Outstanding Arsenal Blow Away City to Win Community Shield

27:05I agree with that. Look, Clive, there's definitely a drive and a locomotion and a physicality to Odegaard's game that we didn't see routinely through last season. And I thought his combativeness, I know Billy Carpenter raised this, you've raised it as well, basically saying the number of duels that he was in is a night and day difference from what we were seeing from him physically in prior seasons. And you add all that together, and that's when you get the best Martin Odegaard back.

27:34Elliot:Yeah, just while you were talking there, Paul, I had a look at the PFA team in the season for 2022, 23, and 23, 24. And he's in both of their midfields. One with Rodri and De Bruyne, and one with Rice and Rodri. So that's the level of player that we had, right? And for the last two seasons, we haven't really had that player. But I was one of those pundits that critiqued him. So when you critique somebody, you have to make sure the praise is as loud. His intention and movement of the ball is significant. And that was always my thing. He won the possession nine times in his game, won five out of six ground jewels.

28:13Elliot:He nearly sly tackled a goal in, for God's sake. Right? So that tells you something. he's prepared preparedness to put himself into areas which i didn't think he was comfortable doing last year he's realized if i'm going to be the guy that's been the 10 i've got to run like one i've got to run through like one and then once there was one bit in the game yesterday and it's the sort of thing that i would have killed him for last year he's run forward he's broken out of the team knowledge to his right and he's played it just behind him remember just behind him and and a half a second earlier. And maybe a little late, yeah.

28:47Elliot:Yeah. And the ball ends up being turned over, so Nonny gets a bit of stick for turning the ball over. And then we run back, right? We run back, and they sit in the recycle edge of the area. Who nicks in to win the ball back? Odegaard, right? So, and that's the thing, the reaction and the body language. I was talking to, you know Kimo, the guy who's a lovely comps? I think he's Norwegian. And the guy, Kimo, he's really, really good, right? And I said to him privately today, I said, you know, I saw it against Como. What's different? He just looks different. And he said the word body language. His body language is completely different.

29:24Elliot:You can always tell with him when his body language is right and he's happy and he's smiling. And we saw that in the World Cup, the happiness he played for Norway in the World Cup. But did you see the happiness he played for Arsenal yesterday? Did you see words like how do other people coexist with him didn't come out of my mouth yesterday. he co-existed with everybody he needed to he created a partnership with solace which i think was really good so he had bruno and miles together solace know the guard together and nonny being high wide and and almost being like the striker next to have not next have us but the two guys at the highest and i thought that was really good so he shifted positions where he needed to and at two three nil guess what he did he dropped deep did anyone care that he dropped deep to control the first phase of possession when you're two three nil up nope so he's reading up the game was reading of where to be when we're being aggressive reading when to be at the front line when we want to press reading to say okay man city you've had a few passes here i'm going to take the ball off you now put it in my pocket there's nothing you can do about it and i'm like it was sensational absolutely sensational and i think the bruno odegaard axis is already paying off they just know they just find each other that's so clever together yeah they're wise paul and what i was gonna say the words like a new signing would want to come out of my mouth but it felt like like a new signing yeah and the wisdom of bruno and i don't think he's not fit yet right it's quite clear but what he does when there's a situation to go and get he goes and gets it and puts his body near it creates a moment where he wins a foul creates a moment where they turn away he just wise in contact and he sees danger early and goes in and i love that wisdom about him i'm still working him out by the way i've got a couple of words with names in my mind i call him an upper tier passer right you know when you sit in the upper tier you can see all the passes well he can see them too and he just does that all right i love that about you say you know you're watching the game well just do that one and he does that one it's like oh that's fine if it goes there i don't really mind because he can see the game like you can but he's in the trenches right how can he see that pass right so i really like that about him i really like his wisdom and we looked wise in there didn't we with those two yeah and then miles was there as the bouncer as the brawn yeah he had the soft touch for the goal right so it was nice wasn't it it was one of the five or six midfields we're going to see this season right let's not get too excited for now yeah i mean one of the the moments that really stands out to me from the odegaard game is right around halftime we have this beautiful move we develop the play up the left hand side it leads to a scramble in the box and Odegaard slides in with a shot inside the six-yard box that Donnarumma saves.

32:05But he throws his leg in there. He flies up to the ground. He's the first to the ball deep in the box to get a shot that Donnarumma scrambles clear. We could have scored from that move. And it's like...

32:13Elliot:That's a slide tackle while they did it. The slide tackle while they laid down. Yeah, that's the one. Okay, that's the one you're talking about. Yep, yep, yep. All right. But it's that kind of thing, right? It's not just the physicality. It's the urgency to get onto the end of moves. there's nothing better than a player who's got something to prove and the talent to prove it and feels fit and feels himself you see that by the way across the team I think you see it with Kai too Kai didn't play 30 minutes in this game you know what I mean he started he went deep in the game he showed real uh desire to to make his impact I I think these players who are feeling fit and have something to prove we hate the like a new signing comment but I I think it does make a big, big difference.

32:56And to be fair, Paul, you know, he was your stock rising, Kai Haberts. He's a player who I think just facilitates our play in different ways from Jokras. And he had so many interesting little moments, the skimmed header on for Solis when he nearly played in Saka. He obviously had the headed goal, which I don't know that it's even the best header, but thanks to Donnarumma's performance art on the day, it winds up getting into the back of the net. He, you know, combined on a lot of good moves and he just looked fit and fluid and had the pressing and off-the-ball intensity that we associate with him.

33:27So to me, and everybody knows, I think, this about me at this point, I like the technical players who can combine in midfield, give us a little more central occupation and access because I think that unlocks Mikel Arteta's football more and I thought Kai was a big part of why we looked so good. Yeah. He's almost like he lets the wine breathe. The front end of our attack, I think particularly against a team like City if they don't play a coward ball and they come at you a bit and you're going to have that little bit of space Kai Havertz is the man to kill them a bit like he was against PSG when you get those opportunities there will be some space to run into and I think he was great at connecting the play at stretching the play and it was just a very Kai Havertz day and the whole reflection of the attacking half of our team is different with Kai Havertz, and I love it.

34:28And we didn't have that last season. Look at what, for all the talk about what we didn't do in terms of open play last season, it's as simple as what players did we not have. And if going into this season you have Kai Havertz fit, Saka, Odegaard, Bruno, Calafiore, we get Saliba back in a couple of months you have those guys on the pitch there will be no conversation about what kind of football Arsenal's playing but if you don't have them you get what we had last season it's a miracle we we've found a way to get enough attacking impact last season but now we see what you know all this talk about will will Arteta look for a different style of football will he have the players when he has the players look what we did do you think he really gave them an instruction today guys we're going to try a thing called attacking no he had sullies he had you know he didn't say that he might have said that you don't know he might have he had a riding around on a tricycle with a a clown nose before the game doing his how his uh pre-match speech we're going to try attacking lads no he had fit and firing Odegaard he had Bruno he had Miles Lewis Skelly dialed in he had Calafiore attacking their back line that beautiful little hooked run Calafiore does to sync up with Miles Lewis Skelly where they give each other the eyes for the goal I mean they're just in sync they're they're flowing and you have that personnel on the pitch and that understanding they've built up over seasons, you're going to get that kind of football.

36:11That's all it is. If the Greek gods let us have our players this season, you're going to see our football. Yeah, there are things players do that show you they're feeling it. And there were so many little moments of that. I mean, late in the game, when Saka was on and Odegaard was still out there, he had that drop of the shoulder where he killed two city players dead, just deep in midfield, dropped the shoulder, turned and played it up the pitch and it ends with sack a shot that's blocked but I mean it was, there were so many fun little moments where the players started to grow into it and just strut their stuff a little bit, you know what I mean?

36:48Can I hit on the body language thing because it's even broader, you look at City versus Arsenal, that whole body language has completely shifted No keepy uppies from Cherokee anymore, huh? Did you like when Ben White stood over Gvardiol in the penalty box and just stared at him like, get up you idiot friend laurie and he had absolutely clattered him by the way he just stood over him anyway yeah fantastic photograph it had a watermark on it and our friend laurie removed the water mark so he did not i am not aware of that we don't condone that our friend rory removed the watermark yeah wink wink um yeah but like and i there was individuals but as a team it's like there was almost a sense and acceptance that we are the champs now okay it's early in the season for that pre-season they're they're kind of still not quite there yet and like there's a bit of that in it but there was a respect for this arsenal team from man city because they don't have rodry they don't have de Bruyne uh they're not the same team they don't have pep guardiola they have the bald fraud fraud on the sideline at the moment.

38:00They have everything to prove. They kind of know it and we've just done it. So there is a kind of a shift of body language between the two teams. Yeah, I agree. Clive, something that we should get to though, the summer is a time for looking at how much you spend and the name on the back of the shirt and celebrating those wins. But those aren't really wins. If those were wins, I realized this was January, then Chelsea would be celebrating their title and Mikhail Mudrik would be holding up the trophy and we would be complaining about Leo Troussard being a flop. That's not how that went, right? You have to be careful because we've seen lots of players come in and impress early and not actually be at the level over the long run.

38:39And, you know, Mikhail, I mean, Arsene Wenger famously said he was sorry, Rob Holding didn't cost 50 million pounds. And over time, we came to realize why Rob Holding didn't cost over 50 million pounds. So you have to be patient. But you also should be willing to say what you see. And what I see with Christos Solis is a tremendously intelligent, highly technically gifted player. He gets two assists in this game. I quoted out the stat and the instant reaction. I'll quote it out again. It's 19 games where he's played over 30 minutes for his club where he's been involved in a goal. He's just got end product.

39:12And you see that end product because he makes quick, intelligent decisions with the ball in the final third. Had the one moment where he laid it off for Calafiore where he probably should have taken on the shot, but otherwise another hugely encouraging game from Solis, who's had a nice preseason, a chance to really bet in, learn the system, learn what's expected of him. His tracking back is excellent too. He moves around. I know you really rate the player, but this was a bit of a step up in level, a step up on the stage, and it didn't seem to faze him. Nope.

39:42Elliot:Man's got a brain. You can fire the ball into him however you like. He can take it. I thought his roaming was really good hence why I sort of paired him up with Odegaard I was almost like higher up players and I thought they were really good together I haven't got the data out about how many times they passed to each other because I normally have that if it's a league game but I haven't got that but it felt like a lot and they were there to get on the same line for each other so when he came off the left hand side Odegaard was there knowing I've got to be there to receive it and Kai and Nani would stretch the game so they got the pocket there to play in.

40:17Elliot:I thought they did that really, really well. And then Bruno and Miles would then back up the play, keep the distances nice and tight. I think he's excellent, Eddie. I saw him close up in the two home games and just the way he strikes the ball, just please, I urge you who go to the game just to watch the warm-up sometimes when you learn these new players. His ball striking, the way he fixes situations around the box, so if the ball's not quite there he can still get good contact on it he's got varied left foot crosses when he goes on the outside but he normally goes for power which I think is really interesting to put a ball into an area and not worry too much about picking someone out just put the ball into an area would make it very difficult to defend his header on the back post is beautiful and even the cross you know we've grown used to it's not a critique when we have an inverted cross where we clip it to the back post when we come in on our right foot for example and I want it you know i want that but that different past the edge of the area was just brilliant wasn't it it was new it was brilliant and it was just full of attacking freedom and i felt the team look loose to me look loose and when i re-watched it today paul was right about body language in the tunnel before the game now you know the result and you're watching it you're thinking the city team look tense mate look like they're walking to a funeral and we're like cool and our new red tracks it tops do you know what i mean you go out to the i like those tops we walk out to the ground i'm too old like a flipping post box if i wear that right so um and you walk and it's all red everywhere in the stadium adidas are killing it in the stadium all the new tops the blue ones are out there and it just all feels so good and we started getting like a million miles an hour and it was it was really good and there's a solace is not i don't think it's hard to spot but I'm also conscious you know sorry to I don't mean to down on anybody but we you know we played too many for 38 league games until his legs nearly fell off we still need a bit more on our left hand side he won't be able to play like that for the next 64 games that we're going to have you know and Declan Rice played 68 games you can literally see his eyes popping out his head body got to the end of the World Cup it's a lot of football we need we need a little bit more there but so far, so very, very good.

42:38Elliot:And he, to quote one of my lines, which I love to talk about first 11s, he is in the first 11, mate. That's for sure. Yeah, yeah, I think that is absolutely for sure. I want to talk a little bit about the players that weren't in the squad and what Mikel had to say about that. And we can talk a little bit about the happenings in the transfer market. I want to talk a bit about Rice getting out there and Saka getting out there, which is great. And I think we probably need to talk a little bit about Cal Fiore. This is a player that I feel like flies under the radar more than his talent should because of his robustness.

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47:07And, you know, I think he spoke about it really intelligently. He said it was just technical decisions. Quote, I've been trying to persuade the Premier League and the clubs to be able to extend the number of players that we can have, especially the outfield players in the squad because we play more and more games and the load is unreal and not giving the chance to those players to be able to be here to participate because maybe it demands the qualities of one of those players and we don't have them available. It's just a shame. So it's the most difficult part of the job, but there's nothing to do with that.

47:32It's just the fact we can bring 18 outfield players and we believe that for today's games, these were the options we needed, especially with the physical condition of certain players. Now look, Mikel is absolutely right. It is ridiculous. Clubs are under pressure to sign more players, add more players. You need more players. The season is rough. But then if you do that, you have to leave important players home on match days. That doesn't make any sense. And when I look at the bench, honestly, to me, it did look a little bit light of squad players, especially for something that's a glorified, friendly, unless you win it and then it's a trophy.

48:05So for me, I think Mikel is right, but he's being a little cheeky because we know that there's transfer issues surrounding both Ethan, who's now linked with the loan to Villa and Martinelli, who's linked with a move to Napoli, as well as maybe Saudi, if he's interested in going there. So your thoughts on Mikel's comments, but also the reality of why those players maybe were two that weren't included.

48:28Elliot:Yeah, I sort of, well, I do agree with his comments. That must be the hardest thing of all. When you train five days a week and come the weekend, you're not even in the same kit as your teammates. And you can't go near the dressing room, etc. It just doesn't feel right. you know they have a spare man traveling away from home i think knowing the way that michael thinks i think for champ of league days you can get much bigger bench per se we're still in the same substitutes but it's either it's a much bigger bench i want to say 22 or 23 players that allowed in the squad i'm not sure that's correct but it's bigger than 18 that's for sure and um and that up to 12 subs so yeah 23 that's why i wasn't sure earlier don't trust that ai mate and basically and basically it that feels right to me yeah if you do one thing in Europe then why can't you do it in the other games right so but we're biased we've got a big squad we've got massive revenues and other teams may not want to do that but I think it'd be a really really good thing to see of course now when you have got have got a restriction your mind sort of wanders away right so but if anyone was thinking Fabio Vier was going to be in the squad I don't think they were too shocked right so So there's a few there that are very much signpost.

49:44Elliot:But there's a couple there which I don't think are. You know, I do think he'd have liked to have picked Martin. He'd definitely have liked to have picked Ethan and Marley Salmon, who just had his best game of his life in the previous game and just can't be selected for this game. He's got Declan Rice just back. I need to give him half an hour. I need to give Saka half an hour. I need to give Superman a bit at a time because he has priorities because we've got the league game coming up. So I've got to give these guys priorities. I've got to get them on to at least feel their legs on the grass again, right?

50:14Elliot:So, and it's a shame. As for people going, I've been saying to people who've been asking me questions, I'm trying not to get too invested in some of the rumours that are out there and some of the communication, shall we say, or lack of communication. I'm trying not to get too invested because it affects my enjoyment of the actual football. But in the end, it seems quite clear there need to be some sales for this group. you can choose your reason and anything that shows an indication that that player could be targeted for a sale for example not being a squad we're going to leap on it and start to extrapolate that thought process i'm not sure it's going to happen any i i just know i feel as though we're going to see someone go we don't want to go you know and um and that's a shame but that's been something i feel has been sort of brewing due to our lack of sales maybe unfortunate timely the injuries for certain players like Nelson and Jesus for example maybe some bad pricing for the era for example you know there's a few things there that that made this a little bit more difficult than it should be that's the game right so let's see what happens in the next few weeks I think we get well we are going to get a clear picture and we might get a clear picture on the on the outgoings and the income and the incomings and the two may align and make this more understandable right now we're not clear we have not got the full transparency rumour conjecture is not something we should be applying on too heavily um but let's just wait and see but i was saying i was saying to andrew the other day i hope it all goes well because i'm sharpening my pitch for a couple of days well but this brings to an interesting point look the outgoings there's been a lot of news it's hard for me right because one week we're signing vinnie jr for a an amount of money that the club have never invested in any player in the next week we have to sell to buy.

52:05And I think both things are sort of true. We do have to get better at selling. It's just impossible to continue to load up on players and never sell players. It's just important to be able to do it to right size your squad and have the right balance, let alone the financial regulations and being able to really fire the money cannons when the opportunity presents itself. I'd hate to see Ethan go. I think it's a mistake. I think at his age with his talent, that's a player you invest in. But I also understand that the pathway has to be there. I think a loan would be great. But I also accept that I can't sit here and say we have to be less precious about selling players we like and then say, no, but not him.

52:38We always say that, right? We have to be more aggressive at selling players, but not him. Let's sell the ones we know we don't need anymore, not the ones we think we might. The one that to me can't go is Miles. I just think there isn't another 19-year-old doing what he can do in midfield. I haven't seen it anywhere. I mean, this is a player who's shown he can play in the Bernabeu in the Champions League and be at that level at 18 who at 19 came into our midfield at the tail end of a season when things were spiraling a little restored the solidity for us and it helped us win a title and now just boss the manchester city midfield with 117 million pound elliot anderson in it so i would i would certainly not let him go but paul uh clive yeah oh sorry man i thought you're

53:15Elliot:gonna come i just told miles i just want to say this is a developing player but as a character that's a special 19 year old right we have to remember on the football side he's still learning he's only just found a shot he's only just found a medium range pass but as a as a young man there's just not many 19 year olds like that walking around on the earth right so um special special person to play in those circumstances yeah yeah i totally agree um But where I do think, Paul, there's maybe, it's hard to say on the outgoings and it gets very emotional. For me, and I've been banging this drum and I realize banging drums is kind of what I'm known for, but I looked at yesterday and I thought, that's going to be a very good team no matter what.

54:02Do I want us to add an attacker? You're damn right I do. Of course I do. First of all, it's fun. Second of all, I think we could use it. But I look at us and I say, without an attacker, our floor is still incredibly high. If we don't sign an attacker, you're going to sit here and tell me we're not going to be one of the teams right there to win the title we're favorites for the title right now without an attacker but I will say this if we go into this season not totally sure when Timber or Saliba are back and we think that Ben White and Christian Mascara are going to start every three days we're going to have trouble now Ben White looks good right now Christian Mascara looks good right now but one has had injury troubles the other is on a learning curve I cannot see a world where we can achieve our goals if we are not very careful about reinforcing that defensive group.

54:53Because let's just say Mascara picked up something in training this week. You're looking at Marley Salmon starting against Coventry or Ben White starting at center back and Zubamendi starting at right back. That is literally what we're looking at if something like that happens. And it can't be allowed to happen. And so I will tell you what Mikel Arteta said on the defensive editions. quote, we know that there are certain areas that through injuries we are weaker and we need to strengthen. We are trying to do that. We've been trying to do that for weeks. So only the right opportunity in the club is available to do it.

55:24We will do it. Your thoughts, Paul? Yeah, we definitely need something on the defensive side. Is anything an absolute, absolute? I don't know. I mean, if the defenders were looking at who are good enough, who can, because they need to be able to fit in. They need to be able to play in the Premier League. They need to be able to handle a high line from the get-go or by the time they acclimate to the team, hopefully William Saliba's back, Jurian Timber is back. I think we have to accept that Saliba's probably a November-December time frame. I think the club has to act that way. Even if they have a hope for better, they must act as though that's the case.

56:08I will grant you that, but you still have a calculus to make of, like if they want 60 million for Kwanzaa, do you do it? If they do something as unreasonable with Kwanzaa, do you do that? There's a calculus and then you start going to players who don't play in the Premier League or may have the ability but haven't played that kind of high line in the Premier League, or now you're into tough territory and they've got to decide, well, maybe we do Rice or Zubimendi or Guimaraes filling in from time to time for Ben White. Because you say we don't need an attacker, but to Clive's point, we need a left winger unless we decide that Martinelli can fill in as the backup left winger.

57:04The only other left wing attacker in the squad yesterday was Ebereche-Eze, and we don't even really use him that way. Yeah. Or Nani starts to play there. Yeah, I don't know. He's certainly an option. But you do have a question on the left-hand side. And to be fair to the Ebereche-Eze point, the way Tzaliz played right from the get-go in the last couple of games in particular is coming infield quite a bit, the way we used to see Trossard doing it. So it could lean into an Eze way of playing left wing too, in terms of starting on the left, moving in. So it can be an option. I think that that is a good point.

57:46We do have the numbers in midfield that you can use Eze actually on the left wing. But I do think there's a calculus. I agree we have to do something defensively, almost certainly. but you still got to find a player who's going to make a difference in the next one two three months when ben white and mascara may hold up and you have options to fill in um it's a crazy market and when they say 60 for konza i'm like will i pay 60 for konza yeah i mean i hear you look let me say it like this what you cannot do as arsenal football club is let the bottom drop out You'd like to think that we try to chase the highest ceiling possible, right?

58:33Signing a Vinny Jr., that's to chase the ceiling. What you cannot allow to happen is the bottom to dropout, where you find yourself in January in sixth place. I think it's very, very hard to picture a world where that happens. But let me just give you the... Can we just do a mental exercise for a second? We're going to Villa Park, second game of the season. And Solis has felt something in his calf, and they just want to be careful. so they start as a off the left are you feeling like we're gonna be fine we can win at Villa Park because I am now let me give you a different thought Mascara feels something in his cap and we go to Villa Park and you look at the lineup and it's Ben White at right center back and Zubamendi at right back and we still win of course which one of those scenarios gives you more concern though for me it is absolutely the latter scenario or we start Marley Salmon at Villa Park and Ben White at right back or Mascara right back like I get or or we have to move Declan Rice to center back okay you trust him but my point is we are one fatigue or injury away on the right hand side of our defense from scenarios nobody wants to be in whereas in the attack there are a lot of ways we could put something out that i don't think panics us so so again you just play deckland rice at right center back and uh super mandy at right back i joke no you're right you see what i'm saying as we as we work through the thought experiment it don't take much before you're in a whole world of pain but if you're our director of football uh who's very much on the spotlight he has these horrible choices of do i want to pay pay 60 million for konza or do i want to go into the great unknown and sign somebody from europe who hasn't played in the premier league and yeah that's his job though that's why he gets paid it's going to be very interesting to see how he solves it.

1:00:23So basically, yeah, you're right. Clive, any final thoughts on that before we talk about a few additional things from the game itself?

1:00:29Elliot:No, that's where the risk is, Elliot. Right footed defender. That's what we need. Some say right back, some say center back. I say get one that can do both. And that helps you. Mosquera, I thought, was really good in this game yesterday. Agreed. That's, you know, I thought the role him and Gabriel had was slightly different. Gabriel was much more of the guy the sentry at the back, you know, Lats Lieber does and Mosquera went into battle he pressed in on O 'Reilly as I said and he pressed in on Haaland as well and he was allowed to go and get stuff rather than being the guy to sweep stuff up and I thought it suited him and it suited Gabriel with natural responsibility I like Kwanza it's an easy integration the money's high guess what Acerin I don't like her shock horror the money's high let's see what we do other people like Kwanza he's a fine player got wonderful shoulders and I'm sure he'll do well playing for Arsenal and he's quite leggy and he's got development ahead potentially that could be the new Ben White as Ben White where maybe it was the move on the end of the season I thought Ben White had a great game as well in this game but we know he's not going to last right we know we've got issues there we've got issues with Timber which sounds quite hopeful but going strength can come out of anywhere and Ben White's not conservative in his game style is he?

1:01:47Elliot:he gets into people and he takes one knock and he's gone for a week. And if that's the wrong time of season, that's three big games, right? So that's where the risk is and I'm sure we'll do something. I think it'll happen in the next few days because it has to. It's not even a discussion, it has to. And if it doesn't, we are talking about midfielders who are both, you know, in Tudermen and Rice, who are both just back, by the way. And when they come back, they want to want to play where they want to play. You know, not be in a position where they don't know as well. So yeah, we need to do it and I'm sure we will.

1:02:18I have to just say, not to defend Villa, but for people who are like, Villa are just taking the piss with this price. This is a prime age England international who in the last two seasons has started 4 ,000 minutes for Villa, leading them to winning the Europa League and played 1 ,000 Champions League minutes as well, starting 11 of 11 Champions League games for them. So this is an every match, 90-minute, full-on starter in league and European competition, a full England international in his prime as a defender, and we think they should sell him to us at a discount. I don't know where we get off thinking.

1:02:58The Villa web guy is going to clip you up, put it on the internet, and say that's why he's 60 million. What are you doing? I'm not helping Bert. Sorry, what I meant was he's a calamity of a defender. He's an injury waiting to happen. They'd be lucky to get 15 million for him. They should sell him to us because we're nice people too.

1:03:12Elliot:Who do you prefer, Kwanza or Kansa? For me, it's Kansa because I think he is more naturally a center back. I think he's good on the ball. And I think, look, he's not Saliba, no one's Saliba, but I think he can play that role for as long as we need him to at a reasonably consistent level. And he's used to playing in a pretty high line as well, by the way. Yeah. Yeah. All right. So, Clive, well, since I mentioned it, let's just talk about it quickly. I watched Cal Fiore's post-match interview he was wonderful he just is isn't he he's easy to watch and listen to he's a lovely guy but he said some really intelligent things watching him on TV he was humble he talked about how Miles deserved 70 % of the credit for his goal I think Miles got a cushion down the middle of the city

1:04:04Elliot:what? what? So anyway, he was talking about what he thinks people will see from him in this season. And, you know, he didn't go to the World Cup. He spent a lot of time training. He said, I've worked really hard to be physically ready for this season. I think people are going to see that. Mikel said it's important that he holds up. And I thought Mikel's comments on him were, you know, again, like most of Mikel's comments after the match were great. He talked about the quality of what he provided. He said, quote, I think he can be a total player. unquote. But he also said on what he needs to improve, quote, be more consistent in everything.

1:04:42In his habits, I think that's interesting, in his ability, in his robustness, in the decisive actions in the game, that's why we have to put the focus on him because he's more than capable of doing it. I get sometimes out ahead of things and say things bigger than I mean, so I'm not going to do that. I'm going to just say that I think Calafiore is a unicorn unlike any player we've ever seen in world football. Do you agree with that, Clive? yep when he first came

1:05:08Elliot:I sort of described him as a Real Madrid talent the sort of player that they used to buy you know and just go and play it reminded me of Sergio Ramos really you know swashbuckling defender just appearing in different parts of the beach do really well when he was younger he was just absolutely brilliant started at right back went to centre back and that's what he reminded me of and he does look better Elliot we've seen him this season and he looks better he looks a little bit more agile he just looks a little bit nimbler on his feet a bit lighter on his feet and he just looks really really good we have a really super talent here alright and he'll be up for contract talks at the end of this season and I hope we just nail that down because I do think he's absolutely special we missed him man we missed him in that Champions League final you know Hincapi was great but when we were a little bit scared of being on the ball you need someone who's not scared of moving into zones do you mean and getting the ball and maybe helping us get an extra pass in to get outside the pitch just do something a bit special we miss him we missed our fullback so badly in that game i still can't go over it i just think yeah i hope i hope him and the club see his future where he is because in a couple years time we are talking what are we talking about you know where his level could go he's still young for a defender.

1:06:33Elliot:Is he 23? 22? 23? 24. 24. Thank you. 24 in May. And that's just like, that's really young for a defender. In that prime age group, 24 to 28, which a lot of our players are, he's just right there. I've got nothing to say here. Just look after them calves, son. Look after them calves. That's where the problem seems to be. Yeah, I mean, he could have had another goalie to volley at the back post that he just couldn't keep down. I mean, he, I think he jumps out of the building. his ability to head the ball is sensational. His ability to just time his runs and finish in the box. We've seen that more than once.

1:07:09I think defensively he's better than people discuss him as being. I think there are things he can work on defensively, but I think he's a better defender than people maybe give him credit for. But it is about robustness. It is about holding up. And we've seen this with so many players down the years. It doesn't matter how good you are. I think Tomiyasu was one of the more talented players in our team as well. he eventually could not keep his body fit and we waited a long time for him to come back um and that has been the case with players down the years so with cal fiore i think this is a critical season not just for him from a contract standpoint but for us to see if he has it in him to hold up and be robust we're lucky to having capier too by the way and i thought cal fiore was interesting in his post-match comments where he said he's my best friend in the in the group yeah you know we really like each other and i i love that the competitiveness for places but the ability to still get on and you heard ses fabregas say it after the como game he said you just get a sense from this guy that they're all lovely guys that they're all good guys and um you know i will just say vinnie jr maybe maybe you're regretting your decision because there's some hilarious viral videos going around of him getting slaughtered from how he played in a preseason game the other day um and basically saying we should have sold him to arsenal what the heck were we thinking and giving him this money.

1:08:22So this is your life now, Vinny. Good luck. Paul, final thoughts from the end of the game, like on Rice coming in and Saka coming in. I mean, Paikai Osaaka looked fit to me. He looked sprinty, but of course he did because I want to see that. Declan Rice is Declan Rice, but there is something funny about being 3-0 up against City and your substitutes are Declan Rice and Paikai Osaaka. I mean, it's a reminder that while we're hung up on transfers, boy, oh boy, do we have a lot of talent. yeah uh they come in like saka has his moment where he goes for a near post finish when he should have squared it sure but who cared the shot over too from the center of the box really should have scored you uh he should but it was like okay it was just slightly miscalibrated it was all good right place right feeling nice clean hit just just slightly off on his timing which fully understandable and like he just hasn't he has a good feeling about him Declan straight back to where but what I liked was they came in and we were just still really good and we were really good before they came in that was the thing I liked most I didn't miss them and like okay there's a whole nonny conversation but like in terms of the attack didn't didn't miss him uh we can with the enough of the players that we saw when we started this game we've got enough game it's okay he doesn't have to play every minute and that's what you want you want them coming in when they're feeling good and fit and healthy and not having to play every minute and that Declan doesn't have to play every minute for us to maintain our level and what one question I have is where will let's assume Bruno and Rice start most games.

1:10:09Which side does Bruno play? You know, you picture Rice on the left-hand side, but Bruno would be very interesting on the left-hand side in terms of connecting players. Back to your Calafiore, Tzoli's a very clever player. Well, can I ask you a question? Did you see Odegaard playing more of a 10 type role, like a pure 10? in this game, 4-2-3-1, where Odegaard was higher and more between the lines. It didn't seem like he was coming back as deep. And so I wonder if it'll be, will it be a 4-2-3-1 or will it be a 4-3-3 where Bruno and Odegaard are more advanced of Rice? I think how that sets up is an interesting one, you know, or will it just be more fluid?

1:10:50I don't know. I think it's fascinating, but what I'm really kind of zooming in on is connectivity on the left-hand side. And I just think Bruno's really clever at joining the dots. I think Rice is so much better on the left too. Yeah. So that's the question. I generally picture Rice to the left, but he does, he can play on the right. He does spin that ball up the right. It does get him on his right foot. So I think it's going to be very interesting. I guess the default is probably Rice to the left, but Bruno on the left would make all sorts of interesting connections. Clive?

1:11:34Elliot:Yeah, I think it's going to be the magic roundabout, mate. Rotational. If you look at how Bruno and Odegaard swap positions, it's key. Supermany Odegaard did it sometimes last year as well. And sometimes, you know, towards the end of the season, we went away from the 4-2 build-up to the 3-1-6. And in that situation, sometimes Rice was between the centre-backs. In this game, Miles was between the centre-backs on occasions. Bruno went between the centre-backs on occasions. They shared the role. exactly what you should do to confuse the opposition. Sometimes Odegaard went out to the right like he likes to do, but then sometimes he went right behind the striker and went beyond the striker.

1:12:11Elliot:And this sort of freshness of movement and freedom is something that I think is probably the takeaway from this game. And I don't normally read quotes, Elliot, so please forgive me, right? But I was reading an article that you contributed to, actually, today in the yesterday's Sunday Times. and there's a bit in there and this is a really interesting quote Arteta says he has now got the team to a stage in their evolution where he can for the first time give them space to make their own decisions he has come to a point after six and a half years I have led and led so much but now with these players they have the capacity and the freedoms and the understanding to do that a lot more and that word capacity coaching for capacity something I spoke about before you're coaching to fix solutions you give people the capacity to solve problems and if someone moves out of a zone stop don't think about the formation think about that player's moved out i would be dumb based on our principles not to move into space he has vacated and when you get a chance to watch this game with that thought process in mind you'll see those rotations and you won't worry about left and right it should be depth what phase of build-up we're in settled build-up or are we doing something a bit more uncontrolled and second ball play if we're second ball play we do that when our two of our centre mids are a bit higher and maybe a bit more lateral to make sure we can read the drop of the ball i think these it's just what paul was touching on there to play different ways is key you know it's so right so pretty much what i said clive yeah because again so many different pictures you know so different pictures and the control that we showed up three nil was lovely wasn't it you know you didn't care where people stood you know so i just i thought honestly watch it back as many times as you like i know they weren't fit o 'reilly was dying on his feet and he was resting narrow and often docker would come back and help him because he was struggling that means we could do what we like on the other side that young kid kuzinov mate he's not a right back he got slaughtered right so um and so lots of things are wrong guardiol's first game for a long time he's been injured diaz he's on his way down he's their skipper that's not the answer Gonzalez who came on, he's not the answer.

1:14:24Elliot:Anilson looked like two foot three. He's not the answer. Kovacic should retire soon. And Foden in his 10, see what I can do. Couple of nice turns on a half turn. Not enough oomph for me. And Haaland first game back. Right? So I love what we did, but they're not at their top. They're not there yet. You know what I mean? They're not there yet. We've beaten Manchester City and Community Shields and not won the league before. And they've won the league in seasons where they've not won it. All I will say is, though, they didn't just lose this. They were comprehensively beaten in every phase of play and looked miles, miles off what we are.

1:14:53And I realized, look, Erling Haaland being fit is enough to change a lot, period, full stop. Not to mention that Buati may come in, Enzo Fernandez may come in. You know, they will spend what they have to spend. But look, Chelsea spend a ton and it hasn't fixed them. So we presume it'll work with City, but this isn't Pep City anymore. And at the end of the day, you can only replace so many De Bruyne's, Kyle Walker's, Bernardo Silva's, Ilkley Gundogan's, and Rodri's. before you can't replace them at all. And it is the case that they have lost, if there was a Hall of Fame for the Premier League, they've lost Hall of Famer after Hall of Famer after Hall of Famer.

1:15:28And they're just going to be a point where they can't reproduce it. With Pep, they finished third and second in the last two seasons. They haven't crossed 80 points. That's the team they've been, with Erling Haaland, by the way, and with Rodri. So it's going to be a whole new era. I think before we get out of here, we should at least talk about, look, it was so much fun to win this. now we look ahead to the season. I kind of wonder, Paul, there's a part of me that would have been thinking rush Saka back and play him against Coventry, rush Rice back, play him against Coventry. Mikel's going to look at this and I think it's going to give him a lot of confidence that whoever he picks is going to be able to go out there and do the business.

1:16:02So do you think that there's a scenario where he just lets Saka and Rice develop naturally back into the team, lets players develop their fitness naturally back into the team, and puts this group back out there against Coventry? Look, I think this performance from City changes my appraisal of City. And maybe that's stupid, but this wasn't a loss by City. This was a comprehensive defeat from a team that did not look close to what a title-winning team needs to look like. So maybe it's early doors, but for us, what matters is being ready for Coventry, and I think Mikel might just run it back. Yeah, no.

1:16:37I think as long as he thinks Saka's ready and Rice is ready, he's going to start Saka and Rice. I don't agree. now he's gonna they're all gonna huddle and they're gonna he's gonna get with his physio guys and his medical guys and but like if he's fit he's gonna start saka he's gonna start as he means to go on and rotations and options are great but they're also for 60 minutes into a game 70 minutes into a game you know when the season gets a little busier i think he'd love to put out his strongest team against Coventry for the first game of the season, lay down a marker, play as champions, and say, this is who we are now.

1:17:21Can you imagine him having the attack he wants at his fingertips? If that's Kai Havertz, Solis, Saka, behind that Odegaard fit and firing and feeling it, and Rice and Bruno most likely, I don't think he's going to want to do anything, but turn on the machine gun. Maybe. I'll say this. I think one thing that will get toned down this season, there's a lot of sort of agitation and debate and discourse and kind of internecine argumentation about Yokozras and Nani in particular this past season. And like there were such points of, I think, disagreement and acrimony from people who viewed things differently.

1:18:06I think if Kai Havertz stays fit and Bikai Osaka stays fit and Jokras and Nani are important parts of the squad, it will just tone down the intensity of that debate because we will see that they are valuable, talented players who add something to what we do, but we will not have this crisis of evaluation. I just think, and this is me speaking for me, I think personally it's pretty clear that we're better when Saka plays than Nani Mduike. I also though, and this is going to be less of an obvious thing, I think we are a better team when Kai Havertz plays striker. I certainly think we're better when Kai plays striker than in midfield.

1:18:44And if he's fit and firing, I think that is how we mean to be set up. But I think those other players become valuable as alternative options to those players versus do they have it to be our first choice. Now, where I disagree with Paul Clive is that I think it's a long season. Villa and Chelsea are up after Coventry. We are at home. We did just dismantle City and look very, very good. I think Mikel Arteta will probably want to give Rice and Saka another 30 minutes and just make sure that they are on the right path to being ready for the Villa and Chelsea game. So that's my feeling. But I have been wrong before.

1:19:21I can't remember when. I'm sure it happened. I don't know if the listener will remember any time. But do you agree with Paul's assessment?

1:19:29Elliot:Yeah. It's all going to be done on training, my friend. How they look in training and what they need to do. That's fair. You can imagine it, right? You can imagine it, can't you? Last time that the home competitive Arsenal crowd, the old grumbly season ticket holders, saw this team was on telly at Crystal Palace. And in the Champions League final, it's the first time in a competitive league game they're going to come back to the Emirates as champions. Those players want to play in this game, mate. They want to play in this game desperately because they want to be there to feel, to soak that in, to soak in the electric atmosphere that it's going to be on a Friday night.

1:20:06Elliot:when the beers are flowing and London is nice or not. They could be desperate to play. So we'll see what happens. The ramp up has gone 30 minutes, maybe to 45 and then an hour. That's when they have games. I think Big Gabby played a bit more than he should have played in this game. That's the way he is. So yeah, we'll see. We'll see. I'm just really pleased to see the attacking freedom of the group. And I said to someone today online, I said, that's game one of 65. And do you remember, I don't know if it's not too long ago, but do you remember when Kai Havertz's hamstring ripped off in Dubai because we played him too much and we lost him for the critical running and ended up going to a Champions League semi-final with a centre mid up front?

1:20:48Elliot:That's what we got to avoid. We have to learn those lessons and recognise the value of everybody in the squad. The reason why we won the league last season is for everybody, it's the squad depth. Everyone's looking at us at the moment. They don't want to quite say we're the best team, but they're quick to say we're the best squad they're not quite in the respect level just yet need to beat a few more big teams we didn't really do that last season when we start beating them and accumulate points they can say we're the best team and we're the best squad but we are the best squad today and and that's the reason why we are still celebrating from our after 22 years yeah um well Well, it's go time.

1:21:30We have a trophy under our belt, a real trophy, a major trophy. The Super Cup is ours. We have a season now that gives us an opportunity to do something this club just doesn't do, which is repeat as champions. We are favorites to do it. We have the quality to do it, but there is transfer business that needs to be done to ensure that we have every opportunity to do it, that we support this phenomenal manager that we are fortunate to have in our club and these phenomenal players that we're fortunate to have at our club and show that we have the ambition to go and achieve all of our goals. So I can't wait to go on the journey again with everybody.

1:22:04I think last season, we all experienced the anxiety of four years of nearly, and we were worried that another year of nearly might break us. But now we can just take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy it. And what I saw against City was an Arsenal team that's excited to go do it now and not worried that they might not do it. And if that game yesterday is a reflection of their mindset, a reflection of their self-belief, a reflection of their courage to play their football and their belief that they are the better team, I think that is the last little piece. That little brother mentality is gone. We little bro-ed City yesterday.

1:22:43We put our hand on their face and held them at arm's length and battered them. And it is very exciting for what's to come. I love the squad that we have, and I think we're going to go on a really fun journey maybe where all of us can try to soak up that enjoyment even more this season without the anxiety of an inferiority complex. So we will have a John McKenzie pod tomorrow for patrons. We will have a main pod on Thursday. We will have an instant reaction on Friday. No Friday Night Live because it's Friday Night Football to start our season. Getting to sing, we know what we are. We know what we are.

1:23:16Champions of England, we know what we are. For the first time in earnest at the Emirates, the champions return home. It's going to be a beautiful start to the season and a beautiful season to go on the journey again together. So we look forward to sharing it with you. We'll leave it there for today. Paul, thank you. Woohoo! Thanks, Clive. Thank you very much. Well, this is it, everybody. And I just want to say, remember how much we love you because the new music is coming. So think about that before you respond to it. We love you. And we will talk to you after Arsenal 10. Coventry nil.

1:24:19Elliot:We'll see you next time. Together with free one-on-one design support for any project on any budget. Yep, we said free. Oh, and did we mention the cafe? So what are you waiting for? Come see all that's in store. Visit the Wayfair store today at Edens Plaza and Wilmette. Wayfair, every style, every home.