Episode 855 - Bayern battered

0:23Hello and welcome to a brand new Arseblog Arsecast right here on Arseblog.com. How are you? Hope you're well. Thank you very much indeed, as always, for being here. It's a post-Champions League show today, so we will be talking about Arsenal's 3-1 win over Bayern Munich. Extremely impressive stuff from Mikel Arteta and his team, and we will delve into all of that in this particular episode. It's been a pretty decent week so far, right? a North London Derby win and then this over Bayern a team that's caused us a lot of pain over the years a lot of suffering and there's always that sort of added element isn't there now that Harry Kane is a Bayern Munich player of like oh not this guy again I thought he'd fucked off but no look at him he's back like a bad smell just can't get rid of him but you know I looked at the stats this morning Harry Kane shots on target Harry Kane shots Harry Kane points to bring back to Munich.

1:24And look, there was a lot more to like about last night than Harry Kane not doing anything, but that just adds a little bit extra to it, doesn't it? So we'll get into all of that in just a couple of moments. I wanted to just reference something that we mentioned in the Arsecast Extra on Sunday, Monday even, because the North London Derby was on Sunday, and we talked about the third Eberachie as a goal and the fact that Destiny Udagi went sliding across the Tottenham penalty box. And it reminded us of a particular meme that you might have seen on the internet with people like spinning wildly into space, set to the soundtrack of a song called Shooting Stars by Australian group Bag Raiders.

2:07And if you don't know the song, here's a tiny little snippet so I don't get done for like copyright infringement.

2:14you know the one anyway after the show went out after the arse cast extra went out i got an email from a guy called jack turns out jack is one half of bag writers and he's an arsenal fan and guess what so is the other half of bag writers so bag writers are arsenal fans and jack told me he's a long time arse blog reader and listener since back in the barcelona days and that he was going to be at the Bayern Munich game. So it's just one of those things. It's sort of a bit mad, isn't it? You sort of randomly mention something on a podcast and somehow the universe lines up. There's this connection there that you weren't aware of.

2:52I love when stuff like that happens. So a shout out to him. No doubt he had a great night. Who didn't have a great night last night if they were at the Emirates, apart from the 3 ,000 German fans, but we don't really care about them. and thank you as well Jack and Chris from Bag Raiders for your services to funky music and memedom we really do appreciate it right let's get on with today's show and let's talk about last night let's talk about Arsenal 3 Bayern Munich 1 and with me to do that this morning is Andrew Allen good morning to you Andrew good morning how are you I'm okay I'm a bit tired you said you're a bit tired a second ago and um you know I I assume like pretty much everybody listening to this because of the, you know, in this part of the world anyway, you sort of stay up a bit late and you're excited and you're looking at all the stuff and looking at all the clips and re-watching things and you're sort of going to bed.

3:45It sounds absurd to say it at my age, but you sort of go to bed a bit giddy. You know, I do wonder how the players get to sleep after a night like that. Like how on earth do you go back home and go, well, good night on the pitch. I think I'll just drop off to sleep now. If we can't do it as fans, it must be ridiculously hard for them. Yeah. I mean, surprisingly, I can't get my head into a player mindset. I've never quite been there. But, yeah, it was some night, wasn't it? I mean, I get home and it usually takes an hour and a bit or something to get back from the stadium. It's another hour and a bit to kind of do the quotes roundup and any of the post-match stuff.

4:28And I kind of crawled into bed about 20 past 12 and then just sort of found myself playing on my phone under the, you know, kind of looking at more highlights and reading more reactions. I was like, oh, I could have used that. Oh, maybe I should get out of bed and add some more to this and stuff. I was like, no, you've got to get up. You're going to talk about it in the morning. Just get on with it. But yeah, just what a fantastic night. And yeah, I mean, God knows with the players, because I mean, half of them had done, you know, sort of all sorts of caffeine stuff as well to get them going before games as well.

4:59They must be sort of like buzzing all the way into the early hours. Yeah, hopefully they've been given a little bit of a day off this morning or at least the morning off before the preparation start for Chelsea on Sunday. I wanted to ask you this because certainly in the build-up to this game, because it's sort of sandwiched between a North London derby in a game against Chelsea on Sunday, and the sort of elation of winning that game the way we did it on Sunday and the perceived importance of Premier League points over everything else. You know, there was quite a bit of discussion about, you know, how much should Mikel Arteta rotate?

5:43Should he prioritize Sunday's game a bit at the expense of this one? Not something I thought he was going to do, but certainly I've listened to and read some of those discussions along the way. And I want to ask you what it was like last night, because I don't mean to say that a game against Bayern Munich in the Champions League is a bit after the Lord Mayor show, if you like. But it certainly felt like in the minds of some that it was like that. So in terms of the sort of pregame, the atmosphere, the buildup, how was it sort of around the stadium and in the stadium ahead of kickoff? Yeah, I mean, I think with the North London derby, I mean, I woke up super early.

6:22there were butterflies in my stomach it was you know we're talking about setting the tone for a big week it was really on my mind and the moment and you know I got to the pub everyone was that was all anyone wanted to talk about whereas last night I was in the pub for a pint before the game and we were talking about my mate's lawn so you know it was a completely different vibe it was sort of okay we put ourselves in a really good position in the in the Champions League with the four wins that we've had this feels like a bit of a free hit great that it's a big exciting night people want to be there it's a good measuring stick for us against one of the best teams in Europe but there wasn't a sense of I didn't feel like there was a sense of jeopardy I didn't feel like everyone was on 10 talks about how the game was going to go but at the same time once you get into the stadium you could feel there's a buzz I mean I think some of that comes down to the away fans as well and the atmosphere that they create and they're always in very early for those champions league games and then they play um north london forever a little bit earlier and obviously there's the champions league music and by the time you've gone through that kind of process you almost kind of click into gear a little bit yeah and um yeah i mean it was i would say it was it was a very decent atmosphere that grew as the game went on but it wasn't like crackling at the start of the game understood understood and i think what you said there about this game and the opposition that we're facing in this game, you know, in particular, who have over the years caused us a lot of problems and caused us a lot of pain.

7:54And, you know, our first year back in the Champions League, that was that quarterfinal game, wasn't it, against Bayern Munich at home? Yeah. 2-2 and we went out 1-0 in the away leg. The Bakayo Saka penalty thing still annoys me, but let's leave that to one side. I do think that there was something quite significant about this game in certainly the mind of Mikel Arteta, because it is a measuring stick, as you say. It is a way of gauging your development and your progress. And Bayern Munich, as we know, until last night, hadn't lost a game, a proper game since April. We don't count the nonsense they were involved in during the summer.

8:36But, you know, this was certainly a big test. So I think that was reflected in the team selection a little bit. Riccardo Calafiori, who was managed ahead of the Derby, dropped out. Miles Lewis-Gelli came in. Piero Incapier, not a big surprise to me, given that he sort of ran himself into the ground a bit on Sunday, had to come off. He looked a little bit limpy, probably just cramping, because that was his first start replaced by Christian Mascara. But apart from that, it was the same team that played in the North London Derby, as you might expect. And what was sort of fascinating to me was, despite the confidence that we have, Bayern Munich, because maybe of the run that they're on this season, but also I think because of like a sort of arrogance, a European arrogance that they have generated over years and years and years in this competition, turned up and said, we're going to do what we do.

9:33We're confident. We're going to pass the ball around. You're not going to get near it. I think about 13 minutes in, they said on TV, 76 % possession to Bayern Munich in the opening 12, 13 minutes, which isn't really the norm when it comes to Arsenal. But I think what's so fascinating about this is the ability of this Arsenal team to understand and adapt to varying game states and game situations where that was probably part of the discussion where they said that they're going to come. They'll have if they have possession, we'll just do what we do and sort of cancel them out a little bit. So it was it was really interesting start to the game, I thought.

10:13Yeah, I mean, I think what you said about them having lots of possessions, that felt very obvious. I mean, just, you know, watching the game and the way the ball was played around and stuff. But it was interesting because I don't think the first boo for Harry Kane went up until around about the ninth or tenth minute, which meant that he didn't touch it. Right. So the possession that they had was, you know, it was it was consistent, but it wasn't necessarily kind of particularly dangerous. I mean, I didn't feel like we were massively under the cosh, but it was interesting just watching a team with, you know, who master space like we do.

10:48and very technically comfortable on the ball, popping the ball around in a way that I don't think I'd seen any other side really do at the Emirates this season. And you kind of do kind of sit up in your seat a little bit and go, okay, this is going to be a bit of a test. And, you know, the one thing you're doing as an Arsenal fan is you're very particularly paying attention to what the Arsenal players are doing. But it became pretty obvious that Bayern were doing all sorts of rotations, which I think Declan Rice obviously sort of referenced in the postgame chat about they just move everywhere they're constantly moving around and it becomes very very difficult for you as a player to build references I have that clip here let me just play that little clip here I think this is the the right one when they drop you deep there's it's so hard to pick up references across the pitch you know it's so hard to to get up to a man because they're just rotating constantly so it's about staying zonal and waiting for the opportunity to pounce and I think second half we've done that much better we got our got our references right We really went man to man with them.

11:47And yeah, it was an all-round great performance because that is Bayern Munich, you know. They've been unbelievable this year and I thought tonight was outstanding. So, you know, when he talks about those things, when he talks about the references, I assume that what he's looking at is, you know, the patterns of play that they work on and where, you know, if I'm here, then I'm expecting Martin Zubimendi to be here or I'm expecting Eber Echehese to be there or my fullback to be here, et cetera, et cetera. But the way that Bayern try and play, or the way they do play, is to sort of pull you out of those positions.

12:19So you get, in a way, lost on the pitch. And I think that was a really interesting aspect of this post-game discussion. Because this was, to my mind anyway, a really, really high-level technical game in the first half in particular. where it ebbed and flowed in a way that maybe the second half didn't because of how dominant we were and how good we were in that second half. And we'll obviously come to that. But that sort of, not quite cat and mouse, but like having to see what Byron are doing and adjust to that in game. And there's stuff about Arteta talking about his players. And I've got another clip of Declan Rice I'll play a little bit later on.

13:01But there is something, as much as a manager prepares his team, that once they're out on the pitch, and I think you'll know better than me, but certainly from television, it looked like Mikel Arteta was extremely animated slash agitated during this game on the touchline where, you know, I think generally he has been the most cam version of himself this season so far. But this felt sort of like a throwback to younger Arteta or previous Arteta, where he was absolutely desperate to get his messages onto the pitch to the players because of the challenge that Bayern were presenting us. Yeah, I think they'd obviously predicted that Bayern would play certain patterns, but there were additional patterns, I think, that hadn't been spotted until the game started.

13:50And at that point, as you say, he was barking at the players. And yeah, I mean, it really mattered to him last night, really mattered to him. I mean, I think, what was he booked in the first half for screaming about a challenge on Saka. I think so, yeah. And he continued to prowl up and down, you know, the technical area. He was a little bit more sedate in the second half, allowed some of the other coaches to kind of take over a bit. But yeah, I mean, it was a really interesting game. And there was a moment around about, you know, just before we scored where I did wonder, is this just going to be one of these games where the two teams just kind of do this for 90 minutes and everyone goes home happy with a point.

14:35But then we kind of, I think we knew, I think we definitely knew, because I think Bayern Munich have spoken about it quite openly, that they've got a bit of an issue defending set pieces. And that just felt like throughout the game, like just our secret weapon, just an ability to put them on the back foot to just turn the screw a little bit. Yeah. And yeah, I mean, it's just amazing that we've got a team that, even without Gabriel, still understand the patterns, still have people who are brilliant in the air who can take advantage of brilliant set-piece delivery. I have a clip from Joshua Kimmich, which I'll play a bit later on, about Arsenal's reliance on set-pieces.

15:16But I think a different way to frame Arsenal and set-pieces, listen, we know we're a goal threat and we know that it provides us opportunities to score and that was certainly the case last night. But what was interesting to me about this was, look at how that corner comes about. It is Martin Zubimendi, our holding midfielder, our number six, who is hassling the Bayern player near the edge of their box, you know, along the goal line. So he has to put the ball out. So there's the first thing, right, is that you have this guy supposed to be your deep-lying midfielder choosing this moment to go and press and to harry the opposition to concede the free kick.

15:55and obviously we score from it. We'll chat about that in a second. But I think more than, not more than, because that's wrong, scoring goals from set pieces is obviously the goal. But I think as well, there is just something about the way this team unsettles the opposition. It's sort of, because Bayern were really, really good in that opening 15, 20 minutes, really good. And then we get a corner and we score the goal and it might be the goal, but it might also be the sort of crushing inevitability of Arsenal from a set piece that really felt like it took the wind out of the Bayern Munich sails.

16:34Like all of a sudden, this team that was so dominant and so confident are rattled because they sort of knew what we were going to do, but could not do anything about it. And I think there's an extra element to the goal thread is simply how it undermines and goes some way to undermine the confidence of teams, even a team as good as Bayern Munich? Yeah, I mean, I think there's two things in play, one. First things first, it's the scoring from the set piece and knowing that you're supposed to be paying double attention to that because Arsenal are so good at it. But I think alongside that is when you concede the first goal against this Arsenal team who do not concede goals, suddenly that becomes a much bigger mountain to climb if you're an opponent.

17:20And I think Bayern actually coped pretty well with going 1-0 down against us because they regrouped. And obviously, we'll talk about them getting back into the game. But the fact that we can unlock opponents by just sort of finding a moment, even against a team that probably feels like they're in a bit of a flow state of their own, so, so important. And yeah, I mean, I think just going back to what you said about Zubimendi and closing down in that particular part of the pitch, I mean, that's just the beauty of this Arsenal team right now is everybody you look at understands that there's a moment to press and a moment to Harry.

18:01And if that person goes, someone else drops. So they're rotating not only when they have the ball, but also almost when they're out of possession so that the space is never, ever there. It's always closed. and honestly there were moments last night where it was remarkable to watch you know, Marino and Eze and Saka kind of interchanging any sense of traditional formations and what that represented have completely gone out the window I mean, it's a completely fluid state that Arsenal operate in and that only comes from you know, time together on the training ground and a complete understanding of your teammates' qualities a trust that your teammates are going to do what you sense they're going to do because that allows you the freedom to go and basically live in the moment and say, I'm going to go and take this guy on or I'm going to tackle that guy.

18:57It's really something at the moment. We'll come back to that. The goal obviously comes from Jurian Timber, Saka Delivery. They're complaining about a nudge on the goalkeeper. I think the only thing the goalkeeper can really complain about is his mustache. Yeah. Wow. What a terrible mustache. Listen, it's Movember. Fair play. He's doing it for Movember. We've got to give him credit for that. I didn't realize. Yeah, it doesn't work on his face is all I'm going to say. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I tend to agree. But look, it's a moment, isn't it, in a game where it's sort of going one way and then all of a sudden it changes and the momentum of the game changed.

19:37I think it's a really good header from Timber, really good delivery from Bakayo Saka. And I think from there, it did sort of shift slightly back to our side. And maybe around the half-hour mark, we should have been 2-0 up. A really amazing piece of play from Eber Eche-Ezza. Is he shooting? Does he get a shot wrong? Or is he trying to find Saka at the back post? Because I think the combination with Marino on the edge of the box and Marino, So, I mean, what a smart player and what a hardworking player, by the way. I think he covered the most distance of any player last night, 13.19 kilometers in the game, which, you know, it's unbelievable.

20:21But he's so technically smart as well, knows the game, really intelligent, Eze with the sort of brilliant quick feed he has. I don't know. I've watched it again. I can't quite make up my mind if he's trying to shoot for the back post or to the far post and gets it wrong, or if he's actually trying to play sack in for what would have been, I think one of the goals of the season so far had that gone in. I mean, I think if that had gone in, you'd have got the kind of Jack Wilshire sort of crowd reaction when the Norwich goal went in, you know, wow. What have we done there? I, I looking at the replay, I mean, I don't think as a, um, looks up for the pass.

21:03So when he's through, I think he's just sort of hoping that he's got his angles right and he's trying to find the bottom corner. That would be my take on it. But it was just an incredible touch. And then to Nutmeg, I can't remember who it was that he put the ball through the legs off, but Marino then lovely little play back. I mean, it was a superb play. I mean, can I ask you something? I mean, do you think it's a coincidence that maybe we're playing our best football with Marino up front at the moment, as opposed to some of the other options that are missing. I mean, there's just something about the way that he links play and with the guys that we now have around him that is really, really exciting, right?

21:44You've got, you know, Eze wants to be shooting and in the area in a way that maybe Erdegaard. Yeah. It's so funny because I was, I was chatting to James about this last night a bit as well. And that was a discussion I think they were having in the press box. like you don't have Kai Havertz, you don't have Victor Jokeres and you don't have Gabriel Jesus who would be maybe your three first options for centre forward. And you're playing Mikel Moreno and he only started playing there in what, February when Havertz got injured that time. What struck me about this was Mikel Moreno up front for Arsenal, maybe, maybe last season you could say it was a weakness.

22:25I don't think you can say that anymore. And whether that's to do with Eze playing closer to him as a more traditional sort of number 10 who's popping up around the edge of the box. And as we know, with Eberache Eze, he loves to shoot. And that's a difference. I don't really know. I think what I would say about this is that sometimes when something starts working, we can't see any other option. It's like, oh, this is it now. This is the way that we're going to play. and my gut feeling, my sense is with the way that this squad has been built is that this is an arsenal of if not many faces, different faces and I think that is a key component of what Mikel Arteta has built and what he wants from this team between now and the end of the season, right?

23:14So I don't think we can just keep doing this between now and May. I think what we need is this and we need what Jokeres gives us and we need what Odegaard gives us and we need what Kai Havertz will give us. And there will be games or game states or periods in the season where one thing is more en vogue, if you like, than something else. But it's hard to argue with the way that we've played this week, isn't it? You know, coming back from an international break and the effectiveness of it and the understanding of the players when they get the ball in the areas where they can do damage to the opposition.

23:58Yeah, I mean, I guess where my head is, is do we now have to consider Mikel Moreno an option up front, even when the other guys are fit, right? So there'll be some games where I think Mikel Moreno playing up front might be perfect because actually the way that we're wanting to rotate and drag teams out of position, this could be the guy for us. He offers something in between, I guess, Jokeres and Havertz, doesn't he? Or maybe not in between. It's kind of slightly different. He's not going to run the line for you like Jokeres is going to do. And he's not going to close in quite the same way that Havertz does.

24:35But he does love to drop deep and link play. I'm just fascinated by him and fascinated by Arteta's coaching that has managed to get a guy who's never played that position before to play it in a particular way that benefits the team and the team's qualities. I just think that's, I mean, that is a huge feather in Arteta's cap. Yeah. Do you remember, it wouldn't have been too long ago and there would be discussions about Arteta and it's like, well, you know, does he improve players individually? And I just, you don't need to have that conversation anymore because it is so evident that players like Mikel Moreno, Declan Rice, Bakayo Saka, William Saliba, Gabriel Trossard, you know, Jurian Timber, and all of these guys have incredible quality themselves, right?

25:34it's not to take anything away from them, but individually as well, they have made progress under Mikel Arteta. And I think, you know, there is something about his understanding of the game, which I want to sort of come back to because it's something Declan Rice spoke about afterwards, but could have been 2-0. And then all of a sudden it's 1-1. When you concede a goal, I think the first thought always is like, what could we do better there? What can we do to prevent that goal? And there's always something. You can always say you can react a little bit more quickly here or you could be more aware of this there, etc., etc.

26:15Sometimes I think the balance is a bit more the other way where it's actually a brilliant piece of play from the opposition. I think this is a really good goal. I think it's Kimmich with a ball over Myles Lewis-Skelly. The run from Serge Gnabry is perfect. the ball back across is superb because he has to catch it on the volley first time at full pace he puts it back into the middle and this is where I think what Rice was discussing about the way Bayern pull you out of position a little bit Harry Kane was not anywhere near the box he just stayed which meant William Saliba was slightly occupied with Harry Kane and that left the space because of the quality of the ball for Leonard Karl to finish.

27:06I mean, it's a really good goal. I think if we score that, we're saying that's a brilliant piece of football rather than poor defending, even though when it's against you, you're always saying, well, he should do better here, he should do better there. Yeah, I watched the highlights again this morning with the BBC commentary and it was the commentator Steve Wilson who said, Kimmich won't get an assist for that, but he ought to get a medal, which I thought summed up the beauty of that pass. There were some mutterings around me about Lewis Skelly's positioning because you never want to see a ball go over your shoulder.

27:37But the fact that Gnabry didn't have to even break his stride to play that ball first time across the box just tells you everything about the quality of the pass. It was a fantastic goal. I just kind of went, well, fair enough. I mean, that just underlines Bayern Munich's quality. and the level of the competition as a whole. And I think, though, in the crowd, there was a little bit of, I think Lewis Skelly kind of carried the can a little bit for that. And people have made up, some people around me certainly made up their mind that he wasn't having his best game. And that into the second half when he had some challenges, certainly kind of, I think people were a bit like, hmm.

28:22I will say, I didn't think, you know, he looked a bit rusty. I think that would be the best way of putting it diplomatically would be a bit rusty. If I was analyzing or criticizing his performance, I would be more inclined to look at those one-on-one situations in the second half where he didn't defend as well as we know he can rather than the goal, because I do think the quality of the pass and the movement from Gnabry and everything else. I think if Calafiore's there I think if Kieran Tierney's there I think if fucking Nigel Winterburn or whoever is in that position they're going to get done by that pass from Kimmich and that movement from Gnabry so it wouldn't be so much about the goal for me but I think maybe what it did was scratch it an itch or scratch it an old wound rather that we've experienced as Arsenal fans where if there is a sort of perceived weakness in us defensively it is that ball behind the left back.

29:18Yeah, and they did have another opportunity, I think, because Lewis Skelly was kind of a long way upfield, wasn't it, when Stanisic collected a ball and then hit wide towards the end of the first half. Yeah, I mean, I think that's just some of it's a result of what you're asking Lewis Skelly in the left back position to do these days. I mean, if you ask him to be effectively an additional midfielder, well sometimes you're just going to have to to cope that he's not going to be necessarily where you'd want a traditional left back defending you know someone charging through so yeah i mean i i to be honest i didn't have a major issue and i was actually really pleased that lewis skelly got selected because i think even if you've not been played that often recently it's a huge moment for you to be asked to go and play in arguably the toughest technical game of this of the season, you know, and I think he can take heart from the fact that the manager trusted him to be on the pitch, even if he might look away and say, you know, I could have done a bit better here or there.

30:19I still think what we've got now is just, as we know, two players in every position and he was perfectly good. And he had some moments on the ball as well. For sure. So look, 1-1 at the break and a finally poised game, as I said, technically a really good game, tactically a really interesting game as well. I will say I didn't necessarily expect the second half to go as well as it did for Arsenal. Or let me put that another way, for Arsenal to be as dominant as we were in that second half. For me, this is one of the best 45 minutes of football I think I've seen from a Mikel Arteta team. Don't quite know what the difference was, whether we just sort of turned it up a bit, whether we increased the intensity, whether we just got a bit of momentum.

31:12And momentum, as you know, in football can be a really powerful thing. You know, we started the half very well and just stayed on top of Bayern. I think there was a shot from Saka maybe about a minute or two minutes into the first half or the second half. And it sort of set the tone, didn't it, for what Arsenal were going to do and what Arsenal were trying to do in that second period. There was just dominance from the very, very start of that second half that Bayern, for all their quality, for all their experience, for all their confidence, for all their momentum this season, you know, 17 games or 18 games they've won on the bounce, they just could not really live with what Arsenal were doing in that second half.

32:02It was so, so impressive. Yeah, I mean, the two phrases in my head were, we bulldozed them, we suffocated them. We just did not give them a moment on the ball. The number of times we intercepted the ball and then quickly moved up the pitch was just incredible. But I do think, again, the set pieces, you know, Saka shot Neuer tipping it over, leading to a corner. I do think that the crowd suddenly were very, very, having already scored one, there was a bit of the set piece, ole, ole stuff. You know, there was a sense that we could really take advantage and get on top of them. We knew they were nervous.

32:40and we, you know, we had quite a few set pieces, corners, free kicks, you know, that were played into the box and caused them all sorts of havoc and had them kind of scrambling around. And I really felt like they felt on the back foot as a consequence. Sure. That gave us confidence. I think the players fed off the crowd, the crowd played, fed off the players. And, you know, that relationship really paid dividends. I just, I mean, can we talk about Declan Rice? Yeah. No, it's not. I mean, that second half, he was just monstrous. I think he said in one of his post-game comments with CBS, he said, someone said, oh, what is it about you and the Champions League?

33:21And he just sort of laughed and he goes, oh, all the guys in the dressing room have just asked the same thing. You know, that kind of like, I don't know. He just feels like he's absolutely at the top of his game at the moment. Yeah, I mean, I just, I haven't, it almost feels cheap to say he's like Patrick Vieira. And I almost sort of don't want to compare him to that because he's obviously an incredible player in his own right. But that ability to just take the ball off an opponent. And then do something with it. Yeah, and then just charge forward and do something with it. It doesn't have to be that he's the guy who makes the final pass or scores the goal, but he makes the pass that frees the guy who makes the pass, you know.

34:05I just, he's absolutely at the top of his game at the moment. I think he said, didn't he, he's like, he's in the best form of his career and he just feels like he's never been more physically fit and all the rest of it. Yeah, like he's in, he mentioned, he used the word rhythm. He said there's a lot of football at the moment playing every three or four days. I'm paraphrasing here a little bit, but he said, you know, I'm really, really enjoying that because he's got the rhythm of every game. I think yesterday in the second half, it was just unbelievable watching him do what he did. And I think he was sort of like a key component to how we performed in that second half.

34:44I mean, there was a drive down the left. He drove into the box, took a shot. It was one of those where it almost fell for Saka. You know, there were other chances as well, weren't there? Marino had a header. Muscara had a header, which Neuer saved. and Arsenal were really, really knocking on the Bayern door. And I suppose it's inevitable or deserved that Rice played a big part in the second goal. We made a couple of changes. Calafiore and Martinelli came on. It was Lewis Skelly and Saka who went off. We didn't mention Trossard getting injured in the first half, which is obviously a bit of a blow, which required Nani Marueke to come on.

35:24I was a little bit like when they made the change, the Martinelli for Saka change, I was a bit like, what are we doing here? Because Saka's been really, really good. Arteta gets a lot of pelters, doesn't he, for not managing the minutes of players well enough. Maybe now we have the squad to allow him to do that. Because I was going, Martinelli's going to, for Saka on the right. Not sure about that. And of course, I'd forgotten that Matueke played most of his football on the right. So he moved over, Martinelli on the left. And the second goal is Declan Rice reading the game, intercepting, playing it to Eberici Eze.

36:02Eze to Calafiore, who got down the left-hand side, whipped in a great cross, and there's Matuake to make it 2-1. Just one of those where it looks really, really simple, but it is all down to the timing, the quality, the reading of the game, and the areas of the pitch in which you put the opposition under pressure and deciding, right, this is the moment that we're going to pounce. Rice steps forward, takes the ball, and from there, like it's in the back of the net. I mean, what on earth is Calafuri doing, smacking across that hard across the box like that? It's just incredible. I mean, it was just, I was, do you know what I said?

36:40The moment the ball went in, I turned to my friend Ben and I said about Maduweke finishing off, I said, that is exactly what Raheem Sterling was supposed to be doing. last season, right? You know, come off the bench and then be the guy at the back post who's there to put a cross into the box. Sorry, put the ball in the back of the net. And it just sort of summed up everything about where we've gone up a notch from last year. And I just absolutely loved it. The crowd went absolutely spare when that one went in because it felt like we were getting into a point of a game where maybe, you know, are we going to do it?

37:16Have we taken Saka off? So you're suddenly starting to have, well, he's a really good player. He's our most dangerous player usually. But here we go. You know, we have, we've got, you know, a bench which consistently is delivering the goods. And I think, you know, I think I included a stat in one of the roundups about how many players have come off the bench and scored and stuff. But it's, or combined to score. I think it's like the fourth time this season that two substitutes have come off the bench to combine to score a goal for Arsenal. which is just like, you know, that's exactly what you want.

37:49Yeah. A big moment for Madueke as well, isn't it? Because, you know, in that first part of the season where he was filling in for Bukayo Saka, he was really lively. And I think people, you know, whatever scepticism there was of him during the summer, it was sort of chipped away at by the way that he played. But of course he didn't get a goal or he didn't get an assist. And players are judged on end product at the end of the day. So I think for him coming back after the injury and sort of making his mark in that way, getting the goal, takes a good bit of pressure off him now. And not that he was under massive scrutiny, but I just think from a confidence point of view as well, to have that moment in a game of this stature as well is going to be really big for him.

38:37Yeah, I mean, you know, we really got very good at sharing the goals around. And I think for him, as you say, I mean, he said he couldn't have scored in a better game or a bigger game, really. And I think he'll absolutely take that. And the fact that he's now got Chelsea coming up next weekend, I suspect he's probably thinking to himself, you know, I'm going to get on the pitch at some point, whether I start or not. But there's a, you know, he'll be carrying that joy and that confidence into that game. And he'll definitely be wanting to make a point there.

39:07Just going back to Calafuri, I don't know whether you saw, there was a post by Gabriel Marcotti who said that Fabio Capello on Sky Italia said, you're like a, he was talking to Calafuri at this point, you're like a young Sergio Ramos, only left-footed. I'd put you in front of the back four. You'd be like Marcel Desai, only with more quality on the ball. and Calafuri just sort of smiled and I think kind of went, don't know about that. I mean, listen, if someone like Fabio Capello is seeing that in Ricardo Calafuri and he is one of those players that people talk about where it's like, what is he?

39:50Is he a central defender? No. Is he a left back? No. Is he a rampaging? Who knows? Like, I feel like with Calafuri, There are many positions you could put him in and he would thrive simply because of the way that he plays the game and the way that he wants to play the game. There's a sort of unbridled, childlike is the wrong way of putting it because it's completely not childlike. But do you know what I mean? It's like the 13-year-old who knows he's better than everybody else on the pitch and just sort of plays that way with that confidence. He's the horse that's thrown his jockey off, isn't he?

40:37And he's just running free. That's a great way to put it. He's won the Grand National, but it doesn't count because he doesn't have a small man on his back. Exactly. Yeah. I mean, he's something else. He really is. the third goal possibly the most Martinelli in Europe goal you can ever think of but I think as well this is a goal that sums up so much about this Arsenal team right because what it demonstrates is pretty much all the facets of the game that Mikel Arteta would ask for in terms of his players so Elisa is in the box there are four Arsenal players around him in the box. It's Calafiori, it's Rice, it's Mosquera, and it's Gabriel Martinelli.

41:2775 minutes and 51 seconds, Gabriel Martinelli wins that ball, takes control of it, plays a pass to Mikel Moreno, who then very quickly plays it out to Eber Echeza. Martinelli, meanwhile, having won the ball, is fucking on his bike. is just tearing forward. Eze waits a moment, plays a ball over the top. Martinelli's touch gets it beyond Manuel Neuer. Neuer, as we know, is sort of the master of that sort of playing high up the pitch and snuffing out danger on the break. In this instance, the touch from Martinelli goes beyond him. So in the space of 10 seconds, you've got this defensive diligence, this technical quality, a sort of calm assurance from Eze to just wait that split second before playing the ball.

42:22And then you have Martinelli with an open goal, all in the space of 10 seconds. I think it's just a remarkable illustration of the qualities that Mikel Arteta has put together in this team. And listen, the pace of Martinelli to get him behind is obviously a huge factor in this, but there's so much to like about this goal because, yeah, this sort of framing of Arsenal as a team that is too reliant on set pieces completely ignores just how good that passage of play is and those passages of play that we're capable of putting together pretty much every week. Oh, I just loved it. I mean, I don't know if there's anything better than that type of goal in a tight game where you know that that's going to be the deciding factor in a game.

43:16You know, when the opposition is trying to find the equaliser or trying to find a winner or something and you just absolutely sucker punch them on the break like that, just fantastic. You know, the stadium, just as he's about to strike the ball, sort of, I'm going to stop short of saying there's a hush because there's a lot of people going, fuck he, shoot. but there is a moment where you're like is he going to put this away but this version of Martinelli right now it feels like he puts that away 99 times out of 100 and he's another one who's just absolutely playing with incredible confidence and you know the fact that he again has picked up where he left off after after the injury after a little bit of time out again has had to produce it off the bench um i i you couldn't ask for any more you could not ask for any more and again like as you said i mean you're quite right to point out that he's the guy who nicks the ball is suddenly kind of alive alert to the situation the opportunity i mean that that willingness to run from your box to the other box because you think you can score a goal you can't buy that.

44:25I mean, that is just superb from Martinelli. Yeah, because he could win it and just say, right, my job here is done. I've won the ball, give it to someone else. But what he does in that moment, because of how deep we are and because of where Eze picks up the ball, there aren't a lot of options ahead of him. Mikel Moreno is sort of square to him. It's Moreno who plays the ball to Eze. So we don't have an out ball. Martinelli creates the out ball with his running. Yeah. And I have to say, I think, you know, I don't know whether he meant the touch that he took to bamboozle Neuer the way that it did, but I think he definitely knew that he needed not to take too much pace off the ball to allow him the space to keep running.

45:10So I'll give him the credit there. You know, I think the goal against Athletic was probably technically better, where he had to take those two touches to make the space. This is against Bilbao, wasn't it? Yeah. I mean, I thought he did really, really well there. This, though, was of a similar ilk. And I mean, I enjoyed this one even more. Yeah, I mean, just great from him. And, you know, in all likelihood, he'll be... Well, we'll see what happens with Trossard, but there's a fairly high chance he could be on the bench again at the weekend. But if he can keep doing that, That is just such a weapon.

45:49And it does feel to me, it feels to me, something's different this season, right? The guys are so, they believe this year. This time last year for us, we hadn't quite been dragged into talking about the whole season being a grind, but there was a sense that things were not going our way. And I'm looking around at other clubs and other supporters of other clubs. and they're starting to go, this is Arsenal's year. How much do you think, because it's something Rice said as well on one of his interviews, I don't know if it was CBS or TNT or something, but he basically said, listen, we've won these games, we're playing this well without Kai Havertz, Victor Jokerez, no Martin Odegaard, Nani Matueke, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus.

46:46He said, six of the best attacking players in Europe and we're winning these games. And I just wonder, you know, what that gives you as a team that if you're looking for the confidence, if you're looking for the belief, if you're looking for the sort of inner knowledge that you can go and do something that's incredibly hard to do and something we have not done as a club for a long time, which is go on and win the Premier League and, you know, hopefully the Champions League at some point. that the knowledge that you can cope without big important players and still have enough in the tank to go and beat a team like Bayern Munich, it must be sort of impossible to quantify how much that gives you.

47:35And I wonder as well if certain experiences last season, particularly in the Champions League, you know, the Real Madrid games, which were the bright spot in, as you say, the Premier League grind at that point. But we still finished second in the Premier League and we did it without all those players. And we had those nights against Real Madrid. And I think as well, when they look at the PSG games and the chances we created in those games, there's probably a sense of regret that one or two of those didn't go in, which might have changed the trajectory of it. I'm not taking anything away from PSG, who I think were the best team in the Champions League last season.

48:15But as well, it wasn't like we were completely played off the park and there were moments in those games where if a header goes in, if Donnarumma doesn't make one of those fucking amazing saves that he makes, you know, it might have been a little bit different. You know, I see it as we're winning with Plan C at the moment because A and B aren't available. And last year we were able to maybe win with Plan C as well, but the drop-off between B and C was much, much bigger. What we're seeing now is just all of the plans, they're kind of concertinaed very closely together now because the quality is there, whoever is on the pitch and whoever's on the bench.

48:53I think Rice referenced the fact that he just, you know, the bench is so strong and when players come on, you trust them to be able to make a difference. And I think if you're on the pitch and you've played 70 minutes and you're feeling a bit tired, but you then see fresh legs come on and you go, oh, that guy can actually make a difference, which obviously was not the case at times last year. Because Declan, I specifically remember him referencing bringing on Tierney at left wing, and him kind of sort of saying, well, you know, what are you going to do? Yeah, we need to do something in the January transfer window was essentially that message at that point, which, you know, as we know, didn't transpire.

49:26So the players are feeding off the fact the squad is really, really strong. And, you know, the main, main, main guys. But I think also the guys who are on the bench are just feeding off the fact that they are making a difference for the squad as a whole. They know that they are very, very important. They know that collectively they're on the cusp of doing something very, very historic for this club, potentially. In recent years, I've been loath to sort of start talking so bullishly so early because I don't know that I really believe that we could do it because I looked around and I thought there are other clubs who might be better than us or at least on the same level.

50:06and if our luck doesn't... This year, it's not really about luck. It's about preparedness. And we are, by some long way at the moment, the best team in England. I genuinely believe that. And it's going to take something absolutely ridiculous to trip us up, I think. I'm really bullish about it this year. And I think if we as supporters can really feel that, then the players will feel that as well. And actually, it will all come together. I don't want to say the word manifest it, but like I am starting to feel like if we just keep believing, we might actually go and do this. And listen, for those, you know, who might not be aware, you're not necessarily always predisposed to those feelings of bullishness.

50:50I think it's fair to say that some of my friends would describe me as a miserable fucker, yeah. I wouldn't go that far, but, you know, I understand it. You know, I understand it as well, because Michel Arteta, was very, very complimentary about his team. And he said, this is a great night. He gave real credit to the players. I'm going to play a little clip now from Declan Rice though. Pay real credit to the players. They did the job on the pitch, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. It's a nice night. We'll have a nice meal. Then we go and we get ready for Chelsea on Sunday, right? So he is keeping feet on the ground as much as possible.

51:27You know, he was asked on TV last night, could this be Arsenal's year in the Champions League? And he was like, listen, there's a long way to go. You know, I can't say that. We're playing well, blah, blah, blah. I think that messaging for his players is of the utmost importance, right? And I don't think there's any suggestion or no doubt in my mind that these players will stay focused and they're not going to get carried away given the experiences that they've had. Some of them, you know, finishing second three times in a row, that stings like fuck. So you're not going to take anything for granted.

52:01I think what's interesting as fans, though, when you win the derby on Sunday like that, when you beat Bayern Munich, you know, and I think this was a game, not a psychological barrier to break through, but it was certainly a game that, as you say, Mikel Arteta took very seriously because it was a way of measuring his team against one of the best teams in Europe. where were we two years ago against Bayern and where are we now against Bayern? And you can see the difference there. But I think as fans, with every game that we play, with every performance like this, there's sort of like a reassurance that what we're feeling is absolutely real and what we're seeing is absolutely real because, you know, we're watching something unfold here, which I truly hope turns out the way we all want it to hope because it's not an accident in any way.

52:59So I want to play this Declan Rice clip. And this was him talking on CBS about pre-game preparation for this particular fixture. From two, three days ago after the North London derby, the manager straight away showed us Bayern and the way they're going to play. We know they go man-to-man all over the pitch and they've probably been the toughest opposition we've played this season. The manager spoke about the importance of communication tonight because the way they move and the way their wingers come inside and Harry Kane dropping so deep and defenders following you everywhere. You know, it's just it's a game that just makes you think constantly.

53:37So with and without the ball, we knew exactly what we had to do. And first half was tough. But I think second half as the game went on, I think our quality showed through and we fully deserved it. I think they didn't even have a shot in the second half and we was a constant threat. So, yeah, it was a massive game. But credit to the manager because he set us up and we know exactly what we had to do tonight. Now, he said in his post-game interview, he said something really interesting, I think. He talked about the injured players coming back and he talked about how important it was that everybody was connected.

54:08And I think that's not just the players, right? So he was keen, Arteta keen to give the players the credit for the way they executed the game plan or the tactical plan, etc, etc. But I think as well, we have to look at the way that these players are prepared for these games. Like straight away after North London Derby, Arteta's got them focused and learning about Bayern Munich and the way that they're going to play. And, you know, there have been some standout performances, right, in the last couple of games. as in the North London Derby, Rice, last night. It's a testament to their individual quality, right?

54:46Amazing. But they can't play like that without the support network, for want of a better phrase, of what the team does collectively. You can own, sometimes you've got like an individual performance in a crap game and you're a crap team and you've got one player that's brilliant and he sort of raises the level and he gets you a couple of goals and you win a game. But this is something a little bit different. This is, you know, icing on the cake sort of performances from Rice and Eze. And it is because this team and these players are just so well prepared. They know what they're supposed to do and they have the intelligence and the quality to sort of carry out those plans.

55:25Yeah. I mean, the takeaway phrase from the Rice thing was we knew what we had to do. I think if you are going into games, even against a six times Champions League winning side like Bayern Munich, and you feel confident that you understand their game plan and how to react to it, and you have complete confidence in your own teammates to execute your game plan, it's a pretty good combination. you know and and and they're clearly feeling it right you know the fact that rice is talking about loving playing every three days i think that's a really interesting thing because time and again we supporters worry about tired legs and all the rest of it but if mentally you're right in the in the perfect place to be playing every three days if rice is saying it there's nothing to say that some of the other players who we worry about aren't feeling that exact same thing right um And we need that now because it's relentless.

56:26You know, all the way through till March now, it's pretty much every three days. And look, we're not going to win every game. There's a fairly high chance luck will turn against us. We may put in a bad performance. It happens. We will lose a game. I'm not saying that we're going to go unbeaten and we're going to win everything. But I am saying that I'm looking at a team that I believe in and I'm looking around at the other teams, certainly domestically, and I'm thinking they're not as good as us. and they know it and their fans know it and they've lost bad games when they you know potentially shouldn't have and they've shown weakness and we haven't really you know that one Liverpool game really really annoying but it was almost exactly what you just said about it was Shoboslai basically putting a man of the match performance which was capped off by a 30 yard screamer three minutes from time but it wasn't because they outplayed us or they were better than us, particularly on the day.

57:21And look, that could happen again. But at the moment, this team believes in itself. And so long as it doesn't, you know, it can roll with the occasional punch. And it certainly did with the Sunderland one because that Sunderland game, conceding so late, having to chew on that for two weeks, going away on international break and then coming into a North London derby. Yeah, I mean, they've done well to park that conversation immediately. And, you know, if they can go to Chelsea now on Sunday, get a result, doesn't even need to be a win if they can put in a performance you know and and and just keep this unbeaten run going we don't have to win every game from here on out but we do have to try and maintain a state of belief yeah and i think not losing some games and winning the others is going to be absolutely key though i'm curious as to what you think about this uh this was i referenced earlier an interview with joshua kimmich after the game because i think this is the sort of performance and the sort of result that I don't know if people are not paying attention to Arsenal I think maybe sometimes you know I saw last season the Real Madrid games were sort of categorized as this kind of freak thing that Arsenal did right rather than it being the culmination of the work that Arteta and his coaching staff and some of these players have been putting in.

58:44You know, we had a hard time domestically last season, but we really raised our level in Europe. And I think, again, this is why this game was really important to Mikel Arteta, because he wanted to sort of put down a marker about the quality of his team in Europe. This is Kimmich being interviewed after the game. You face Chelsea this season, you face PSG, were able to win those games. Do you feel that Arsenal is the toughest one that you get in the season so far? No, I don't think so. I think PSG was the toughest one, especially the way they play football. Arsenal is completely different. They rely on set pieces.

59:29They love to play the long balls. They love to fight for the second balls. So it's a completely different game against PSG was more a football game today was not so much about football was more about game management about the duels and Arsenal did this really well tonight and so now the win was well deserved but yeah we have to we have to learn about after this game. I listen I know some people might take exception to that right and I take his point about PSG, technically a brilliant team. You know, you look at how difficult they make it for everybody. So if he thinks PSG are more difficult to play against on a football level than Arsenal, absolutely fine.

1:00:14But if that's the takeaway that he has got from this game, I'm actually quite happy with that because it sort of underestimates what this team is about. Are we competitive? Yes. Do we fight for second balls? Yes. Do we know Mikel Arteta loves the jewels? Absolutely we do. But to say we rely on set pieces, yeah, we scored a goal from a set piece, but we also scored two open play goals in this game on top of four open play goals in the North London Derby. that if people sort of sleep on the fact that Arsenal can hurt you in all kinds of ways, I'm all right with that. Yeah. I mean, there's a couple of things there, isn't there?

1:00:59I mean, one, if I'm not mistaken, Bayern Munich did play with 10 men against PSG, so I'm not surprised it felt quite difficult, especially in the second half. True, true. The second, it does sound like he's sort of lining himself up for a slot on like the German version of talk sport, doesn't he? just wants to kind of stir things up a bit. The German Jamie O 'Hara, is that what you're saying? The German Jamie O 'Hara, there we go. Congratulations, Joshua. Look, I couldn't give a flying fuck what Joshua Kimmich thinks. And if Arsenal are going to, you know, win trophies this year because they pay attention to the details, well, that's fine by me.

1:01:36I mean, it was exactly what Kompany highlighted, you know, Vincent Kompany in his own post-game comments talked about the details being the difference between the two teams. Arsenal mastered everything, corners, throw-ins. I'm slightly paraphrasing, but that's fine. But that's kind of where the Premier League's gone this season, right? I mean, everybody is following our lead on paying attention to the details because for too long we were trying to just rely on playing, you know, ticky-tackle football and everybody bullied the shit out of us. And now we've decided to kind of go a different direction.

1:02:08And we have to point out we've had lots and lots of injuries and that we haven't been able to play completely the way we'd want to. And we've also been integrating eight new players this summer. So, you know, my frustration at the beginning of the season was we weren't looking particularly slick. It looked a little disjointed at times. And I, you know, I felt a bit tense about that. But what I'm seeing now is that the integration process has happened with the new players. And now it's about getting the injured players back in there as well and then seeing where we go. You know, if Joshua Kimmich wants to write us off like that, absolutely, absolutely fine by me.

1:02:41I don't think there'll be many other teams in Europe who'll be sort of saying similar things to him when we batter them. Hopefully not. Hopefully not. So look, a really, really brilliant night for Arsenal, for the team, for Mikel Arteta and for the fans. Maybe just worth mentioning Liverpool and their travails continuing, beating 4-1 at home by PSV Eindhoven. Not a great night for Arnazla. and it's mad. I don't think I've ever seen a club spend that much money to get this bad. Yeah, I mean, clearly there's a lot going on over there.

1:03:24I'm going to reference the Jota stuff, but I do think mentally it must be very, very difficult for them. I also do think that once you've had a couple of defeats, the snowball effect of that and the negativity, particularly being piled on them by everybody outside the club laughing pointing at the fact that the players can't do it you know slot looks a bit rattled he didn't have to deal with any of this last year it's it's getting to them I think everything is it's all getting to them now and every club that goes to Anfield now will know that there's an opportunity for them to to dismantle that Liverpool scene if they play their cards right not everyone's going to do it but once that's in your head, it's really difficult to get out of that situation.

1:04:08And I do feel a bit like, going back to what I said earlier, this time last year, we were starting to feel a bit like the world's against us and it's not going to go our way. That's happened at Liverpool. Liverpool are done now this season. They'll be dangerous. They'll have the FA Cup to focus on and they'll probably still qualify in Europe, I reckon. But the league's done for them. they might have a say in who wins it with some of their performances in the other big games that they have. But yeah, it's tough. And I do think that there's City fans who feel a little bit similar as well. I know Pep made a load of changes the other day, but he certainly didn't make a load of changes the other day with a view to losing 2-0 at home.

1:04:49So yeah, it's interesting seeing what's happening elsewhere. Tottenham, very inconsistent. Chelsea, who knows? They look like an interesting team. And in Esteval, they've obviously found someone who they can, you know, build an attacker around. But I'm not wholly convinced by them. And I also think that the whole Club World Cup summer stuff might eventually catch up with them as well. So let's see. I mean, it does make for a really massive game on Sunday, which is exciting, right? I mean, you know, I go into that game now feeling, okay, there's another big game to make a statement, another opportunity to lay down a marker.

1:05:24Let's go and do it. three big games this week, two down, one to go. Let's hope we can do that at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Andrew, thank you very much indeed. We better leave it there. It's great to enjoy a big Arsenal night with you again and we'll catch up soon. My pleasure. Thanks for inviting me on. It's always great to chat.

1:05:46Thank you very much indeed to Andrew. You can find him on Blue Sky. He is at aalansport.arseblog.com. That is at aallensport.arseblog.com over on Blue Sky. So look, the games are coming so quickly and with such frequency that I'm going to leave it there for this particular episode. However, of course, there is a big game against Chelsea on Sunday. For more on that one, you can join us over on Patreon tomorrow. We'll have our regular Premier League preview podcast for you in the afternoon. So if you're not already a member on Patreon, you can join us for just$6 a month at patreon.com forward slash arseblog.

1:06:29It gives you instant access to all the stuff that we do over on Patreon as well. Remember, there is a link to the Goodly Morning mugs in the show notes. Every penny that we raise from these mugs will go to good causes. So every single penny will go to charity and it will go to people who actually really need it at this time of the year. So you'll find a link. If you haven't already got a goodly morning mug and you want one, this is the time to do it because you'll be helping people out this Christmas too. So link in the show notes. Join us tomorrow on Patreon. Thank you so much as ever for being here.

1:07:02We really do appreciate you. Appreciate you listening and downloading and sharing. If you want to give the show a review, by the way, that would be greatly appreciated. It helps us get up the podcast charts and stuff. So in whatever podcast app you can leave a review, your reviews will be very, very welcome indeed. and we thank you in advance for that. For now, though, take it easy, folks, and we will catch you on the next one. Until then, cheers. Bye-bye.

1:08:01We'll see you next time.

1:08:39Welcome back to Holy God FM and that's the Bengals and going down to Liverpool. Going down like Liverpool, more like. Anyway, we have a very serious letter here from a listener. He says his name is Joshua Kimmage and he says, Dear Holy God FM, some recent comments I've made have been misconstrued. Yes, I said Arsenal were reliant on set pieces when in fact they scored two open play goals against my team, but the reaction I feel has been a little over the top. People are now calling me the German Jamie O 'Hara and that is a state of affairs that I cannot abide. For a start I do know how to put my socks on but obviously this is a very significant stain on my reputation and I'm wondering if you had any advice as to how I can restore my standing in the world of football.

1:09:36Well Joshua with your name like a Dublin suburb I'm reminded of what St Paul the Apostles said to the leader of the Galatians in the book of Epicurus, when he too came under scrutiny for comments he had made about Barnabas, St. Paul took a moment and he looked at the leader of the Galatians and he said, would you not put your fucking brain in gear before you open your big stupid mouth, you fat cunt? And I think, Joshua, there could be indeed a lesson there for you. coming up next on Holy God FM Father Steve is here with the technology slot and he'll be telling us about our new AI Holy God FM chatbot and what ChatJC can bring to your life well I'll be taking your data your money and your fucking sanity