Arsenal Back to Business

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0:35Hello and welcome into the latest edition of ESPN FC. Kay Murray and Stevie Nichol here in the studio here to talk about the opening of the Premier League season where we got to see the defending champions, Arsenal, taking on the newly promoted Coventry City. And in the end, it was no match at all for the Gunners. Three goals in this game from Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard. has Mikel Arteta's men off to a great start. Three goals and three points as we welcome in Frank Leboeuf to talk more about it. But we do get our Frank Leboeuf joining us now to talk more about what we saw from Arsenal today.

1:11And when you look at it, Frank, I know it was the community shield. People say it doesn't matter so much against Manchester City. This is up against Coventry City today, a newly promoted side. But still, from what we've seen so far, Arsenal are going to be a force to be reckoned with once again. Yes, you're absolutely right, Kay. They proved during the community shield, because I disagree with people who think it doesn't really matter. It does matter in terms of confidence. And it's always nice to have a silverware as well. And it brings something that you can use for the first game, even if it's a newly promoted team, to get into the best way into the Premier League.

1:54and it's what they did today. They've been absolutely professional. Their attitude was great and there is nothing to say about that team. They are, as we said, after the competition is spot on. They know what they have to do. And on paper, because we don't know what the other worth, they are much better than anybody else. So if they keep on doing like that, on top of it, they have a big depth on the bench. if they keep on doing like that, I don't see any other contender for the Premier League this season. What did you like today about Arsenal, Stevie? Well, what's not to like? Clean sheet, three goals, total domination, some nice football, made plenty of changes in the second half, got everybody game time.

2:47I mean, there's not a thing you can say yet about this Arsenal side that is not to like. Solid at the back, solid in the middle and creative with Odegaard. You know, a couple of seasons ago, he got 15 goals. Well, he started the season pretty well. He did score today, a little bit fortunate, but he's getting himself in forward areas and certainly did today. And Havac scores, Saka scores, Sollies, new signing. Looking good again. Looked great. I mean as Frank said you cannot with any real gumption try and make a case for anybody else being favourites for the Premier League and on top of this Frank they did present Esri Konza before the game just to add to the good times rolling right now I didn't hear what you say I'm sorry Esri Konza was presented before the game just to add to the positivity right now at Arsenal you know what when he signed when he signed for us well that's a very good thing for him coming from Aston Villa it's a very good thing for for of course the Gunners and because he's a great player and he proved during the World Cup he's a great defender he can on top of it play center backs or maybe right back but I'm concerned when Saliba William Saliba is going to be back you know what you're going to do and you're going to make it work well you know big teams they are big individuals, a lot of them.

4:17So I'm sure Arteta would know how to work on that. But there would be a big competition because you have Incapier, you have Mosquera, you have Gabriel, you have Kansa, you have William Saliba. Only a center back. So it's huge and it's very good for the gunners because you have individuals, but you have to deal with the dressing room. And how it works with the dressing room is up to the coach. So it's good to sign big time players, but how they handle each other with a competition, that we don't know. The future will save. It is something that you brought up when you saw that he'd been presented today, saying, is someone going?

4:56I did, but I had sort of forgotten about Timber being injured, Saliba being injured and competition is absolutely what you need. If you've just won a big trophy, the question is always going to be thrown at you. Are you going to calm down? Are you going to put your foot on the pedal or not? Are you going to start thinking you've done it, seen it, the whole thing? And I think with this signing, it just shows that upstairs at Arsenal and the manager are not going to rest on the laurels. And the fact that Concer has had no problem signing for Arsenal, knowing that they've got, as Frank said, four, five.

5:38if you want to throw White in there as a centre-back but he wants to be there I don't think it is a concept if he doesn't start anytime soon is going to be causing any problems I mean this team is just phenomenal, strong the mix in the dressing room clearly has to be good you don't win league titles, you certainly don't win the Premier League if your dressing room is not as one, as a unit and all together and there is nothing to suggest that this Arsenal side, regardless of how many centre-backs or players in any other position they have, they look as though they mean business, big time. So there's been a lot of talk about the future of Myles Lewis-Skelly.

6:19He started today and Arteta has said that he's 100 % confident that he's staying. The player is not talking about wanting to go elsewhere either. This is a player you think that they should be keeping hold of? I think so, yeah. I mean, he's only going to get better. Again, he showed us today what he's capable of. He played a couple of fantastic passes. He played a through ball. 25 yards out, split the defence, unfortunately, Calafiore couldn't go on the end yet, and this is still a kid. And he's playing in front of a guy who just won the World Cup and Zubimendi as well. He's in front of Eze as well.

6:50I mean, so, the manager, I would suggest, at this period in time, it's not possible that he's in a stronger position. And if the manager's saying 100 % he wants him to stay, I would be shocked. And the player wants to stay as well. So, yeah, unless it's one of those ridiculous offers, then there's no way that Myles Lewis-Guerl is going anywhere. Yeah, going back to Chris Solis, if we can, though, Frank, what a start this player has had in both of the games that we've seen him so far for Arsenal. Amazing, amazing. Full of confidence, you know, he knows exactly what to do. He was going even from the left side.

7:27I've saw that many times the first half, from the left side to the right side. And everybody would say, well, what is he doing? Well, he knows what he's doing. He's been there for years and he's been absolutely fantastic. He's signed for Arsenal. Hopefully he's going to work for him. He's a great, talented player for sure. Again, if you know what you have to do, if you're confident about your skill, you're going to bring something special. And he didn't sign for the Gunners randomly like that. because Atleta saw what he was capable of giving and that's a great signing. Coming from nowhere, the guy, well, nowhere, in a way that we didn't expect him to sign.

8:13That's a great, great signing. Yeah, and a great, great start for Arsenal. And starting as they mean to go on, no doubt, much more talk about Arsenal over on our YouTube channel. Make sure to check it out every single day to stay up to date with the Premier League.

8:55We'll be right back. Trial. Terms apply.

9:02Jose Mourinho gets his second stint as Real Madrid coach underway this weekend. They are away to Espanyol. And our Martin Einstein's been catching up with Jose Mourinho, asking him what advice the 2013 edition of Jose, who left Real Madrid back then, would give the Jose coming into Real Madrid once again in 2026.

9:27What would you recommend the Mourinho from 2013 to today?

9:57I have no conditions to encourage the Mourinho of 2013. The 2013 is a little like you who advise your father, or your father who advise you to. The only thing I say is that You have to be always very calm.

10:33And for me it's much easier to be now, just calm than five years ago, ten years ago, twenty years ago. It's always an evolution.

10:46Stevie's a little shocked there As we bring in Stuart Robson and Ali Moreno From Barcelona right now What was it Stevie? I don't think I've ever seen him stumped Stumped? He was absolutely stumped He was trying to dig himself out of somewhere Because he just didn't know what to see That's the first time ever Although I wonder Stuart and Alejandro It does feel as though we're seeing a different version of Mourinho right now First of all Kay just called me Alejandro. That's nice. That's nice. I know she means business when she says Alejandro. It's like when my mom calls me Alejandro. As it pertains to Jose Mourinho.

11:24In fact, I just watched his press conference, and I think we're seeing a more mellow version of Jose Mourinho, a more mature version of Jose Mourinho. But my big question to you, Stewie, is that going to last? Well, he says he's more calm these days than he was before. Well, I saw him when he was manager of Roma. I saw him in Turkey. He wasn't particularly calm. He's been sent off more times than he ever was when he was at Chelsea, when he was at Manchester United, when he was at Real Madrid the first time around. So I don't think he is a calmer person than he was before. At the moment, he is.

11:55And he's saying all the right things. And he's in a very good job. And he's in a good position. But calm is not one of the ways I would describe Jose Mourinho. And it's the same thing that when we look at Mourinho now, and he's trying to deflect attention away from himself, and he's trying to sort of talk about the team and the importance of the team and I'm so calm and I'm so above all of this and this pressure is not for me. And I'm thinking to myself, yeah, I don't think we want this version of Mourinho. Don't give me the calm, mature Mourinho. That's boring. That's not what separates Jose Mourinho from the rest.

12:31There is something else here about Mourinho. There's that it factor that you want to see from him. And I think if this team is going to be successful, they need that it factor. They don't want the calm, cool, mellow, boring Mourinho. They need the guy that can get something out of this team and squeeze the very best out of this team. I don't know how you feel about it. Yeah, to a certain degree. I think what he's got to come in, I don't think he's a fantastic coach anymore in terms of the tactics. We don't see anything different from him than we saw 10, 15 years ago. What I think he's got to do is come in, he's got to get the players disciplined.

13:04That's what Real Madrid have lacked. He's got to be a good man manager. That's what they liked under Ancelotti. they didn't like under Xavi Alonso. So he's got to be a manager that's going to get the best out of players. He's going to have to be calm at the right times. He's going to have to be aggressive with his players when they don't do what he wants them to do. But he's got to make sure they're disciplined in the way they play, the way they close the ball down, and where they keep their positions. Because he's not going to come up with something fantastic tactically. Yeah, we don't expect him to be something fantastic tactical, but we do want to see a different attitude from Real Madrid.

13:36And I think if there was something that we all can agree that Real Madrid has lacked over the last couple of years, it's an attitude that is consistent, an attitude that lets you know that this team is in it, that this team is competing, that this team is willing to push themselves to the limit in order to get the results. I don't think we got that sort of vibe from Real Madrid, certainly last season. And what we did get was in-house fighting, lack of discipline, lack of discipline on the field, lack of discipline off the field. Your superstar hanging out with his girlfriend and a yard when he should be rehabbing his injury.

14:10That's what we saw from Real Madrid. And those are a lot of things that he's going to have to deal with that have nothing to do with what happens on the field. And then on top of that, you have to have some version of Real Madrid that is far more creative, far better defensively, far more disciplined. It's a lot of things that Jose Mourinho is going to have, a lot of boxes that he's going to have to check if this team is going to be able to be successful this season. But they've also got some new players, which might add to the discipline. players that we can't say have been ill-disciplined before at Real Madrid because they've just come in.

14:37So, Canate, Cucurea, Dumfries at right back, Bernardo Silva. So, he's got to make sure he gets the best out of those. And they then go on to the likes of Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior Mbappe to get the best out of them in terms of what they do work right, what their attitude's like when things aren't going well. Their spirit has to be much better than it's been over the last two years. So, big question for you then, Stu, is... So, Ancelotti could not do it. Xabelonso could not do it. Is Jose Mourinho going to be able to get the very best of Vini Jr. and Kylian Mbappe at the same time when they're on the field, both working with each other rather than against each other?

15:19Depends how they start the season. If they start the season well and everybody believes what Mourinho's doing and the players start to combine well and Jude Bellingham is the player we saw at the World Cup and not the one we saw at Real Madrid for a season and a half. You love Jude Bell. And if they play with the right attitude and they start well, then I think it will go well for him. And I think they've got a chance of winning La Liga. If it starts badly, then, of course, everybody starts looking at each other. Well, I can't play with him and he can't play and he's doing the wrong runs. That's when they've got a problem.

15:46He needs a good start to the season. Okay. And if he needs a good start to the season, how do they handle the lack of a holding midfielder, which is an issue that they did not address. The absence of Tony Croswell has been talked about time and time again. They haven't addressed that. who then takes on that role and how are they going to be able to be successful and control the midfield? Depends what sort of midfield player they want. They're obviously going to go probably at the weekend or tomorrow night with Valverde as one of the holding midfield players. Bernardo Silva has played there for Man City, but he's a different sort of holding midfield player.

16:16Somebody who wants to get on the ball, a bit like Tony Gross. He's not got the range of passing, but he'll dictate the pace of the game. So I think that's probably how he's going to go rather than having a dominant midfield player in terms of defensive like he probably would have wanted with Rodri. What about Cucurella? What does he bring to this team? Everything. He brings, I think, passion when he's... And hair. Which we haven't got. Yes, we appreciate that. But he's got everything. You want from a left back, he can race forward and get crosses into the box. He's aggressive when he's defending.

16:44And I think he's got a lot of spirit and he's good on the ball. So I think Cucurella is one of the world's best left backs. And now Real Madrid have got him on board. All right. So we're about to start the season for Real Madrid. What do you think happens with this team this season? What looks like a successful season for them? They've got to win La Liga. And I think they've got a better chance. At the end of last season, when they appointed Mourinho, I said, this is going to get worse and worse. But the signings they've made, having seen Jude Bellingham at the World Cup and playing with passion and energy and doing all the right things, seeing Mbappe play with more discipline at the World Cup and scoring in linea, I think they've now got a very good team.

17:18And it just needs Mourinho to keep calm and make sure he gets the best out of those players. OK. So are they going to win La Liga? I think they might well do. Yes. Is there a commitment there? There was a commitment there, yes. Okay. So you like Melo Mourinho? I like Melo Mourinho, yeah. Melo Mourinho is going to be boring for us. I'm not going to tell you that much, Gary. Melo Mourinho, I love it. Yeah, I do wonder how it's all going to play out. Let's talk a little bit, if we can, with you guys about Barcelona because you've got a double whammy this weekend. After that game between Espanyol and Real Madrid, you're heading down to Alicante to see Alce against Barcelona.

17:52I'd be interested in the concerns, Ali. I know a few of yours, but from Stuart with this team this season, if there are any. Yes, they've obviously lost Lewandowski. They've lost Ferran Torres. They're really playing without a centre forward. The Egyptian, you say his name much better than I do. Hansa Abdelkarim. They are. He's done well in pre-season and he'll probably lead the line. Anthony Gordon's coming. Could he play at centre forward? I'm not sure he will. He'll play on the left-hand side. The one player I'm worried about, because I think he's key to Barcelona, I'm sure you'll agree is Rafinha.

18:25Is he fully fit? He's had a lot of injuries over the last season. He obviously came out of the World Cup If he's fully fit, I think Barcelona have got every chance of repeating the last couple of seasons If he's not, I think they might just be 10 % lower than they should be So while you have your concerns about the lack of a center forward It doesn't it's not powerful enough of a concern to Kind of give you the idea that this team is not good enough to win La Liga. No But no, I still think they've got some great talent. You know, they've got a fantastic midfield now with Rodri coming in. Don't forget they've got de Jong.

18:59We thought that de Jong and Pedri were the best football in-center midfield players in the world at one point. De Jong's injured at the moment. Rodri will come in and give them something different. I hope that we see Dani Olmo, who doesn't always get in the team, do what he did for Spain at the World Cup and in that ammantan role. Jamal back at his very best. And any one of Rafinha or Gordon start to show their brilliance in the wide areas. and that control that Barcelona has in the midfield and what they can do in the attack is what I think allows us to forget about the high line. Yes, the high line.

19:29It's still very much part of the conversation. It's been at least three or four minutes before you mentioned it. I think it's the first reference this season though, Stuart. That hasn't gone away. Oh, is it? Oh, that's OK then, yeah. But it hasn't gone away. That concern hasn't gone away. My concern for Rodri is what Rodri are we going to get? World Cup Rodri, fantastic for Barcelona. Now, the guy who's injured and can't keep up with the pace of the game, which is what happened with Manchester City most of last season, that's concerning. I do think that the presence of Rodri, as I've mentioned a couple of times on the show, frees up Pedri.

20:03And I believe that Pedri is a far more effective player when he's able to join in the attack and create an attacking position than just a guy who is a distributor and a connector from the back line to the rest of the team. While he can do that, and he can do that very well, I think there is more for Pedri to do for this team offensively. Well, we were a bit disappointed, I think, because both you and I had Pedri as going to be the best player at the World Cup. And he wasn't quite that, and in the end, he didn't actually get in the team. So he wasn't at his best. I'm hoping when we see him play for Barcelona again this season, with Rodri next to him, with Oma in front of him, he's going to be the world-class player that we saw for the last two years.

20:39But that's a concern. You just mentioned it. With Rodri alongside him, it didn't seem to fit what Pedri wanted to do. And so I think there needs to be, I'm sure there's been a conversation already, I do think that there needs to be an effort and an emphasis on telling Pedri, you've got to get forward, you've got to go supporting the attack and let Rodri do what he does best. Yeah, that would suit both players, I think, because Rodri likes to be the holding player, he likes to get on the ball, he likes to break up attacks, and Pedri likes to go forward, and he can see passes that nobody else can, and he's got that great ability to let the ball run across his body.

21:10Yeah, let's hope that works for them. Okay, so this is what we know from Stewie. He loves Barcelona and Rodri, but not as much as he does Melo Mourinho and Real Madrid winning the season, according to Stuart Robson. Yeah, let's see if he still feels that way after these two games coming up. Guys, stick around, stay right where you are. But we do know we will be seeing these guys and hearing much more from them across the weekend, as we do get to see Real Madrid and Barcelona playing their first game of La Liga's season. Both of them away from home, Real Madrid to Espanol. And Barcelona against Elche, both of those games.

21:42ABC, ESPN Deportes and of course on the app all these two needed was a beer there nice little chat in the pub did you know Sam's Club isn't a store, it's actually a club with cool finds and like a whole community, it's a club of course Jason, it's in the name Sam's Club oh yeah come join us, Sam's Club Okay, Argentina's Leandro Paredes has been handed a 10-match ban for the role that he played in the on-field clashes after his side were beaten 1-0 in the World Cup final. Now, El Molina, seven matches he's been banned and the players will both also pay fines of$90 ,000. There you can see the same for Molina.

22:32Tiago Almada with a one-match ban and a$30 ,000 fine. Roberto Ayala, we'll get there in a minute, Stevie, a member of the coaching staff, a three-match ban and a 30 ,000 fine for striking Danny Olmo in the face. And Gavi from Spain, a one-match ban and$30 ,000 fine. Frank is back with us. We do still have Stuart and Ale with us as well. Let me start with you, though, Stevie. Do these punishments fit what we've seen? Because I know for you, Roberto Ayala stands out. that's the only one I have a problem with you know Ayala is supposed to be setting a standard for the players the coaching staff have to set a standard and a culture for the team and so if your culture and the standard you're setting is you kind of come running off the bench and start attacking the opposition I mean that is scandalous for me I think that's what you can somewhat understand Paredes he's been playing in the game, he's just lost cup final No, the motions are all over the shop.

23:37But guess what? When you're a coach, you're on the side. You have to have a clear head. You're supposed to be the one that figures things out as they're happening, not get carried away, not get caught up in the motion of the game, because then you can't do your job, number one. And so you're supposed to set a standard for everybody else around you. And so the only one I have a problem was the coach, Ayala, not getting at least 10 games that Peretti's got, and probably should have been fired. Let's be honest. The Argentina FA should have fired them. You know they're not going to, but he should have been fired.