Episode 860 - Halfway there ...

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. This morning, we're going to look back on our 3-2 win over Chelsea in the Carabao Cup last night, the first leg of the semifinal. And look, a win is good. We haven't won a semifinal in quite some time, so that's an improvement in and of itself. But this is a game I think that maybe Arsenal will have some regrets over. Big chances to make it 4-1 and to basically put the tie to rest in the first leg. We don't take those chances. They score a scrappy kind of goal and all of a sudden it's 3-2 and the tie is still alive.

1:07But look, that's football for you and that in particular is cup football for you. However, as I said, the positive is that we won the game. We went away from home. I think we did by some distance. Look, the better team, the more threatening team in this game. And I think there are positives that we can take from the performance collectively and certainly with regards a couple of individuals as well. So let's get into that. And with me to talk about the good stuff, the not so good stuff and everything in between is Phil Costa. Good morning, Phil. Good morning, Andrew. How are we doing? We're doing all right.

1:40You know, I think you go away to Stamford Bridge, even if you have some regrets. You come back to North London with a win. And I don't think you can argue too much. There's plenty to unpack from this one. But I think overall, you know, going into this game, we knew it was going to be tough. We knew they were going to be up for it, given, you know, their season is not where ours is. And I think we acquitted ourselves pretty well overall. So, like I said, there's lots to get into. Let's just start with the team news. I guess it was pretty much as expected. The only real change or the only thing that raised an eyebrow was Jurian Timber being deployed at left back, rather, ahead of Myles Lewis Kelly, which meant Ben White on the right hand side.

2:27Listen, there's going to be a lot of discussion about what that means for Myles or does it mean that much for Myles? watching the game I felt like I could understand why Mikel Arteta went the way that he did because Miles has had some struggles this season I think he had a bit of difficulty in the game against Portsmouth for example where he was maybe a little too easy to run past and I think Arteta knew that Chelsea had threat in wide areas various kinds of threat in wide areas and even if he didn't know exactly who was going to be playing on the right for Chelsea he probably just wanted a more secure option there and there's no doubt that even if he's playing on the wrong side Jurian Timber is certainly that yeah definitely I mean in general I wasn't surprised that Mikel went strong because this is a cup semi-final right and people's mileage may vary on the competition but to me it's an important game and especially away from home you need your trusted soldiers out there.

3:30The lineup against Portsmouth with 10 changes felt quite instructive in terms of how the manager was going to approach this one. I thought Kepa starting ahead of Raya was interesting, but Miles was obviously the main talking point. And I wasn't too surprised he was left out. I think he's really struggled lately. And I know regular football helps players find a rhythm that maybe they've lost but another difficult night with the whole country watching you know could have could have killed his confidence even more and we don't want to lose the player completely and I think you were right to say about Jurian Timber it's not ideal to play him at left back but he's more than serviceable there a very dogged defender we know what we're going to get with him defensively he doesn't get beaten very often so I mean it's a blow for Myles personally but I can understand the decision from a team perspective.

4:23And I thought considering our defensive injuries in general, you know, in Capier out, Calafiore out, Mosquera out, we were still able to put out a very strong team. Obviously, Saliba and Trossard both started in the end, considering they were doubts beforehand. And against the Chelsea team without Rhys James, without Moises Caicedo, without Cole Palmer, even Liam De Lappe as well, if you want to put him into that group, although I don't think he deserves it. I know they've spent a fortune and it's not really an excuse, but those are key references for them. So I felt pretty good about things even before we kicked off.

4:59But yeah, I could see why it might have been a talking point that Miles didn't make it, but I understood it and I was quite happy with it, to be honest. We will return to the subject of Kepa, obviously, because I think there is a bit of a discussion to be had there. But yeah, you're right to say that that was, I was a bit surprised by that. I thought he would go with David Ryan in this game. And, you know, people will say maybe there's something in Kepa's contract which says he has to get the cup games. I don't think that's really the case at all. He was pressed about the goalkeeping issue before this game.

5:32I sense it's just a question of squad management and keeping people happy. But like I said, we will return to the Kepa discussion in a bit. But obviously the game started really well for Arsenal. early goals haven't necessarily been a feature of our season but we got one is about seven minutes in there's a corner from the right hand side Declan Rice delivers Ben White is there to nod home from close range the defending is poor the goalkeeping is poor there's a sort of vague mirroring of the incident in the uh in the game on Tuesday night when Manchester City had a goal I think, and everyone listening to this I'm sure will understand that I'm no fan of Manchester City, but I think absurdly ruled out because Haaland was deemed to be interfering with play from a barely offside position.

6:31I'd go absolutely crazy if that goal was disallowed. I don't know if any of the, what would you say, the backlash to that had an impact. The fallout. Yeah, I don't know if that had an impact on the way that VAR looked at this last night, but I don't think it was really an issue. And Arsenal 1-0 up after just seven minutes. yeah set piece again ole ole I did enjoy that clip of Chelsea fans giving it to Rice before he takes the corner I have it here I have it here I'm going to have to play the audio something in stock I've got to play the audio of this so if you haven't seen the clip it's on my Instagram if you want to go have a look there you'll find it on social media it's on the on Reddit or the Argoners Reddit but this is the audio of the Chelsea fans doing their best to distract Declan Rice before he takes the corner.

7:21See, dear listener, if you can spot the exact moment where the goal goes in. Ooh! Fucking God! Oh, fucking God! You're chillin' it! Oh! Woo! Woo! Woo! Hey! Oh, he's missed it.

7:48always missed it always i love that fucking traitor who knew who knew that the chelsea fans were so invested in the republic of ireland national team i mean it's a shock to me phil look they're everywhere andrew um and even though his whole family were chelsea fans and that they were the ones who released him when he was 14 declan rice is obviously the traitor i mean his reaction was even better. A little look back and a smile as the stadium went quiet. Yeah, delicious. Just seeing Sanchez come for that ball, get nowhere near it. Whiteheads in from close range. I really love the celebration actually, because you can see how much they love Ben White.

8:32You know, Gabriel straight over there, Saliba straight over there. He seems to be a really loved and valued member of the squad, just as we love him as well as fans, of course. But yeah, you're right to say that early goals are not necessarily something that happens in our games too often. And I think in games like this, when you're away from home, they can be extremely valuable. And I know there's still a long way to play in not only this game, but a second leg as well. But putting yourselves off in that way, starting in the right way is never a bad thing. And I think it just added to a general frustration and anxiety in the stadium.

9:08because obviously you go in, you're hopeful, you want to see your team go out Arsenal, you're looking for an upset, and then, oh, seven minutes. Ah, yes. I mean, I've watched that clip about 20 times this morning. It's just so good. Rice's reaction, you've got to see the video, Rice's reaction where he just turns around and laughs at them, particularly the guy who was doing his best Mr. Blobby impression in the middle of that as well. What did you make of the first half? because I think it was a bit scrappy, a bit bitty, a bit sort of like there were moments for both teams without either team really, really threatening in a big way.

9:48And I think the pitch played a part in this, that it looked slow. I looked this up. Chelsea haven't had a home game since December 31st. So I think there was a conscious decision on their part to let the grass grow. And I know people say it's winter. The grass doesn't really grow in winter. But they've got the lights and shit, you know. All the football stadiums have these lights and stuff. So it really felt to me like a deliberate attempt to, I don't want to say hobble Arsenal, because, you know, I don't think it's the most difficult thing to deal with. But certainly when we're at our best, we're a team that really likes to zip the ball around.

10:26That was not a zippy pitch. It was not conducive to any kind of zippery, if that's the right way of putting it. Not at all. It's something I noticed quite early on, actually. And I thought, is it raining? Did they just water the pitch too heavily at the start? But I think it absolutely played a role in the game. I mean, when you consider the pitch was masquerading as my local Sunday league ground with how much it was cutting up and how slowly the ball was moving. It was quite amazing that we were able to string any spells of possession together. Scrappy is the word, right? It was pretty even. There were a couple of moments where we looked good.

11:01We were moving the ball around nicely. One touch, two touch. We were dragging Chelsea around a little bit, but they did grow into the game, but it comes at the cost of them being in absolute shambles at the back in terms of playing out. Was that something you felt Arsenal could maybe have taken advantage more in that first half? Because it was so jittery and you could sense the crowd were getting really jittery. And we were chatting a little bit while the game was going on. And there were a couple of times I noticed that as soon as Fofana got the ball, that triggered the press. And there were other moments where I think Arsenal could potentially have pressed a bit higher.

11:42And we did it to very good effect, by the way. And obviously, we caused a lot of that nervousness within the Chelsea defence because they weren't secure in playing out from the back. And I think everyone is sort of looking at the goalkeeper as this. But I also think you've got to look at the players around him. You know, a goalkeeper can only make the passes that are on. And quite a lot of the time, the passes weren't really on for him. So I get why people are focusing on a goalkeeper. And he had some other moments in this game, which obviously we'll talk about. But there was a sense for me at halftime anyway that we didn't.

12:14We sort of get them to a point where everyone's like, oh, don't do it. Don't play up from the back. And then we'd sort of sit off them a bit and allow them to regain a little bit of composure where I did wonder if we could just step on them a bit more and absolutely, you know, crack whatever bit of composure they had left. Yeah, to be fair, I think we did try. I mean, we were obviously targeting them with the high press and that Bermuda triangle of Sanchez, Fafana and Chalabar where technical quality goes missing looked so uncomfortable playing out from the back. It's untrue. I mean, I don't really consider Arsenal a pressing team.

12:50I think we're very good in our shape and structure when we get set into that 4-4-2, but I wouldn't consider us so proactive and adventurous in our press, but we were clearly using those three as pressing triggers. And we did get some joy nicking the ball in dangerous areas, even if nothing clear cut came from those opportunities. I mean, there were a couple of bounces that didn't really go our way, a few deflections, but that high risk, high reward pressing does leave you open as well. And Chelsea did get through on a couple of occasions. Their out ball was Esteval on the right, who was always tricky 1v1.

13:24Again, we go back to the decision to leave Miles out. How would he have fared against someone like that? You know, I think Timber in isolation as a 1v1 defender is way superior. But that was the obvious out ball for them. Enzo was looking for Esteval, you know, all half. And I think, annoyingly, he did find him a few times. But beyond that, they had one or two moments with, I think there was one with Jaal Pedro putting one across the box. Enzo shot straight at Kepa when things opened up for him on the edge of the box. But other than that, I didn't really see us under any pressure or stress. I thought we were quite comfortable.

14:00And if anything, I thought we were the ones a bit wasteful in the final third. It felt like we were playing with our food a little bit, not quite finding the right opportunities to shoot when we had them, delaying passes, just double guessing ourselves, coming back into pressure when we didn't need to, you know, little things like that, that don't make the highlight real. But when you watch the game again, you think, oh, that was a good chance. or one pass to the left there, and that's a good opportunity. So, yeah, a scrappy first half, both teams feeling each other out a little bit. The pitch was awful.

14:33Things obviously opened up in the second because it really felt like a basketball game at times. Yeah, I mean, one of the observations I was thinking of making at halftime was about Paikai Osaac and how we needed to sort of get him into the game a little bit more. And I think he was quiet in the first half. in the second though I think Saka was really really good and instrumental in our domination of Chelsea from an attacking perspective this is a game where he will end without a goal to his name without an assist to his name but I took a lot away from Saka's performance in that second half I I think he ran Kukureya ragged.

15:15We'll talk about the second goal now in a second. He was involved in the third goal. There was that moment when Marino had the chance, which we'll come to. That was Saka putting pressure on the defender. And I get people are concerned about his numbers. I get they want to see the goal tally increase. They want to see the assist tally increase. And I might have said this a week ago or on the Arscast Extra last week, the week before, I can't quite remember. Despite that, I'm seeing a lot from Bakayo Saka that's really, really encouraging for me. And I think if you're looking at what really drove Arsenal in that second half, Saka's performance and that contribution early on where he wins the ball in our half, he wins us a throw-in, he takes off down the line, we take a quick throw-in, throw it down the line, he holds off Kukurea like he's just sort of some kind of insect.

16:11and then brings Ben White into play and that brings about the goal for Yacarez. That sort of early endeavour and effectiveness, it doesn't really get the credit it deserves because Yacarez got the goal and everyone's focused on Yacarez and Ben White made the assist and everyone's focused on him or they're focused on the mistake from Sanchez. But that goal does not happen without what Bakayosaka did in the previous 30 seconds. Yeah, I think you're right to highlight him And I think you're right to highlight the team in general, because there did seem to be an extra punch and conviction, a readiness to play forward, maybe quicker than we were in the first half.

16:51I really liked the second goal. I mean, maybe this is one to note down in my journal, but we saw Ben White take a quick throw in, Andrew. Thomas Gronenmark already having an influence. I mean, that was really sharp thinking. We praised Miles against Portsmouth at the weekend Ken, for taking that quick free kick to Gabriel Jesus. We've seen Ben White play quickly now down the line to Saka, identifying that space in behind. He's just toying with Kukureya at this point because he doesn't want to touch him, obviously being on that yellow card already. White rolling back the years, steaming forward on the overlap and his border slips across.

17:27I mean, look, Sanchez, it goes through his hands like a bar of soap, but thankfully, Jocarez was there to tap in from close range. And obviously, we've got the goalkeeper to thank for his butterfingers. But Arsenal playing at speed made me happy because I think we are always capable of flicking a switch and turning things on. But generally, we're quite measured and precise in everything we do, how we build up. So to see us take advantage of that space in behind and more importantly, Chelsea not being organised was great. You know, and at that point, 2-0 up, I was already thinking, right, let's manage the game, try and get another one on the break so we can make the second leg a total non-event and ease the burden on our squad in what will be a very busy time schedule-wise in late March, early April.

18:16Didn't quite work out that way, obviously, but I did like the intention with which we approached those early stages in the second half. Absolutely, absolutely. I think on this goal as well, you know, there was a bit of discussion on TV about Yoko Rez demonstrating a little bit of frustration that he didn't get the ball early from Bakayo Saka. It all worked out in the end. He stayed focused, he stayed central and got the ball home from close range. there was a bit of a discussion on the arses on arseblog.com this morning about you know, Jokeres being a slightly bigger fox in the box in that moment and I've got to give a shout to Bass Arse who just came up with the phrase ox in the box because of his size, so that seems to work but he used that physicality well to get there before the defender after Sanchez made the mistake and that's a moment I think that he really, really needed you know, it's what November the 1st was the last time he scored a goal from open play so that's two and a half months basically and there is and has been a lot of spotlight on him a lot of discussion around him and that's completely understandable completely normal I don't think there's anything wrong with that ultimately it's up to the player to deliver he has to deliver the goals that's why he's been brought in we know strikers thrive on confidence and the longer you go without scoring the more difficult it is and you know you can get a bit uh worn down i guess by everything and you feel like those chances are not going to come there were moments i think in the first half where you know you could see that there was just maybe something happening for him this evening there was a shot with his left foot that deflected wide did well enough to to make that space to have the shot that's an improvement on where he's been in relation to some of his recent performances and obviously then when you get the ball in that area, you've just got to make sure it gets over the line.

20:10He did that absolutely, absolutely well. So yeah, a moment for Jochores and obviously he's involved in the third goal. We'll talk about that. But, you know, he needed that in a big way, didn't he? Yeah, this was a good night for Jochores. I've been critical of him because with all the caveats about him coming in cold with no preseason, which is true and having to play more than expected because Jesus and Havertz were out, which is also true. I don't think he's done enough in games to justify a lot of the squinting we've been doing about him occupying defenders and not getting the service or even praising the bare minimum when it comes to just simple things that he's been doing to a decent enough standard.

20:52But when you come out of a game with a goal and an assist away from home against decent opposition, you can be happy with your night's work. And more than anything, he looked involved and part of the team, which probably made me happier than his output because he had 17 touches last night, which isn't so different to what he's been putting up normally. But I liked his movement a lot more. He looked more comfortable dropping deep with his back to goal. there were one or two moments where he got his body ahead of Fofana to keep the ball and more importantly was on the spot to score his goal and when one of the main frustrations with him has been that he hasn't been in the right spaces enough being there reacting quickly in between the center backs is good right and I think he was right to be a bit frustrated when that ball didn't come in from Saka but he's alert again in the middle ready to receive that cut back from white you know it's it's a good night considering where his his confidence might have been and where his stock was it's a good night for him and i'm not saying this is him turning a corner and that we've all been wrong to doubt him because i still have a few concerns about his long-term suitability here but we're absolutely going to need him between now and the end of the season and just maybe jesus being back maybe havert's being back can take some of the weight off his shoulders alone and we can start to use him in different scenarios and game states which might suit him a little bit more yeah I mean I think you you we were talking about Portsmouth and whether he might benefit from a goal against Portsmouth and and my feeling is that he will benefit far more from a goal and an assist against Chelsea in a semi-final oh yeah then if he'd scored four against Portsmouth it would still be sort of caveated with well it's just Portsmouth and it's the FA Cup and their bottom of the championship or close to the bottom of the championship.

22:44You've got to do it against the big opposition. He did it against big opposition last night. The assist, it's not like he laid it on a plate for Martin Zubimendi, but he's involved and he gets credited with that. And I think if you're looking for him to take the benefits and hopefully kick on a bit from here, doing it in a game like this, when everybody, not everybody, but when there have been significant doubts, I think hopefully is a thing that will prove to be very, very beneficial to him. But it's 2-0 and I think Arsenal were in control. And then I've watched this goal back a few times. I think it's just one of those weird passages of play where nobody does anything really, really wrong, but there's about four things that we don't quite do well enough, right?

23:32So there's a high ball. Gabriel tries to head it to Timber and sort of misses his header, but does get the ball back. Then shanks a clearance with his right foot. Martin Odegaard gets there and lays it back for Zubimendi. I don't think it's the greatest touch, but it's probably all right if Zubimendi doesn't slip. Zubimendi on the ground tries to play the ball. It breaks for, I don't know who, I think it's Enzo Fernandez. There's a 50-50 with William Saliba, which the ball could go anywhere, but it rebounds to João Pedro. And then the cross at the back post, we're left with a man over, basically, because Zubamendi has slipped and hasn't been able to get back into the box, and Garnaccio is there to apply the finish.

24:15So it's one of those where if just one of those small moments goes our way, that goal doesn't happen. But, you know, that's football, I guess. Completely agree. There wasn't an obvious mistake from anybody, but more a collection of little errors and small things that ended up snowballing into a big moment. And once Ben White was knocked out of the air trying to compete for the ball, all Garnaccio has to do is find that space underneath Kepa, which he did. I mean, fair play to him. It's a decent finish. But you're right to highlight a few of those moments that led to the goal. Gabriel shanking it, Odegaard just leaving Zubomendi a little bit short, the slip, the 50-50.

24:54And, you know, it feels like Arsenal have these goals in them sometimes, considering we are so good normally defensively in terms of our shape, our individual commitment. We've got some really brave people in that back line ready to block and clear and head everything. sometimes goals like that just happen and and you know it's it's nothing where our teta and the video team will be pointing fingers at this morning and saying look you've done terribly here you've lost a man you you're standing in the wrong place it's more just how can we make sure this doesn't happen again sort your clearances out just be a bit more sure with your passes but yeah um but you know i i didn't see it coming i really didn't see it coming because chelsea looked gassed by that point.

25:41They were out of ideas. The stadium was flat. You know, we looked very much in control, but that's all it takes sometimes. Just the chance at the back post, you're short. And it did swing the momentum for a little bit, even though I never felt under any immediate threat or danger. They definitely had more of the ball and were looking to equalize. Any issue with the way Kepa came out to try and block that? Is it, I mean, listen, I think, you know, the bigger issues are the ones that we mentioned and the fact that we're left with two on one at the back post. So I'm not like flinging daggers at the goalkeeper.

26:15But there's a moment later in the game where one of the goalkeepers makes themselves really big. And that has an impact on what happens in front of goal. It just sort of squeezes under him at the near post between his legs. I mean, it's tough, but I suppose he has to go out and try and engage, right? I think he's trying to make the angle smaller. But in the action to try and get to the ball, Garnaccio has just fired the ball under his legs at the exact moment where he's slightly elevated. So I'm not sure I'm ready to point any fingers at Kepa there. I think I have issues with the second goal. Okay, we'll get to that.

26:54More than the first, yeah. Mikael Artene made some changes. He brought on Gabriel Martinelli and Mikael Marino for Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard. And not long afterwards, Arsenal are 3-1 ahead. Again, it starts from the right-hand side. Marino plays it into Jokeres. Jokeres kind of flicks it off with the toe of his boot to Martin Zubimendi. I know I'm over-egging the pudding here a little bit, right? But the way he shimmied past two defenders and then finished with his left foot, it reminded me of that goal that Thierry Henry scored against Spurs when he ran the length of the pitch when he got into the box he did exactly that he sort of shaped to shoot and then went outside went outside again and curled the ball in with his with his left foot obviously Zuberman he did not have to carry the ball the same distance that Thierry did that night but that finish really did remind me of that and it's such a good finish it's so composed in the box on his left foot as well.

28:02And that's 3-1 to ours. I think it's, I think there's a really, really good goal. I mean, the way he takes this goal is unbelievable. The first touch inside Andre Santos is great, but the way he baits Fofana in, sits him down with that body feint and in the process just buys himself a yard of space to get the shot off, all with his left foot, by the way. The finish cracks into the side knitting. It's so composed. I mean, it's technical play at its finest. And for someone who is used to the chaos and the nonstop nature of midfield, being able to just slow his heart rate down in that moment was really impressive.

28:40And it was another dagger into Chelsea there who had had a good 10 minutes, a bright 10 minutes, but I liked the changes from Arteta. I think it gave us an added impetus in the final third. Marino played a couple of good passes in the build up to this goal being scored. and just in general on Zubimendi when we signed him what I loved about him or the idea of him coming in was that we could leave him on an island as the lone six in space without needing to hold his hand which is what started happening with Jorginho and our other midfield options towards the end of last season we didn't feel comfortable isolating them because they didn't have the physical capacity to cover ground and kill transitions effectively enough so we knew he would be an upgrade in that sense but i was certain and i wrote about this in my profile for arse blog about him being able to play in a more traditional double pivot with rice and even contribute further forward as well which is what we're seeing more and more this season i mean how many times was he's the he the one breaking forward into space last night and supporting play to see the one where was it the i think it was the first half i can't remember yeah I think it was a build up to the Yuccaro's chance it could have been where he's just like we play the ball forward really quickly and it's in the inside left channel where you would expect let's say Trossard to be or even your centre forward to be and it's like it's Zubimendi I think we want a corner from it I mean Mikel Arteta was asked about him after the game this is what he had to say I love him because he can do anything and he needs to believe that he can do anything he can occupy various spaces he's really good at carrying the ball he has really good timing arriving in the box.

30:20And he's very composed, as you've seen in the goal. For a whole, he's filled to the wide zone. It's quite rare. So he seems to think there's more to come. There are levels to Zubomendi's game that we haven't quite seen yet. But I think what we have seen is that the idea that he was, as you say, just a six is not really doing him justice. I think there's far more to his game in both ends of the pitch or at both ends of the pitch than maybe people had first anticipated. I think what they had expected was a guy, okay, he's a bit metronomic, he'll sort of sit there, he'll dictate the play a little bit, keep it moving, but he's got real threat.

31:00He's got real threat. And I think what's interesting about it is that I guess at this sort of stage still, he's not a player that the opposition expect in areas where he pops up. but we're probably at a point now where the analysts the coaches the people that prepare the games for the opposition are going to have to think about how they deal with martin zubomendi when he does get forward because he isn't just sort of sitting in front of that back four he can drop into it but he can pop up as we saw last night you know in in essentially the the number 10 position and take the ball on and finish the way he did i mean it's it's a hell of a debut campaign from him.

31:47I was really on board with this signing before it happened, even more so now. And I will say that he's doing things in this Arsenal team that I didn't necessarily expect him to do, certainly not this quickly. Yeah, I think there was a very conscious decision last night to let him go, give him the freedom to be able to push forward and support in the final third. And Declan Rice was maybe slightly more reserved, hanging back in the left half space, helping out Timber if he needed it. I'm not sure he did most of the time, but there were a couple of occasions where they just doubled up on Esteval a little bit.

32:20And, you know, this is someone who hasn't scored more than four goals in any season and he's already on four this season, halfway through January. So we often speak about the jump players need to make when they sign for Arsenal, especially this iteration of Arsenal, who are challenging for the Premier League titles and the Champions League, it's easy to lose yourself in that transition, especially when you've been a big fish in a small pond for so many years, like he was at Real Sociedad. But there's been none of that with Zubomendi and his transition to Arsenal, new teammates, new surroundings, and English football in general has been seamless.

32:56And of course, there have been a few bumps along the way, but midfield was an obvious area for improvement. And we don't even talk about it anymore because the box has been checked with such little fuss. I mean, he's played more minutes than any other outfield player this season. And it's easy to understand why. And I think your point about him changing perceptions is a really good one because I thought similar, you know, I knew there was a capacity for him to push forward and contribute, but primarily I wanted him for his spatial awareness, that ability to anchor the midfield, the ability to put out the fires, to keep the ball moving.

33:34But instead of being a more Jorginho figure, maybe he's more of a Gundogan figure in that he can do a bit of everything in midfield and pop up with the odd goal or two. So yeah, I've been so impressed. And the way he took his goal yesterday was absolutely outstanding. I love the body faint because it just shows you that he's operating on a different level in that moment. Chelsea made changes. I kept making changes at the back, which I don't think really did them any favours. Not that I'm complaining, but I think there was a sort of shifting around at the back that didn't help them defensively.

34:09Nevertheless, Arsenal, after scoring that third goal, really were in control and probably should have made it 4-1. There were two big moments. Let's talk about the Marino one first, where, again, it's just pressure that we put on their defense. They don't get it clear. Saka sort of blocks a clearance or makes a tackle in their box. The ball loops up in the air and it's there for Mikel Moreno to hit. Sometimes when you don't score from that position, you can say, well, he didn't make the right contact. He didn't pick the right option. He fluffed his lines. I don't think you can criticize Mikel Moreno for anything that he does in this moment.

34:55It's on his wrong foot. The ball comes down from quite a height and he cracks a superb volley at goal. Robert Sanchez, obviously culpable on the first goal, definitely culpable on the second goal. I think this is just an unbelievable piece of goalkeeping. Some people might say it's a little bit lucky. Maybe it is, but I think when you come out and when you do that, I hate to reference Peter Schmeichel, but that's what he did all the time. All the fucking time is you come out, you make yourself big, you have this sort of starship, starship, starfish, like the starship enterprise. I'm sorry. He's like a starfish.

35:40And in doing so, he gets a touch on the ball with his big toe. And it's a, it's an unbelievable save, actually. It's a kind of a miracle save because Marino hits that so well. The death Schmeichel. Yeah, I think we'll have big, regrets about not adding a fourth because we we had chances i mean marino strikes that volley so well so cleanly on his right foot it's just an outstanding save obviously there's an element of luck when you're meeting strikers in those situations but you need to make yourself big right and you you referenced michael there i think allison is really good at doing that as well and just toes it away just toes it away i mean it's it's incredible that that could have gone off his toe and in it could have gone back out to somebody but it goes out for a corner and then from the resulting corner that should be a goal from gabriel i didn't realize in normal time watching live how good of a chance that was because i was doing the report and my head was down on my laptop and looking up again but when i watched the highlights again this morning i thought oh that should be a goal i mean he gets away from enzo so easily and he makes good contact on the ball he just gets the head of wrong he heads it directly into the ground which is unusual for him because his technique is usually very good his timing is excellent but for me that should be a goal man and oh absolutely yeah i mean changes the perspective of not only this game but the whole tie completely at 4-1 it's over basically that's the that's the thing it's over done and dusted and you know like i said i don't think you can ask more from marino in in regards his chance but with Gabriel, I think what he's trying to do probably is right to head it down and into the ground a little bit, but I just think the contact is a little bit too thin.

37:29It bounces down over the goal like nine times out of ten. You put your house on him. Of all people, of all people scoring that goal, and then it's 4-1, and then you can relax, and you can probably relax a bit about the second leg, and you can start thinking and dreaming about Wembley and all that kind of stuff, but football is mad, and cup football in particular is quite mad as well. So rather than it being 4-1, a couple of minutes later, it's 3-2. I think they get a corner. It's Esteval who makes a good run down the right-hand side. Timber does well, actually, to get back at him. It's just unfortunate that it bubbles out for a corner.

38:07Yeah, it's a corner. You know, that's all you can do as a defender is prevent that cross coming in. And he was quite lively, Esteval, I have to say. He was a presence on that right-hand side. From the corner, listen, I think if Kepa comes, Kepa's got to get there. Yep. He doesn't. Gabriel heads it away. It comes to Garnaccio, who plays it, shoots into the ground. It sort of bounces up. Gabriel makes a desperate attempt to get there and dive to head the ball away, but can't. There is a small check, I think, for a foul on the goalkeeper, but I don't think it is a foul on the goalkeeper. I just think it's one of those where, as a keeper, if you come, you're leaving yourself in no man's land if you don't get near the ball.

38:55He didn't get near the ball, and we paid the price for that. Yeah, Kepa was claiming a foul. And when you look at it again, I think it's Gerald Harto comes flying in and gets nowhere near the ball, which takes Kepa out of the game. But in a crowded penalty area, I think you need to be stronger. and if you're going to come, you need to be certain about getting there. I don't think he needed to come for that at all, honestly. We were comfortable enough defending the delivery and once you vacate your goal, you're always asking for trouble and I know Garnaccio has to take that well first time. He's got two people to beat, first Saliba and then Gabriel on the line but I don't think Kepa had a bad night by any means but from the little we've seen of him this season, It's just a feeling I get that he doesn't command enough presence in the box and can be a little bit of an easy target when free kicks or corners are delivered well.

39:48It's how I felt a little bit when I used to watch Jakub Kivior. I never thought that he was doing anything drastically wrong, but there was a weakness in him at times where centre-backs knew who to target. And they knew to run him and they knew to get a shoulder into him. And there was just a 5 % minuscule amount of vulnerability that can make a difference at this level. You know, and I think the Chelsea defenders knew that there was a moment afterwards as well with Tosin. Yeah. Who sort of crowded him under the crossbar. It was a foul. That one was a foul. Was it given as a foul though? I'm not 100 % sure it was.

40:27Oh, wasn't it? I thought it was. I think he just headed over and the referee pointed for the goal kick. My initial thing. It was a foul. It could be. I could be wrong. I'd need to go back and look again or look up the stats on fouls and see if that one was actually a foul. But I think it was another moment where Kepa came and didn't get there. And I think where I'd have an issue with it in particular is I'm not sure I want my goalkeeper coming into a crowded near post area. Unless he's absolutely going to take out fucking men, ball, women, children, everything. You know, you've got to get there.

41:03And I think you've got to trust your defenders at the near post because you have got a big area to defend as a goalkeeper. And if you don't get there, then that becomes, you know, you leave yourself really vulnerable. And that's kind of where we were with that second goal. Yeah. As a goalkeeper, you either need to be a big Emi Martinez style guy who can come and claim everything and take everybody out, as you've just mentioned. or you need to be a bit smaller like a David Raya or a Casillas and your sort of reach and proactivity comes from a different style of goalkeeping where you can be a bit more reliant on your timing and your execution.

41:44And I think Kepa's sort of in this middle ground at the moment where he's neither big and physically imposing or smaller and sharp. I just feel he's a little bit weak in those situations. But again, I can't comment too much because I haven't seen too much of him in an Arsenal shirt this year. It's just a feeling I have about him. But in that particular moment, I don't think he needs to come for the ball. I think he needs to trust his defenders to be able to clear that ball. And if Chelsea do win a header or get a flick on or get a bobble, then you can react and look for the second balls or the blocks or the saves.

42:17But, you know, it just fell to Garnetra really nicely at the back post. He does take it well. but in the end it was a night of mixed emotions because i was happy with the result and happy with the overall performance but there was also a sense of frustration because this was a 4-1 game that finished 3-2 you know we left some goals or a goal on the pitch and conceded one that we shouldn't have conceded meaning the second leg in two three weeks whatever it is could have and should have been more comfortable, but now we're still very much in a fight. So, you know, going away to Chelsea and winning is never a bad thing because, you know, if you zoom out a little bit as well, that's our first semi-final win in nine attempts.

43:01And it's playing Manchester City in the FA Cup in 2020. And we're eight games unbeaten now against Chelsea who have been difficult opponents for us in the past, maybe not in the recent past, but it's always nice to peg them down a notch whenever you get the chance to do so. They're obviously in a very weird transitional moment with Rosinia coming in, Maresca going out. They've got some injuries. But just watching them yesterday, they're a weird team, quite an immature team who lose their heads too easily. And that nonsense at the end with Enzo was so ridiculous. And you could just see what we thought of it because Zubimendi was laughing in his face the whole time.

43:41But they will be ready to come at us and kick us and fight us again in that second leg, which is why I'm a bit, this could have been done, you know, except now it's not. And they've got a chance. It's a small chance, but it's a chance. So I agree. Definitely happy with the result, but just a few lingering frustrations that we couldn't make it more comfortable. I just looked up the Tosin stats so that he is credited, if that's the way to put it, with one foul. So maybe that was given as a foul against Kepa in that moment. But again, it was slightly unconvincing goalkeeping. Whether or not that was down to Tosin making a foul or not, I don't know.

44:22I mean, yeah, listen, it's a night that Arsenal can look back on and say, we've gone away from home, we've scored three goals, we've won the game, we've put ourselves in a great position for the second leg, or a good position for the second leg. But one where I think you can also have some regrets. But the question is, you know, whether or not you think that Arsenal are capable of playing that way again against Chelsea. Maybe they'll have some players back. They'll probably have Caicedo back unless he sort of comes back in the weekend and gets himself a red card, which is not beyond the realms of possibility.

44:55Cole Palmer might have another injury that sees him duck out of a game against Arsenal. Who knows? But, you know, I think what we demonstrated in that second half was a level of attacking threat, a level of variety in the way that we attacked Chelsea that they found really, really difficult to live with. Early days for a new manager, maybe he gets the ship in order a little bit by the time the second leg comes around, which is a few weeks from now. But I think you have to take, ultimately, you can have the regrets that we didn't score that fourth goal and just sort of demolish them and send them all home crying.

45:32but I think you have to take the positive from the performance and take the positive from the way that we controlled that second half and had the opportunities to really put Chelsea to the sword. For me, that's kind of where I am this morning, and maybe after the second leg, it sounds like I've got egg on my face if it goes the other way, but I really do think we were by far the better team in that second half, and Chelsea were probably quite fortunate not to lose this game by a more significant margin. We're the better team. There's no doubt in my mind and conceding two sloppy goals won't change that.

46:09It's just, I feel like when things are in our own control, sometimes we sometimes fail to step on the necks of people and really take a chunk out of the jugular. But ultimately, I liked a lot about the performance yesterday. I know we went strong. I know Chelsea had injuries, but beyond who we've spoken about already, I thought Ben White was really good. I thought Marino had a really promising cameo. Can we just talk about William Saliba as well? Yes, we can, because I've got a clip here that I want to play. I've got a clip of William Saliba. I thought he was outstanding last night. And I'm going to shock a few of the listeners here and say that we're lucky to have him and Gabriel at the back.

46:49But they almost remind me of two boxers. With Gabriel as the one that sort of all action punches hard. he might leave himself open on occasion but he really wears his heart on his sleeve and he's got the grit and the determination to get through things and you can't miss these guys they're so obvious and they they jump out at you but saliva is technical perfection calm composed his stance never drops the footwork is effortless his movement looks elegant and we take it for granted how easily he wins those races in the wide areas we take it for granted how he always comes out with the ball in jewels or direct contact we take it for granted how consistently and accurately those passes out from the back of finding red shirts and there was one moment in midfield oh i know the one where he and odegaard were exchanging passes under pressure with three chelsea players waiting to pounce on an error and he was just like no worries i'll just step into play take two out of the game little shoulder drop here get away from the third guy and casually play a line breaking pass into Bakayo Saka in the final third that eventually draws a yellow card I mean this is like insane stuff and he's he's taken on a big role in possession recently I know he did it against Liverpool even though we didn't get the result we wanted but when you compare him to the chuckle brothers for Fahna and Chaluba up the other end who both look like it was their first day on earth it's night and day i mean both of them missed the one all defeat here in november uh saliba and gabriel but you saw how different we approached the game with those two at the back our two bouncers and i think gabriel defends in a way that gets your blood pumping right you see the actions the blocks the challenges the chest bumps but saliba man he is ice cold and there were just moments in the game yesterday where i was watching him turn away from people win the ball so easily.

48:50He's different class. He's unbelievable. There's an elegance to his game, which, you know, is rare in a central defender. I remember that bit you're talking about in midfield. Let's not forget that in the first half, there was a moment he popped up on the edge of the box and curled a shot really not too far over when we talked about Arsenal maybe getting into position. He's a Bournemouth with that one. Yeah, yeah. In that first half where maybe there wasn't quite the decisiveness in the opposition final third. And I think Trossard was guilty of it a little bit. There was one for Zubimendi. Actually, he could have hit first time.

49:25There was one for Odegaard where maybe he could have hit it and he didn't. But Saliba was like, listen, fucking guys, I'll show you what you need to do. And wasn't too far away. Here's a clip of him talking, by the way, on TV afterwards. And he's asked about maybe what winning the Carabao Cup might mean for the rest of the season. Yeah, because we want to win everything. I think I'm tired to finish the season without nothing in my pocket. So now we have four competitions. All your pockets are full. My pocket was empty last year and now we want to win everything. Carapel, FA Cup, Jampersi, Premier League.

50:06Of course, it's not easy. It's easy to say. but we want to prove it on the pitch and we will give everything to win every title. I thought this was fascinating because you can get the sense that coming so close has really hurt him and obviously by extension and we'll understand that it's hurt everybody in the squad to come close and to not win anything, to not have the silverware, to not have the medals. That is something that they really, really, really want to put right this season. and you know as you said at the start people's mileage might vary on the carabao cup and and the importance of it and and i think we all understand there's a prioritization when it comes to the trophies you want to win over the course of the season but when you get to this stage you do you can't sort of just say fuck it you've got to go and try and win it and if you've got to beat chelsea and you've got to be man city to get there then there's a lot to be taken for that you know and I do think that this is a team that that could really really benefit from winning this trophy and it sounds sort of greedy and it's such a first world problem to say well you know will we accept winning the Carabao Cup when there's 85 teams in the rest of the English football pyramid who would absolutely love to win this trophy and and probably more than that as well you know we can't be greedy we haven't won a trophy in six years and these players have come close.

51:34I think they need that to get themselves over the line. And what Saliba has said there tells you perfectly, you know, how they're thinking about it. There was a clip of Mikel Marino before the game as well, where he said, it doesn't matter what game we play. We want to go out and do our best and win because we're wearing this shirt, wearing this badge. We have to show the best version of ourselves in every single game. And that applies to this competition, regardless of whether some people might view it as inconsequential or not. yeah completely agreed i think we're at a point now with this manager with this group of players in this project where we need something tangible you know we need something tangible to show for our efforts for our progression for our quality and i know people would rather win the premier league and i know that people would rather win the champions league or the fa cup i agree i agree with you but we're in a semi-final of a cup competition that we are more than capable of winning this season with the squad that we've got and in the past Manchester City have used this competition as a springboard to go and win other trophies Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp have used this competition as a springboard to go and win other trophies we can't turn our noses up at this anymore I could I could completely understand doing it in the past when maybe we haven't had the squad to be able to go the distance we've been fully focused on the Premier League but now we can't we can't do that we need to win something to justify what we've been doing over the last three or four years and i think this is a brilliant chance to do so look the result was good we've won away from home but there was an interview after the game with ben white and victor jocarez and he was not happy with the second half performance yeah they felt like they should have seen this game out with a clearer margin a bigger margin um and i think this this team know that they know what they need to do they know that they need to win something and i i am of the school of thought or the thinking that this can help us in the second half of the season should we win it there's a long way to go before we do that but if we do get over the line and have a good day out at wembley and we beat manchester city on newcastle it can really boost us and project us into winning more because winning is contagious right it's infectious and that feeling is what you you live for every day.

53:52It's what you work towards every day as a group of players, as an athlete. I think Mikel Arteta will be drumming that into these players as well. I just don't see a downside to it. And I know that we're a bit thin and I didn't like seeing Durian Timber sprinting up and down the pitch in the 90th minute last night. And I know we've got injuries in the back line, but people were saying like, why is Marley Salmon not playing at right back? Why is Christian Norgard not coming in at center half? Like, guys, this is a big game away at Stamford Bridge. You know, there's a lot on the line here. So I agree.

54:28These players know what's at stake. They want to win. And I'm glad we weren't strong yesterday because it's important. Yes. It's a semi-final. It absolutely is important. Listen, I've said this before. I guarantee anybody who said, who cares about the Carabao Cup would be first out with their fucking pitchforks this morning if we'd gone there, picked a weak team and got turned over by Chelsea, people would be saying, Arteta doesn't want to win trophies. He doesn't take them seriously. He's taking this seriously. We took it seriously last night. We should have won this game by a much more significant margin.

54:58Nevertheless, we still won it. We're in good shape for the second leg. And attention now turns to a tricky away game at the weekend against Nottingham Forest, where I think there's probably some scope for rotation in the team. There's some players who didn't really play last night who will be looking to get some minutes away from home at Forest. But we'll talk about that tomorrow, I think, on our preview podcast. It's just fucking nonstop. I don't know. Is there anything else? Should we just laugh at Enzo Fernandez again for another few minutes? Because that was really, that was just pathetic.

55:32I don't really know what he was on about, what he was taking exception to. I enjoyed the fact that Zubimendi just stood there laughing at him. I enjoyed Arteta coming over. where Lime Rossinor came over and sort of dragged Enzo Fernandes away. It reminded me a little bit of Scrappy-Doo, you know, come on, let me at him, let me at him. And it's like, zoink, get back here. We're doing absolutely nothing. Exactly, you're doing fuck all. And Arteta and Zubamendi just walking off laughing. But I think there's sort of a wider point here, and they didn't mention it on the commentary about Chelsea's disciplinary record and how that's something he needs to get on top of, because I think what you can see, they've got good players.

56:12They do have some good players, but what they have is a sort of an attitude that doesn't quite tally with the talent level, right? That there's a sort of, you know, we're better than you, we're better than this, you know, we can do what we want on the football pitch and whatever seven red cards this season tells you that they absolutely can't. And I think when your captain behaves like that in that moment when actually at the end of the game, he should be saying, you know what fuck we got away with one there we're still in this tie let's just fucking shake hands go off the pitch reset and prepare for our next game and you know we can talk about arsula later date instead he just makes himself look like a fucking prick and he doesn't need to work hard to do that no um that was a tap in for you right there phil absolutely yeah he he summed up this Chelsea team quite nicely in those moments because they are I said it earlier they just feel very immature very hot-headed um what was that two bookings for dissent last night Esteval with one and then Pedro Neto for another one you know they always we are often accused Arsenal are often accused of being this emotional team who who can't keep it together or under wraps in high intensity moments but if you look at chelsea and they're always sort of judged and regarded as these plucky underdogs like they haven't spent the gdp of romania over the last two years they're a young team yeah but like they've spent two and a half billion pounds yeah they had this sort of condescending head rub analysis yesterday of they they showed fight they're playing well why why are the standards different for them than than anybody else who has spent over a billion pounds over the last two or three seasons.

57:57I mean, they, they're the ones that have spent it horribly. You know, they're the reason they are in this place with, with another new manager. What is this? Their fourth one under Blueco now, Todd Bowley, Clearlake. So lots happening there. I just don't think they're a team that are built to manage high pressure, high intensity situations and completely the difference in both of our mentalities was clear in that moment. Zubimendi having a little chuckle in his face because he was pathetic it's like when a little puppy when you're playing with a little puppy and he's got the teeth out and he's gnawing at you and he's making the growls and you just think oh you're so cute oh you're so cute you know it's like what what are you doing and he looks like with that stupid spiky hair that's fresh out of a music video from 2003 you know busted um i just think he's a he's a twat really and he sums up his his team quite nicely and it's no surprise that he's the captain.

58:53So I will, I will take exception of the, the puppy comparison because puppies are brilliant. Everyone loves puppies. I don't know what Enzo Fernandez might be like, I don't know, a little honey badger baby or something. I don't know. A rabid raccoon. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. Well, look, we better leave it there. Get this pot out to everybody. It's a good win for Arsenal. Work still to do, but that is the Arsenal way. Phil, thank you very much as always and we will catch up with you soon. Pleasure. Catch you on the next one.

59:37Thank you very much indeed to Phil. You can find him on Blue Sky. He is at philcosta.bsky.social at philcosta.bsky.social and Phil, of course, is the co-host with me on the 30, our Premier League Roundup podcast, which we bring to you every week over on Patreon, also on Patreon. Tomorrow, we'll be looking ahead to the Nottingham Forest game on Saturday evening with our regular preview podcast. So if you want to get on board with all of that, get that extra content and help support everything that we do on Arseblog. It is patreon.com forward slash Arseblog. That is the best place to sign up. If you're on an iPhone and you think you might sign up, don't use the Patreon app to do it.

1:00:16You can use the Patreon app once you've signed up, but if you sign up with the Patreon app, Apple apply a surcharge, which we can't do anything about, which means you ultimately pay more, and we don't want you to pay more. Sign up at patreon.com forward slash rspog. Do not use the app to sign up, but you can use the app subsequently. Right. I'm going to leave it there because I just got this podcast out to everybody, and I'll get on with my day, and you have something to listen to. As ever, though, thank you so much for being with us, for listening, for downloading, subscribing, and all the rest.

1:00:45We really do appreciate it. Enjoy your day and we will catch you on the next one. Until then, cheers. Bye-bye.

1:01:18Thank you.

1:01:46Thank you.

1:02:15In English, we have this word, manage. When you break it down, it's man age. And you're telling this man you have an age. And this is the age of a man. And you're a man with an age. Man age. Manage. Man age. Of course, the whole thing falls down when it's a woman. That's probably why there's no such thing as womanage, woman age. You can't ask a woman her age. These days, if you ask a woman her age, you'll get put in jail. Subscribe to my podcast for more. Diary of an Absolute Twat.