Havertz saves Arsenal, Roberto De Zerbi's first test at Spurs, Chelsea face Haaland's City: Big Weekend Preview 04/10/26

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

0:30Harlan scoring again for fun. And Tottenham, sweet Tottenham, blessed. One point above relegation, turning to Roberto De Zerbe. And I'm bursting with ideas. He arrived at a club that's not had many good ones recently. This is the big weekend preview. It's Rog in Augusta, Georgia. And to prepare for the weekend ahead, there's only one man fit for purpose. Oh, it's Harrogate. Mr. Rory Smith. Have you been out on the course, Rog? I've just got off the practice green. I don't like to make any bold proclamations, but the green jacket is mine. We've got a lot of football to get to raw, starting top of the table.

1:04Is it a rabbit or a duck? All or nothing, Mikel Arteta would say both kids. And when Kai Havertz, in the 91st minute, saved the day. In, honestly, a traditional conservative away day, a draw would have been fine for most teams, not for this Arsenal, with all that noise around them. Mikel Arteta declared his players would rediscover their identity. After back-to-back defeats against Manchester City at the Carabao and Championship Aspirant Southampton did them in the FA Cup Raw. For much of that game midweek, the identity seemed to be grinding, frustrated, impotent. I think the XG was 0.17 before the 91st minute and then Kai Havertz stepped up.

1:43First touch divine, second touch lethal. What is that goal to you? I mean, how do we understand it? Is it Bruce Springsteen saying, can't start a fire without a spark? Or is it a dying ember? it's kind of both and I think the key thing with Arsenal is that they don't need to be able to tell the difference at the moment it felt significant beyond that that Champions League quarterfinal first leg you know as you say a nil-nil draw is a good solid traditional European result it would have been absolutely fine for us business done right yeah to go back to the Emirates beat sporting there you don't need to win those away games a draw would have been enough but I think given the context, it just kind of gets Arsenal rolling again.

2:24It wasn't a great performance. It wasn't a kind of thrilling return to form. Or, you know, do you know what? Maybe it was. Maybe that is what Arsenal are at the moment, is a team that is grinding through the gears a little bit, that is slightly clunky, that isn't quite as smooth as they might be. But as long as they get the results they need, that is literally all that matters at this stage. I want to give huge thanks to Bank of America, official Bank of US Soccer and the FIFA World Cup 2026 for supporting the Men in Blazers media network. Discover what's possible in sports and in life. What would you like the power to do?

2:56Yeah, I think, honestly, a nil-nil draw with that level of frustration in the final third, I think they would have been murdered. I think the noise around them would have been, it would have stayed at 11 raw. But in respect, if this weekend they play We Live to Draw You Bournemouth, Saturday 7.30am Eastern Time on USA. Plucky, audacious, organised, rested Bournemouth. Forced Arsenal remember to come back to a 3-2 win. Pair of Declan Rice goals needed in the reverse fixture January 3rd. Actually, the Cherries' last defeat. And Bournemouth manager Andoni Irola at the Southampton game on Saturday to scout.

3:33He's got this Bournemouth side organised. They're difficult to break down. They're really a curiosity. No team has gone longer in the Premier League without tasting defeat. Cherries also haven't won in two months. They live to draw games. Five straight draws at Borussia Teeth in our YouTube, wrote in the comments, they will find you and they will draw with you. They're essentially comfortable slowing things down, staying engaged, waiting for moments. They don't force them. And for Arsenal, probably that's a little worrying because even when they're in Lisbon, finishing the game with 56 % of possession, they created so little.

4:06David Raya had to play transcendently down the stretch or else this narrative could have been very, very different. It's also April Raw, word that fills Arsenal fans with dread. We've seen Arsenal struggle all of this calendar year. They've been so dull, if we're being honest. Even many of their own fans find it hard to watch. But you wrote this in your newsletter, the MIB correspondent. You wrote, back-to-back defeats may have cast the word quadruple from everyone's dictionaries for another nine months, but Mikel Arteta's team's still on the cusp of glory. All they need to do over the next seven games is not be noticeably worse than City.

4:43Yeah, I think that's right. There's obviously a tendency to focus on what happens next Sunday, Rog, when Arsenal go to the Etihad for what feels the closest we're going to get to a title showdown this season. But ultimately that game won't be decisive necessarily because if Arsenal lose it and win their other six, they're still champions. They're not playing the rest of the season. They are playing their next seven games. That's all they have to think about in the league. And I agree with you. Bournemouth are, they're a weird opponent to try and wait, aren't they? Because as you say, they haven't lost for three months.

5:11They haven't won in two months. Admittedly, they've not really played for three weeks. They have more of a cutting edge than sporting, I think. They have ways of hurting teams with Ryan, who's kind of hit the ground running in the Premier League. Evan Nielsen is a really sort of quitsilver, smart striker. They've got goals from midfield. Ryan Christie may be one of the most underrated players in the league. And I mean that literally. He's not one of those underrated players who everyone says is underrated and therefore is just correctly rated. People don't talk about Ryan Christie enough. They can hurt you.

5:39They will give the Arsenal opportunities, Bournemouth. that will be the silver lining for Arteta. But this is going to be a real test of Arsenal's intestinal fortitude, I think Jim Ross used to call it. They're going to have to weather a little bit of a storm from Bournemouth. Bournemouth will come and play. They'll come and swing a punch. And if Arsenal can keep their nerve and win this game, then I think that maybe just settles all of that noise. That's what they need is a win in the Premier League. The poison in the tummy. Yeah, the poison in the tummy starts to dissipate. This is the antidote.

6:06There is only one antidote, Rog, and that's winning football matches. If Arsenal can get over this hurdle, suddenly you're nine points clear with six games to go. And that starts to look a bit like a mountain for Manchester City to climb. When you just said Manchester City-Arsenal next weekend, it's such a game for our era. We're just like epic fury, just like crazy, crazy bombast and wonder. We've been counting down the days. It's felt like it's over the valley, over the hill. It is upon us and I cannot wait. But we've got a game before it. Let's get a prediction. and what kind of game is this going to be?

6:40What will a score be, Rory Dormus? Nervous start for Arsenal, a sort of fractious, tetchy Emirates Stadium. Early Bournemouth goal, everybody sort of loses their minds a little bit. Everything looks like it's all falling apart. And then, because of that depth that Arsenal have, because of that grind set mentality, I think Arsenal eventually claw out a 3-1 win that doesn't feel at all comfortable and literally nobody involved enjoys. I believe it's going to be a tight game. I think the Golden War Cherries will have their moments. I think they'll make it feel bloody uncomfortable. Save of the season, casually littered in there by Raya.

7:15I do see Arsenal persevering. 2-1. Godspeed, Gunners. Go home, Rubberneckers. OK, across North London, talking about Rubberneckers, Raw. Tottenham Hotspur. Premier League equivalent, really one of those cat memes hanging from the tree poster. Hanging there. One point above relegation, seven games left. Parting company with that stoic Balkan ferryman, Igor Tudor, who had a, I think the word is traumatic, 44 days. Felt longer, felt shorter at the same time, oddly enough. But irrespective, lean just one point from five Premier League games. And that was against Liverpool, so I think it technically only counts as half at this point.

7:53Instead of going for something pragmatic, someone to get them over the line, get the job done, go entirely the other way. In comes, well, if he's a ferryman, he's kind of the cigarette boat driver of ferryman. Roberto De Zerbe. Third time. Lucky people. Manager. We know him as a man driven by ideas. Quasi-fundamentalist complexity. Needs time. Needs buy-in from players. That's how we believe about it on the surface, Roar. But time is the one thing Spurs don't have right now. Handed him a five-year deal too. No relegation clause. Roar, what should Spurs fans expect of the new manager bounce? Which direction will it come in?

8:30Will De Zerbe be a man of his principles? Will he be pragmatic? Yeah, De Zerbe might be a ferryman in like a pirate ship. I think that's kind of what, that's the vibe he's going for. He definitely drives one of those boats that the drug smugglers drive in movies, you know what I mean? You don't want to ask too many questions. He's going to, everyone pays the ferryman kind of ferryman. Whereas Edor Tudor was a ferryman in one of those giant swan pedalos that you don't go around a park in. God bless, he's like in a sunken canal barge that's like just submerged and a bit sad. It's a long time since you'll have seen Manchester Canals, Rog, but the choice of boat there generally is a shopping trolley.

9:07I genuinely think, I know I'm meant to be able to offer you some wisdom and some insight and some expertise, Rog, but I think what happens to Tottenham trying to stave off relegation under Roberto De Zerbe might be football's most unanswerable question. I have genuinely no idea. I think that in the situation they're in, appointing just the best manager they could get, is probably the right thing to do. I don't think there's any real evidence that getting a traditional kind of guy to keep us up, a Dyche, a Warnock, whoever it might be, I don't think that would have worked. As much as Michael Carrick has made it look quite easy, I'm not sure that giving the job to someone who used to play for Spurs would have been a great idea.

9:53De Zerbe knows what he's doing. He is a high-caliber coach. DeAndre Yedlin. DeAndre Yedlin understands the DNA of Spurs. I mean, you should know the answer to this question, Rog. Why has Clint Dempsey not stepped up to save them? What's wrong with that man? That would be unbelievable. The team talk before the game involving the word dog in Christian Romero's face would be worth the price of admission. Keep coming with these good ideas. But essentially, the Zerbe is like, you know you're going to be in a bar fight. You get to choose one person to walk into that bar with. You're fighting like a whole gang who have chains, knuckle dusters, baseball bats, and you go, you know what?

10:29I'm going to choose the world's greatest breakdancer to see how it goes I want the guy who can do the Rubik's Cube really fast I want the guy who can just do the worm you know what I mean just like wow the great unknown is in this situation does Roberto Dezerbi spend the two weeks he's had since his appointment has he spent that drilling these players who are shorn of confidence shattered belief shattered dreams has he spent all that time drilling them in really complex pressing patterns Is he going to do the full Deserby? Never go full Deserby? Yeah, I think at least a week of that, he's been on it with the manscaper just precision shaping his sculpting his sideburns.

11:10Or is he going to... Does he do like a diluted version? Does he do a little bit of the Deserby principles for the next seven games and say, look, we'll get to the summer, let's make sure we're in the Premier League, and then the revolution starts. Has he learnt from his experience at Brighton? Has he learnt from his experience at Marseille? And I cannot wait to find out because that is the question that ultimately will decide whether, and this is a mad sentence to say, Tottenham Hotspur are in the championship next season. That is what's at stake. I think if De Zerbe can just water it down a little bit for seven games, they'll be fine.

11:43If he tries to go full De Zerbe, that's when I'm sure it'll kick in by game five, game six, but games one to four might be a real problem.

11:54you get such terrible chafing kids when you go full deserving it has been i mean you're right we don't know and i've been trying to decode everything he said since his arrival his first comments were spurs is the biggest challenge of his career which is honest you know the team have not won in over 100 days and true um he was asked about his tactical philosophy his answer was great i don't think it's the right moment to speak about my philosophy in football i'm here now at the end of the season we have to win games in a football style of play. Tactical disposition are important but it's mentality.

12:28I mean that is I mean he's hedging. He's hedging. He's probably hedging too kids but Raw this is a club that for months has looked like it's got no real identity and now they're betting on you know importing one almost instantly. This is a donor organ that could either take or could be rejected by the host body. We have to wait till Sunday 9am Eastern Time on USA when they go up to Sunderland 11th place, Sunderland. Stadium alight. We've seen early glimpses of Deserby on the training ground. It's talking about fundamentals, installing something quickly. Spurs fans starting to feel a little bit of optimism.

13:00Kids listening. Get a tattoo of this word, I'm going to tell you. Hope. It's always a trap. But Raw, on paper, there is talent there. Despite the, what is it, 10 injuries. Devastating news. Mohamed Koudis, who's been on the cusp of a return forever. He was going to save the Spurs. No, quad injury got worse. he's going to be having a procedure could be out till the end of the season Sunderland arrive with all the vibes and post-match photos that come from a derby win over Newcastle is his name now St. Brian Broby at this point delivering the forever memory goal, they're organised they stay in games, they're never out of matches, but something Spurs have lacked all season is what they have, clarity we had Reji Labris on our show a few months ago talking about how he built this collective identity The link is in the show notes.

13:48I think he's truly a fascinating man. But, Rourke, when you look at this Spurs side, trying to install something new, trying to walk into that bar, ready for the fight, how do they manage this game? And at this point, would a draw actually be a win? Yeah, the worry, I think, is that we can talk about managers and styles of play and identities and all that stuff. Ultimately, Sunderland do kind of have the weapons to hurt Spurs. They can be very direct. They are good at set pieces. They're really solid. they don't give chances away easily and all of that will really play on Spurs' mind because ultimately Spurs need the points more than Sunderland do Sunderland are safe, Sunderland are going nowhere they have in the last couple of months they've kind of hit a wall and their form since that brilliant blistering start their form is kind of what you'd expect Sunderland's to be they're kind of tracking 17th, 18th in the league since those first couple of months but that doesn't matter because they don't need the points they are playing with the pressure off all they want to do really now is probably finish above Newcastle and you are facing a team that is going through a permanent existential crisis and facing the potential of the most embarrassing relegation in Premier League history so all of that stuff Spurs have to deal with and in those circumstances I think a point would be pretty good it's a tough away game, it gets De Zerbi off the board it means that they've come through one challenge, you're building a bit of momentum I have a suspicion that De Zerbe will get a little bit more.

15:14I think that there might be a fairly immediate impact to having a coach who is not Thomas Frank or Ed or Tudor. I got a feel for Spurs fans. I've been there. Everton, you know, take it from me. Not losing is winning. I do think there's a version of this where the clarity De Zerbe brings gives them a lift. I actually think they will. He brings a sense of fear and accountability. Something Spurs need so bad from the squad right now, a sense of responsibility collectively. It's going to be much more open, though, than is probably humanly bearable for the Tottenham fans that I know. But I do believe the Zerbe will deliver 3-2.

15:50A win that will be like a giant finger over the mouth to silence the Bain crowd. Nothing to see here. Three points. Let's move on. What do you see, Ro? Similar. I think it will be a seesaw of a game that spurs just about shade. I think a 2-1 win. and suddenly all of that pressure will just start to dissipate. Right, it's time for our favourite segment, the big weekend quiz, oh quizzes. With Tottenham entering yet another management era, I want you to blind rank seven Spurs managers. I'm going to feed them to you one at a time. A bit like Spurs fans have had to experience. Once you play some, no takesie-backsies.

16:30Are we ready for this? Just about. Let's see if I can do better than I did with Arsenal signings. Let's start with one of the greats. Ange Bostokoglu. years ago. Yeah, that was in another lifetime, Roger. And just harder place. That's a tough start because he did win the Europa League but they did finish 17th in the league and he was constantly on the verge of the sack. I'm going to say third. Makes him one of the greats. Incoming. Jose Mourinho. Spurs Mourinho. Spurs Mourinho. Okay, yeah. I mean, the name fools you but Spurs Mourinho basically didn't achieve anything and was a colossal waste of money so I'm going to say fifth.

17:05Coming in hot with Harry Redknapp. Yeah, OK, this is tricky. Redknapp was a good Spurs manager. He's a bit of a laughingstock now, unfairly, I think. But he got them into the Champions League, built a genuinely good side. Redknapp second. Andre Villas-Boas, the second coming off. The boy king, Andre Villas-Boas, the sort of mini Mourinho who turned out to be the anti-Mourinho. I was at the game, I think, where he got sacked, in which humiliatingly John Flanagan scored for Liverpool. That didn't happen very often. So I'm going to say sixth for Villas-Boas. Now we're in deep. Mauricio Pochettino goat this is the it's the original sin for Tottenham for modern Tottenham is sacking Pochettino after six bad months after he completely transformed the club so I'm going to put Pochettino very easily in at number one Rog going in hot Antonio Conte Conte some brilliant press conferences you've got to you've got to remember they've got to factor in the press conferences Rog Antonio Conte would reliably unload on his employers at the slightest opportunity so I'm going to say fourth and to close I'm going to fling you.

18:061961 double winner. Yes, that happened Spurs fans. The iconic Bill Nicholson. Yeah, but anything that happened before 1992 is completely irrelevant. So Bill Nicholson, definitely the greatest manager in Spurs' history, seventh. Yeah, he wouldn't know how to manage now in modern football. This wouldn't work. That feels very much like a cynical trap that you've set for me, Rog, which I don't appreciate. And you and Antonio Conte would say, with radical honesty, you are right. but we're really saving that first spot for Roberto De Zerbi, right, Ro? De Zerbi will fall somewhere on the Pochettino to Nicholson axis that we have established today, Rod.

18:40Yes, he will fall somewhere between those two things. My instinct is that he's likely to be closer to Posta Codlu than he is to Villas-Boas. With good grace, I did spare you Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor. We'll turn our attention to Stamford Bridge. Chelsea, fresh off a seven-goal joyride against League One cellar-dwellers Port Vale. Liam Rossini running up to score like some kind of English Steve Spurrier. It will not be easy because this week, Chelsea, welcome. Manchester City, Sunday, 11.30 a.m. Eastern Time on USA. City, oh, that bare bottom spanking a Liverpool in the FA Cup, their 18th win in a row at home in that competition, breaking 145-year-old record set by, you know who, you're shouting at this podcast radio, Clapham Rovers.

19:24Where are they now? Yeah. Chelsea, bad the sugar high of smashing in the port veil. but this is now back to the heavyweight clash. The last time Chelsea beat Manchester City. Do you know when that was, Ru? Oh, do you know what? I don't off the top of my head. No, when was it? 2021 Champions League final. You're saying, oh my God, that was so long ago. Everyone knew them as Christian Pulisic's Chelsea, right? The Chelsea of Kai Havertz. That dates it. Oh my God, the self-loathing. If that and an identity crisis in the modern period is not enough to worry a Chelsea fan in this game, we've got Harland snapping out of his cryogenic chamber, back to scoring mighty hat-trick hero goals.

20:0433 goals all comps this season. His latest iOS has finally been installed. And when he's thunderous, Manchester City feels so much more imperious. You look at these two sides, one still asking questions of themselves, the other answering them at the right time, possibly Carabao in the pocket, FA Cup semi-final loading, embers of a sidle chase, still cherry red and threatening to crackle back to life. Raw, is it possible to make the case for Chelsea here? It kind of is, yeah. I was at the Etihad for the Damien Aits Liverpool last weekend and one thing that did strike me is that City looked like a team that's just much further ahead in their transition than Liverpool are.

20:44And then this week they're playing a team that exists in a permanent state of transition. But then it shouldn't be ignored that Chelsea do have some high-quality players. They do have match winners. they do have, even without Enzo Fernandes, who's still serving that sort of self-inflicted suspension, they do still have the ability to cause elite teams problems. And we shouldn't really forget that City, as much as they were fantastic against Liverpool, against quite a pliant Liverpool, they haven't looked like that all season. They're not entirely reliable themselves. So it is possible that if Chelsea have had their bad run spiked by that win against Port Vale, they are at home, they are chasing Champions League, they do need the points it's possible that Chelsea can do Arsenal a favour I'm not massively hopeful for it but City I'm pretty sure won't be taking it lightly this is still a big game it's maybe not quite as big as Chelsea would like it to be but it's still a real challenge for City This game can go one of two ways for me City can actually flatline and remind us that they are not the city of our imagination they're still a work in progress themselves or Chelsea just revert to the mean because they're not facing a lower league duffer These are essentially two powerful forces of narrative colliding.

21:55And I'm going to go City. We'll do Chelsea, what Chelsea did to Port Vale. I see this is a Cherkin Semenya-inspired romp 5-1. Roar, can we get a scoreline? Yeah, I think it will be a City win, but maybe not quite as infatted. I've gone for 3-1 just to keep the pressure on Arsenal.

22:12Roar, it's time for my favourite other segment that is not terribly formulated. Blind rankings, I mean, just really. it's a trap one more big thing what matchup are you looking at this weekend? Looking at rather than looking forward to Liverpool 1 Fulham 1 Rog is what I want to highlight Liverpool are I mean from a narrative perspective the gift that keeps on giving not humiliated against PSG in the week but the formation shift felt like a confession of weakness and admission of surrender even before they kicked a ball really hard to see them going through in the Champions League they desperately need to qualify for the Champions League next season and hope they can be a little bit better in it.

22:52If they don't beat Fulham, I think that starts to look extremely difficult given the fixtures they've got coming up. They'll need to win, I think, for Arna Slott to try and salvage anything at all from what has been a very disappointing season. It's been an amazing season. 17 defeats on the season. Very close to your own record and 19, Roar. History can be yours, Arna. Sad news, to be candid, about Andy Robertson. We're leaving at the end of the season. I think another dent to the heart of a fan base who are reeling. How did this happen to us so quickly? I actually watched Liverpool in the PSG game.

23:24Roar, I think I texted you this. I was cheering for Liverpool for the first time ever. I wanted them to win, get that extra Champions League slot for the Premier League by winning the trophy. Obviously for Everton to take. Allay, allay, allay. It sounds so good out of my mouth. And then, zero shots on goal affair. I think I texted you and said, is it always this crap routine for Liverpool? There are highs and lows, Rog. There are highs and lows, as there should be. It was a funny game to watch because you kind of went into it knowing that Liverpool didn't really have a hope. And you realised that what Slott did was quite pragmatic.

23:53It was probably the sensible play to just sort of limit the damage. But at the same time, it did feel a little bit un-Liverpool, if I'm honest. Just to see in the year between the games against PSG, to see how that gap that already existed has become a chasm. That's really not a great advert for keeping Slott in his position. Yeah, I mean, it's fascinating about very un-Liverpool in the most profound way. Stevie Gerrard last week talking about how annoyed he was to hear the players say that they lost their fight and that they gave up against Manchester City. He said at Liverpool Football Club, that can't happen on the pitch.

24:26Certainly can't be said off the pitch. That's fascinating. The whole movie between those two can be shot. But he is right, Rourke. It's not just Liverpool, the football club. The City of Liverpool is built on those qualities of fight and never giving up in many ways. Yeah, it is. It's very much part of how of how the club sees itself and how the City sees itself, I think. The fact that it's a repeated admission, that's the problem. If it was a one-off, if they'd just kind of lost heart against City and written it off, I think fans would accept it does happen occasionally. The fact that Virgil van Dijk and increasingly Dominic Sobberzlai seem to give that interview after every single game, that's a real problem.