Set Piece Again Ole Ole

30:04And those languid body types sometimes can make it seem like they're not hurrying and anxious. You know, Odegaard has a busy, busy-looking body, right? He's always pointing and moving and shifting. But I wasn't necessarily convinced that Eze was always recovering into his position out of possession as well as he could have. And, you know, again, this is settling into an essay conversation, but I think it is also just the case that the shape was a little bit different and there were a little bit different spaces to occupy. So I'm curious out of possession if you felt that we were getting back into position as well as we could have.

30:34I mean, there's the before and after the sub thing, right? Before the sub, when we needed a goal, I think he was generally fine, right? We just need, he needs to learn us. We need to learn him. We were in attack mode, so we were probably going to be fine if we didn't give away other sloppy balls. Gabby giving away the ball is surprising, and that caught us out more than, say, Ezza spilling the ball, which we should kind of expect is coming, and other players should be in shape. He is a bit fluffy, right? He's on there to attack. He's not on there. You expect him to do a shift, to do the work, and he'll get better at that.

31:16but he's never going to be the guy you keep on there to have a strong spine, especially when you put him in the 10-roll and he's floating. But you have put him in the 10-roll for a reason. So you have placed your bets. You're going to let him play. You're not going to ask too much from him. But once we scored the goal, once we were going to make a sub, that's why I wouldn't put him out left because you still have the same problem on that side, right? If you swap him out for Trossard, you still have that problem that you put Eze on the pitch and now the left-hand side will he won't he will he make the tackle you know what Trossard's going to do so all known knowns once you want the shape in place the off-ball work you take you just take the guessing out of it there is something to be said right for when you're trying to hold on to a lead late and get a game over the line using a group of players that have just been there longer and know each other better and know each other's roles more reliably you know that that's there's something to be said because a lot of this is about team coordination i think you mentioned it so i'll just bring it back up it was a stunning califiori goal that obviously got chalked off clive mentioned it and you know that that felt like a bit of a turning point in the half and from there i think we did start to come on to them more and it did push them back a few yards as clive referenced it's a beautiful ball over does anybody hit them like that i mean that arcing thing where you're like it could so easily go to the corner flag and every time and he's just got great control when he says as soon as he hits it he's peeling off known like he knows immediately where it's going i don't know anybody who hits him like that it's a great layoff from trussard too we should we should mention like leo leo with a lovely first time layoff to him it's beautiful coordinated move and it shows you the advantage of having Calafiore go take up those positions.

33:05He just, he just a tiny bit offside, unfortunately. But yeah, then I think we started to put some additional pressure on them. And, and look, early in the game, I felt we were maybe playing in the wrong areas a bit too much, building too slowly, but there's something to be said for, instead of just pushing forward and letting them get into a compact shape defensively, trying to draw them on you a bit so that when you do go forward, there's space. and that's how we got that Calafiore chance. But to me, Clive, what starts to change this game and take over this game is that Arsenal's best player got on the ball and was just too good for the opposition, and that's Bukayo Saka.

33:44This is a Bukayo Saka game for me. This was a game that he took a lot of responsibility to try to open up and win it for us, and he was the player who was better than everybody else out there. And we remarked on this in the instant reaction but he had 86 touches in this game. But Kai Osaka was third behind only William Saliba and Declan Rice with 86 touches. He had six chances created, six passes into the final third. He led everybody in duels. He won 14 duels. He was the most fouled five times. I don't think any of them were yellow cards, of course. He completed the most dribbles, six. His corner kick opens up the game.

34:28he had dribbles where he got all the way to the goal literally like all the way to the goal and they could not stop and they're dropping off he was getting the byline and cutting back he slipped in Yocres a few times for some stinging shots and I think yeah well yeah there's the penalty that was not a penalty we'll come to that a little later on I want to put that a little further back in the pod but Clive it's sort of just an opportunity to talk a little bit about what you saw in Saka's game and the level he's going to because this for me was a an absolute star performance from him

34:58Elliot:yeah so i don't know if that's the first 90s done in a while maybe yeah um and again he's not been that player for and so we're getting him back aren't we so of course the natural thing in me to worry about the next two games hopefully he's going to be all right we put a lot of work in because he was really spare they for them to credit them they had a really strong mid-block shape and at the start of the game and then they went to a lower block game once we started to get around them a little bit and they dropped in and said okay we need to really work on this and work being close and so there was always to pass free to Saka and what he did with it was just really really good and without his connection mate in Odegaard so Timber became the Odegaard player and Saka became the Odegaard player as well so they just they combined as being two players in one and he really made some progress down there and when what I really liked was well not really liked here just I like the way Jokeres uses that space to run into those on those sides on the right-hand side i really like that which is good which means saka's always got to pass to feet or down those channels i really like that something we've added and so and we're getting instant shots okay it's not resulting any goals yet but martin that he's just scored in the last part of the game from a rebound so but yeah we look really good there and he you know ellie we had the superstar player developing last year until he injured his hamstring at palace right and we didn't get him back again really till the champions league quarterfinals and we've got him back now and we've got to keep him back because we've got a lot of games coming up with Nomad's Wear K and Cutler Nationals coming up in November so we've got to make sure that we protect him I don't know how we're going to do it because none of us want to see him not play in the next couple of games because Palace are a really good side and so are Athletico so yeah we're going to have to work really smart with him and I think the one negative I have about his Fulham game was although it was unreasonable from me I just wish we could have dealt with him sooner so we could have got maybe him off the pitch, maybe.

36:56Elliot:You know, the couple of people I wanted to see not end that game. But these are first world problems, right? The fact that I'm talking about that, he's just got to look after him in a week. I thought he was stunning, like everybody did. Decision making, traveling with it, going over to the left. His shot from left-hand side was fantastic. Way nutmegged the guy, brilliant. Set pieces. I just wish we had him at Anfield because that game still bothers me. I wish we had him at Anfield because we win that game. you know, and I've got to look after him because we didn't have him last year for a long time, you know, and whatever we think about his team, we are being defined by our defensive slidity because all of those guys are fit, more or less, you know, they're all fit, ready to go, they're all good, we've all seen them, one player we haven't seen, he's really good, and we're just thinking we're okay there, but we just, we haven't quite seen our offensive shape fully you know with with people we can rest and change and so there needs to be a he sack has got the rucksack out for a couple of weeks i just hope we can carry us because we need him yeah i mean the extent to which it's just sort of been ignored that our best player you know wasn't fit to start against city only only fit enough for a half and wasn't uh fit at all for the trip to anfield i mean that does make a big difference but on this form he's the kind of difference maker that can change things and you do realize how much we're missing in attack with Kai being out, Nani being out, right?

38:20Both of those and Odegaard. It just means that more of the attacking responsibility falls to Saka, and he's very much up for it at the moment. You have a lot less stress about whether Leo's good enough or Yoko Ress is good enough. If Pekai Osaaka's in this kind of form. Now, Leo got a goal, by the way, so it proved good enough. But, Paul, I am so excited about the form he's in now, and it actually gets me even more excited to think about when we have an Odegaard back, and when we have an Ani Meduike back, and when we have Kai Havertz back, just the way he's going to lift his teammates because they all look better.

38:57And I think Jokras' first half was a bit disappointing, I thought, but in the second half, I think he really improved. And a lot of that was Saka finding him more, combining with him more, played him in a couple of times with some good stinging shots, as Clive referenced. So as Saka starts to get to this kind of form, I think some of the other players that we need more from, we will see them flourish because in addition to being able to score his own goals, I think he's one of the best providers for teammates in the league. So this is going to be a good sign for the other attacking players that need to get for him.

39:26I think that's right. I'll be interested to see how it evolves over the season because I do think there's something a bit unique happening at the moment in the amount of time that Saka gets to be 1v1, where we leave him more isolated. We don't crowd his space, which means he can beat one guy or one and a half guys. Maybe there's somebody trying to shuffle over there, but he's not already there, Mark and Odegaard. He's not already there, Mark and White. When Timber comes up, he may be more directly over or under lap in a straight line. So he brings a player with him and past him. So I just think Saka is getting a lot more time 1v1, and he's killing whoever is out there that side.

40:11It's what we used to hope Martinelli would do in the space that he would have on the left-hand side, which he did for a while. Now you've seen Saka getting that opportunity of 1v1, and he's killing them, which means other players can make the runs. In a way, what Saka does is a bit more predictable at the moment in that he'll go one way or the other. And if he goes to the byline, that ball is going to come in and Yachoresh can meet that. He can make that run as opposed to the kind of the busy triangle on the right-hand side where anything could happen and brilliance might come out of it. But it's hard to time the run when you're Yachoresh.

40:49Right now, you know that Saka is going to go at his man and he's going to either come inside or he's going to go to the byline. There's going to be a cutback, a floated cross. And so he can make those runs. and I think that's maybe more aggressive, more direct from the right-hand side with Saka and allows Jokeres to be more aggressive in his runs, more predictable. I thought this was the best, in some ways, the best Jokeres game we have seen since he's joined the club in terms of his patterns of play and the runs he made and his aggressiveness. and I think he can see more of a map of where the ball's about to go to, the old skating to the puck.

41:35If you get it to Saka, he's going to go to his man, so you time your runs and you can key off that. I wonder if that's part of it. It's not all of it, but Saka killing his guy on that right-hand side, to your point, opens up possibilities for Yarkeres and Eza, where we haven't had to crowd the right-hand side, right? And Eze can float to where the pocket is. Odegaard will be more in a structured spot. I think it allows them to key off Saka's 1v1 and beat the ball. Yeah, as a final thought on that, Clive, it feels to me, and I don't have the data to back this up, and if you look at the touch map, it's still a lot of it on the right-hand side, obviously, for Saka.

42:20But it feels to me like he has a little more license to travel. He had a couple of dribbles and I think a shot on the left-hand side of the box. And it feels like there's a little more freedom there. I wonder if some of that is, I think we have a better set of midfielders dropping deeper now. I think Timbers so strong defensively, maybe Mikel feels he can give Sack a little more license to travel because he's freeing him up some of the defensive work, recovering back, you know, into the sort of right fullback spaces, the right flank. But do you see him having, do you see him traveling across the pitch more or coming into more of the spaces that maybe Odegaard would traditionally occupy, that right half space, and going there more to be the provider to Jokras or to just combine with the players at the top of the box more?

43:07Elliot:Yes, so I think Saka's almost doing two jobs at the moment. He's been Odegaard and he's been Saka. That's well said. From there, you can do what you like. I don't think we'd ever stop him from traveling. I think in maybe last season, he was definitely a fifth lane guy and he stayed there to stretch people out we're far more positional and we were the full tilt champions and we were just holding people and so him being wide was great everyone knew where he was going i do think it's important for him to move off the sides a little bit just to interrogate paul's point about he's getting one-on-ones more actually the first time i noticed it actually he wasn't actually playing madame weke played against and i just couldn't believe how many one-on-ones he was getting i'm watching again what's happening yeah no seriously it comes down to style and we are we are getting the ball forward earlier and quicker and more directly and we're not always winning it we're not and i want to you know the real stats conversation is how many it's very difficult when they're so good but how many times we give the ball away from first-time clearances do they go to our men or not but we are really good at sweeping up the second balls and you know saka and timber are very good at second ball they loses they're winning back their attacking numbers are incredible so you're playing against unsettled defenses if you're playing against settled defenses you move around slowly around the horseshoe guess what by the time you get to the other side there's gonna be two people standing there right so when you're playing against unsettled defenses you're actually risking giving the ball away when you do get it back guess what no one's got time to get two or three men to your best player if you do get two over he finds a gap to go over in between and he runs off for a return no so this is where they're really clever they're really clever manipulating the space they have and recognizing the players are in front of them and when to go on the outside one-on-one destroy sesimian like he did and um i went to go inside i'll go like horizontally across he he's just a really good player so i do think the play style has changed this year i'm not the only one to say that we all know it don't we we're being a bit more direct we have been a bit more agricultural sometimes when we get the ball forward and that bloke Victor Jokeres is up there fighting blokes he's fighting blokes for every bit of scrap and he's not always successful but I tell you what they have to do they have to mark him they have to mark him they can't ignore him they have to mark him and if they have to mark him they can't triple up somewhere else you know he is pinning center backs every single game you know and we look better for it right so it's just a style change and maybe it's a style change based on players that we have today what really intrigues me and i keep saying it but the limbiarco's game is in my mind the only guy comes back into this group because he is the tactical leader of this team when he comes back into this group i wonder what will look like i wonder what role he'll take on you know and where he'll go in big games when he doesn't you know can't do olympiark because he can't go where you like what role will he take on how will he feel the game how will he see the game because he is the man right when it comes to manipulating these defenses so i'm very interested to see the attacking arsehole he's not been revealed yet as far as i'm concerned let's talk a little bit about the last stage of the game the oakress performance obviously the overturned penalty quick bit on liverpool and a quick look ahead death letty so still a lot to do and it occurs to me that in doing all this i have let you down, dear listener, as I frequently do, so I apologize.

46:34But it's, gosh, it's 45 minutes in and no brands. I mean, the good news is I don't have a lot to tell you about today.

46:59They'll also be chatting with some brilliant guests along the way. Whether you've watched soccer your whole life or you're just getting into it, they'll help make sense of the drama, the tactics, the joy, and the heartbreak of the World Cup. Listen to The Rest is Football wherever you get your podcasts. If your business runs on five different apps, 12 browser tabs, and one spreadsheet that everyone's afraid to touch, it's probably time for Odoo. Odoo is an all-in-one business management software that connects every part of your business into one powerful, easy-to-use platform. So instead of wasting time switching between disconnected systems, your entire business works together in real time.

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48:27And now that video is available in your area. And in football, that happens all the time. It might be a goal clip you see on social media. It might be the match reviews of the day show. It might be like what Paul sent me. There was a bit of sky analysis that we wanted to watch, mostly to lampoon it, but I couldn't watch it because it wasn't available in my area. But I just click the button on NordVPN and boom, it's available. So it just makes life super easy. It also has threat protection. A lot of us who watch the football wind up on websites where threat protection is definitely warranted and needed.

48:57And so it gives you that as well. Can't recommend it highly enough. So give it a try. And the way you can give it a try is with this phenomenal deal that Nord's given us. NordVPN.com slash Arsenal Vision is your way to get a huge discount off the Nord plan and for additional months on top. and it's risk-free with a 30-day money-back guarantee. So a discount, four bonus months, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. All that, NordVPN.com slash ArsenalVision, NordVPN.com slash ArsenalVision, NordVPN.com slash ArsenalVision. Do it now, Glenn. Is that another?

49:27Elliot:Indeed. Nailed it. Hey, so quickly, since we were already on this topic, do you want to just flesh out thoughts on YokoRis a little bit more? I think, you know, Paul called it maybe his best performance so far. I don't agree with that necessarily. I think the Newcastle performance might have been better in my view. But there were certainly some green shoots here. And I think that there's this challenge you run into, which is when you praise a player, especially a player who maybe is still developing the reputation in the club, and that player's primary responsibility is goal scoring. If they haven't scored a goal, people are going to accuse you of damning them with faint praise or that the bar, you know, the standards are too low.

50:03He's got to score. But to me, process over results. If our players are finding his little darting runs in behind center backs, if he's getting smarter about those runs, if he's getting stinging shots off accurately at goal that are leading to rebound opportunities like the one you referenced for Martinelli, if he's doing those things, then I think process over results-wise, I am encouraged, and I think that will lead to the goals coming. And obviously, had there been a penalty, he might have gotten a goal from the penalty spot. So still very early in the season, we're still learning this player, and I think that, like I said, there were signs in this game of some of the combinations working.

50:41So where are you? Are you all the way out on the spectrum of Paul, which, you know, is a fun place to be, all kinds of rainbows and unicorns and fun things going on on that end of the spectrum or somewhere else when it comes to this performance by him?

50:54Elliot:Yeah, Paul looks at things very deeply and he looks at the actions and I think his actions were really, really good in this game. Didn't all come off. I'm with you earlier. I thought Newcastle game was his best because they are the second best defense in the league. and I thought he had a really good game against those players in a very hostile environment compared to Fulham which is a lovely place to go. So I do like his movements and we are now playing to him but not in a charity way. I thought in some of those earlier games we were just trying to get him in early trying to get him going and we were winning the games we were just trying to get him in get him a goal blah blah blah it didn't feel like that he now feels like a fundamental part of the team.

51:36Elliot:I just read some quotes that all the other players are talking about, his kilometers covered, etc. Players really do know the numbers. They know the sprints. They know the covers. They know what's going on. They know when each other have done it, particularly physical data, which they obviously get more than we get in the real world. And they know what he's doing for the team. I know that Cara Fury, for example, covered the most kilometers in this game. No surprise, given how he was moving around. but your quest can't be far behind him just at least work rate and that's so important to a team when your focal point is like one of the hardest working players in your in your group and so players always give those guys a break when it comes to goal scoring particularly if other people looking more threatening in this game i think everybody fades a little bit post international break but i love his diagonals i love his little laterals i love how he reads when a player needs an exit and he gets there when he gets there i've got a few issues about that earlier do you know i mean about clarity of what his first action and second action could be um when he gets there is he trying to hold it is he trying to compete to affect the defender's ability to control the situation is he trying to hold it to then give it to somebody else or just trying to hold it up to buy a foul whatever that is i want to see it more clearly does it mean at the moment i think he's wrestling too long and while he's wrestling he's leaning on people and what you do as a defender or someone leans on you, you disconnect away from them and let them fall over.

53:09Elliot:Do you know what I mean? So you need to connect with them earlier and then bounce off them and separate, set your feet and see what happens from there on in. Because once you set your feet, referee will give you a break. And that's just a cutout. So he just needs to develop that. I know it sounds crazy. That's why I called him young earlier. I think he's young in those aspects of the game. I don't think he's rung with ball striking and running in behind. No, no, no. All those aspects, he's absolutely fine. in some of these aspects, I think he's quite inexperienced and he needs to develop that.

53:38Elliot:That sounds crazy for a 27-year-old, but why wouldn't it be? His trajectory for the football world hasn't been rounded. It's come from different parts of the world and he's really had to work hard to get here. So he's going to have holes in his game. We shouldn't be worried about that. He's got to fill them up. So I like what he's offering to us. I think at this moment in time, the beautiful path to green would have been Kai Havertz starts the hard games he comes on for last 20 he gets all the glory right you know what I mean six way in the net and then in the easier games he starts Kai comes on to save his legs so he can do a proper pre-season that would have been the perfect scenario but much likely as I said earlier on they're having to play and be that attacking person in our team because the other player Odegaard and Havertz in these two cases are not here so I give that player a break all day long because we need him.

54:32Elliot:We don't need him pulling out with an injury right now because we'll be back to ball up to Mourinho, set the play, back from there. Everyone knows where we're going. We're going wide and we're back to what Paul was saying earlier on about doubling up on Saka because everyone knows where we're going to go. Do you see what I mean? And I think that's what worries me the most, right? So yeah, at this moment in time, he's a six and a half, seven out of ten. Could do the goal in this next sprint of games earlier. That's where I am. Or if he gets out, I'll be really pleased for him. yeah yep I agree let's talk a little bit about the goal we did get though Paul it's a set piece again ole ole uh we are lapping the field now in goals from set pieces Mikkel was asked about he said look we get a lot of set pieces and it's great that we can take advantage of it I I think it's easy to just get caught up in the narrative around set pieces and I kind of reached this point where I just don't care.

55:31I think we're clearly playing great football in all phases of play. Goals are hard to score. And we've added another way to do that that leverages things we do well, like Pakayo Saka's phenomenal delivery, Gabby's dominance in the air, and the clever movement of our players combined with the coordination that comes from phenomenal training, right? And a great set piece, great set piece for teams. Because by the way, Fulham had six corners in this game. we had to defend those corners. We defend them well, right? The work is not just done at one end, it's done at the other. What do you make of the goal and another set-piece goal?

56:08And I should just mention Saka was interviewed about it. He's very self-aware. He's like, I finally put a good one in because he had a lot of really shit deliveries in this game where it didn't beat the first man, but he got it right once. That's all it took. Gabby with the header in. Leo Troussard, whatever you want to say about him, you cannot knock this guy's goals and assists record. It's phenomenal. He pops up with end product. He gets the goal. It proves to be enough. And it's set piece again. Yeah. So I think you referenced Tim's little voice note. He added to the instant reaction. It's worth listening to our instant reaction for Fulham, if nothing else for that.

56:46Tim is in with the Fulham fans, the home fans, because that's how he could get a ticket. So he was very well behaved. but he was perfectly positioned for when that corner came up and that was the one where all the fulham fan says oh here we go now we'd had other corners but this was the one where they went oh jesus here we go they're gonna score ah they're like practically heading for the exits at that point and you could kind of feel it uh you got gabrielle there and like arsenal is very good at set pieces but i'll tell you who's really really really good at set pieces and that's gabrielle they got two guys on him they could put three they could put four on him doesn't really matter his first jink one you know to the right to the left he goes around them he's he's unstoppable and like this time he goes down the middle and he has two guys holding on to him they're not holding his shirt but they're pulling him back and as he is rising to the ball that's about the first time he actually frees himself from their two guys um he's just phenomenal i i mean uh elliot you're in the the sales business i've done a bit of selling myself along the way i hope he's in his contract he went for a low base but high commission based on goals scored because that's in that uh structure he's probably our best paid player in terms of getting compensated for those goals he's just an absolute phenomenon and you know it's recognized areola or sorry marco silva in his post game review you know he's going to talk about gabrielle because it's not just our set pieces that guy is special he has a superpower we know it and we see it every time it's a great delivery from sacca but other players in the league can replicate not a lot of them but some can replicate what Saka do.

58:41A couple can replicate what Rice do in terms of putting in those corners like they can. You can find somebody else. There isn't just one player who can put in, not a lot of them, but there's some. There is no other Gabriel Magliash. None. He's absolute phenomenon. And you also referenced how prickly we got at one point about set pieces and stuff. And I recognize that. But when we stopped caring about it was when we realized it was fully sustainable, right? It wasn't we were on a hot streak or they were, you know, you assume they'll figure us out. Well, they have figured us out. It doesn't matter because we've got Gabriel.

59:26They've also figured out there's no stopping them. They could put three players on them. Then they'll have nobody to defend them by the time he gets to the six yard box. Yeah. And I do want to say, I love that you didn't confuse the Fulham manager with the Bournemouth manager, but you confused the Fulham manager with a part of the female anatomy. Yes. Because I assure you. And not you'll in the boob. The Bournemouth manager's name is not Areola. I assure you. He is to me. It's Eariola. Just for the avoidance of doubt. Clive, do you want to add anything on set piece? I would simply add that, look, when the reason I was, I would get anxious about all our chances coming from set pieces is if I felt that our open play performance was not good enough and we were getting by with set pieces.

1:00:15I don't think that's the case. I mean, this is a game, mind you, where we had 46 touches in the opposition box to their 16. We had 16 shots, right? They had nine, but none on target. We had 1.88 expected goals to their 0.4. So yeah, if we were getting like... So 15 touches in the opposition box and seven shots and scoring from a corner, I'd say, is this sustainable? Because we're not playing that well, but we're playing well. And it just so happens that when we need a goal, the set piece option is there as a way for us to find a goal in games where it hasn't fallen for us. So Clive, I'm not anxious about it because I think we're playing well in all phases and set pieces are just an extra weapon for us in addition to everything else.

1:01:00Elliot:yeah i think it's interesting how the rest of the league deal with this because we've got so many good abilities to restart from throw-ins and corners etc so we're gonna we're gonna cause damage because we're quite sharp and trust i'd had an air shot in the box clearly could have gone in from a second phase set pieces give you first phase second phase opportunities right if you're clever so we're working towards that i think there's something else deeper here actually which I find really exciting. A little history lesson here. But remember, going back to the days when Vieira came into the league, no one's seen a centre-mid like him.

1:01:37Elliot:And he dominated for a few years. Other people started to go that direction. United tried with Jemba Jemba, you remember? They started to go that direction where you have physical centre-mids. No one had done that for us. It was a trend. Moving further forward, you know, Mourinho came along with his defensive blocks. And then we went to the Pep era, right? So Pep came along and decided then to play out from the back. The rules had changed regarding back passes, first pass out in the box. He manipulated that well. He brought the goalkeeper in. We'd make it a plus one at the back. And he did all these things and everybody copied.

1:02:12Elliot:And it was a sign of saying, you know what? They're the best team. We've got to do what they do. And what's happening right now? They're looking at Arsenal. We're quite physical. We're quite a physical team. and we are a team that manages set pieces in both ends both boxes and we're although we've got progressive attackers people look at that side of us that's our identity but people are starting to copy it and it's a compliment it's a compliment to say this is the best way to accumulate points and we're going to try to do it ourselves so we're going to create a physical floor in our team we're going to take time over things that we can coach in our control we are going to take time over these corners because i'll sort of shown by about 25 that it's really helping them to accumulate points it's not the only thing but i think it's a huge confidence to say that actually maybe we are the best team at the moment and the trends are coming towards us right but if you what used to happen with pep's team was people would try to play like him at 14 passes out from the bank and then they'd get robbed and stuck in their net and we all talk about high turnovers leading to shots right so people were trying to do it even though they didn't have the personnel to do it we have the personnel to be this team we have the personnel to play all different types of football at the moment when mission elton play shots it was focusing on our set pieces but there's a huge confidence to us at the moment happening the league and it's going to be a flip side to this coin elliot the moment when a few boring games come along and their set piece dominated and chelsea's i think that's called three set pieces of the weekend no one cares about right but it as soon as that happens we're going to get blamed for this trend and then people go oh i used to like it back in the old position all days and we just went back 128 passes and then go back to goalkeeper and so we we just got to focus on doing what we're doing and um i would like to see us i can't wait i keep saying it i'm sorry for repeating myself i can't wait to see our attack at full power so rather than saka take himself through a game at 75 80 because he knows who's got to play, I want to see him go hard for 60 minutes, then come out and Maddie Wicked comes on and goes hard.

1:04:23Elliot:You see what I mean? And we really get more offensive power into the group. I can't wait for that. By this moment in time, we are good at this, and it's helping us because teams are not even trying to play us. They're not even moving, mate. They're not even moving. And so eventually they're going to come out of this shell. If we stay close to our goal, we're going to concede set pieces. We're going to concede anyway. now we're going to go and press Arsenal we know we can handle that too so it will change it will change and it'll probably change quite quickly actually. It's so funny because I used to get mad and I admit full bitterness when we first started trying to chase down City I'd watch their games and I'd be like well of course City win the league no one even tries against them they don't even try against them no one's trying to beat them because I didn't just want to admit they're so good, teams would get in a shell, and they were nervous, and they'd sit deep, and they'd get pushed back, and eventually they couldn't even break out.

1:05:23They had no hope. Their best hope was nil-nil, and once it went to one, it was going to go to five because they couldn't get out. But I look at it now, and I get it. This was 71 % possession at halftime for Arsenal. 71%. Second game in a row, the opposition has had no shots on target. You know, whatever metric you want to look at, touches in the opposition box, field tilt, defensive line height, possession, we are crushing teams back into their defensive shape. We are a boa constrictor. And frankly, it may be more fun to watch two Cobras fighting, like when you watch a Liverpool game, than it is to watch a boa constrictor slowly crush its opposition.

1:06:10But that's what we do. It starts with some passing around the back and the defenders are passing each other. Next thing you know, you're camped in your own box and you can't get out. And so when teams do that, it's naturally going to be harder to prize them open and find a goal. And we've added another way to do it. And I just think, look, was the Liverpool United game a more fun watch than the Arsenal game? It sure was. You know who it wasn't a more fun watch for Liverpool fans. So I'm not going to sit here and pretend we're going to be as entertaining every game as some of these other games because it's a lot of attack versus defense it just is and in fact when um roy keen and jamie carrier were discussing the games they kind of came to that point and i can't remember which one of them said it but one of them said you don't actually want your team to be entertaining the league right you don't want to be the most entertaining team you in effect it was a compliment to Arsenal that what you want is a team that gets results, that maybe control.

1:07:12In fact, they used the term, I want more control. That's what they said. So the things we have been damned for partially, lightly, or heavily along the way, that's mostly I watched all the analysis this weekend with a wry smile as they talked about set pieces, as they talked about control, as they talked about, you know, you don't want to open it up and have this swam bam thank you man game as there's there's nothing wrong with getting the result that's there for you with taking the point it was in many ways it was a vindication of how we started the season how we played with what we had how we got the results that were there for us and we're building steam as we go along i think it's it's a very well it's not just controlled games so far it's been a relatively controlled season uh i think we have really learned our lessons season after season this team uh is now favorites whether we like that or not this team has broad enough shoulders i think they'd be upset if they weren't favorites at this point they'd be upset if they weren't leading the charge we as nervous supporters might prefer to be tucked in kind of one behind the leader on the show but actually this is a team that demands to be taken seriously, to have the top spot.

1:08:34Things will get a lot more nervy when we get to March, April. Yeah. But right now, this team has earned it and have the shoulders to carry it. I'm not as negative as you. I think the title will be won by then. But you know what? Also, isn't it nice to support the team that minds all the details? You know what I mean? Like to be the team that minds all the details. Yeah, Clive?

1:08:57Elliot:oh you just got you guys got me thinking really so go for it there's there's a i'm just interrogating why we feel this way right because which i'm trying not to be deluded arsenal fan you know leave that to me i think um i think you never can fool people you can't fool people's eyes right when when they see balance in a team when they see a balance of the physical and technical traits Let's see a team that's well coached. Let's see a team that can play all facets of the game and take them all equally seriously. When they see that, they think, oh, this is quite good. Honestly, you can't fool people.

1:09:37Elliot:You watch the game on the weekend, Liverpool-Françis United. It's not to critique Liverpool. They're really good, but they're not balanced, Elliot. They're not balanced. And with those two teams, there's been an eternal search for balance, systemic balance personnel Liverpool had something they've moved away from it they're trying to find their balance again I'm looking at Arsenal we've got a bit of attacking depth we're lacking but we look balanced everyone's role fits it all fits like a puzzle and we look really strong and while we're developing and learning we have a platform defensively by which you can always look at every single game you know and Liverpool have not got that stable platform Manchester especially not, I haven't had it.

1:10:20Elliot:It's the first time they've won two Premier League games in a row. Chelsea don't quite have it at the moment, although they're doing quite well with the resources that they actually have on the pitch. You know, Tottenham don't have it, can't win a home game. Do you know what I mean? And we have this balance and stability, and I think it's really important. But if a balance of teams, and the one game we didn't have it, remember the Man City game when the team sheet came out? We all went, whoa, I don't quite see what I want. You know, because we're so used to a balanced lineup. up. We're so used to it.

1:10:49Elliot:We weren't aware of some of maybe the issues regarding fitness, et cetera. We had less offensive players to pick even than we do right now, but we weren't having that because the balance wasn't right. But now we are balanced. And I think we're in a really strong position if we can maintain the health of going forward. But I do think we underestimate the question of how balanced we are as a team. I think we take it for granted. yeah yeah and by the way like the the strategy this summer that we employed of strengthening our group so that it could last the season versus the strategy of a liverpool perhaps it said we're just going to emphasize a couple of big guns in certain parts of the pitch right now and it's still early a strategy has been fully validated because we don't have kai and we don't have martin and we don't have Nani and we didn't have Saka and look at where we sit right now.

1:11:47We've already had an injury crisis that could have derailed our season. With the start we had, we could be seven, eight, 10 points back and no wins in the Champions League because we'd be playing, you know, and to be fair, Ethan's not Butler or Yedijay and Max isn't, you know, an academy player who can't play, but we would be putting those guys in the firing line in major games and we haven't had to do that and we've come away with more to show for it as a result. So I think as of this stage, you'd have to say that the approach we took, strengthening the group, adding that depth across all departments has already paid dividends.

1:12:21And we're not talking injury crisis, despite the fact that three of the most important attacking players we have, one of our biggest signings is Summer Nani, our captain, Odegaard, and our striker the last two seasons, Kai, are all out. You know, and we don't even talk about it, really. I want to get to VAR. I want to get to Liverpool. I want to get to Atleti. So still a long way to go, and we got to let Paul go. So, Paul, thank you very much. Thanks, guys. Woo-hoo! See that, Paul. One of the things that I like that's happened this season, Clive, is we've won games where there was controversy around decisions.

1:12:50And as a result, it means that we don't have to be too animated about the decision potentially being wrong or the hardship of what we've suffered. And, like, I think there's something to be said about Mikkel being able to go to the team and say, you've made yourself into a team now that they can't stop. You can overcome this stuff because they can't stop you. I think that's a powerful motivating tool, but we should still discuss it because it was a talking point from the game. But Kiyosaka is barely in the box, but he's in the box. Okay, yeah. And to my eye, I think this is tough. I have said vocally, I don't want penalties to be easy to win.

1:13:29You've got a guy going out of the box, not facing goal, and you're going to give him an 85 % chance at a goal because of that. I don't want those to be penalties. But the reality is the guy sort of goes to ground. He reaches for the ball. He fouls the player before taking the ball. I see a knee into a thigh or a knee onto a knee, and then the ball is taken. Now, you might say, I don't want that to be a penalty, Elliot. I don't think it's a penalty. And I may say, I'd rather err on the side of it not being a penalty. But here's what I know. The ref on the pitch gave it. The contact comes before the ball is taken.

1:14:04It happens in the box. and so to me if we're not re-refereeing games if we're not if we're doing the clear and obvious error thing then it should stand and and so clive i'm not i'm glad we don't have to discuss this as a deciding factor of the game but i find myself once again wondering what are the rules because

1:14:22Elliot:this looks like re-refereeing to me yeah a couple things here i mean there's i'm pleased to see the way michael responded to it because we don't want to take we don't want any distractions at the moment that are unnecessary you know um we do have a track record of reacting to these things or those reactions have been blown up because it's arsenal and um so we don't need that distraction when you take the points let it go just let it go the other people talk about it and people did talk about it after the game and you know you said you don't want those sort of things the things that concern me is when little flicks ball player flicks ball up hits players hands penalty no why why is that you know if something's been stopped from going into a dangerous area and your hand is in a natural position or you stopped a shotgun on goal by making your body bigger that's a you know i can i'm comfortable with that penalty because potentially a goal could be scored or a chance could be created i'm comfortable from that but when you're in the box and someone decides they're going to slide in and take you out and risk going through you to get the ball and they're stupid enough to do it even though it's on the line i don't care mate that's on you you're dumb zaka does his thing he puts his leg across like you're taught to he gets his leg taken and he goes down um because he has to go down otherwise his leg would be bent he goes down and um referee gives it really good decision actually because i wasn't sure he could have thought was that inside or outside maybe that's where bar really helps him because he can say you I think he's got a foul there.

1:16:01Elliot:It's on the line. I'm going to give it. And if it's wrong, I'll get told it's wrong. So I quite like the way the referee dealt with that. Then he comes to the screen, Elliot, and the screen's not working. We lose momentum in the game. We talk about stoppages in games of football again. That's the next data we should be collecting. And we don't quite have the pictures to show us what we can all see at home. And I heard Andrew speak about this. I totally agree with him. And when I saw the contact, I thought, oh, great, it is a penalty then. I wasn't sure. Do you know what I mean? And then they look at the same, well, I think they look at the same things as us, and they don't give it.

1:16:39Elliot:And I thought, oh, lads, come on, lads, come on. That's knee on knee. You've actually got the technology to see the contact, stop it, see the ball's not been touched yet. I mean, he's gone through, man, to get ball and gets ball thereafter. It's a very simple refereeing decision. it's quite factual actually so i'm disappointed they didn't stick with it because it felt an easy one to give earlier do you mean it felt really easy they did on this occasion i haven't seen the discourse you know ref watch haven't seen any of that yet see what people are saying and i'm not going to waste my energy on it anymore because there's another game in 24 hours and i'd rather focus on that and a big game that we came from crystal palace side that looked really really strong this stuff we got to learn to just let it pass by us there's no benefit and i think the club have done really well not to make it hot keep it cool you know keep it cool keep accumulating points just keep doing that because then people have to look at you differently and then maybe we'll be the team which we haven't been for a long time sometimes the best team gets the breaks right maybe we'll be the team the best team that gets the breaks and it'll be our turn but i don't think we've been too badly done this season i i thought your career deserved his penalty i think saka deserves his penalty, but we won both games, so I'm comfortable with that.

1:17:58Elliot:If we didn't, then we have to have an emergency podcast, you know what I mean? Yeah, and I mean to me, there are going to be moments in the season where things go against you, where you get a call that's wrong. Every team goes through that. Winning those games means that's one less of those instances that bites you. Seems like last season, every time one of those things happened, it bit us. It was the penalty against Brighton. It was the Declan Rice you left me no choice sending off, right? It was the Leo Troussard sending off against City. Every single time one of those things happened last season, it felt decisive.

1:18:36We've had two of them in my mind this season, and neither time has it felt decisive or been decisive. So that's great. Let's shift gears slightly. I want to quickly touch on Liverpool and then just get out of here with a brief Atleti preview, and we'll try to do these both quickly as we start to run a bit long but i mean clive like things aren't great at liverpool that's four losses in a row and i listened to a bit of the arse cast and i think it was 2018 was the last time we had that happen at our club it's never happened under michael arteta slot starting to say some some weird stuff some strange stuff i think you might say but you know it's not easy to to handle these moments and this is his first moment of crisis i I put that in air quotes because it's not like their season has fallen apart.

1:19:21But you see the theory of the case with them, where things could go wrong, the issues with their fullbacks, the potential inability to control games with the midfield, relying on Kanate and Van Dijk to control everything defensively. Those vulnerabilities, that theory of the case is coming to fruition. They just cannot stop teams getting through them, and it's very easy to play through their midfield, and they've conceded two goals. It seems like every game they play. So what's your take? I really enjoyed that game. I thought it was a hell of a fun time. The Maguire goal coming from a set piece with what Slott had been saying about set pieces just before the game was poetic justice.

1:20:02And they've got to figure things out quickly. It's not looking good for Liverpool at the moment.

1:20:07Elliot:Yeah, you know me long enough. I'm a big believer in defense disability. From there, you can do what you like. You can. You develop your attack. You can develop everything. but you need that defensive stability. Last season, I felt that Van Dijk and Canate were so good. They gave them something I didn't expect them to give them for the whole season and Salah did the rest, right? So they had a core crew that knew where to stand and they were quite intense in their forward play. And this is where Diaz and Nunes are missed, maybe. Their defensive intensity in the forward line is greater than Isaacs and Verts, shall we say.

1:20:46Elliot:And obviously losing Jota is a major problem, you know, a major issue for the club. And none of us know the impact of that. So that's me being magnanimous about their situation. But I think he's destabilized the group defensively and he's brought very similar attackers that want to stand in the same area of the pitch. Nobody is the technical leader of that team anymore. I don't know who he is. I don't know who the best 11 is. And so when you show people that you're not stable, people are going to attack you. And Manchester United were very direct in their movements. They got three attackers that were quite good.

1:21:20Elliot:I thought Mount was quietly quite good in this game. Really smart. He's got himself fit again. Watch this player. But Kunio, mate, he's got minerals he has. And so does Embrema. And they really did take them on. And they scattered them a little bit back there. And they couldn't get the ball back immediately. to allow them to create waves and intensity. But Liverpool did eventually go to a crazy system and get their goal and try to win the game on emotion. Manchester United stayed strong, right? So I think it's a really good game for the neutral, a really good game for people to realise Liverpool are not invincible.

1:21:57Elliot:And we are offering a different aura this year, Elliot. We are looking a little bit more strong, right? Until, you know, we're looking very like, crikey, I'm going to get through this lot. You know, that's how we look at the moment. And so, yeah, I'm a big believer in, as soon as I saw that full-back sign, you know what I said, didn't I? I said it very, very quickly. I said it very, very quickly. Full-backs for me are one of the most important positions on the pitch, not the most, but they provide everything for me. They tell you how well you can attack and how well you can defend, and they stabilize your group.

1:22:31Elliot:Liverpool have got two really good set of backs that have been destabilized by the fact their full-backs are not strong. Kirkhead's a Van Dyke there's no relationship there at all there isn't one at the moment I know it sounds crazy but if I'm Liverpool you do a number of things but I'll tell you what I'll be buying a set and a half real quick and I'll be thinking about who do I want to invest in Conor Bradley's a wing back for Northern Ireland as is Fring Pong he's a wing back Kirkhead's a wing back Robinson is more of a wing back than a than a back four than a back four full back sorry they're screaming they're screaming back free to me mate to destabilize the group and but you have to decide am i going to invest in my fullbacks i'm going to invest in my attackers when you bought three attackers worth the 300 million you got to try to invest in them but they i can't see them finding room for them all right and the best attacker they had yesterday was gacbo and so why should he miss out why should ekatike miss out he looks a really good player by the way i wouldn't mind stealing him from under them right so so yeah let's let's they've got it they've got some work to do they've got some work to do but it's almost like it's been self-inflicted by their recruitment and um but hey look it's still early let's see how they go yeah i i think the problem they've got now though is teams are on to them and they're going to know no matter what happens in this game they're going to give us a chance we're going to get a chance we're going to have an opportunity and And that ability we have to kind of extinguish hope, Liverpool create hope in the opposition, that's going to be a problem for them.

1:24:03The other problem, obviously, in the league, Manchester City, I don't know what to make of them, but I do know that Erling Haaland is probably the best player on the planet at the moment, just on current form. And if he's going to score one or two goals every single game, they're going to be trouble. They just are. I think there are a lot of things structurally with Manchester City that don't look fully right to my eye yet, but they're playing basically without Rodri you know maybe he comes back gets better Marmouche is going to come back and he's a good player so while I think we are probably better on the whole than City when you have a player who can score a goal every single game that can be an equalizer we saw it with Salah last season so quickly on City is it just a case of as long as Holland's in this form they have to be they have to be considered yeah I saw a clip to the Everton game and Everton had

1:24:49Elliot:chances against them and so they're not as stable as what the result looks like everything everything didn't take them marmushi's a good player doku's a good player harland's a good player so that's three attackers there they were really really good so everyone said all our school do we score set pieces newcastle game's a great example what we can do now and play but no one remembers what we did now and play because we scored two goals from corners right so but man city from 30 000 feet away it's all about harland we don't see the other attackers we don't we haven't seen dokhu's progression and ascension to mean a really good player he was a child when he first got here he looks much more assured now and so yeah they've got potential offensively and maybe they're not so dependent on rodri i think they're going to leak earlier i think some of their back line getting on a little bit shall we say and i think they're going to leak and so but i think they've tried to mitigate that risk by having a goalkeeper that can save anything right so um so yeah they're They know the course, right?

1:25:48Elliot:They know the course, and they don't respect Arsenal. That I do know. They don't think we can last. We don't know the course. You never won. So they're going to stay close. They're going to stay close. They're going to test us. They're going to test our mentality. So we just got to focus. It's simple. Yeah. I like our position, and I certainly think Liverpool have a lot of questions to answer, and it doesn't get any easier for them. I mean, it is crazy. you know if you want to see better football one of the things that helps you see better football is players training together more and you play on a saturday having just come back from internationals and i think we should emphasize how great it is to get a win coming back from the international break not always been our strength in the past gabby mcgalli ice a player who's had trouble coming back from international break he had trouble coming back from this one he was a little loose and then he winds up being a big part of how we win it so kudos to him and michael addressed that in his comments by the way but then you do what you win on saturday you probably have an off day Sunday you get one training day Monday and you're back at it Tuesday now we have a bit of an advantage because we'll have palace on Sunday they have to play Thursday um you know in a competition they will probably take more seriously than what a big club might do were they in that same competition they don't have the size of a squad to rotate heavily so maybe a bit of an advantage there but we have to get through this it's at Letty tomorrow we'll have an instant reaction for it but just quick thoughts what one fun thing that Mikel referenced apparently William Saliba spent time watching Atleti after the win over Fulham.

1:27:10Mikkel was asked about that. He said, very pleased because I didn't encourage it. So it came from them. So I guess Saliba had set up a watch party, I guess, to watch Atleti. And he said, and that's the most – yeah, on the bus. Okay. He said, and that's the most powerful thing, that a game finishes, the job is done, and we've done it. But now what's next and what's the next challenge? What's the next opportunity? And we know that it's going to be a really tough one. So the earlier we start to think about it and prepare, the better. So I love that initiative from the players, and it tells you how much they want it and how focused they are on what is next.

1:27:39Really interesting to hear that too because I think of Saliba as sort of a happy-go-lucky silly guy, but this is a guy that the minute the game is over, he's watching the next opponent and you don't get as good as he is unless you're really serious. So very cool commitment from the group. Thoughts on Atleti. They've lost one in the Champions League against Liverpool at Anfield. They battered Frankfurt 5-1 and they're, I think, currently sitting fourth in La Liga. So your thoughts?

1:28:05Elliot:Yeah, so I did a little watch a few of their highlights this year, and they beat Real Madrid 5-2. In that game, they played a 4-4-2. But in the game on the weekend, they played five at the back, which is quite interesting, right? So will they go with, because it's Saul Loth up front, he's about 6 '100", as a big centre forwarder. Will they go Griezmann and Julien Alvarez in a front two? They tend to play a two. It feels like for me to have a brief look earlier. So they've got Llorente as a right backstroke, right wing back. I have a feeling for Martinelli for this game, to play against him and really run him, make him defend, not be an excellent midfielder.

1:28:43Elliot:I like that. I think they are, what's the word I'm looking for? I want to say anonymous to us. I'm not sure that's the right word. But in Spain, in England, maybe we are athletic. Do you see what I mean? We are them. Sort of an analogous team in terms of built around a platform of solid defense. Our identity. Maybe slightly misunderstood it too. Yeah, it's easier to – we're not Barcelona at this moment in time. And we're not Real Madrid. We're closer to them in our identity. And I'm all right with it. We've got a moody, intense manager. You know what I mean? Not everyone likes him, but he's serious about his work.

1:29:25Elliot:And so I like it. I like the fact that we have this kingdom of arsehole people that don't give up monkeys and are embracing who we are. More of that, please. More of it. Don't let anyone shake you. Just keep pushing this and keep developing this. From here, we can develop into anything we want to be. And so I've always liked him as a manager. I always liked Atletico Madrid. I've always liked them. They upset us a couple of years ago. The way they play, I like it. I think they're quite, they're almost like they're disrupting the Real Madrid-Barcelona thing. And I quite like that. I think that's what we're trying to do.

1:30:03Elliot:You know, we're trying to disrupt, get in there and take over and try to have a dominant space, a dominant era. So, yeah, see what they do. We're going to go 5-3-2. We're going to go 4-4-2. It's going to be organized. It's going to be fiery. I think we are, I think we can take it because I think we're in better, I think we've got a better physicality, strangely enough. I think we've got they've played Lenormand as a centre-back mate I'm not sure about him you know and I just think we can take them physically at the back there so there we go Interestingly they only have two clean sheets so far this season they battered Real Madrid already once this season so that's something to bear in mind thoughts on line-up Clive?

1:30:49Elliot:It's an interesting one because we have got time between now on the Palace game. If you look at this, I think this time next midweek we play Brighton. So, sometimes you have to look at the games in twos. You know, so, there's a few players that are probably playing against Brighton that probably need minutes in this game. I know you might think, why are you prioritizing Brighton, Chloe? But I'm thinking, you don't want them guys to come in super cold, all of them. You know, I think a couple could come in, you know. Califiori, he played two nights in the national break. he played a 90 here where he covered the most Ks I'm thinking I need to look after him because I know his history you know and maybe do something else I left back I'm not sure if he and Cappy or Miles I'm not worried there really if I'd seen him Cappy a bit more I would say I think he suits this sort of game a fiery game a physical game you know up and at them game so I got a feeling for him Tim has been brilliant I think he should start but I think White should come on in this game.

1:31:51Elliot:I think we should be looking at different finishes to protect people that are putting a lot of minutes. In midfield, I can't see him not playing Supermendy. Yeah. But maybe, maybe, I'm just thinking it out loud, Elliot. Maybe, why am I saying it? I was thinking maybe Rice comes out. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense, right? The players want to play in these games. They want to play Champions League. Yeah, they really do. Mate, mate, Crystal Palace is a big game. It really is a big game. It's a big game. If we can get those points there, we then roll into some of the away games. We've got to make these home games count.

1:32:33Elliot:We roll into the away games and we've really got a chance because Liverpool play Man City at the end of this block. We've got a chance to really take a step. And I think we don't want to mess it up by not focusing on the league game. Whereas in Champions League, we have an opportunity to recover it. So I don't mind seeing a few changes. Honestly, I don't. I think we can always end the games with whoever we want to. But the important thing to me is Crystal Palace because I want that league. I want that league. Yeah, like I said, I think we've been handed a slight edge with them having to play on Thursday before coming to our place on Sunday.

1:33:08And we've got from Tuesday to Sunday to recover for that game. And then a midweek game next week where I think we can and will need to rotate. So I think if you're batching these games, I think you can try to push it with the group to play everyone you need Tuesday to then have time to play everyone you need Sunday because that's a good amount of rest and then rotate for the Brighton game if that's how he wants to do it. It wouldn't surprise me if maybe Marino came in and Eze came out but is he going to want to play Eze against Palace or is that going to be too emotional? There could be some manipulation of the group there.

1:33:44I'm not totally sure. I think Miles will play is my instinct. and yeah, it'd be interesting. I mean, maybe it is a case that we start Ethan at the sort of right eight stroke 10 and as A gets a day off, I mean, Ethan probably overdue for some minutes, but take this game seriously because again, where it pays you back, if you can get all the points you need early in the Champions League, when you have the likes of Kairat Almaty in January in a very busy time and you don't need the points and you can rotate, I mean, you're going to get those points regardless, right? So just position yourself where you're not scrabbling for a top eight finish in the Champions League late.

1:34:20That's the key. And we're off to a great start. Let's keep it going. You got to win your home games. So I'm fine with him going whatever he regards as full strength, given that we play again on Sunday. I think we can leave it there. We'll have an instant reaction tomorrow. We'll have a power rankings this week for sure. I think it sets up nicely for that unless something crazy happens tomorrow that's more worth discussing. I am trying to set up a really exciting interview with someone who has worked in a big club in England in a set piece capacity. so if that happens that'll be really fun and that'll be out on Patreon this week as my guest so we'd love to have you there AVP50 is the code you get a couple of quid you can try it out see what you think anyway we'll leave it there very long one hope you enjoyed it Clab thank you thank you very much thank you everybody love you lots of good stuff still coming gosh game again tomorrow they're like London buses so you wait you wait six years to get through an international break and then you don't even get a breath before the next game that's how it works but that's okay because we love the football and we love you and we will talk to you after Arsenal 10 I'd love to let you know Thank you.

1:36:14Elliot:We'll be right back. now through July 6th at Wayfair.com. Wayfair, every style, every home.