Episode 899 - Another away win

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0:56Tom Canton: Hello and welcome to a brand new ArseBlog ArseCast right here on Arseblog.com. How are you? Hope you're well. Thank you very much indeed, as always, for being here. It's an early one on a Thursday morning after a Champions League away game, a 2-1 win over Slavia Prague, a game of two halves I've seen many people describe it as, which makes it extremely similar to almost every other game of football that has ever happened because they all tend to have two halves, unless you go to extra time and then you get two more halves. And I suppose two sets of halves should mean quarters, but that's going down a road I don't think we want to go down today.

1:42Tom Canton: We are obviously going to talk about this game, the team selection, some of the performances, individual and collective, and, of course, the fact that we were good in the first half and not so good in the second, which is why people were referring to it as a game of two halves. It was far less about the technicality of the 90 minutes being broken up into two equal 45-minute segments, plus injury time. And much more about what we saw from the Arsenal team, something Mikel Arteta referenced in his post-game press conference. He liked what we did in the first half. He thought we should have been further ahead.

2:15Tom Canton: I tend to agree with him there. And then he wouldn't really expand on the reasons why the second half was different. But it certainly was. So that's what we're going to get into in today's show. A little later on, I will give you some more info about our book launch happening tomorrow night, Friday in the Big Red on Holloway Road. The 22, our limited edition collector's book celebrating Arsenal's title win, the parade celebrations and much more. That's launching tomorrow night in the Big Red on Holloway Road. So I'll give you some more details about that. And if you can't attend because of where you might be in the world, how you can actually go about ordering a copy.

2:54Tom Canton: We'll have them on general sale on Saturday evening after the game against Hull. So stick around for more details on that. For now, though, let's talk Champions League and let's talk about what Arsenal did last night. And with me to do that from the Gooner talk, it is Tom Canton. Good morning, Tom. Hello, mate. How are you? I'm very well, thank you. And listen, we haven't spoken on here for a little while. So just want to say congratulations to you and your wife for the new arrival. Hope she's settling in well. She is, yeah. She's very good. Although I, on the other hand, am challenged. Just you.

3:29Tom Canton: Just you. Your wife is taking it in her stride. It's all about you, Tom. Of course. What is it not? No, it's been great. It's been very humbling. Erling Haaland provided some great advice. And I am a changed man. We're a changed household, but it's all for the better. Of course. And one day you will sleep again and things will start to look brighter. When will I sleep again? I cannot promise you when that might be. The great thing about dogs and puppies is that they grow out of that much more quickly than babies. But you made your bed now. You've got to lie in it. But anyway, listen, congratulations to you and the family.

4:09Tom Canton: We're going to talk about Arsenal's 2-1 win over Slavia Prague in the Champions League last night. I suppose we talk about the team selection first and foremost. And Mikel Arteta did rotate. He did make changes from the team that played against Liverpool, Ben White, Piero Incapier, Aberecheza came in, Victor Jokerez is in, the two Spanish midfielders, Mikel Moreno and Martin Zubimendi in the starting lineup. But he sort of stuck with the sort of the triangle spinal foundation, if you want to call it that, of the two centre-halves, Ezra Konza and Gabriel and Declan Rice at the base of midfield.

4:49Tom Canton: So some measure of continuity in that sense. Yeah, I was expecting, I didn't expect it to be like Fleetwood, where effectively the entire XI was changed. I was expecting there to be some continuity, as you say, from the team that played against Liverpool. I was a little surprised with a couple. And I imagine we might get onto later some of the decisions in the second half regarding who and when players, if they ever did, left the field. but I was surprised a little surprised maybe that Rice did start this game and I was a little surprised that Noni started this game actually as well maybe in reflection maybe not because with Max being sent off in the last game is there a little rumbling of some accountability maybe had he had not been sent off would he have started this game who knows we don't know had he had started he would have become Arsenal's youngest ever Champions League starter and obviously if he'd have scored in the game, Max, he would have become the Champions League's youngest ever scorer.

5:49And I did apply a lot of my time to writing about those sort of things before the match, which then didn't come to pass, which is a shame. But I did think it was a shame in general that Max maybe didn't get the opportunity to start here, especially after Nonny played the entire game against Liverpool and Rice played the entire game against Liverpool, and that Max can't play, of course, in the next couple of league games as well. But he's vindicated the choice because Nonny scores, and we'll get on to that. But overall, I was happy with the number of changes. I think I just had a question mark about who those six changes were.

6:18Tom Canton: Yeah, I get where you're coming from in this. I think with Max, you know, I would imagine that had the game state been slightly different in the second half, we might have seen a little bit more of him. But as it was, there was a sort of gulf between the first half performance and the second half performance. And we'll talk about it in a minute. Mikel Arteta really not pleased by what he saw. But in due course, we will come to that. Two players, I think, you mentioned Nani Maduweke. I don't know if we mentioned Victor Yacarez. I think I did. But obviously he started up front. And this felt like the kind of game where both of them needed to deliver some end product, right?

7:01Tom Canton: Where Bakayo Saka is out and Kai Havertz was on the score sheet, obviously, against Liverpool. But Yacarez, his season, he hasn't had as many minutes as he would like. but I think you'd be hard-pressed to argue that in the minutes he has, he's done too much to give the manager a lot to think about, right? So we need these players and we need them to deliver and we need them to produce for us when they're on the pitch. And I don't want to sort of talk about the opposition or the caliber of the opposition because as they showed in the second half, if you let your standards slip or drop, then they're more than capable of causing you some problems.

7:41Tom Canton: So I don't want to caveat it in any way. But what I really liked about the first goal, which came about eight or nine minutes into the game, was the fact that we saw both of these players do things that sometimes they're just not quite capable of doing well enough. You know, there was a long ball to the halfway line. Lots of times we've seen Victor Jokeres struggle to get the ball under control or to hold it up with the pressure of a defender on his back. in this instance he did that really really well hooked the ball forward non-imata weke we know he's quick we know he's got you know the ability but we've also seen him fluff his lines in moments like that where he can sort of overrun the ball a little bit you know where it just gets away from him when being a little tidier would present him with a good chance as it was both of these players did both of those aspects or produced both of those aspects of the game really really well it's an assist for Jokeres.

8:41Tom Canton: It's a good finish for Maduweke. And I think if you're looking at what was encouraging about this Arsenal performance, I think that particular passage of play really was. Yeah, I think this has been coming a bit for Victor as well, because we've seen it in some of the games leading up to this. I remember the Leeds game when he played through Bakay Saka at the end of the match. I think it was the Leeds game. And he flicked that ball through. He played Havertz in against Brighton for that chance as well. And obviously he did that. It's a smaller moment, but against Bayern, he produces the assist for Declan Rice for the equaliser.

9:13So these moments, he's been improving with the link-up. And I think that for all of the scrutiny around Victor, the main kind of elements of where people aim their criticism is his technical level, like the ability to bring the ball under control, the ability to find teammates, the ability to execute those moments. Because what we do know about Victor, which we'll get onto in a second, is that he is a finisher, but everything else about his game is what's been scrutinised. And so to see him take that long ball down from Raya, hold off his defender, and have the intelligence and the thought to do that, he always means well by what he does, Victor.

9:47He's always looking to try and create something. He's always looking for a teammate, and he's always looking himself individually to make runs for teammates as well. But that was great to see. And then Nonny, you know, this is the second goal that he scored off his right foot in recent weeks, the right-footed strike against Nottingham Forest. Yes, it was slightly fortunate because it had a deflection, But still, if you look at Nani again, the criticisms that have been over the last 18 months of Nani has been maybe that he's slightly too one-dimensional. He's very left-footed and that he always wants to cut inside.

10:15And when he gets into those final third areas, that he just isn't quite good enough to execute those moments in the way that we would hope. And that Arteta certainly believed when he spent more than£50 million on him that he could do. So he's stepped up again, like he did last season when Saka was missing. He stepped up again this time and he's playing games and now he's delivering these goal contributions that are really important for us during a period without the talismanic figure that is Bakayasaka. So very happy for both players in that moment. You're right. It was great to see a really good piece of football from two players that needed it.

10:47Tom Canton: Yeah, I mean, it looks simple, but, you know, it was executed well. The finish was good. The knock on from Yacarez was good. And, you know, at halftime or, you know, before we get to halftime, rather, at the end of the game, Mikel Arteta, you know, talked about how his team, you know, played well. There was clarity in what they did. He said, we were very efficient. We should have scored three, four or five. I suppose you might say the buildup was efficient, but not the finishing. Because there were moments, I think, in this game, you know, where Mikel Moreno, for example, looked dangerous. You know, he had a shot from outside the box, which was tipped over.

11:22Tom Canton: There was a header back across goal from Jokeres, which gave Marino a header. Normally you would expect him to at least hit the target there. He didn't quite time it right, headed over the bar. There was another good move down the right-hand side, a Ben White overlap, pull back for Marino. I don't think he can do a great deal more with that chance at the near post. It is a good save. It's on his right foot. But there were moments, I think, when Arsenal absolutely could have scored more goals before Jacare stepped up to get that second one. Yeah, 100%. And I think that this has been a really, it's been a crux really of Arsenal's season.

11:58If we rewind a week ago, you know, the shock defeat against Fleetwood, that wasn't like Arsenal played off the park by lower league opposition. They took the chance that they had to take it to a penalty shootout. Arsenal had a bucket load of opportunities and didn't take them. Obviously, there's some misfortune there, especially the Havertz one that comes off the head of the Fleetwood player at close range. But that's been the key thing, again, over the last few seasons really is that we've talked about chance creation and we've talked about clinical finishing. And Arsenal are certainly a lot more potent from open play this season than they were last season, I think.

12:31And we are improving our numbers in that aspect. But still the finishing remains to be the crux of this team's kind of where can we go next? Where can we click into the next gear? It's by being more ruthless inside the box, especially around the six-yard box as well. We find ourselves getting a little unfortunate and not really getting the contact on the balls that we would like. So there was certainly the opportunity to kill this game off and that we wouldn't have had to endure in the second half the way we did. But before we get to that, there's something else to talk about, isn't there?

12:58Tom Canton: Well, there is, but there was another moment that I thought was quite interesting. It was actually Jokarez who had held the ball up well on halfway and Arsenal moved it out to the left-hand side and we drove forward really well. And there was a Declan Rice pass that just sort of rolled right to the back post where there was no Arsenal player to tap it in. And this is, you know, you can talk about finishing and I think there's obviously questions there and can you be more efficient? I think the attacking efficiency is the key for Arsenal this season. You know, you said chance creation. There used to be a time where we would huff and puff and just not be able to blow the opposition house down at all.

13:42Tom Canton: Now I think we're in a slightly different place where those chances are more prevalent, but again, the finishing isn't quite there. and I don't mean to sort of single out Jacarese here because I thought this was his first the best 45 minutes he's played this season but I did see that Declan Rice pass go across right to the back post and Jacarese and a couple of other Arsenal players are sort of making their way towards the edge of the box and this is where I think if and when they review the tapes of this game they'll talk about the Marino miss and they'll talk about But they'll also say to, you know, Madueke and Jokerez, why are you not in that area at the back post?

14:25Tom Canton: Because if you really bust a gut to get in there, you've got to tap in. And what brought it into sort of stark contrast for me was about two minutes later, the ball broke up the other end of the pitch. And who's there? Declan Rice. Like he's covered 40, 50 yards to sort of do what he does quite often. You know, the way he sort of drifts into that, where you would expect sort of somewhere between the left back and the left center half to be. Yeah, the left off back. Yeah, exactly. He's in there making those defensive interventions time and time and time again. And I just sort of, this part of me feels like the forward players just need to learn a little bit from that, from Declan Rice.

15:06Tom Canton: Like if he's willing to do that running to get back to snuff out an opposition attack as a forward, you've got to show that to get into the same sort of areas or the dangerous positions in the opposition box. Because it is a tap in if someone's there. Well, it was a carbon copy, wasn't it, of the goal we scored against Liverpool from the other side, like the cross style. And there's obviously a big debate about the centre-forward position. a lot of people and Kai Havertz and Victor Jokeres often, you know, divide opinions and people kind of have their, almost their teams, it feels like with both of those players.

15:38But you can kind of understand why Arteta leans towards Kai, because Kai's understanding of the game and his movement, he was heavily scrutinised for the Fleetwood game. And I was one of those that scrutinised him greatly for it. I thought it was one of his worst performances. But when I reflected on it a bit more, I really got frustrated with his performance because of how wasteful he was, you know. But the fact of the matter was he was getting into the opportunities he was getting those chances he was getting into those positions and I think that's why Arteta leans towards him as he's starting centre forward because he's just far more active in the game typically on a consistent basis and again I feel this is harsh because we're talking about one of Jokeres's best performance but you're right like the reason why maybe he's not picked and the reason why we don't these players aren't getting the chances as often they aren't getting the minutes as often it's because they're just they're just not showing quite that desire to get into those positions as consistently and regulars starters like Declan Rice is all over the pitch is full tilt full time and we find now a need to pick him in almost every game because we know you're guaranteed to get that type of delivery from him yeah in terms of performance but also the execution of that pass which as you rightly

16:43Tom Canton: points out was was sublime once again yeah anyway listen that's a small thing and it's just a thing to to know where you're looking and trying to see where we can improve and how we can improve because I think all of us would like to see Victor Jokeres score more goals than he scored this season. I think Victor Jokeres would like it, Mikel Arteta would like it, Arsenal fans would like it, but he did get his goal and it's a really, really nice goal here. It's a little bit scrappy around the edge of the Slavia box, but we get it back. He plays it to Marino, makes the run, Marino plays the pass back.

17:14Tom Canton: It's a really good pass. I love this finish, I have to say. I think it's just so so good, the way he opened up his body. It's a tight angle. He's at close range. There really is only one way he can execute that, and he does it absolutely perfectly. It's a really, really good goal. And I think, you know, the one he scored against Fleetwood, I don't think that's the kind of goal. They say it all the time. Striker doesn't care, right? Once they score, they score. They don't care how it goes in. But I absolutely think that Victor Jocharez, in his heart of hearts or in the, the confidence part of his brain, will take way more from the goal that he scored last night than the one he did against Fleetwood.

17:55Tom Canton: He was kind of falling over, it hit him, it went in, great. It goes in off your arse, great. Who cares at the end of the day, you're on the score sheet. But if you have been struggling a little bit for confidence, if you have been struggling a little bit for goals, to score a goal of that quality, I think, is sort of exactly the boost you need. Oh, 100%. During the live blog, I wrote, he needed that. and I think we all felt that he needed that. You know, a striker needs goals to bring that confidence and that flow. But the finish is, I mean, that goal is why Arsenal signed him. That goal is why Arsenal were willing to spend the amount of money because when you get Victor Jokic into those positions, there isn't really anybody else at all close to him that you would bank on finishing those opportunities.

18:36It's just been, as we've kind of talked about in the last section, it's getting him there and why he's not there or why the ball isn't arriving. Arteta's mentioned a few times, quite pointedly, I think, in press conferences where he said, the ball's just not arrived. He's getting there, but the balls aren't arriving to him. And it's always left me questioning, well, obviously, why then? Is it because the runs he's making aren't necessarily the right time of runs or the right placement? Or are those teammates around him not trusting to play that pass to him in those positions? I mean, Mikel Moreno, obviously, who we combined, it was a really good moment between the two of them because, you know, Victor had opportunity.

19:11He could have decided to try and just go for it himself, off but he recognized that the better space was to play it off and then hope and trust that his teammate's going to play it back to him in the right position and stay on side as well yeah it's it's just the enigma that is Victor Jokic is that he's capable of that on if you get the ball to him there he will score nine times out of ten 99 times out of 100 I'd back him to even though it's a really difficult finish and I don't want to take away from that it's not an easy finish but it's just why are we not getting him into that position when he plays as consistently as we should do

19:42Tom Canton: Well, that's the$64 ,000 question. You know, we can see that when the ball does get to him in those areas, he's more than capable of finishing. And I think, you know, it's one of the best goals he scored in an Arsenal shirt. And hopefully it becomes a real confidence boost for him because, you know, I think he does need it. And strikers, perhaps more than any other position on the pitch, absolutely thrive on confidence. And look, 2-0 at the break. Arsenal, I think, well-deserving of that 2-0 lead. controlled the game. I think we had 60 % possession. We had eight shots to two for Slavia Prague.

20:18Tom Canton: We passed it at nearly 90 % success rate. And then the second half happens. And it's kind of hard to get your head around why there's a Jekyll and Hyde aspect to this game and this performance. I suppose one thing we should point out is that Slavia Prague did make a double change at halftime and change their system a little bit. So we can talk about maybe Arsenal not playing well, and I think that's true. But also I suppose you have to give credit to the opposition for recognising what wasn't working for them in the first half and trying something new. And if it sort of has happened in tandem with Arsenal letting their standards slip, then you have to give some credit to the opposition as well for the way that they adjusted to the way the first half had gone.

21:06Yeah, I think so often in how we analyse games these days is that obviously we always look internally first and you always look at us and what our problems are and what we haven't done. But there's almost like a reticence at times to give credit to your opponent. And I think that Slavia Prague certainly deserved a lot of credit. It's a team that's not won a Champions League game since I think 2009, 2010. And that's not to take away anything. It's just I think that maybe we entered the second half thinking we would coax it. We're thinking that we would have this kind of wrapped up and that we got two here and maybe two more were coming in this half and it'll be a happy day.

21:41But when Slavia, what I think concerned me most is that when it was clear and obvious that there was a change in how the opposition were playing and they were being much more front-footed, much more aggressive and obviously trying to create those chances, is that I didn't necessarily know much of a reaction from us. Obviously, from the management side of things, there were changes made and they were kind of like, like for like. Heck, I know that Mourinho went up top when Jokeres went off, but he is a de facto centre-forward at times, Mourinho. So the changes were kind of like for like. There was no real structural differences.

22:12And we just didn't seem to react to how they played and how they were aggressive. And whether that falls more so on the manager, whether it falls on the players for not responding as they should have done, I think it's 50-50 for me on both.

22:25Tom Canton: Well, Mikel Arteta said he takes full responsibility for it, which is what he says. And he will say that publicly. I think we could see by some of the shots of him on the sideline that he was less than impressed with what Arsenal were doing. So regardless of what he didn't do or did do maybe with changes, I think he's also right to expect players to be able to do better, to pass the ball better, to keep control of the game. As it turned out, it really did swing. Slavia Prague had two shots in the first half. They had 17 in the second half. Arsenal had eight shots in the first half, had four in the second half.

23:04Tom Canton: Our pass success rate dropped from 90 % to 77%. So that just tells you how untidy we were in that second period. I mean, do you put it down to complacency to an extent? I know it's a really difficult thing to accuse players and a team of. But do you think maybe, you know, you've gone to Anfield, you've won 1-0, you're 2-0 up at Slavia Prague. you think, we can control this. We can keep them at arm's length. That wasn't the case, really. Is there a danger maybe of Arsenal? I mean, I think we can lean into our defensive strengths because we are so good with that. But is there a danger maybe that you get a little comfortable with the idea that the opposition are going to find it difficult to break you down, and then all of a sudden the momentum changes in a game?

23:56Tom Canton: And sometimes, you know, you see swings in a game, but sometimes it's really hard to shift that momentum back the other way. It was more or less 50-50 in terms of possession. But when it came to dangerous moments, it was pretty much all Slavia Prague. Yeah, I wouldn't call it acceptable, but I think it's understandable in some ways when you, as a player, if you're in that midfield or in that forward line and you know what's behind you and you know the level of security that you have got from your goalkeeper and defensive back line, I guess there is maybe that psychological element of comfortableness that needs to be removed.

24:33Certainly these players need to be more alert and professional. I was talking about it on my show this morning. It's weird, throughout the course of this season, I almost felt like Arsenal have kind of flowed with their opponents. If you go game by game, the Fleetwood game is a good example. The Bayern game is a great example. like it feels almost like we're kind of in some ways matching the vibe of our opponent in terms of what our output is we're not necessarily blowing teams away like one week we have one of the best games of football that we've witnessed against Bayern it was a fantastic performance from both teams you know really operating at the highest level and then the next time we play against Fleetwood Town the level drops so considerably even though we're creating but not being not being clinical enough this Slavia Prague game is obviously a tale of two halves but After getting the lead in the first half, as we talked about, the level then drops and we allow them to get back into it and we don't respond and we don't react to it in the same way.

25:23The Brighton game, we walked into the Brighton trap. We know what Brighton are about. We walked straight into what we expected them to do and fell for it. And then Anfield, after losing against Fleetwood, the level then raises considerably to play against one of the best opponents that you can face. It does feel like this Arsenal team is not... If you add a graph of what the expectations and level of performance it kind of rises and falls with the opponents that we're playing almost when maybe we should be after winning the league maybe and maybe people's expectation was once that kind of we got that monkey off our back that we'd remove that burden of stress and desperation to win it and we'd have more of kind of a consistent trend of performance that just went from game to game but instead what we're finding I think is this as I say peak and trough of performance going with the opponents we're facing.

26:12Tom Canton: I think Declan Rice is an interesting talking point with regards to this, because I mentioned the running that he did in the first half. In the second half, I'm not saying he didn't run. And I realize that this is just me watching on TV, but, you know, we recognize certain things. It felt to me like he was a man who knew his team were 2-0 up, who is probably going to start on Saturday against Hull. And I'm not saying he didn't bother or anything like that, but it felt to me like he was playing within himself a little bit.

26:50Tom Canton: I struggle with the idea of Declan Rice doing 90 minutes in this game and people's mileage might vary on this. I don't really understand why he had to do 90 minutes in this game. Because, you know, we can go back to the summer and we can all remember the quotes And we can all remember what was said about his back pain and what did he say he was in enormous pain or tremendous pain all the time. And that's never good. And we've tried to manage him. He obviously had the last interlull off and everything else. I think there's a through line between Arsenal's second half, Declan Rice being asked to do 90 minutes again, and Arsenal having quality like Myles Lewis-Skelly and Bruno Gimaraes on the bench and not being used.

27:41Tom Canton: So when Arteta says he takes full responsibility for the second half performance, even if he's going to be a bit pissed off with some of his players, I do wonder if that's an element that he might think about. Like, okay, the game is not going the way we thought it was going to go. The second half is not going our way. What can we do to change it? Like what have we got within our squad, our capability to change the dynamic of this game? And this isn't, I understand why Declan Rice is not going to go hell for leather at 2-0 up, away from home in a Champions League game that in the grand scheme of things isn't going to mean a great deal.

28:20Tom Canton: You know, when it comes to the final part of this, I mean, we got the three points, of course, that's important. But what I mean is it's going to be a game few people remember in, you know, a couple of months time. Like I was amazed when they said it's a year to the day when we last played Slavia Prague and we away from home. And I was like, we did, you know, really? I don't remember that at all. You might remember it better because you probably traveled out there, you know, to cover the game, you know, so you have that experience. Whereas mine was this was just another game. This is a game where it's kind of grist for the mill in terms of qualifying for the knockout stages.

28:59Tom Canton: You want to finish in the top eight, all of that stuff, right? But do you think there is an argument to be made that in order to change the dynamic of the game or maybe add some fresh legs, you recognize that Declan Rice is kind of playing within himself a little bit. You protect him. You get the best of two worlds. You protect Rice a little bit. You take some minutes out of his legs ahead of a game that's going to be challenging on Saturday against Hull. and you throw on either a£75 million summer signing, Brazil international, hugely experienced in Premier League terms, or one of the best young central midfielders in the Premier League these days in the shape of Myles Lewis Skelly.

29:37Yeah, absolutely. I mean, first of all, these are the games you don't forget when the press entrance goes through a McDonald's to get into the stadium, first of all. So it's not something I quickly forget. Yeah, it's a bizarre experience. But I absolutely agree with you about Declan Rice. and I found myself getting almost worked up about it this morning when I was talking about it on my show because the last few years have been so painful at times, glorious last season, but it ended with pain in the Champions League final. And I found myself going back to Mikel's press conference after the Champions League final because I remember him saying something about how PSG had arrived at the Champions League final with all their players fit and available and everybody was ready.

30:24And obviously Arsenal were without Durian Timber and Ben White for that game. So we had to use Mosquera. And there are other players, of course, who weren't also at full... I mean, Havertz have missed most of the season. Osaka was suffering with this Achilles issue. And he said, he was asked, you mentioned PSG being the best team in the world and the things they can do. Is that what you look at now in terms of evolving your team and perhaps getting more towards that fluidity and freedom. He said, yes, and individually, the actions that they have for sure. And then you have to get into the competition with all the squad available in the best moment, each player.

31:00And we've had more players, many more players than last season, but not all of them in the condition for different reasons. And that's something that we have to improve as well. And I couldn't help but feel as though I struggle with hearing those words in one moment. And then when the opportunity arises against the team, you know, again, no discredit to Slavia Prague, but you're 2-0 up in the second half. It's not that their goal came really late on, you know, it wasn't like the game was effectively won for most of it, even though they were being threatening. And we could have changed the game to not only combat it better, but more so.

31:33It got to 60 minutes and I was like, okay, I feel like this is an octet of substitution time. And then it got to 70 minutes. And then I saw Zolis and Timber, I think it was. and Erdogan, and Timber come on. I was like, okay, maybe we're changing the structure. Rice stayed on. And then we made two more changes and Erdogan came on for Jokeres and I was like, Rice is still on the pitch. Yeah. And then he said afterwards as well about how Konza had come off because he'd been suffering with some... And he said something around the long lines of, he's played so many games. And I was like, he has. But you have Mosquera as well.

32:10Like, Mosquera is a good centre-half. a really decent centre-half. And if you've got concerns about, you know, Lieber coming back is great, but you've got Mosquera there. If you're concerned about Konza, Gabriel's going to start this game, who, by the way, also is playing too many minutes. Like, Mosquera and Gabriel is a fine combination, especially when you've got Ben White next to him, who's, I think, again, credit to him. He's showing his best work against Ben White now. And I think that I just struggle a bit with aligning some of what Arteta says sometimes in the darker moments like we saw in the Champions League final.

32:42And then maybe some of his actions in terms of keeping players on the field that probably should come off.

32:48Tom Canton: Yeah. Yeah. Listen, I think we have to acknowledge, right, that a manager and a player know more about their fitness than we do, you know, from the sidelines or from afar. And maybe there's a line of thinking that, OK, Declan Rice is one of those players who sort of needs or is at his best when he's playing all the time. I get it but I found it a bit a bit of a struggle he was asked about it afterwards he said why he played the full 90 he said the game required it he was also rested against Fleetwood he had a week to recover before Liverpool it's his second game in a week and we expect our players to be able to do that which you know on the face of it sounds reasonable right yeah but also this is a guy who last season played 60 odd games for a club in country who is nursing a chronic back injury all the way through the World Cup and has been in from the start.

33:45Tom Canton: I mean, these discussions that I have on my podcast and you have on your channel, and I write about it and you write about it, the squad depth that Arsenal have, it feels to me like these are the kind of games where you really have to lean into that squad depth. Where if we don't have Bruno Gimeraj and we don't have Myles Lewis-Skelly, okay, I get it. Declan Rice has to play. He has to play. We don't have any other options. But when you leave those two on the bench, you can't tell me that you're, oh, listen, I, you know, it frustrates me a little bit. That's all I will say. I get it. You can see it in, I can hear it in both of our voices for anybody listening.

34:30It's like the reason why there's this angst and this frustration is because we know what we have lost as a result of injury in previous seasons. in 24-25 we couldn't compete in that frankly the fact that we finished second with the players that we had finished above manchester city reached the champions league semi-final league cup semi-final thing it was as well but the fact we reached those levels is nuts that we did it with the squad that we had in 24-25 and we shouldn't have done because we should manage i mean saka got injured against bayern in the opening 50 minutes i was listening to elliot's chat with uh darren burgess that he did on on vision and he said something really interesting about like when a player gets injured that early in a game.

35:09You can discount fatigue because they haven't been playing that long in the game. You can discount the warmup because he said warmups are quite overrated, which I thought was really interesting, actually. A warmup's apparently quite overrated. And he says at that point, you have to narrow in on, it's something that's either happening on or off the training track, or it's an ongoing, there's something underlying there. Players don't come off injured with muscular problems that early in games unless there's something there. Yeah, lurking in the background, maybe, yeah. So you have to ask the question, A, because we've made a lot of changes to the medical staff in the summer, pointedly so, significantly so.

35:41So they've clearly looked at that and felt that's an area that needed to be improved and that the people that they bring in, they feel are going to do a better job than the people that existed there before. So why then is Bakaya Saka not being identified as hell? And I'm not a medical expert, you know, maybe they couldn't spot it. I don't know. But why is, I think it's fair to ask the question, why is he coming off that early in the game with a muscular issue that clearly must've had something there? Yeah. Yeah.

36:04Tom Canton: And also is Saka's injury in that sense, not a bit of a salutary tale in that like both of these players, I remember in the summer people were saying, well, what's going to happen is Bakao Saka and Declan Rice are going to be rested until after the first international break because the burden on them has been so big over the last number of seasons. and Saka, you know, had that Achilles problem, went to the World Cup, was a bit peripheral for England or certainly more peripheral for England than he would have been if he was 100 % fit. And then two weeks ago, you know, having been thrown in from the start this season to, I think, a better effect than some people have given him credit for, to be fair.

36:45Tom Canton: He picks up that big injury against Bayern and now we're going to miss him until, you know, who knows when, probably another four or six weeks, whatever it might be. And then you've got that sort of reintegration thing. For me, I recognize the importance of Declan Rice. I think he is, by some distance, one of the best midfielders in European football, in world football right now. I understand the reliance on him to an extent from the manager. I don't understand the need for him to do 90 minutes plus in a game like that last night when you have those options available to you. You know, if you're looking at your bench and it's a, you know, 17 or 18-year-old from the academy, I get it.

37:33Tom Canton: I don't get it at all when it's Bruno Gimaraes and Myles Lewis Skelly on the bench. You could come in and do a job alongside, by the way, two World Cup winning midfielders. You know, it's not like he's having to prop up a couple of, you know, halfwits in there. These are good players, Marino and Zubimendi, good players. And I think you can easily slot someone like Lewis Kelly or Gimmarais into there and save Rice the sort of 30 minutes that he didn't need. And look, maybe it makes no difference. Maybe Declan Rice just fucking gets up in the morning. He plugs himself in like a fucking electric car and the battery goes back to 100 and he's ready to go.

38:13Tom Canton: But I think from our perspective as fans, we have concerns, right? because we've seen it happen to players and we've seen the issues that fatigue or accumulated fatigue can have on a player's fitness. Yeah, it just pains me. It pains me that the nightmares of previous seasons and not having Timber for the Champions League final and not having Saka at full fitness and readiness for that game. And it just worries me. Arteta is a brilliant coach and none of what we have said is questioning his ability to coach a football team because as a Premier League winner, he's going to go down in history as one of the best.

38:49And it's just, it's always the frustration about what more we could achieve and what maybe we potentially miss out on as a result of decisions that are or are not made during the season. And this is a game I will look back, if Rice suffers a muscler, because he had this neural hamstring issue that he's had for a long time, if he has an issue, fingers will be pointed at this game as an opportunity missed to have rested him again.

39:16Tom Canton: I don't disagree with that, but we can move on, I suppose, and be thankful that nothing happened within this game and hopefully nothing will happen going forward. He's going to play for England, I guess. He won't be left out of the squad for the next one. Nani Matueke will probably find himself back in the squad after some good weeks and good performances. He was really good against Liverpool, I thought, and obviously got a goal, and I imagine with Saka out, you know he'll be back in Thomas Tuchel's thoughts for the England squad Ben White as well Ben White potentially too yeah yeah yeah he played well last night as well I think on the overlap in particular I kind of like the bit where he left a Slavia Prague player on his face as he saw the ball out for a corner that was quite good I also like the bit when Declan Rice there was a foul he got booked I think for maybe kicking the ball away, but there was a foul.

40:12Tom Canton: That dude who was wearing the mask for Slavia Prague, I don't know if it was deliberate or not. I presume not. It's just maybe a little more sensitive, a little more sore when you've got a mask on, but he kept catching one in the face. And at one point, Rice turned around to him and went, you're a grown man, you know, for his rolling around on the ground. The ref was quite prepared to let things go as well, wasn't he? He was happy to leave players in a heap on the ground and just play on if he felt nothing was going on. slightly refreshing in that sense. But Slavia did get a goal towards the end.

40:44Tom Canton: I think they probably deserved that goal because there were moments where they threatened. David Raya made a big save. The ball came off the post and he just about kept it out. And Gabriel headed off the line. There were a couple of shots that looked dangerous who were just blocked behind. The goal they scored was very nice, I think. The quality of that ball in from the left-hand side left Raya sort of, they call it the corridor of uncertainty, don't they but Raya was just a bit like what the fuck and there you know there's the guy to poke it home no clean sheet um but I think they they probably did merit that goal based on how they played in the second half you know taking advantage of how poor Arsenal were yeah definitely I don't really know how the ball eventually the ball is quality I just don't know how it reaches Novak it seems there's just so many people in the way that surely someone gets some kind of block or touch Gabriel I think is there too I did feel that obviously Timber came on for Ben Wyatt and they then had a lot of joy down our right-hand side.

41:40Tom Canton: Did you see the long ball that we played forward? And it was Timber who was in the centre-forward position, and he sort of almost lobbed it over the goalkeeper. And I was like, what are you doing there? He had a similar game against Fleetwood where he popped up in the box. And I know we were very dominant against Fleetwood, more so than we were in the second half against Prague. But I feel like – I don't know if this is something where a word needs to be had to just be like, you need to chill a little bit because there are obviously defensive duties to do here. And I think we were a little caught out down our right-hand side when Timber had come on for Ben White.

42:11So that's something to look at. But yeah, look, it was, they were worthy of their goal. We just felt a little bit chaotic. Like none of the composure we showed in the second half at Anfield was present in this second half against Slavia Prague. And we just felt a little erratic, a little bit bothered. We couldn't really string many passes together and they were encouraged. I will say that I think it was said in commentary I think I counted 13 ,000 times that Stuttgart have had better second halves than first halves over the course of kind of this Champions League run. So maybe it wasn't surprising to see them rally in the second period and they were deplorable in the first half.

42:50So it was inevitable, I guess. But yeah, we just need to be a bit more sensible.

42:56Tom Canton: Yeah. So, you know, where's the lesson then for Mikel Arteta? Is it about, you know, being more proactive with his changes? is, is it just one of those where he has to tell his players, listen, you know, even if it is Slavia Prague and they're a team that are, you know, propping up the bottom of this Champions League table, more or less, they're right down there anyway, that even when it is a team like this, I mean, that lesson, I suppose, could have been learned against Fleetwood, right? That if you let your standards slip, teams are going to punish you twice in a couple of weeks. Is that a lesson he needs to sort of be a little more stringent with when he prepares his team for future games Or do you think, you know, despite the frustration that he showed on the sideline, he will be relatively sanguine this morning, sort of saying, listen, we're away from home.

43:45Tom Canton: I think we've played 10 games away from home so far this season. 10 of the 16 games we've played this season have been away from home. We've won seven of them. we've gone to Prague after what was a really impressive win against Liverpool there was a lot of energy expended there you know someone like Declan Rice who did 90 plus minutes at Anfield also did 90 plus minutes last night it's understandable that maybe he's not quite at the level in the second half you know is that a way of compartmentalizing it's like okay I didn't like it but I understand why perhaps it wasn't quite as as energetic as it might have been given the context of the fixtures.

44:25I think that the amount of away games is mad how many we've played, but I think that's maybe an answer for the press more than it is for his team. I think that's one of those where he will say things like that in a press conference or an interview as somewhat defensive of his team. But I think when he goes behind the scenes with his group, having had the Fleetwood performance, as you pointed out, I think he'll be pretty scathing. I mean, he didn't come across as in a good mood at all post-match. He really did look very, very frustrated with his side, even though they'd won. He almost felt like he felt slightly embarrassed about how it had gone in the end.

45:03So I think there are going to be stern words. I'm going to be curious to see if any players are dropped for the game against Hull.

45:11Tom Canton: Would you be able to categorise it as dropped? Because he's very careful with the language he uses around his squad and starters and finishers and everything else, it's sort of hard to say this guy's going to be dropped. Has someone, for example, like Jokeres, done enough to play himself into the starting lineup for this game? Because we know Matueka is probably going to start on the right. It could be Solis. It'll probably be Solis on the left-hand side. He was quite specific about how he felt this was a game that would suit Jokeres and suit the strengths that he feels he has for this team, whether that applies or not to Hull is a different question.

45:54Tom Canton: How does he expect Hull to approach this game? There is a difference, isn't there, between going to someone like Slavia Prague where they're at home, they don't lose too many games, generally speaking, because they're top of the league in the Czech Republic, but away Hull are going to look at going to Arsenal and think right how do we approach this they're not going to approach an away game at Arsenal the same way Slavia Prague are going to approach a game at home against Arsenal even if they recognise they're up against one of the you know the best teams in Europe right now yeah and Hull you know while they started the season well have not won a game in quite a long time looking back over the fixtures now the last game they won was what the 29th of August right which is kind of weird because you remember having that great start against United but they've drawn against Ipswich they've drawn against Brentford they've lost to Fulham you know down at the bottom of the table they drew against Everton they've lost to Newcastle drew to Chelsea which was a good result for them but drew with Villa like they're quite a high draw team so that will come about through that defensive rigidity so I think when it comes to the striker selection in particular I mean yes Victor Jokic has had a great game he's arguably his best half in an Arsenal shirt alongside that Burnley game last season but Kai's last game was scoring the winner at Anfield.

47:13So, you know, that probably factors into Mikel's thinking as well. I think on paper you'd say that it's a game that maybe does suit Victor, you know, the expectation that, you know, if you can get those chances, you finish them. But if Hull decide to go defensive and to sit back, then maybe it is more of a Kai game. It's hard to predict teams that have come up from the lower divisions because you have so little of a sample size. And especially when they have kind of good starts, They kind of get a bit confident and then all of a sudden get back into their box as they kind of get punished. And so I'd expect them to be, I'm kind of feeling a little bit more kind of like the Leeds game, if you think about where Leeds gave Arsenal a bit of a go, but then fell away quite a lot after they'd scored.

47:54I don't think, not I don't think Hull will score, I just, I don't think they'll be as dangerous as what Leeds were. But I kind of see maybe that type of game. He started him against Everton, didn't he, Jokeres? it wasn't like a 8, 9, 10 out of 10 performance it was kind of like a 6, 7 out of 10 performance wasn't it? So yeah I think it'll be Kai and I think the changes that are made will kind of revert back to that team that probably still started at Anfield as I said before I kind of want to see a consistent level of performance I'd rather we weren't I know it doesn't sound great when you've got such a strong squad but I kind of prefer Arsenal to pick their team based upon what they think will get them the best performance not what they think is best equipped to deal with Hull City.

48:38We have all respect to them, if that makes sense.

48:40Tom Canton: Yeah, yeah. I know where you're coming from. I suppose, you know, people will say, you know, it might suit Yacarez against Hull on Saturday if he's playing with Martin Odegaard. Bruno Gimaraes, who I assume will start this game. You know, the connection between Yacarez and Matueke seemed to be quite good last night. The connection between Jokeres and Eze was also quite good last night as well. So we'll have to wait and see what he does there. But look, that is a bridge we can cross as and when we come to it. But, you know, ultimately three points. Another win away from home. A pleasing trip to Europe.

49:16Tom Canton: Not too complicated. Even if the second half wasn't great, we don't appear to have picked up any injuries or anything like that. So that's good. And hopefully we're in good shape for the weekend. And I suppose the thing to finish us off, Tom, is the fact that we had a return, a very welcome return to the squad this week for William Saliba, who has been out since the World Cup. They've been working on that back injury that he had. Thankfully, he didn't require surgery. It's a great boost to have him back. Arteta spoke about the ability he has to use, you know, Gabriel, Ezra Kansa, William Saliba.

49:55Tom Canton: he didn't even mention Christian Mascara, but the ability, let's say, of Konza and Saliba to play on the left-hand side of the defence. I guess it's kind of mad, isn't it, that we talk about Declan Rice and we have our concerns about him and we worry about him playing 90 minutes. And then this guy called Gabriel at the back is playing fucking 90 minutes in every game. So I'm pleased to see Saliba back. I hopefully might be able to get a few minutes at the weekend and sort of ease himself back into action. I don't think he'll be going anywhere with France. But that is a luxury, I think Mikel Arteta described it as in midweek, that he hasn't had available to him, which is to have Konza, Gabriel and Saliba all fit, all ready, all available.

50:43Tom Canton: Because, listen, if we worry about the burden on Declan Rice, I guess we have to apply the same logic to Gabriel, who is starting pretty much every game. Gabriel and Konza starting every game. Konza came off last night for Mascara, but Gabriel finished the game. That's an area where I think it always feels more difficult to rotate your centre halves or to change your central defensive partnerships because they're so important. They're basically the bedrock of your team. But it is a case, I think, this season that he is going to have to use those three. I was going to say in tandem, but there's only two seats on a tandem, right?

51:22Tom Canton: he is going to have to use those three players and rotate those partnerships and find a way, let's say, for Konza and Saliba to play together in the way that Konza and Gabriel have really worked well together. It's a natural partnership, obviously the left and right, but having the two right-footed defenders in there, I think we're going to have to use that at points this season. Yeah, I think there's also the scope for all three of them to play at the same time. Do you think he's willing to do that, to play with a back three? Not a back three, but I think Konza is a right back. Konza is a right back.

52:03The moment last night where Konza had that marauding run forwards and put a good ball into the box, needed to create an opportunity. Konza's played a lot at right back. He's an option for England as well at the national level at right back as well. played a lot for Villa at right back too but I think it's more likely we with Ben White and Timber available that we see them as you rightly say you know in rotation or used in certain situations maybe bringing players off in games but Arteta said it the other day didn't he said centre halves are not players you tend to bring off they tend to be the players that go the full 90 you rarely do bring them off I guess it'll only be in games where we have really won it by the time that happens you won't see it happening at a 1-0 or maybe even a 2-0 scoreline but I I, I, the concert's just proven me so wrong.

52:51And it wasn't that I didn't think that he was a good player. It was like, I was like 55 million pounds. I'm not a player that's nearly 29. I mean, I'm not sure about, I mean, I look happily silly, you know, in that because he's been so good for us. And, and now having those, I mean, if you're Mosquera, you're looking at now what's ahead of you thinking, when am I ever going to play? Yeah, it's true. It's a good problem to have. And, and I think that both having Saliba and Conce as players that have played on the left for club and country down the previous seasons is going to be a real benefit.

53:23Gabriel was the one player in the team you look at and go, prior to Conte's arrival, there just doesn't have a number two. Califurian and Capier can play there, but they are the left-backs. They aren't the left-centre half. And having Mosquera as another right-sided player, Gabriel just didn't have any depth, and that's why he's played so much. But with Saliba back, and I love the new facial hair as well, I have to say, Saliba. it does look like he's been like trapped away somewhere and he's just kind of continued to grow

53:48Tom Canton: yeah yeah i mean the haircut the hair needs a trim the beard maybe needs a trim maybe he's just sort of like i'm gonna let it all grow until such time as i'm back on the pitch yeah and he can remind everybody you know um what an amazing player he is you know i i i like you uh have been so impressed with Konza. And I don't think we are where we are this season, top of the table, without having signed him. You know, and that's no slight on Christian Mosquera, who I think is a really good prospect and everything else. But William Saliba is, in my mind, the best central defender in the world. And he will find his way back into this team and play plenty of minutes.

54:31Tom Canton: I think that the issue is more about how Arteta chooses to rotate those three brilliant centre-halves that he has. And I don't think there's a club in the world would turn their noses up at having that kind of problem, if you can call it that. Just to point out on Gabriel, by the way, no player has played more minutes, outfield or otherwise, for Arsenal this season. 1 ,305 minutes so far for Gabriel. David Ryan next on 1 ,260. and Declan Rice not far behind. So, you know, there's some management there. But hopefully that is something Mikel Arteta feels comfortable enough to do and we will see it in due course.

55:15Tom Canton: We better leave it there, Tom. As ever, thank you very much indeed and we will chat to you very soon. Pleasure as always, man.

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56:10Tom Canton: I want people focusing on my hosting skills. That's why I love Arm & Hammer Hardball Cat Litter. It delivers long-lasting odor control and forms compact clumps that make cleanup easy, so that's one less thing I need to worry about when people come over. Be guest ready with Arm & Hammer Cat Litter. Find it now at Walmart or Amazon. This episode is sponsored by ZocDoc. Have you been putting off a doctor's appointment or need a dentist and you don't know where to start, we've definitely been there and that's why we use ZocDoc. Actually, over the holidays, Michael had a dental emergency and seemingly every office was closed, but we hopped onto ZocDoc, found an in-network dentist, had great reviews, saw real-time appointments available, which was key, it was on New Year's Day, and booked an appointment in just minutes.

56:58Tom Canton: It took so much of the stress out of the already stressful situation. ZocDoc makes it easy to search and compare over 250 ,000 local in-network providers across more than 200 specialties. So you can find the right doctor or dentist and book instantly. Taking care of your health just got easier. Download the ZocDoc app today and book that appointment on your to-do list. That's Z-O-C-D-O-C, ZocDoc. Thank you very much indeed to Tom. You can find him in all the usual social media places, writing for football.london and, of course, at the Gooner Talk TV, his channel, which you can find and subscribe to on YouTube.

57:41Tom Canton: Right, a couple of quick things before we go. First, before we get into the book launch stuff, I want to point you in the direction of a cool new feature on Arseblog.com. Andrew Allen sends a newsletter every week to our Patreon members and started a little feature where it was match day recommendations. It was bars, restaurants, hangouts close to the ground. And that has expanded into a very, very cool interactive map, which basically covers the entire globe. So if you're looking for somewhere on match day near the ground to get something to eat, to have a drink, whatever it might be, you'll find it there.

58:17Tom Canton: But let's say you're far away and you're looking to watch the game with other Arsenal fans. You can just check this map, see where the local Arsenal bar is, and turn up there and hopefully enjoy the experience with fans from wherever they might be in the world or wherever you are in the world. You can also submit your own recommendations. So this is something we'll be working on, and it will improve over time with your input. You can find a link to it in the show notes, or you can just go to matchday.arseblog.com. That is matchday.arseblog.com. And the map will be there. We're going to try and build it into the apps going forward as well.

58:56Tom Canton: So hopefully it becomes a really cool feature for Arsenal fans all over the world to use to bring communities, to bring Arsenal fans together, which, as we all know, is how it should be. So matchday.arseblog.com to check that out. Now, the book launch happening tomorrow, Friday from 4 p.m. at The Big Red on Holloway Road. Registrations are closed. If you have registered for the event and you can't make it, please just cancel so we can have an idea, a better idea of how many people are going to be coming along. If you've registered for the event, you've also got an email that you can check and you can buy the book and just turn up on the night and collect your copy and or copies of the book.

59:39Tom Canton: That might make it an easier way of doing it. We can, of course, take credit cards and other forms of payment, by which I mean cash. That just sounded a little dodgy. We can take payment on the night so you can come along and buy your book. There's also a bit of room if you haven't registered for the event to just come along on spec and get a book. We have to give priority to those who have registered, obviously, but chances are if you turn up on the night and you want to buy a book, you can get one. The book itself, by the way, it comes in a box. It's got stickers and a postcard and a print and a bookmark.

1:00:14Tom Canton: It is limited edition. There are only 2 ,026 of these in the entire world. And once they're gone, they are gone. If you have bought a book, if you're a Patreon member who has bought a book because we made an allocation available to our Patreon members, those books are for delivery. They will be shipped to you. You cannot come to the event and collect your book. We did make that clear, but I just want to make sure that anybody who's bought a book via the Patreon sale remembers that that book will be delivered to you. So you're more than welcome to come along to the event and have a beer. There's going to be lots of Arsenal fans there.

1:00:47Tom Canton: But the book that you have purchased will be shipped to you. I hope that's not too complicated. For everyone else, we will have a batch of books on sale on Saturday evening at six o 'clock Saturday evening in this part of the world. We will put those books on sale. We'll give you details of how you can buy those books on arseblog.com on Saturday, probably on Saturday's blog. So make sure you check that out. Or you can check out the Arse blog profile on Blue Sky. I'll give you details on there as well on Saturday. The rest of the books will be going on general sale. We can ship worldwide. We've done our very best to keep shipping as affordable as possible.

1:01:26Tom Canton: We're doing all the shipping at cost. Obviously, it's more and more expensive these days to send things. But hopefully, wherever you are in the world, you can get your copy of the book. I hope that's all clear. If it's not, let's not worry about it too much. It'll all work out, as they say. Myself and James Clifford Kent, who I've done the book with, this amazing photographer, his pictures are really incredible. This is a collector's item. It is the perfect Christmas gift. We're both looking forward to seeing you at the Big Red on Friday afternoon and Friday evening. Hopefully there'll be good music, good beers, lots of books and lots of Arsenal fans.

1:02:01Tom Canton: What more could you ask for for a Friday evening? And then the game against Hull on Saturday. Hopefully we can do the business there. We'll talk about that tomorrow. We'll have a little bit of a preview podcast for you over on Patreon, which is patreon.com forward slash arseblog. I've got to leave it there. I've got to get ready, get to the airport, head to London. Looking forward to a weekend of football and books and Arsenal. For now, though, folks, thank you so much as always for being here. Hope you enjoyed the show and we will catch you on the next one. Until then, cheers. Bye bye.

1:02:46I'm out.

1:03:09Thank you.

1:03:44Hello.

1:03:45Tom Canton: Due to time constraints, unfortunately, there will be no end bit of today's podcast. Had time been on my side, it would almost certainly have revolved around Alexis McAllister being a little prick. So in a podcasting first, we're leaving a gap here for you to insert your own truly hilarious little end skit about Alexis McAllister and what a little prick he is.

1:04:17Ha ha ha, what a little prick.

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