Bonus Arsecast! Ian Wright on Man Utd 0-1 Arsenal

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1:26Hello and welcome to a little bonus arsecast to talk a bit more about our opening day win over Manchester United. Every so often there's a bat signal, it goes up, there's a big WWW in the sky and I'm a simple man. When that happens, I've got to jump on with Ian Wright. It's a pleasure as always. Ian, how are you?

1:44Ian Wright: I'm very good, Andrew. Very, very good, in fact. You know, I had a really good weekend. It was a great weekend. My missus and my girls were away. Can you believe that? The first weekend of the season, looking forward to it. They're away for the season. Obviously, the season starts brilliantly. watch those games, Liverpool and City, waiting for our game. All I wanted, Andrew, is just for us to win. Everybody's seen that when we started, when we started, when we saw the fixtures, we said, well, that's a tough start. So what do you want? What do you want on the first day? You want to win. You know what I mean, Andrew?

2:17Ian Wright: You want to win. And so then we win. Obviously, we don't win in the style that people might have wanted to, but it wouldn't have happened. It wouldn't have mattered, Andrew, how we won that game. You know? You know, if we don't win that game, all the race is over. You know, if we beat them, there's a, yeah, but it's a poor United side. And, you know, we have to stay away from the extremes, Andrew. Because I'm telling you something, Andrew, later on in the season, when United get themselves going, because they were a different United, right? They were different. They look different. And Buemo and Cunha look very dangerous.

2:50Ian Wright: And you can see that Sesco looks like he might come. When they click, halfway through the season, And people look back at this and say, that is a brilliant result for Arsenal. Tell me about Old Trafford, right? Because, listen, first game of the season, when I saw the fixture list, I was like, ah, you really don't want that. That place is like, for as long as I can remember, and you've played there, so you can fill me in on this. There's something about that place and Arsenal. And there's a sort of, I don't know if it's an aura, if we have like a hang up about it. Liverpool won on Friday night.

3:22City won convincingly on Saturday afternoon. you know, if you're an Arsenal player, you're going there, you're probably feeling the pressure anyway. There's more pressure because of what Liverpool and City have done. You've got to respond to their results. What is it about that ground, even when this is not the best iteration of Manchester United that we've ever seen, that makes it such a difficult place to perform?

3:46Ian Wright: You know what? It's just the greatness of them, especially the Man United I played against and the aura that they have when you go to Old Trafford. That's why people say things like, and this team hasn't won at Old Trafford since 1921 or some stupid stuff like that, which a lot of those records were broken in these times that we've seen Man United in recent times. But every time you go there, especially if you go to Man United on the first day of the season, all their fresh players, everybody ready to go. And we know it's not been the Man United that we are used to, like I say, the one that I played against, but it's Manchester United.

4:23Ian Wright: that's why they still garner so much attention even through arguably their worst period in their history in respects of results and what Man United are expected to do, that is a dangerous football club to go to and play and we had to go there with a different Man United, a Man United that looked energised, they looked a little bit more organised you can see that more people will come and then in Cunha and Mbwemo with Sesco coming on as well looking, you know, he just felt something. He just looks like he's ready to go. Even though he didn't do as much as people might have thought he would have done in that stage.

5:02Ian Wright: But even just one back here, what he'd done, I thought, yeah, I like the vibe, I like the energy. But that is a tough game because the crowd, it's always full. It's always on top there. You know, so our players go in there with everything you've said there, Andrew, about Liverpool. Because you watch it, Andrew. You watch Liverpool and you say, yeah, you saw Bournemouth come back and you think, yes, they've got a little bit of a weakness with them two at the back, like just bare ass, obviously without Gravenberg. And then you see City start and they have a little period where you think, whoa, look at Wolves.

5:31Ian Wright: But Wolves always start poorly. Those are two games. If Arsenal had Bournemouth or Wolves in their first, I would have been a lot more comfortable than I'd have been going to Man United, even though it's this Man United. So again, I just look back and I think to myself, for everything that entails for us that we are trying to do this season. Going to Man United and getting a draw like we did, you know what I mean? Not playing nowhere near like we know we can, but look at our bench as well. Not playing nowhere near we can and getting a 1-0 win. And the discourse, I cannot, I can't understand it, Andrew.

6:09Ian Wright: I can't understand. How much do you, I mean, I think as fans and I think the media landscape in which we exist now, because there's so much stuff and so much content. And look, I'm part of it and you're part of it. We analyze, you know, we hold our hands up in that regard. So we are, you know, delving into the nuts and bolts of every game and every performance and every aspect of the performance. But, you know, flip it around. If you're in the Arsenal dressing room at the end of that 90 minutes at Old Trafford, are you remotely... You are fucking elated. Well, that's what I'm saying. Do you care about the performance or do you care...

6:44Ian Wright: No, because like Mikel said, he said, you know, with all the pressure that's on the guys, we come out of a, we play at Man United, we don't play our best, and in the dressing rooms, after winning, this is where the mentality has changed so much in our dressing room, after winning, everybody's fucking devastated. Everybody's looking at each other, asking questions, this and that, because they know the standards that they're, they're expected to go to United and win. and maybe they expected to go to United and win well, but they didn't win well. They won. And they'll take that and say, even when we were that bad in what we can do, we won.

7:23Ian Wright: You are going onto the bus, Andrew, delighted because everybody, every single team starts the season and they want to win and they don't care how they do it. If you do it with style and fast, everything, style and panache, brilliant, oh, brilliant. But then if you build into it, it's just the same. People will say, I'm telling you, but that Man United side, what I saw, people will say, halfway through the season, Andrew, oh my gosh, Arsenal's result looks massive now. I mean, it's a good one to get out of the way, isn't it? Because you don't want that one hanging over you to get it done and done quickly.

7:58Can you imagine, Andrew?

7:59Ian Wright: This Man United, if they catch fire, you have to play them around Christmas or January, February at Old Trafford, and you need three points. Jesus, I'll take them to the... I'll take him at the first game of the season, every single season, as long as I live. Sure. Let's talk a bit about a man on whom there's a fair amount of spotlight, and that's Victor Jokerez. And, you know, I think we have to look at his individual performance in the context of, A, it's his first competitive game for the club. B, you know, he's only arrived a couple of weeks ago. So training-wise, he's probably still some way from his best.

8:38And C, I guess, the overall collective performance from Arsenal wasn't one which gave him a great deal of opportunity to show what he can really do. Nevertheless, you could see that there were efforts in the way that Arsenal played to adapt to what this guy is going to bring to the club. So how did you view his first 60 minutes? Is this one where he just sort of needed to get that out of the way and being part of a winning team will obviously be very positive for him, even if it wasn't and probably isn't going to be his best day in an Arsenal shirt?

9:14Ian Wright: You know what, Andrew? I think that obviously, as a striker, obviously as a striker and I've been there and going to Arsenal, you know, in that first game, you'd probably want to show a little bit of what you're capable to do. You get a chance, half chance, maybe take it if you're fortunate. And even if you play like Victor Jokic has played against United, and it didn't really show much, if we're going to be totally honest. We saw, like you said, good running into the channels, good strength and stuff like that. But in respects of what we're going to need, we didn't really see that. Now, that's a combination of, you know, like you say, him getting used to the team, the team getting used to him, and, you know, Man United causing us a lot of problems.

9:54Ian Wright: But I have to put myself in the same situation simply because everywhere he's been up to this point, and I'm sure you've got a list of the clubs he's been at, Andrew, and all the managers say about Victor Jokeres is that every day he turned up in training, every day, to the point where Mark Robbins actually said, you know, he always felt like somebody that is in a hurry, he's on the move, he's going somewhere, right? So Victor Jokeres has got to understand, he is now at the place, and this is what I had to realise with Arsenal, He's now at the place where all that work, all that ignoring of him when he was scoring goals in different places, thinking he's going to get the move, get the next move to get to where he wants to be.

10:34Ian Wright: All that is done, Andrew, because now he's at the place. So now it's on Victor. You know, I was very fortunate. I'm not going to flex on that, but I cannot tell you how frightened I was when George Graham said, you're going to be playing the first game at Leicester in the Carabao Cup. Alan Smith, we're going to arrest him. Andrew, honestly, I had a heart palpitation because this is it All the work I've been doing Palace, England, getting there trying to get to the top levels wanting to challenge for the Premier League or the league as it was back then coming to a team who's just won it twice out of the last three years Andrew, I've never felt so afraid and Victor will be feeling the same but then it's down to you to draw on that the hard work the ignoring of you The fact that people don't think that you're as good as you think you are, and you've got to continue to do that in the dark.

11:26Ian Wright: He's here, Andrew. So it's now up to him to go out there and show what all that hard work is about. Because I'll tell you what, people talk about him as, yeah, but he doesn't score against the top teams. We fucking beat the top teams. We haven't been beaten by, we haven't lost to a top six team in fucking two years, Andrew. So if he only scores against the so-called lower teams and mid-block teams, we'll fucking win the league. Well, that's it. We want goals against Fulham and Aston Villa. Thank you. Thank you. So I would say to him, even if he scored and got taken off, it'd still be, for me, something where he'd say, well, I'm pleased I scored there.

12:02Ian Wright: But like, OK, I could do better, but the team weren't functioning as well. He's just got to go back into the headspace of what he does when his chances do come. That's what it comes down to, Andrew. I was going to ask you, and you've sort of touched on it there, whether you see some parallels between his career and your career in the sense that, you know, arriving at Arsenal 27, 28, I think you were when you came to Arsenal, it took a while to make the breakthrough at senior level. Same with Victor Jokerez. I mean, I know you're around the club at all. Are you sort of keen to have a chat with him at some point and just talk to him about that experience, you know?

12:42Ian Wright: Andrew, I've got a kind of dialogue with literally every player in that dressing room. I could send a message. They'll send a message back. And I've already, you know what I mean? I've already sent my messages to Victor and he's already sent them back, you know, and how much he's looking forward to doing what he's doing. And like I sent that message about Victor. You're mirroring me. So all you've got to do now is continue to have the faith in yourself that got you through the hard times. Because it's Andrew, you doubt yourself. You doubt yourself because all of a sudden you're coming in to address him and you're playing with Saka and you're playing with Erdogan.

13:15Ian Wright: You know what I mean? You're playing with two arguably the best centre-backs in the world. You're playing with Declan Rice, one of the best midfielders in the world, Zubimendi. Your level has gone somewhere else. And I saw that when I went into the Arsenal dressing room with Merson and Adams and Davis and Limpat and everybody. I saw the levels. So now all I wanted to do, Andrew, was prove the work I've done has brought me here and now it's up to me. You can't, that's when you either, you freeze, you rush at the chances, you take an extra touch when you don't need it. No, just let it float because the chances will come.

13:55Yeah.

13:55Ian Wright: But what I would say, I would say to him, bro, embrace this because I tell you, Victor Jokras, Victor Jokras being part of Arsenal winning the title again after so many years, with the pressure he's under now, the discourse, the people I'm seeing, two Bob centre forwards on whatever it is. I won't mention where they are. Talking about him like, yeah, he's a flat track bully. Whatever it is, it means fuck all, Andrew. Because he's where he wants to be, right? So now it's up to him. Go and get it. Just go and get it. I mean, listen, again, coming back to the media landscape in which we exist, is there too much granular, granular, granular, God, I can get that word out, analysis of players.

14:38Like, you know, I saw a little bit on Sky Sports last night where Jamie Carring and Gary Neville were talking about which one starts over Jochores and Havertz. And they're already having this debate after one game. You know, he's played 60 minutes. Havertz came on and did 30 minutes. For me, I'm just so happy that we've got two guys there now who can share the season. Thank you. This does not have to be a binary thing, but it is, you know, for any player, I suppose, but Jokeres in particular in this context, it does apply a lot of pressure, doesn't it? Because everybody is talking about, can you make the step up?

15:11Can you be the missing piece for Arsenal? Can you score the goals that Arsenal need? Like when you're 27, when you're 28, do you feel that pressure more than when you're young, when perhaps it sort of goes over you a little bit? You're more aware of what's required of you,

15:26Ian Wright: but maybe better able to cope with it. Yeah, but Andrew, that's because we can see that it's everywhere now. and unfortunately for Victor he's our first out and out striker for I don't know how many years now, how many windows so the spotlight with Arsenal finishing second consecutively three times is on the guy who's coming in as the striker so those things Andrew will always be for me even in my time it's there but obviously scoring goals early you kind of like you settle down the noise but for victor and and the fact that it's there you know he started the first game people looking he's got to go back into what he's done to get there it might people might think well what you want about because that hard work going home nobody taking notice of you and you're scoring goals you're working hard you're going into training when people are not saying i like the way he's training he comes every day no one's saying any of that you're just doing it because it's the thing to do and the reason why you're doing that is to get to here so there's no there's no simple explanation i'm trying to make it as easy as possible and for people to understand it's now up to him because he's done the hard work to get here sure is there you are yes of course you have to be i've doubted because there's so much discourse now andrew a load more than when i was playing so of course he can't even get away from it and he's an arsenal a team and a club that people hate, even if you're not an Arsenal fan.

16:57Ian Wright: And even some of our fucking Arsenal fans hate the way we are. So he's got to just close that out and have faith in what he's doing. I'm telling you, I've got 100 % faith in Victor. Is there a danger that, you know, we, when we look at it, become a bit too wedded to the idea of, right, we know that, like, he's really strong at this, making those runs in behind. Is there a danger that, you know, from the outside anyway, I'm not sure if this will be internal, but certainly externally, there's this discussion about how Arsenal need to change their style of play, how they need to play to his strengths to set him free behind.

17:33I think we saw elements of that even a little bit in the game on Sunday at Old Trafford. But is it more about sort of a more balanced integration between team and player and player and team? And basically what we need to do, whether it's sending him in behind, whether it's putting him in from a cutback, is to provide this guy with chances.

17:54Ian Wright: That's what he takes, Andrew. He takes chances. And of course, to a certain extent, we have to try and play to his strengths. Of course we do, but Arsenal have got where they are to put in a piece to add to what we're doing. So again, Victor is going to have to adapt to that. But knowing at the same time, we have now got another piece in the puzzle where we're going to do this, but then we're going to get it and then you do that. So we are going to change for you a little bit, but you are going to obviously have to change for us a bit. But we're not changing his game. We're not saying Victor come deep and link playing that.

18:32Ian Wright: We're saying, run into the channels, Victor. Get in there. We'll cut it back to you. We want you to finish. Do you understand, Andrew? So, of course, both parties have to. Victor has to adapt a bit and we have to adapt a bit because we're so used to not having that guy. So that might take a little bit of time. But what kind of light eradicates all of that is a couple of quick goals. At the moment, they've not come. And once those come, if he scores again in the next game, the Leeds game, then people say, yeah, it's right. And then people won't be talking about, do we have to fit to him? Does he have to fit to us?

19:05Ian Wright: Sure. The goals change the discourse. And that's what I'm hoping. That's why I was praying that, you know, he could get a goal or get a good chance and let us see what he's he's capable of doing. And, you know, it will come. It will come.

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21:27You mentioned world-class center halves, William Saliba and Gabriel. And look, I think the general consensus, and it's not incorrect, is that Arsenal, from an attacking perspective, did not play as well as they can play at Old Trafford. Nevertheless, there's more than one way to skin a cat, for want of a better phrase, right? you can play well defensively and win games if you get a goal from a set piece of you know you've been there done that in a team that you know won a lot of games one nil because of defensive prowess and and i think there is this idea that you can only play well if you make loads of chances and score lots of goals but if you're a central defender and if you're a fullback if you're a goalkeeper if your job is to keep the opposition at bay you know the feeling of coming off the pitch when you've kept a clean sheet and you've made a load of tackles and you've made a load of clearances and you've sort of scooped the ball away at the last minute like William Saliba did there.

22:28As a defender, there's nothing quite like that, is there? And those two were really, really pivotal in the result on Sunday.

22:36Ian Wright: Andrew, you've seen how they celebrate tackles and finishing out games. We haven't got the best defensive record for the last couple of years, especially against Liverpool and the cities of this world for no reason. and this is where the 1-0 to the Arsenal came from. You know, and we're talking about Tony and Boldy as two centre-halves. These two, the only thing that's missing from these two is a Premier League win. I'm desperate for these two to win it because these two can easily go down as two of our best ever centre-halves. And I say that with all due respect. We look at William Saliba as a footballer and you look at Gabriel Margais as a footballer.

23:10Ian Wright: Listen, you know what I mean? I don't want to go out there too deeply, but if you put them as two players together, two, four sets of players together, you probably, you know, Tony Adams, because of his captaincy, probably might make a team. But these two get into my team, you know, these two get into my team because they've got everything what we had back then. We've now got 1-0 to the Arsenal back. We've got it back because of that defence and because of those two and what they are capable of doing, the personality, the way the boys look up to them in the dressing room, the fight. That's why you can go to United and play like we did and win, because of what those guys are doing at the back.

23:47Ian Wright: And for me, honestly, I would do anything. I would pay them anything just for them. We'll stay for the rest of our careers here. Sure. Because they are two of the best defenders we've ever had at our club. And once they start winning things, which they will, then people will start saying, yeah, I get it. Yeah. I get it now. Gabrielle has signed a new contract, which is great news. Saliba has, you know, still got a couple of years left. Yeah, but the signs are very good. Yeah, yeah. He's talking positively about that. I think as long as it's a competitive team, then you've got a great chance of keeping your best players, obviously.

24:22But, you know, Gabriel in particular didn't play a lot during preseason. He's been out since April, had that big hamstring injury, had surgery, and this is like his first competitive game back. and he is... Honestly. What does that give you as a player, you know, as a forward player or even anywhere else in the team when you know you've got a guy back there who is... The word warrior gets thrown around a little too easily, but I think that's absolutely right in his case. Saliba's a bit more of a sort of quiet musketeer, you know?

25:00Ian Wright: Yes, yes, he's D 'Artagnan. Yeah, exactly. But Gabriel... Gabriel's Porthos. Well, we'll, yeah, I'll defer to you on that one. But, you know, he is like the mentality to come back and to go to Old Trafford away on your first game back after so long out and to do the 90 minutes and to play the way he did. It's unbelievable. Well, again, it's one of the defenders. I wouldn't want to play against him. He's one of those defenders that you're going to say, Yeah, I'll probably wait till next week. You know what I mean? He's going to smother me like Des Walker used to do to me. You know what I mean? Smother me.

25:40Ian Wright: I used to think, I'll just wait till next week. If he slips up, I'll see if I can get a goal. Would you wind him up the way you used to wind Steve Bruce up? All of them. All of them. But Des was different because Des wouldn't speak. He wouldn't speak, but he would tell you why you didn't, that ball's not coming into you. And why he knew, I knew he was going to do that turn. It's because I've watched you. I knew you can't go in there because Dennis Burkamp weren't ready to pass it. So it was a different mind-fucking vibe that Dez had with me. He just kept talking to me about the things. He'd win the ball off of me when I'm trying, not even, I wouldn't even get a touch from a throw on.

26:14Ian Wright: So when you're playing against a player like Dez, you know that I just want half a chance to shut him up. People like Gabriel, it's the same. You know, he's strong, he's quick, he's a warrior, he's everything that, he's a throwback. He's Tony Adams. He's Tony Adams in this day and age, you know, in respects of looking, when you're standing in this tunnel, Andrew, and you look back, and if I'm in this team now and I look back and I see, I see whether it's Ben White, Jurya Timber, Saliba, Marga Yes, and whoever left back, Miles or Ricardo, I'm looking back and saying, no one's going to beat that.

26:50Ian Wright: And then David Rea, no one, because that Kunio's strike on the angle there, that was going in, people said, yeah, it looked like it was missing. He saved it. And that's what you do. with defenders like that, a goalkeeper like that, that is the bedrock of winning a league. That is the bedrock of it. Now, we've got the other piece up top in Victor Yocaris that you hope will score the goals against whatever people say about him, the so-called minnows of the Premier League and then it's done. Then it's done. But in respects of them two and pray God that, you know, Saliba, everything happens and he signs.

27:25Ian Wright: I can't see why he wouldn't. I don't know where he'd go now with Real Madrid signing defenders left, right and centre. He's here. He's here now, and I think that this is the place for him. So don't let me think about William Salih, because it makes me sad that I'm even thinking he might leave. Anyway, so we've got everything in place. And the reason why, Andrew, is because of our defence. Yeah. It's because of our defence. So even like I said, I go back to Victor Yorcares with people saying who he scores against. If he can only score against those teams this season and win the league, he's done his job for us.

27:55Sure. So just very quickly before we let you go, So, you know, this weekend against Leeds, first home game of the season, maybe there's a little more focus on performance versus result. You know, if there was one area that you'd like to see an uptick in, where would that be? Is it midfield? Maybe the wide areas? I think the wide areas, maybe.

28:17Ian Wright: You know, we know what Gabby can do. You know, we're still going to see what Nani's yet to do, which I'm still excited about the fact that Nani can get up there, get round the wing get the ball in from his left foot side you know I thought he probably was shocked as everybody else how much Man United pressed us back and he was defending against Ahmad you know what I mean good luck with that so you know yeah obviously the wide areas and then you just you know obviously Victor get going but like I think that Declan didn't look himself for some reason I don't know it was strange to see but Zubimendi you know as the game got on you just saw what he's going to bring so all it is now is just for the guys to switch on we're at home we have to win all our home games simple as that I've always said that if you're going to try to win the league so everybody now realises with a Leeds side that's got the brilliant unbelievable atmosphere at Leeds last night that's why they should be in this league you hope that they can stay but like Leeds coming to our place with nothing to gain other than embarrassing us if they beat us if they get a draw then they know the discourse comes again for us so that's a pressurised game as well because it's a home game for a team trying to win the league.

29:26Ian Wright: So, yeah, we're going to have to find it. And I'm sure we will. I'm sure we will. So I'm quite confident about... I was always worried about the start we're going to have, Andrew. But I'm confident because of... You know what? Because of that result, playing as poorly as I'd like us to see us play and win. So I'm going to be confident. It's going to be tougher at home because the fans are going to be more... I don't know. They're going to want a better performance than that. But, Andrew, if we have to drag out another 1-0 win, I'll take that at this stage is a very final question is that the sort of not the main thing but like after three second place finishes is the pressure and the spotlight that's going to be on us every game something that these players are going to have to deal with or can they compartmentalize it or can they just sort of ignore it and just focus game by game or is it going to be the story of the season that you know every time match of the day or whatever it is when they're talking about Arsenal it's always through the prism of that level of expectation.

30:30Ian Wright: Yeah, Andrew's not going to go away. You can't ignore it because you cannot ignore it in this day and age. The fact is that like George Graham had us it was siege mentality. You're in there and you're not letting anything in. That's all what's going to happen and that's what it's going to take to try and win the Premier League. You can't listen to any of the noise and that's what I think we've been very good at. We've been good at closing the noise off. Mikel, you can see the kind of personality he is and you can feel it through the players. We cannot ignore what's coming, but we've got to deal with the pressure that is obviously there for us.

31:07Ian Wright: Second, like I say, three times on the spin, they're saying about our manager, can he take the next step? Our players, have they got the bottle, which everybody loves to, to take the last step? This is where you back everybody, everybody. everybody's singing off the same him sheet. And you just do it, Andrew. You've got to do it because we are under pressure. I think we're under more pressure than a Liverpool all-man City. From the world, Arsenal. We've got to accept that. Sure. All right. Well, let's hope it's something we can deal with. It is a pleasure, as always, to chat. The bat signal goes up.

31:43I respond. I look forward to doing it again at some point during the season. No worries, Andrew. I appreciate your time, as always.

31:50Ian Wright: Always a pleasure, Angie. God bless us.

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