Arsenal Women Arsecast Episode 158: Gunners Hammer Out Big Victory against the Irons

0:00Do you want your soccer analysis more direct than an Arsenal set piece? Join me, Max Rushton and the Guardian's expert soccer journalist for the latest action and news from the Premier League to the Champions League and all the way to the World Cup. We'll have chat more out of the box than a Dominic Sobber's live free kick, more panellists than Chelsea have players and unlike VAR, we know where to draw the line. For fine margins, fun debates and full-blooded tackles, Football Weekly, listen wherever you get your podcasts and watch the full episodes on YouTube.

0:40Hello and welcome to the Arsenal Women Ask Cast on AskBlog.com with me, your host, Tim Stillman, looking back on Saturday's 5-0 win over West Ham at Emirates Stadium. And we're recording this Saturday evening, UK time, Sunday morning, Australian time because really there's no other time to record because by the time you listen to this, I'll either be on my way to Wembley or maybe even on my way back. And then Monday, there's all the match day minus one stuff ahead of the game against Chelsea on Tuesday. So we have to record on Saturday night. Saturday night for me anyway, Sunday morning for our co-host Jamie, who is in Sydney, having been at the Asian Cup final on Saturday evening for you guys, right?

1:31Saturday morning for us. I'm getting confused with the time difference. But Jamie, how are you feeling this Sunday morning? Tim, head sore, heartbroken. It was a tough, tough game, a hard one. Honestly, I feel like I expected, I expected, I didn't expect any more than that, But it was a strong performance, which led to a little bit of heartache in the golden generation, of course, losing that final was tough. But I think there's also the caveat that when you lose to a team like Japan, it makes it feel a little bit better. So, yeah, I'm a bit sad, Tim. Yeah, I saw the game. I got to the Emirates probably about 35 minutes into the game.

2:14And I watched it from there in the media room. And it really felt to me like it should have been a draw, like pretty much all the way through, even at halftime when Japan were 1-0 up. I was kind of thinking this is a really even game and it probably should be level. And obviously Australia through the kitchen sink at the end and Nils Nilsson's pretty much press conference where he talks about a lot of things very colourfully. But he talks about it being a 50-50 game and it really, really was. And, you know, obviously I don't have, well, I say I don't have a dog in this fight. I had three dogs in this fight really from Arsenal and I really wanted them all to come back happy and with the trophy.

2:58But I mean, the Matildas at least, they've qualified for the World Cup. But, you know, I guess, Jamie, one of my takeaways from the game was, obviously, I know Joe Montemoro from his time at Arsenal. and I really felt like he'd love to coach his team to be maybe a bit more like Japan. This felt like a technical passing team against quite a direct transitional team, which made for a great final. But everything I know about Joe suggests that I think he'd like maybe by the time he leaves the Matilda's job for his team to look a bit more like Japan. Do you think that would be fair? A hundred percent.

3:43I think that this performance, I think there's so much to be proud of in this performance. And it's always harder to lose a final when you lose in a way where you're like, you have every opportunity to win that game. And I think sometimes the Australian media forgets to address the fact that Japan were almost perfect this tournament. And it's not a big shortcoming because I think Japan are going to be a team that really, really makes an impact on the World Cup in 2027 and a really, really exciting side to watch. And Australia gave absolutely everything. And like you said, it's just two different brands of football coming head to head.

4:14And I think you kind of see that transpire in the last 20 minutes with some of his substitutions. He brings on Wheeler and Van Egmont. And to me, that's like, let's control the game as opposed to let's win the game when you've got players like Michelle Heyman on the bench and Amy Sire. So, yeah, it felt like Joe maybe lost the game a little bit in that respect because he wants to play a different brand of football. And sometimes we just don't have those players. But I think looking forward for the Matildas, what's heartbreaking about this is it's a goodbye to the golden generation. Like, realistically, we're not going to win a trophy at the World Cup or until the next Asian Cup.

4:46And that's players like Caitlin Ford, Sam Kerr, Steph Catley, Van Egmont, Kennedy, like the end of a really, really good generation, but also the birth of some exciting players. And my biggest takeaway last night was Winona Heatley, fantastic. Caitlin Torpy, fantastic. Obviously, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Mary Fowler, some really good young players that I think do fit the mould of what Joe wants to do a little bit more. So it'll be interesting to see where it goes. I don't think it's going to go further than it has been over this last decade. And I think that's why this final was so hard, because this was the last opportunity, it felt like.

5:15But I think Joe Montemurro has got some young kids there and some players with a lot of promise that maybe fit the brand of football he wants to play a little bit more. Yeah, definitely. It reminds me a lot of Pia Sundaga and Brazil, actually. Like when you take over a team that's kind of maybe between eras or you're taking over the team maybe at the end of an era and you have to transition it through to a new era, that's a really, really tricky job. But that was Australia-Japan. A couple of hours later, Arsenal played West Ham United at Emirates Stadium. And this was a very, very interesting game.

5:55I was pretty confident coming into this. I was even more confident when I knew that Asahi wasn't going to play for West Ham. They were obviously already missing quite a few good Japanese players as well who were playing in Sydney. So we knew there was going to be no Leah Williamson in the lineup. And René Slagers still rung the changes in the back four. Holmberg, Taylor Hines playing in the full-back positions. Laia Kadina obviously coming in for Leah. Any surprises? I found this a difficult lineup to predict because of the Chelsea game on Tuesday and like, who is Rene really going to rest? And I mean, that's a question of where you've got the players to rest and really where Arsenal have the most depth in their squad is in defence.

6:46And any surprises in the line-up for you? No, I think this is a really good line-up for this game because you make the changes you need to make for depth. When I saw it, I was in the line for the train and I thought, fair enough. And I think the best part about this line-up is a player that clearly doesn't need as much rest as everyone else is Alessio Russo. and when you're going to make those changes in the back four, I think you do give up a little bit of control and you give up a lot of territory in the midfield. So playing Russo in the 10, I think, is a massive kind of counteract to that. So yeah, this is a good line-up.

7:15Something that maybe, I guess, surprised me that we discussed a little bit was Borba starting again. I think maybe that indicates she does play against Chelsea because I don't know if you go Van Domp's luck hold into a big game like that. So I don't know. Again, we don't know if there's injury concern there, but I thought, yeah, that kind of feels like she might be playing this midweek game because why would you put in Van Dompuy cold? So yeah, an interesting lineup, but I think a good one, a good balance between rotation and instability. Yeah, I'm with you. I fully expect Anika Borba to start on Tuesday.

7:44I think sometimes there are giveaways in these games, in the substitutions and in the lineup. I'm with you. I think Anika Borba 100 % is going to start on Tuesday. And, you know, obviously West Ham had quite a tough game on Wednesday. So it's quite rare that Arsenal play a team who have played midweek when we haven't. And West Ham played on Wednesday night and they toughed out a 0-0 draw at home to Manchester United, which was very nice for Arsenal as well, worked quite nicely. I actually asked Rita Guadagno about this afterwards, about, you know, was this maybe a step too far to kind of grit out a game like that on Wednesday night and then come to the Emirates on Saturday morning with players missing?

8:27And she kind of said, yes, yes, it was. And Arsenal take a very early lead. Taylor Hines passes Chloe Kelly, beats Endo and, you know, drifts the cross in. I didn't know for ages who'd scored this goal, Jamie. I thought Steiner had scored right until after the game. And I asked the Arsenal press officer who said, no, no, it's Chloe Kelly's goal. Apparently, Steiner told the Swedish media there was no touch on this. but seeing, I think, the Kelly Smith in the wide positions, you know, the names themselves are Arsenal Heritage, but this was the perfect start to this game, particularly with what West Ham had on Wednesday night.

9:13100%. This game starts with such high intensity. I thought it was Astina Blacks in his goal because it looks like the ball slows down when it goes past her. So I did think she got a touch on it. I'm happy that Kelly got a touch on it, obviously. I didn't actually know until I saw her with the match ball. in someone's photo. That's the only reason I knew that this was awarded to Chloe Kelly. I just think like this game for both the wingers and something that obviously Chloe Kelly ran this game and she was the star of this show, but the way that they can both take the territory down the channel and cut in.

9:41And I think that's what Chloe Kelly did really well in this game is she knows exactly when she needs to take position inbound and really overload West Ham because with full respect to West Ham, but they're missing a lot of players and they're missing a lot of stability and their midfield kind of gave us a lot of space in this game. Obviously, Katrina Gore is out and Enrico Iwecki and that's a nine that really holds up possession and they didn't have that. It felt like every time they went forward, the ball bounced back. So it was important that Arsenal were able to overload those areas and this happened straight away in the first goal.

10:08Chloe Kelly cuts in and a really ambitious ball. I don't think she meant to score it. I think she meant Stina to get a touch on that. But yeah, just good positioning and also even if Stina didn't score it, it's a really good striker's run for a player to be in that position. And if the ball doesn't go in the back of the net, I'm sure Steen is putting it in the net. So a really good start and something that I don't even think we needed because of how good the performance panned out to be, but still a strong start. Yeah, definitely. There's a few things that stick out to me about this goal. Yeah, Steen is there, but so is Olivia Smith.

10:37She's like right there as well in the centre of the goal attacking it. I think what's really interesting is when Chloe Kelly takes on, I think it's Endo. Endo shows her inside. Even though Chloe Kelly is right-footed, like Endo blocks the outside. And I don't necessarily think that's the wrong decision. And I think we'll come on to this. Chloe Kelly on her left foot. I mean, she scores a really good goal on her left foot. But it's really interesting, she thought, to block the outside and allow Chloe Kelly to come inside. And then you've got Steiner and Olivia Smith attacking it. And I think that's really, really kind of interesting as well.

11:14And it's a great start for Arsenal. This was a nice time to play West Ham. It's not often you're going to get West Ham off the back of a really, really kind of heavy game on the Wednesday night where they tough out a point and they're missing Uweki and Asai. Like, I look at West Ham and their players look so interchangeable, but I look at Katrina Gorey, who wasn't there, and I look at Oessie, Asahi and Martinez, and I think all of you could play for pretty much any team in the WSL and three of them weren't there. And I think that's really, really significant in getting the early goal. and after this Jamie I think Arsenal just lay siege on the West Ham goal and you know you get Steiner hits the bar Russo has a there's a there's a like a double save from a Russo shot and Libya Smith shot before Chloe Kelly puts it over Chloe Kelly puts a ball in behind Steiner Blackstenius I think that should have been a penalty I think her shirt was pulled but then And, you know, Chloe Kelly goes and wins it back, cuts it back from Mariana, who puts it over.

12:25Like, it felt like I was typing about a chance in the press box. And every time I looked up, there was an Arsenal player on the byline cutting it back. And there was another chance. I mean, West Ham started with a back five. I think they changed that. But I think Arsenal really had West Ham's number, and particularly in those wide areas, really got in behind them and made loads of chances in the first half? It should have been 10-0 a half time. Every time I look over, Mariona puts it over the bar, Kelly puts it over the bar, Stina's hitting the crossbar. It should have been 10-0 a half time. But I think there's something in the air with these kind of games, Tim, because so often historically we've been frustrated when it's not chances going in.

13:08But I think in this scenario, it was one of those games that was like, no, no, no, I don't really know if West Ham have the kind of facilities in their team in the depth right now to correct this. and it did feel like the floodgates were going to open eventually. So it's a lot more of a secure feeling when your team's kind of missing those sitting duck chances than when it is when, yeah, you feel like the other team are going to be able to correct the halftime. But the biggest thing from this first half was just the way that Arsenal immediately dismantled West Ham's back five was so quick. And it felt like the West Ham back five had no idea really who to mark.

13:40And I think that's a real benefit of having Alessia Russo and Stena Black-Stenius and something that we know already, but I think something that really shows itself in this game is no matter how touch tight someone like Tudor Hanson or whether it was Katie Zellum or whoever's marking Alessio Russo in this game, I think there's something growing with Steena Baxtinius and Russo right now where Baxtinius knows how to pick up the pockets that Russo is not occupying. Whereas it used to feel like it was a direct line to goal. You have Russo in the 10 and Steena's right behind her and there's no kind of overlapping run or no one's coming in and behind.

14:10But in this game, I think Russo, we know how good she is with the ball at her feet, but we also know how good she is at dragging defenders because you want players to pay attention to her. And that automatically makes a back five or back four because whoever that spare centre-back is wants to be an LSE Russo. So it's not a back five anymore. And I think this game shows exactly that. And Russo and Steen, I think, do a brilliant job in this game. And that's why the wingers have so much space. They have so much time because the defenders have to pay so much attention to both of the strikers in this instance because Russo's playing as a midfielder, but she's doing a really good job to occupy the West Ham defenders.

14:41So I just thought the first half was really, really good. A lot of movement. And I think it comes on later as well when we make the crazy amount of changes with some insane positioning as well. I think Arsenal do a really good job at just dragging West Ham out of where they want to be and opening up lots of space for Kelly and Smith. Yeah, this reminded me of the home games when Rene first took over when every home game was just like 4 or 5-0. And there was that fluidity again. and Kelly and Smith. I love saying that, by the way. Kelly and Smith are swapping sides and Russo and Steiner are swapping and Mariana's popping up everywhere.

15:22I'm completely with you. I'm glad you said that as well because I was going to ask you about that. To what extent at halftime, the fact that it was only 1-0, in one respect, fried my brain a little bit just because there were so many... like Steiner hits the bar, has one deflected over, like just absolutely all over them. By the way, West Ham have one shot in this game and it comes in the third minute. And just utter domination. But I just didn't have that kind of, will we regret this feeling? It's weird sometimes. Like I think when you watch football for a long time, you get these, you pick up these intangibles and sometimes you feel like, oh my god are we going to regret this are we going to regret this and sometimes you're just like I think we're just going to keep doing this and eventually the scoreline will correct like I don't know about you at half time I just didn't have any anxiety at all about oh my god it's only one nil West Ham might come back into it I really felt that it's just a matter of time before the scoreboard starts to reflect what's going on here 100 % I think also West Ham in the last like under Gorino they're not a very they're not an in-game correcting team they're very good at executing a game plan but like you see against United you knew exactly what they wanted to do against United and they played that kind of like low to mid block and United had to hold on to the possession but West Ham were really really good at kind of like managing the counter-attack but not in the way we usually see when they're very Kowecki like I thought that they had a game plan against United whereas in this game it felt like they were out there to defend and it was almost like let's kind of just damage control as much as we can in this game and I think Arsenal did a really good job at exploiting that it felt like this was a team where then they're not going to go back and correct a halftime like Aston Villa maybe could when they did at the Emirates it didn't feel the same and it also felt like again like Arsenal just a more fluid team in this fixture that they were at the start of the season and I think when you have players like such a heavily rotated starting 11 and those opportunities are still coming you know you've still got the bench and that obviously happens as well and the depth's not as amazing as it always is because of injuries and tournaments and so on and so forth.

17:31But it felt like this wasn't a game that West Ham were going to be able to correct. It was a game where it's just the striker can't score, the players are hitting over the bar. That's the final action. Just be more ruthless. The more chances that come, the more ruthless you can be. So, yeah, I wasn't afraid of West Ham's threat. I just think if you take 10 shots, one's eventually got to go in eventually. So, yeah, I had no anxieties at halftime, just a bit of frustration that we weren't putting the goals in the back of it. yeah it's really funny because man city were five one up a half time and we were one nil up and i didn't know any of the data of the game but the the very few of us that were there covering the game and i was like i bet man city haven't created more chances than we have like um and and it's really interesting that we ended up with a better final score than man city if you will like it did kind of correct itself over 90 minutes but I go we're going to talk about a few individual performances but in the we'll come on to Chloe Kelly obviously because she gets her hat trick in the end but like I mean for me Olivia Smith I asked Renee about Olivia Smith on Friday and I kind of said I've just again as I was saying earlier you get these intangibles when you watch football and you get an intangible for when a player becomes a part of a team and with Olivia Smith it's like the talent the talent's been there since the first shot she took for Arsenal from 30 yards in the top corner but you know really getting this sense that this player is part of the team and what what I love about this player there's two things I love she's got that almost like Beth me thing of being able to win the ball back but I love the fact if she can't go past you she will go through you like I love the physical strength that she has like if she needs to um you know do a nutmeg or a step over she'll do that but if she just needs to get her shoulder into you and move you out of the way she will do that as well and I just saw that so often in the first half from her this is a player team where you watch her and you think i cannot remember the price tag like i can't remember how much we paid for her i don't care how much we paid for her she's so young and the way that she just comes at this game and granted like i'm full like no respect to no disrespect no no disrespect to my staff no one tell no one tell where sam um like there's obviously a quality difference in the defense when you're coming up against other teams but she's been doing this against really, really strong defenders for the last couple of weeks.

20:06And she's making, and you mentioned that run that she makes for the first goal. Like, obviously, she makes that against London City last week as well. She's a very instinctive player. And I think that comes into how she is with the ball, because I couldn't agree more, Tim. She's kind of just like, I'm going to do whatever I can to get this ball in the back of the net. But it doesn't mean she lacks class. Like, she knows when to pick her moments. And this is a player that I think when you watch young wingers and young exciting forwards in football, and especially in women's football, Sometimes they do lack the kind of final edge of not just when do I make that the decision making is not really there.

20:39And I think with Olivia Smith, we're starting to see a player with really, really strong decision making. And she knows when to pick her moments and exploit teams based on what she thinks that they need to get past. And I think we see this a lot when Kelly and Smith invert. I think Smith's actually better than Chloe Kelly at kind of reading the fullback and changing her game depending on what channel she's on. whereas Kelly is a very, very just go-with-the-game kind of footballer and she does exactly what she needs to do. Whereas I think Smith, just the minor differences in how she changes when she swaps wing is there.

21:07And this is a point you made, Tim. I'm not taking credit for it, but you posted on social media about her winning the ball back in high areas. And I think that's something that absolutely rattles West Ham in this game because they're playing high numbers in the back line and they want to be able to get the ball back and they want to be able to progress the ball up the pitch, but they can't. And there's so many of those players. So the second Olivia Smith is working like a workhorse to get that ball back, like Arsenal are immediately in a goal-scoring opportunity because of how high she is up the pitch.

21:34So, yeah, this is a player with a very complete profile and someone I'm very excited to see much more of. But, yeah,£1 million, I'd spend£2 million, double it. Like, we should start a GoFundMe for Liverpool. Yeah, yeah. It's very – I messaged from a good friend, Clive, during the game and he just said, I'm getting, I'm the best player in the league vibes from this player. And I'm not sure whether she's there in a world where Bunny Shaw exists in this league, but I think she's getting there. I have to say, I'm getting a real, this player is going to be one of the star players of the league for several years.

22:17And that's a big part of why Arsenal put the money down. It's not just the player she is, but the player that they believed she was going to be. And it really looks like she's getting there. So it's 1-0 at halftime. Like you say, maybe a bit of frustration that it's only 1-0. Fixed that within 60 seconds. This time, after all the cutbacks and crosses along the floor, and I laboriously went through all of Arsenal's goals this season and worked out they'd scored 17 goals before this game via cutbacks or crosses along the floor. and then Smilla Holmberg has the nerve to put one in the air for Alessio Russo to head in.

22:56Very Ona Bache and Alessio Russo at Manchester United vibes. Who knows, maybe that partnership will rekindle one day in the future. But it felt like that was at least how the first half should have ended. And I think Smilla Holmberg is another player who comes out of this game with a lot of credit. I'm glad that Smilla Holmberg has finally unlocked the Russo header because that's something we could have used in the last couple of seasons. But a ball across, I think, is a really good one in this game as well. But Smilla Holmberg's performance, I thought as a whole, was really, really outstanding.

23:36I think Renee, I think it was Max Radwan, asked her in the post-match about Smilla Holmberg and she said she's a very explosive player and that's exactly what she is. I think almost immediately in this game, it's funny, we're playing out from the back. I can't remember if it was Kadina or Wobbenway that has the ball. And you look at Taylor Hines and she's only a few yards in front of the left centre-back, whereas Smilla Holmberg is almost all the way near where the winger is. And she's playing very high in this game almost immediately. And that takes a lot of confidence for a young defensive player to be able to trust herself and back herself in there.

24:06So she's really, really strong in this game and she's very explosive down the right channel. The thing with West Ham, though, is like almost as an Arsenal fan, I was watching West Ham and I was saying like, guys, you need to catch on. Like she's taking a touch every time to the byline and she's going to cross the ball in. Like it's not like Emily Fox where it's like, is she going to take the channel? Is she going to cut in? Is she going to play the midfielder? Smilla Holmberg is very good at taking a touch, getting past her defender because she's quite a strong player as well. And she's quick and crossing the ball in.

24:32So I just think West Ham took so long to realize that that is exactly what she wanted to do and what Slagers wanted her to do in this game. But yeah, she played her role really well. And it's really nice when you see a young player like that and say, hey, this is the future and this is someone that we can build around and someone that's going to be a big part of starting 11, while also thinking Emily Fox is the starting right back. It's a really good situation for Arsenal to be in that a couple of seasons ago. It was like, who's the starting right back? Are either of them world beaters? Now it's like you've got a world-class player and you've got a young player that can very much be world-class.

25:02So, yeah, great cross and a really good front post run from Rilesio Russo as well. It must be said, a great head of finish. Yeah, definitely. I mean, I think in both fullback positions, there's four players there now who will all play in every game, basically. Whoever starts, whoever finishes, they're all getting on, basically. And I think I almost consider the fullback positions almost like the winger positions now, where whoever starts, the other player's coming on in the second half. And from there, I mean, I don't think there was ever any doubt anyway, but Olivia Smith with a volley hitting the underside of the bar, big Eberachet Ezer vibes.

25:42The Emirates almost got like two of those goals in the space of a couple of days. But then the rest of the game is really kind of about Chloe Kelly. I mean, she was great throughout. But, you know, the second goal here, I said to Rene afterwards, like, I thought I knew this player because I saw her when she came through at Arsenal I saw her at Everton I saw her at Man City and I thought I knew this player and was always a very very big fan I saw outside winger on the right best probably best cross at one of the best crosses in Europe that's what I saw one touch ball out cross in you know not not quite a one-trick pony but someone who had one massive massive strength i've seen so much more um from this player at arsenal and the fact that she takes this on her left foot i think she had two left footed assists in the last couple of weeks as well she takes this on her left foot and really decides to take it on her left foot as well when steiner passes to her it's not that it comes to her left foot it's that she knows that's where the space is and she you know pushes the ball out smashes it into the bottom corner and um yeah i love we see it with um her her hat trick goal as well the way she touches that ball inside again i asked renee jamie after the game in the first half of the season Renee always denied that Chloe Kelly was not fully fit um I knew she wasn't and I and listen I think everyone knew she wasn't because they've got eyes and they can see but she said yeah she wasn't physically comfortable in the first half of the season and I think now you're seeing this player is fully fit and it it almost feels like 12 months ago when Chloe Kelly first walked back into our lives.

27:45She's so good in this game and she's so good when she's at her best and I think it's funny how like as a non-English person like watching the Lionesses play for Arsenal, for Chelsea, for City, it's very funny because there's a big sense in this overarching theme that they're very overrated and people hype up the Lionesses but I almost think the Lionesses are like the ones that are most heavily criticized and almost overlooked like it's very funny that phenomenon because it feels like Alessia Russo is the starting striker for England but when she's like you don't really rate her as much as you should rate her and you don't look at the intricacies of her game and I think Chloe Kelly is one of these players where people look at this like exciting winger and she like gets it done but like you don't really respect her for like the complete footballer that she is and it's something about the Lionesses because of all the attention we actually forget to be like no no these are like phenomenal players that can be the best at their club and Chloe Kelly is in this game is that player she was that player last season for Arsenal almost immediately when she fell into the team but she has become that player and it's so true even earlier in the season when she did come back for a little stint you could tell she wasn't fit it was 50 50 challenges it was those extra run backs she couldn't make and now she's doing that and this is a player that is so exciting and she's so exciting off the left I love watching off the left and we saw glimpses of that um under Serena Vigman at the Euros so maybe we do have Serena a little bit to thank but she was phenomenal for England especially in that Sweden game when she came on got the two assists changed the game and that was from the left wing and I think that was when we looked at her and said no this is a player that can can play both and she obviously has great use on both feet, as we see from this banging goal.

29:14But this is a player that I think we need to utilise more in both positions, and it's good to see that that is happening because at City it was just play the right wing, don't defend, stay in your own half, like up and down, up and down, take the set pieces. That was her role at City, and it worked, it's fair enough, but she's being asked to do a lot more at Arsenal. She's really taking it in her stride, and a great finish left foot. You wouldn't know that that's not her dominant foot, but, yeah, something that I think is very exciting to be able to know that you can play her off both flanks and she can perform like this yeah definitely she's got a lovely way of like when she goes on her left foot because when you go on your weak side obviously you know you're you're shooting on your standing foot it affects your balance like wrapping your body around the ball is difficult and she's just got this great way of using her her right foot as a kind of bit of a backstop to stop her stop her wobbling as it were and you know both when she crosses and, and, and that's what I mean.

30:11Like, so I wasn't being critical of Endo in the first half where she blocks off Kelly on her left side and lets her cross on her right. Like, um, because you can see what Chloe can do on her left foot. And you look back at that assist, uh, in Lurvin for Olivia Smith as well, where she can go both sides. And I've just, I've seen so many attackers in the men's and women's game who just completely unlock a different level once they discover their weak foot and they can use it. And she's really, really got that. And then, I mean, we get some substitutions at this point. Steena comes up on 62 minutes.

30:52I think that tells you she's starting on Tuesday for one. And then Beth Mead coming on as a number 10. Now, Jamie, we've seen her move into this area a lot off the flank. But obviously there's a difference between going somewhere and starting somewhere. This is something we've spoken about over the last maybe 18 months or so, about whether this player, whether Beth could play there. And I think she can. Her grounding is a centre forward. I think she's fine in central areas. Obviously, there's a context here that, you know, they wanted to get Russo off, Freedom Ornum not available. I think Freedom Ornum could have been available for this game.

31:40It's illness that's kept her out. Unfortunately, I don't think that's the case with Lear. I do think she'll be missing on Tuesday. But so, you know, they didn't have a lot of options in the number 10, but I found it really interesting her playing here. And yeah, again, the context of the game and the opponent is important. And I don't know how much longer Beth will be here and how many more times we'll actually get to see this. But I think Beth can play there. I loved it. I absolutely loved it. And I agree with you, there is context like West Ham, where they were down and out by this point. Like they were very well down and out.

32:21And then midfield's not full strength. And they were really, really struggling. So there is context in this game because maybe when it's a tighter midfield opponent, like Beth Mead has a little bit less time and space on the ball. But I loved it. I think that this is like maybe it's the new Steph Catley left centre-back. Maybe this is the way we extend Beth Mead's career. No, but in all seriousness, I think you can tell that she's just like very good at the central instinct. And this is something that is why she's been so good, especially for England and for Arsenal. But coming in off the right wing into the central areas is because she knows exactly where the pockets of space are.

32:51She's a very intelligent player. And I think every weekend I praise Beth Mead, even if she's played five minutes or something about her game. But whether it's her defensively tracking back, it's also the way that she knows where the central areas are available in a way that some of the Arsenal 10s aren't very good at. I think that like Frida Mornham is a great kind of player to play in that area. And obviously, Victoria Pulova is not a 10, but she's played there historically. I think that Beth Mead's way to pick up and read the movement in central areas is more similar to Alessia Russo. And I think both of those players are probably the best at that.

33:22So I liked this a lot. Katie McCabe, obviously, in the CDM, there was a lot going on in this moment. But, no, I think Mead in the central areas is interesting, and especially in the 10 where it's a little bit less of a physical responsibility, especially in this game. Yeah, definitely. And ultimately, I think Arsenal have come out of the Asian Cup thing basically unscathed, really. Maybe Tuesday has a bit of a bearing on that because, like I said, I don't think Lear's going to be available. So whether they, you know, Steph Catley is off the runway and into the starting lineup, I wouldn't be surprised, to be honest.

33:59And obviously, it's a big bench in the Champions League. So I think all of those Aussie players will be in the squad for both sides. But from here, you know, Chloe Kelly completes the hat trick. And again, I think the first touch she takes, having, you know, nicked the ball in the penalty area to get it on her right foot. Beth Mead scores a fifth with a kind of lovely one-two with Smilla Holmberg. It was really, you know, if you had a blonde ponytail, this was your day, I think, in an Arsenal shirt. And then, I mean, the way we finished this game, I mean, so the midfield was Pelova, McCabe and Mead, which in itself, you know, interesting.

34:50And obviously, I mean, the defensive depth though, to have like, to be without Katie Reid, Leo Williamson, Steph Cattley, and still be able to put out Lota and Laia Kadina at centre-back. But, you know, the three of us in the press box, have obviously wanted Sophie Harwood to get a debut for a little while. And as soon as he went to 4-0, we're like, come on, come on. You've got to bring her on. But we already had Smilla Holmberg and, I was going to say Amelia Fox, and Emily Fox on the pitch. And Sophie Harwood's a right back. So it's like, but just put her on, just put her on. And Sophie Harwood, who plays right back, has played central midfield as well.

35:33I think this is the dream debut Jamie you're 5-0 up at home obviously there's a long injury time because Nystrom gets an injury which hopefully Rita said after the game wasn't as serious as it looked but basically she just gets 8 minutes to play up front and have some fun at Emirates Stadium wherever her career takes her that's probably not going to happen again like i you know the the way arsenal finished this game i almost want to just put the formation graphic up and just say is like when is this ever going to happen again it felt like when bot mob like guesses a women's football game it's not one of like the big four so to speak teams or like uefa's lineup graphic it's so good it's like you've got shalina zadorski in the nine it's like one of those when they don't really know much about the teams and towards the bottom of the table.

36:32So funny. Like McCabe in the CDM and then like I just, I was laughing so much. But then Sophie Harwood comes on. I had the exact same feeling. I was like, what's going on here? Because there's no way she's going to come on and play on a flank. Like there's no way that's happening. So yeah, a really good moment for obviously a player that is a childhood Arsenal fan and someone that's come through the ranks of the academy and a really massive moment and it feels like one of those ones you dream up when you're like kicking the football in your backyard and you get your first start for Arsenal in the night.

36:57So yeah, a really exciting moment for her and a young player that I think a lot of Arsenal fans should be excited about. Yeah, definitely. I mean, she must have been in the squad like 20 plus times this season. Like nearly every single game I think she's been in the squad. There can't be many where she hasn't been. So for the circumstances to arise to give her that, particularly at the Emirates as well, I think. So congratulations to Sophie and her family. I know that'll be a hugely proud moment for them. And I think we always underestimate this with academy players is like, even like the number of academy players that actually come through in any way, shape or form is minuscule.

37:41So every single one that gets on the pitch for Arsenal, that is a massive, massive success. And there is a massive story behind it. There are parents taking time off work, evenings, driving their children to training and all of that. And like there is there is a whole story behind that. And so every academy player that kicks a football for Arsenal, whatever else they do for the rest of their careers is a massive, massive success. Arsenal finished this game. They have 23 shots. West Ham have one. Arsenal have 37 touches in West Ham's penalty area West Ham have two I mean like I said it was kind of interesting that we ended up out doing Manchester City's score but I mean there can be no complaints about this final scoreline this was one of the best performances of the season for me Jamie Absolutely fantastic and it's a heavily rotated team like a lot of changes a lot of players that maybe we wouldn't start had we had the Asian Cup players and no injuries So, yeah, a really good team.

38:48And I think we've been crying out for a rotated Arsenal team to put on a kind of performance like this. So, fantastic. But again, Tim, another clean sheet. And I know it's against West Ham, but another really solid defensive performance from four, like a completely rotated back four. Realistically, this is not who our fully fit back four would be. So, another clean sheet, a really strong performance, getting some minutes into the legs ahead of Chelsea. And, yeah, just you can't complain about a performance like this, especially when Chloe Kelly is ripping up the pitch like she was. So, yeah, a very good outing and some nice pain relief for me following the Asian Cup.

39:21Yeah, that's still no WSL goal conceded since December the 13th. And, yeah, you know, Chelsea drawing with LCL today. Manchester United just about got the points against Everton. It looked like they were going to drop points as well. But Arsenal go into Tuesday. It's a coin flip game over two legs, but they go into it in a pretty good shape. but maybe we'll talk about that a little bit after the break we'll take a little break here and we'll come back with your questions in part two right after this

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42:12Okay, we're back for part two of the Arsenal Women Ask Cast on askblog.com with Tim Stillman and Jamie Spanger looking over Saturday's 5-0 win over West Ham. And this is the questions part. And what's really, really interesting is we said, Jamie, last week, it's the lowest number of questions we'd ever had for the podcast and the lowest number of questions I'd ever been able to think of for the manager after the LCL game. But for some reason this way, and I can't explain this, but this week I had to like, I had probably like a list of seven or eight questions for Rene that I had to like trim down.

42:51And we've had a lot more questions this week. And I don't, I really, I completely understand it, but I also can't explain it. I can't explain why this game, there's so much more to talk about than there was last weekend. but why don't we start with this question submitted on Blue Sky and this plays into one of the questions that Max Radwan asked after the game as well this is from at girl on trial hopefully not really on trial on Blue Sky you said a lot about Smith slotting neatly into the side but Holmberg is also looking like a brilliant addition and Max also mentioned Annika Borba, Taylor Hines, players signed by Rene Slagers.

43:39Have we been lucky or is there a better plan now for recruiting the kind of players we need? So like with the exception of Gemina Nyswanger, which feels like a massive aberration, pretty much all the signings we've made under Rene, even if some of them like Annika have been slow burners, seem to be working pretty well. A hundred percent. This is finally the one where we're not going to the market and saying, who's available, you'll do for now. Like the summer where, no offence to these players, because actually I really loved their time last year, but like Amanda Illizde, Chloe Lacasse, they were short-term signings and they were like short-sighted signings.

44:21These ones, they're not. And even if you look at the players that Arsenal are rumoured to be interested in, obviously there's no confirmation of any signings being done, but Georgia Stanway on about, yay, these kind of players, are way more suited to what Arsenal need. And it's way more suited to the upgrade. It's like an upgrade or it's whether that's the kind of brand of football Rene wants to play in the midfield. It just feels like there's a clear-cut identity with who we're targeting in the transfer window right now rather than just random players. And Smilla Holmberg clearly is one of those players because we need a backup for Emily Fox.

44:52And she's young enough where she's not going to be kind of throwing her hands up and saying, I need to be starting somewhere because she's a really, really good player that has a big career ahead of her, Annika Borba I think that's an interesting one because I would love to praise Renee and say wow that's an amazing signing that she really expected to like be taking the shirt I don't think she expected to be taking the shirt because you mentioned earlier like last week sorry Tim you said like we wouldn't have gone in for Vodakova in January if we were really that confident I'd like I do think there's a bit of a depth thing there and Borba's just taken the shirt and absolutely starred in it so I'd love to give the credit there but again it's a great depth signing So it does feel like for once there is a bit of a future plan for who we're signing.

45:33And that comes with the fact, obviously, Jodie Taylor's now got a permanent role at Arsenal. It feels like there's a lot less responsibility on just Claire Wheatley to do absolutely everything. And you've got someone to do the transfer business. You've got someone to look after the academy and the manager. So, yeah, it feels like maybe this is the track where Arsenal are heading on, where the team actually have a really like a future plan, not just a short term plan. So yeah, Smiller-Holmberg is a great example of, kind of embodies that maybe there's some identity being built here. I think the goalkeeper stuff in January was about fitness, really.

46:05It's just I thought it was Annika Borba's fitness. It might be Daphna's fitness, but that's something I'm going to do a little bit more digging into. Do you have a question? I do. This one's maybe a little bit looking ahead to Chelsea, but also reflecting on the last couple of games. This is from Izzy at IzzyAWFC. Six of our last seven games versus Chelsea started with Beth and Caitlin on the wings. Chloe Kelly and Liv have been in great form, but we've barely seen them play against Chelsea for Arsenal. If they start, what differences do you think they will bring, especially considering Chelsea's backline might be a bit short?

46:38Yeah, this is a really interesting question because, yeah, that's absolutely right. I'd love to see the data actually for how many times since 2020 we've played Chelsea with Beth and Caitlin out wide. And it's worked really well several times, not least the last time we played. I think the thing about Chloe and Olivia, the fact that they can both swap sides so freely really, really makes a difference. We see it occasionally with Beth and Caitlin, but not to the same extent. But I think also the fact that they can both go on both sides. But I think also what both of them have is a shot from the edge of the area.

47:27And Beth has that as well. It's maybe one thing Caitlin doesn't have. But at the same time, like, you know, watch it. Sorry to bring up the Asian Cup final again. but like the thing about caitlin like she has huge value as a volume player right like i watched the matildas and i think mary fowler could curl on top bins like sam kerr can finish but like you need to get the ball to those players and actually like caitlin for there's so much to be said that doesn't show up in uh the obvious data about getting the ball to a winger who every single bloody time she gets it we'll just go at the fullback again and again and again and again and again and again and that had that repeatability has a real value so like i i mean basically this is a short way of saying i think we've got four very very good wide players um don't say i mean i think caitlin will be on the bench on tuesday i i think we'll probably try not to use her unless we have to I think the thing is with Olivia and Chloe though they're both so good on both sides they're both very unpredictable so difficult to read they can both shoot they can both go on both sides they can come inside and outside I think Beth can do that as well I mean Beth scores on her left foot today and I don't know how many left foot goals she has at the Emirates I think it's quite a lot as well um so like she's not going away Beth Mead like she comes on today and plays really really well and scores a goal so like she's still making that decision difficult I think for Tuesday night and all of the wide players I think will have a role to play I just think at the moment with Chloe Kelly and Olivia Smith there's just a there's just a fluidity and there's just a looseness in the shoulders at the moment in both of those players they both look like they're happy to take players on they're happy to take shots on so is Beth I just think we're in a really good position um actually in in in the wide positions and I I but I fully expect Chloe Kelly and Olivia Smith to start on Tuesday what about you 100 % I think like obviously circumstances as well I expect them to start but I think that this is they're so different all four of the wingers are so different and it's a really good thing and like there's only there's only things to celebrate and the fact that these are really really good wingers in their own right the one thing is I feel like Beth and Caitlin are really strong partnership and Chloe and Olivia have proved to be a really good partnership so it will be interesting to see when you need to force them a little bit more rotation how does it work with okay you have to start Kelly and you have to start Mead and obviously they've played together in England maybe that's a bad example but like you have to rotate them a bit more.

50:22And I think it's interesting and that will be something that we'll have to do, especially if like touching every single piece of wood in this room right now, if we do progress in the Champions League, there's going to be a lot of fixtures to make up at the end of the season, like a lot, especially. And then when the FA Cup comes, hopefully if we can get the job done against Brighton, cross fingers as well, like they're going to have to force a lot of rotation. So I think this is a bit of a headache for Renee, but it's the best headache because if you can get all four of these players fit and just playing football and obviously starting, I think you've got two partnerships, but I'm interested to see kind of how they work in different ways.

50:55But Smith and Kelly adjusted so fast that I actually think there's room for that to happen across all four players. So, yeah, just nothing but excitement in terms of that department right now and a lot of depth that we've been lacking recently in recent years, so it's good to have it at such a high quality. Just my horrendous short-term memory kicking in again. Was that your question or my question? That was your – no, that was my question. Okay. All right. I'm going to go with this one from Katina McStenius. And I think this is a really interesting question. Which player's unavailability do you think has cost us the most points this season?

51:31Might be recency bias, but it's hard for me to look at Chloe's impact since returning and not wonder how many of those draws she could have helped turn into wins. So Katina McStenius is making the case for Chloe Kelly. but like Arsenal have been missing players at different junctures this season. Whose absence do you think has been the most impactful? Yeah, it's hard not to say Chloe Kelly based on that form, but there's another question I'm going to ask you next that I think leads into this. It's a really good question, but I'm going to say Leah Williamson and not just for her defensive capabilities, but there were games earlier on in the season where we needed her like playing out the back.

52:10We needed a long ball. We needed someone that was going to break the lines. We needed someone that was going to locate a 10 by foot. And I think Leah Williamson is just one of the best passing centre-backs in the world. And it's just so unfortunate. Her injury luck recently has just been really quite sad because she's one of the players that could be one of the best in the world. So I think there's a lot of those tight games at the start of the season that are really annoying me now, Tim, that Chelsea are dropping points. And obviously City dropped points as well during the week. So it's starting to really bother me.

52:37However, those short games, I think those draws and those tight contests were the games we needed. Leah Williamson, despite the fact that she's a defender. so I'm going to go Leah. Yeah yeah I wrote the newsletter two weeks ago I was writing about like I think the absence of Chloe Kelly has definitely been overlooked and again it just feels like we never have that situation where we have four wingers it's always like one of them's injured so I definitely think and you know the question about like turning draws into wins yeah 100 % If you say to me, Chloe Kelly, I'm not going to call you an idiot for that, but you took the words out of my mouth, Jamie.

53:18When I look at the points Arsenal have actually dropped this season at the points where they haven't won games, I think that little period at the beginning of the season where they were adjusting from playing out from the back without Lear, that was the most consequential in terms of points. And that's not to diminish the absence of Chloe Kelly, or at least when I say the absence of Chloe Kelly, like, again, there were times she was playing where she was not fully fit. I think that's definitely a reasonable argument. I just look at the time where we actually lost points, and I think that was what we were adjusting to.

54:03We got there in the end, but I think we lost a lot of WSL points thinking how the hell do we pass out from the back without Leah? So that has, I think, had the biggest tangible impact in terms of points. Do you have another question? I do. This one's interesting. It's from at Sophie Hill. Last season, we averaged nearly four offsides per 90, highest in the league. This season, it's down by almost half. Sophie says that's mostly driven by Russo, who was caught offside a whopping 27 times last season. Now it's only seven this season. what change is it a problem fixed or fewer long balls with leah out yeah i i had this one as well and i'm going to ask renee about this on monday because i didn't know that um i really didn't know that and uh unfortunately there are a lot of things a lot of things there are a couple of things that made this job a little bit harder this year synchronized kickoffs can't watch anyone other than Arsenal.

55:05Another big one, FB ref, no longer carrying Opta data is really frustrating because it's very difficult to see data. So I didn't know this at all. And I'm glad you read the question out because when I saw it, it's Russo that was caught offside 27 times because there might be another Arsenal striker that people would think had been caught offside 27 times. And by the way, Steiner, I think, offside in the first minute in this game. Not offside again after that, but yeah. And I really don't know. I really hadn't noticed that. I do imagine, as Sophie says, that fewer long balls without Lear. But then again, when Lotta plays, I think there are quite a lot of long balls as well.

56:00and it's also interesting because I think more WSL teams play a slightly higher line as well, like Liverpool play a higher line. Even West Ham, when they actually get up the pitch, they do squeeze up and they do. We got Steiner in behind a couple of times today. Mariana got her in a couple of times. It's such a great question and one of the reasons it's a great question is because it surprised me. I didn't know that data. and because I don't know the answer. Because it genuinely hasn't struck me at all. And so it's something I'm going to look for. What about you? Yeah, I think it's a really good question.

56:41I don't have an in-stone answer. The only thing I can think of is there's been a large chunk of the games this season. Alessi Russo has been in the 10. And I think when Frieda Mornham's in the 10 and Steena Baxtinius is in the 9, all Russo's in the 9, whoever, they often go long because Frieda's not the kind of hold up the ball 10. Whereas when Russo's there, we want to play to her feet. so we're hardly offside. The other thing is maybe Olivia Smith's just more of a ball user rather than a hit at long, so our wingers maybe are better equipped to just use the ball rather than the ball over the top.

57:09But I think Russo being in the 10 maybe makes a big difference because we're playing the ball on the ground to her feet and she's holding it up rather than playing it over the top. But again, I think it's a question that we maybe need to do some digging on. Yeah, definitely. And I think we kind of have to come to this question because it's probably a conversation that's probably underlying a lot of this podcast and a lot of recent podcasts and things feel really good at the moment. Arsenal are winning games. They're not conceding goals. They're playing really, really well, but they're not challenging for the title.

57:41And they're not challenging for the title because they had a bad month or two at the beginning of the season. And I think that's really frustrating for everyone because I think all of us think that if we were a bit closer to Manchester City, that we could put the pressure on. And don't get me wrong, I still think City look really good. But, you know, they haven't won it for a long time. And again, it feels like another season where I'm looking at the team that's probably going to win the league. And I'm looking at them thinking, I don't think you're much better than Arsenal. but I can't quantify that I can't say that with my whole chest because the league table is the league table but I don't have that feeling and so this question from at Diem and Dave Flowing Football, happy team now, what was the problem at the start of the season?

58:40Long hangover from long last season integration of new players champions medals weighing them down some players at the start of the season seeming to want to play armchair football or communication. Like, I guess the question is, why? Why now and not three months earlier? Yeah, it does seem to be a bit of a trend in the last three, four seasons, though. Like, the team really likes to wake up in January, February, finish the season on a high, and then we go into the summer thinking, great, next year's the year. And it's never the year. But the start of the season was just, it was so annoying. And the issue with the start of the season was we weren't getting outplayed.

59:21We weren't losing games. Like we were dropping points to teams that we shouldn't be dropping points to because there was just, there was something not clicking. And I think the brand of football that we were playing then, I don't actually think it's that dissimilar. I just think the players are playing differently. Like I think Renee's not kind of changed her theory and she's not coming to it and said, oh, we're going to play this kind of different football. And I don't think that's at all it. I just think the players have adapted to the system and there's depth there in that squad. that are actually prepared to kind of be in the team.

59:48And that's something, like I said earlier, like being able to win this game 5-0 when you've rotated that much is something that an Arsenal team six months ago would not have been able to do. And that was a big criticism we had of Rene was, okay, the players on the bench don't have a spot in the team. Therefore, when they come on, we criticise them because they don't know what to do. And it was, okay, why is Kyra not playing? Or why is Vic Pilova not playing? Or how do we integrate Taylor Hines into the team because Katie McCabe can't play all the time? And I think that is what has maybe changed is it didn't feel like the bench or the second 11, should I say, the impact subs, they didn't have a role in the team, whereas now it feels like they do.

1:00:21And the West Ham game earlier was just an absolute example of that, is these players know exactly what they're doing in the system, whereas they didn't at the start of the season. And maybe that's a long-term, like maybe that's a tournament hangover. Maybe that's the fact that there were a couple of big signings that you kind of have to make, integrate into the team. Maybe that's just the fact that this team needs a reset. Like there's a lot of players that have played together for a long time. What are we doing differently? because we're becoming predictable. I don't think Arsenal are predictable right now, but I don't think the football's changed.

1:00:48I just think the use of the players, the rotation, the way that we can have an impact sub-cub on and play is just better. And I think Rene's done a really good job, don't get me wrong, at kind of unlocking that in players. Like Alessia Russo, and I will hand on my heart, say I still think she's a nine, but I am less upset about the 10 thing than I was six months ago because it felt like why don't you have a player that can play in the 10? You have Mariana Caldente, you can't rely on that pivot. we're speaking so much less about the pivot because our defense is playing so well we're not worried about the little mariona thing anymore and i think that renee is doing a really good job at unlocking that is you you're a player that can play certain different roles and now you have to kind of buy into the system i don't think it's a we've changed something tactically and everything's gone right i just think the players are performing better under what renee wants them to do so it's just frustrating because it is the same thing every season where we come back when it's this big miracle at the end of the season we win some sort of silverware and then it's like okay let's use this to go forward but then they fall off at the start of the season so I don't know if it's the fact that this team is still a momentum team and I think in their hearts and in the way that they play they're still a momentum team and they're still a narrative team and I think that maybe this is the summer where a refresh needs to happen and you need to build a team that are just going to be like robots like do what Chelsea has done the last six seasons just get the job done from from game one and I think that's what we've been missing so yeah a big kind of lengthy answer to I don't think a lot's changed.

1:02:08I just think the players maybe are just performing better and doing what they need to be doing. I think this season Arsenal have lost one game in the WSL, right? That was away at Manchester City. That away game at Manchester City happens now. I'm not saying we don't lose. I don't think it's 3-2. If we lose, it's 1-0 or maybe 2-1 or something like that. And it's the draws that have been the killer. but at the same time I think the team and the squad and the manager and the fans it would be a miss not to at least consider the question whether you dismiss it or not not to at least consider the question what happens when the pressure's off a little bit and and and you have to whether you accept it you have to entertain it you have to and i think it would be dishonest of everyone to say like this this happens a lot when the pressure comes off a little bit we really and don't get me wrong like arsenal can play with the pressure on they they've won their last four finals i think and you know champions league conti cup like i'm not saying Arsenal can't play with pressure but it's just I think as much as I don't want to entertain that externally people would ask that question right people externally would look at Arsenal and say well yeah you mess up at some point every season and then when the title's gone you start playing and I'm certain it's not as simple as that but I'm also certain you can't dismiss it 100 % and I think that's just, you know, it sticks in my throat and maybe I don't entirely accept it, but it's got to be said.

1:04:01It's got to be said. And I'm sure it's said internally somehow. Again, poor short-term memory. Was that your question or my question? I think that was yours. Okay, let's do one more each. Okay, looking ahead to the midweek game. It makes me feel sick to even think about it. This is from Shane Thomas at TokenBG. As best you can, where do you think are the areas, Chelsea, are best placed to hurt us on Tuesday? That's interesting. That's a really interesting one because Arsenal look so good defensively at the moment. The shape looks really, really good. I don't see a lot of weaknesses there at the moment in terms of how you can play through Arsenal.

1:04:51I think one thing, if I was going to pick on it, that slightly worries me with the goalkeeper thing, I still think Annika Borba is slow off her line compared to Daphna. I think Daphna's very, and obviously big teams play with a high line. I still think when that ball comes over the top, she's a couple of seconds slower than Daphna is. I think Daphne is straight off and, you know, kicking the ball out for a throw in or whatever. And so I guess with the ball in behind, maybe that worries me ever so slightly. You know, I do think Arsenal's shot suppression is very, very good. I think, you know, tactically, I don't have a lot of worries.

1:05:41My thing is, I think what happens with Arsenal-Chelsea games is whoever bossed the last game, the other team learns and adjusts. And I find Arsenal-Chelsea games, if it was a graph, like a stenograph, it would be like someone having a heart attack. Basically, it's up, down, up, down, up, down. It's just like this team dominated this game. So the other team looks at it and goes, right, we're not doing that again. and we're fixing all of those problems and it goes down and it goes up. So what I'm saying is that we'll be fine in the second leg, basically. But yeah, I suppose that's the kind of thing.

1:06:23Like there's kind of a delta when you play in these big games in that the teams adapt much more than they usually do. So when Arsenal play West Ham, for example, they will do largely the things they always do. There'll be a bit of tailoring, but Arsenal will play like Arsenal. When teams like Arsenal and Chelsea play each other, sometimes they really change something and you don't see it coming. Because if you look at this tie on form, it's Arsenal. Arsenal are coming into this in much better shape. All the vibes are better. The tactics look better. But Chelsea have that ability, I think, with both their coach and the quality of their players to maybe do something different.

1:07:08if Chelsea play like they've played the last three or four games I think they're toast but I don't think they will I think they'll acknowledge and respect who they're playing and Arsenal will have to do exactly the same and they probably won't play like that so I guess my fear of this game is the unknown what will Chelsea do differently that they're not doing in all these games where they look a bit rubbish What do you reckon on this? Yeah, look, I'm very stressed, to be honest. I think maybe I'm stressed just because the history has told me to be stressed about a score in Chelsea, but they've really, really struggled to kind of get out of their, I don't say a bad form, they've just been sluggish, like they've been a bit slow off the mark.

1:07:54So I do worry because historically Chelsea respond to a bad result with a very, very good result, but they are struggling recently. And like some of the players that came off the bench, like they've got like Lauren James, Kira Walsh, Lucy Browns, Amy Germa, Sandy Belfort they didn't start against LCL which is obviously a massive suggestion that some of the best players in the league are going to be starting and they're going to be kind of well rested and ready to start against Arsenal so I'm very nervous for this game because I don't think Chelsea won't like you said, they will definitely learn from the loss at Stamford Bridge, like there's a lot that they can learn as well, like they gave up far too much midfield control, they won't do that again like Sonia Bonpastel is not going to do that again and I think what worries me is that Arsenal kind of try to approach the game in the exact same way that they did against them at Stamford Bridge.

1:08:37But Chelsea are obviously going to look at that and say, there were so many obvious mistakes in the way we approached that game. And I'm just worried that maybe they're going to be one step ahead. But I trust that Renee Slagers will be able to kind of fix that. I think where I'm worried is because it's maybe a bit of a makeshift back four. I think Cade McCabe, Emily Fox obviously fit. Lotto Obamoy and Laikadino are great players. But if you do have a situation where it's Lotto and Laia, Like Alyssa Thompson over the top is something that definitely stresses me out. I think they're both very capable, quick, like they're fast center backs, but she is the fastest player I've ever seen run in the WSL.

1:09:10Like she's absolutely rapid. Also Lauren James. I just think depending on how this lineup looks and depending on how Sonia wants to set them up, they need to start with a nine, but they don't have one. Like if unless you're going to put Sam Kerr in the nine straight off the plane, like you can't really play this game. They did that against Arsenal last time. They need to play with a controlling nine and they need to have Lauren James behind her. So I think if they play James in the nine, I think Arsenal are going to do a good job at stopping that. So I'm a little bit stressed based on personnel.

1:09:37I think you always have to be stressed when you play Chelsea, but I think the form that Arsenal are in and the options and the way that the depth is performing makes me confident going into this game. And I think there was a question, and rightfully so, a little bit about how there's a bit of a depleted bench for Arsenal right now, but Chelsea are very depleted as well. And I think our depth is performing really, really well. So there's areas to hurt, but there always is when you play Chelsea. Yeah, I think Aggie Beaver-Jones came off injured. Yeah, she didn't look good at all. Yeah, today as well.

1:10:04And for me, I think I can predict 10 of the starting line-up on Tuesday. It's just a case of whether Laia Kadena starts or whether they get Steph Catley off the plane and straight into the starting line-up, which wouldn't surprise me at all. Last one, interested in your take on this watching at home, but I think this is something we should raise. It's from At Lotta AWFC. With the midday kickoffs reducing the atmosphere and match attendances in the ground, do you think Sky Sports will stick to the same kickoffs next season also has an impact when all games kick off at the same time and you can't watch other teams?

1:10:47So I guess, like, how did the atmosphere come across on TV? and we can pick up whether it will continue for the rest of the season, but whether it continues next season. I mean, the atmosphere wasn't great by any means, but also you're pulling 20K against West Ham. It's not the end of the world. It's still fantastic. We're just getting used to the fact that Arsenal are selling at Emirates Stadium. It's still a great attendance, but on the TV, I didn't actually think it was that bad, but there were times where it was pretty dead, and that's just going to happen naturally. The frustrating thing about this WSL weekend is, Like, obviously I looked at the fixtures for tonight and it's Brighton, Liverpool and Aston Villa.

1:11:26Who are Aston Villa playing? I've forgotten. I can't remember. Leicester, maybe? I can't remember. Anyway, and it's kind of like, that's a lot of games that people aren't going to be paying attention to tonight. And that's no offence to them, but United, Chelsea, City and Arsenal kicking off at the same time on Saturday is ludicrous to me. Like, that's so ludicrous to me because Sky Sports are essentially saying like, oh, well, we're not going to get any viewers across these four games. And they're four really good games. Like, people like tuning into all four of those, like, big teams, so to speak.

1:11:52no disrespect to everyone else, but the planning to me makes no sense. Like no one, no like fan that we're trying to convince to watch the WSL is going to watch Brighton Liverpool later tonight. And again, like we will watch it and that's no disrespect to Brighton Liverpool, but it's very confusing to me that those four games were put on at the same time on a Saturday at midday. Like people aren't going to be able to get to those games. There's going to be like fans aren't going to be there. Like media aren't going to be able to be there when they're all at the same time, like you're playing all four games.

1:12:17Like the coverage is automatically worse from a broader, like outside of Skype perspective. so I think if you put this weekend in isolation I was so confused why those four games were on the same time on a Saturday as well it would be different if it was a Sunday maybe a little bit so I assume Sky Sports are going to have to revise it because it just hasn't gone well fan experience has gone just way less and obviously we know that it's had an effect on ratings as well when the Chelsea-Arsenal game was on the ratings were really really low compared to what they've been historically as well so yeah interested to see what you say Tim because you always put it in a much more eloquent way but I was really baffled with the scheduling this weekend.

1:12:51I thought it was really confusing just when you're trying to attract outside fans. Yeah, and again, let me caveat this by saying a few things. Sky Sports are putting an amazing amount of money into the league and that deserves a lot of respect. And I think the quality of their coverage is a real game changer. Like I think the WSL needs Sky Sports. and also and I know this from the men's side for decades there is no such thing as time slots that work for stadium going fans and tv audiences those things do not match up they are diametrically opposite and so it's like can you meet in the middle and obviously the other thing for sky sports they have the premier league but they also have the efl in england and they're trying to live in this world where those things don't clash where those audience and but the the problem with that is that the wsl is always going to be treated like a third class citizen and that means getting the midday that means getting the crap time basically uh there were 24 000 um at the emirates on saturday I think that's a really, really good attendance against West Ham.

1:14:12Nevertheless, the atmosphere, at midday, you're never going to get the full atmosphere. You're just not. That's just not how it works. And I definitely understand, like, in that I don't have a better suggestion for what works for the broadcasters. And that's a very difficult question. And I really, really, I completely understand that I do. Like there isn't a good answer because they did Sunday evenings and that didn't work either. And so then it becomes a question of, do we just go up against the Premier League and accept that the audience is the audience? And maybe that doesn't work either. Like there isn't a silver bullet solution here.

1:14:54Well, I'd say from a media perspective, this was quite unique in that, as you say, Jamie, Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea all played at the same time. Arsenal and Chelsea both played in London, Manchester City and Manchester United. and a lot of the WSL Media Pack, or at least sections of the WSL Media Pack, are based in Manchester as well. So those clubs will always get more coverage. But this was the lowest number of journalists I've seen at an Arsenal game in years. Years and years, like pre-COVID. There were three of us in the post-match press conference and that's because all of these kickoffs were synchronized and the the women's football media pack is not it's not it's not a lot of people you're talking about it's not a lot of people and um it's not enough it's not enough to cover like when all of the kickoffs are synchronized particularly when all of the big teams are playing at the same time and i know this is a challenge anyway like no matter what you do with the scheduling it's a challenge for the smaller teams like when Leicester are at home and they're not playing one of the big forum you know when it's like Leicester versus Aston Villa or West Ham versus Tottenham or whatever that is always a challenge I've it's been years since I've been in a post-match press conference and there's only three of us um there and that and that's that's because the ecosystem is not big enough yet to sustain that and um i do think they're going to have to revisit it and i think they will revisit it i'd be surprised if these kickoffs happen next year but at the same time i have my sympathy because i don't have a better suggestion for how to solve all of those problems um at the same time um frankly it's a very difficult question and i think that's going to be um a lot of trial and error um jamie i think you know we we struggled to squeeze an hour out of last week this one we probably could have gone on for another half an hour but what do you say will that do for this week that will do it's always good to speak long when when it's good things and only good things so yeah let's all let's all relish in this for the next 24 hours before we're uh fueled by impending doom for the next week yeah and and and maybe we'll do a podcast after the uh the first leg of the Chelsea game.

1:17:27You know, I probably should have mentioned that offline and not on the actual podcast, but usually we don't do the midweek games like that, but given the size and the gravity of this one, we'll try and rustle something together after the first leg. And obviously there's a North London derby next Saturday and a lot coming up. So thank you for joining us for this episode as ever, and we will speak to you, hopefully, after Tuesday night. And don't get too scared by it all. And obviously, we'll have loads and loads of coverage of this game on Ask Blog News. We'll be at Colney all day on Monday with the pre-match press conferences.

1:18:06I believe Alessio Russo is going to speak alongside Rene Slagas. There'll be open training, et cetera, et cetera. So we'll bring you all of the information and news we usually do. So keep it with us on Ask Blog News and we'll speak to you in a couple of days.

1:18:47We'll see you next time. we know where to draw the line. For fine margins, fun debates and full-blooded tackles, Football Weekly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts and watch the full episodes on YouTube.