Advantage Arsenal

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0:34Welcome to the latest edition of ESPN FC. I'm Dan Thomas joined by Shaka Hislop and Stevie Nichol. What a day in the Premier League title race. We'll kick things off with Arsenal. They were on the south coast taking on Brighton. Saka would score early in this game just before the break. Brighton felt they should have had a penalty. Martinelli involved in that. Nothing was given and in the end Arsenal hang on for a 1-0 win. A significant result considering what happened in Manchester City taking on Nottingham Forest. This one would finish 2-2 at 2-1. City felt they should have had a penalty. Arlen going down, brought down by the goalkeeper.

1:09Nothing was given. There was a late scramble at the end at 2-2. In the end, a fantastic clearance from Murillo meant that it finishes a draw. And what that means, Arsenal are seven points clear at the top of the table. City have a game in hand, but it really is now. Arsenal's to lose. For more on this, Don Hutchinson joins us. Stevie, you look at this overall. And this was a kind of a round of matches you thought, well, maybe Arsenal can drop points at Brighton. City should be a layup against Forest. Doesn't play out that way. Arsenal fans, absolutely delighted. Yeah, and it should be because, partly because of the way they actually got this victory.

1:48You know, this was backs to the wall. This was a defensive. You know, we've been talking recently about how the Arsenal back line of the start of the season had disappeared. Well, it reappeared on the very night they needed it most away at Brighton. because Brighton put him under severe pressure after Saka gets his goal. And really, Raya had a couple of good saves, but from a defensive point of view, they won their headers. The challenges were spot on. They got blocks in when it was needed. Anything that they needed to do defensively, they got absolutely spot on. And that's why they won 1-0. They got the goal, and then they defended for the rest of the game.

2:28And right now, the only thing that matters is getting the three points, regardless of how good, how bad or how indifferent you play. Absolutely, Don. Yeah, I think there was one of them performances tonight where there's no pitches on the scorecard. They didn't play well. I thought Brighton were the far better side. I mean, Stevie's doing his best to try and get a Premier League referee's job if he doesn't think that was a penalty because it was an absolute stone wall. I mean, Stevie, come on, man. I mean, Martinelli's just tracked Weefa in the box and pulled his arm and pulled him over. If we're going to start giving If we're going to give a penalty For that sort of tussle in the box We're going to see 10 penalties a game So it's up to you Don You want 10 penalties a game No that's a penalty That's a stonewall penalty If you're FIFA and you're running into the box You can't get hauled over Martinelli's not even looking at the ball The FIFA's holding on to him to start with As it starts out the box The FIFA's holding him So I mean it's six and a half a dozen I disagree let me put it this way had it been given I wouldn't really have complained because I would understand why the referee would give that but the fact that it's not given I'm okay with that as well because as I said there's 10 of them in a game now every single game Shaka you get the deciding votes if there's 10 of them in a game then there should be 10 penalties in a game we first tried to run around Martinelli Martinelli's not even looking at the ball.

4:00I'm not seeing Weaver trying to hold on to Martinelli. I'm seeing a player trying to run around his opponent, and his opponent kind of not even looking at the ball, just looking at the man and holding on. It starts well outside the box, continues well inside. That's a penalty, in my opinion. Keeping in mind, and listen, this has got nothing to do with it. There's nothing from Weaver. You don't think there's anything from Weaver? He's looking at the ball, trying to run into space. there's nothing we've been doing. So let me ask this. Why is he holding Martinelli? Why would he hold Martinelli in that position?

4:32Because that's what they do. They all do. No, the ball is... They all do. They're all pulling each other. Hold on, hold on. They're all pulling each other. Let me just make this point. The ball is wide left. He is in the far post trying to run around Martinelli to find space. He gains absolutely nothing by holding on to Martinelli. So I just don't see it. I just don't... He gains nothing. He's trying to create separation. He's trying to get away from Martinelli. Holding on to Martinelli is the most boneheaded thing anybody could do. So why does a striker hold on to a defender at an attacking corner?

5:07Because it makes no sense if you're an attacker. Because if you're holding on, he's going to give a foul against you. So it's the same logic. I'm not following. I want to talk about City. What went wrong with them today, Stevie? To be honest with you I don't think I don't think What they did Was particularly wrong I think Forrest Had a different attitude In the second half The two goals That we saw them losing Today Manchester City Are the types of goals That they've lost all season So it's not a surprise That they've lost the goals The way they have I think it was Forrest's Attitude that changed In the second half City get the two goals At home If you're going for the title And you score twice at home you can't let two in.

5:52You can't. So I don't think it's a shock, particularly the way the goals came around because Manchester City, as we've said, they have individuals who can win them games and score goals, but we know defensively they can be got at and they're not reliable. And that's, again, just a similar outcome and a similar defensive performance from City that we've seen all season. This, of course, wouldn't have happened two or three years ago, Dom. Traditionally, this is the time of year where City would go on that run. Is it personnel? Is that what's changed? Is that why this is a massive surprise today?

6:31It's still a massive surprise that Forrest took a couple of points off him. Yeah, especially when City were winning the game. And the big turning point in the game was when Harland's pen got turned down by the referee. Because if City scored that, it's 3-1. It's game over. But I do agree with Stevie when you think City are not the finished article at the back. It's definitely in transition. They've got, you know, Nunez at right back. They've got a midfielder playing at a position when O 'Reilly plays at left back. He's a midfield player playing at a position, playing at left back. So the signings that should have been made when you think Kyle Walker's moved on, you would have thought City and Pep would have identified a proper orthodox right back.

7:09I get why they're playing midfielders there because his sort of thinking is, well, if we've got technical players at fullback, it's almost like having midfield players in that position. but defensively, it's risk and reward. When it works for them, the full-backs can get up the pitch like O 'Reilly did the other day and score a couple of goals and they can look good. Defensively, they're not proper defenders, so you can get at them. It's a side in the forest that was scrapping for their lives. They all feel as though they deserve the point and maybe they've got a point. But I still go back to the penalty claim at 2-1.

7:42City score that 3-1. That would have been game over. This is what Bernardo Silva had to say on that decision. all 50-50s have gone against us this season. It's the reality. For me, it was a penalty. Some might have a different opinion. What can Erling do? As I said, we're used to it. We know how it works. Look, the best angle is from behind. And you see Haaland's right foot goes towards the goalkeeper. He's the one that makes the contact. Look, he kicks it. He stands on him. His foot 100 % goes towards the goalkeeper. The goalkeeper's not going towards him. and that's why I don't think it is a penalty at all.

8:18I'm with Stevie and I think there is movement from Haaland towards the goalkeeper but I think the goalkeeper takes him out anyway and that in my mind kind of takes prominence in whether it's a foul or not. But that being said, it's not given and the one thing I hate from hearing from teams such as Manchester City, given their successes, don't make this about something that it's not. You didn't get a call. OK, how many times over the last seven seasons you got some of those goals? Never. Bernardo Silva says the 50-50s all go against him. That's it for City. OK, well, well. That's it. Clearly, Bernardo Silva, you and I.

8:55Gahey against Liverpool, forget that. Hold on. Forget that. It doesn't count. That's all right. That doesn't count. That, for me, just... You've got the wrong end of a bad decision. It happens to every single club. I don't. I feel that. I find that disingenuous. Harlan fishing for it, Don? yeah a little bit but i think he's he's fishing because he knows the goalkeeper's going to clatter him um but i think shaq is right and i think you can't moan over them i mean you think of and you can rack your brains i've just come off comms so i'm absolutely shattered but when you think of the decision what do you mean you want to shoot it on a treadmill rodry handballed won it everton at goodison park which was the biggest stonewall penalty i've ever seen in my lifetime and City got away with it that springs to mind so I just I think if you've been out of Silva it's it's worth it's worth a little dig because you come off the pitch and you feel as though you've you've put so much into the game and you're scrapping for your lives and you're trying to win a title and it's worth a little dig at the officials but when all said and done they'll wake up tomorrow morning thinking right we we shouldn't have shipped two goals and and that's what City are so it's it's work to be done.

10:06Some people of course are looking to attach an Asterich to Arsenal if they go on and win the title and that's the way in which they've gone about it. Really interesting stuff from the Brighton manager today. Herzler not pulling any punches saying there was only one team that tried to play football tonight. I will never be the kind of manager who tries to win it that way. The Premier League has to make clearer rules for time wasting because they have to protect the referees. Not impressed at all with Arsenal's style. Here's the thing, you can see both sides. None of us have got a horse in this race.

10:41No one cares if Arsenal win or don't, but we want to be entertained. If you're an Arsenal fan, who cares about entertainment? Who cares about time wasting? We want to win the league and that's the main thing, isn't it, Don? So you can kind of see this juxtaposition. Yeah, I see it, but I still think there was one incident in the game tonight which left me a little bit uncomfortable and David Raya made a really good save down to his right-hand side. and he stayed down for two or three minutes. And it was like, there's just something inside you where you go, if you're Arsenal, David Raya, Miguel Arteta, you don't care.

11:14You don't care. You want to win the title, do it whichever way you want to do it because you'll get the silverware at the end of the season. It's almost like it's spoiled a fantastic game of football. Both teams played their part. Brighton were excellent in the game and Arsenal had to defend. But it's like, it's a little bit easy sometimes to go, oh, it's a dark art, it's a dark art. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And it is because if you're in Arsenal's boat, you do the same thing. If you hurt, you just go like, can you not just try and play the game? Can you not just have a clean game of football?

11:48And he said afterwards, he went, I'll never be that man. I don't want to win like that. And that's his philosophy. That's the way he thinks about the game. It's the way he sees the game. That's rubbish though, isn't it? I'm in both camps here. That's not true. I'm in both camps. I'm like, Arsenal do what you got to do. But if you're David Reier, man, you make a great save. Don't stay down for three minutes when you're not injured. Am I right in saying if you're Herzler, Don, and you're going to win the title, you're not telling your players to get up straight away if they're injured? This is just part of football, isn't it?

12:18He wasn't injured. But he wasn't injured. That's the point. My point is Herzler's in a great position because he's not going to be managing a team that's wrong for the title. He can say anything he wants. He can sit up on... I think he's being genuine. You think he's being genuine? I do think he's being genuine, yeah, because David Raya wasn't injured. So it's like if David Raya had an injury and went down for two or three minutes, you go, well, he was down, he needed some treatment. He didn't. I called it in comms, I went, he'll jump back up within a minute. And it's like, who cares really if you're an Arsenal fan, but the purist goes, can't you just play the game?

12:52So I take Herzl's point. If that's his direction, and he said he won't ever want to win like that, then good luck to him. I think he's got a point and he's made it. It's very convenient, though, isn't it? That's all it is. I mean what the 92 league clubs right? There's not one manager If they get a chance to win the title is going to have a problem with a goalkeeper Whether he's injured or not Lying down for the next 30 seconds of what he can get away with not one. There's not one. No one else is doing it Stevie Tom do you No, no, no. Are you sitting there... You're doing it on 90 minutes. You're not doing it at 50.

13:31Are you telling me that if you're the manager of Arsenal, right, you're going to turn around and tell them not to do that? Yeah. And it may cost you the league? No, because it was on 50 minutes, Stevie. We would all do the same thing on 90. We'd all kick for touch in 90. We'd all take a dive on 90. This isn't like 50 minutes, 55 minutes. You're staying down. No. Shaq? That's factual. I'll be honest. I think both things can be true at the same time. To Don's point about Raya staying down, if a goalkeeper stays down for an extra 30 seconds or an extra two minutes, that's added on in the end of the game.

14:08That's officiating. As a goalkeeper, I understand what he's doing in trying to break up Brighton's momentum. In a game that you feel Brighton might be getting the better view in, one that you are desperate to win. You might be aware of what's happening between City and Forest, but you have to win your game first of all. And I think that's what Arsenal are doing. Now, again, I get Hitzler's complaints. Great. In theory, it makes perfect sense. From an Arsenal perspective, I don't care. If I'm an Arsenal fan, if I'm an Arsenal player, I go about my business exactly as is. Now, I have sat here and criticized Arsenal's style of football as much as anybody.

14:49But the fact of the matter is, Arsenal hasn't won this title for the last 22 seasons. We aren't talking about a city here and saying, well, OK, you won your first season playing football like this. Now, after winning another three and five seasons or whatever it is, we expect a better style of football. When you've been on a drought as long as Arsenal's, win that first title however you can. Use whatever dark arts you can. I will criticize Martinelli for the hold. But if that's what it takes, that's what it takes. And then you build on that. If in the next five seasons, Arsenal have won two or three titles and they're still playing this type of football, then I think that criticism becomes a whole lot more valid.

15:34Percentage, Don? On the title. 60-40. 60-40 Arsenal. Still that close. 60-40 Arsenal. You think so? Shaq? No, I go... 78-22. 78-22. Stevie? I mean, last week I was 50-50. It's amazing how things change, Steve. Things do change, yeah. That's the beauty of the game. I'll go with you on 6-4. Do you? Oh, okay. Yeah. All right, good stuff. There we are. Do you know what the scariest sound to hear on a factory floor is? Silence. That means something, somewhere, broke. Production has stopped, and now you're paying workers to wait while the team troubleshoots and fixes the problem. Finally, there's a proactive way to reduce equipment downtime.

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18:06Newcastle, Manchester United turned out to be a cracking second half. Newcastle were down to 10 men after Ramsey was shown a second yellow. controversially going down in the box. And then at the end of the half, it would just explode into action. Gordon would score a penalty after Bruno Fernandes committed the foul. And then late on in the first half, Casemiro would get the equaliser. Chances for both sides in the second half. A couple of brilliant saves from Ramsdale. But in the end, Osula, the star of the show, an incredible individual goal. We'd see Newcastle beat United by two goals to one.

18:40Let's take a look at what that means at the top of the table. Of course, Newcastle still remain in the bottom half. For Manchester United, they miss out on that opportunity to put a distance between them and Aston Villa, who lost against Chelsea. We'll talk about that a little later on. It's going to be quite the race, isn't it, for those top five spots. We need to move that green line down because those teams, of course, vying for a place in the Champions League. Michael Carrick came out and said, yep, that's it, Schalke, United deserve to lose that. Yeah, listen, I thought, you're down to 10 men, right?

19:14I said what I think about the penalty, as vast as it may be. But you're down to 10 men. You concede a penalty as cheaply as you do. Bruno Fernandes should have known better, despite his protests. You get yourself back in it. And then you have a full 45 minutes at St. James' Park. And while Ramsey was performing heroics, Manchester United should have, I felt, I felt there was an opportunity here. with everything at stake, with all that you've seen, with Liverpool's result yesterday, that Manchester United simply did not take. And again, while you can look at the saves of Ramsdale, I think from a Manchester United perspective, there were opportunities.

19:54And Buemo had a couple... There were opportunities that Manchester United really just failed to take and then paid the ultimate price in a bit surprising goal-scoring. and Sula late on, an incredible goal, but that's you kept Newcastle in this game. What was different about United today? I think you've got to look at Ramsdale, to be honest. Right. Just one of those days? I think it's one of those days. You know, Manchester United on this run have been good. They've not been sensational. They haven't been scintillating. They've just been a whole lot better than they were under Amarim. They're a bit tighter defensively, and they're creative going forward.

20:37And it took Ramsdale to make those saves. So, yeah, I think it's what United are. What we saw today is what United is. It's unfortunate for them, though, that Newcastle picked a night to go down to 10 men and actually just not give in. Just basically stood in front of them and said, you know what, everything you're going to throw at us, we're going to take, and then we're going to try and get at you. So just one of those nights, But, yeah, when you look at the table, that's a big three points loss for Manchester United. Yeah, it would have given them a lot of breathing space. As Stevie said, though, great character from Newcastle, especially given the manner in which they conceded that goal, Don.

21:18Oh, amazing character. I mean, you go down to 10 and you're watching the second half unfold. And then, you know, Bruno Fernandes gets loads of touches of the ball. And he's their best player by a mile. And Ramsdale's pulling off brilliant saves. I mean, the one from Zerkes, he was going to the top corner. Amazing. but every time Manu threw it in the box, Malik Chow or Dan Byrne, they got their head on things. They put their body on the line. Joe Linton late on in the game. That's the character. And that's all Newcastle fans want from their players. Shaq will tell you, you know, you can get Bidison James' part, but when you're willing to run and put your body on the line and you come out with more credit when you're down to 10 men, even if it was 1-1, the players would have got loads of credit in the bank, working hard, putting their bodies on the line.

22:01Willis Sula was a player that they signed for next to nothing. They turned down a 30 million from Eintracht Frankfurt just before the deadline closed. He looks like he could be polished into a really good number nine. And that has to be the benchmark for Newcastle now. They've set the benchmark that high after beating Man United when they were down to 10 men. Can they kick on? Can they try and get in European spots? Can they try and climb the table and get above Sunderland? Good thing is we don't really have to talk about the sending off because in the end, Newcastle win overall. Anyone want to add anything?

22:28I'd like to add, Kieran Trippi, a player who's come into, for a lot of criticism over the last couple of seasons, I thought, you saw this in the last game against Everton, when Pope made that glaring mistake, he was the first to come over and kind of pat him on the back and try to lift chins. I thought he was outstanding today. And again, from a leadership perspective, Kieran Trippi, back end of his career, just continues to be a leader in the back that I think Newcastle have needed, if not relied on. And I think there's such value to that. I'm a little biased in that I love Kieran Trippier for all that he stands as a player.

23:09And it's great to see him play this kind of a role in this kind of a game on this day against this opponent. So credit to him is all I'd like to finish up. Aston Villa 1, Chelsea 4 is how it finished. Villa Park. A brilliant performance from Rossini's men. Gio Pedro very much the star of the show. He backed a hat-trick. We thought Villa were a shoo-in for Champions League football next season. You'd be a brave man to back them now, considering they've lost three of the last four. They are in free fall. Chelsea, meanwhile, looking good, aren't they? Great performance today once again. They are three points now, while Villa in fourth.

23:47It'll be the top five that qualify for the Champions League. Don is still with us. Don, that That was really impressive from Chelsea today. Yeah, Villa caught Chelsea when they were hot tonight. I mean, there were some outstanding performers. I mean, Jao Pedro got his hat-trick, but I thought Enzo Fernandes had a good game. I thought Garnaccio probably had his best game. Kyle Palmer stepped up as well. You thought when Villa took the lead, they were going to pull off a big victory and dump Chelsea down into fifth or sixth closer to Liverpool, but they turned it on. That's the Chelsea side. Again, talking about setting standards and raising the bar.

24:23That's the Chelsea performance that Liam Rossini will want. They were absolutely outstanding. They were great, weren't they, Stevie? I thought they were fantastic. I was sitting thinking recently how everybody's been caning the Premier League. This game, I thought it was great. Villa were trying to go forward and Chelsea... The pace in which they went forward, the accuracy of the passes, the weight of the passes, the movement... I mean, Don said it, Garnaccio. I'm not a huge fan of Garnaccio's personality. But I tell you what, he's direct and he goes to defenders and defenders hate it. But just generally, the football that Chelsea played was absolutely superb.

25:04What's changed? What's the one thing that Rosinho's done, Don, that you've noticed that's made such a difference to this Chelsea side? I think he's talked about accountability. When Pedro Neto got sent off, it's not like he wants to slaughter the player. by all accounts from what I've been told is there was a massive argument and Rhys James initiated that after the game when Pedro Neto gets sent off the other day. So I think for the first time, I think you're looking at a group that are willing to take accountability, that are willing to have a go at each other because that's not really been seen in that Chelsea restroom.

25:36It was like individuals and they're a bit young, sometimes a bit naive, sometimes a bit immature. And you're still seeing that with the amount of red cards I've had. But I think the one thing to try and pin down on what he's improved is he's more or less saying, look, it can't come from me all the time. And if there needs to be an argument, there needs to be a fight in the dressing room afterwards, well, we're going to have to own it. And since that net a red card the other day, my word, what a turnaround inside two or three days to put that sort of performance in, very, very good. What's happening to Villa, Don?