Too Eze For Arsenal & Michael McIntyre Crashes the Show!

14:30Alan Shearer:Be smart, get wise, T's and C's apply. Welcome back to The Rest is Football with, well, just Michael Richards, Alan Shearer and myself, Gary Lineker now. And, well, we're talking about the Tottenham Arsenal game. We've got to talk about as a, that's a big day for him, a big day. You've got a World Cup coming up as well. Don't forget. I mean, the irony, of course, that he was nearly a Spurs player, obviously. I mean, Michael was saying it's the most Spurs-y thing ever. The player we miss out on then goes to score a hat-trick four. Arsenal against us, but what a performance from him. I mean, from what I saw of it, which was next to nothing.

15:09Gary Lineker:You could just tell he was having the day of his life. He was absolutely loving it, getting on the ball, flicks and tricks and finishes. He was unplayable, really. I mean, you can't, I suppose, God just got it all wrong, the amount of space that they allowed him and others to go and do their stuff. But he was just fantastic. He looked as if, he just looked as if he belonged there and loved it and everything else and was lapping up the applause and everything else that he was getting. And yeah, good on him. He was unplayable, basically. He was absolutely fantastic, wasn't he? I think he was very intelligent, wasn't he?

15:47Because we know he's got good feet. We know he can play a through ball and all that sort of thing. But it was the spaces he was finding. Do you remember when he was at Palace, Al? And I think we was doing a couple of matches a day's way. He was in there and he was playing well. But he could have scored two and three in those games that he was doing at the time. But everything he touched today really was perfect. Even at the end, he's doing flicks and tricks and all that sort of thing. But he feels at home, especially with the likes of Odegaard out. He needed one of those big performances. Everyone knows he's a good player, but that was a statement performance to say, I am now arrived.

16:25I think that was the difference in his performance today.

16:28Alan Shearer:Yeah, I've liked him for a long time. He's also a very intelligent footballer. You can see that, but he's very articulate off the field of play anyway. They take our phones off us as well before we did the thing with Michael. But when I switched my phone back on after the game, there were, I don't know, about 50-odd messages from our group chat and a lot of them were at the end. Was one of the goals offside?

16:52Gary Lineker:His first one should have been offside. It was very similar. I don't know what you think, Micah, But I just honestly, I think that the referees and the VAR have got themselves in such a pickle with this situation that I thought they were petrified to give the correct decision today. It should have been offside today. There's no way that those guys in front of them were not in that. They were directly in the line of sight of the goalkeeper. Therefore, it was clearly offside. Yet because of what's gone on, I think, yesterday with the Forest goal, with what happened with Liverpool at Man City. They are petrified of making the decision and they just panicked today and they got the wrong decision.

17:32Gary Lineker:I mean, it was a good job. It didn't make that much of a difference, obviously, for the scoreline. But if it had of, then you could imagine the backfire that would have happened. But it was offside, but it was still a great strike. You know what, though, Cass? For me on this is, we keep saying consistency and all those things, but it rather is or it isn't. You know, if someone's in front of the goalkeeper, the one against Man City with Van Dijk, that should have stood, shouldn't it? But he did make, someone made an obvious attempt to play the ball. So you would say it is affecting the judgment of the goalkeeper because he's moving.

18:13But if you're in an offside position and you're in front of the goalkeeper, why don't they just give it offside? Why don't it be easy for them to just say that's offside because then you don't get should it, was it, I'm not sure about that. They're just making it more difficult for themselves.

18:30Gary Lineker:I honestly think they've panicked today. I think they've panicked and thought if we give that offside the criticism we're going to get again but really it would have been the right decision because they've just made such a mess of the last couple of weeks of those decisions.

18:44Alan Shearer:When I played, if you're offside, you're offside. That was it. Whether you're interfering or anything like that, I don't know whether that would be better or worse for the actual game. But at the minute, they're trying to be so specific with not just offside, but handballs and this and that. And the laws of the game when I played and before I played, I mean, they were in a book. The book's like that. And they have tied themselves up in knots, and particularly with VAR, but we've talked about that a million times. It gets boring. Given City losing, Liverpool losing again, It's looking very, very good for Arsenal, isn't it?

19:21Gary Lineker:I think that this weekend was a big weekend for Arsenal. I think with Newcastle the way they beat Man City, with Liverpool being beaten the way they've been, they would have looked at yesterday's results and thought, we've got to go out and make a statement today. And I think they've done that, particularly with the injuries that they had, some of the injuries that they had, with Gabriel being out. So not only was it three points, I think it was a big statement. I think they were excellent today, Arsenal. I thought they, from start to finish, they batted Tottenham. And it was a really impressive performance and some big performances from Arsenal players.

19:55I think the fact that they brought in Hincapié as well at centre-half and the big question before the game, can Arsenal score a goal only from a set-piece? And would they miss Gabriel? And they didn't miss him. They didn't miss him one bit. So they've now got four top centre-halves with Muscara coming on as well with Saliba and Gabriel. Then they got the fullbacks as well. People don't even mention Ben White anymore because Timber is so exceptional. You got Louis Skelly as well. He's just, it's ridiculous with Califiori. The squad that Arsenal have assembled is too strong. And if they can build with that confidence and get that momentum, because there's got to be swings and roundabouts.

20:40Man City are going to win a couple. Arsenal will lose a couple. But if they just can stay on the right track, they're well on the way. Can someone try and explain what the hell's happened to Liverpool? I can't. I can't. It's spaffling, isn't it?

20:53Alan Shearer:It just shows you as well how important confidence is in football. Last season, it's all going well. They hardly lose a game. They were playing some great football. Then suddenly, a few new players come in. They don't quite gel. They're trying to find their feet and then the results go against you and all of a sudden you're scrambling to find a result. and the head plays an important part in football. I mean, you look at their squad and you just go, why is this happening? But it's like momentum shift or just the belief.

21:28Gary Lineker:Football's crazy at times. I mean, they had a couple of chances in the first 25 minutes or so Liverpool didn't take them. But you could basically see them sort of shrink when Forrest got that first goal. It was like, come on then, what have you got? and they offered nothing. And you'd be slightly concerned at Virgil's comments after the game when he was talking about his players and the lack of reaction or the lack of fight or whatever. Because we always say, you know, is that we see the best players. It's very easy when things are going well for you. You're full of confidence, you're winning games and you're battering teams every single week.

22:06Gary Lineker:All right, but you see your big proper characters when things are not going well for you, when you're losing games and you're still, those players are still prepared to get on the ball and not be afraid to make mistakes. Yeah, it's difficult to put your finger on it because if that result... No one predicted it, did they, Mike? No, if the result would have been at Forest, you could say, oh, you know, they got up on the counter-attack and all that. But at Anfield, that doesn't happen. It doesn't happen. So if you look at the game tactically, okay, Forest did really well. They did deserve credit.

22:39You know, obviously the story is Liverpool losing. Of course it is, you know, champions losing. But Forrest were outstanding. They played Liverpool. They knew exactly what they wanted to do. They counted when they did. They took the chances. But when you talk about environments, Jota has to, the death of Jota has to have played a part in what's going on this season. It must have, because it doesn't feel right. and half of them players are probably still grieving. You know, imagine having a teammate. You have a teammate who you win. You become like family members, don't they? And sadly, I've lost my uncle just last week as well.

23:24And then, you know, when there's a death, you start sort of overthinking and then, could I have done this? Could I have done that better? And your relationship's in the dressing room. It has to have effect. I don't care what anyone says. And this is not making an excuse for Liverpool, but it's the human side. Football's not just about technical ability and physical output. It's about the mental side as well. And what they're going through at the moment is showing on the pitch. It definitely has to have an effect.

23:55Gary Lineker:Yeah, I would echo all of those things, like you said, absolutely. And also, go back to Forrest, how brilliant Nottingham Forest were. They were absolutely outstanding. Sean Dyche and his team were great.

24:05Alan Shearer:It's funny, isn't it, that Sean Dyche She's doing well and Nuno Espirito Santo is doing pretty well, I think, at West Ham. You can see that they've improved. And I think Sean Dyche going into Forrest was more of a fit that it probably should have done after Nuno because they're kind of similar, not the same. It's different in their coaching styles, but there are certain similarities where the contrast between Nuno and then going in with Ange Postacoglu and the difference in the style of play. They've now gone a little bit more closer to what they were doing last season. And it's working for them.

24:42Alan Shearer:And Sean Dyche is savvy. He's been around the block. He's proven Premier League manager.

24:47Gary Lineker:Yeah, he's got them set up in a similar way to what brought them the success. Absolutely. They did all of those things yesterday. They chucked themselves in front of the ball. They were defending incredibly well. And yeah, they were sitting deep and hitting them on the break. I mean, that was no fluke. They were much the better the team were for us.

25:09Alan Shearer:Totally agree. Totally agree. Did you enjoy Newcastle's victory?

25:13Gary Lineker:Just a little bit, guys. Just a little bit.

25:15Alan Shearer:Did you enjoy our former Leicester City hero for you? Harvey Barnes getting a couple of goals. A bit lucky with a couple of decisions? No.

25:24Gary Lineker:Yes. How can you get lucky with what? Okay. I think the Chiao one was a definite handball. He can't do that in front of you. He didn't do that. He had it in his side. He sat in his sides there. Get off with you. What's up with you? It went like that, Alan. Okay. No, he didn't. He had it in his side like that. The full-fledged one. He's tucked in like that.

25:45Alan Shearer:The full-fledged one. I thought the phoning one was quite a dangerous challenge, though. I thought that was a penalty, personally. I mean, anywhere else on the pitch, that's a foul. Once you move the ball and then you get clobbered, that's a foul.

25:56Gary Lineker:If he gives a penalty, you come back and say, okay, yeah, fine, I get it, I understand it. But I think because he's got a shot, he's shot away first. And I think that's why the referee didn't give it. So I wouldn't say they got away with a couple of decisions. Tial won though, Alan. Do you not think that's a natural position to block the ball from hitting you in the face?

26:19Alan Shearer:Well, the handball law's a joke anyway. Nothing like that should ever be handball. But it is now. Whether it's slightly out or slightly this side or slightly the other. I mean, they've got to go back to like, is it deliberate or not? Now, nine times out of ten, handball is not deliberate. You just, your arms are in a position. But you can work out when it's an obvious penalty or not.

26:42Gary Lineker:It was nil-nil at halftime. How on earth it was nil-nil? It was like, it should have been 4-4 because Harland missed two big chances. Phil Foden missed two big chances. Harvey Barnes missed two big chances. He missed one after 30 seconds. Walter Marder missed two big chances as well. I know Pep wasn't happy with one or two decisions after the game, but I would be more worried about his team defensively rather than anything if I was Pep, because the number of chances that Newcastle created. But from a Newcastle point of view, I thought they were absolutely outstanding. The two full-backs, Liveramento and Hall, come on in and give them a much better balance, much more energy about their game.

27:26Gary Lineker:Midfield was much better, back to being tough and hard to play against. Tonali, I thought, was outstanding. Malik Chow, I thought, was brilliant. And obviously, Harvey Barnes getting his goal. So it was back to being in Newcastle what we've become used to. I like Jacob Murphy. Yeah. I really do. Just because he runs. And yes, he's not going to be the star of the show, even though he got a load of assists last season. But just his energy, and it keeps you high all of the time. Him and Barnes kept going and going. And you know with Man City's fullbacks, they love to go, don't they? But they got pegged back the other way.

28:07Say, no, you defend us. I just thought it was a really good game of football.

28:11Gary Lineker:You know what else he does really well, Micah, for what is refreshing for a centre forward? He actually puts the ball in the box early. Correct! He's not bothered about going past someone. If someone's going to stand off him, he'll whip the ball in. And for a forward, I mean, it's heaven. It's all you want. It's all you ask them to do. You can time your run. You can do everything else early and everything that you want to do as a forward because he puts the ball in early and it's refreshing to see. I don't know if you agree with me with this. I thought Man City were brilliant in the first half.

28:45I thought Doku was getting in really good positions. Like he's playing sort of an inside left now. And then when he gets the ball, he's going out to the left. Like almost a number 10 at times, he's playing really good balls to Haaland, whether it be to Foden. Foden had some really good touches in that first half. I just thought that Newcastle's midfield overran them in the second half, where Man City still had Shirky on the pitch for a little while. I thought that was maybe a game for Reinders because once Newcastle started getting their confidence, although they had chances in the first half, They could build on that momentum.

29:20They kept going and going and going. I think they just had a bit more energy in the middle of the park, I would think.

29:26Alan Shearer:Arsenal six points clear now, of course. And then from second to 11th, Chelsea second, Liverpool 11th. There's just five points between the lot. It's really, really tight. Who is the most likely challenger, if any, to Arsenal? Do you think it might be actually Chelsea, the club world champions?

29:50Gary Lineker:I would still say City because we've seen City after Christmas before do it. They're used to it. They can do it. We know that. And I know it's different that defensively, they're certainly not as good as they have been. But because they've been there and they know what to do and expect and everything else, then I would still say it would be Man City. I would say Man City as well. but I think Chelsea could beat anyone on their day. I think they can put in really good performance, as we saw in the Club World Cup, but I don't think they have enough at the moment to go all the way, but they're improving.

30:27Alan Shearer:Would you completely rule Liverpool out of the title race?

30:32Gary Lineker:I think so. I mean, what are the six they've lost in the league?

30:36Alan Shearer:Yeah, I still think they'll finish top four, but I don't think they can win the league now. Quick line on Palace because they're up there.

30:44Gary Lineker:Palace are what? Palace are fourth, aren't they?

30:47Alan Shearer:Fourth, yeah. Fifth now, I think they're fifth. Oh, they're fifth, are they? Villa went above them into fourth. And Villa, don't forget, had a really poor start to the season. And they're right up there now. So it's an interesting league table at the moment. I thought this season it might be really tight. I've got a feeling Arsenal might win it comfortably.

31:05Gary Lineker:It would be most unlike Arsenal to win it comfortably. but yeah I think it's I think I'll definitely go for Arsenal but if anyone's going to challenge them I would say it would be City Liverpool I think are done I think their title race is done I don't think they can come back from that we've really worried well you'd be really concerned with what you're seeing at the minute with Liverpool and I don't think it's a short term fix because if it was just one area of the pitch you'd say okay then but it's all over

31:35Alan Shearer:Obviously if you're listening to this on the Monday the Monday night game is Manchester United Everton if Manchester United win they're in the top four just shows you how up and down the season's been hasn't it yeah really is why do you think that is I think that there's more teams at the same level this season I think if you look at the start that Man United had to think they can go top four

32:03Gary Lineker:the gap's definitely closed hasn't it between I mean even use Palace and maybe Bournemouth as examples. The gap has definitely closed from clubs like that. Brighton's another one. Obviously, Newcastle are there. Villa are there.

32:17Alan Shearer:You better say Sunderland, Alan. You'll be in the doghouse.

32:19Gary Lineker:Sunderland are there at the minute. I'm not sure they'll stay there, but yeah.

32:24Alan Shearer:I tend to agree. Right, let's call it a day there. Just before we go, I think it's only fair to give Michael McIntyre a little plug for his new show that I've just taken part in. It was a lot of fun. It's called In The Box. Unlike the show that I'll be revealing, in the spring, which is called The Box. Seems to be a theme of my life. Very strange. Yeah, it's called In The Box. You'll find it on YouTube. And I think it's out today. So check it out. It's a giggle. But for now, goodbye from me. Goodbye from me.

32:52Gary Lineker:Goodbye from me. Have a great week, everyone.