Unpacking All The Arsenal Transfer Confusion

33:41We scored the third most goals in Premier League last year. But you know our creativity number is more like 7th and 8th. So there's room for improvement there. And I'm really glad to see the links that we have right now. And so because I think it's where the game is going to go. Not just for us but for everybody. Look at Man City signings for what are they? All dribblers and carriers aren't they? People that break teams down. So I think it's really interesting. I was going to make that point because I think if you're going to be a genuine title challenging or title winning team, you either need to master the system you have, which is what I think Liverpool did under Jurgen Klopp, for example.

34:18Everyone knew what team they were going to put out. Everyone knew how they were going to play, but they were just so good at it that you couldn't really do anything. But then I look at Pep, who even in the last four or five years has evolved his teams massively. They did the four centre-backs thing and decided to go with solidity that way. Now they're pushing towards wingers and tricky players in the closer spaces. Then they looked at transition with Raheem Sterling and Sane. So even over the years, you can see how many times they've had to evolve. And I look at Arsenal at the moment. And again, injuries were an obvious factor in this, but you look at how easy we were to stop and to nullify last year, how comfortable people were leaving our left-hand side alone and tripling up on Saka, how comfortable they were pushing us back into the centre of the pitch because they knew there was no injection of pace or quality or drive in that area.

35:10And I completely agree. We've lacked this sort of profile in the tighter spaces, the ability to bounce a 1-2 off people, someone who can take on a man 1v1, even in transition. I don't think we've been strong enough in transition as well. So it's just about adding layers to our attacking play because for too long we've been quite simple and easy to figure out. And eventually we would have got there through quality or set pieces, which is often a way we've sort of given ourselves leverage in games. But we need more than that. And especially in Europe, I look at how we've played over the last few years and it's just finding that extra bit to really push ourselves over the line.

35:47Because we're not far. We're not far. And even though we've had issues with how we play and how we attack, we still find ways to win games. so it's just about adding some individual quality some legs in transition a little bit of flair in the middle as well um a little bit of efficiency as well a little bit of efficiency in the boxes you know and if there are games that tell you what you need right and so and i have to be honest you have to gain stick in my mind massively and they direct where my analysis goes but the psg away game is the one for me because i think you saw everything that we are with our resources not quite being where they could be and what we could do and playing to our maximum and we bossed the best team in europe and it could be crowned the best team in the world we bossed them we weren't quite efficient enough we've had big chance taken in both legs and they were incredibly efficient with their chance taking and they beat us 3-1 when we lost to Bayern the year before they told us about us tactically told us where we were strong and weak stopped us they beat us by the odd goal but the gap felt wider do you see what I mean it felt like we'd reached our limit oh for sure and this time it's like oh my god I've got regrets and what are those regrets you know efficiency finishing creativity consistent ways of playing not relying on long throws and corners right so more ways of creating shot opportunities it's just there for you and in your own box can you be a bit smarter around your own box can you be a bit more decisive can you be a bit more just a touch more streetwise on the day very unfortunate so how they took all their chances all seem in off the post and really good efforts you know i mean so you've got to take it their goalkeeper was unbelievable.

37:39But the game tells you about you. That's the game for me. If I'm going to make my moves, that's the game I'm going to keep in my mind. And within that game, that first 25 minutes, we were brilliant. So you don't throw everything away, you just add. And you remind people, that's how good we can be, but we weren't quite good enough. So what do you need to do? so that's the game for me and i'm gonna hold on to yeah let's take a quick break here because once we get going i always forget and then we miss our chance for some wonderfully well read and yeah and important ads but we'll be back in in a second with ese and madueke chats plus maybe a bit on miles and ethan in part two so to see you then indeed because indeed is the hiring platform you go to when you want to hire fast but also get the right candidates i've been having more and more conversations with people lately about how the hiring process is frustrating.

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39:10So I think it's just a smarter way to hire. How fast is Indeed? In the minute I've been talking to you, 23 hires were made on Indeed according to Indeed data worldwide, okay? There's no need to wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed and listeners of this show will get a$75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at indeed.com slash arsenal vision. Just go to indeed.com slash arsenal vision right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Yes, Indy.com slash Arsenal Vision in terms of good supply hiring. So Clive, Eberechi Eza. It's been reported by David Ornstein that Arsenal consider him a serious option to bolster their attack, but would be separate to any striker or winger additions, which obviously injected every possible drop of serotonin into my bloodstream.

39:52I mean, how exciting is that? We're finally spending big in these areas. And this is a player I've loved and have followed for a long time now, from when he was bossing the championship at QPR. I'm so glad he's managed to fight back and forge himself a career at the highest level after numerous rejections as a young player from so many different clubs. I mean, including being let go by Arsenal, which according to Eze himself, forced him to break down in tears. So maybe that's a nice redemption arc for him coming full circle. Who knows? I mean, he played another major role for Crystal Palace last season.

40:25He was influential in their FA Cup win. I think he scored in the final the semi-final and the quarter-final so it shows that he was a a big a big presence a big player in in that win and there's just something about him that makes you fall in love with him you know he's very easy on the eye glides across the pitch he's with real power and elegance the way he carries the ball he's got an eye for goal um he's got that bit of that bit of flair and and and control that you like i mean this is a player that it's easy to fall in love with like i said and he doesn't maybe immediately fit into what our idea of a starting 11 looks like um but in my opinion that's part of his appeal in that he can offer um or fulfill a number of different attacking roles to a super high level where are you on him his quality and whether or not arsenal should be interested in him at the price quoted which i think is a 68 million release clause although there has been some reporting that arsenal might be looking to go a little bit lower than that yeah i mean when he's linked everyone feels good right that tells you sometimes football's very simple right it feels good you know you know he's friends with key people in the club another new balance athlete like zaka their mates and you just know where they live their lives they're quite religious guys a pair of them they've got similar values you just think you know what he's a london boy also it doesn't take much to fall in love with a story does it right it will help if he can kick the football and he can right and he can create things he can move it and get past people the chat was a couple of years ago was you know that he wasn't quite as diligent shall we say and as michael elise and his ability in the box to finish wasn't that great you know so but it's improved and now he's really delivering and he's now he's now getting some love at the England level because he's ending things off and maybe Michael Isay moving on has put more pressure onto him to be accountable for the last actions and now people can see those last actions and they are suddenly the teams are looking at him well, Arsenal are looking at him and Spurs, but we don't talk about them, right?

42:35So basically I like the idea of it and so obviously he's not an 11 in the Martin Lely 11, but He could be the 11 in a trust-ass style 11. Do you see what I mean? A creative 11. But also, I think if you look at his heat map, a lot of it is on the left-hand side. But it's where he arrives to. He arrives into that center spot, sorry, penalty spot, and he arrives into zone 14. And he arrives there with timing and decision. I saw him score against Arsenal this year, the bouncing volley. And when it bounced, I was looking down on it, I thought he's going to score here. He's got a decisive way of finishing around the box.

43:19You sort of fear him, you know, and I didn't always feel that. I watched him a couple of seasons before. I thought he's just running in the blind alleys. We can box him off easy, you know. So this has been a really recent development for me to sort of fall for him a little bit. And so I'm going to say this now. I can also hear Scott tapping away on his keyboard saying, yeah, let's see if Clive is right about his finishing numbers two years ago and gaining numbers compared to today. but it feels as though to me he's much more decisive in those areas and so i like the idea of it again i'm not thinking about the system that we used to play i'm thinking about a system that we could play say we have a fast running center forward that can sprint into into corner flags and we've got two tens behind him and one sack and one zese different shape different view cradled by fullbacks different view right so i'm trying to open my mind up to different ways of playing when you have a player like this you can play in multiple ways you should open your mind up we spent half of last season looking at martin odegaard thinking mate you're not quite right you know you're not quite right we know you're trying but you're not quite right we know we didn't really have a viable option to change that with the same level of gravitas now i know the way Odegaard plays as more of a right-sided player.

44:38But again, we could change something. We could go double pivot with a roaming 10. Another way of playing. So I do think it's interesting. I think it opens up tactical evolutions to us, Phil, and I like it. I like the story. I just like it. So whether he plays right-left, whether he plays as a left eight, whether he plays as a single 10, or whether he plays as a right eight, he can do it all. And when the ball comes into his feet, what you're looking for is the intelligence to combine with our other highly intelligent players and i think he has that i think he's on the level and one thing i think we have missed is i don't think we're intelligent around the edge of the box our ability to win high pressures and convert them into shots is not good enough we have the team to win the jewels when we get to the shoot in actions we're a little bit dumb you know and i think he would have a level of intelligence to that and I think that's one of the big areas where we can improve.

45:36I don't mind us being dual centric, not worried. I don't mind us being high pressured and pushing on and boxing people in and controlling territory. I love it. But what I do want to see when we win it and we have uncontrolled football, broken play, I want to see it lead to a decent shot. That is to be debated if we're as good as that as some of the other aspects of our game. So I think he fixes at me and so yeah I like the story I really do. I agree with you I think there has been a lot of development in his game over the last 18 months and I think you saw it towards the end of last season when Oliver Glasner first came in and him and Alise were really bouncing off Mateta and playing really well there was a lot more conviction in his game he was starting to take shots from the edge of the box I mean this season alone I can think of two or three goals where you know there was one against Fulham away at Craven Cottage where he just kind of drifted in from the left and whacked a shot into the corner.

46:33There was another really good finish against Chelsea where he bent one into the far corner as well from just that little space outside of the area in the D. So I'm not particularly worried about him not suiting what we view as a traditional left winger in this system because I think first of all he can play there. I think he might not be a true head down runner like a Martinelli but he's got more than enough in his game to be a kind of I'm going to stand you up and take you on. More greelish. A little bit more greelish. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A bit more greelish. Kind of an upgrade on Trossard in that sense.

47:06A bit more twisty, turny. He can stand people up. And, you know, can he play centrally? Yes. Can he play wide? Yes. Can he even drift over to the right? Yes. I think this is a really exciting sort of potential signing for Arsenal in that he opens doors. He opens doors for us. And you said it earlier. This is just the next part in our tactical evolution. and growth and progression because I think we've been too easy to defend against. It also adds another element to our left-hand side because maybe they don't say three of you can go over there and sit on Saka. Maybe we need two people on Eze potentially on the other side or just watch that space in the left-half space.

47:44Can you put another player in there which gives Saka more space to get across into a Havertz or a Cesco, potentially heading in at the back post? So it's about adding more threat but also layers of threat. and I think Eber Eccisa does that in abundance do you have any concerns over price is it a little bit too expensive I mean we don't know obviously where where we could be in terms of our in terms of our balances could we sell somebody could we could we see an unexpected sale maybe beyond a Martinelli it does feel a little bit pricey for me but it doesn't feel pricey to the fact that I would be put off if that makes sense yeah it feels it is heavy and the price was heavy last year as well no one came in for him last year and paris i did an interview steve paris gave out that they were surprised that no one came in for him well people still looking for value aren't they i mean chelsea are buying everyone under the age of 21 you can you can walk in a straight line they'll have him you know and so people are smart now look at lilpool spent a lot of money on first was he 21 you know so um so the future's ahead to spend that level of number on someone who's just turned 27 it does make me wince a little bit but i tell you what makes me wince a lot more if we if we don't win those early games of the season martinelli running into the corner flow and and odegaard goes down injured again and people go wonder why we haven't got the right sort of level of backup for him you know and that's the stuff that's really gonna make me go with because you know lessons have been tough for us last year everything that could go wrong seem to go wrong but you've got to learn from it haven't you you've got to learn from it and and so sometimes you might have to just swallow something we saved maybe 10 15 million on a mascara for example so maybe you've got to say so i don't know what maybe that 10 million that we just saved there we need to do a bit we saved a lot on a backup goalkeeper come on that's five million quid for that that's a lot of savings there probably 15 to 20 million on the backup goalkeeper that we were looking at so you've got to say you know what to get somebody that's ready made that the Arsenal fan base will be buying that shirt.

49:51You know, I think sometimes you've got to wear it, you know. So let's hope, well, obviously negotiations, but if there's one to wear, you do this one, you know. So I think it sends a real good message to everybody in the squad. And that's something you've got to think about, Phil, you know. Mosquera is a message to Saliba to say, we're not going to make you play the minutes you played last year. We're going to look after you. you know having someone for Saka we can't keep doing this you know it's not get it wrong you saw what happened to Pedri when you overplayed him you know get it wrong it can really last you know and um and so this is the time to do that now so um I think I'm I'm really hopeful really hopeful I think the initial noises have been that there have been a few ex uh exploratory meetings with the with the player obviously Arteta might have been present there but nothing from club to club yet no official offers um so it still probably has a little way to go but i think the initial the initial reports have been encouraging and obviously you're not going to find a better source than david ornstein so it does show that we are serious about him we are really looking to do this deal uh moving on from eza obviously obviously i couldn't do this podcast without grilling you on noni madueke who it's fair to say you aren't entirely convinced about and hey I'm with you because I was supposed to interview him a few years back when he was at PSV only for him and his dad to move the goalpost last minute so he's been in my bad books since then but he is a barnet boy like me so I'll give him some leeway but this is another another link that's gathering momentum and it's been reported that Arteta likes the player although again nothing serious has been presented to him in terms of personal terms there's been no official offer to Chelsea but it it's been it's been bubbling away there have been a few sources some not so good some good talking about this and overall I would say it's generally been met with a level of frustration because not only are people unconvinced by the player who has been inconsistent and a little bit temperamental at the best of times but the optics of taking another player deemed surplus to requirements from Chelsea is just a bit old and exhausting I mean I'm sick of giving them money for guys they don't want or value in our record of buying from them or even loaning from them has been has been bad to say the least do you want to double down on your friday night clive segment or has time healed some wounds are you viewing this player differently from from when you did a few days ago with a bit of time to look at things yeah no i'm not gonna i can't double down in the same way because it's a bit early in the day for that and but um but why the pg uh rating yeah exactly but you know much like as a is a feel whether we get him or not it feels good doesn't it it feels good why does it feel good because of who he is how he is how he plays the fight how he gives off that he would be happy to play for us right when he plays he's like a joy to watch.

52:55You can see the joy coming out of him to express himself. I want some of that into our team. We sit there, we support our team, we pay our money because we want to see things that we can't do and we want to like the players that are in front of us. When I see Nonny Makiweke, he's a player at PSV, he came out of Spurs and he was a kid, jumped over to Holland and I thought, you know, I'm going to keep my eye on him. I left him from the right, they can move. I thought, oh, he's not bad. Just watch him on clips. They don't get to see him play for Chelsea. You get to see him more closer up. You get to see what he does off the ball.

53:29You get to see his body language. You get to see all the arguing over penalties and free kicks. And I'm thinking, that's not us. That isn't us. We've got a major that's absolutely super focused on body language and team play and being there for your teammates. I can't see it. I couldn't see it. But it's real. It's real. He has come up on the data. It's real. and so we're going to look at it right the numbers in the mid 40s it's a real it's a real live option i'm flipping hell that's not for me it can change in a whatsapp we can change in a tweet right so but it's not real it's not where i want to be but it shows the challenges of having the support for a saka for example it's not an easy buy right so um so and i want i want that support for saka more than I dislike this player.

54:24Do you know what I mean? So, because I think that's important because I very much like Saka. I think he could be anything for us, right? He's statue material, right? If we get things right. So protecting him is my number one. It's protecting him with someone that I'm not too fond of, cares what I think, right? So I care about that player reaching his potential, which he won't do if we keep running him out as we're doing right now, right? So I'm not a fan. I'm hoping what I see versus what I know about our manager and his principals, that it's not going to end up with something. There was another link, Phil.

54:58I mentioned his name to her, and I've already forgotten it. A young lad out of Monaco. What's his name? Acleuche. Acleuche, thank you, mate. Now, that is someone I got my eyes on. That is somebody that we should be looking at. His agent, I believe, is Yoccheres' agent. And so there's a link there. and that, if you look at that player I think, that's got potential the number is high it is high but maybe that could be linked to you know things potentially that happen with other players in our squad, you know, what happens to Odegaard sorry, what happens to Trossard, what happens to Martinelli you don't know what can happen and what a space could be created and it's the sporting director's job to create opportunities opportunities to present themselves, have got the options to take, much like what we've done with Norgaard.

55:54You know? And so I like that player. I think he's got the stride, he's got the moves, he's got the ability, he's highly talented. His name was mentioned to me at a time where I didn't ask him for it to be mentioned. So I started to look at him. I thought, oh, that's interesting. And then suddenly this link appeared. Ah, the kid is playing in Belgium, the Greek lad. Is it Karekas? Karezas, yeah. Karezas, thank you, Phil. Your accent's so much better than mine. I'm butchering these names. Again, what is he? Another lefty from the right. And you're thinking, okay, what's happening here? And it comes back to the point.

56:35I'm going to jump into it right now. What's happening here? We've got a number of lefties from the right being linked to us. And people are saying, well, we've got Odegaard, we've got Saka, we've got Ethan. well one of those players hasn't signed his contract yet and in ethan waniary so you know what's happening there you know does he need to go on loan does he know what's the situation there at this moment in time also have got to cover themselves for any eventuality right so i'm watching ethan is in our hearts along with miles you have to say to yourself okay where is he in his development? What does he need to develop?

57:12It becomes a football development question. You know, so watching him in the Euros and watching him last year when he played inside and when he played outside, what's the difference? I'll tell you what he does feel and I've been looking at him closely. It's what I say to my son. He stares at the ball. So when we're out of position, he stares at it. Because at youth level, he can stare at the ball and they're going to give him the ball because he's the best player on the pitch. And he gets the ball to his feet and he goes, boom, boom, boom. Top corner. Thank you very much. at senior level you've got to stare at the space you've got to stand between the tulips mate exactly in the right space to receive the ball right so hence why sometimes he's he's better on the right hand side because in the interior he hasn't quite worked out the ability yet to receive it in the right way and have to in in the right spaces so he's becoming a little bit staring at the ball, which is restricting his time to dictate the game.

58:08He's only young. No one dictates a game at 18, right? So no one does. You need time to do that. You need to find your time to do that. You need to be in a team that allows you to do that. Much like Odegaard did when he was in Holland. He was at Vitesse, was he a young lad? At Vitesse, yeah, and Heronveen as well. And Kiosk. The other one could remember. I knew you would. And he was allowed to develop. And he went to Sociedad. He was allowed to develop that alpha mentality to say, I'm running things here so Ethan might need something like that you know he might do and it's going to be tough to accept but he might need that somewhere else you know to develop his touches on the ball his ability to receive and run football matches and that's and so I'm trying to link why all these lefties being linked so we don't need them and let's see what happens right let's see what happens yeah I mean in terms of Madueke I might be in a small camp here but I think he's a a really good player that's just kind of ready to to go bang but I don't see it happening for all of the reasons that you mentioned I don't see him as an Arsenal player I don't think he's got the mentality or the attitude to be an Arsenal player I think he can be quite individualistic at times and that doesn't suit our manager or our ethos as a group but in terms of the talent he's someone who who really excites me and i think chelsea have kind of made a rod for their own back here because they just keep buying and buying and buying and they'll continue this cycle now it's estival coming in then it'll be kendry pyeth and then there's just so many people that they need to move and manage and the money's there but you know if i i think he should be he should be on the list at spurs he should be on the list at newcastle um maybe for us I mean, they both missed out on Umbermo, right?

59:58Spurs and Newcastle. So why shouldn't they be after Maduweke? But in terms of the talent and the talent alone, I really think there's a player there, but he just doesn't fit my eye in terms of what we need at Arsenal, nor would he be comfortable coming in to challenge or even be back up to Saka. So Akliush definitely fits that bracket because he wouldn't be coming in as an immediate Premier League star. And yeah, I'm listening to what you're hearing on Ethan. Maybe there's something there to consider as well. Obviously, moving on to another academy graduate. Let's talk Myles Lewis-Gelly, who extended his contract with the club.

1:00:34He's committed his future to Arsenal and I'm really happy about this. I mean, I wasn't ever worried about him leaving, but you can't take anything for granted in football these days. And although it's quite clear he is valued and considered an an important part of not only our future, but our present as well. After coming in and playing so well last season, this is a big sort of statement for the club because we're keeping one of the best young players around. We're giving him a sizable contract. So it shows that again, we're really valuing him and what he brings to our team, the stature that he holds in the squad.

1:01:06It's been a bit lost within the transfer news and business that we've needed to do, but there have been some big renewals on the list as well to sort out this summer. Miles has followed Gabriel now as the second player to put pen to paper tell me why this is important for the club both on a tangible playing perspective but also for what it means about how we value hayland and handing opportunities to young players yeah this is this is massive um i think um you know i'm very much interested watching young players develop and try to understand development um i didn't i didn't always used to understand it i remember one time i i call it the nathan teller test right so I was watching a youth game many years ago and a scout come up to me and goes, oh, look at that player there.

1:01:51I'm watching the game, Phil. I couldn't see. I thought he was all right. And it was like 12, 13 at the time. And I'm thinking, well, he's all right. He said, you don't find many of those players around. He's at Arsenal. I thought, oh, crikey. I should know him. And it was Nathan Teller. And I couldn't see him. Couldn't see what he was doing. Couldn't see his development. And I watched his career. And I think he's at Leverkusen now. He's had a great career, right? Played for Burnley for a while. and great career and he made it to the top level, fair play to him. I couldn't see where that was going and everyone could.

1:02:23So with Miles, people have known about him for a while. And it's quietly under the radar. Could have been near that first team even before he actually got there. And I think he's just landed in this space in such a good way. you know he hasn't he's not just playing for us so he's become a he's become an important figure you know you look at our club and he's like he's representative of the club he's 18 years of age he's playing for england and looking like he's just done it forever right so what do we have here this is a not just a player developing this is a brand developing right in front of you you know he's walking the paris catwalks this kid is special he's absorbing the the world around him i just saw a little clip online today from his mom runs this thing called number one fan club and he's got a picture of him on in the stadium on his contract day and all the people that support him and have supported him are around him and i thought it's just a beautiful picture and it goes to show you the phrase that it takes a village and it does take a lot of people to get to this level and he respects that in everything that he does the way he lives the way he plays the way he behaves it's just an absolutely fantastic role model and a year ago i'm packing my case to go to la and i watched him scuffling up and down that left hand side i thought yeah he's all right and a year later we got this you know you just never can tell you can tell, I couldn't see this.

1:04:05Much back to my Nathan Taylor test, I couldn't see it. And people talk with such certainty about young players. Every pathway is different. Ethan's pathway may need to be different. It may need a pause. And so it's so interesting to see how each player develops on from that. So for Myles, he surprised me massively. And I think I knew it. I thought I knew him, but he's gone again. He's gone past my expectations. And I think he could surprise us again this season. He is for real. His ambition is super high. He is for real. And it's going to be really apparent to everybody really, really quickly.

1:04:47This is a really interesting case for me because I think him and Ethan are linked sort of intrinsically when they met each other at eight years old. They came up through the academy together. People knew about Miles, but Ethan was the one. right? Ethan was the one scoring all the goals, banging in shots from the edge of the box. And Miles was just there slowly developing in the background. I actually watched him for the, for England at the under 17 world cup. And I think the conditions were terrible. It was in like Indonesia or something, but he was gassed. He was not getting around the pitch.

1:05:20He was losing people in transition, losing people on the edge of the box. And this was an England team that underperformed quite, quite heavily in that tournament. They lost to Uzbekistan in the end. So imagine that kind of upset or exit. And he's just, and look at him now, he's boshing people off. He's crashing into Papsar in North London derbies. He's handling Rodrigo in the Bernabeu. He's doing all of these amazing things. And I just think every challenge, everything that's been asked of him, left back, inverting into midfield, winning battles. He's just taken it with such an ease and a confidence and his personality top, his body looks so prepared and ready for the highest level to, to, to, to, to compete with, with wingers who are a hundred meter sprinters.

1:06:07You know, I, I just think we've got an absolute gem on our hands and I really loved the announcement video actually, when he was walking around with his grandma showing, you know, his shirt in the dressing room, going past all the pictures, you know, there was even some behind the scenes stuff of him doing training as well on his own youtube channel and i just think we are really lucky to have him witnessing something so special here so like you said it's not just a player developing here this is a man and a brand in front of our very own eyes so yeah something to to keep an eye on with him i think he's got a huge future at this club and obviously this contract shows how how we value him um that's kind of all i had on this can i hold you on miles a bit longer because there's a couple of interesting things that came out.

1:06:52And this is something that, you know, I remember when I was younger and I was his age and I was just getting into working in the city and I didn't have that personality. I was just a little flower in the background. He's got the personality to be himself at the club at 18. And that is a hat tip to all the people at Hayland that have allowed him to be himself, developed him on the emotional side of things. And then when he went in for his contract discussions earlier this year, he presented to the club. Rather than the club present to him, he's got the maturity to present to the club what they've done for him, positioning him as left-back, which allowed him to get to this level.

1:07:30Now, some people are trying to move him already. I'm not one of those people. He'll be playing in the World Cup at left-back. Why are we trying to move him into midfield? So he's already there anyway. So why are we trying to move him? He plays in midfield anyway. Exactly. And then he does the other job as well. so it doesn't make sense but he recognised that that's allowed Arteta moving him and making that decision he was part of that decision when he was playing for youth teams they moved him I watched some of those games I'm thinking what are you doing he should be in midfield and look where it's led to so there's some smart people that worked him out worked out what we're trying to do because we've got stability at the first team coaching levels we knew our philosophy our play style our principles and we knew he would suit it and the best route in potentially was as a left back playing inside.

1:08:16And he's now managed that. And he appreciated the fact that that change has changed his life. And he told the club about it. And I just think it's just wonderful. I really do. I just can't speak highly enough. I can't speak highly enough of what he's doing, how he's developing, and hopefully where he's heading. If we can keep him steady and focus on the thing that's really important, which is the grass and that ball, then we've got something special. Really do. yeah I spoke to the CEO of analytics FC actually who were the company who who helped him do that presentation Alex Stewart really nice guy um and they'd helped Ben White in the past as well and they were just so impressed with Miles and how sort of clear his professional ambitions were how driven he was how mature he was and like you said earlier this is not just a testament to him but the people around him not just at Hale End and his coaches but his friends his family his mum obviously who plays a huge role in in what he does every day so yeah we're just so lucky to have him representing the club and you know it's it's very rare this is so rare to see people coming into the team like this with that kind of impact um and I think it got lost a little bit last season because we were just so exhausted having to fight we were fighting every week you know injuries red cards suspensions bad refereeing decisions so to really sit back and appreciate it now and realize holy crap this guy has done what nobody else does at 18 years of age is truly incredible so yeah just to touch on a final subject Giocares, Sesko who knows what the hell's going on there there's been there's been disagreements between Giocares and Sporting there's talk that he's got a 60 million euro release clause active at the moment then there are other reports saying that Sesko wants a release clause then there are other reports saying that RB Leipzig are standing firm on their 85, 90 million euro valuation.

1:10:11And those talks have slowed down and Arsenal are looking to kind of put their eggs in another basket. Every day there's something else. Could we even go for someone who's not even been mentioned yet? I mean, it's a possibility. Ollie Watkins has been spoken about. Where are you on this, Clive? Because I think there's so much happening that no one else really knows what's going on apart from what Berta and Arteta are talking about. Do you think we're set on an option and are just kind of playing the game, playing a bit of chicken to see if we can get Seshko out of RB Leipzig at a reasonable place?

1:10:48Or is there a genuine reality that we move away from him if RB Leipzig won't budge? That could easily happen, Phil. I think the age is quite difficult. The club is quite difficult. It can happen. You've got to make your plans. And, you know, I felt that Seshko should have come last year. The number was about 42. he should have come i didn't care if he wasn't ready his potential's obvious to everybody you know and um and i felt that he'd be almost like a souped up havert and i've just watched havert's had the best six months ever i'm thinking i want a bit more of that but we can't expect him to do it all the time so i want more of that please and um but we didn't go for him and we lost havert's We all know what happened in 2025, right?

1:11:33But I started to think again. I'm having my daiquiris on holiday and my Mai Tais. I started to think again. I thought, actually, can I think this through? Think this through a little bit. Havertz is souping himself up. Do we want a souped-up Havertz? Or do we want something different? Somebody that offers a laser focus around the box and just a pure Alan Shearer shooter, you know, a hustle-bustle shooter that is different. So I'm trying to think, hmm, that does sort of make a bit of sense, right? So I'm sure people are having the same sort of thoughts and debates in their own mind. I've always been on the Sesco thing, but I think actually, is it the right thing?

1:12:18The most important thing for me is that the centre-forward is a true centre-forward and he sprints away. Because the links to a Rodrigo and an Eze and all these players, to have a sprinting forward that sprints away that creates space for him to play in is very important. Havertz is a really good all-round centre forward and he suits Arteta's model better than anybody else. But he's not going to make five or ten sprints into the corners. He's going to want to feel the ball, touch the ball, because he's really a ten and a half. Do you know what I mean? That's what he really is. sort of thing and so to have that different player to sprint away i was cool with either of them but i'm starting to wonder if there's a bit more diversity between your careers and havert by getting seska on havertz would that create i'm not saying they're the same because people before you say something but havertz is getting stronger more powerful do i want something slightly different you know so i think it's a good debate right so um i'm i'm still team sesco if you need to put me in a team but the most important thing is they're true runners and they threaten that back line and they both do that so i'm comfortable either way we go but i can now understand the occurres links maybe a bit more than i did before the data is hit these these positions these players were always going to take a lot longer in my mind purely because of the finances involved.

1:13:48There's so much to consider in terms of dominoes that need to fall in other aspects, in terms of our squad, potentially other squads. RB Leipzig don't have Europe this year, so they could lose a lot more than just Czesko. That could be Lois Appenda. That could be Xavi Simmonds. There's the whole stuff with sporting going on in the background. So this was never going to be a quick fix. And I would have loved for a striker to be in before preseason. I still do, still would. but there is a natural acceptance in me that if we are going to go for a Rodrigo if we are going to go for a Seshko or a Giocares that we might just have to wait a little bit and I think there's going to be so many more twists and turns just the sheer volume of how these deals are being reported where the sources are coming from it's almost different every day compared to Portugal England and Germany we hear something different every day so either way I'm sure the club realistically know who they want um but whether they might have to pivot last minute whether there could be another deal that comes up i don't know um either way i'm with you i'm still leaning towards shesko purely because of of what he offers us and what he could be yeah but i've always liked your koresh and i i think if we are looking for someone to come in now and be a killer in the penalty box i think it's it's him all day so um let's see let's see there's going to be so much more coming out and i've been a bit tired of it already to be honest because it's just been non-stop reporting and i know that's how the world works at the moment because people need it they need that kind of that thirst for updates every every hour every day but um i i still think the club know who they want and who that is i don't know first world problems mate first world problems they're both first world problems let's get these four let's get these four players out of the way first and then we can move on to the striker um so yeah i i think that's probably a good place to wrap it up now.

1:15:37I would expect Norgaard to be done soon. Obviously, Zubimendi is going to be done very soon as well. Kepa has already been announced. Mosquera looks like it's heading that way. So really exciting times for Arsenal. They had a bit of a slow start in the window, but things have just exploded now. I think people are coming back from holidays. They know who they want to speak to. I'm sure the news cycle will have spun a hundred times before next main pod on Monday. So yeah, that's kind of where we're going to leave it. This is the part of the podcast where I'd usually point you towards some stuff happening in the near future, but I've got no idea what Elliot's got planned over the next few days.

1:16:14So instead, I'll redirect you to some content that has been released in the past week that you might have missed. If you want the lowdown on Christian Norgard from an actual Brentford fan, his strengths, weaknesses, Elliot spoke to Mike from the Ealing Road podcast about his thoughts on the player and potential move to Arsenal, which was really good and informative. One club was back this week with Tim and Clive talking all things squad building and keeping things fresh for the Arsenal women. There was even a history pod, aren't you lucky, where Tim was joined by Arsenal historian Andy Kelly to talk about the election to expand the first division in 1919, which saw Arsenal promoted and Tottenham demoted in controversial circumstances.

1:16:54So there's plenty for you to get stuck into should you need an accompaniment to a morning commute, a dog walk, the gym, anything else. Other than that, Clive, thanks for joining mate. It was always a pleasure talking to you and hopefully next time we sit down we'll have some more players to talk about. Thank you very much. My name is Phil Costa and thanks for putting up with me for this episode. As I said, we did think about cancelling today's show but decided to move forward with respect and just to echo what what was said earlier. Our thoughts go out to the family, friends and loved ones of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva who have both left us far too soon.

1:17:31So thanks so much for being here and we'll talk to you after Arsenal 10. Transfer window new.

1:17:39Tomiyasu and Kai Havertz and Martindale! The Arsenal are flying!

1:18:22We'll be right back. local Sleep Number store today because we have your number.