyond 45 minutes plus. So why am I going to make that change just for the sake of making that change? And I think when it comes to the state where, okay, Arsenal getting overrun in the midfield, Kim Little's getting overrun in the midfield, and you're playing against a team that's going to pose that threat and are completely entering the box, they're getting touches in Arsenal's box and they're really threatening the goals, I can understand why that's going to be a discourse then.

43:52But right now, I don't think it needs to be because I would be much more upset if Renee Saga brought on Kyra Cooney Cross just to play her against a team. She doesn't really need to be there than if she didn't and then didn't bring on Olivia Smith, who needs to go draw a penalty, assist a goal and then Arsenal win 5-1. I think that people are maybe getting a bit premature about this. And I don't think there's a lack of depth in this squad at all. I really don't think there is. I think in the central midfield position right now, you're saying there's a lack of depth in centre mid and a lot of people saying there's not depth in central midfield.

44:22Well, there is. Kyra Cooney Cross just isn't playing. And I can understand that there is a lack of, OK, there's no natural six. But if Renee Slagas thinks that she's the natural six, she's going to be the natural six. And if Kim Little and Mariona are that double pivot right now, you've got someone as good as Kyra Cooney Cross. There is depth. And I understand there's an injury, there's issues. That's football, though. And we'll deal with that when it happens. I think right now there is depth in this squad. You've got three left backs. Jenna and I can't even get into the squad. I understand the issue with the centre-backs right now, but Katie Reid is playing until she makes a mistake.

44:52We can't doubt that. And Leah Williamson's yet to come back. You've got Victoria Pulover and Freda Mornham who are rotating in the attacking midfield. Those are two of the best young midfielders in the league. Like those two players are incredible. I wouldn't swap them from anyone else in the league. Alessio Russo and Steenel Blackstenius is the best striking partnership in the league as well in terms of rotation. I agree that over Chelsea. I truly believe that they know their roles right now and they're working in cohesion. And then you've got four world-class wingers. So I just think right now there is a little bit ever premature panic.

45:18And I don't think that we should be panicking until Arsenal slip up and they've not slipped up. And especially if we look at the defence right now, the two goals, a lot of people are saying, oh, there's no ability to hold a clean sheet. Like it was a penalty and a really bad goalkeeping error. So right now I'm not concerned. I can see why people are concerned about the rotation with Kyra Cooney cross, but I just think, give it more time. Let's speak about it in maybe six, eight weeks. If she's not getting game time, then I completely understand. I can see why there's a concern but I also think let's just trust the process right now because they're winning games and they're winning them very comfortably yeah I think there's a couple of things to this I think first of all there's something quite uncomplicated about it which is that Kim Little and Mariana are two of the best players in the world and like you know Champions League final semi-final they showed it you know it's just difficult to get in to get in there I'd say like for Kyra she wanted to look on the bright side if Jenna Nyswong is is I believe considered part of that midfield group.

46:16She's ahead of her in the pecking order, so it could be worse. I also think when René makes substitutions, it's usually about attributes. It's usually about which attributes do I want and need in this game. And I suspect she brought on Pilova, not because necessarily she doesn't like Kyra and prefers Pilova, but there was just something about Pilova's particular qualities in that particular game state that she really wanted. and I think there'll be another scenario where it will be Kyra's that she really wants I don't think her substitutions are that kind of personal if that makes sense I think it's much more about what do I need um right now it's a bit like Frida coming off like I don't you know that wasn't a comment on her performance that was we need Steena and and someone's got to come off and I'm sorry it's you kind of thing like because anyone you bring off for Steiner in this game that's a conversation if it's one of the wingers if it's Alessio Russo you're kind of going oh wow because none of them deserve to come off but someone has to so it's just yeah I think there's um I think there's a lot to this um I'm going to ask you another one as well um because I had a go on that one and I think this is a really good one from uh from Helen at hxm829 are we seeing 2022 2022 pre-ACL Beth Mead again.

47:40She's been immense this past two games. Do we know what's changed? Is it increased competition of the wide positions, being able to be rested, not playing as many minutes in the Euros and more rotation in the front line for Arsenal? I'm going to tack on to that question and say, do you think anything has changed? I'm not sure there has. I thought she was delivering last season as well, Jamie. But what do you make of that, of Beth Mead's performances so far this season.

48:08Jamie: Yeah, I'm with you on that, Tim. I don't really know what the drop-off in excitement around Beth Mead surrounded. Obviously, before her ACL, she was insane. That year when she was at the Euros, I don't think I've seen a player carry a nation that's still performing so well, the way she did for England at the Euros. She did the same for Arsenal until she did her ACL. It's a case of a player in their prime and she's still a very, very, very good footballer. She's just not as electric as she maybe was when she was at the best. But Bethmead does so much for this squad, and she did for this squad last year.

48:37And I think last year it was a little bit more of, okay, you're in a bit of a, the squad are in a precarious position. Obviously, there's a new coach, there's an interim head coach. What's the situation? I think Bethmead was so good last season at being that kind of anchor and just doing the hard yards. And I think she did that a lot in the games last year. She played the defensive role and she consolidated for Arsenal. She played the role. And I think this season, there's a lot more clarity around her position and what Renee Slagers wants from those wingers. So she is playing with a lot more freedom to be her attacking self again.

49:05I think, no, she's not. I don't think that there's been an increase, a massive increase in form. I think she's been good and been very consistent for the last 18 months. But I think that she's been given more agency to be returned to her attacking style of football. And I think that she's really pressing up higher and she's just trusting herself a little bit more. And that comes with like dips of form. If you don't think that you're in form, then maybe you're not going to play as well. But last season, like someone like Maya Ramirez, who a lot of people consider is one of the best players and attacking players in the league.

49:33She got less goals and assists than Beth Mead last season. Less goals and assists, not combined, like less goals and less assists. So this is a player that's in form, but I think she's just a bit more clear on her role this year, Tim. I think Rene has really showed the wingers what she wants from them. And Beth Mead saying, OK, I can I can be an attacking player and I can really bring a lot to the squad in that element. So she's been exceptional. I thought she was unbelievable against Chelsea when she came on. And I thought she was the best player in this game as well. So very excited by it. Yeah, I think maybe it's a perception thing with us.

50:04And I spoke about this a little bit last week with Steph Catley as a centre-back. And people not still just thinking, this is a centre-back now. Just look at her as a centre-back. And I kind of think it's the same with Beth Mead. I don't really detect much of a change. I think maybe what's happened is we've become more accustomed to her role. which is like a role, you know, maybe two years ago, she was just the best. She was not the team, but she was like the central pin of the team under Jonas Iderval. Jonas Iderval's football suited her down to the ground and the team was really, really built around her.

50:42Now she's on a bit more of a carousel, which I think is just because we finally have four quality wide players. I think also in the excitement of bringing in like Chloe Kelly in January, Obviously, she's a new player. You're learning about her. She's bringing that, and that becomes more of a talking point. You're more likely to talk about a player who's only just arrived compared to one who's been there for six or seven years. But I think it's more that we've become, like our perception has corrected a little bit, if that makes sense. And I think we saw that for England in the summer as well. She's, you know, Euro 2022, played nearly every minute of every game, stick on starter, this time more of a role player.

51:22but still hugely effective. You go back and look at some of those big England goals this summer and she's in the thick of it. And again, I'd point to the interview she did with Susie Rack recently where she really touches on that a lot. I guess having what's maybe evolved in her role, but still incredibly important. And I don't think she's changed. I think that we're just becoming a bit more accustomed to it, particularly now we've got more depth in those wide positions. I keep answering these questions, so I'm going to ask you another one instead. And I think we've kind of answered that one about Katie Reid.

52:07Where was the one I wanted to dig out that was quite fun? Ah, yeah, from David at Dr. Pud. Clive, that's Clive Palmer, who I do another Arsenal Women podcast with, recently suggested that Kim deserves a statue, but she's so unassuming I'm having a hard time picturing what her pose would be. What does your ideal Kim Little statue look like?

52:35Jamie: Like, that is such a fabulous question. Such a fabulous question. I really liked, I think it was when she scored the penalty two seasons ago when she gets lifted up. I like that one, but then I guess that's a lot of cost because then you have to involve another player lifting her up. So maybe not. Just her with the Champions League trophy. That really nice photo where she's walking towards the squad. Not when she's like lifting it, but when she's walking towards the squad, she's kind of holding it with two hands, giving her a little smirk at it. I think it's just her noting that I've done it. I've actually just done everything that I possibly need to do.

53:04So, yeah, that would be my Kim little trophy for sure. Completely co-signed. Do you have a question for me?

53:11Jamie: I do. This one's from Liam at Jesus Plays Base. Already have six players on the score sheet after just two games. Is it reasonable to expect the goals will keep being spread around like this all season? Or do you think two or three of the squad will jump ahead of everyone? And if so, who would be your picks? Yeah, I think it does look sustainable to me because it's been happening for a long time. It was happening at the end of last season as well. And I think fluidity is really the calling card of Renee Slager's football. And she spoke about this a bit in the press conference. Helen Jerome asked her like which style of music, Helen usually has a fun question and her fun question this week was which style of music would you most associate your football with and she said jazz and you know she and she talked about look obviously we have to have a structure but players have to feel free within that structure and it's just been going on for ages like it's nearly a year now and I think we're averaging nearly four goals a game under Rene so and I haven't seen anyone stop that yet and I think while Arsenal have those kind of rotations and everything and while they have the attacking quality as well like the depth in that front six is ridiculous like you know essentially the entire if you count the Steiner half-time substitution essentially the entire front four changes and we score five goals and we score four goals like it's you know and and the the i think the power of being able to bring players on against tiring teams and and all of that yeah i i do think it's pretty sustainable um i have to say in terms of who will pull away i'm not sure anyone really really will because i think there's going to be a lot of rotation but I do wonder particularly with the new contract behind her whether Russo might really start to have a goal target of like we talk about it a lot and her all-round play is so good but I'd be surprised if she hasn't talked about let keep all that and let's have 20 goals instead of 12 and you know again it's too early to read anything into her taking the penalty and she has taken them before.

55:33But yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if she has a private kind of target or there's an internal target where it's like, keep on doing all the stuff you're doing and add another eight goals this season. So I'm going to be really interested, particularly because she's 26 now. So she's coming in to her prime year. She's talked about how she's only really been a centre forward for three or four years. At this stage, she played wide a lot when she was younger and played a slightly withdrawn role. So she's the one I've really got my eye on. The four wide players, I think, will share around. I think Frieda will chip in.

56:08But yeah, it looks very sustainable to me. I think the question is just going to be really in those big games, as always, really. How do we do in those? And again, we've got some evidence from last year in the Champions League that Arsenal, they're knife-edge games. You don't win them all, but Arsenal can handle those, I think. I think we're on a good track. I had that question down. as well. What about this one then from at Varsas78? Despite being comfortable winners in the end for our first two matches, I felt that Kim and Mariana have been a bit off colour, especially when they're playing deep.

56:44Combinations in the final third have been good, but less so in our own third. Do you have any concerns about that? And that's tacked on should Kyra be getting more game time, but I think we've addressed that part.

56:58Jamie: Yeah, no, I actually, I do agree. I think, again, maybe in the first half of both games, the LCL game and the West Ham game, that is, I think Mariona's been a little bit off her best, but I do think she grows into them. And I think you said it, Tim, last week, that Arsenal really, really improve against London City when Mariona starts to get herself more involved with the game. So I think that's just, again, that's a player that's played a lot of football, but I think that she's getting asked to play in that pivot and that pivot's something that Rene's really going to look forward. I also think there's a lot to say about maybe the opposition as well.

57:28Jamie: I think that West Ham in particular, they really like to play the ball long, so there's less need for those kind of defensive pivots to really run the midfield. And I think a lot of people were mistaking that maybe, or not mistaking that, but perceiving that as Arsenal's midfield getting ran through, whereas I really just think West Ham try to skip the midfield and get the ball to the attacking players. So it requires less defensive duty of Lidl and Mariona. I do think they're a little bit off form, though. I agree. I think that Kim Little is missing passes. She maybe doesn't usually miss. I think Mariona is maybe not looking for the ball that she usually looks.

57:59So she's over-egging stuff and putting it too far over the top. But it's the start of the season, I think, that we'll see. And I think that I'm very comfortable in the fact that Victoria Pilova and Frieda Morn and Kyra Kunikos as well eventually, whenever she starts playing Gosh, we'll be able to improve that midfield three as well. I'm a bit worried heading into the games like United and City coming up, but I still think that these are two players, utmost professionals. I don't think they're out of form. I think they're just ironing out pre-season kinks. Yeah, I definitely have detected a bit of rust, I think, in the first 20 minutes of both games.

58:32And, you know, something again, René said in pre-season about more teams pressing. And, you know, maybe both teams have taken us by surprise a little bit as well in those kind of early phases. Should we do one more question each, if you ask me one and I ask you one?

58:48Jamie: Yeah, of course. So this one is a little bit more towards the West Ham game. This is from HRB2908. In the first half, most of the action was coming down the right side of the pitch, which helped show Beth's talent. In the second half, we saw more action down the left, which lets Caitlin shine. What changed tactically? And then why is Caitlin and Beth still underrated? You've addressed that. But I guess the in-game tactics, what did you see change? Yeah, I think because Steiner tends to go towards that right-hand side, a little bit. I think that opened up a little bit of space. And then actually, you watch the second goal.

59:24It's quite a similar move to Frieda's goal in that Mariana's pass is quite similar to Beth's to Frieda. But then there's like, as you explained earlier, you know, Russo's creating like almost an extra kind of raft there to play off. But it was interesting that that goal comes down the right actually didn't involve Beth on this occasion. I think there was a little bit maybe of Arsenal kind of overloading a little bit on the right side because Russo and Steiner both like to go over there and that probably created a little bit of space and we saw that space opening up behind the West Ham right back.

1:00:02I'm not sure if it was totally tactical or maybe it's just because sometimes the way the other team gets to do tactics as well, Arsenal are opening West Ham up a little bit more on the right-hand side in the first half. So maybe they corrected something there. I haven't watched the game back yet. So it could be something that they did to shut that down a bit, but maybe left them a bit more open on the left. It could just be that, I don't know, Caitlin had two or three half-time oranges and was just full of beans. I didn't spot anything massively tactical there, But I think it bodes really well that essentially in both halves, I think we really open them up on both sides.

1:00:43And that's something else that Renee's talked about. She talked about on Friday in our press conference building layers and having a variety of threats and a variety of different approaches. And I think that's something I've been really, really pleased with so far. Let's finish on this question then. And this is from at KO Cricket 528. was just going through the questions posted, and a good number of them are about admissions and players who haven't been involved so far. Squad depth is needed, and it's great that even without Chloe Kelly, Arsenal had so much to call on. But the other side is about how Rene keeps all of these players happy.

1:01:20Is that even possible? And at this point, I don't always have Emma Hayes' voice ringing in my ears, and that would be quite worrying. But she's done a lot of good interviews on this, about how basically saying it's impossible to keep all players happy and she doesn't really consider it part of the job. What do you reckon on that?

1:01:41Jamie: It's so funny that Emma Hayes says that because I would put her as the poster head coach for her ability to involve every single player in the squad. And I think that's why Chelsea were so dominant under Emma Hayes. And Sonia Bonpastor has a little bit of that as well. And I think that just comes with being a head coach of a team that's going to have a lot of quality. And we've seen that with Chelsea, right? They're the blatant example of that is they've got such great depth, but players are always going to be unhappy. I think that that is just something you need to realise in football is it sucks because you want every player to play.

1:02:09Jamie: But like for Chelsea right now, their squad is insane. But someone like Sioka Nuskan has spoken up over the preseason saying she's unhappy with how little she's playing. And she's, I think, started more games than Hannah Hampton. So at the end of the day, you're not going to get every player to be happy. But I think that there is a big element of being a head coach in that. And that's why Emma Hayes has won all these leagues and I've not. So I don't know why I think I know better than her. But I do think a lot of it is player management, and that's maybe what Jonas Aideval couldn't do. And I think that's what we've seen, that Renee Slagers is doing so much better.

1:02:38It's allowing every player to feel like they're a part of the squad. And I think Steena Blackstenius, Beth Mead, Caitlin Ford, these kind of players that have maybe been told, you're not starting every game, but you still have a role. Those are the exact examples of why Renee Slagers is doing that so well, is these players are playing their role. They know what their role is. Lots of Wobben Moyes just signed a contract extension, and she's not going to be a starter maybe, until maybe a couple of years, you don't know what the situation is there. So I think there is a philosophy right now that Rene Sagers is building, that every player has a role in this squad.

1:03:07And I think fans maybe need to be a little bit more open to that idea. And I completely, again, I want to say, as an Australian, I understand the Kyra-Fooning process thing. I get it. I really do. But I also think there is an element of the fact that this head coach is doing a very good job at balancing that because, gosh, I wouldn't want to have 30 world-class players begging for a spot in the starting 11. So I think it's important. I'm going to disagree with Emma Hayes because I think she did it so well at Chelsea and that's why they were so dominant. Maybe she's just not giving herself enough credit.

1:03:35But I think there's a big element of people management involved in being a head coach of a really big squad, a Champions of Europe squad. So yeah, I do think it's an element. I don't think it's easy. I always think players are going to be unhappy, but I do think you can make it an environment where everyone has a role. Yeah, definitely. And I guess that's what slightly niggles at me with the Jenna Nyswonger thing because she can't be happy and that's not great to have around. But at the same time, Rene did address this post-match. She said, players should want to play. I want them to want to play.

1:04:08I want them to be annoyed when they're not playing. Beth spoke about it as well in the Susie Rack article. She said both Rene and Serena had given her the space to be annoyed about not playing. And both managers are like, yeah, I want you to be annoyed that you're not playing. So there's all these kind of competing paradoxes. And I'm fine with, you know, the players who are rotating like that. Like I say, the Geneth thing just feels like unnecessary bad air. But then again, you know, I'm not on the training ground. I don't know. So that's one I've definitely got a pin in. The other one's not so much.

1:04:42Jamie, I think that will do for this episode. Thanks so much as ever.

1:04:48Jamie: Thanks, Tim. It's been a great weekend for the Arsenal. So enjoy the rest of the WSL weekend or the rest of your week and a big one coming up with Man United. Absolutely, yes. And we'll be across that as ever with all the usual coverage. And Jamie and I will have a podcast probably next Monday on the Manchester United game if you'd like to join us then. Thanks as ever for listening, for sending in your questions, for your feedback and everything else. And we'll speak to you next week.

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