Arsenal Feel the Pressure, Liverpool Search for Answers, and Carrick Faces Another Test: Big Weekend Preview 01/30/26

0:00You're listening to the Men in Blazers Media Network Suboptimal Radio.

0:11How do Arsenal Football Club respond to the deep-seated apprehension that's kicked in after just two points in their last nine in that long, aspirational crying to glory? How do defending champion Liverpool rebound for the end of their unheralded, unvaunted, Ertzat's draw-filled 13-game unbeaten streak? Can Tottenham Hotspur face up to Manchester City and repress their inabatiness for at least one weekend. These are all cosmic questions about the uncontrollable aspects of human existence. Our own meaning, purpose and mortality played out deliciously through football. This is Big Weekend Preview, where we answer these profound queries and make score predictions like this one.

0:53About week 24 of your Premier League Rumble, it's a joy to see my old mate Rory Smith. A up! How are you doing? A traditional Yorkshire greeting, Rog. I like that. How are you doing? I've been working on my Yorkshire as a foreign language rule. You're still too enthusiastic. The key to all Yorkshire speakers do not be enthusiastic about stuff. Yeah, the only phrase I've got on my Yorkshire textbook is we're all going to die. So let's dive right in. Let's start at the very top. League leading Arsenal, head north of the wall. Two leads United in Yorkshire, Saturday 10am Eastern Time on USA. Raw, Arsenal, four point lead, chasing four trophies.

1:27Perfect in the Champions League, but just two points out the last nine. Mikel Arteta spent the week trying to get everyone to chill the F out. Like, there's head loss. I always find in those moments, just saying, relax, stop panicking, will you? Enjoy. It's pretty tough. But what are they panicking about, Roar? Because it's not like Manchester City are the savage hunters of our imagination. They're afraid of ghosts. That's basically what's happening to Arsenal. They are afraid of ghosts. They have recent memories of being in really strong positions in the Premier League title race and not ending up with a big shiny trophy at the end.

2:04And even though I think in their conscious brains, Arsenal fans know it is falling their way, that there is no real reason to be afraid of City. Maybe a little bit of a reason to be afraid of Villa. There's no one who should be able to stop them winning the title. They have three years of bad experiences to draw on and so all they see is peril. And when you have nothing to worry about, the only fear is fear of the self. I mean, essentially, listening to you, the Gunners, got to prove they understand what Friedrich Nietzsche, probably an Arsenal fan back in the day, said when he said, the worst enemy you can meet will always be...

2:41Oh, complete that sentence. Will always be Leeds United, I would have said. But yes, yourself. Nietzsche said Liverpool Football Club. Do you remember the Mr. Men books, Rog? Did I? I live by them. I've read them to both my kids and they are deeply weird. But Mr. Worry, Rog, the story of Mr. Worry is that they show him, the other Mr. Men show him there's nothing to worry about. And how does it end? He gets worried about having nothing to worry about. That is a truth. There is an element of Arsenal, I think, knowing that it should be theirs. And that, I'm being slightly glib, but that does create a pressure, doesn't it?

3:19The fact that this is your glaring opportunity. If you blow it, you will never get a better one. There is genuine, sincere pressure there, I think. Yeah, I'd love the notion that Arteta's going to the locker room just handing Victor Jokeres Mr. Happy and just being, Le! Be Mr. Happy! Just stop freaking the EF out, OK? Look, I was up at 4.30 this morning to discuss all of these themes with Martin Odegaard, whose message, and his very own message, was about attempting to stay in the moment, enjoy the experience, remind yourself that what you're doing should be a joy. I said to him it's applicable about life as well as football but number one I said to him you're a human like you do feel things and I you know I thought a lot about it since this interview I think comes out on Tuesday well let me ask you is football really fun modern football rule the pressure the ever kind of impending pile up of doom and criticism your own fans booing you the The global sense, essentially, of just a constant friction of schadenfreude about to pile upon you that you can never quite shake.

4:27The word bottler in itself, the B word, shall we call it, that's the mental battle that Arsenal are engaged with. Is football fun is a great question. I mean, obviously, you can't pretend it's a difficult job compared to actual difficult jobs. We should be clear on that. That the pressure they're under is a sort of artificial pressure to succeed. It's not pressure to feed their families. But I have the same thought as you, Rog. Like, I don't know whether, if you look at Thomas Frank. Do you remember Thomas Frank at Brentford? Was that... Light-hearted. Ten years ago. Thomas Frank at Brentford was this sort of wondrously wise, warm, light-hearted figure with incredibly lustrous hair.

5:11That man, and I say this with sympathy, now looks like the before in a Head and Shoulders advert. He looks like he needs some sort of protein-based product on his hair to restore its natural shine. He has aged about 10 years. Thomas Frank's not having a nice time. I don't know if many managers are having nice times. I think players on the pitch, they probably are having fun when they are in the middle of a game. They are enjoying what they're doing. But you have to remember, it is their job. It is work to them. There is a pressure that comes with it, a stress that comes with it. and I suppose maybe that's exacerbated when your work is trying to fulfill your childhood dreams.

5:49That's probably quite tricky as well. Yeah, God, the point you just made reminds me that I've asked two managers in my lifetime whether they like their job or what they like about their job. One was Pep and one was Arteta and they both kind of shouted at me unconvincingly, yes, I like it! And I was just like, what? Do you really? I mean, I was like, what do you like? I like it! I was like, I'm not good. I don't know. No more follow-ups, sir. But, you know, I am old enough to remember happier days, Roar, when Arsenal crushed Aston Villa 4-1 and everything felt amazing, Hathaway-esque, and the title felt over.

6:29Roar, that was just 30 days ago and so much has changed. Here's the crazy catch 22. I actually talked to Erdogan about this this morning. There's a football wisdom amongst players, particularly players who are podcasters, where they say only those who've won a title know exactly how to manage a title run. But until you win a title, you don't have that experience. It's almost like just an eternal catch-22 that is being flung at Arsenal. How do you break that conundrum? I think it's relevant. I think in the situation Arsenal are in, what you would ideally want is a couple of people in that squad who have experience of winning championships.

7:09I don't think it matters necessarily that Arsenal, that the whole squad hasn't won it. There is an element of football being very proof-driven. You can't be a winner until you've been a winner. That is a kind of conundrum that football puts itself in. But I think in the situation Arsenal are in, where they were clear, they could have gone further clear, and they've just stuttered a little bit over the last couple of weeks, you'd really appreciate having a couple of people there who could just say, look, this happens. Winning championships is hard. We knew this was coming. We don't need to panic.

7:39I wish everyone would stop using the word panic. But at Arsenal, it's Gabriel Jesus, Piero Hincapier, a couple more. Odegaard was kind of at Real Madrid when they won a lead, but he wasn't a major player. There isn't that figure, those two figures in that squad who might be able to kind of just set the tone a little bit. And I think that is a shortcoming. Arsenal's squad depth is ridiculous. But if there's one shortcoming, it's just that lack of winning experience. Oh, they should sign Scott Carson. Oh, they should sign Scott Carson and teach them a load of lessons. Lads, I've seen it all before.

8:15And by seen, I mean like I've watched a lot of it. But it is essentially for Arsenal and their fans, that old quote, your greatest enemy is your own self-doubt, which I think was said by Marcus Aurelius. Sounds like, come to think of it, a good number nine that the Nottingham Forest would sign. This game, Gunner Allen Road, not for the faint-hearted. Roar, what kind of game do we expect? I mean, this can't be a Jokeres start, can it? A single goal in his last 11 Premier League starts. Dude, ultimately, in the face of Leeds fans, he'll feel they're like wildings, I tell you. How do you expect them to respond against a Daniel Fartleeds who've been on a life-affirming one loss in 10-game run?

8:57Spoiler alert it all, and tell us the score, Rory Darmus. It's difficult, this is a really tricky game for Arsenal because Ellen Road is one of the two or three best atmospheres in the Premier League at the moment. They will be up for it at Leeds, they are a good team, they can hurt you, crucially they're big and strong, they're not that susceptible to set pieces, which does potentially blunt one of Arsenal's main weapons. I think Arsenal will have enough, but it will be a stressful afternoon. I've gone for Leeds 1, Arsenal 3, but I don't expect it to be 3-0 and Leeds get a late consolation. I think it's tight and then Arsenal maybe just pull away and reassert the fact that they are, by some distance, the best team in the country.

9:36I've seen that game before. I think Trossard and then Martinelli late on kill off the game. I honestly do draw strength from the fact that Arsenal have not lost against Leeds in their last 15 games. I don't believe it will change. Arsenal win 2-1. Jokeres comes alive late. At least briefly.

9:57OK, on to the next big question of the day. Liverpool Football Club, Roar, take no pleasure in this. You're defending champion, sixth place, two points below the top four. Just conceded that stoppage time winner, their third of the season, last weekend against Bournemouth. And this is a narrative-filled rumble. The invading force of Newcastle. The Visigoths arrive Saturday 3pm Eastern Time on NBC proper for the Alexander-Ezac Memorial Derby. A reminder, Liverpool won the$172 million battle but lost the war. Your defending champions haven't won a Premier League game in 2026. I think it's the first time since 1954 that they fail to win any of the opening six league games.

10:42and what shocks me Raw look they're ponderous in possession we've talked about it no frimpong out for a few weeks now of a muscle injury they'll be even slower but I gotta say watching on a slot he's not making it any easier on himself I listened to him qualify for the Champions League which is an achievement man midweek and he felt the need to and his press conference point out that two seasons ago Liverpool were getting knocked out of the Europa League to Atalanta he just he doesn't sound like he's coming from a confident place right now. Yeah, he's been quite punchy for the last two weeks or so in press conferences.

11:18And I can understand the motivation because Arna Slaught has had a lot of criticism, most of it unfair, for the last, well, to be honest, for most of this campaign. He's been criticised roundly by pundits, by former players, by fans, by journalists, by everybody. And I think it's okay that he wants to put his side of the story, that he maybe wants to reassert what he has done at Liverpool. There was a comment a couple of weeks ago where he said that Liverpool have won the title twice in 30 years. Not twice in five years, twice in 30. That felt pointed. There was a comment about Atalanta, as you say, after beating Carabag.

11:52I think he's sticking up for himself. I don't know how wise it is. And they're driving it is what, would you imagine? Do you think it's just general criticism or dot, dot, dot? I wonder if it's kind of a sense that he isn't entirely happy, that he is being held entirely responsible. for what's happened to Liverpool this season. I think that is a fair point. It's not just his fault. I think the people who run recruitment have to answer questions or should have to answer questions as well. But more, I think it slots pride saying, look, I won the league title eight months ago. How about we all show a little bit of patience and gratitude and fellow feeling rather than this kind of all-encompassing fury that's around Liverpool now?

12:35To the game itself, Isak obviously out with the leg fracture, but the bruised memory of his leaving. I think we'll loom over this, give a little bit of spite for the Toon Faith, a little bit of a grudge undertone. Newcastle have got striking problems of their own. Nick Valtemada, German Yao Ming, not scored in his last 10 games. Johan Wieser inherited the starting role. The Magpies could go above Liverpool on goal difference with the win. They are hard running. They're also blunt, playing against leaden-footed Liverpool? How's it going to go down? Well, to be honest, I wondered whether Liverpool might have had a little bit of good fortune for maybe the first time this season because Newcastle are in the middle of a hellish run in terms of just their workload.

13:20So they obviously, they played PSG in the Champions League on Wednesday night, got a really creditable 1-1 draw. They've got the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final after this game. They've played, I think, nine games in January. They have a really intense style. they have a relatively small squad my hope was that they'd maybe go to Anfield at just the right time for Liverpool that maybe Fatigue would catch up with Newcastle a little bit it might blunt that intensity that speed that they have and then Eddie Howe started in Paris without Anthony Gordon or Harvey Barnes and brought them both on so I think what happens is what has happened to Liverpool a million times already this season where they have lots and lots of possession they create 3-4 not very good chances and they get caught again and again and again at set pieces and on the counter attack and they lose 3-1 This is going to look like swimmers just running long distance laps against one kind of slow synchronised swimmer in the end and they're just crashing into each other I do know Newcastle have won just twice in 11 away games their road form has been terrible I think this will continue Liverpool will come up with a late goal this weekend they will be the one who knocks I think it'll be 2-2.

14:28Quick word, I cannot wait to head to San Francisco, you beautiful human beings, to see so many of you for our Super Bowl sold-out show. Next Wednesday night, it's going to be, I think, an all-timer, Billy Joe Armstrong of Green Day, and our old friend, the mighty Andrew Luck, are among the guests, both humans who are proper football. And breaking news, Houston, Texas, March 4th, will be rocketing into Space City to imbibe your soul, your passion, and as many fajitas as this body will possibly humanly allow for the World Cup Countdown Show. 99 days out live. Why? Because the star is J.J. Watt, the man who invented the number 99, presented by our good friends at Bank of America, official Bank of U.S.

15:15Soccer, and the FIFA World Cup 2026. The show is at the breathtaking Rice University, Brockman Hall, best rice since Declan. tickets are on sale now link below come be with us as we celebrate this once in a generation moment where the entire world will arrive on your Texas size football loving doorstep I cannot wait to see you there and Raw I cannot wait also to see Manchester United let's talk about them with love they welcome Fulham Sunday 9am Eastern Time on Peacock aka the weekend we see for the first time how far an interim to the interim bounce truly goes Michael Carrick 2.0 United, magnificent, just coming back into action with two recently good vibe, pure energy wins.

16:02But this one, different Raw. Yeah, being Pep, being Arteta back-to-back has been utterly dizzying, delirious. But Fulham, eh, a clenched fist test in her own right. But Raw, aren't they the first opponent Michael Carrick is actually expected to beat? Yeah, there's two things with this game that make it fascinating. One is that for the first time in Michael Carrick's long reign, he's under pressure. He's expected to win. It's the sort of game that has tripped Manchester United up for years and years and years. You know, home games that Old Trafford thinks are, if not gimmies, then would certainly see as embarrassment if United failed to win.

16:35That's what the problem has always been. Their record against Manchester City, whoever has been manager, isn't that bad. Their record against the top six, you know, the big six, not that bad. No matter how low they finish in the lead, they're OK against bigger teams. It's the combative mid-table sides that throw them. And it's a really significant test for Carrick if he can pass it. The other problem is tactical. Because what they did to Arsenal, what they did to Manchester City, was lie in wait and hit them on the counter-attack with Bruno Fernandes orchestrating and Ahmad Diallo and Patrick Dordi kind of bombing forward.

17:12Fulham won't let them do that. So it's a test of Carrick. Have you got something else? Have you got another way of beating a team? I think he will do. I think United will win. But this is an important game for him. This may be more than either of the other two is what will kind of define his tenure, these sorts of games. But you talk about tactics. I found it really interesting listening to Lissando Martinez this week talking about, he was asked, what has Michael Carrick done differently? And he talked, yeah, about energy, communication, talked about trusting the players. And then he said something beautiful.

17:39He said, for me, when you touch my heart, I will give everything for you. and Michael Carrick's touched it already. You can see that on the field. Roar, this is football. We make it sound complicated. You know, tactics, data, format. Sometimes it's just simple heart-touching. No, but quite what Michael Carrick's done to Lissandra Martinez's heart, I don't know. I can't speak to that at all. It's beautiful. Let us imagine we know because I love love. But you are totally right, Rog. The Premier League particularly, but all football, all sport, is fine margins. it's tiny advantages and that could be in data it could be in fitness it could be in tactics but it can also be having something to believe in it could be emotion it could be purpose a sense of determination and if Carrick has given United that then that isn't a pretend thing it's intangible but it means something and it will help it won't help as much as only playing once a week but it will still help and I think that the impact he's had on the players is clearly really striking.

18:45And that's a really encouraging sign for United. By the way, love is possibly the only thing that's even deeper than Arsenal's squad rule. Let's remember that. But Fulham have lost just once in their last eight games. Can we get a smell of the game and the final score? I think it'll be edgier and more worrying and more fraught than United's games against Arsenal City. Because like we say, there is expectation now. They are not going into it with a sort of free hit. I think it's a test they pass. They maybe won't pass it with flying colours. They maybe won't sweep them aside 5-0. I think they edge it 2-1, but they have to work for it.

19:21No haircuts, United fans. I do. Marco Silva, such a savvy tactician. He will have watched these last two games. He'll understand the weaknesses of United and work out to pick apart their need to attack, attack, attack. Fulham win 2-1.

19:39OK, it's time to wrap this up with a feature we love called One More Big Thing. Needs a new name, Rob. But what are you looking forward to outside of what we've already nattered about in this big weekend ahead? Well, there's the Premier League's newest derby, Rog. Nottingham Forest against Crystal Palace. The who-should-be-in-the-Europa-League derby. And I think you can make the case that there'll be a real spike to this game because you can make the case that it was Nottingham Forest's successful application to get Palace thrown out of the Europa League that kick-started what we can now see as the demise of English football's fairy tale.

20:14That is the first bad thing that happened. It was the moment that everything falling for Palace, that everything that they touched turned into gold stopped. From there, you get to Eze going, Gay going, Oliver Glasner deciding he wants to go. Jean-Philippe Mateta is out of the Palace squad for this game. He's going to go as well. Head's not right. Head's not right. That might mean that he goes as well. Everything is falling apart for Palace and it all traces back to not being in the Europa League. So there will be real spite behind what was, less than a year ago, almost the definition of just another Premier League game.

20:49This one now really matters. Poor Crystal Palace. My God, I corresponded with Rebecca Lowe this week and she said, you know, it's painful. But my God, that one glorious day at Wembley, which will carry with her forever. I feel every 90 minutes with Palace is like watching the Hunters kill Bambi's mum over and over again on the loop. And I won't stand for it. Mateta, by the way, poised reportedly to fulfil his childhood dream of moving to Milan to play alongside Christian Pulisic, which he dreamt about as a kid. Both of those things. For me, obviously can't wait to watch my beautiful, beautiful Everton.

21:26Gutting news there too. Jack Grealish expected to be out for the rest of the season. and Everton announced he'll require surgery on his foot, a really sad end to his World Cup outside dreams. I just say it's hard to describe the fun, the joy, the ebullience, the disbelief we had. Watching Jack wear our shirt in our new home, we'll never forget that may rise again in any way possible. But now, with Tieno Barry's team roar, 23-year-old striker, netted his fourth goal in five games to salvage a point against Leeds last Monday. Every time he scores raw, few seem more surprised, relieved, elated than the player himself.

22:06He's one of those guys. But that makes it so hard not to feel happy for him because he's had a tough six months. David Moyes said, I think to you, that it would take time. He was a work in progress. He's getting there. Yeah, I thought he asked him live on stage. Tiena Berry had been signed that day. I said, tell us about our new$37 million arrival from Villarreal. David Moyes was on stage and everyone was just like, yeah, well, you get what you pay for. and$37 million is not that much money for striking nowadays. Look, he's young, he's raw, shouldn't have been forced to lead the line that early, be thrust into the crucible of pressure and expectation.

22:40He was. We had no options. You're right, it's his tenacity above all that I really, really admire. It's like seeing what we did to him, it's like taking a really good vintage wine that you're meant to lay down, but nope, we're like, well, open it now. Even though it's very young, let's do it now. I love watching him. Keep watching the Lukaku highlights on YouTube, my friend. We face Brighton this weekend, Saturday 10 a.m. Eastern Time on Peacock. A Brighton in a rut of just one win out of ten. They've not beaten us at home since 2019. History beckons then. Seagulls 3-1. Raw, we're about to spoiler alert the entire weekend by posting our score predictions together.

23:19Yours, of course, are guaranteed to be right. Before we do, I do want to just say I've spent the whole week signing book plates, posters, taping video messages for all of you incredible humans who pre-ordered my World Cup book. Go to the link in our notes, upload the receipt, and I'll mail you some goodies with my love and my thanks. One Spurs fan brought 300 books this week, and I now owe him like 30 video messages. I essentially work for him now, Roar. Anyway, here's our prediction. Spoilers, people! Paul, there they are, Roel. Which one surprises you the most here? Well, I'm in good form with predictions, Rog.

23:57I accurately predicted on television in Britain this week that Benfica would beat Real Madrid, and they did. I didn't get the bit about the goalie scoring. So it doesn't matter then, Roel. You saw nothing. You saw nothing. You got it wrong. You didn't know the goalie was going to score. You were useless. I had a friend whose dad would just argue for no reason. like he'd march into the room if you're sitting there playing Xbox and he'd just say, you think satsumas and tangerines are the same thing, don't you? But you'd be wrong. And then he'd walk out and he's just like, what? That's me. Just then to you, you king.

24:32Go ahead. Rog, to be fair, in Britain now, I don't know if this is the case in the States, we have abolished the difference between satsumas and tangerines. They are now all known as easy peelers. Is that true? He's dead now then. I can't win that argument. Go on. I think that there will be a little bit of a shock and I think you might as well at Spurs Man City I think City's record at Spurs is really weirdly bad they're not playing brilliantly they won in the week against Aletazeray again didn't look fantastic in doing it and I think Thomas Frank is in survival mode now I can see Spurs taking a point I can't believe I predicted it either Tottenham 2, Manchester City 1 for me the Tottenham of the Champions League fleetingly replaced Tottenham of the Premier League.

25:18I do love how bad the dissonance has been that Tottenham's own fans are laughing their team will be the first championship team to wear a Champions League star above their badge in the second tier. But save a glory this weekend, you lily-white. And viewers, tell us your scores in the comments. Tell us what we got right. Tell us what we got wrong. Tell us, but you'd be wrong! And raw, oh, thank you. It's been a pleasure, Rog. An easy peeler of a podcast. God bless. But you'd be wrong. These are times of challenge. I do send you all. We all do. Our love, our wishes for strength. I hope we touch your heart in a slightly curriculum way.