Arsenal Women Arsecast Episode 157: It needn't be hell at LCL

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1:11hello and welcome to the arsenal women ask cast on askblog.com with me your host tim stillman looking back at sunday's 2-0 win away at london city lionesses i say away wasn't an away game for me i grew up in bromley so uh very nice to go back to my backyard um as it were where london city lionesses now play they used to play where i currently live about a 15 20 minute walk away so they just like they keep moving around me somehow um but after a pretty long three-week international break and a five-week break without a wsl game it did feel i don't want to say strange but it really it kind of almost felt like the first game of the season again but anyway here to talk uh with us about the game um and some things around it as ever as our co-host jamie spanger jamie how are you

2:03Jamie: i'm good tim i'm a little bit worried for the summer though we're talking about this big overhaul does it include tim stillman going to the london city lionesses podcast because i feel like michelle kang's kind of in your backyard right now listen i you know um i'm open to offers you know I think she's probably got the kind of money that would make me listen honestly Tim I'm a bit nervous about that but otherwise good I agree it was a bit sluggish kind of getting back into the WSL this weekend obviously there's been a lot of competitive football on which is nice of an international break not just friendlies but yeah it was a weird one it did kind of feel like a game that was just kick-starting kick-starting the season I think the game maybe played out a little bit like that but I am excited to be back and watching Arsenal.

2:47Yeah I mean I think also there's something here about gonna whinge about kickoff times again I do feel there's something in that and someone a friend of mine kind of pointed out on Saturday lunchtime English time there was no Premier League game and yet there was no WSL game and I know like Sky Sports in England they have the EFL as well and they have EFL games and it I don't know just I guess with the League Cup final and everything that that threw a bit of scheduling out, but it just felt like off the back of a long break, a load of 11.55am kickoffs, just, I don't know, it just felt like it struggled for momentum a bit.

3:27But obviously it's been like quite a long international break. But for you, Jamie, the Asian Cup, which, well, I say I've been watching, I've watched all the Matildas games. I haven't actually watched anything other than that. They have been actually quite nice times in England if you're not in an office I mean I watched the career game and I was nervous in that last 15 minutes and I don't have you know I don't actually have like I say an emotional connection I want the Arsenal players to do well I was really delighted for them to to qualify for the World Cup next summer which I completely forgot about that element Jamie in the last 15 minutes where the Matildas are clinging on for 1-0 and then the final whistle goes and everyone runs on the pitch and I was like, are they that happy to get to the semi-finals?

4:16And I completely forgot about the World Cup qualification part. But I mean, it's been a bit of a weird tournament for the Matildas so far. It kind of, it's felt a bit stop-start, but they're in the semis and I guess kind of most importantly qualified for the World Cup next year.

4:33Jamie: It has been a long international break, Tim. Every game has me pulling my hair out. It's been fun though. It's been very fun. um I'm it I'm based in Melbourne so I've actually not gotten to a game um but me and my partner bought tickets for the final like a couple months ago thinking oh we'll get to see Japan like if anything we'll get to see Japan so obviously uh the the prospect of the semi-finals is very stressful I'm actually working uh I'm working a part-time job at a pub right now just for some from some extra rent money right now and I've got a shift on at St. Paddy's Day so the Guinness tap will be insane and the Matildas game is on at 9 p.m so I'm probably ready for like 15 different levels of outside stress right now but the tournament has been interesting to say the least uh to be honest like we've kind of seen a lot of signs of the Matildas over the last couple months the big question of Joe Montemuro is he's kind of come in with a very short amount of time until a major tournament with a big job to do with World Cup qualification at a tournament that Australia aren't historically very successful at so there has been a lot of questions of okay how are you going to manage this squad and you know the golden generation is going and and it's everything feels a bit fleeting and I think that is what it's been like.

5:40Jamie: The football's not been great. I don't think the philosophy has really been there. But at the end of the day, like watching the Lionesses at Euro 2025, like sometimes you just have to win in tournaments and the Matildas have been winning. I'm not saying they deserve to be winning. That North Korea game in particular was so stressful and I think North Korea will be having nightmares of that game for the rest of their lives. But at the end of the day, if Lana Kennedy wants to, for some reason, turn into Sam Kerr, I'll have it. It's tournament football. So, yeah, just very nervous for the final tonight, semi-final tonight, Tim, and then hopefully I can watch them in Sydney, but we'll see.

6:15Yeah, and of course there's the other thing, isn't there, about like because the Matildas finished second in their group, they're playing in Perth quite a lot in the kind of smaller stadiums. And yeah, it does feel, you know, for the Arsenal players, like Steph Catley, obviously got a concussion. I think Hayley Rassett, everyone's getting concussions at the moment. And then Kyra hasn't really been playing, I think, still kind of building her fitness up. And that's led to Alana Kennedy's box-crashing midfielder era, which has been very entertaining, but probably costing Matilda some control in midfield at the same time.

6:50So it has been, I don't think it's been easy for Joe, to be absolutely fair to him. But, I mean, they've probably done the most important thing here. But it's been quite strange having this long international break. I know we pretty much always have it and you have the She Believes Cup and stuff like that. Arsenal had some players who didn't go away. So Olivia Smith, because she had a concussion, so she didn't go away with Canada. Kim Little always kind of stays back. I think particularly, I think Rene said in her pre-match press conference, they kind of didn't want the international break. Arsenal are on the back of a good winning run, which obviously they've extended here.

7:34But nevertheless, the game came around and Chloe Kelly starts because she kind of has to because Caitlin's away and Beth Mead probably not quite ready to start again after her injury. And that was Chloe Kelly's first WSL start since the opening day against London City Lionesses, which I think tells you about the knee injury she's had this season. But the big, well, I say the big surprise, maybe the surprise, Jamie, was that Annika Borba started in goal ahead of Daphne van Domslaar. We've got some questions about that in the second half. So perhaps, you know, really dig into that there. But it's a bit of a weird period for Daphne at the moment.

8:13She didn't play for Netherlands over the break. Lise Kopp played. How surprised were you by that?

8:21Jamie: Yeah, to be honest, when I saw Borba on the team sheet, Tim, I looked at the subs bench and assumed van Domslaar's had another knock. I was very surprised. But to be honest, like we'll come on to Barbara a lot. I know, like you said, we have a lot of questions, but it's a very stark difference to last season when we were pumping Van Domslaar with anything that she could, that's legally allowed so that she could play games. And Manny Zinsberger came in and obviously like Arsenal struggled a little bit with that transition. So it's a real positive difference if you want to look at it like that, that Renee Sleggis is looking at her like definite number two keeper, you'd say at the start of the season, maybe even number three keeper at the start of the season and saying, no, your form's been really, really good.

8:58Jamie: There's no reason for me to drop you. I want to trust you. And maybe it's something else. But I do think you need a sweeping keeper against LCL. So Van Domslaar is that keeper. I don't really think it's actually a tactical difference. I just think this is a young goalkeeper who's in really strong form and you need to kind of reward that. So, yeah, I was happy about it. At the same time, Van Domslaar's fantastic. But, yeah, I guess we'll speak about Borbo a bit later. So very interesting, I thought. But I think well-deserved. yeah I'm with you on the sweeper keeper thing as well there were just a couple of times and to be fair I mean the conditions were very very blustery it was very windy which to be honest I slightly welcomed because I was at the men's game on Saturday and I won't lie listeners I overdid it so I wasn't on fantastic form for an 11.55am kickoff and to be honest a cold wind was probably what I needed personally, but the players not so much.

9:55So it could have been just like the ball was really holding up sometimes and sometimes the ball was really... There were quite a lot of overhit passes in this game when you watch it back. And a lot of the time it kind of looks like the ball's going downhill because of the wind. But yeah, there were times where LCL kind of went over the top and I felt like Bourba really stayed on her line. Like I say, that could have been about the conditions. but that definitely played into it. Arsenal were much more direct in this game, I think. They were hitting those channels quite a lot and LCL were doing it as well.

10:28I think both teams kind of thought maybe this isn't a day or a pitch or weather conditions for playing through the thirds. It reminded me so much of the FA Cup game we played against them at home almost a year ago where the Meadow Park pitch was not great and Arsenal won 2-0 and it was quite uneventful, a bit like this game. But, you know, LCL, they have the first real chance of the game. Freya Godfrey just over from across from Francie. LCL had a bit, at the beginning, they had a bit of, I think, threat on the break. I think that diminished. And then Arsenal score after 14 minutes through Olivia Smith.

11:10And, I mean, I did a little Twitter thread earlier. I make that the 17th time Arsenal have scored from a low cross or a cutback. But I mean, Olivia Smith, she gets the deflection. It's a bit lucky the ball goes through. But I think what you're really seeing with this player, Jamie, is her instincts in the box. They're very strikery and she gambles on this ahead of Poppy Pattinson. And, you know, again, I couldn't really see whether it was deflected at the time. It felt like an odd goal. I didn't know if like the wind had just taken it. But a good start from Arsenal and I think Olivia Smith was great on the day as well.

11:48Jamie: A really strong start from Arsenal. Like you said earlier, I thought the first five minutes LCL looked great, but you will speak about this a million times this episode. This game was all about the channels. And I think Freya Godfrey is a player that has been so underrated this season. She's got no rap, obviously, senior England call up, but she has been fantastic and she's fantastic in the first few minutes just to really, really threaten Arsenal on the break. But Arsenal go and do the exact same thing down the channels. I think this from Chloe Kelly is fantastic. The touch around the play is fantastic.

12:13Jamie: The cross, I think, in any other circumstance is an underhit. And we're looking at that and being like, I guess a really bad ball into the box. But it works, obviously, with the conditions and the wind. I think like no defenders really knowing where that ball is going to roll across the ground. But like you said, the biggest thing about this goal is Olivia Smith is where a striker would be. Her run is so good. It's like kind of front post almost to the goalie in the penalty spot at the same time. She just really waited for it. And it's just the instinct that no one else in the box has at that time when the ball's kind of trickling through everyone's legs.

12:43Jamie: Yeah, so just a great goal. I think it's really good to see her in the central areas as well when she's picking up those places rather than doing what Chloe Kelly does in this goal. It's Olivia Smith that's kind of picking up those central areas. So, yeah, really good goal from the channels. But, yeah, I like watching these two play a lot. Yeah, I think there's a couple of really interesting things about this goal. It's quite similar to the one Olivia Smith scores in Leuven where Chloe Kelly's on the left and she puts a better left foot across it. that time. That goal in Lurvin was a bit more emphatic, whereas this one had an element of farce about it.

13:17But it's the same principle. And, you know, Arsenal don't have enough left-footers in the squad, really. But I think it's really notable that Olivia Smith will pull the trigger on her left foot. I think that's her seventh goal of the season. I think it's her third on her left foot. You know, she's more than happy to have a go on that. Chloe Kelly as well. When she plays on the left wing she's happy to go on the outside um and and i just think i felt this for a little while jamie i just feel like olivia smith started her arsenal career as a moments player where she'd have a moment she'd have like a great goal or something but she'd be in and out of games but um i did the analysis piece on her she was fouled five times in this game no other arsenal player was fouled more than once.

14:02She had four interceptions, which was the most of any player. And one of the things I just kept seeing when I watched this game back is how quickly she turns nothing into something, how quickly she gets the ball with her back to goal. There's no danger and bang, turns, goes and there's danger. And how hard she works off the ball. I'm really getting the feeling from this player that this isn't just a talented player in the Arsenal team this looks like a real member of this Arsenal squad and I think someone who can really add goals to this team as well if we're not going to have like a you know a Bunny Shaw or Sam Kerr type kind of goal scorer in there is that the feeling you're getting as well?

14:46Jamie: Definitely and to be honest I think it's happening quicker than I thought it was going to happen as well like at Liverpool it's a completely different situation for Olivia Smith because she's the best player in that team and she is the one kind of dragging them along and she's their star forward whereas you put her in a team like Arsenal and you're competing for a spot with Chloe Kelly, Caitlin Ford, Beth Mead, you're playing with Alessia Russo up front, Stina Blaxtinius, there's a lot of talented midfielders as well so it makes her less of a profile that's just like we're relying on you and I think that Arsenal have relied on her in a lot of moments this season where it's kind of like you have to make something out of nothing and so many of her goals have been like that the first one against LCL from distance that was the one against Liverpool as well from distance both at the Emirates.

15:25Jamie: She's a player that can make something out of nothing. But I was honestly thinking the transition on her being this kind of like star moments player to her being a player that's really bought into the system and kind of raises the levels of everyone around her. I didn't think it was going to happen this season. I thought this is a really young player that's developing her game. She's a star. Like, don't get me wrong. She's an absolute star. But how long is it going to take her for her to transition into that kind of system player? And I think that's kind of maybe where fans have a bit of frustration with Rosa Kafaji because she was never given that time and she is that kind of player but she was never given the time to be the systems player so she comes on she makes something happen but then you get frustrated because she can't you know track back or she's not picking up spaces but I just don't think she's ever been given the time to be able to buy into the system so for Olivia Smith it's a similar kind of make something happen player but it's a player now that can actually play a role in this Arsenal team she's not a super sub she's not a young player that is just going to do something like like fun and I think it's that's why I'm excited about that and that's a credit to I think the role that Renee's given her She's got a lot of responsibility in this team.

16:23Jamie: She has to track back. She has to swap wings. She has to be quick on her feet. You can't just be the star player. You have to do everything else that every wing is doing. That's something that's been asked about wingers at Arsenal a lot. You have to do everything. You watch Beth Mead is the best example of this. You can't just be an attacking winger. You have to draw back. You have to help the defence. You have to invert into the midfield. So I think Olivia Smith's really showing signs of just a complete player. And at a really young age when you're such a star and you have that X factor, I think it's rare to see that so early.

16:50Jamie: So yeah, another great performance from her, but a really senior performance from her, I thought. Yeah, definitely. And she's got physical properties as well, like barging players off the ball a lot, winning it back. I think she gave Poppy Pattinson a terrible time. And I mean, this doesn't matter to me as much because I'm a grumpy middle-aged man, but her and Chloe Kelly as well, dropping a celebration. So good. Long been a complaint of a lot of fans, I know, in kind of, shall we say, honour of Michel Ajemang. And, you know, Arsenal have control of the first half. There's not a great deal of goal-mouth incident.

17:30Again, there's a few kind of nice bits and pieces. Again, I think particularly at that end, we were attacking the first half. The wind was carrying the ball quite a lot. And you could see that, like there was a goal-mouth scramble in the second half where LCL nearly scored. and it's like they're playing with a football that's been bought for like 50p from a petrol garage, like it's just ballooning all over the place. But one player I'd like to talk about, I guess, is Lotto Wubhamoy and not a new player in the Arsenal team, not a player who performing well should surprise anyone, I don't think, although I do read some stuff and I think, are we watching the same player?

18:12but what I think is really kind of important about this is this is the first time we've played without Steph Catley at left centre-back. I honestly can't remember the last time. It might have been Man City in the League Cup semi-final last year. That's the last time I can remember a WSL game without Steph Catley at left centre-back and obviously that slightly changes what Lotta has to do because Steph Catley is in that left channel a lot and I don't know about you Jamie I just thought she was brilliant again both defensively but also you know not being a natural left footer but getting into some of those areas that Steph gets into I felt she was also a highlight on the day.

18:56Jamie: Certainly I thought yeah you look at the players like Olivia Smith and it's hard to take your eyes off them but this is one of Lotta's best performances this season and when you when you take in the factors like you're explaining Tim about playing left centre back I think that LCL offer a lot in the counter-attack and that's what they kind of try to do in this game throughout the entire 90 minutes and especially when Arsenal start to get a little bit sluggish in the second half so it's really important for those centre backs to be honest I think that this game goes better because lots of weapon was playing and that's no disrespect to Steph Catley but I think that just the way LCL play you know they have a really high number nine and then they have Daniela van der Donk like kind of behind obviously Grace Guiora but their wingers are so so quick and they're so good in the channels I think this is actually a game where Arsenal benefit from the not the absence of Steph Catley but playing lots of Wobbenwe and Leah Williamson, two players that are really capable physically, but are also quicker.

19:44Jamie: So their movement is higher, but they're also, lots of Wobbenwe is probably, I would say, our best physical on the ball centre-back anyway. So you take that into account that she can follow back a lot. I think it's a real positive here. I was a little bit worried when I did see the team sheet, can I be honest, Tim, because we spoke about Borba playing and Van Domslaas, that sweeping goalkeeper. And obviously we know how good Leah Williamson is with her feet, but then you don't have a left footer in the centre of defence and you don't have your sweeping goalkeeper in goals. I was worried because LCL will press you in the counter-attack.

20:14Jamie: But yeah, no, I thought Lottow-Wurben-Moye is fantastic. And Francie's a really good player, dragged it, I think it was like the 65th minute and those centre-backs dealt with her really well. And yeah, I just thought this is another good performance from Lottow-Wurben-Moye and the way she advances the ball is really strong. But Leah Williamson, I thought, was great alongside her as well. So it's an interesting partnership, this one, because they're very similar and you kind of get nervous when they play together, but then they always prove you wrong. So, yeah, good to see another strong performance.

20:41Yeah, René pointed to the fact after the game that they'd played 45 minutes together for England during the international break in the first game, I think, in the break. They played the first half together and obviously they played together for so long anyway. But I think you're right, particularly the way LCL attack. And look, LCL, one of the things René talked about as well, and perhaps we'll go into this as we talk about the second half, she was saying she knew that or they felt that lcl would start the game one way and finish it another and you know lcl have got some depth in that squad they bring on like kosovore aslani delphine cascarino coming on i mean first of all i think it's an amazing credit to freya godfrey that she's keeping delphine cascarino out of the team i know i think they said it was cascarino's debut when she came on but you know that that's that's some serious firepower they're bringing off the bench as well and Izzy Goodwin who I'm kind of surprised didn't start actually because I think she's a real handful so you know LCL do have the capability to change it up 60-65 minutes in just as Arsenal do and just as Arsenal did but in the second half kind of felt more of the same really it felt to me that Arsenal were on top but I don't know about you I just I always felt that second goal was necessary because while LCL weren't a regular threat on the counter-attack, you know it's there and you know they've got the quality to go and hurt you.

22:10And actually, Francie has a volley that thankfully is straight at Borba. And again, I think that ball holds up in the air in the wind, which really stops her really getting her foot behind it. But, you know, McCabe kind of has a shot over the bar and there's a McCabe corner that's fumbled and Steiner nearly capitalises. But it just felt to me as the game went on, I really wanted that second goal because I felt LCL, you just know they've got something.

22:41Jamie: Certainly. I don't think, I think this game was very dull, maybe, but it's not a routine win. Like, I don't think it's a win where Arsenal, you walk away from that game and say, oh, it's obvious there was three points there. LCL's still threatened. I think something that was interesting about LCL, and maybe this is a personnel issue, and I don't think they lined up very well for this game, to be honest, because the opening game, everyone on the Arsenal side of things, we were all a bit surprised because Katie Reid starts against Isabel Goodwin, and we realised there's a threat there with height.

23:08Jamie: Obviously, Katie Reid and Steph Catley aren't available in this game, and I thought it was interesting that Goodwin doesn't start this game. Francie's also very tall, but Goodwin is a very, very quick striker for her height. So I did think that's a weird personnel shift, I don't think that's really helped LCL. The other thing was, I think they had eight shots, but most of them are from outside the box. Like they're having a lot of long range shots because they can't break down that Arsenal centre-back pairing. So I think that in this game, it's kind of hard to judge whether Arsenal just needed to like get the three points it was going to happen, needed to just walk away with the win.

23:38Jamie: Or maybe they did actually a really good job at snuffling out LCL because they've been a really good attacking team against teams up high on the table. So it's kind of hard to reflect and praise that when the game's a little bit quiet. But I still think that LCL should have offered more and I know we're not a London City podcast Tim but I do think their personnel kind of limited what they could do against Arsenal when Arsenal are missing a couple of key figures and again we also have to praise the way that the Arsenal back four performs so I thought it was an interesting game the second goal was definitely integral though because like I said I thought London City had a lot of opportunities to go forward and when you're with the wind it's a lot easier to kind of take those long range strikes and that's why they were maybe happening a little bit more in the second half so the second goal was definitely imperative I thought Arsenal kind of just slowed down a little bit in the last 20-30 minutes and that's not saying they started playing bad but they did take their foot off the gas and I guess that happens when you're playing against the wind but yeah a very a very integral second goal because can I be honest I wasn't actually as comfortable as maybe everyone else was no no definitely not I really felt it was needed and I did have like a little kind of wondering to myself during the game I know like this LCL team haven't been together very long, but I was a bit like, should you be backing yourself a bit more with the quality you've got?

24:57Or am I just kind of starstruck by the names and all of that? Some seriously good players there. Grace Giero, obviously we all know about DVD. Some really, really good players. And I did kind of wonder about that a little bit. But I think as Renee kind of said, she was expecting them to change things a little bit. They do move that defensive line a bit higher. I think whether it was voluntarily or because we forced them back, they were very low, very deep in the first half. They did push up. And when teams do that, Arsenal have a tactic that everyone can predict. Stina Blackstenius comes on for Freedom Ornum.

25:40I need to look up how many times that substitution's happened next season because it's going to be towards 20 times would be my bet. And I think Steiner was the right change at the right time. I think Sangare, who's a really, really good defender, couldn't quite get to grips with her. And when the second goal comes, it actually comes in relatively typical fashion. Mariana hits that channel. Russo, we've seen that one-touch turn so many times, pulls it back for Steiner. and once it got to 2-0 I did relax a bit but I felt Steiner for the millionth time I don't know we can look back through old episodes and just kind of cut and paste the audio in here because it's an incredibly effective move that Arsenal have from the bench and I do wonder if we allow you know we kind of take it for granted sometimes.

26:35Jamie: I would say she's the best second striker in the league I don't think there's really a bit of debate on that I know like City have got what they've got going on but and so do United and obviously Chelsea have a few but I just think Steena Black-Sdenis' impact from the bench is inevitable and maybe teams like don't figure it out as well as they should have I don't think opponents really have that on lock yet because it's all about Alessio Rousseau and I think the reason why it works is because you don't take Alessio Rousseau off so it's not like you're ruining that kind of threat level that Arsenal have you're just moving her back so defenders can't stop thinking about Alessio Rousseau midfielders just have to start thinking about her as well and that's where there's room for Stina whereas I think historically maybe before Russo's time when Stina was having that amazing period if a team still like locked her down Arsenal didn't have an alternative option whereas this time it's still so hard for teams to figure it out because yes we know Stina Black-Stanis is coming on but how do we deal with that when we still have to deal with with Russo who can pick up so much possession in those pockets as well so yeah this is just one of the best substitutions and long may it continue honestly I'm going to be so sad whenever I don't have to don't get to see Astina on the ball but another really really like good goal and I think a goal that we we kind of miss these moments in games and this is something Arsenal could do a bit more with is just like just the clinical advance the advance the ball up the pitch Alessi Russo gets the cross in it's just a routine finish I think we're kind of missing those small moments when games are starting to be on a knife's edge and and that's why this game is so important that 2-0 win is so important because there's been a few instances this season where the games get really close like this Arsenal get an goal they fall asleep the opposition wake up it's these really routine goals from just high quality players and it's it's these moments where the Arsenal team needs to be like no our depth is great let's use our depth let's put the game to bed so it's good that this habit is kind of forming and I hope it continues to roll on for the rest of the season but a great assist a great finish from a yeah royal super sub yeah absolutely and I mean that that was a substitution that really worked and Beth Mead comes on as well for Olivia Smith.

28:32There's no problem there. I think one thing, though, I did relax for that second goal, but, you know, LCL nearly scores straight away. There's a right old scramble with Goodwin, Aslany, Godfrey, all involved, then Guiero kind of fires it over. But I think perhaps where the end wasn't as comfortable, Kim Little comes off on 60 minutes, which I imagine was pre-planned for Victoria Pilova, and I don't think that's a big problem. But then Laia Kadina comes on for Mariana, and I think we lose quite a bit of control in the middle of the pitch. And with all due respect to both those players, not least because Laia Kadina isn't really a midfielder, I think it's okay when we're 2-0 up and you just want to get Kim and Mariana off to give them a bit of rest, particularly with what we've got coming up.

29:22But I wouldn't like to play serious minutes with that midfield double pivot. but I don't think it plays into either of their strengths. But before we go to a break and take people's questions in the second half, is there a player or a performance that we haven't talked about that sticks out to you?

29:42Jamie: Yeah, I'm going to praise Emily Fox in this game. I thought it's kind of hard not to praise Emily Fox every week, but she plays a big role in the wingers being able to be, like the way that Chloe Kelly and Olivia Smith both switch so often. And this is something that Arsenal do a lot, but they do it a lot more in this game. And this is, I think, and I identify, like, Slagers has identified the fact that this game is going to be won in the channels and she realises that needs to happen. And in order to do that, you need your full backs to be able to kind of control that change as well. And I thought Emily Fox as well, especially with Olivia Smith, just the way that those two play together is something that I think is really budding.

30:17Jamie: And I just think defensively, like, LCL's counterattacking presence was mainly through the right as well. and I don't think Emily Fox gave them anything down their left side. So, yeah, another player that just kind of sticks strong and does the job and one of the best fullbacks in the world that just you kind of get – you grow used to how good she is and how consistent she is. So, yeah, I'm going to say Foxy. Yeah, definitely. The way she drives into midfield as well, she has a good shot at the end of the first half with her left foot. I think I'm right into – unfortunately, now FB Ref doesn't carry the data it used to.

30:49It's a massive, massive hole. It's a big issue for me personally. as well but I think she might shoot more than any other fullback in the league I know that that was certainly true at some point last season I wouldn't be surprised if it's still the truth I think she basically averages a shot a game which for a fullback you know strikers like if you're getting four or five shots a game that's really good so for a fullback to pop up in those areas I'm with you she was on my list I'm going to pick the other fullback Katie McCabe for very very similar reasons Arsenal were more direct in this game they did go into the channels much more quickly and Katie with her left foot very very good at doing that very very kind of controlled performance and I think there's a context to what Katie's doing as well in that you know it's it's looking like she'll go in the summer and that must be difficult for her because she plays every single game and has done for years and puts absolutely everything into it and Renee Slager still picks her for every single game so there isn't like there isn't any sort of doubt about her kind of football quality I just think you know Renee wants to change things she wants to change the age profile of the squad like that must be difficult for Katie and she's she's performing just as she always does um I think she's really really good in this game really secure on the ball very, very good defensively.

32:15And on a day where the ball's flying over your head a lot and the wind's very, very difficult, I thought both full-backs were really, really good in this game. And it was that type of game. The ball was wide a lot. So I think it stands to reason we've spoken about the wingers and the full-backs quite a bit. But one of the things, actually, Jamie, I spoke about after this game with Max Radwan, who writes about Arsenal women for the cutback and has been on this podcast a couple of times, we were kind of talking about how difficult it is to find talking points at the moment with Arsenal. I think they've won eight in a row or something like that.

32:59And I think they've only conceded four goals in their last 12 games. And I think there's a concept. We were both kind of waiting for the post-match press conference. And because most journalists were at the League Cup final, it wasn't a busy game and me and Max were kind of saying I'm struggling to come up with two questions for Rene like it feels like there's kind of a lack and I think coming from the back of a long international break as well and you know what it's like when it's not busy it's like oh I could I could probably get a player quite easily but it's like have I got any questions for everyone and this I will come to people's questions in the second half and I was fully anticipating this this is the lowest number of questions we've ever had which i don't i don't take as a comment on the podcast i just think there's a kind of serenity to the situation i think also arsenal are coming have come out of some big games we've played like lurven bristol city london city lionesses you expect some kind of routine wins we've been delivering them we're not really conceding goals it's it's kind of i i anticipate this will change when the chelsea games come around but I can't believe we've got 33 minutes so far of this podcast out of that game it's it's it's kind of weird isn't it it's like a it's like an almost eerie quiet at the moment

34:22Jamie: do you know what's funny is we're on a really good run right now like a really really good run and I think like again I've gone on people are probably so sick of me saying this but my biggest like concern in the pre-season was how do Arsenal survive this season when there's no like big narrative media push around them where they're the underdogs and they're surviving this massive crisis and I think we're seeing them survive the crisis touch wood right now really like without a crisis sorry uh really really well and maybe it's because the narrative is elsewhere obviously the pressure's kind of off with the league which is annoying because that's not where we want to be but now it's like city man cities like they're in the driver's seat and obviously it's kind of theirs to lose right now but maybe that takes the pressure away which is again annoying you never want to be in that scenario.

35:04Jamie: But right now, Arsenal are doing a really good job at kind of staying afloat when there's not really like outside pressures. And I think it's kind of interesting as well, Tim, because we're the team in that top four with like the easiest games left. Like we're not playing anyone in the top four. We're playing Liverpool on the last day, Everton, Leicester City, Aston Villa. Obviously, we've got Chelsea in the Champions League, Brighton in the FA Cup, and then Spurs and West Ham. so we're not battling with those kind of other teams for the top three right now whereas the other teams are and there's a lot more pressure on a team like Chelsea like we won the Champions League last season I think as much as we want to win that quarterfinal there's a lot more pressure on Chelsea to win that that quarterfinal so it's an interesting state for Arsenal right now because we're actually playing really well and when you look at the rest of the season there's a lot of like clear pathways to success here so it's a weird state to be in because people aren't praising Rene Sligger's generational run even though they're playing they're playing good football as well like it's it's just kind of scraping results but it's not like the men's team right now sometimes I watch them and I want to run through a glass window and like they stress me out so much whereas Arsenal women I kind of still have a bit of safety feeling that they're going to get the job done now so yeah it's an interesting place to be in Tim where yeah touch wood I don't want to get too excited but yeah looking at the WSL fixtures you just yeah it's a nice nice place to be in when it's a bit quiet and the attention's on your neighbor not us yeah I think that's the other thing as well about this international break and I know there are plenty of Arsenal women fans who aren't as invested in the men's team but again just speaking personally my season has like a real rhythm where like one of the teams plays a lot when the other team doesn't play and so I will have like two weeks coming up actually where there'll be a men's international break and the women will have four games and two of them are Chelsea in the Champions League quarterfinal so I'll be like a hundred percent my head will be there whereas there's you know the women have just had a three-week break during a pretty monumental period for the men's team and I've been at all of those games and so you know I do think maybe there's a little bit of that to it as well like on should we say the other side of the club it's very very fraught and tense and I think that's again just speaking personally like quite a contrast going to a game on Saturday at the Emirates against Everton and you know all that kind of euphoria and everything and then on Sunday watching the women and it's a really routine 2-0 win.

37:30And, you know, we'll talk about the defence in the second half, but the defensive record's really, really strong as well at the moment. But I think that'll do for part one. Like I said, we don't have a ton of questions for part two, which I completely understand. And as I said earlier, I didn't have a ton of questions for René Slagas afterwards, so definitely not a complaint. But we'll take a break here and we'll return in part two with your questions submitted on Blue Sky right after this.

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40:16from at Claire AWFC, just sharing some appreciation for our defence. Yet another clean sheet. They always tend to miss out on the Player of the Match awards, but just how good have they been in recent months? And like I said, Jamie, since that 3-2 week defeat away at Bayern, which I think was a bit of a line in the sand for how we play off the ball, four goals conceded in the last 12 games since then. And yeah, well, I haven't counted the Corinthians game in the FIFA Champions Cup. So, you know, otherwise that's six in 14. Like the defensive record has been seriously strong. And it's the first thing Rene keeps mentioning at the end of games, clean sheet.

41:01Jamie: Yeah, we've not conceded a goal in the WSL since Everton in the 13th of December. Like that is incredible. and especially incredible when you look at the fact that we've played Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City. That's the top three. They're the contenders. Obviously, LCL are a strong side as well in terms of the table. Obviously, it's different when you come to the Champions League and there's only a couple of goals like you mentioned in there. But in the WSL, the opponent level that we're keeping clean sheets against is something that's what I mean, Tim. It's hard kind of not to get excited, but no one's really talking about it because the season kind of felt like it was done two months ago in the WSL.

41:37Jamie: So it's hard to get excited, but the defense have been fantastic. And I think that this is a funny place to be because obviously Katie McCabe and Emily Fox have been like, they're the starters. And Leah Williamson, when she's fit, is in the team. But like Steph Catley was a makeshift center back that we kind of just put in because we didn't really have anyone else. And now she is the starter in left center back. And that's probably the center back partnership that's being overlooked a lot. And I think that we're not kind of giving us, even Arsenal fans aren't giving them the praise because of the fact that it still feels temporary even though it's not temporary but lots of obamoy comes in and does a really really good job as well and more importantly there's depth depth in those fullback positions and it's depth that's a plan for the future like smilla holmberg is not just a player that's filling a spot like no no no disrespect to someone like no maritz because she did a great job at arsenal i still think she she had a good career but she was it felt like she was kind of an interim and where where where's the star where's the Emily Fox, like what's happening next.

42:35Jamie: Whereas Holmberg is the player for the future. And we've seen that Taylor Hines can be a really good player when we need her to come in as well. So yeah, I just think the defense right now, the quality is still overlooked and it's such a funny place when you're an Arsenal women's fan, because it feels like the media attention is kind of always there, but when it goes away, we don't really talk about the squad and how good they're performing. We like to talk about how bad they're performing. So yeah, I think it's really interesting and those defenders in particular are playing a massive role and I think why they're playing such a massive role defensively is that they've just had more time together.

43:10Jamie: Like that's the back four and they've had a lot more time together but also they're helping everywhere on the pitch as well. We spoke about the full backs in this game, so often the centre backs play a similar role with the midfield. So yeah, to not concede against any WSL team for three, four months, granted there was Christmas and international break, but you've played the top three is very impressive and long may it continue yeah I think you're right about the depth as well because if you maybe second choice back four you're looking at like Smilla Holmberg Taylor Hines Lotto Wubhamoy Laia Kadena I think that's really really good depth and and we're not even mentioning Katie Reid there um which again is why I just could never quite get on board with why so many people always wanted us to sign a defender um like i think i think there's serious depth there like jenna naiswanger has kind of come and gone in that time as well a us international like i i think it's the area of the squad we're the healthiest um actually i think it's kind of the area with the least question marks obviously if katie goes in the summer that changes there is a more of a long-term question about the long left center back role but I think it's all pretty calm in there and we've got about 100 goalkeepers as well there we go do you have a question I do I'll come to the goalkeepers Tim because there's lots to speak about here we've got a few questions one of them is from Rose Shellen Rose 91 last season and maybe the start of this we thought the DVD was undroppable as first choice keeper but it seems that Borba just might have dethroned her or do you think this is all still just injury related.

44:50Jamie: Loza93 says, with Borba playing yesterday, despite Van Domslaar being seemingly fit, do you think we're likely to see a lot of goalkeeper rotation during the final weeks of the season? So yeah, your takes on the whole goalkeeper situation, Tim. Yeah, I had those two as well. I'm a little bit worried about the Van Domslaar thing, I have to say. Like her, I'd say losing her place internationally, you know, and like she's got good competition there. Lisa Kopp is a really good goalkeeper, but I just kind of a couple of months ago I'd have said there isn't really another goalkeeper in the world I'd take over Nomsala and so for her quickly to have got in this situation which is not irredeemable by any means but it does feel like I don't want to say a fall from grace that's too heavy I think but it does feel weird like again if I was to use an analogy for the men's team if this started happening to David Raya and like Kepa was rotating in you'd probably think something's gone a bit wrong um not because Kepa's not a good goalkeeper not because Anna Kaborba's not a good goalkeeper it's just like Rene never showed any um any inclination to rotate the goalkeeper it's one of one of the things when she came in Daphna's number one and that's it and like you said earlier to the point that if Daphna's on one leg she's still number one now obviously we've made some changes in the goalkeeper area Annika Bourbe has come in I think what adds to the slightly weird feeling about it is obviously Annika came in and we didn't know that she wasn't really fit for a lot of the first couple of months of the season and we were looking at it and going well she can barely like she's barely getting on the bench and like there's no obviously information came to light i i suspect it's still physical somehow because they you know two goalkeepers came in in january really naomi williams record from loan and then votakova coming in at the end i thought that was more related to borba's fitness because she was playing with, I believe, a hip injury, even when she was in the team, but Van Domsalaar wasn't fit.

47:11And so clearly something is going on there in terms of fitness. Otherwise, why would we bring two goalkeepers back? And that feels slightly incongruous. But I thought that was more related to Borba's fitness, actually, and it doesn't seem to be the case. It's probably still related to Van Domsalaar. So I think it probably is at least if both her national team and her club team think she's not at the top of her game, I wouldn't mind betting that is at least related to her physical state. But yeah, I do admit I find it quite kind of surprising. What about you?

47:54Jamie: yeah I think to be honest I I really think like Bob has been in great form and and that's a safety net for Renee right now I don't think I think it's a rewarding rewarding like experience it's like you're playing because you've been playing well because last season it wasn't like that it was like Daphna's fit Daphna plays like even if Daphna's kind of fit sorry Manu um but I also think Renee's like looking at the rest of the season not wanting to put herself in that situation again and you have a really important block next week like West Ham comes then Chelsea and then you go Tottenham then Chelsea again that's the block you need Van Domslaar fit for so I like I don't know it just feels like Slagers is looking at this and being like I don't want to be in a situation at the end of next and end of this season maybe when the block is still busy let's hope fingers crossed that the block is still busy that Van Domslaar is like having to play through injury we may as well just kind of like bring her back when we need to bring her back and may that be against West Ham so she's ready for Chelsea I think maybe I just think why play her in this game if you trust Borba right now so I do think Van Domslaar is the number one I agree with you Tim I think there's a bit more maybe there about just just like allowing her to come back to fitness because at Villa it was kind of like get back in the goal we need you as soon as your hips okay and at Arsenal it's been the exact same thing so yeah I'm hoping it's a bit of a we trust the second keeper which is really really good but Van Domslaar we want you to be ready for for some really big games coming up yeah it does feel like Van Domslaar hasn't really been fully fit since she arrived at the club like she came in and she had an operation and yeah it doesn't feel like her and 100 fit has ever really happened and still been pretty great regardless of that like it must be something in training because i i haven't seen anything in her performances on the pitch that that particularly worry or alarm me so yeah um how about this one from at matt swift and And this refers to a really, really good article from Megan Faringa in The Athletic about academy players.

49:50And Matt asks, very good article in The Athletic about academy players. Arsenal has probably the worst record in the league. Are he playing under-21s over the last five years? Katie Reid, the exception at the start of this year. Have we learned a lesson yet? Has management, has Rene, I guess, just kind of overall thoughts on, yeah, when you look at the stats, Megan's put together over the last five years, Arsenal have basically played fewer players under 21 than anyone else. That has changed a little bit this year because Katie Reid has bumped the average among others. But it's stuff we've kind of talked about, but what do you reckon about that?

50:33I guess as well, LCL lined up with two Arsenal Academy products in their starting line-up on Sunday as well.

50:41Jamie: Yeah, I think there's a few things to this conversation. because I think I've scrutinized the way that academy players are dealt with in the past. And I feel like there is a few lost talents on the way. But at the same time, I think if you're looking at, okay, have Arsenal kind of fumbled the bag, so to speak, with their academy prospects, I don't think so. I think Freya Godfrey is a fantastic player that needed to leave because she's not starting over the wingers that we have. And I know she's in incredible form right now, but if you're going to spend a million pounds on Olivia Smith, she is your future project and you still need Chloe Kelly to come into that team, Caitlin Ford, Beth Mead.

51:13Jamie: I think there is a lot of players where they leave Arsenal and they play really well. And as a fan, it's so easy to be like, oh, we messed up. We should have her in our team. And I do think that's kind of the case with a lot of these players is we get that feeling. Taya Goldie's the same. She's a great prospect and it's really good that for the first time in her young career she's fit all the time because she's had horrible luck with ACLs. But at the same time, that's the spot occupied by academy player Lota Wobinmoy and academy player Leah Williamson. And I think we're at a weird middle point right now where you look at that team, they're two players that are from the academy.

51:47Jamie: Obviously, Chloe Kelly, I don't know if we can count her because she obviously went on and explored many paths. But there's a kind of shift now where we're coming into a new era. Katie Reid and Michelle Adjumang will be Arsenal players for the next 10 years, I really hope. And I think they'll be really, really good Arsenal players. So I do think we are in a middle ground right now where the generation in between us, we're almost like a talent factory for other clubs. and sometimes that's okay as well. Like sometimes as a big club, you need to recruit talent in and you need to play the stars and we've kind of like signed the stars and because we've not won the league in so long, it's very easy to say, oh, we're not using this academy talent, we're letting this talent go to waste.

52:24Jamie: Sometimes you're just going to encounter those periods and I think we're in a middle period right now where we've got the generation that's the Leah Williamson generation who's making a real impact, obviously Taylor Hines as well. Like there is academy players in this team but then you've got the new generation coming in who's the Katie Reeds, the Michelle Adjumangs, players like Leila Harbert, I think we get a little bit confused with those kind of players because where do they sit? And Leila Harbert's position at Everton right now is very weird because she's hardly even seeing the grass, if at all.

52:51Jamie: So there is always going to be players like that that kind of make the overall sense as hard. And I think the way that this is being misconstrued in fans' mind is we're taking young players for academy players. I think Arsenal have actually had a really successful academy. The trajectory is there and it's there, the pathway is very clear but we're looking at players like Katrine Kuhl, Rosa Kafaji and we're saying oh we really suck with young talent I don't think we're bad with academy talent whatsoever I think we're really good at that but young talent I can see the the issues but we're finally seeing like obviously the Katie McCabe one and what you said before Tim is bang on like it's a big kudos to her character the way she's playing for Arsenal right now knowing that there's probably not a future path for her there because Renee Slagers is saying this is the time the squad needs to be youthened.

53:34Jamie: And obviously, Olivia Smith's come in. That's a massive one. And there's just players there that you can't dislodge that are top age. So right now, Tim, I think I'm kind of in between where the academy, I think Arsenal have done everything. Like there's so many talents coming out of that. But the young players is a problem. And I just think we can't kind of blend the two because I don't think they're the same scenario. But I think we're at the top of the mountain now where Rene Sleggis is going to say, OK, this is now it's time. We need to kind of freshen up the squad. So that was a long ramble.

54:00Jamie: But I think there's two sides to it. Yeah, I think it's more random than probably most clubs would admit. You get good generations, like you said, Leah and Lotta coming out of the academy and Anna Patton as well coming out around about the same time. and then you'll get a few fallow years. And I think it also just depends where your squad is and where our squad is age-wise is late prime and has been for a little while. But you'll probably see that change pretty drastically. But also one or two players will really swing your average. So Aguiar Beaver-Jones at Chelsea has been a very important player for Chelsea.

54:46that massively swings the average if you just have one player that plays a lot the same as we've seen with Katie Reid so I think in Megan's piece like in 21-22 less than 2 % of the minutes went to players under 21 this year it's up to 8.9 and that's largely because of Katie Reid like one player has swung that and then you've got hopefully Michelle Ajimang coming through as well I think the mark of it is how we deal with players like Katie Reid and Michelle Ajimang who are clearly elite talents. And other than that, you know, I think the fact that LCL have two Arsenal Academy players in their starting line-up is a credit to Arsenal.

55:28And like you said, they're probably... Like, you probably wouldn't make a case for either of them. Like, would Freya start over Olivia Smith as well as she's playing? Probably not. Would Tao Goldie have started ahead of Leo Williams and a lot of Wilmoy? Probably not. So I think that's all credit. really to Arsenal's academy and we've spoken before about how some of the some of the I don't want to say philosophy but a lot of players were recalled from loans and sent out on other loans and WSL 2 is a bit complicated because there's those extra promotion spots and so you know there's more teams playing for stuff and so yeah I do generally I think it's quite random about which academy talents you have and where your squad is and you that's why if you look at megan's piece the numbers fluctuate everywhere really in the top half right the the top kind of four or five clubs they have a season of two percent five percent eight percent four percent like it it's it's a bit random i think personally um do you have a question i do this question is from pullover 21

56:41Jamie: AWFC do we think this will be the blueprint for the rest of the WSL games this block without the Aussies early goal limit attack and get super subs on to finish off the game is it sustainable Tim is this sustainable for the season obviously the Aussies probably only one more WSL game without them in West Ham but I guess your thoughts on the way Arsenal are getting games done yeah I mean I I do because like I said like we've conceded four goals in 12 games so like that's that's like quite a big run and we're you know our defensive solidity is is really really helpful at the moment in that respect Renee did say she really wanted to start this game fast I think you want to start every game fast really but they put a real emphasis on that I mean yeah I think the absence of Caitlin and Kyra weirdly feels more consequential to me than Steph Catley even though Steph Catley basically plays every minute of every game just because Lotta's there whereas with Kaitlin obviously that takes an attacker away from us in terms of being able to bring someone on and Kyra as well like I said I don't want to be playing important minutes with a double pivot of Pilova and Laakadina so I think Kyra is a bit of a miss in that respect as well when it comes to kind of bringing someone in who can help to control games and we probably don't want to play Kim every minute of every game so maybe yeah maybe we made some changes in this game that you know we were kind of like but it's okay we're two nil up I think we're gonna see some you know we might see some pull over on the wing we might see some Smiller Holmberg on the wing we do have reduced capacity I think to change games from the bench but to your point probably for one more game.

58:35Well, we're probably looking at two games, really. So I don't think it's hugely consequential. What about you?

58:44Jamie: I don't think so either. I think the Chelsea game will be what the Chelsea game is. We spoke about that heavily in depth in the episode before the international break. It feels an eye for an eye. And if anything, I think we've kind of come to the conclusion that Arsenal have more of the depth in those positions than Chelsea do losing Carpenter and Kerr. In terms of the West Ham game, I think there's enough depth there. Like you said, I'm not worried about the immediate Matildas absences that we have right now. I don't think that that's – I think it's a very nice timing, the fact that we have LCL and West Ham.

59:14Jamie: Obviously, the Chelsea game is annoying, but if you're going to play any WSL club, you want it to be Chelsea or Manchester City because they have the most players missing. Like you saw Manchester City against Aston Villa. Yui Hasagawa not in that team. Like it's literally night and day. She is the best player in that team and the most important player in that team. So I think right now it's a good timing for Arsenal in the WSL games that we have. In terms of running out games like that, I think that it's not a bad thing if that is how you view that we're running out games. Because at the start of the season, the big issue that we had with Arsenal was the fact that they weren't running out games like that.

59:51Jamie: And it was like fast, really fast 15 minutes start, score the goal, sit back. And if they want to do that, that's fine. But now this team is, they're finishing games. They're coming on and they're finishing games. Obviously, against Chelsea, they finished the game. Man City's different. You're playing the top team. You score one goal, you win the game. That's still a really great end to the game. And I just think right now this is a team that are being a lot more sustainable with their success because they are playing 90 minutes. Whereas at the start of the season, they were playing 30 minutes and it was making me want to gouge my eyeballs out.

1:00:21Jamie: Yeah, I think, Tim, I'm a little bit undecided. I don't think it's a really bad brand of football that we're playing right now. It doesn't feel like we're scraping for results and scraping for players. It feels like we're sustaining. like a model of football that maybe this is what we needed to be playing rather than this massive attacking, exciting game where we can't defend. Yeah, and West Ham will be quite affected by the Asian Cup, won't they? Yeah, massively. Like Nibori, Uweki. Is Uweki in the Japan squad? Yeah, Uweki's in the Japan squad. Yeah, yeah, I think really, really good player. They've got a few Japanese players, haven't they?

1:00:52So I keep forgetting, like, Mackenzie Arnold's not there anymore. but like but yeah yeah yeah like they're going to be quite impacted as well and obviously LCL didn't have Kumigai for this game as well so or Kennedy

1:01:08Jamie: don't forget well yeah yeah how could I forget we would have lost 5-2 if that was the case but yeah yeah so I you know it's it's weird we talked about it so much and it's only going to turn because I think for the Chelsea first leg I think those Australian players will be in the squad. I don't think any of them will start, but I fancy they'll all be in the squad, particularly because you get a bigger bench in the Champions League. I expect to see Ellie Carpenter and Sam Kerr in the Chelsea squad as well. Let's do a last one, kind of fun one here from at Teal Gooner Hawk. Part one, with the recent WSL departure to NWSL, who do you think might move to the nwsl from the current squad i'm dodging that question but part two who in the nwsl would you like to see move to arsenal brackets and why is it claire hutton um nwsl play just for fun nwsl play you'd like to see at arsenal um i believe their their transfer window closes in a couple of hours so we might have to hurry up on this one um i'll avoid the obvious I'm not going to say like Temwa Chowinga or Barbara Bander or any of those because that's just boring we all Trinity Rodman we're not saying any of that I'm gonna go Claire Hutton is a great shout to be fair I'm gonna go Michelle Cooper her Kansas City current teammate she is a right winger really really fun player she's kind of like she plays a little bit like a bit of a blend between the way Makario is very central and the way Olivia Smith is very good with the ball at her feet and from range yeah I just think Michelle Cooper is a really exciting player and I I think she's going to be a big player for the US Women's National Team for many years to come.

1:02:53Jamie: So, yeah, I'll go Cooper. She's exciting. I actually tipped her for my MVP of the season, so maybe I'm just kind of like trying to back myself up a little bit. Yeah, so NWSL season, well, it started at the weekend, didn't it? So just started transfer window closing there, some, you know, Makario and Guru Wrighton going over to the league. now I don't watch as much NWSL as I'd like to largely for time zone reasons so I am going to give a fairly boring answer I'm not going to say Temwa Chuinga which I always say because we get this question a lot but I am going to be boring and say Barbara Bander who I believe she'd been injured hadn't she and is now back is off the what do they call it the season ending season ending injury list the seal yeah um but just incredible um player and obviously like a forward who scores a lot of goals and yeah so i am going to be boring and say and say barbara bander but also i'd i don't watch the league as much as i'd like to so i don't have like an interesting shout there to be honest i will be really interested to see how sophia now wilson comes back for Thorns because obviously she was out for most of last season after giving birth and obviously like I imagine timed that around the World Cup as well so that it wouldn't so that she'd get a bit of a run-up at the World Cup next summer I mean I don't know that but so I'd be really interested well yeah I mean it would make sense like to do it in the kind of international down period.

1:04:36But yeah, Sophia Wilson, who was Sophia Smith until she got married, I'm really interested to see how she comes back, not least because it feels a bit like she's been forgotten. You know, there's been so much talk about Trinity Rodman and, you know, Mallory Swanson kind of coming back from injury and it just feels like Annalisa Thompson as well coming to Chelsea. So it kind of feels like she's been a bit forgotten. I'll be really keen to see actually how she gets on for Thorns this year. 18 months ago, I probably would have said Sophia Smith in answer to that question. So let's see if that holds.

1:05:16But Jamie, I think we've done pretty well to get 62 minutes out of this game. Shall we wrap it there?

1:05:24Jamie: Let's wrap it there. I'm a bit nervous looking forward at the next month, Tim. So I think we'll bask in the simple nature of that game. yeah absolutely and with the next episode um we'll have to work out a time to record um but we might get that out for the sunday if we can rather than the monday or the tuesday just because obviously the chelsea game is on tuesday that means match day minus one at london colney on monday so i'll be at colney on monday obviously the men have the carabao cup final on sunday afternoon so busy kind of period so um we'll perhaps try and push that out a bit early after the West Ham game on Saturday lunchtime and we hope that you will join us for that.

1:06:07If you've listened to this episode I think you're very much within the hardcore Arsenal women ask cast community. Thanks so much for your questions, thanks so much for sticking with us and we will speak to you again very very soon.

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