Episode 868: Eze cooks; Rice ...

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0:55Hello 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 here to talk about last night's 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League round of 16, second leg, which Arsenal won 2-0 with goals from Eberache Eze and Declan Rice. Also, but slightly less than the Eze, because that's a serious. What a goal that was. and we'll talk about that. We'll talk about their performance overall. We'll talk about Arsenal's European consistency over the last couple of seasons.

1:37This is the third year in a row that we've made it to the Champions League quarterfinals after a long time of not being in this particular competition. So that's something we'll focus on. We'll talk Declan Rice. We'll also talk about how Arsenal are, according to some sections of the media, ruining football. Absolute monsters. There we are. There's a lot to get into. A lot to talk about, but primarily we're here to celebrate the 2-0 win and a much improved performance from last week in Germany. With me to do that today is Andrew Allen. Good morning, Andrew. Good morning. How are you? I am good.

2:12You have been in the stadium the last couple of games. Quite different experiences, I would say, from Saturday to Tuesday. To what extent do you think maybe Saturday informed last night? Was it sort of a bit more relaxed going into this one? Or, you know, how did it feel sort of pre-kickoff? I mean, it's hard to replicate that kind of intensity, but, you know, the sort of European games feel a bit more relaxed or not with quite the same level of stress as Premier League. Yeah, I mean, I guess it kind of depends where you've mentally put your priorities, right? I mean, for me personally, this season is just so much about winning the Premier League that I'm kind of looking at some of the other games and competitions as an absolute bonus.

3:06I mean, obviously we want to progress in the Champions League. There's so much kind of financially on the line. I mean, there's so much money, you know, going in this tournament. You want to go well. But I definitely didn't come into the game last night carrying the tension I carried with the Everton game. And I don't know if that was the same for other people, but, you know, that Everton game and knowing that we weren't going to play in the league for the best part of a month, it just felt like, you know, we had to absolutely win that last night. And then I did feel like the good vibes from that game would carry into this.

3:41And I think actually just before kickoff with people turning up a little bit earlier to get, you know, North London forever in before the Champions League music and the club's firework budget, which continues to kind of spiral out of control, was put to good use again. There was a good atmosphere at kickoff. Like, I mean, it was quite pumped. But then things kind of settled down quite quickly because I thought Leverkusen started okay. You know, they looked pretty controlled and people suddenly kind of rocked to the front of their chairs and suddenly started paying a little bit more attention as to what was going on.

4:15And you get a few mumbles and a few groans and a few frustrations. But I don't think really at any point last night, anybody was in panic mode in the way that we've seen the Emirates before. Yeah, I mean, I think you're right. You know, Leverkusen were tidy to begin with, but Arsenal pretty quickly, I think, got on top and grew into the game. We didn't mention the team, but Ben White was in, which was nice to see right back. You know, there was a bit of, I suppose, concern about, you know, whether he was going to play in this game because he didn't come on for Jurian Timber against Everton at the weekend, but he's back in the starting lineup and Capier back in, Trossard in on the left-hand side.

4:55and I think Arsenal exerted control quite well in that first half and certainly looked like the team that was most likely to open the scoring. I thought it was quite interesting because what Leverkusen did in the first game was clearly going to be a kind of blueprint for this game because they frustrated Arsenal. We really didn't create a great deal out in Germany. So their approach, I think, would have been more or less the same. Like the team talk, we did it last week, let's go do it again. I think what was interesting about this was the fact that they couldn't really prevent Arsenal from making chances.

5:39And I think there was maybe a tendency for Arsenal to take shots from distance or take shots from outside the box against a Leverkusen back line that, as we know, as soon as they were out of possession, were going to collapse into that kind of back five. So it wasn't so much about trying to break them down with intricate passing. It was about trying things from different areas of the pitch. And I think at the end of the game last week, Mikel Arteta said we saw things that we can do better and things that we might do differently. And I do wonder if that was evident, if that was something you noticed.

6:12Yeah, I mean, the thing that really, you know, caught my eye was just how quick we were to pounce on them when they had the ball. And it wasn't just, you know, one player on one player. It was as soon as anyone made any progress up the pitch, they were just cornered and clustered. And our players were, you know, it was really impressively disciplined. And I think that was, there was a level of intensity in that side of the game that I don't think we saw away from home. So, you know, the pressing, forcing errors up the pitch and ultimately doing something quickly the moment we got the ball was for me kind of night and day compared to the first game.

6:54And I guess, you know, when you look at, I know we probably don't want to get straight into the goals, but you see the way the goals happen. They're kind of in transition-y moments, you know, the ball is sort of loose and then suddenly we pounce on it. So, yeah, I mean, all game I felt like we had that intensity. And then in other sort of parts of the game, quite happy to slow it down. You know, it was a lot of the ball going across the back line, rice dropping deep, lots and lots of Saliba and Gabriel on the ball, patient build up. It was just a lot of things I think we learned from the first game, which was, look, we need to pull them out of position.

7:34And if we can't pull them out of position, win the second ball, win the loose ball, do things quickly. As you say, you know, go for goal. Let's test this goalkeeper. I mean, he, as it turned out, was in pretty spectacular form last night. But we still found a way past him. And I mean, yeah, great goals. Well, there were chances. And you say the goalkeeper was one of those where about half an hour in, I was going, is this going to be one of those nights where, you know, we're looking at a, remember, there was Edwin van der Sar in one game, made about 60 saves. I can't remember what it was, but it was ridiculous.

8:06And you're sort of going, oh, this could be a worldy of a night for this particular goalkeeper. because I think there was a couple of moments for Gabriel where he didn't quite find his range from set pieces, headed one over. He was sort of on his way down as he made contact with the ball and there was another came off his shoulder. Trossard had a chance. There was another really good save from Trossard. He just stuck a leg out, stuck it around the corner. I think a Trossard shot from outside the box, fell for Ben White. Keeper made a save from that as well. You're sort of thinking, oh. Yeah, there was a right three kick as well, wasn't there?

8:37Punched away. Yeah. I mean, there was a little period there between 15 and about, you know, 15 minutes in the half hour mark where we were really turning the screw, I felt. Yeah, for sure. And then it wasn't long after that we did get the goal. And as you say, it sort of came from a slightly transition moment. It's a Leverkusen throw and they can't really get the ball under control. They also can't get it clear. There's pressure from Incapier and from Rice, Rice to Trossard. Trossard plays it to Abereche Eze who just produced I don't know I mean one of the goals of the season from an Arsenal standpoint the turn the hit the power with which he hits the ball and I've said this before and I've said it recently that there is something about the way he strikes a ball that is kind of sets him apart from everybody else in this Arsenal team like he's this sort of anti-Alex Iwobi if you like because he will put his laces through everything you know Iwobi has got his side foot style and it suits him great, but Eze has got this ability to put his laces through the ball.

9:40I think when you can combine the power and the precision that he produced last night, no goalkeeper in the world is going to stop that. No, I mean, it wasn't until I sort of looked at the replay and you see the ball would hit the back of the net before the goalkeeper even finished diving through the air. I mean, it was such a spank of the ball. And I mean, what do you think? maybe even harder than the one against Mansfield, which was another, which was really, you know, absolutely pile-drived into the top corner. Yeah, I think so. I was trying to think this morning, like, what did that goal remind me of?

10:11And pretty much the only one that came to mind was maybe Adebayor at Spurs. Oh, the one I was thinking of was Thierry Henry away to West Ham. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, that's a rocket. But I was just thinking also just that way that the sort of... The swivel, yeah, yeah, yeah. Holly and all that. But yeah, I mean, those two absolute rockets. And I think Henry scored a pretty incredible goal against Manchester United, didn't he, once, where he sort of nailed it straight down the middle and it came off the box. So that was another one that just went, you know, real bullet. But yeah, he's got a bit of swagger to his game at the moment, as old as he's kind of, I mean, I really sort of like the way that he celebrated that goal.

10:53Because I'm not entirely sure how you manage to put the ball in the top corner from 25 yards like that and then just keep your cool. But that sort of says to me that he's sort of, I think he's sort of starting to take it all in, understand what his role is. He knows what he can bring to the team. And, you know, I've been very sort of sad and frustrated on behalf of Mark Nerdegaard that he's not been able to really play any proper runner games this season. But I do think what we're seeing now is the benefits of that, which is Eze starting to really understand how this team works and what he can do and what he can bring to it.

11:32I mean, while we're talking about it, we might as well address some of the postgame comments from Mikel Arteta, which I thought were really interesting. talking about how that kind of goal is the reason why he's here. But he also talked about how he's playing every three days. He has rhythm, understanding with his teammates. And he said especially his level of activity with and without the ball. And I think if you go back a few games, leaving aside the North London derby, where obviously he just turns up and scores for fun, he could do that in his sleep, it seems. I think what we've seen over the last number of weeks is a kind of, it seems weird to say it about such an experienced player and such a quality player.

12:15This is not some ingenue that we're sort of plucking from the academy and, you know, blooding into the first team. He's a big money signing with lots of Premier League experience. But I think maybe what we've seen over the last number of weeks is a kind of progression in his game where he is week by week or game by game more and more involved. So the issue with Eze has never been about talent or ability or technical quality. It's been about consistency, right? I think what we've seen is that influence and that consistency developing over the last number of weeks with this run in the game because, you know, he had a period in the season where he wasn't getting off the bench.

13:00Yeah, and I think also the way that his teammates mates operate around him makes a big difference you know i think personally when i see the best of eze i think trossard is sort of in and around the middle of the pitch you know and last night particularly you know he was coming in off the left into the middle as there was maybe playing a little bit further forward there was sort of just someone else to do some link up play you know and um you know i was really you know i like that little combination that's going on um just going back to what you were saying about what he could do, you know, on and off the ball.

13:36I mean, I think the off the ball stuff is really, really interesting because again, you know, I'm not sure anybody when Eze came into the team at the beginning of the season necessarily looked at him and thought there's a guy who's going to be an absolute demon in the press for us. But he's, he's getting there bit by bit. And I think, I think Arteta said last night, you know, he can do it. If he couldn't do it, I wouldn't demand it of him. He can do it. He's willing to do it and he's doing it better and better every day. So, you know. The other thing he said about, you know, improving his pressing game was without that, you don't have a chance to play in this team because everybody else does it.

14:15And that's why we're so consistent in winning matches. So it's not like he's asking Ezzet to do something that nobody else does. I think it is a, I'm not saying that at Palace he had more, I think at Palace, he certainly had more of a free roll. There was more responsibility on him to create and to score goals and to be that kind of attacking fulcrum for the team, which isn't to say he shirked any of his work, but I think here there is much more of a collective ideology, if that's the way you want to put it, right? That you're only as strong as the weakest link in your chain. And Arteta, as we know, does not like weak links.

14:53He likes a big, strong chain. So I thought that aspect of it was quite interesting. But I think as well, what he said about Eze is that this season he's played maybe more than any other season so far. Or by the end of this season, certainly, he will have made more appearances in one season than he has in any other season in his professional career so far. Yeah, I mean, comparatively, I think looking at the stats, he's already played 43 games this season. A couple of those were for Palace, right, at the beginning, right? And given that Palace don't always progress that far in domestic competitions, obviously last year they did well in the FA Cup.

15:30You know, they're not usually playing more than 45 games a season, let's say. So, yeah, he's got a lot of football in his legs, especially with some of the internationals that he's had as well. So, yeah, I mean, they've been mindful of that. I think he's been, you know, Arteta was talking about that a lot, even around the Christmas period, just sort of trying to put some context as to why, you know, his team selections reflected that way. So, yeah, I mean, I just, there's just a level of swagger we're starting to see with him now, which, yeah, which definitely speaks to the confidence. And I, look, you want your players to come to the boil at this point of the season and for your main creative out, you know, your main creative players to really be producing the goods at this point in the season.

16:21So, yeah, I mean, it's really, really positive and it's absolutely necessary as well because, you know, we've really, you know, without Erdegaard, without a fully fit Havertz to fill that position, you know, obviously allowing Weneri to go off, you know, on loan as well. We needed it. We needed this. And yeah, I'm delighted for him. It's just a case of now just, you know, keeping it going and hopefully not having to run him into the ground completely. He's going to need some support. Sure. I mean, I think you start to look at the numbers and they're not amazing, but nine goals and six assists so far is pretty decent.

17:02I think as well what struck me last night, and I remember saying this a couple of weeks ago, maybe it was on the Arscast Extra, I can't remember, but with James, perhaps. But I was talking about how you look around at some of the other teams in Europe and you see some of the goals that they score and you see some of the attacking talent that they have. And you kind of think, we're not quite, we don't really have anyone who can do that. And then Eberreche does that last night, which is an amazing goal, an amazing strike. But it's just a split second or a second of just the topest quality you can get at Champions League level from an attacking player.

17:41because if somebody at Barcelona or Real Madrid or PSG had scored that goal last night, it'd be getting replays all over the place. So I think that, to me, was a really positive aspect beyond just how good that goal was. I think it's sort of, I don't know, I think other teams will look at Arsenal now, not differently, but I think that does just add a little more weight to what we've done in this leg. Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of teams will be looking at Arsenal and going, they really don't have a weakness. You know, you get harried in the middle of the pitch and in three seconds the ball's been hammered into the top corner from 25 yards.

18:21I mean, that is a level of intensity that not many teams can replicate. And, you know, I know the second goal was very different, but it was also sort of at the same milk. You know, it was a real clinical moment by a midfielder who just took his opportunity, knew exactly what he needed to do. Yeah, I'd like to think also that scoring from 25 yards like that also helps nullify some of the kind of classic boring, boring Arsenal stuff, the dives that we've been getting at the moment. I'll come back to that. I'll come back to that. I've got something on my notes here that I want to get into with regards to that kind of thing.

19:02I mean, the first half ended 1-0. Well, listen, this is very, very nitpicky. We had a free kick. We don't get a lot of free kicks from just outside the box. We had a free kick from a decent position, about five yards outside the box with about two or three minutes to go in the half. It's ideally set up for a left footer. So we've got Bakayo Saka who can hit the ball. Declan Rice, as we know, can score. And Eberache Eze, as we know, can score free kicks. We played it short. I was just like, come on, you're 1-0 up. This is a good chance to have a go at goal here. I really didn't understand that.

19:43I don't quite know. Maybe they had a better idea. Maybe they thought they had a better idea. But in that moment, in those positions, I really want to see somebody have a go. And I was sort of looking for Eza after scoring that goal, maybe to say, hey, give me that ball. I'll have a go here. See what I can produce. Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, as you say, for a left footer, I was maybe surprised that Saka didn't want to sort of take charge of it, but maybe it speaks a little bit to where his confidence levels are at the moment. I have to say that I thought he was actually pretty tidy and pretty dangerous last night.

20:13Zach, you know, a huge improvement on where he was in Germany last week. But he's also not quite at the absolute peak Saka that we know and love when he's able to sort of dance past players and the inevitability of the cutting into the left foot and having the shot there. I have to say last night, I was really pleased to see him having a go on his right a couple of times because there was that element of surprise that maybe after last week where he looked very predictable, he was kind of trying to branch out a bit. But yeah, look, I mean, it's one of those moments where you're thankful it didn't come back to bite us in the arse somehow, you know, not taking advantage of things.

20:55But there were also a couple of, I thought, corners where we went shorter as well rather than swinging it in. But I guess maybe that was just varieties is the spice of life. Maybe so, maybe so. Keep them guessing from our set pieces. Second half, you know, it was a bit flat, I think, in the early stages. There was a Trossard shot, which drifted wide. I thought both the wide players were good yesterday. By the way, I thought Trossard was good. I thought Saka was good. They didn't end with a goal. Trossard gets, I guess, technically an assist for the Ezzet goal, but, you know, putting it on a plate for him, I guess you might say, when it comes to Eberechi Eze.

21:36But I thought they were both good. I thought Jocarez had some promising moments as well. If we talk about Eze looking like he's beginning to understand those around him, there was just a bit more from Jocarez in terms of how he combined. He did put in that really good low cross, which was cleared away. I still just don't know what to make of him. He's such a confusing player to watch. and maybe there's more there by design and I'm giving credit for because I watch him challenge for balls. And what are we like, you know, two thirds of the way through the season, three quarters of the way through the season.

22:09And I'm starting to wonder whether they say to him, don't bother going up to win headers, just try and lean into the defender or something. Because when Havertz goes on the pitch, he goes up for headers and it's almost like, well, he knows he can win a header. So that's why he does it. Whereas with Jochores, the attempt to actually try and win a ball up in the air when it's coming towards him, when he's kind of pinning a defender, all he wants to do is lean in and try and win it when it bounces the second time. It's interesting. I guess I'm starting to think it must be by design, but he worked his socks off again last night.

22:47Had a couple of openings, didn't he? I mean, there was one shot, the low shot that he tried from a bit of range. and he had that really nice kind of burst and a cross towards Sincapier, I think it was, that got cleared. Both of those are really, really positive moments. I mean, we know he's not going to be anything other than probably the scruffiest member of the team overall, but he's doing his bit. And I think the team, you can see they appreciate that effort. Yeah, I mean, listen, play to people's strengths, I guess you would say. There are different styles and different ways of doing it and he's got his way of doing it, which is distinct from Kai Havertz.

23:25So, you know, I think you're probably onto something there in terms of what they ask him to do. Let's talk the second goal then. And this, you know, I looked at this and I thought to myself, why doesn't Declan Rice do this more? And I realized that's, you know, ridiculous. I completely get that. But it's a bit like the way Max Downman scored his goal the other day. You go, oh, he just made that look so easy. And I think one of Rice's great strengths, you know, above and beyond his energy and the way he drives around the pitch, you know, he's sort of a box to box and wing to wing midfielder. I think he's redefining what, you know, a player in his position does because, you know, he doesn't just go from our box to their box.

24:12He goes from side to side. He's pretty much everywhere. But I think he's also very, very good at reading the game. You know, in the opposition half and also defensively, where I think it's been very important for Arsenal over the last couple of seasons. In this instance, it's a half clearance. It's not great. He reads it. He steps forward. He uses his strength well. I think the first touch is obviously to get the ball away from the Bayer Leverkusen man. The second touch is superb. It really is. Yeah, absolutely. It's just so perfect. And then the finish sort of starts outside the post, goes in off the bottom of the post, you know, curling back around.

24:55A really, really excellent goal. Yeah, like you, I'm surprised that we don't manage to find him in those positions on the edge of the box more than we do. But I think almost it's as if since Zubimendi came into the team and they're a bit more double pivot-y and we've got someone like Eze to occupy that space. It's almost as if they've taken it off his plate. But last night, I mean, as you say, I mean, it just opened up for him and he couldn't not do that. But he's a brilliant finisher, you know, and he's got a nice little repertoire between kind of curling low and passing the ball towards goal and kind of hitting them with a little bit more venom.

25:35Yeah, he was superb last night, Rice. I mean, he just, there really is a kind of first half Declan Rice and a second half Declan Rice. You know, in the first half, everything is a lot closer control and calm and passing. And then I think when spaces open up, he just, it's as if the pitch widens for him. You know, his touches become bigger. He bounds forward onto the ball. He sort of carries immediately a different level of danger, I think. And yeah, I mean, he was talking last night just about the energy levels and he's absolutely shattered, but somehow he keeps finding a second wind and stuff.

26:14And I, yeah, I mean, last night he absolutely carried that team through the second half. Just he was everywhere. He was immense. No player had more touches of the ball for Arsenal last night. It felt like that. Yeah. And I thought it was quite funny as well. You know, I'm absolutely shattered. He said that the other week, didn't he? I can't remember after which game it was. you know they're putting so much energy into it i'm feeling absolutely wrecked and then he does like the the tnt sports interview he does the cbs sports interview you know he's absolutely knacker but we're gonna wheel him out let him do all the media stuff i mean he talks well obviously and um you know he spoke about the goal that he scored um but but i did find that kind of funny like i understand why he's knackered let the man rest send somebody else out to have a I mean, he clearly appreciates and enjoys these big Champions League nights because he was obviously player of the match last night, but player of the match against Real Madrid as well, wasn't he, last year?

27:11And I think he's won another one in the knockout stages in the last couple of years. So, I mean, he is a big game player. And there's literally nobody else like him. I mean, we just couldn't replicate what he does with anybody else, I don't think, on the pitch. So he's so important. Like just, you're absolutely praying now between, you know, the last 10 weeks of the season, can we keep him fit? And, you know, if he happens to come up with, I'm hoping he comes down with a serious case of the sniffles by Sunday night as we're celebrating the Carabao Cup win, you know? Yeah, exactly. I can't, I've got like 10 day diarrhea.

27:49I can't go on international duty, whatever it is. Just make something up, please. You know, I get it. And listen, I've said this before. I do hope there's a sort of common sense approach to the way certain players are used by their international managers when this interlal starts. But look, a brilliant, brilliant performance from Declan Rice. It was quite telling as well. Mikel Arteta was about to make a change before that second goal went in. Gabriel Martinelli was standing on the sideline. And after that goal went in, Arteta said, okay, this is an opportunity then to properly manage the squad, I guess, in the context of the game and in the context of the week we have with Sunday coming up.

28:30So it was Martinelli, Norgard and Mosquera came on for Trossard, Ben White and Martin Zubimendi, who I think, you know, was decent last night. Zubimendi I know he's had a difficult couple of weeks maybe where he hasn't quite been there but I also think it's important when we can and when the game state allows to take minutes off him and maybe take minutes off Declan Rice I know they're not you know we don't really have that kind of player to step into the to the Rice role because of the absences we have we don't have Marino in particular I think who would take some minutes off Rice in games like this and with scorelines like this but an interesting triple change and then immediately i think ezzer went through and felt something and came off for for havertz and you're like oh no please please he said to tv afterwards he feels fine so i i my my suspicion is that was i made the wrong decision there i should have passed it to pakaio saka the crowd have groaned i'm gonna pretend that i've slightly jarred my ankle taking the shot i'm going down i'm going off thank you very much remember me for the goal that sounds really cynical but you know a couple of weeks ago i think declan rice went down just after he sort of booted the ball out for a corner accidentally as well and it was another one of those moments where the crowd sort of like oh what's he done there and they kind of go oh actually you know what i think i've done my bit here i'll uh i'll spend 15 minutes on the bench thank you very much um yeah i'm well i'm glad he's okay um because obviously we need him on Sunday.

30:04Yeah, I think really interesting though with Zubimendi, I think, you know, I watched the passing compilation just before we came on and actually it was a little bit more penetrating than I remember him. You know, it's not always easy to remember every pass a player makes, but he was, there was a couple of nice little bursts where he kind of made it through the lines and then fed players. And I mean, again, he's played a lot of football and at this point it's clear that if we can, as you say, get him off. I I think it was really nice for Norgard, even though Norgard wasn't amazing when he came on, you know, he wasn't in the squad the other day, right?

30:39So Arteta is doing everything he can to try and make players feel involved. Obviously they have to deserve those, you know, positions and be able to offer something to the team. But I thought, you know, it was similar with MLS coming off the bench last night as well. I thought for those last couple of minutes, because he might easily have put Madueke on for Saka or Jesus on, you know, But I think you very specifically made a point of putting Miles on just so that he could, you know, keep his eye on the game. Sure. I think the Norgard point is interesting because Norgard was left out of the squad the other day for a 16-year-old.

31:12Yeah. You know, and listen, nobody's taking anything away from Max Damon or his talent or anything else. But when you're a senior pro like Norgard, you were the captain of Brentford last season. and you haven't really played a great deal or maybe as much as you would have liked or envisaged for Arsenal this season. And then you get left out of the squad for a child, right? I think there is a man management aspect to how Mikel Arteta needs to deal with those situations. I think Norgard, you know, I'm not saying in any way he would be problematic. I think he would understand, particularly, you know, When you look at what Downman did in the last stages of that game, but at the same time, there's got to be professional pride.

32:00I absolutely believe, and I think you could see by the scenes when Downman scored, everybody in this squad is together and they're all pulling in the same direction. And some of those players really aren't playing. You looked at Ben White, for example, was right in the middle of that celebration. He didn't get off the bench either because Mosquera came on. nor guard wasn't in the squad gabriel jesus you know he was left on the bench for a child and the right decision was to put max down and on and that played out but at the same time i think as a manager you also have to recognize there are personal and human reactions to this from senior players who will have been delighted for down and delighted for the team but personally you know maybe, you know, feeling a bit sad or hurt that they weren't involved?

32:51Yeah, what I would say is that at this point in the season, almost everybody has contributed, right, in some way, shape or form. So even if you drew a line under the season right now with some players and said you're not going to get any minutes between now and the end of May, which won't really happen, but if it did, I think everybody can look at their contribution in some way, shape or form in one of the competitions ago, I was part of that and I've done something. And as we creep towards May and the run-in intensity increases and we're still competing on four fronts, I think you can see collectively they're starting to go, oh, something special is happening here and we're all involved.

33:33And, you know, we might, whether I've played five minutes or played every game, are all going to be remembered. You know, there were players in that Invincibles team who we remember who barely featured, you know, Ali Adier and stuff like that. So, you know, there's just there's something growing now. And I think the way that Arteta has managed to harness that team spirit throughout the season. I mean, he's almost got lucky at times with the way the injuries have fallen. It sounds silly to say. I know what you mean, though. He's taken the decisions out of his hands and therefore players have had runs of games and then they've come out again.

34:10And yeah, I think, yeah, things are looking good on that front, I would say. Yeah, for sure. There was a third goal disallowed, rightly so, for a double offence by Kai Havertz. I think one was a shirt pull, one was the fact the ball bounced off his hand and went in the back of the net, which would have made the game safe. A couple of late bits from Leverkusen. Kwanzaa Hedder just sort of flicked wide. It looked closer than it was, I think, because of the angle. There was the one where it sort of bounced off Saliba's knee and over the bar. That's one where it could have gone anywhere. But David Raya with another brilliant save to add to his collection this season.

34:54I think what's so good about this is obviously the reflexes, but the anticipation, the way he read where that player was going to put that ball and was sort of halfway through the air almost before the guy had even kicked it, absolutely brilliant save. Yeah, it was Kafane who was a handful again. I mean, I think maybe slightly better marshaled this week than he was last week, less of a surprise package. But yeah, Raya just doing raya things, 25 clean sheets in 49 games. That's nuts, isn't it? It really is. Like credit to the defence as well. It's not just down to the goalkeeper, but he has made some incredible saves this season.

35:35I think the most impressive thing about it is really that it's even in the quietest moments, and he'll produce something like that. He's not had too many games where he's been under sustained pressure, I'd say. There's not been that many games where he's had to make save after save after save because we just dominate most teams. We've had periods in games, silly games, where we've sort of been holding on to leads a little bit. But no, he's been immense. I know there's been a lot of chat about who's better, him or Donnarumma this year. I mean, frankly, who cares? But, you know, his ability, and he's so important to the build-up as well.

36:15I mean, last night, whether it was with his hands or with his feet, he was looking for fast balls out. Not, you know, not all of them came off when he kind of hammers it forward. I think one went straight through to Blazvic, the Leverkusen goalkeeper. But yeah, he's been probably, you know, it's going to be really hard. But if you were divvying up who was going to be player of the season, Raja would be right up there. No, I agree. Which is bad in a team that is winning so many games and scoring a lot of goals. Yeah. I mean, he has been remarkably consistent. I think every player has a, not a mistake or two, but they have a game where they do something that isn't quite at the level.

36:57But generally speaking, he's been so consistent from the very start of the season. You might look at some of the other contenders for player of the season and say they started the season really well, but have faded off a bit. They didn't start so well. They've grown into the season. I think Raya from day one has been absolutely outstanding and kept the clean sheet and enabled us or helped us get through to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, which, you know, I did want to, we're through. I think the improvement was obvious on the first leg in Bayer Leverkusen. But I think what I did want to talk to you about was the fact that this is the third season in a row that Arsenal have made the quarterfinals of the Champions League, having spent a long time out of this competition.

37:43And maybe the first season, people might say, yeah, you know, you've got that flush of energy and we're in this competition and we're going to show what we can do. I think last season, Arsenal demonstrated that they are a team that needs to be taken seriously by other European sides and European competition. And this time again, you know, while competing in the Premier League and in a great position in the Premier League, have advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League again. We talked about Raya performing consistently. I think the way Arsenal have performed in Europe in the Champions League under Mikel Arteta over the last three years is maybe not something people talk enough about.

38:25I mean, the home form has been incredible over those three years, really. I mean, that's why the PSG game last year at home was such a disappointment because it fell so far below the standards that we've been setting. But I mean, nine wins in a draw in 10 games this campaign. Yeah, I guess we were relatively lucky to get the penalty and to equalise last week. But really, nobody has come anywhere near us this season. And, you know, it's big boy stuff. We look like a proper team with real European pedigree. And I think if we beat sporting, I think over the course of the last four years or something, our coefficient is probably the best of all the English teams, actually.

39:14Right. You know, so we are, for all the people giving us abuse, doing our absolute best to ensure that England retains its five Champions League places while other teams are sort of falling off. yeah I mean it's there's a maturity there in that in the team and they're learning you know I think you know when we went down to Bayern Munich a couple of years ago there was a sort of naivety there was a youthfulness but that sort of not necessarily controlling games or taking advantage of games just when you had the momentum and yeah we're definitely we're looking impressive on that front i'd imagine i mean almost every manager who's come up against us so far this season has described us as one of the best if not the best team in europe at the moment the machine is learning yeah strike terror into the hearts of of all yeah uh i was going to try and make a pun but i'm not sure it'll work if i say it out loud a arsenal yeah no it doesn't quite work doesn't quite work it would it would work written down but i'll save that naff stuff for us yes please please But look, I think it was a great response to what was an indifferent performance last season or last week in Germany.

40:31And I think Arsenal just stepped it up. They showed that they can learn from one game to the next. What Arteta said about what they were going to take from that game and how they were going to apply it to this performance was completely evident. I think when you look at the stats in this game, let me just get them up again. Arsenal with 21 attempts in this game, which is a long way from last week, 12 of those attempts on target. We outran Bayer Leverkusen by five or six kilometres as well over the course of the game. So I think fundamental to the way this Arsenal team plays and performs is that hard work that Arteta referenced.

41:15It's not just about pressing, right? it's about when you press getting back into position to be ready to go again if if they keep the ball if they recycle possession you have to be ready to press again and again and again and i think there's no whatever you might say about this arsenal team and whatever criticisms might have they might have about how we play or whether we could be a bit more fluent in attack all of those things there's never any doubt in my mind that this team is going to work really really hard and that as we've seen through this season when you don't necessarily play as well as you might like can be the difference between winning a game and not winning a game and maybe is why we are where we are at the top of the premier league table and into the quarterfinals of the champions league Yeah, I mean, what's it?

42:07Three defeats in 49 games this season? And those three defeats were Liverpool, long-range free kick, last kick of the game against Aston Villa, and the Manchester United, two worldies. I mean, there's not been a team that's kind of really out-fought and out-battled us to the point where we've looked like we're going to capitulate in a game and concede or lose by more than one. I'm very impressed. and I think I can say I'm very very impressed and also say it's still not the greatest football I've ever seen an Arsenal team play but it is very very effective and you know if effective gets us to to trophies this season I mean nobody is going to be complaining no absolutely not and the reward for last night's win is a trip to Lisbon in the first leg we'll face sporting there'll be a lot of Victor Jokeres narrative around that one, I guess?

43:05Yeah, yeah. I was in Lisbon in October during the last Interlamp, the one before last, and club shops were still selling Jocares Sporting Lisbon shirts. So I imagine they'll be taking those off the mannequins just in case. But yeah, I mean, incredible result for sporting, really. I mean, it was, I think everyone looked like, you know, they were going to be booking their trips to the north of Norway. I would actually say it's maybe a better game for us. I feel like we've come up against sporting. We know a bit about them. We know, presumably from a logistics point of view, getting in and out, all the rest of it's going to be a little bit more familiar.

43:49You've got the Jokeres factor as well. There was something about playing a high-energy Bodo side, especially on their kind of 3G pitch that kind of had me slightly worried because it was just a completely different type of challenge. Yeah, the pitch was a concern, not a concern but it's one of those where, listen, a player can run down the pristine turf of the Emirates and pick up an injury or pull a hamstring or whatever it might be, whatever pitch they're on. The minute it's an artificial surface it's entirely the fault of the surface, you know? So you can't really escape that. And I do think, yeah, maybe this is a slightly better one for us to come up against.

44:32I wanted to just go back a little bit and listen. I think as Arsenal fans, we are, well, we are here anyway. And I'm sure the people listening to this are reasonably honest and open and objective about what we do and how we do it. And we can accept that maybe we're not the prettiest on the eye, right? But at the same time, some of the stuff that we're being subjected to by sections of the media are a bit hard to take, I think, right? Like if you say Arsenal are scoring 32 % of their goals from set pieces, you're kind of ignoring the 68 % of the goals that we score from open play. There was a piece on ESPN by a particular correspondent, somebody who once said that Thierry Henry was a London thing, mainly.

45:27This idea, I think the headline was Arsenal are making football worse. And the contention is in the article, if Arsenal win all four trophies this season, even if they only win the Premier League, Arsenal success will be regarded as a backward step for football and even a bad thing for the game because of the way our tennis team plays. Success leads to imitation. Everyone wants to be a winner and the shortcut to winning can often be simply a case of copying the best. I mean, I really find it very difficult to get my head around that kind of bullshit. You know, I got you there just as you're taking a mouthful of coffee.

46:08Sorry. Do you know what? Because I think we can all accept some criticism, right? We're partisan, we're biased, we want to protect our team. But if you turn around to me and say, listen, you know, the way Arsenal play is not for me. I prefer this or I prefer a more fluid game. I get it. I can accept that. I'm a big boy. But I think this stuff is just sort of rooted in such dishonesty and such. I know it's a construct of the media landscape in which we live, right? You've got to be the guy who gets it out there. They're also ruining football. But I mean, it's patently absurd, particularly, you know, I can remember when I was a kid and I watched the 1979 FA Cup final.

46:50Those goals were not particularly great goals, but I replicated them in the garden time after time after time. You know, Arsenal last night, Eberachiez and Declan Rice scored the kinds of goals that kids will be trying to replicate on the playground all day today. You know, in North London and around the world, kids who've got a football who saw that game last night will be practicing the Eza shot and breaking windows all over the place and good luck to them. That's exactly what they should do, right? So I find that kind of one-eyed view of what Arsenal do a little bit frustrating. Yeah. I mean, I think there are people out there who are obviously deliberately baiting Arsenal fans.

47:35I don't know what their agenda is, but I would imagine that some level of clickbaitiness is determining why they're writing those types of articles. I think there's going to be quite a few more of them in the next few weeks. Yeah, probably. This is the last opportunity for them to get it out of their system before we actually win something. And then it's going to be a lot harder to kind of persuade your editor that you have to write Arsenal terrible if they're winning actual silverware. So, look, I think my attitude is try not to rise to the bait too often. But, I mean, that guy brought so much heat upon himself.

48:18I think it felt to me like my entire kind of 4U feed on X as I read it was just responses to this kind of this guy. I mean, if you poke a hornet's nest and you get a few stings, it's not really the hornet's fault. No, exactly. So, I mean, look, we're just going to have to ride this. And, you know, history will be written by the victors. And I'm very much hoping that we are the victors when we come out the other side of May. There's a lot to do between now and then. And there's going to be a lot of people who try and drag us down. And I think maybe we just have to enjoy that because we'll get to rub it in all the more at the end of it, I hope.

49:03You know, I'm just incredibly bullish at the moment about us winning something major. I don't know what that will be. None of us do, but it feels like something special is happening. And some of the frustration that was building in January, February is starting to dissipate a little bit because we're just, the end is in sight. And I think the players can see the ends in sight and the fans can suddenly see the ends in sight. And there has been a slight switch flicked, I think, at the Emirates and the home ground where obviously the performance of the last 15 minutes against Wolves and really the Manchester United game where everyone just kind of lost their shit.

49:46Myself included, you know, I just couldn't cope. I was just so on edge. But there's a sense of, OK, we're actually all on the same page here. We all want the same thing. And actually, we're getting closer. Do you think some of the way the Dowman moment resonated was partly connected to that? It was something more than a 16-year-old scoring a goal, which in and of itself is a remarkable thing, right? But sometimes you need that moment in a season where it galvanises everybody, it brings everybody together. They're kind of, what's the word, focuses people on what's actually at stake, if that's the right way of putting it.

50:32And that if, listen, I know this is sort of one of those things people say that if we all pull together, we can make it happen, et cetera, et cetera. But there is that element now at this point of the season where if everything is joined up, if everything feels together, if the performances and the symbiosis between performance and the stands in the stadium and even fans online, I know we don't really have that much impact. But certainly it colours the mood to an extent. If everybody is sort of inside the castle walls, if you like, ready to get their catapults and their bows and arrows and fire them outside, guns outward, as our dear old friend Gunnar Holick used to say, if that's where we are at this moment in time, I feel like that could be a really important thing.

51:19Yeah, I mean, I think the Downman moment was just, I mean, the circumstances of the game obviously dictated the joy, but there was a sense of, oh, this is our, you know, Vincent company smacking it into the top corner against Leicester moment or Henri doing his thing against Liverpool and taking on the entire, there was just something about it being a kind of I was there moment or I witnessed that live moment that makes it galvanises the sense that things are going your way. that you've seen something special and the little special things are adding up to something much, much bigger. And, you know, last year, I think maybe we thought that with Rice's two goals against Real Madrid, right?

52:04It was a real kind of moment of, hang on a second, we really are a very good team. And this was, you know, Damo was something slightly different, but there's potential for more of these between now and the end of May. I mean, we've still got a hell of a lot of football to play. But certainly I think, yeah, I mean, when I look, I was just thinking like, you know, we haven't had many of those moments this season. I think maybe you and James may even have discussed this the other day, but, you know, the Gabriel header against Newcastle aside, we haven't had many kind of absolute last minute kind of game deciding moments really on the edge, kind of absolutely go ballistic, it goes spare, limbs moments.

52:49But that was one of them. And you need a few of those to pepper your season just to, you know, season it as a whole. For sure. Let's talk just quickly about the other English teams in the Champions League. Chelsea clearly didn't respect the ball enough last night against PSG. Maybe they respected it too much. Maybe that's the problem. We just respect this ball too much to be able to kick it properly into the PSG net. But it comes obviously in a week when Chelsea as well have been, I think, and I'd say you probably agree with this, let off rather kindly with just a fine after a collection of offences were proven against them, secret payments to unregistered agents and third parties, some of those registered players, for example, David Luiz, Eden Hazard, Sam Oleto, Willian, Nemanja Matic, you know, the deals that contributed not entirely, but very strongly to Chelsea being a successful team while Roman Abramovich was in charge.

54:06Like, to what extent do you think it matters that the new owners have been open and willing to participate and, you know, providing the evidence of what went on at Chelsea, should that negate what were clearly very serious financial offences in terms of the punishment that's been handed out? Yeah, I mean, I'm flabbergasted by the decision to not impose some kind of points deduction or something that really impacts the team. Because what is it? Something like a£10 million fine. And even that fine is not going to come out of any money that Clear Lake, you know, are going to pay. It's going to come out of whatever the sale was that, you know, all of Bramovich's money is sitting in some pot somewhere.

54:59No, I mean, the idea that they didn't benefit financially through PSR when they ended up selling Hazard for over 100 million quid and that money ended up in their accounts and would have over the time kind of ended up helping them on that front. The idea that they were able to sign players by adhering to terms that certain agents were requesting when other clubs weren't. Again, I mean... Hazard, Arsenal. Hazard, Arsenal. I mean, and other clubs will rightfully complain as well.

55:38I just don't know what the Premier League were thinking, aside from the fact that they just put so much sort of emphasis on the idea that Clear Lake were clearly going, okay, we're fessing up on behalf. But they were literally doing what they should do because anything other than fessing up at that point would have been just maintaining the lie, covering it up. And they didn't really have a choice. have a choice so i just you know it's not like they fessed up to someone else's murder unfortunately the club as a whole were the ones who did the murder it's not like the you know the owners so i i yeah i'm very frustrated and i think more than anything look as far as i'm i can understand a lot of the other clubs are very very frustrated as well if you're in everton or nottingham forest or Leicester or any club that's had a points deduction that was potentially going to decide their season, you would be absolutely furious.

56:36And, you know, obviously the next question is, what does this mean for the never-ending Manchester City case and what kind of leniency will be showed there? Obviously, in that instance, Manchester City, half the charges, if not more, are to do with the fact that they have not… cooperated in any way or assisted in any way, shape or form so if we're saying that cooperation is the absolute deal breaker then I'm afraid Manchester City's failure to cooperate should be an absolute killer but who knows this looks a lot like they didn't want to punish a big name team a team that's just been crowned world champions or whatever it is and participates in the Champions League regularly and it's depressing really but the Premier League must have their reasons.

57:30I just, they're not, we're never going to know them because they're not going to share those. I mean, I think they should. There should be transparency in this kind of thing. Like you say, if you're Everton or if you're Forrest, you would be really pissed off because the offences, if that's the right way of putting it, that those clubs were punished for with points deductions are far lesser than what Chelsea were found guilty of, not to mention the fact Chelsea still have another 74 charges outstanding, which could be decided by the FA. Plus, they've had a sort of history in recent times of having to pay fines for irregularities for things that occurred under the Abramovich regime, I think is the only way of putting it.

58:15The other day, they've spent something like£46 million on fines, which is more than any money they've spent on club infrastructure, you know, over the last few years. I mean, they're a club that just spends money like there's no tomorrow and then ridiculously end up recouping over 100 million quid for taking part in a tournament where they were invited off the back of the successes that they get from this period. I mean, football is in a very, very strange place and it looks increasingly difficult for it to get its house in order. I don't know whether the new football regulator will go and be able to do anything further on this or in future, but things are, I mean, they're just a bit depressing really.

59:03Yeah. Manchester City out as well, going down to Real Madrid, down to 10 men last night. Liverpool in action against Galatasaray this evening. So we'll wait and see if there's any other English teams in the Champions League come the end of tonight. Before we go, are you ready to start thinking about Wembley? Do you need a couple of days to just sort of relax into that and let the tension build and the excitement build? Yeah, it's funny, isn't it? It's just, I think I definitely do need 24 hours at least before I start worrying about that. I mean, there's something about, I mean, City are not on a good run of form, right?

59:44They have taken an absolute pounding in the last week, whether it's the two defeats to Real Madrid or arguably even more damaging, the drop points at West Ham. Are they going to be a wounded beast? Are they going to be, you know, so affected that actually we'll be able to really capitalise on their state of mind? too early too early we can talk about it yeah i mean in normal circumstances if it weren't for the fact that they're kind of chasing us in the league and stuff you'd be a little bit more relaxed but given that and all the narrative that will go around it and people will want to spin it and also the timing you know the fact that it's on sunday and then we go straight into two weeks off which means that we'll have to chew on it if we don't win and we're not going to like that and there's a yeah there's a lot but there's enough tension to come for the rest of the season i'm going to take 24 hours off from Warren.

1:00:36Okay. I think that's entirely fair. Right. We'll leave it there as ever. Thank you very much indeed, Andrew. And we will, we'll catch up again soon. Thanks very much. Always a pleasure.

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1:01:54Thank you very much indeed to Andrew. You can find him on Blue Sky. He is at aallensport.arseblog.com. That's at aallensport.arseblog.com. And, of course, doing all the bits on Arseblog News. So that is really just about that. We've got the Champions League thing done. We can worry about Lisbon a bit later. Now we take a breath, maybe enjoy a day off in our own minds at least, and then we can start preparing for what is obviously a huge game at the weekend, the Carabao Cup Final against Manchester City at Wembley. That is a game that we'll talk about a bit later in the week over on Patreon. Patreon.com forward slash arseblog.

1:02:35We'll do a preview pod for the big game for the Cup Final, the team selection that Mikel Arteta might deploy, how we're going to face Manchester City, what's at stake. All of that discussion will be in our preview podcast. You can subscribe, as I said, at Patreon.com forward slash arseblog. It's just$6 a month plus VAT or sales tax, depending where you are in the world. Of course, that stuff is completely out of our hands, but it gives you access to everything that we do over on Patreon and helps support everything that we do on Arseblog, the daily blog, the news, the podcasts that are free to air for everybody.

1:03:10So if you want to get on board, you'd be very, very welcome. And we thank you in advance for your support. If it's not something you can do right now, that's completely understandable. We thank you for being here anyway and for listening to all the podcasts, for downloading, subscribing, and all the rest. For now, though, wherever you are in the world, look after yourselves, mind yourselves, take care, and we will catch you on the next one. Until then, cheers. Bye-bye.

1:03:57We'll be right back.

1:04:18Thank you.

1:04:49Hey boss, I've got a great idea for an article. What about if I write something about how Arsenal are ruining football? Alright, I'm interested. How exactly are they ruining football then? Alright, well first they score a load of goals from corners. Right, and they're the only goals they score, aren't they? Nah, they also score a load of goals from open play as well. Hmm, what else? What else? But they're really good defensively, so they don't really lose too many games. I think we might need to go a bit deeper. Do they give young players a chance? Yeah, they had this 16-year-old the other day, came off the bench, came up through their academy, scored a brilliant goal.

1:05:31From a corner, I bet. No, it was from open play. I see. Do they have an history of financial impropriety? For example, illegal payments to third parties, hundreds of charges from the Premier League, from UEFA, that kind of thing. And no. So let me get this straight. Your contention is that Arsenal score goals from corners, score goals from open play, are very good defensively, win a lot of football matches, give chances to young players and don't have hundreds of financial charges leveled against them by the people that run the game domestically and in Europe. Is that right? Yeah, that's exactly it.

1:06:11So how exactly are they ruining football? Because I don't like them. Get out of my fucking office, you wanger.

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