2026-27 Season Predictions (and Konsa Signs)

28:49And that's building a platform for just continued assaults on the Champions League where we've really solidified who we are, our identity as the dominant Premier League team that buys us the capacity to focus on the Champions League in parallel. Yep, yeah. Elliot, can you change mine to win us, please, for Champions League? I'm not having this crap, mate. We can't be talking about having generational players and generational manager and then not shooting for the stars. Jesus, that's putting it up to us. We need to get older. Oh, I think we're trying to win it. I just can't predict us to do it.

29:26You're right about the draw and you're right about everything. Elliot, can you change your mind to winners as well? No. Again. I'm fecking outmaneuvered here by Clive. No. I'm with Paul's original point though here. And if you look at some of our Premier League results last season, we didn't beat Man City. We didn't beat Liverpool. You know, we had a draw away at Chelsea, 10 men. We lost at home to United. We lost at home to United. Yeah. I think we're more of a grinding team at the moment. at a very, very high level. But yeah, I think if we run into a PSG or a Bayern, I think we need that kind of special attacker.

30:08Can I counter that slightly? I wish you would. He wants to downgrade his Champions League quarterfinal, Clive. I'll put you down for quarterfinal.

30:19I just don't think we had all of our attackers available, the ones that we have. I just don't think we did. And Martin Odegaard taught me a lesson last week on how good he can be you know and and it's just you just can't reach the levels of attack without your three best attackers you know that's the truth right attacking properly making sure they take responsibility for the attack you know and i think that's where our development is if you add in the guy you brought on left-hand side we don't know what it's going to end up like after 15 games but if you were to get another wide lefty fine but if we don't i still feel the overall change in attitude will get us a little bit more than what we had you know so yeah that's where i am that's why i want to say the only problem for that one big game it means with you and i'm with you right i see it the same way if we have all those attackers together firing but then you need all All of those attackers, their firing fit in the Champions League final, which was really what our problem was.

31:23And that's why having Vinny Jr., whoever it is. I'll say this. I think given that Saliba is going to be out till probably December-ish and given that Timber is going to be out for a bit, maybe we have a slightly less dominant league phase in the Champions League setting us up for a slightly more challenging knockout phase. And that is where I think you just have to expect that to win this thing, you've got to beat the best. And I'm up for that, and we can. It's just I've never seen us do it. So let's move on. Arsenal top scorer. I have Kai. Tim has Kai. Paul has Kai. Clive has Jokras. Jokras was our top scorer last season.

32:02We'll get to Jokras in a minute, so I want to table that for a second. But Paul, stay with you just for a second. Well, we're going to get to him. I want to go with you. look I think the thing with Kai is like with Saka and some of the other players will he be fit and if he's fit I expect him to have a really strong season as our first choice center forward is that what you leaned into when you made this pick yeah plus I'm look I guess you could go either way I'm certain he's going to be in our in our club in our team I'm I'm fairly I thought it was fairly likely Yachoresh is going to be around.

32:37I'm certain if Kai is fit and firing, he's going to play the most at striker. So that's what I leaned into. And it doesn't mean I preclude Yachoresh doing it. It's almost flip of a coin, but I think Kai is definitely here. And as long as he's fit and firing, he starts more than anybody else as a striker. I'll go bigger. I don't think it's a flip of a coin. I think if Kai is fit, he starts at striker. And I think Mikel feels that way too. So we'll just have to see how it plays out. Like I said, Jokras is going to come up again in a moment. So let's move on from that. Assister, top assister. Oh, by the way, all of these are Premier League.

33:18When you're filling yours out, it's all Premier League, unless otherwise noted. That's all we're talking about. Every single one of us has Saka as a top assister. And Tim, it boils down to this for me. If he's fit, he is. And I don't think it'll be close, but if he's fit, he, I mean, first of all just for the corners alone which his delivery is the best but his decision making and his intelligence is unrivaled in the final third i think he's the best at it if not in the world certainly in the league and as long as he's fit he's going to lead the league in assists is my is my belief yeah big time just look at that that fulham assist for jokeres um you know and and again that's probably a reminder of what jokeres missed as well a little bit um at times last season that kind of uh that kind of low delivery to the zones he likes to be in but yeah i just I don't think there's a massive challenge to that.

34:03I did think about Erdegaard because I do think he'll have a really good season. But I think he's going to be more your deep progression. I think if Bruno's playing a lot as well, that really splits the creative burden, which is a very, very good thing. So I expect those two to maybe be the pass before the pass, or the pass before the assist. I expect their XT, expected threat, to be very, very high. But Saka's just going to be in the zones, isn't he? And if he stays fit, I don't really see anyone else coming into the equation. Yeah, I would just say, none of us picked him, we all picked Saka, but like, Christos Solis had 23 assists last season.

34:46So like, if he makes that position his, don't sleep on him having a big impact as well. Player of the season, little bit more spread out here. Clive and Tim, you both went with Saka. Clive, I mean, it's a fool who bets against Saka being that guy if he's fit. And I have bet against him with my prediction. I've gone against that a little bit. But I think if Saka's not the player of the season, he'll be the second player of the season. He's going to be right there as long as he's fit. I mean, how excited are you to potentially have one of the best wide forwards in football back in our team if he is really ready to go?

35:23Yeah, excited. I'm just hopeful that prediction is based on the fact I think he's fitter and that's it. And by that, I mean pain-free. And I think that's key for him trusting his body. And if you watch his cameo at the weekend, which I'm sure you all did, really find himself in the box by the penalty spot. Almost like a second striker from the other side or the opposite side, being the second striker when the ball's on the left. She's really good. His first run was in behind the fullback. So that's his first run, as soon as he's come on, which he has no fear. he's not waiting to warm up he's gone right straight in behind full sprint shouldered him off come inside really really good so he's running long which he can stop doing when he's injured and he is also great at coming to feet and turning around and progressing the play so I think he's time to put his wisdom in play I think last year when he was fit he wasn't and he I think with him Odegaard and Havre it's almost like they missed out a little bit on really being the lead if you think it's that Champions League final all three of those players off the pitch you know before 90 minutes that's like just like just terrible you know and and when it happened none of us we just all knew they weren't they couldn't go anymore you know and you get to the end of penalties and you realise that your three boys you'd probably picked to stick it in the net are not there and we got a centre-back taking the crucial penalty this is where we're at and the word condition is so important.

36:58And when you have a player in condition like Saka, the Fulham game happens and he makes football look really, really easy. And by halftime, we get a standing ovation and you think, oh my God, that's the player. And you forget sometimes when you've seen him tippy-toe through games. So he's a franchise. He's got the franchise number. He still has it. Vinny hasn't taken his role. So I expect franchise numbers. Yep, I completely agree. having said that I've gone for Martin Odegaard it's a big risk because I haven't seen him be a player who could be anywhere near the season yeah well for two seasons he hasn't been that guy but for the two seasons prior he was that guy now here's what I will say the very best attack I've ever seen Arsenal have ever is 91 goals scored in the league it's not the best attack ever obviously the Invincibles were but like under Mikel Arteta certainly the best and what did we have?

37:50Odegaard, Kai and Saka that triumvirate delivered us those stadiums are empty everywhere we go games from January to May of 2024. And it was brilliant. And what do we have now? Odegaard, Saka, and Kai. And I think the player that benefits from it the most is Odegaard. Kai's his best friend in the group. He loves playing in Kai Havertz. They have a relationship. Saka and Odegaard have always beautifully interchanged the ball in the right half space, top of the box, that area, those one-twos that they play with each other. I just think this gets you the best, Odegaard. And with Bruno and Rice behind him, giving him a platform, I think he can just go make those buccaneering runs into the box.

38:29We saw him slide tackle a goal in, as Clive pointed out. The physicality is airy. Five of six ground duels. He's putting his body into the mixer. If he stays fit and he's got sack on his right and he's got Kai in front of him and that platform of Bruno and Rice, he is set up to do what he used to be able to do. And I'm going to bet on him being able to, but we will see. And he's going to come up in a moment with you, Clive. so I'll come back to you on him in a moment. But Paul, you have Bruno Guimaraes. You definitely had the courage of your convictions here, picking the new signing, Bruno, as our player of the season.

39:01I say there's like a 1 % chance of that. Yeah, he's already injured, yeah. He might play this. He might play tomorrow. He might. But what do you think, Paul? 1 % chance. I think he's going to pop in a way that other players aren't. Let's assume all the names we've mentioned have great seasons or really good seasons. Bruno's going to pop more because he's the new kid and everybody's going to talk about him and how he was the piece that Arsenal bought, the yada, yada, yada. He's going to be the most aggressive in midfield, so he's going to be doing some eye-popping stuff. The three players you mentioned are all kind of a bit interdependent, so they kind of need each other to really shine.

39:46Bruno don't need nobody. He can do Bruno stuff in midfield all season long. And he looks really good in that black with the orange top. Tim, you got up close to him last night, did you? Did you touch the... Did he say he was going to be a player this season? How did he look? He looked good in those photos. Not that close. Good looking man. Yeah. Look, I will say this. Yeah, yeah. I mean... Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead, Tim. Sorry. yeah sorry i was gonna say like i i didn't like the black and orange training stuff but um it's funny isn't it how like when you see a load of athletes wearing it you know a bit like i know yeah arsenal released like uh one of those adidas jackets right at the beginning of the adidas thing and they had idris elba wearing it and you go yeah if i buy that and then you get it my chest out and keep my shoulders wide.

40:43I will simply say this. I think if a central midfielder is winning our player this season, it's Declan Rice. I mean, as good as Bruno is, Declan Rice is better and he's maybe the best player in the world. So Declan we're used to. Declan could be a bit tired for a while. He could be very good and he won't pop. Yeah. To be fair, I wasn't asking you who will win the fan vote of player of the season. I'm asking you who will be our player this season. But let's move on to this. I'm still picking Bruno. Brilliant. Well done. Courage your convictions. I love it. underperformer of the season. Now look, this is not a fun category.

41:13I went to this with the conviction to say, I'm going to pick someone that's a risk to pick. I'm going to put myself out there. And Paul, who I just praised for having courage says, Kepa Aretha Balaga. And all I have to say to you, Paul, is get the absolute fuck out of here because like that, I mean, you, you might, I mean, you might as well pick Jose Mourinho. He's our number two goalkeeper. he's going to suck in the Carabao Cup final. Look, he probably earned it just off that. Off last season? Off the charity shield. Okay, let's zip through these because we each picked someone different. Clive, you have Ben White.

41:52Yeah, and I was going to pick Timber. And it's not about ability, it's about injury. Yeah, and that's it for me. Every time I get, I thought Ben White was brilliant in the City game. honestly I think it's the best game he's had in a long time I thought he was really really good defending everything but I just worry about his injury you know and I don't know his word his injury because he has various injuries but the way he plays he's very brave very courageous you know and that's my reasoning behind it really and I think that could be the second year maybe second and a half two and a half years if this is the one yeah it's interesting if Ben White has to play a lot then I think he's a good candidate because I will tell you this is we will concede some goals that have been White's fault because 1v1 he can't stop any winger he just doesn't have that anymore he needs help and without Saliba there that's going to lead to goals so we'll see um Tim you have Zubomendi it's a clever pick I don't think he's in line for a lot of minutes I actually have him later as a sold prediction um which I still think could happen I'd hate to see it look I think we have massively underrated Zubomendi because of how good he was at the start of last season.

43:05But why don't you tell me why you've got Zubomendi as the underperformer of the season? Yeah, I'm with you. I think it's basically, I think he played 2 ,995 minutes last season, Premier League and Champions League. I think unless there are injuries, he'd probably get about half that this season. I mean, it was already looking difficult because he lost his place to Lewis Skelly for a Champions League final as well. That's quite big. And we've brought Bruno as well. And there's Mikel Marino there, who I think is maybe more suited to the, there's 20 minutes left, we're 2-0 up, we just need to play some sensible short back and sides football for 20 minutes.

43:49I still think Zabmendi can do that, but I think underperformer is probably not quite the right nomenclature for it. I just think he'll get squeezed out, to be honest. I think if you're him, Arsenal spending a lot of money on 28-year-old Bruno Guimaraes probably doesn't feel great. And again, it's a prediction, like I said at the beginning, I'm going on the information I've got at the moment. And I think it will take a massive turnaround for him not to become a bit of a bit part player. and I think this time next year we'll sell him. But I'm with you. I could see it happening at the end of this window as well, potentially.

44:32Yeah, I don't think it's a terrible pick. So I picked one of my favorite players, which gives me no joy to do, but it's along similar lines from Tim's in terms of just access to minutes. And I picked Ebrecha Eze. I think Eze sparkled in moments last season and had a muted impact in other moments. if Odegaard is really back and fit and if Bruno is going to play a lot of minutes and Rice is going to play a lot of minutes I just don't think that McKelsey has a left wing option I don't and unless he plays left wing I don't see access to minutes I think Marino is going to play I think Kai will play some midfield minutes not my preference Odegaard Miles Rice Bruno obviously it is a case where his talent they just put a video out of finishing competition between Saka and Eza.

45:22And Eza absolutely beat the pants off Saka. Had one volleyed finish that was sensational. The talent's there. I just don't know if Mikel sees him as a clean fit and will lean on him if players are available. Now, could he be a big part of cup competitions and play in the league phase of the Champions League? I think he will. But in the Premier League, I don't think we'll see a lot of him, Clive. Can you tell I don't agree? I can. And look, I mean, it's fair. look i'm not saying but oracle i'm just saying i may be the oracle but please carry it it's again i just need to keep us consistent right because we saw our players fall over the finishing line end of last season yet the game's just the season just starting and we're picking first 11s again and we think that well he's not going to get in based on one pre-season game where man city had sand in their boots.

46:14Do you know what I mean? And they weren't ready to play. Eze's going to play football matches. If anything, he's widened his potential to get in the team. Because now he can truly play eight, he can play ten, and he can play on the left-hand side. And to go back to the team's point, Zubmendi goes, who do you think is taking up those midfield minutes alongside Marino? It will be Eze in certain game states. So I think he's going to get plenty of minutes. Starts is a different thing. Plenty of minutes he's going to get. because he's really good and he's in his second season and he's settled you know and he's going to force people out and if he doesn't that's what he should be thinking about doing and Odegaard's had a great game in the last game you think well that's that's the Bruyne level he's going to play every single game well no one's going to play every single game if they do play every single game we have a problem we did this two years ago with Kai Havertz he whipped his hamstring off in dubai and it cost us we can't keep we can't keep forgetting these lessons and then predict that this person's going to get this and this person's going to get that yesterday bruno was at the do last night tim he's there and he's injured right that's why he's at the do because he may not be playing this weekend right so and straight away your midfield's changed who's going to play now you know and that's how it changes one little strain and you're done if you do that in a three game week and you go out for two weeks that's six games gone and that's where you and but we are able to adapt to that and do so many different things and that's why we've all got first next to the prediction around who's gonna be champions it's because of we can go with odegaard and they say whenever we bleed and like you know i mean one doesn't go and that's where i am really you don't have to sell me on the talent i'll just say this last season he started 21 games he made 32 appearances he played 1800 minutes he played 1800 minutes in a season where we did not own bruno gamaraish and martin odegaard only had 1300 minutes let's say odegaard gets to 2000 minutes this season that's 700 fewer minutes for someone and if bruno gets to 2500 minutes this season the minutes have to come from somewhere I guess is where I'm saying and unless he plays a decent amount at left wing he might have fewer if he has fewer than his 1800 minutes last season let's say it's 1300 minutes I think for a player of his talent in his prime 1300 league minutes will probably feel lighter than we'd like but let's let's not bog down on it look you don't have to sell me on the talent that's for sure everybody knows he's a player I wanted at Arsenal for a long time I hope that he's seen as an option off the left, by the way, because I think relying on a new signing from Belgium to be your basically your only established left wide players, not going to do it for us anyway.

49:00So we'll see how that develops. And like I said, picking underperformer this season isn't fun, but I wanted to pick someone that sparked some interesting thought as opposed to what Paul did, whatever the hell. Which he did. That cop out is. So can I quickly say, part of what's going on here is you've got to find somebody probabilistically. It doesn't mean you think it's more likely than less likely. He's just the guy you think more at least. That's a great point, yes. Yes, I'm not saying I think he's bad and he'll play poorly. I'm saying if I had to look at the pool of available players who we think of as talented and good, who could potentially get squeezed out or have a weaker season?

49:37I looked at Marino as an option, by the way, because I think Marino is another player who's in a position where he could get squeezed out a little bit. These are players not because of talent. I half copped out as well with the injury one I think Tim's and your one are really good and I think the Zubmendi one is a really good one and the thing that I have in my mind is not his talent but actually he's quite quiet and there are some loud people around him and I'm interested to see how he reacts to this you know and because his talent is off the scale well and some noises about who knows if this is true but is he comfortable in England I mean look what we can all agree on is that we did our best to think of thought provoking discussion topics other than Paul who opted out completely.

50:20All right. Miles is a little skelly. There you go. Here we go. Paul, I'm picking on you for no good reason. All right. Let's move on. We're going to hit one more of these types of categories. Then we're going to get into the goals and assists stuff, which we'll bounce through quickly. Breakout player. Breakout player is a tough one because what does it mean? No one actually knows, which is great because it means you can pick anyone you want. But it's sort of someone who either we haven't seen much of before and wows us or someone who hasn't really performed in the past at the level we might hope and wows us.

50:48But they have to wow us to a level where they've come back to the fore. And Clive, I'm going to bounce right back to you because I mentioned we'd come to it. You have Martin Odegaard as our breakout player. I think he's a fair pick based on the last two seasons of lack of availability and lack of sparkling performance. What qualifies to you as breaking out for him? What would have to happen there? Well, just do that again. We did it the weekend. Just do that. Every game? Yeah. dominate all opposition well let's be honest if he does that he's going to be in player of the year conversations then that's it and to go from where he was to that then that's a breakout for me alright so hey look it's one game but he was showing signs in the previous friendlies he was starting to show signs and I did mention it on here earlier he looked different and everything looks different and all systems go yeah if he decides to play a game of football with the right level of attention and focus and desire to get to the ball then everyone's in trouble aren't they really and that's the truth of it and so the room for development in him saka and kai is just massive i think we we're so focused on the prize last year we just wanted them out there we just wanted them there when they're there we didn't really care how they were playing what we did but they were there right we're just trying to get around it 20 odd set piece goals last year 11 set piece goals that were first goals to allow us to control games we need open play goals right we need open play xg we need that and this is this is the guy that's going to provide it along and then alongside that essays might be a finisher when it comes to creativity it's going to be two or three players are going to provide that and three of them are our franchise players right so that's it look i i think it's great shout the last time we consistently saw kai saka and odegaard playing game in game out together we were scoring fives and sixes so it's it's a great point um paul you picked a guy i was tempted to pick but it felt it felt almost like too obvious like i think it's going to be the overwhelming pick from the listener submissions uh you have christopher solis yeah captain obvious no no i mean i think this is a good pick i only eschewed it because it felt like a pick that was going to be very popular and i wanted to try something a little different You astute it.

53:09I astute it. I put it in a pot and I astute it. Astute it. Look, I think it's obvious. He's got the clearest runway to be the breakout player. Doesn't mean he will be, but it was really easy for me. We've seen him all through preseason. We've seen the charity shield. You get a feeling that maybe that's the player he is, and if that's the player he is, he's going to have a great season, and that's my definition of breakout. I mean, it's going to be the biggest jump between what we expected of him, because we had an expectation that maybe he isn't able to produce what he had in Belgium. And right now, based on what we've seen, he is.

53:50If he keeps that up, very easy pick for me. Yeah. Yep. I think it's a great pick. Honestly, it is. I think Tim and I, interestingly, landed on the same guy. Tim, for me, a breakout player is someone who has the talent to change our lives, but hasn't been available enough to show it. And if they're able to be available, then you think that they can show it. And I love Cal Fiore's post-match interview following The Shield. He was well-spoken. He was considerate of his—he called him his best friend in the team in Capier. But he really emphasized how he lived, his lifestyle, his work ethic, what he did in the summer to get fit.

54:25And Mikel Arteta said that's where he needs to improve if he's going to show his talent. as long as he can do that and stay fit. And it's a big gamble because I think he has more than just habit issues with staying fit. He obviously has mechanical issues related to an injury he had when he was a teenager. But if he stays fit, I think he has the talent to catch the eye and become known as what we think he can be more widely than just in Arsenal circles. Yeah, definitely. And, you know, as Clive's pointed out a few times, we missed him in some big games, couldn't play the Champions League final, which felt a bit like a tragedy.

54:58It's one of those where we've seen enough of him to maybe be slightly annoyed, but at the same time, he's been injured quite a bit. So he kind of comes in and out. I think, first of all, he's got full pre-season under his belt, which I think is really important. And that is also a competitive advantage for him because a lot of players around the league aren't getting that. But I think one of the things we're obviously all justifiably anxious about is what is the impact of the World Cup on our players and our team. And again, a lot of the bigger clubs share that as well. But one of the things that slightly ameliorates that for me is we've got a few players who are in the contract year, right?

55:42Not like the last year of their contracts, but Erdegaard, Havertz, Calafuri. Calafuri is coming into his third year. We should be talking about a new deal. Havertz, two years to go. urdegaard two years ago we should be talking about new contracts for them we're not as far as we know those conversations haven't really happened yet and is it in nfl that they they talk about the contract year uh quite often where it's it's one of those um without prove to earn your money for your next contract yeah yeah yeah without like you know accusing individuals or whatever what tends to happen is injury prone players when they're playing for a contract don't get injured as much.

56:25And that is, again, that's not to criticise individuals, but that is, I think, a universally observed phenomena. And that actually makes me positive about those three players in particular, Havard, Surgard, Calafuri. They all have something to prove. They're all playing for their next contract. But I think for Calafuri in particular, he's such a unicorn of a player who can bring so much to us. I think having the full preseason could and should be really, really valuable for him. If it isn't, if he doesn't stay fit again in these conditions, then I think we're having a conversation, aren't we? Yeah, I think that's exactly right.

57:09So let's do this. Let's talk brands. Then we're going to have to let Tim go, but his predictions are on record. and what we're going to do is we're going to zip through the player goals and assist stuff so we'll each get a shot to say one and and defend it we'll move on but you'll be able to read them through we also are going to talk about the top five finish and a couple wild predictions so we got a couple that we're going to rapid fire um tim though thank you for being here

57:38My pleasure as always.

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1:01:12So the first thing, and Clive, I promise I'd get you back on this, Jokeres starts, Jokeres goals. Now look, I want to caveat something. Clive doesn't care about starts. Minutes are going to be shared around, people We're going to have opportunities. I think starts is sort of a good heuristic, though, for pecking order and how they're seen in terms of their role in the squad. Are they a finisher? Are they a starter? These are things that are relevant to some people, not to everybody. But so I'll start with you on this. I have Jokras with 10 starts and 10 league goals. Paul has him with 13 starts and 13 goals.

1:01:48Tim, 18 starts, pardon me, Tim, 15 starts, 12 goals. You have, though, 18 starts, 15 goals for Jokers. So how do you see that role developing with Kai, at least for now, fit and back? Yeah, he's fit and back now, Kai is, but he has a history of injury. And the reason why he has a history of injury is when we play him all the time, and then his knee starts to go and stuff like that. So I'm just looking at the season now. They're buddying that role. and so I almost split it down the middle and it's not about preference. I think if you've gained for my life, I'd probably have Kai playing but there are different games.

1:02:26There are games in August and September when the sun's out and I can go to a game with a t-shirt. Then the clocks fall back and basically you get your long stud games in the winter when Europe comes in and the League Cup comes in and then you're really in it then. International break comes in the middle. then you come to Christmas when you're really in it and then you come to January where you have four competitions in a month for January and if you're in the same files as the League Cup and then football changes again and then you go another international break and then you're downhill to end of the season.

1:02:59During that phase of time there'll be plenty of time for both of them. The reason why I have him top scorer is because I think he's the only player in our squad that wakes up in the morning and says I'm going to score a goal today. Do you know what I mean? The rest of them wake up and say, oh, I've got a game of football today. I can't wait to go and play. Really good players. But there's one guy that only thinks about one thing. And that's why I think he'll be a top scorer. Plus he's going to take our free kicks. Plus he takes our penalties. Yep. And I will simply say this. I'm at 10 starts. People may say that's outrageous.

1:03:33I guess what I would say to you is, I can't see a scenario where Kai is fit and Yokorest is regularly starting ahead of him. I don't think that that is the most likely scenario. 10 goals, you know, you might say that sounds low. Again, you know, if you take away penalties, what was it, 12 last season? So it's still in that range. And I think he's going to play a lot. I do, in a lot of different competitions. But I think if Kai stays fit, then we will see Kai start most of those games. And Jokras could go. We're sitting here today, I'd re-record, right? You never know what could happen in football, right?

1:04:09You get an offer coming, and suddenly he's not at the club anymore. this doesn't look very good but um yeah i just think there's there's a number there for him well so let's flip it around because paul uh you have kai getting 27 starts and 11 goals you have jokras getting 18 by the way so obviously you think they will start some games together i think people that's something people are particularly not interested in seeing although i agree with you i think we will see it at times what's your what's your thinking there with kai uh so it's It's probabilistic. It's not like it's exactly if this guy is this, that guy is that.

1:04:45I'm going with Kai is fit and firing this season because I'm an optimistic kind of a guy. I see the best in people, and I think that's about 27 games with him plus Europe. He could play more than that if he's really fit. You could just start him pretty much every game and lean into it. But why do that? So I think 27 is the perfect number in the Premier League if Kai is fit and firing. I think they play together a bit. I also think there's every chance Jokeres plays 18. So does it completely dovetail? Not really. But I think Kai fit 27 sounds about right. Don't overplay him. Don't push your luck.

1:05:33but man you're going to have a really good season if Kai's fit firing and you get 27 games out of him and you got Mikel Marino and you got Yaw Koresh to spread it around a little bit and playing a bit of both and maybe he doesn't have to the other thing is you might have him but you want to keep the other guys played in and so Kai comes on at 70 minutes so just move it around guys before he his hamstring blew up two seasons ago he had completed consecutive seasons where he had 30 starts, one for Chelsea, one for Arsenal, 37 appearances for Arsenal, 35 for Chelsea, 2 ,600 minutes. I think he can manage that again if he can stay fit, and if he does, I think he will.

1:06:12So I'm on 28 starts with 16 goals. I picked him to be our top scorer, as did Tim and Paul. Clive picked Jokras. Saka starts, this is obviously existentially important. 30 for me, 32 for Tim, 28 for Clive, 28 for Paul. for goals and assists. We're all quite bullish, except for Paul. 25, 26, 25. Paul had 14. I'll bounce it back to you just quickly, Paul, because you're the outlier here. You see him starting 28 games, which is in line with most of us, but you see him with 14 goals and assists, and I have to tell you, that is a really paltry number. It is. At least you're honest. Yeah, I'm assuming he's not getting the penos.

1:06:57This is a non-penalty number. and like if Yacoresh isn't on the pitch half the time somebody's going to be taking them but I'm assuming this is my non penalty number like goals and assists he hasn't been scoring for a while he just hasn't so something crazy to put this in perspective like he had 12 goals and assists last season he had 16 the season before where he didn't even manage to get over 1 ,750 minutes. So it would be quite a low tally for him if he starts 28 games. Yeah, it's probably a bit low. But look, we're going to spread it around a bit. And I think as soon as you focus on one player, the number always goes high.

1:07:49If you look at historical numbers for players, we always overestimate what they're going to have in the season when you add them all up. They don't. So if he's fit for iron and plays a lot, okay, that number's a bit low, but I just think we might pace him a bit and we're not going to play him 90 minutes in all these games. Your breakout player Solis won't leave any assists for him. He'll have them all. There you go. Look, I think we move on from here. Odegaard, this is an interesting one, starts. I have 32. See if you can hold up for that. Tim has 30. Clive has 30. Paul has 28. I have his goals and assists at 24, one fewer than Saka.

1:08:31I always tend to be high on someone. This is someone I'm very high on. But it is a tally that is consistent with what he did in his seasons when he was fit. I should emphasize with Paul calling it craziness. Clive, you have him on 20 goals and assists. You have him starting 30 games. I think if Odegaard is starting 30 games, we're probably really happy with what he's doing and really happy with how we're playing. Yeah, I've probably gone a bit high on that if I wanted to. you because i think you should be about 28 games uh i just picked you should have just yeah i should have cooked off i just got a bit excited um and we've gotta i'm just we gotta want this for them you know we've got we've gotta want these numbers because what we really want is the game that you really want him for he's really bouncing for you know i mean that thought process got to come into our minds a lot more you know and so yeah i'm probably gonna touch high but the big year when he had was it 15 and 10 that was a big year team of the year all the rest of it if he gets from you close to that he had a 15 and 7 and he had an 8 and 10 um yeah so 18 and 22 total were his two best seasons for us yes i might go a little bit high on that.

1:09:46Yeah, I've gone a bit high on both of them. But that's just high on the community shield because he was so good, right? But again, I've probably gone a bit high, but hey, look, if he plays, he's the sort of player you can't miss. I think it's both ways, actually. I think when he doesn't play, I don't think he can miss it. But when he does play, you don't miss it. And I think that's where he is. I don't think 14 assists and 10 goals is out of the range of outcomes, but I think it's high, obviously. But if we're going to be the best team in the league and he's going to start 30 games, then I think it's a realist thing.

1:10:15So look, I showed my whole ass on the Eza thing. Everybody knows I adore the player. Someone's getting squeezed out. Now, squeezed out could mean sold. It could mean Zubamendi is sold. It could mean Jokeres is sold. And it changes the chemistry of the team. I have it as Eza not because I believe in it so much. If I pick him as underperformer of the season, I can't turn around and have his numbers be robust. So I have him starting seven Premier League games, scoring five goals and assists this season. If you take out the North London Derbies, there's no reason to do that. Obviously, we know his impact on the season was a little muted.

1:10:46We'll see. If he gets the opportunities, I think he'll thrive. You know, Clive and Paul are quite a bit higher. They have 18 starts and 15 goals and assists for Clive, 20 starts and 8 goals and assists for Eza, for Paul, and 14 and 8 for Tim. I guess I would just say this. 18 starts for Eza, Clive. How much of that do you have baked in as a left-wing option? Yeah, some. And left eight. you know that's what I think I think he's widened his what's the word you always use? Options he's widened his options to play in the team I also feel I'm going to bring you back to Budapest, Elliot but I watch it on a screen so you watch it in the ground or you're probably crying into your hands but I just remember when at the end of the game the manager went straight up to him after he missed his penalty and he had on his haunches and he really spent some time with him and he's somebody who understands how to respond to adversity.

1:11:43And I think he's going to respond to that. His personality in the group, Clive, we know the impact there. He is one of the leaders in the group. I think he's going to respond to that. I think he's a big owner of the culture in the group. I think he's going to respond. And I've got a hunch for him this season. And by the way, I know you love the players. It's not you're just looking at this objectively. And it could go the other way. If it goes your way, then he won't be here the year after. I don't want to think about that. Do you know what I mean? I think there's another criteria here. If we sign a wide forward before this window closes, again, the optionality for where he can find minutes decreases.

1:12:23And that impacts the next player we're going to talk about, which is Christos Solis, Paul's breakout player. So I'll let Paul talk us through this. You have him starting 25. I am him starting 25. Tim has him starting 15. So I'd be curious who he has as the other one. Clive has him starting 20. Someone else is getting those 18, 13 starts. Is that a Martinelli who revitalized his career? Is it a signing? We'll see. But, Paul, despite those 25 starts, you have just nine goals and assists. It doesn't sound very breakout-y to me, my friend. Yeah, well, I'm conservative on all these. Look, here's our goals and assists.

1:13:00Well, you only have us getting the 77 goals. So, to be fair, you're thinking the right way. And we got set pieces and we got penalties and this thing you won't be taken. So he might be doing a bit of assisting off some corners, but it'll mostly be deck and rice. I mean, here's last season, right? Victor Yachoresh goals and assists 15. Saka, who almost had the same number of games that I'm predicting for him this year, 12. And I got him down for slightly more. Trossard was 12. I mean, you know, I gave Eza a lot of starts. So if we mix it around between those two guys and Solis doesn't have a huge number of starts, I'm a bit low on goals and assists for him, and he's certainly a high goals and assists merchant.

1:13:48So of all the ones, maybe I should bump that one up a little bit. But I'm always taken aback by how these players don't clock up the big numbers that we always put in our predictions. yeah so yeah i mean that that is fair uh okay let's do the next one here and that and by the way like i think the hard thing with solis is if we don't go into the market like it's hard not to see him playing a lot let me just and that gives him access to a to a lot of positive outcomes i was gonna say it's just so difficult right it's so difficult when you see him playing like this you think he's gonna be like this forever but zubermendy is the lesson isn't he you know he's he was like perfection till about january i mean literally perfection and suddenly the main item mistake and self-doubt crept in and amongst the fans and people had different perception of him and that could happen the other way so that's my caution with him really but as So up to now, I'm thinking I'm glad we didn't get Vinny.

1:14:56Seriously, I'm thinking because we wouldn't get to see this one. Yeah, Madrid would sell them to us today. They've changed their mind. They want to know if we're still interested. Yeah, he made a mistake there, you know. He made a mistake. He should have gone for it. But there you go. Yeah. Yeah, okay. So let's keep going here. And this is another one. I'm going to skip by Bruno Guimaraes starts. I had 28. Tim has 34. Clive has 25. Paul has 28. Kansa starts. This one, I think, is tied to another one. I have 18. Tim has 25. Clive has 25. Paul has 19. I mean, Paul, you're closer to me. Clive and Tim are higher.

1:15:37I mean, to me, this is a—I guess it's a dual issue. It's linked to the fitness of Saliba and Timber. If you think they can get fit and then stay fit, his Premier League role will be marginalized. If you think that that's going to be a recurring issue, he plays a lot or do you think Mikel will trust him enough to just make him part of a regular rotation regardless of their fitness I think when Saliba comes back he'll he'll dominate in the Premier League in terms of starts I mean so like that's a pretty healthy number 19 starts he could have quite a few sub appearances where we're building up Saliba over time and they're mixing it around.

1:16:20There's Europe, there's the Cups. I just, I mean, I want to think we're going to mostly have Saliba and we're going to lean into that when he comes back. But, you know, it's nearly half the season. You got Mosquera, you have Timber, you have White. They'll all, you know, Mosquera may play some games in that position too. Konza may get a bit of an injury. like he might be out for a few weeks during the period that Saliba is not available I think it's a moderate positioning for Konza while still backing him to play a lot but not all the games when Saliba's around Clive anything for me on that? Yeah I think this is interesting I think if you look at the defenders now we've got five righties three lefties I think Mascara goes into a left hand unit I think Mascara becomes the Gabriel Resta shall we say I would use him that way and I love our two fullbacks on the left hand side I would keep them they need each other to stay fit so I'd keep them rotating on the left hand side of the pitch I don't mind him happy at left centre back but I'm not so I prefer it with Mosquera funny enough as right centre back but that might be a link with Contra as right centre back that could be an interesting combination but I'm not so sure about it so I think Mosquera goes to the left hand side of the unit but also places right back a lot you know so So, and I just see Konza, every injury that we have, and Timber, by the way, is training again.

1:17:51He may not be on the grass yet, but he's definitely training. So I can see him being back in the next couple of weeks. But whatever happens, him and Saliba, their injuries are load-related. And so when they come back, they're going to have to ramp up and slowly. And that means Konza's going to play. You know, he's going to either end games or he's going to start games. if there's three games a week you're going to start one of the three in the middle and so if you said to me do you think Konza will have over 40 appearances for Arsenal I say absolutely yes he'll have over 40 appearances out of the 65 we hope to play you know and I think that's that's my measure really and over the season and so I'm looking at 60-65 games a season how many appearances will they have and that's where we are if Sleba can give me 35 appearances we've done we've done great and we've done great well so I'm going to jump quickly then to Saliba's first Premier League start month and I have December Tim has January, Clive you have November and Paul has December so Paul anything you want to add on that?

1:18:56December is a very busy month so it matters whether you start at the start of December or right at the end of it and we'll want it's also a month where there's two games a week or worse so you're going to want to start him slowly but whether it's like if he's back in November and he's fit he's going to play a lot of games because there's December so that's really the critical month does he come back in December if he misses that the numbers flip quite a bit if he's back in January and then we're waiting for the next international break to really introduce him and ramp him up those numbers shift dramatically So yeah, December is a critical month.

1:19:38Yeah. All right. Well, easy enough to agree there. Miles Lewis-Skelly starts 10-9, 12-8. Clive, I'll simply say you're at 12. We're all in sort of a similar zone. This is one of those things where it wouldn't surprise me if he massively outperforms that based on availability. Bruno had ice on his thigh after the City game. Declan Rice is barely back. Zubomendi was talking about maybe being sold. And Miles has looked fantastic. So sometimes, like with Bikai Osaka, it happens that someone just says, I'm here, get out of the way. And they make room. But when you spend what we spend on Bruno and you have a player like Rice, it's hard to figure out who's going to get out of the way.

1:20:19But there is a path to him massively exceeding this, is there not? Yeah, there is. Again, I look at it all comps and different appearances. I think his all comps appearances may be really good this year with better quality. I think I can really see that. I can see his trust level going higher. The Hina Major say he's 100 % staying is good. I think there's a level of maturity as we all have to gauge when it comes to trading. But I'm glad he's staying because I think he means a lot to a lot of people. So that's really important. But he is a developing player. He's probably played 10 adult games in centre midfield.

1:21:03in his life, and his development to do. And we're going to watch that live. We have to be conscious of that. At the end of this year, he could be anything, you know, if he gets a rhythm. And that's the exciting stuff. This is the exciting stuff. We've got a bunch of 27-year-olds and 28-year-olds that are going to give you the ready-made stuff that we know. We've seen it before. We hope to see it again. With him, I was watching warm-ups last year where he was being taught to cross the ball. You know? And then he plays in midfield against Fulham and suddenly he's like telling, showing everyone else how to do it.

1:21:40Development of young people can just happen so quickly and that's the exciting thing. But you have to also be conscious that he hasn't had a lot of experience in his position. But hey, I'm being patient, but he ain't patient. He wants it all, mate. He wants it all. That's his attitude. That's how they should be. That's what you want. He's going to go get it, right? And he's going to shatter people along the way, right? So it's up to him. Yep. Love it. Timber starts. I have 28. Tim has 22. Clive has 25. Paul has 20. And I'll tell you, I think this might be a litmus test for how our season goes.

1:22:10I think we need Urien Timber. I think he's undervalued somehow now. I think we win the Champions League if Urien Timber is fit. I think Urien Timber has the capacity to take left-sided attacking players out of the game. And even if you don't think he's elite from an attacking standpoint, I think he's certainly serviceable on the ball. but defensively there's no one like him and Paul you have him at 20 starts I'm at 28 I mean I I think if he's playing 20 games that means there's 18 other games he's not and then you're into sort of Ben White maybe Mascara for a bit maybe Konza over their territory and none of that makes me feel warm and happy like Timber does yeah uh but we do have four players who can play in that area and if Saliba comes back, you've got Konza.

1:22:55I think we're going to want to change it around a bit. If Timber comes back early and he's solid and there's no issues, the number goes up. But you have players who need to manage themselves throughout the season. There's a lot of games across multiple competitions. I think 20s, I won't be shocked if that's where we're at because he's working through some stuff. Quickly on the Miles one, this is even more the case with Miles. Look at the competition. I have him down for eight, right? And look at who he's going to face in his area. It could be Kai and Yakares playing together. It could be as in that kind of competing for the – you got Odegaard maybe as a fixture.

1:23:44You got Marino. You got Zubimendi still at the club. I mean, this could be the season that Mikel says, okay, I'm going to dial you back, Miles, and we're going to really work on who you are as a player for the long term. And a bit like last season, he kind of withdraws him to work on him. And we're getting all these players to provide contingency. Timber may have a lot of players around him that are ready to play, that are there expecting to play, and we manage his fitness so that we don't overstretch him. So I went a bit conservative with him as he comes back. Fair enough. We have Max Dowman starts and goals and assists in all comps listed.

1:24:27You can read up on that. I don't think there's much we have to say about it. He's a talented player, but at 16 going on 17, it's still probably going to be limited exposure. Nani Medwiki goals and assists. Clive likes Nani, I guess is what I'll say. What did I say? You said 10. I mean, yeah, yeah. I'm going for it, mate. All right, man. Go for it. Why not? Martinelli starts are sold. Tim and Clive said sold. Paul and I said he sticks around, and I have him with 10 starts. Paul has him with 13. If we don't buy a left-sided attacker, I just don't think there's any way Solis starts 38 games in the Premier League.

1:25:01So someone's going to. It might be as it might be Martinelli. You can look at that on our goals and assist tally then. Zubamendi starts are sold. I have him as sold. I don't know why I have the feeling it could be wrong. Paulism is sold as well. Tim has him at 10. But I'm going to go with this, Clive. You have him with 20 starts. So you have Zubamendi still being a very important part of this group. And that's not ridiculous because he was a very important part of the group that won the Premier League last season. We don't win it without him. And we don't win the Premier League without our first half of last season performance where he was a potential player of the season candidate.

1:25:34So do we need to slow our roll on selling Martin Zubamendi rumors? and is this a case of rumours of his demise have been greatly exaggerated? Yeah, well, for me, if Real Madrid tap our door and say, we're going to give you£90 million for Martin Zoumendi, then all bets are off, right? But that hasn't happened. And for me, what we want to be doing is making sure Declan Rice's season is not a 68-game season because we have an asset there that we need to care about for a long, long time. So we've got to slow him down. So I think there are games. I don't see Bruno as a six. I don't see Miles as a six.

1:26:14I don't see Eze or Marino as a six. I see Zubmendi and Rice as sixes. And so I want to reduce Rice's game time. And I want to make sure that we protect him for it when it really, really matters. He's going to play for England a lot, Rice will. And so he just racks up the games, right? So that's why I am with him. I know that people are not all there, and I do have concerns. I said earlier on, I think he's a bit quiet as a footballer. I'm looking for him to get his rhythm back, his progressive passing back. I'm not looking for him to rediscover his talent. He has talent. It's about applying himself to the game with a little bit less stress around.

1:26:52I felt the team was stressed last year. I thought we were scoreboard watching, and he maybe epitomized that towards the end of the season more than anybody else. And we broke out of our system, went from 4-2 to 3-1-6, so he went from there and we won every game right so and the manager quite rightly played the hot hand which was Miles you know but things changed very very quickly in football at the time recording Bruno's got an ice pack on his leg and we don't know when he's coming back so suddenly we could be back to Reisens with Mendy tomorrow in this game quite easily right so there you go yeah there you go alright so now we get to the last little stuff and I've saved some of the really fun juicy stuff for last year summer attacking signing if yes name them I said no Tim said no Paul said a name that isn't on anyone's radar yet and Clive you and I might need to fire up the scouting video I'm not sure if you've seen him I'm not familiar with him Mabriel Gartinelli so yeah I think he might stick around I think he might we might just not be able to shift him and he becomes our left winger because we can't find another left winger and he plays with attitude and anger to prove a point and he plays more than maybe we have accounted for.

1:28:13But like 10, 11, 12, something like that starts. Maybe real Gartinelli. That's one to watch. Clive, you've gone and broken the internet. You said we will sign an attacking player and you've named him Kenan Yildiz. Talk to me. Oh, right. Yeah, I thought I had to put someone down. I think buy stars make stars I always feel more comfortable when we are trying to make one you'll just have my star money next to him but I think he's got a huge development curve on him I like his physicality you know my thoughts about that player on that side you have the Trossardi type which we seem to have got that covered very very quickly there's a phrase in life we're all replaceable but boy has he been replaced in some way looks like him and then I like my Rashford type you know like a striker from the left a tall player with power and bang bang shooting that's the type I envisage and I've always envisaged it for the last five years or so on here and Yildiz is the one I feel is closest to that profile he's got a shot he's got a bit of power a bit of threat with dribble but I don't think he's perfect I think on occasion he looks very similar to Martin when he doesn't dribble past his man so I think there's a really good player in there and the problem with today's prices, you're paying ready-made prices for players that are not ready-made.

1:29:32So that's the challenge that we have. But that's my little hunch, right? Yeah. There are no good deals out there. There just aren't. So the question is, is the player you want out there? And then we can have a debate about the deals, but there's no good deals. Top five table in order. I went Arsenal, Chelsea, City, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Tim went Arsenal, City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Man United. Paul, Arsenal, Liverpool, City, Chelsea, United. You want to give me a little bit on that?

1:30:12Andoli Areola is a really good coach, and I think he will adapt to the squad he has. They'll get Barcola. It'll be imperfect, but they're due to fulfill the potential of a lot of the signings they got last year and this year. City will fall off, but not massively. Chelsea will have a good floor because Alonso is pretty good at this 3-4. He'll solve their defensive issues by kind of neutralizing it with playing a three or four at the back, depending on when he needs to. So he's not going to have a period of the season where he falls away. He'll find solutions, but it's also the Chelsea shit show.

1:31:04And Man United will experience being in four competitions. And a pretty good-looking midfield will start to look pretty thin, and they still haven't fixed their defense. Yeah, I think United are an interesting one because I'm putting a lot of weight on them playing once a week last season, making a very big difference in getting a Salah-esque Bruno Fernandes type season. Can he repeat that a year older now? I think they stand to be most damaged by having to play multiple games a week. And then, you know, for me, Chelsea, it's just, can Chelsea use one game a week the way United did? If Alonso is good, the pieces are there for him to be very, very scary.

1:31:49If Alonso is good, the pieces are there. Now, whether they can put them all together, whether they keep a group that big, that messy, happy, they're always a candidate to blow up because of the size of their group and the chaos there. But if they have the right manager and they play once a week and their players are fit, that's a huge advantage. United had half of an Amerim season and still managed to finish third. So what could Chelsea do? And Spurs, it's the same thing for me. I think Spurs have had a good summer. I think Spurs are following the Arsenal playbook. Solidify the defense in the goalkeeping situation.

1:32:18get good solid midfielders worry about the attack a little bit later bring in a manager who has a plan now that plan with him can always blow up as well so we'll see but I think once a week is more valuable than any of us really give it credit for so Clive you have gone for Arsenal City Chelsea United Liverpool yeah I've gone for City I could have gone Chelsea either way around the reason why I went for City is how I felt when I read their team sheet for the game last week, and he looked at that team sheet and it didn't look too bad. How they played was pretty bad. What they seem to be doing is lowering their age profile, right?

1:32:59So they may not even be really focused on the now, but they are looking at some real talent. So I saw a link to Adam Warren today earlier, right? So if they get Buraddy and Adam Warren, they're going to have Anderson. That's a five-year midfield, right? Ten-year midfield, right? And suddenly you look at it and you think, oh, wow, that's serious. Why can they do it? Because Spurs are going to chuck a load of money for Marmouche and Savinho. So they're going to reinvest that in Adam Moore and reinvest that in Buadi and use the Rodri money. And then they're traded. They're traded up, right? They're traded up.

1:33:33But they've got development time. So City still know what they're doing. I'm not sure about a manager tactically. They've got a group of young players that could transfer to another manager really, really quickly and it wouldn't be a problem and contracts are in place. so they know where they are Chelsea the reason why I got on there is similar to Elliot is it's a game schedule but also some of their key players I heard this on the podcast every day so I'm repeating it it's not my words but two players in particular Levi Colwell and Cole Palmer Colwell's a really good player I saw him play against Arsenal when he was at Brighton and I thought he was fantastic when they beat us that time in the home game he was off an ACL he'll be a much better player and he hasn't been anywhere in the summer Cole Palmer hasn't been anywhere in the summer.

1:34:15We might have gone to Ibiza, but he hasn't gone to a tournament in the summer. And so basically he's got a free reign into the season. Some of their key players who have played in the World Cup have gone. Cucabella's gone. I'm not sure about the full-back situation and I still haven't seen a goalkeeper. And Gio Pedro signed another contract again. And so they've got potential. They've got real potential. The manager's decent. You can't deny he's decent. Got hit by the wrong club. Madrid, you won't get hit by Chelsea because he seems to have formed himself at the right time. and we've gone into there at the right time.

1:34:45So I think he'll do well. United, you know, I'm a Closet United, I don't want to say fan, but I respect her. When you grow up watching them being a mortal enemy, you can't help but respect them, right? So they loaded up Metac last year. They're loading up in midfield this year. If they get a centre-half in, they're going to be really, really good. And the thing that they have to go through, what we went through two years ago, two years ago probably, that first year in the Champions League when you're playing those eight games not the six games rolls it in January what can you do then how can you manage the season that's the thing that we're looking at but if they do get that extra centre half and they finish off with their midfields in Belayba for example they've got numerous attackers rush back into the group to make an extra attacker they've got talent mate and they've got a big badge and they've got a big crowd and they know who they are so we'll see what happens the manager's not bad tactically I do think the game cadence will catch them out.

1:35:45But they're ahead of Liverpool. They're called Liverpool Gaps. Huge gaps in their squad. And they just keep buying forwards. They're looking at Yacouba Minta. That's a smart buy. They get him. That's a smart buy. They need him more than Barcola. Put it that way. Then they need to do that. They need to get better fullbacks. They should have gone for Jeff Spence. Seriously, they should have gone for him. And then they need better fullbacks that can really stabilize their team. if they do get the right-sided player with a left foot and they do stabilize their defense and they do take the pressure because Jeremy Jacquet played his game in midweek and looked fantastic but he's 18 and he looks like Bambi, right?

1:36:23So you just got to wait for them defensively. They've got to get fullbacks in. If they get a right-sided sort they're going to be really good. By the way, just so you think we're not the only club that does mad shit though, if Liverpool go for Jakub Aminta, he's out two to three months. He just had surgery. Oh, has he? I didn't know that. Like a week ago or five days ago or something. So, I mean, you know, people are doing... I saw the link. That's a good link, isn't it? It's a good link. It's kind of like Kruppi. I'd be fine signing an injured Kruppi right now and just waiting for him to be ready.

1:36:50But, you know, it is what it is. All right. The last little thing I'll say here is that Clive had Spurs finishing seventh. Tim had Spurs finishing seventh. Paul, sixth. Me, fifth. So we're all in that cluster. It's the same kind of thing. Can they turn one day a week of football and a decent group and a decent manager into something? We'll get to the wildest predictions and we're out of here. Timbs is actually a really good one that I could sign on to. Ezza struggles for game time in the first half of the season, but finishes the campaign as the first choice left winger. Could see that happening.

1:37:19Again, these are wildest predictions. Paul, you said the quint for Arsenal, the quintuple. I guess that includes the community shield. Clive, you said City get relegated due to the 115, the fabled 115. Wouldn't that be amazing? And I said, Arsenal win the league on May 1st, home to Tottenham Hotspur. which I'm calling my shot. May 1st, we beat Tottenham at home and win the league. Calling my shot. I'm calling my counselor. That'd be a long weekend. That'd be. Go to predictions.arsenalvisionpodcast.com. Fill out your predictions. Check out ours. See what you think. Would love to see your results.

1:37:56Predictions.arsenalvisionpodcast.com. If you want more on the top five, the big six, the big seven, whatever we're calling them, Tim did an unbelievable job researching for a Power Rankings episode we just put out recently on the Patreon, so you can check that out. Lots more coming. Lots more to do. I am so excited to share another season with Tim and Clive and Paul and Phil and Scott and Matt and everybody who's involved in this podcast and Paul's new music coming, Paul Hepker's new music coming. And I'm excited to share it with you. I'm excited to go on the journey again to ride the highs, to feel the anxiety, maybe a little bit less anxiety than previously, to work through the lows together, but just to be together, to be part of this club and to share the experience.

1:38:32And so I hope you feel the same way. I can't wait. Clive, thank you. Thank you very much. Paul, thanks. Woo-hoo! My name is Ellie Smith. We love you. Here we go. We will talk to you after R.S. 10. Coventry Nill.

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