Episode 870 - Gyok 'n' roll

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0:57Arse Blog right here on arseblog.com. How are you? Hope you're well. Thank you very much indeed, as always, for being here. I hope you're ready that you've recharged your batteries during this interlull. You've taken your vitamins. Maybe even one of those green drinks that looks like polluted pond water, but it comes from a powder that they tell you has got all the minerals and electrolytes and recarbonates and bicarbonates and all that stuff that they tell you is going to make you feel better. But essentially, you're just drinking a great big glass of sludge. But if it makes you feel better, that's a good thing because we've got a lot ahead of us, a lot of football to play in the next few weeks.

1:48And we're going to need all the sludge in our system that we can get. I think it's going to be hectic. I think it's going to tax us mentally and physically. Even if we're not playing the games, we're going to go through some shit together. But here we are. This is the start of it. This is the start of the run-in to what will hopefully be a very successful denouement to our season. So let's see what the next few weeks brings. Today on the show, we'll be looking back at everything that happened in the interlull and looking ahead to our game against Southampton on Saturday evening. As well as that, I'll be talking to Elliot from the Arsenal Vision podcast about the April fundraiser, which many of you know about, but we want to make this one bigger and better than ever.

2:37So we'll talk to Elliot about what that fundraiser actually does via the Arsenal Foundation, the club's own foundation, which does just such incredible work. So we'll talk a little bit more about that. I'll give you some more details about what Arseblog will be doing, during the month of April as well. Separate from supporting this incredible fundraiser, we try and do our own stuff as well. So I'll give you details on that a bit later on. But now let's get on with the show and let's talk interloles. Let's talk FA Cup and a lot more. With me to do that this afternoon is Lewis Ambrose. Good afternoon, Lewis.

3:11Good afternoon, Andrew. How have you enjoyed your international break? I mean, it's been pretty quiet, thankfully. I've been able to switch off from all the madness a bit, but I'm ready to go again. It's going to get a bit hectic. Have you had an opportunity just to sort of decompress a little before you get ready to dive back into the madness that is a game every three days, hopefully between now and the end of the season? Yeah, the end of the season. It feels like for a while it felt like it was going to be a game every three days between now and the end of time. And now because we've got so used to that, I think the last two weeks have felt like an eternity as well, waiting for everything to come back.

3:54So yeah, with it feeling like an eternity, I think that's my brain telling me that I'm very much ready for it to come back. I don't know how I feel about coming back and having the FA Cup and not a Premier League game to sort of sink my teeth into. Not that I want to talk down the importance and relevance of an FA Cup quarterfinal and a return, a very swift return to Wembley on the line on Saturday evening. But there's obviously, we all know what the last few years have felt like they're building up to and where we are currently and the short distance to the end of the Premier League season now.

4:35I feel like I'm quite ready after two weeks off, more than that in Premier League terms with the League Cup final before this break, to sink my teeth into the Premier League title race again. But I'm going to have to wait another week and get through two more other competitions before we can even turn our attention to that. Yeah, I mean, I was going to ask you that a bit later and we'll talk a bit more. We'll look ahead to the Southampton game in a bit more detail a bit later on. But I did wonder how you were feeling about that. Coming back from an international break and rather than a Premier League game, we've got these two cup games and listen, They're important games, but they're not the most important games in our season.

5:19In my opinion, anyway, you know, whoever's listening to this might have a different opinion. They might say, well, the FA Cup, the Champions League, I can live with that. But I think for me, it is about what we need to do in the Premier League. At the same time, though, maybe I recognize that there is, with some of the issues that we've had from an injury perspective, an opportunity for Mikel Arteta to have another week with a couple of players, one or two, who might benefit from that time off and maybe the idea of sort of easing ourselves back into action on Saturday evening, which isn't to say I think the game against Southampton is going to be easy, but I think it doesn't bring with it the same level of stress that a Premier League game would this weekend.

6:05Yeah, I agree that it doesn't, But I also think if we were to go out against Southampton on Saturday evening, that would bring a whole new level of disquiet, if you like, for all of us. The sort of spiralling doom of, oh God, what's going to happen over the next two months in the Premier League and the Champions League? So it's a tricky one. There's a balance there, I think. It's a game that obviously there's an opportunity yet to maybe play a slightly different team If there are players struggling with knocks or with the fatigue, obviously we've had a lot of players that haven't played on international duty because of the schedule and the challenges they've faced physically and mentally over the past couple of months.

6:50Whether that was national teams telling them not to bother because they could probably do with a few extra days off or whether that was players themselves taking themselves out of contention. We've got quite a lot of players who haven't been involved. in a real competitive environment since the League Cup final. And for those that then return to action this weekend or get a few extra days off and maybe return against sporting in midweek, there is an element of, you'd like to say they can ease themselves in, but the results, I think, will, if they're not good, cause a whole new level of angst. And the results have to be good.

7:32Even if we're talking about the Premier League as kind of the big one, the one that everybody really desperately wants and the one that maybe is gathering more focus than the others, they all sort of lean into another and the mood around the club and the dressing room and the fan base changes depending on what happens in those other competitions as well. I mean, that's true. We will return to the FA Cup game against Southampton in a little bit, but I did want to sort of assess the international break and there are sort of various angles on this. And a lot of it, I think, is, I don't know if it's necessary.

8:14What I'm talking about, obviously, is the reaction to some of the Arsenal players not being involved. And I'm sort of torn between paying attention to it, but also debunking it to a certain extent. So I want to come back to that. But I think maybe let's look at some of the players who were involved and maybe how we manage that element of things. I will say, I think if there was one player going away on international duty for this break that you were looking at and thinking, if he has a good time with his country, it could really, really benefit Arsenal. And that player for me was Viktor Jokeres because of what was at stake for Sweden and because of how goal scorers, strikers are under a kind of scrutiny, particularly at Arsenal, strikers are under a level of scrutiny that doesn't always apply to every other position.

9:14I think we all have our opinions on players, but when you're the number nine or indeed the number 14 at Arsenal, a shirt with some serious connotations, there is that focus and there is that spotlight on a player he went away with sweden he scored a hat-trick against ukraine in the semi-final and bagged a winning goal in the game against poland on on tuesday night which led to that iconic photograph which people will have seen him sitting in front of all the swedish fans and the fans doing the celebration and jacques doing the celebration for me that was pretty much as good as it gets for jacquez i think we've talked before maybe on preview podcast but we've talked before about how in personality terms you know if it hadn't gone well for sweden if it hadn't gone well for him i wouldn't have been overly worried that that it would have a really negative impact on him but as we're going into these final weeks of the season, to have a guy come back and feel, I'm guessing, on top of the world, well, if not on top of the world, on top of Sweden, and there's an image for all of our Swedish listeners, I think that can only be a good thing and a positive thing.

10:29Yeah. The alternative would have been that he'd had a miserable break and would be coming back down in the dumps. You know, the idea that he'd maybe missed a couple of big chances and Sweden have missed their World Cup place, not only missed it but maybe because of him an alternate reality is not a good one for Victor Jokeres I want to temper my expectations a little bit I think you kind of touched on it in one of the blogs over this break where he hasn't seemed to be a player who kind of is impacted by the highs or the lows enormously we've all seen over the years plenty of confidence players and those players who maybe one goal immediately leads to the next and they'll go 10 games without scoring but then they'll score and then you won't be able to stop them for a month or two and he's not really had that like there have been a couple of i guess he's performed in in spurts for arsenal so far there's there's been maybe a game or two where you think oh look it looks like it's starting to click and and he looks more confident and more involved and then a few days later he'll look a little bit off the boil again and i'm waiting to see yeah if this has a longer term impact but look it's strikers need goals strikers live off of goals and he's scored four of the more important goals he'll probably score in his career to take his country to a world cup uh you know he won't care strikers shouldn't care how they go in uh you know there were a couple of scrappy ones, not through his doing.

12:08The one against Poland the other day in particular was like a pinball in the box. Four or five Sweden attempts before the ball fell to him and Polish bodies throwing themselves in the way of everything. And he was the one who managed to find the back of the net. He obviously put his one away and he won't care about how the goal looked. It'll be a massive moment for him. And I think especially after, I think before this break, he'd gone 13 months without scoring for Sweden. And for a player who's obviously had an up and down first season for Arsenal, who is used to scoring a lot of goals, I think in that situation you'd have usually maybe expected him to, in October and November, go on one of those international breaks and have a really good week or two and then come back feeling that confidence of having done it for Sweden when he wasn't doing it for Arsenal at times.

13:04And actually, we never got the benefit of an international goal from him and him coming back feeling good. Sweden weren't winning any of their World Cup qualifying games. He wasn't scoring in any of them. It's the first time he scored goals for Sweden as an Arsenal player. So I think that'll be a huge, even if it wasn't done in an Arsenal show, it'll be a huge burden from his shoulders. And yeah, hopefully we can reap the rewards and have a slightly more upright, chest-puffed-out version of Viktor Jokeres over the next few weeks, definitely. Yeah, it was quite funny. I had a message on Blue Sky from Stockholm fella who said, as a Swede, I don't understand how this happened.

13:45We didn't win a single game in the group stage, scraped together two points and finished dead last. Suddenly, we're in the World Cup and you look at the games that Sweden played. They drew with Slovenia. they lost to Kosovo they lost to Switzerland they lost to Kosovo again as you say he didn't score in that after the hat trick I saw a load of people saying ooh maybe Mikhail Arteta can learn something from this Swedish manager whoever he might be somebody we definitely don't know the name of who didn't manage Chelsea or anything like that but you know the game against Poland the other night he had one shot one shot on target and scored one goal.

14:27And that came in the 88th minute, whatever it was, you know? So there is, you know, an element as well, I think for strikers. Bit like the Everton goal, I guess. Be in the right place at the right time. You know, your penalty box instincts, if that's what you want to call it. I often think, I think you can look at certain players, right? And say they've got a neck for that, you know, to be just where the ball drops. Gary Lineker, sorry to use Tottenham strikers, But, you know, he was pretty much a master of that. But generally speaking, I think quite often it's just, does the ball break for you?

15:03You know, I know there's, you know, trying to anticipate the game. Maybe it's just a case that certain balls are now going to, you know, come his way that maybe didn't before. And listen, I think confidence is a hell of a drug as well, isn't it? You know, at club level, I think it really could be beneficial for us over the course of the next few weeks. yeah I think he's a he's a player for me as well who when he's been in not a clear-cut opportunity he's been decent positions at times and he's maybe not gambled with a run or he's not got a shot off quickly enough and I do think generally those are things that strikers do more freely when they are scoring goals and they are a bit more confident you you don't want your striker going on goal or with the ball dropping in the box to second guess themselves it's just make the movement just make the movement just get the shot off and he's a player yeah at times for me is sort of second guessed himself there was one the one that kind of really worried me actually was when he scored a goal um again the really scrappy tap in against chelsea in the league cup as the robert sanchez mistake and he kind indeed broken a long run of not scoring with that goal and he kind of looked annoyed that the goal wasn't a nice one and i at the time and celebrating and i was thinking to myself don't don't care don't it's gone don't worry about it yeah it's it's gone over the line you've done what you have to do it doesn't matter that it was bundled in and the goalkeeper messed up and that's the reason the chance presented itself is if it goes over the line that's your job that's done.

16:45I don't care how they go in. If he gets one over the line every week between now and May, we'll all be very happy at the end of May. So I think hopefully he's obviously scored more goals since the turn of the year anyway, but a few more goals for him. He now shouldn't be caring at all how they go in. You could tell the difference, that Chelsea goal, the way he celebrated, I think, when he scored the one against Inter on the break. he was like that was a goal he was proud of and let's not be picky about what goals we're scoring and maybe now that he's had a bit of a decent week and a bit of a better run over the last couple of months generally in front of goal I think and I hope that he'll care a little bit less about how they get over the line as long as they do Some disappointment for other players, other Arsenal players in the playoff finals, Christian Norgard's Denmark went out to Czechia and Italy out to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

17:45So Riccardo Calafuri, you know, I think he was talking beforehand about how much qualification for the World Cup would mean, given that Italy hadn't qualified for the last two World Cups. It's now three World Cups, which is kind of crazy, isn't it? You know, when you consider the pedigree and the history that they have in this competition, I mean, you can maybe say this tells you something about the way Italian football is right now, particularly in an era where there are more qualification spots because of the expanded tournament. But I think it also tells you about the level of the game at international level, right?

18:25The way teams are set up and organized and difficult to beat and difficult to break down. There is something in that. You know, there were certain countries who would be expected to turn up and just win every game. It's not really the case anymore. And nations... With big scorelines. Yeah, exactly. Not just win, but like a lot of the qualifying games, you know, you've got to go back 15 years ago and you'd expect, you know, like you say, in England, France, Germany, they would often win their games by six, seven goals. And that doesn't really happen anymore. And yeah, the general level of organisation.

19:02And we see it domestically, right, as well, even when not just the Premier League, but when we play cup games against lower league opposition too. I think some of those teams can be really hard to break down at times. And the general level of just sort of basic discipline and organisation, even at the lower levels of the game, I think has come on massively in the last generation or so. Sure. An issue for Mikel Arteta to have to deal with Calafiore? Is it one of those where the best way for him to respond is to just come back and play out of his skin for Arsenal? He's still got a lot to achieve, a lot to win this season.

19:41Obviously, disappointment at international level, it's a little bit distinct, isn't it? Because you're sharing it with, obviously, your family and your friends and the country that you come from. But it can't be a thing for Califiori or can't be a thing for Norgard to a lesser extent, I think, because of him being a little more peripheral as a player. But, you know, they sort of have to take that, put it to one side or, you know, use the old cliche and take that hurt and use it in a positive way for when they return to Arsenal. Particularly in Califuri's case, because there's potentially an issue for Piero Incappier who went off during an Ecuador game and looked like he had a bit of a problem.

20:26yeah I think the best thing for Calafuri hopefully is to get not sit on the bench and watch Incapie or Mars Lewis Skelly now play football for the next couple of weeks but to get back in the team and play the positive I guess from his international break is that he played we've not seen loads of minutes for Ricardo Calafuri over the past few months after that really really great start to the season there's an element of Incapie sort of winning the place from him at left back, but also an element, I think, of not knowing how much you can trust Ricardo Calafuri to play two games in the space of a few days from the start.

21:03So he got through the games. He played the entire game, I think, in both of them, didn't he? Yeah, 120 minutes the other night with Italy with 10 men, by the way, from most of that game because they had a man sent off in the first half. Yeah, so I think that's a huge positive for us already, just the fact he got through them. I think it would be different if he was older too. I think if he was kind of late 20s, 30s, like Norgard is, this is maybe your last chance to play at a World Cup. I think those Italian players going back to their clubs, there'll be two distinct groups, if you like, of Italian players.

21:43Some go back to their clubs knowing, I will not play at a World Cup now. I can't remember who it was. I saw one of the players speaking after the game the other day and said, I've been in the national team set up for 10 years and I'm never going to play at a World Cup. And that must be devastating. And not just any country, but when you're Italian and you're an Italian national team player, you expect to be at every World Cup. And the idea that you've yet played nine, 10 years of football for Italy and you're never going to get the chance to play at a World Cup is mad. They've not played a knockout game at the World Cup since 2006, Italy.

22:21Since the final, isn't that right? Isn't that the main thing since the final? Riccardo Califuria just turned four years old. You've got an entire generation there of players who now play for Italy who won't even remember Italy playing a knockout match at a World Cup. Obviously, three World Cups it will be without the country appearing at all, but the two before that, they're going to knock out in the group stage, which is really crazy to think about. The fact they've won the Euros in between as well is really weird. But yeah, I hope, like I say, I hope the fact that he will have World Cups ahead of him, Ricardo Calafuri.

22:58He's 23, he turns 24 in the summer. This isn't a last chance kind of thing for him. And hopefully there's a, like you kind of alluded to, a fire in the belly now of, you know, let's make sure this isn't now months and months and months of disappointment. he's gone into the international break having lost the final at Wembley and then experienced the international break that he's experienced there are two ways you can respond to it you can let it get on top of you or you can turn around and say I'm not letting this feeling happen again over the next couple of months and we need that one and I think we all agree I think we all recognise that Arsenal played their best football this season and when Riccardo Calafuri was playing regularly and playing really well at left back which is I think Pierro Hincapier is a really good player and has done a really good job and I'm not saying it's just because Califuri was playing well but Arsenal at their best this season was when Califuri was in the side and I'm hoping certainly that this last couple of months of the season we see a lot more of him at left back again and a lot more of that sort of fluidity and creativity that he brings and we saw that at Wembley as well when he came off the bench he was really dangerous on a day where Arsenal didn't really offer anything and fingers crossed now with If Hinn-Kappie is out, we've got a fit and ready Califuri to step in and perform.

24:21Yes, he may not play at left-back against Southampton, but we'll come to that. A couple of other players, Kai Havertz went away with Germany. I think two players who I think could really be important in what remains of this season are Kai Havertz and Ben White for various reasons. Havertz went away with Germany. I think he scored a goal, scored a penalty the other night. He played 45 minutes and he played 60-odd minutes of the game against Switzerland. I think it was a bit of a helter-skelter game, a 4-3 win for Germany. You know, before this international break, you're looking and saying, God, I really don't want him to play.

25:02I don't want this guy to play. I don't want them to, you know, they play too much. They play too much. Havertz has not played enough, clearly, in the last year. So scoring a goal, obviously good, but more than that, getting some competitive minutes, so to speak, could be really, really useful. Yeah, I think so too, and I hope so. I don't know how many games he started for Arsenal this season. Five, maybe? I'll look that up while you're talking. Since he came back in January. Two starts in the space of a few days for Germany. I think not just the fitness, but also the confidence boost of him having Julian Nagelsmann kind of say, yeah, you've not been in the team for all this time.

25:43He hadn't scored for the national team for I think about a year and a half, mostly because of the injuries, obviously. For him to kind of get that boost before the World Cup that, yeah, you're still in the fold, you're still recognised as sort of the front runner to start up front for Germany at the World Cup. I think that's got to be a good feeling for him. And yeah, two starts in as many games. The minutes can only benefit us. I think, like you, I think this Arsenal season, this end to this Arsenal season, could rest heavily on how fit Kai Havertz is and how much he can offer us. It's a real shame, I think, at Wembley that the Eza injury meant that we either were robbed of getting sort of half an hour of Kai Havertz at full pelt, or were robbed of Kai Havertz getting minutes up front from the start of the game.

26:37replacing Victor Jokeres at some point I think it's a real shame is I think he's he's probably more suited and especially in those bigger games where Arsenal maybe need to and we really badly needed to get out of our half and and find a focal point up front in that second half I think Havertz would have been really really well suited to that challenge and maybe coming off the bench when we needed to change something and instead it turned into a really awful afternoon where he in particular, all of them pretty much struggled, but I thought he in particular physically faded in that second half, which shouldn't be a surprise to anybody.

27:12Plenty of football under his belt over this past couple of weeks can only be a good thing for what we can get out of him over the next few games. For sure. Let's talk Ben White. He played for England, came on, scored a goal, was involved in a penalty giveaway, started for England on Tuesday. they lost 1-0 to Japan in a game, which I think means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things based on who England had available and the importance of that game. And, you know, I will say he's never been my absolute favorite or anything like that, but I've sort of grown a grudging respect for Thomas Tuchel over the last couple of weeks based on how he's dealt with certain situations and certain scenarios and questions from the press.

28:00Ben White booed by England fans. I mean, there are sections of the media where you expect them to lean into that, right? You know, that's kind of what they do. They sort of whip things up and that's par for the course. You know, the sort of tabloid press, if you want to call it that, whether it's actual tabloids or certain radio stations or whatever it is. I did see Henry Winter talk about Ben White when he made his assessment of the England squad and what Thomas Tuchel needs to do. He said, no more Ben White, decent player, but a divisive figure among England fans, booed on, booed off. England's hardcore crowd in the Block 109, particularly vocal.

28:49I mean do you stop and think about why somebody's getting booed on and off if you're in a position where perhaps you could tell that story a little bit more with a little more common sense than some outlets I find that I just find it's on the flames it is fanning the flames but I know well you know listen for as long as I've been aware of football and I've got no skin in the England game, obviously, right? Whenever England go to a tournament, they don't just face the opposition on the pitch. They also have to contend with the home press who are always, I'm not going to say a destabilizing factor, but they're always adjacent.

29:37There's always a story. There's always a dentist chair or whatever the fuck it is. You know, it really does feel like, well, we're going to boo this guy because he's not committed to our country and he decided he wouldn't play for England. You know, how dare he not want to play for England? And yet at the same time, the media works in ways which are not conducive to getting the best out of the team. Whether that's focus on a player like Ben White, whether it's focus on the fact that the manager is from Germany or whatever it is. the two sides of that coin don't really add up for me. No, they don't.

30:19I think it's pretty clear that Ben Wyatt had a run-in with a member of the previous coaching staff. I think that's obvious to everybody. And it's clear that Ben Wyatt doesn't hate the country or the idea of playing for the country and representing the country. but didn't want to play in the environment and in those circumstances that he felt maybe disrespected slighted uh i think everybody's been kind of in a room with someone they don't like and i think we could all probably take a leaf out of ben white's book and where possible remove ourselves from that room it's probably the most sensible thing to do in in life generally speaking sure ben white also like if there's the idea that he sort of abandoned england in an hour of need he was never going to play for england in those games kyle walker has just retired on nearly 100 england caps and however many premier league titles it is as a manchester city player manchester city captain by the time he left them ben white was traveling as a sort of backup right back it's England haven't won the tournaments that they've gone close in recently.

31:33And it's not because Ben White didn't try hard enough and let people down and wasn't professional enough. We're talking about a situation, I think, with this national team where Trent Alexander-Arnold can't even get in an 85-man squad that Thomas Tuchel named or however massive the squad was in the end. That's how many good right backs there are available for England. so I think not only did Ben White make a decision that was was good for him given that Gareth Southgate's whole thing was a good environment he probably made a decision that was good for the whole team and the the squad as a whole and he also did it in a position where England are not struggling for options and depth so he didn't let anyone down or or sort of leave them stranded I think it'd be different you know you could make a different argument maybe if say this summer Declan Rice was like Thomas Took was a prick I'm just not going I think then you could make the argument that what do you mean like a an all-powerful Irish midfielder decided yeah let's say they were they got to the training ground and there were no footballs and the midfielder was like oh this is ridiculous we why don't we have any footballs I'm gonna go walk the dogs I think if that were to happen you could maybe kind of go oh can you not yeah please you not put it to side I know you don't like this guy and you think it's rubbish, but can you not put it to one side?

32:52Ben White wasn't even playing for England at the time. So, yeah, it's a bit of a storm in a teacup, the whole thing. People are a pantomime villain. I think the nature of international football and especially home crowds, international football as well, and especially games where nothing's on the line, it all kind of streamlines itself towards being a bit pantomimey you know if england fans at wembley generally for these games aren't booing ben white they're just sort of throwing paper airplanes onto the pitch that's how important this is that's how much this means to anybody uh so yeah i think it was as i say storming a teacup and who knows if ben white will go to the world cup this summer uh if not i'm sure he'll be able to sort of put that to one side and go and enjoy his summer and have a nice holiday i do think that maybe that's part of it too that's good for us is if there was one player who just wouldn't be bothered by this i think it's him i think like declan rice i've mentioned him there for a different reason but i think declan rice would really care if this happened to him and and he was perceived in that kind of way uh by people that he cares about representing well uh i don't know if there's a footballer out there that is as good as ben white is at going to work doing his job and then going home and not thinking about it at all walking the dogs yeah yeah no and like califuri as well indeed he's had a bad international break not to say that ben white's even had money he's returned to action for his country and scored a goal.

34:35But Califuri's obviously had a difficult international break. Ben White, for different reasons, may have had a difficult international break. And I think it's the job of Mikl Arteta and his Arsenal teammates to kind of be a bit like, well, welcome home. Welcome back to that place where we all love you. And you can feel that love and now go and perform. And again, like with Kai Havertz, the minutes, I think, and the evidence that Ben White can play those minutes is only a good thing for Arsenal because he's another player who we've not had enough of this season. The, I mean, you mentioned Declan Rice and Bakayo Saka.

35:09They joined up with England. They had some medical assessments. They were sent back to Arsenal with Nani Maduweke. Well, I mean, this is mad. Like today, there's a piece in the Guardian and the subheading of this piece, the headline is Will Arsenal's international injury crisis spill over into the club season? And it says, you know, beneath that, rival fans have raged after 11 of Mikel Arteta's players withdrew from action with their countries before the season finale. And I'm looking at it going, why should we care? Why should we care what rival fans are saying? but why should the media care what rival fans are saying about Arsenal?

35:57That's all the media. That's all the, there's so much of the, but it's like, it's like social media informing the media narrative is like, what are people talking about? Right. We're going to, we're going to talk about that rather than noise at the last few months has been. Why doesn't every, why is it? Why aren't Chelsea fans happy that Arsenal are top of the league? Why aren't Liverpool fans happier about Arsenal being top of the league? Well, because liverpool rubbish and arsenal top of the league it's pretty simple you like do we do you sit here on on a thursday and record and when liverpool run away with the title last year talk about how great are they great to watch aren't they liverpool oh that mo salah fantastic like how much of the conversation recently is about why isn't anyone else happy that another team is winning the league it's the same thing for me it's yeah they shouldn't be happy you know what man united used to do it all the time ferguson would tell ryan gigs no don't don't go and play for wales and ryan kids go okay and then ryan kicks to play for manchester united as soon as premier league club football returned and everyone would know exactly what had happened and guess what arsenal fans would be like uh why don't we do that and liverpool fans would be like oh why don't we do that and man united fans would go oh this is great you know i think took all by way did a great job of who knows how much is true but he knows obviously the idea i haven't watched ben white the other night of a player pulling out of duty could be very contentious sure and i think he did a very good job of stressing no no no we chose we told them don't bother it's okay they they were carrying something we need them in the summer and i also would say that in bakaya saka's case especially but Declan Rice too they have played over the past few years in the international breaks when it's been competitive fixtures qualifiers which by the way England really didn't need to win and would have won with different players on the pitch anyway they've played pretty much every minute of all those games they've gone when Arsenal fans have been worried in October and November about injuries and stacking up and what the issues are those players have gone and played for england and for other countries you know gabriel for brazil flying to the other side of the world they've all gone and played all of their qualifying games for their countries arsenal have never pulled any of these players or suggested or lent on the fa's to release players for any of these fixtures as long as those fixtures mattered and to who even sort of referenced that i think in in his in his uh talk about the naming such a big squad and saying some players will join up later but yeah they played loads for us in September and October and November and I know I can trust them because they've been here and they've turned up and they've done it yeah listen I agree with you I completely I agree on Tuchel you know I don't know how much he was there there is an element of saying listen you know we apply common sense but we're not going to put this on the players themselves if they withdrew or if we gave them permission or if we had that assessment or it was just a sort of meeting of minds in the middle.

39:11But the reaction of, you know, the idea that we should be worried about what other fans think about Arsenal players pulling out of international duty. Declan Rice and Bakai Osaka so far this season for club and country have played nearly 100 games between them. 100 games. So the idea that if you're an England fan and you support Tottenham or Chelsea or whoever the fuck it is, and you're saying, these guys, they shouldn't be allowed back into the team because, you know, they're not committed. It's just such abject nonsense. I agree, by the way. Give them all the summer off. I don't want a single Arsenal player at the World Cup this summer.

39:49But there you go. They've earned it. But I mean, it is mad, isn't it? Do you want your country to win the World Cup? Sure. Are you committed to that idea or do you just want to stick the knife into some Arsenal players because Arsenal are in a position where there's potential success ahead. It's not about them pulling out. It's about those people not having the opportunity to point and laugh when Declan Rice or Bakayo Saka play in these games and get injured. That's exactly all it is. It's crazy, and I just don't really understand. I know we're sitting here, we're talking about it, but it's podcasts, it's entertainment.

40:28We're not mainstream media. but the idea that like who like why are you writing articles about what rival fans think about Arsenal players pulling out of international duty Gabriel got injured for Brazil playing in international duty William Saliba did he need to go all the way to France though Trossard was injured Eze is injured Timber is injured Erdogan last season Erdogan hasn't really looked the same for almost a year and a half now really exactly international duty Incapier picks up an injury on international duty Zubomendi goes away and has a bit of a problem with his knee. Is that a surprise?

41:03Because he's played more minutes than any other Arsenal player. I just like, it does not stack up. You cannot accuse these players of not being committed to their countries when you look at how many minutes they've played this season. It's just completely false, the whole thing. I, you know, when we talk about rival fans or fans of other clubs and all that, let's win the league. Let's win the Champions League. Let's get booed for winning those things at every single ground in the country next season. And let's sort of invite that and let's enjoy it. Let's enjoy being the villains, I think. It gets referenced a lot now.

41:42I think those similarities between Mikkel Arteta and George Graham and his teams and that famous clip from George Graham after the Old Trafford 21-man brawl. Let's bring it on. Let's invite it. Let's embrace it. And if we can win, great. If we can win and upset extra people along the way, even better. Let's wrap this title up. So we go to Selhurst Park on the final day and Crystal Palace fans boo their own players for giving us a guard of honour. Let me have it. I'm well up for it. Do you think in any way, as we slightly pivot now towards discussing the game against Southampton on Saturday evening.

42:30Well, Andrew, we've got an injury crisis, by the way, so I don't know who's going to line up in this one. Well, this is it. We're sort of devoid of information because we don't know exactly who's going to be around. And, I mean, do you think, in Mikel Arteta's mind, is that sort of external narrative anything he would pay attention to? So you see people go, well, if Rice and Saka play for Arsenal this weekend, well, you know, we're going to have to take them to the town hall square and pelt them with tomatoes. You know, there might be, I think, a very good argument to be made that, you know, you give Rice and Saka and maybe a couple of other players like Zubimendi, taking nothing for granted against the opposition, you give them another few days this weekend.

43:16And I also kind of think that Mikel Arteta is the kind of man who, if he feels like he really needs to win a game, he'll pick the players that he wants to pick, regardless of how it would be perceived elsewhere. So I don't know how much that will play into it. But certainly, you know, when you're looking at the team and when you're looking at what kind of team he might pick for this one, you know, Ben White could play. Christian Mosquera could play. By the way, a good international break for him, having made his senior debut for Spain, which is good. And then a full debut as well, a few days later, right?

43:51Two appearances, the second one a start. We talk about Califuri and Norgal, but he'll also come back feeling you'd hope on top of the world to have an experience.

44:04Miles Lewis-Skelly, by the way, who seemed to have a very good day for the England under-21 He's got a couple of assists for Ethan Warneri, who scored a couple of goals. So good for him. A lot of talk about, will we see Myles Lewis-Gelley in midfield? But this performance came from him starting a left-back for England's under-21s. I think this is a game where you really want to see him play. You want to see him on the pitch for this one. I don't think it will be in midfield. Can he play someone like Havertz? I'm not 100 % sure, but Lewis Skelly, if he starts at left back, could very well operate in midfield anyway.

44:51Not necessarily nominally a midfielder, but the way he plays and where he operates, typically that's where he pops up. Yeah, and I think if you're looking at protecting like Zubimendi and Rice a little bit, if they can play, because we actually don't know how much any of these players might have been carrying things. I think looking at the Champions League and the Premier League coming up and the run that we're going to have from now through to the end of the season, you've got to look for those moments where you can not have some of those players on the pitch so they can be at their absolute best when we need them to be at their absolute best in the games that matter most.

45:37and Rice and Zubemendi, I think, over the past few months stand out really as two that have given so much and played so much and don't quite look like they're playing their best football. And we need them to be playing that or closer to it as we approach the end of the season. I think if you play Lewis Skelly, that does maybe open the opportunity to play him at left back. And Capio being missing might make that a bit more difficult. but I think you know you've got the opportunity to play Lewis Skelly as a midfielder who then you've got if you've got Norgaard in midfield for example at the base of the midfield as a player who maybe has fewer touches and doesn't get quite as involved on the ball you've got Lewis Skelly maybe tucking in and offering a bit more of that alongside him makes sense to me as there's not just an opportunity to get Lewis Skelly in the team but as a combination of you know who do you play as the midfielder that he tucks in alongside Norgard makes sense I think it's a sort of a logical pairing if you like further forward I mean the the midfield combo is is restricted obviously and we'll hope that Martin Odegaard is back as well because I think these would be very useful minutes and listen you you talked about Odegaard not quite being the same after the big ankle injury he got last season I think that's that's fair I do think a big part of that though is that his season this time around has been punctuated by a series of injuries different injuries and I think that's prevented him from getting any rhythm so I think he's important I think we need him back I don't quite know I mean it's not reasonable to expect right he's going to come back against Southampton and then be the best version of Martin Odegaard that we have ever seen or the version that we'd all like to see.

47:24It doesn't really make sense that that would be the case, but it would be important or useful for him to get those minutes and try and get something close to that level until such time as it is back. We'll see what happens. But Jacare is maybe off the back of an international break where he did a lot. We'll sit this one out. Is it like, you know, is this a front three, let's say, of Martinelli on the left, who scored for Brazil, by the way. Really nice finish, I have to say. First time finish with his left foot, which you don't usually see from him. So he could do that a bit more. Max down and scored a brilliant goal for the England under-19s and maybe a start for him in an FA Cup game against slightly lower league opposition could be a thing.

48:10And Gabriel Jesus, another guy maybe who could use minutes. Yeah. Yeah, I think use minutes and also, again, not to play down the importance of this game, but eat up minutes so that someone else doesn't have to play them. It is also a job that you need in this. That's what the Norgard job in midfield is. I guess Gabriel Jesus now is probably the front three version of that job. Like you say, Jokeres has just played a lot of very intense football. we don't know if Havertz will be able to play the third game in the space of a week having not played football for so long or not played much football for so long so yeah I agree I think that front three as long as Martinelli's not suffering from jet lag too much or anything like that that front three Martinelli, Jesus and Daumann make sense I think it also sounds quite exciting you know there's a lot of a lot of potential and unpredictability I think in the front three and those those as a combination and and yeah any opportunity that any of us get i think to watch max statterman at the moment uh everybody's gonna gonna lap up the idea of that like you say another really positive international break for him a really excellent goal against portugal and hopefully he's uh he's able to play his would have been a trickier decision maybe had had noni madu ak still been fit but with madu ak out with an airy not at the club at the moment Bakayo Saka even if he's okay I think we'd all like to see him be able to put his heat up for another couple of days before going to the Champions League game Saka's getting 20 minutes in this game whether you like it or not he's coming on in the 71st minute he's obviously contractually abided to play 20 or more minutes in every domestic cup game but you know a start for Dalman definitely makes sense in this one and I'll be, again, really excited to see him play.

50:14What about... Because he's been great to watch any time he's got on the pitch this season. Agree, agree. What about the goalkeeper? Kepa, right? Yeah. I don't think you can stand there after the League Cup final and go, I made the right decision and I'd do it again and then drop him for Southampton away in the FA Cup. I think that would be a strange thing to do for Mikko Arteta. He talks about making the right choice and respect and all of those sorts of things. I think we'd have a conversation if this was an FA Cup final after what happened at Wembley. Or say we're in the semi-final and it's against Man City again.

51:00You've got that really difficult game, Liverpool, Newcastle. if you've got one of those sorts of teams in a semi-final at Wembley, maybe you'd lean with Raya and your absolute best XI. I think for a quarterfinal against lower league opposition, I'd be very surprised if you were willing to play Kepa in the League Cup final, knowing that he's not your best goalkeeper, and then not do the same thing again in this one. I'd be quite surprised. Yeah, I think me too. Me too. But as you say, I think there is maybe a conversation to be had going forward. If we do get through this one and the opposition is more difficult, then that is something for Mikel Arteta to think about.

51:47Southampton, obviously in the championship, sitting sixth, I think, or just there, thereabouts. The form team in the championship at this moment in time, I think, unbeaten in 14 games. seems to have coincided with a move away from a back three to a back four, which I don't know what kind of issue that might present or whether they do something differently given the opposition. But, you know, for a team who obviously have a lot of Premier League pedigree but have been out of the league for a couple of seasons now, this is a big game, a big cup tie. You know, they're the underdogs regardless of what kind of team we pick.

52:28and how we switch things around. They are the underdogs, and those kinds of opposition can be difficult. They can. I think, I know it's all sort of cliche, but playing at home, floodlights on as well, all of that sort of thing does kind of add up, if you like. A few beers all day Saturday, given it's an eight o 'clock kickoff. Yeah, it's a long weekend for everybody as well. Yeah, it's a bank holiday, yeah. No, so everyone has Friday and Monday off. I definitely think there's a case for this looking like a tricky game, not to mention the form that you just mentioned they're in. I mean, we've had our fair share over the years of, if not upsets, at least very difficult games to negotiate and games that have looked like we've made them difficult at times and games that at times the opposition have made difficult, wherever they might stand in the league or which league they might be in.

53:25I think Southampton have had managerial changes this season. I think at the start of the season, Will still was a bit unlucky to lose his job. They were really badly struggling for results, but the XG and all of that, all the stats suggested that they were performing well and were maybe unlucky not to be winning more games. But certainly since the latest managerial change, they've gone on this really good run of form recently. they're playing, I think, sort of more intense football. I think it will be quite brave, if you like. I don't think this will be lower league opposition. They'll sit back, they'll wait for us.

54:03I think they'll try and have a go at us and play on the front foot and try and put us under pressure. So, you know, I think that's something that we're going to have to contend with, not just turning up and having 70 % possession, but having to earn the right to play, if you like, and break them down and create chances. I think they've struggled. from set pieces defensively this season. It's always something that we have to look out for nowadays. So they've conceded 16 from set pieces in the championship this season. Which is a goal every other game almost. They've only conceded overall. Where has Southampton gone?

54:45They've conceded 48. So one every three goals they're conceding in the league this season as a set piece. And I'm sure Nico Hover has spent his last two weeks watching every single corner they've defended this season and figuring out where the gaps are. Especially as we know he's on a goal bonus. Who should be where and really earn that goal bonus of his. All right. Well, look, we'll wait and see how it all plays out, but we can ease ourselves back into action. Hopefully it's a stress-free evening at St. Mary's. Yeah, you say we can ease ourselves back into action. That's very much out of our hands.

55:20Yeah, yeah, it is. But listen, we're in now. There's no getting off. The train has pulled away from the station. It's the run-in express, Lewis. So fingers crossed it is a smooth journey all the way to the end. I don't necessarily expect that, but we'll see how it goes on Saturday. We'll leave it there. Thanks so much as always, and we'll chat soon. Thanks. Have a lovely weekend.

56:09We'll be right back.

56:21Okay, with me now on the show, a voice I'm sure many of you recognize straight away. He is, of course, the host of the Arsenal Vision podcast, and we're here to talk about the April fundraiser. It's Elliot Smith. Good afternoon, Elliot. Good morning to you. Good morning, of course. We have time zone differentials here. We should get rid of those. Well, there's a lot of shit we should get rid of in the world right now, but maybe time zones can take a backseat just for this moment in time. We're here today because it's April and typically in April, traditionally in April, we have come together to try and put some good out into the world.

56:58And regular listeners will know that from an Arseblog perspective, we donate everything that we make in the month of April to charity. And regular Arseblog and Arsenal Vision podcast listeners will know that some years ago, you launched a fundraiser to help support the Arsenal Foundation and the work that they do at the Saturday Refugee Camp in Jordan. So maybe just go back for anyone who might be new to this. Just talk a little bit about why you decided to start that and what it actually does. Yeah. So the reason we decided to start it, I mean, first, like you, I think there's a huge motivation to want to give back to recognize that there's a great amount of need in the world.

57:36And that if you're in a privileged position to do something to help others, you should take a moment to devote yourself to doing that, right? What's hard is there are so many causes that are worthwhile. And I think because of that, it winds up becoming a convenient reason to do nothing at all. How do I pick one? Sometimes I find I want to get back into reading. If it's been a while since I've been reading and I can't decide what book to read, then I don't start. You just at some point, you have to pick something and help. Well, Arsenal is unique because like all clubs in the Premier League, they do local work in their community.

58:07And there's money that's ring fenced from the league to support local community work. But unlike other clubs, they have a charitable foundation that does work globally. And that is unique. Other clubs are not necessarily doing something like that. and it was brought to my attention that the Arsenal Foundation does work in a refugee camp in Jordan and they gave me the opportunity to go out and see the work being done in the refugee camp and once you see that you realize how moving it is you see what the badge means to these young people because it's a camp of 80 ,000 people 40 ,000 of them are children one of the largest refugee camps in the world and one of the largest collections of child refugees in the world and And to see the Arsenal badge be a place that they feel connected back to the world, that they can develop the skills they need to stay free from some of the harms that exist in a refugee camp, like child-based marriage, gender-based violence, child labor, that they can get back into school, that they can develop into a successful young adult and ultimately adult who can have a productive life outside of a refugee camp, that's incredibly moving.

59:08And Arsenal is their connection to the world. So once you see that, you say, OK, I found my cause. And that cause is deeply connected to something else I love, our football club. And so it gave me pride in the football club. It gave me pride in a really important cause that we could help with. And so from there, it was very easy to say, let's devote ourselves to this. And once you make a commitment to children, the last thing you want to do is say, we're going to stop showing up for you. So now I feel tremendous responsibility that we carry on the work that we do. So this is not the first year that this fundraiser has been in action.

59:39And I don't know if you have to hand the full total of what the incredible donations that have been committed to this fundraiser are over the years from Arsenal fans all across the world. this year it feels a little more acute it feels a little more necessary because of what's going on in that part of the world right now do we understand what impact the conflict there is having right now and governmental decisions have made over the last year since this time last year when the fundraiser um you know did what it does quite a lot has changed in the world and the impact on not just the satiree refugee camp but but obviously people in that region has been immense yep so first things first the last three years of really doing this in earnest uh you and your listeners and our listeners have raised over 1.3 million pounds which i think is remarkable realize without that money, Coaching for Life program would have had to shut down.

1:00:47Okay. And you can say, well, there's millionaire players in the club. The players all have their charitable foundations and they all have shelters set up. They all have processes in place. And that's not to say that they're not charitable in nature, but each of them has their program. And so they're very dedicated to those programs. And that is true for a lot of high net worth individuals who have dedicated charitable organizations they run. So for the foundation, they're in a strange position of having so many wealthy people in their orbit, but actually having very few people who don't already have their money spoken for, so to speak.

1:01:21So to be able to fund this program and with this year's fundraiser, if we are successful, fully fund a five-year program of coaching for life is remarkable. But to your point, when USAID shut down, which was a funding program for humanitarian projects around the world, there was a shock to the system of humanitarian aid globally. And that shock had repercussions that led to a lot of programs shutting down. Zattery Camp was particularly hard hit by this. And the majority of programs in the camp no longer exist, down to subsistence and emergency level programs like medical supplies, food, water, electricity.

1:01:55There were multiple programs that targeted young people in the camp for intervention and support. They're gone. So Coaching for Life stands as a pillar in the camp as a place young people can go to make friendships, to develop skills, to stay educated, to just be young people. And I cannot tell you how impactful it is on helping them develop the ability to go back to their families and say, I'm not going to be married at 13. I'm not going off to work. I'm going to stay in school. Right. To have friends so they are less targeted by violence. And then the virtuous circle that is built off that, that they then that message filters to their nieces, their nephews, their aunts, their uncles, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers and spreads throughout the camp.

1:02:39And we've seen that. And I'll get into in a moment what the future of that holds, because it's a big message there. But so when you combine that with the fact that now this program is standing alone, but also these are people who are in the camp because they were chased from their home nation by war. and now war is back in the region. They are woken up at all hours of the day and night by rocket sirens that go off obviously unpredictably and at any time of the day. And as it is, finding time to get sleep, to get peace in a place like that is difficult. Now, all the feelings of war that chase them from their home and all the uncertainty of their own safety is brought back into sharp focus and is a disruption in their life again.

1:03:19So it just makes the program that much more important. And in terms of its ability to carry on without it, the children in Zattery Camp really would be without a program that intervenes in their life. So, I mean, what this does is provide a level of structure, right? And I don't want to say an escape because that's the wrong word, but it's an opportunity. It's an opportunity for education. It's an opportunity, as you say, for friendship and to develop as young people. I know you are out there, I mean, when you spoke to, you know, the people who are in that camp, the idea that you have to leave your home to escape war is thankfully for most of us.

1:04:05And for most of the people listening to this, I hope not something that they could even possibly countenance or even imagine. And this program and this fundraiser and the work that Arsenal Football Club helped facilitate out there is so vitally important. Yeah. I mean, we say the word refugee, and I think sometimes that strips people of character, depth of experience of personality. These are doctors. Yeah. It also has become in many ways a very loaded term, you know, from certain sections who want you to associate that word with something that is not a person, a real life person who just wants to live their life.

1:04:47We don't, we have a choice to set aside politics and prioritize humanity. We have that choice. And for these people, there are people that were doctors, that were lawyers, that were architects, right? That were in the trades, whatever the case may be, who fled their home and now find themselves in a place where they get a few hours of electricity a day. You know, subsistence level, water, medical supplies, and food that have had to make their whole life their children who were born there. as a parent unable to give their children the promise of a better tomorrow that maybe they felt they were going to have or had when they were in Syria.

1:05:21Well, what's happening now, there is a path for these kids to go back to Syria. This is something new that's a development in the last couple of years that wasn't the case when I first went to Zadari camp. But you have to think about it. Which young person will become a young adult who can go back to Syria? The one who has no intervention at a young age, who winds up in a child marriage, or winds up in child labor and stays out of the educational options that they have at the camp, or the young person who is in coaching for life, who builds friendships and relationships and a community of their own, who stays in the educational programs, who develops the skills to advocate for themselves, which of those people can go back and be part of a functioning society and then have children of their own who become a productive and positive part of their society?

1:06:02So when you help young people leave a refugee camp, move back to their home country, contribute to their society, you create meaningful generational change. And so it is extraordinary to see that because thousands of kids have come through this program. And in that region, one of the challenges was getting young women into the program. The program is now at gender parity, 50 percent boys, 50 percent girls. And the impact that that's having, I had the opportunity to listen to moms and dads speak about what the program has meant to them for their children. And there was a mom in tears saying, I was married as a child and I can see what that's done to my life.

1:06:39and I can now see through my daughter why that was not the right thing and why she will not be on that path. So it's not just having an impact to the younger generation, it's having an impact back up to the older generations. It's incredibly moving and we should all feel really proud of the club because again, every club gets money from the Premier League to work in their local community and Arsenal do great work in the North London community that we should all be proud of. The hub at the Emirates, if you've not had a chance to experience it, is a really special place. Freddie Hudson and his team do amazing work there.

1:07:09But to want to reach out to the global community and be a part of the world and support people that you otherwise have no commitment to, but to say we're going to plant a flag here, the badge is going to mean something here, we're going to make a positive impact. It's incredibly moving and we should all be really proud of it. Yeah, absolutely. And over the course of this month, we'll be doing some stuff together and helping to try and make this the biggest fundraiser ever, because I think it is more important than it ever has been to support this incredible work. So without giving too much away, you know, what can we expect to be able to give the listeners and the readers over the course of the month of April?

1:07:52So first of all, you'll be hearing on our podcast, if you would be so kind as to listen to just these episodes, you don't have to listen to the football stuff, but listen to these episodes. We'll be hearing from people who work with the Arsenal Foundation. We'll be hearing from the CEO of Save the Children, Jordan. We'll be hearing from players. We'll be hearing from players from both the men's and women's team. Leah Williamson has been to Zattery Camp. She spoke to the UN about the work being done there, so we'll have a chance to hear from her. We will have the opportunity that everybody who donates, even a pound.

1:08:21We'll have the potential to win VIP box tickets to the Fulham game. I think it's the 2nd of May this season. Could be where the title is confirmed. You never know. Fingers crossed. Could have been confirmed long before that, if we're lucky. But let's just say it's still a great opportunity to go. You'll have the chance to meet some VIPs with Arsenal. You'll have a chance to meet some of the people that do our podcasts, like Clyde Palmer and Tim Stillman. So we have that to give away. We'll have some Arsenal memorabilia to give away. We have an auction site where you can bid on tickets. If you have more means and you say, I really want to give, but I still want to get something back.

1:08:56We have some tickets on the auction site, a dinner with the podcasters, if that's the kind of masochistic activity you'd want to engage in. So yeah, lots of good stuff there. Those drawings will happen later in April, obviously. The fundraiser will run the course of April, much like your incredible generosity we'll be giving as well. And we'll have throughout the month, just snippets of interviews and a podcast about this. so you can learn more about it. And we'll continue to just drip feed that out through the month of April so everybody really gets familiar with the work being done. Absolutely.

1:09:27And look, I think what we should say is, and it's something you mentioned earlier, that we're in a fairly privileged position to be able to do something about this. And I'm sure there are people listening who would love to help and who maybe can't help. And that's fine, but it's a call for those who can. If you can help at all, no matter how small, it's going to be hugely appreciated by us, obviously, by the Arsall Foundation and the people in the Zadari refugee camp. Yeah. I mean, I always say, obviously, only give if you can. It is a privilege to be able to give. But I think if you can, then there is some obligation to give back.

1:10:04And for the people that say, what about this cause? What about this cause? What about this cause? I want to say to you, you're right. Those causes are important too. And if they are more important for you, of course, you have to do what is most important to you. What I will say is that it was important to do something. And I do think the scale of need around the world makes it easy to do nothing. This is something I feel pride in doing. It makes me feel closer to my club. It makes me feel more proud of the community around the club that we built up, but also what the club is doing globally. And what I want is I want the club to continue to do this because then it continues to make me feel good about that support.

1:10:40And so So this fundraiser, and if you listen to the CEO of Save the Children Jordan or Mairead King or Freddie Hudson, who will all be talking on our podcast, they've said in no uncertain terms, it keeps the program funded. The young people are able to have this program because of this fundraiser. And when you hear what Arsenal means to them, it shows you what support really means. I mean, it is their lifeline. So I totally accept that there are so many ways we could try to help, but you have to pick something. This is something our club is doing. And so I think it's a great opportunity to take action.

1:11:11And I think the level of support from the Arsenal supporting community via our podcasts and websites and sort of beyond that as well has been incredible. And I think it's a huge credit to the fans and to everyone who's generous enough to put their hands in their pockets and give whatever it is they can to this fundraiser. So we will be banging the drum a little bit during the course of April. Maybe not quite like the Ashburton army. A bit more rhythm. Sorry, lads. But no, it is something that we'll talk a bit more about during the month of April. We've had a couple of weeks off. I do have to ask you a little bit now before we get right back into the thick of it.

1:11:52And I think maybe we're sort of being eased back into it with an FA Cup game and a Champions League game away from home. And there's probably more than half an eye on the Bournemouth game coming up next weekend. But how are you feeling about what remains of this season? The quadruple that was being talked about, not by Arsenal and certainly not by us, but certainly in sections of the media, can't happen anymore. But there's still so much to play for. Are you excited? Are you nervous? Can you sort of quantify which level each one is at at this point? Well, let's just say, first of all, if you believe in karma, then April is a good month for us to be doing a fundraiser because a lot of stuff is going to be decided there.

1:12:35Yeah, it will shock you to hear that I have wild swings of emotion. It's not like you. The quad is still on, by the way, Andrew, and I think it's dismissive of you not to recognize that we could still win the FA Cup, the Champions League, the league, and have Spurs get relegated. That is a quadruple I could definitely live with. I'll take my teeth into that. I would say it like this. I'm still nervous. I think talk of the league being done in some quarters, I think is premature. I am nervous not so much because I think City are great. And in fact, if I have confidence, it comes from the belief that we are not being chased down by the City of old.

1:13:13I will say that their performance in the Cup Final and our performance in the Cup Final and the contrast between those two has challenged my belief in what we will achieve and that it will be nice to see us get back out on the pitch and prove that we are better than what we showed in that game and maybe also have City prove that they aren't as good as what they showed. I mean, if you think about it, we could go out and swat aside Southampton and swat aside Sporting Lisbon, and City could look poor in crashing out to Liverpool in the FA Cup, and suddenly my entire perspective on what we have to achieve in April and May would be different.

1:13:50So I think we are going to get thrashed around a little bit by whatever the most recent performance is, both for us and for them. And right now, that most recent one is the Cup final. So naturally, I'm in a more nervous and anxious place than I was a couple of weeks ago. Sure, I get that. I get that. I think what I would say is this Arsenal team has shown a tremendous capacity to respond to the quite small number of setbacks that we've had this season in results terms. So I'm hopeful, obviously, that we can do that again and continue that particular trend. But look, lots to come over the course of the next six, seven weeks in footballing terms, in podcasting terms.

1:14:35I suppose the final thing for me is to just get you to tell people where they need to go to make a donation. Obviously, I'll put a link in the show notes. You can click on that right now, folks. Just go to your show notes and you'll find it. we might as well just say it out loud and get the, uh, the webpage into people's minds straight away. Yeah, you bet. So, uh, Arsenal foundation have a direct link with just giving. So if you go to just giving forward slash page forward slash AVP 2026, um, you will find the fundraiser. You'll find those links pinned on social accounts. You'll find those links pinned on our website, arsenal vision podcast.com.

1:15:11Uh, I'm sure you'll put them out as well. Uh, I do want to let people know the way JustGiving works, when you go to check out your donation, it says, how much do you want to give JustGiving for what we're doing? And it presets that to like 10 % of what you're giving. You can set it to zero. You have to custom set it to zero. And I certainly am not asking anyone to support the JustGiving platform. I'm just asking you to support the fundraiser. So if you are able to give, just as a heads up, don't feel stuck with that platform support. You can change that to zero. So I'm sorry to throw that in there, Andrew, but I think it's just good to give everybody a heads up that they don't get opted into something they didn't intend to.

1:15:47All right. Well, listen, we'll keep people updated throughout the month on how the fundraiser is going and the targets that have been set for now. We'll leave it there, Elliot. Thanks so much as always. Yeah. Thanks for everything you're doing as well, Andrew. Appreciate it.

1:16:10Thank you very much indeed to Elliot. As I said, you'll find the link to the JustGiving page in the show notes. And throughout the month of April, we'll keep you updated on the various bits and bobs surrounding that fundraiser and to which we will be making a donation as well. Separately, though, what we have done over the last number of years here at Arseblog, again, because I feel very strongly that if you are in a position to help and to give back, you should do it. So every April since 2002, And two, we donate every single penny that we make from our Patreon to good causes. And that's what we will be doing again this year.

1:16:49So if you want to sign up for our Patreon this month, you get instant access to everything that we do on Patreon, all the archive stuff as well. And your subscription will go and help good causes. I haven't quite figured out exactly who those will be. Last year, we spread it out across a number. of different charities and causes. And I think that's probably what we're going to do again to make sure that we can spread it around a bit and help as many people and as many organizations as we can. But every single penny that we make from Patreon, and we tend to round it up a bit as well, will be donated to charities.

1:17:30So if that's something you want to get on board with, you can do it at patreon.com forward slash arseblog. Patreon.com forward slash arseblog. I think it is$6 a month plus sales tax wherever you are in the world where that applies. A reminder, do not sign up using an iPhone or using iOS because Apple will apply a surcharge, which is out of our hands. They get that money. Nobody else gets that money. It's a complete swizz. They don't need that money, by the way, because they make like a trillion dollars a day or some shit. That's probably part of why. but it's still not good enough. Sign up via the Patreon website.

1:18:10And if you then want to use the app on iOS, you can do it that way, but don't actually do the sign up and payment process through the iOS app. So there you go. That's what's going to be happening with April from an Arseblog perspective. There's loads to come. There's loads of football, loads of matches, loads of podcasts, loads of previews, loads of everything, because the football will be absolutely nonstop. And here on the main Arsecast, the Arsecast Extra, the Arse of Women Arsecast, and across Patreon, on top of everything else that we do on Arseblog that is free of charge, we'll be there.

1:18:46Pre-game, post-game, during games, all of it. So we'd love to have your company, however you want to do that. As ever, I just want to say thank you to you for being here, for listening, for downloading, for being part of this community, which does amazing things. And none of that will be possible without you guys. So thank you very much indeed. I say that about Patreon, our preview podcast, because of the way the things have worked. We don't actually have a specific preview podcast for the Southampton game. We talked about it in this episode, but going forward, we'll be having preview podcasts for our Champions League games and Premier League games as well.

1:19:22So just to set that expectation for you, we're easing ourselves back into action a little bit as hopefully the team will this weekend. Right, I'm going to leave it there. You can join myself and James for a Narscast Extra on Sunday this week. We'll have that for you bright and early. It'll be Sunday morning at some point, so please do join us for that. In the meantime, take it easy, and we will catch you on the next one. Until then, cheers. Bye-bye.

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