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shopify.com/arse blog. Hello

1:57

And welcome to a brand new Arse Blog. This

2:00

right here on our slog.com How are

2:02

you? Hope you're well? Thank you very

2:04

much indeed as always for being here.

2:06

I know it's another Thursday are scarce

2:08

put there's a good reason for that

2:10

is because we have a big game

2:12

this weekend and I don't want to

2:14

start thinking about it just yet. There's

2:16

so much at stake, so much on

2:18

the line that I feel better where

2:21

it's kind of a little be there

2:23

in the distance. Touching. Distance

2:25

to nearly there, but I don't have

2:27

to pay too much attention to it

2:29

yet. We will, of course, but not

2:31

now. So that's why I thought I

2:33

would get this out today because as

2:36

a kind of distraction from was coming

2:38

up on Sunday, the Champions League was

2:40

pretty entertaining this week. To semifinals: Bruce

2:42

A dormant against P A C and

2:44

by Munich against Real Madrid I have

2:46

my preferences for each game. they went

2:49

more or less the way that I

2:51

would have liked them to go. The

2:53

was of course some late hilarity. And

2:55

some pain for a couple

2:57

of former Spurs players. One

3:00

in particular were the trophy

3:02

listeners that exists within the

3:04

fiber of his been probably

3:06

deep down within his very

3:08

soul. It. Followed him

3:11

from London all the way

3:13

to Munich, know Bundesliga, know

3:15

German cop and now know

3:17

Champions League for Harry Kane.

3:19

And. If this was a sitcom that

3:21

will be canned laughter all over

3:24

the place where I know it's.

3:29

Not only that though, it's been a

3:31

very very quiet week from an Arsenal

3:33

perspective in terms of Arsenal news. and

3:35

we don't hear from Mikel Arteta until

3:37

tomorrow. So talk of Manchester United. Sorts

3:40

of Manchester United. sorts of while Manchester

3:42

City are doing this weekend as they

3:44

play For all of that can wait

3:46

until tomorrow. For now I think we

3:48

should talk a bit of Champions League

3:50

taught bit of are so of course

3:52

and I'm delighted to welcome back to

3:54

the show to do that Filippo player

3:56

good morning sleep a good money. Answers?

3:58

Let us begin ways. The Hamptons

4:00

League semi finals we will talk Arsenal

4:02

of course. But Champions League semi finals

4:05

Where this week and last night Real

4:07

Madrid went through at the expense of

4:09

of fire. Munich athletes are here know

4:11

I'm sorry to say hurricanes and married

4:14

though as by Munich I know I

4:16

didn't but that implies I think people

4:18

understand when when I talk about died

4:21

in the you know where we were

4:23

out At the expense of By Munich

4:25

in the quarterfinals you know there are

4:27

various things that that might serve them

4:30

right. That happened over those two

4:32

games. But but Real Madrid in

4:34

this competition have some kind of.

4:38

Some kind of juju How do you

4:40

explain what they do and how they

4:42

keep doing it regardless of those the

4:44

the team that they have I i

4:46

mean Carlo Ancelotti obviously is the eyes

4:48

that but better to have felt bad

4:50

as he have a i will come

4:52

to ever to maybe a bit later.

4:54

I still find it astonishing that he

4:56

received a manager of a written not

4:58

too long ago when when Mikel Arteta

5:00

took charge of of our somebody did

5:02

look as if I were going to

5:04

go through and then and then to

5:06

late goals from from com. As

5:09

your Sulu Who if I can just

5:11

quote Sid Lowe from The Guardian. His

5:13

description of of display or

5:16

the former Stoke and Newcastle

5:18

striker on loan from Espanol

5:20

of the Second Division. d

5:25

ever sometimes feel like despite.

5:27

Spending. All your time. Watching

5:31

football, talking about football, writing about football

5:33

that that there are things that make

5:35

you go. I just don't understand. Football

5:37

is just it's just sex isn't Salads

5:39

is chaos is and said. To.

5:42

Seward about use the do. You

5:45

might have like read the trade or might not like

5:47

them that we we might have like Real Madrid for.

5:50

So. Many reasons. Something.

5:53

Be so instead of Paris

5:55

of but. I think

5:57

that. Was. use the loo experience

6:01

last night is that what's

6:03

in the movie

6:07

theater of our mind, it's

6:10

the scene that every every one of us

6:12

has played, being a little boy or

6:15

a little girl or actually

6:17

a grown man or a grown woman.

6:20

Everybody wants to have been geselue

6:23

for three minutes just to

6:25

know how it feels to

6:28

score that goal, those goals

6:30

I should say and they're

6:32

ugly goals as well which is even better and

6:37

so no I don't understand and

6:39

when it comes

6:41

to round the trade and their

6:43

extraordinary affinity for this competition I

6:47

have to say that I

6:49

don't want to get all mystical about it

6:51

because I genuinely don't think that there is

6:54

anything like a DNA of a club. I

6:56

think it's something, an argument

6:59

which is used far too often

7:01

to disguise

7:05

feelings and not to

7:07

talk about the real issues so we say oh that

7:10

that player has got the DNA of the club

7:12

or the DNA of the club is that you

7:14

know. No it's not, it's not. Real

7:17

Madrid by the way spent an

7:19

awful lot of time if it were really in

7:21

their DNA and obviously

7:23

some of

7:27

the genes must have gone missing for a large

7:29

part of the history because remember

7:31

how winning the European Cup after of

7:33

course you know the ones they

7:35

win the one in the 50s and 60s with the

7:37

you know Hanto,

7:40

Copa, Poushkash, Di

7:42

Stefano with all those fabulous

7:44

players. There was a real,

7:46

I mean there was

7:48

a long period of

7:51

the history when they couldn't win it so obviously

7:53

it's not in their DNA it's just that they're

7:56

very rich, very

7:59

powerful. I've

8:01

got some pretty decent players and I've had

8:04

some pretty decent players for a while. I've

8:06

got one of the all-time great

8:09

managers. What is true

8:11

is that they certainly have, especially

8:13

after it happened in their last victory which

8:15

was crazy because what's very

8:17

interesting for Real Madrid, sorry I'm taking

8:20

attention here, is that their progression in

8:22

the competition this season is in complete

8:25

contrast with what they did with Karim Benzema

8:27

where it was miracle after miracle after miracle

8:29

here in some ways logic has been respected

8:31

all the way and if they

8:34

had gone out which could have happened you would

8:36

have thought you know what they went out but

8:39

all in all they were probably the

8:41

better team. And

8:44

so it's a completely different set of circumstances

8:46

but the fact is that their

8:48

public knows that they have got

8:50

this in them. The players

8:53

somehow are used to winning

8:55

and that's a very nice habit to get. You

8:59

put that together and it's

9:01

not so mystical after all but

9:03

it's still not mystical but still a

9:05

bit of a mystery. I

9:09

think we should acknowledge that and I

9:12

actually tweeted something about it last night

9:14

just after the game when

9:17

the goal is for Bayern the equalizing

9:20

goal is disallowed and of

9:22

course it has to be disallowed because the referee has

9:25

whistled. He was wrong to whistle

9:27

and the linesman was probably wrong to put

9:29

his flag up but the end result of

9:31

that move is entirely connected to both of

9:33

those things so the goal can't stand.

9:36

The goal can't stand and I'm thinking well what

9:39

if the goal had stood because

9:42

I'm not absolutely

9:44

sure that Real

9:46

Madrid would have been able to

9:48

defend the situation. I don't think

9:50

that the end

9:53

result of this

9:55

move would have been very different from what we saw

9:57

but the difference being that the referee would have...

10:00

pointed at the set of circle. And

10:02

then you think, well, in this case, if you

10:04

if this had to have happened, and it could

10:07

have happened, and maybe it should have happened. How

10:11

do you talk about the game, then? Because

10:14

everything is, that's

10:16

the way we talk about football is

10:18

always after the event and hindsight. Sure.

10:20

I mean, almost all of the time,

10:22

especially in encounters of

10:24

that time, which I decided on,

10:26

I mean, such fine margins, margins,

10:28

which don't even exist sometimes. And

10:32

obviously, because football is chaos, football,

10:35

football is fundamentally organized, or

10:37

chaos, which some people are

10:39

better at organizing than others.

10:41

And she's very good at that. But

10:44

it is chaos. And we saw it. And

10:47

we see it in a competition like the Champions

10:49

League in the knockout stages, the

10:52

number of times where situations of that kind

10:54

happen, to be honest, when we look back,

10:56

I think we have to have so many

10:58

regrets, not not to have beaten Bayern. Because

11:01

again, how can it be

11:03

that our defense which has been the foundation

11:05

of our sole success this season, I mean,

11:08

to a great extent, suddenly had

11:10

a couple of moments, fleeting moments

11:13

of absence, absent, might

11:15

unless this call it like that.

11:17

Yeah, which meant that we conceded two goals

11:19

at home, which honestly, we shouldn't have conceded.

11:21

And then

11:25

you can have regrets after the event.

11:27

But again, it's chaos. It happened that

11:29

night. Yeah, it happened that night.

11:31

Did it happen because of the Champions League and the

11:33

Premier League? I don't know. Yeah. But I have an

11:35

answer for that. And so I think we have to,

11:37

to accept the fact that we can talk, we

11:40

can talk sense about football. But

11:42

a lot of it, a

11:44

lot of what constitutes football, and the reason

11:46

is why we love it is also because

11:48

it is nonsense. Yes, I mean, you referenced

11:51

that game where, you know, last night, obviously,

11:53

that decision went in Real Madrid's favor. I

11:55

don't want to delve into

11:57

conspiracies about anything like that. And some of the

12:00

comments afterwards by the Bayern manager and some

12:02

of the players about how Real Madrid get

12:04

all the decisions, whatever. But you

12:06

think about that game where we could have had

12:08

a penalty in the dying

12:10

stages of the – I think we should have had

12:12

a penalty by the way in the dying stages of

12:14

the first leg and there's a moment where Harry Kane

12:17

should have been sent off for his elbow

12:19

on Gabrielle and those decisions went Bayern's way

12:22

on the night and that

12:24

can obviously have an impact on the

12:26

way that things transpire. And I know

12:28

you sort of poo-poo the

12:30

idea of DNA and this happens because of that or an

12:35

association but it is a bit

12:37

difficult to look at

12:39

Bayern not winning a trophy for the

12:41

first time in about 15 years and

12:44

link it to Harry Kane's arrival, Harry

12:46

Kane and Eric Dyer bringing their spursiness

12:48

from North London all the way to

12:50

Munich and the only thing

12:53

he's going to win this season is

12:55

a giant cannon for being the Bundesliga's

12:57

top goalscorer which I don't know. The

13:00

irony of having a cannon being

13:02

given to you honestly. That

13:04

feels DNA-ish to me, Philippe, not to

13:07

argue with you too much. I

13:10

think that we should not confuse

13:12

causation with correlation. Sure, but like

13:14

we're having fun with it. But

13:18

we can. We

13:21

can give ourselves the right to do so

13:23

to have fun. For sure. There's

13:25

enough going on in the world that we should

13:27

try and take our fun where we can get

13:29

it. The other

13:31

game was Borussia Dortmund going

13:33

through against PSG. Which

13:36

was thoroughly enjoyable. It was also

13:38

thoroughly enjoyable I have to say and

13:40

I think we all have our opinion

13:42

about PSG and the

13:45

way that they are run and the impact

13:47

that they've had on the game of football

13:50

all across Europe which I think has been

13:52

profoundly negative because of the

13:54

financial aspect of how

13:57

they have completely shifted the goalpost and

13:59

the benchmark. marks for transfers and

14:01

wages in a way that

14:03

I don't think even Manchester City have done

14:06

for all the concerns we might have

14:08

about them and their ownership and everything

14:10

else. But when

14:12

you think about this competition, you

14:15

think about what the final

14:17

might look like if you were to discuss it

14:19

on paper. I don't think too many people would

14:21

have said Borussia Dortmund were going to get there.

14:23

When you look at the group that they came

14:25

through, they were beaten by PSG, you look at

14:28

the quarter-final where they were beaten by

14:30

Atletico or they were beaten away by

14:33

Atletico Madrid and came back to win

14:35

very strongly. Atletico Madrid are a really,

14:38

really tough team to play against, as we

14:40

know, and they're through to

14:42

the final having beaten PSG 1-0

14:44

in both of those games.

14:47

It does give you, in this sort of

14:50

cynical football world we exist in, a

14:52

little bit of hope that, not that

14:54

the underdog or the small guy can

14:56

come through because it's hard to make

14:58

that case about teams who are in

15:00

the Champions League anyway, but it is

15:02

nice to see a team

15:05

like Borussia Dortmund get through to the final at

15:07

the expense of a club like PSG. Yeah,

15:09

it is lovely. It is lovely.

15:11

And you could add the fact that in the Woodlands

15:13

League there have been no great shakes. They haven't had

15:16

an awful season, but they're fifth in

15:18

the league at the moment. They

15:21

had some absolutely appalling results during the

15:23

autumn, in particular where they lost one

15:25

of the home.

15:39

I mean, they had some really poor results, which

15:42

was one of the reasons why talking to

15:44

German friends and people who feel the Bundesliga,

15:46

and when the groups were drawn, they

15:49

were saying, oh, Borussia Dortmund

15:52

doesn't have a chance to do anything. You should

15:54

see the state they're in. It's really not good.

15:56

Blah, blah, blah. And then suddenly when it comes

15:58

to Europe, they've been able to win. to

16:00

defend Emoju and

16:03

authorities observed what

16:06

happened and obviously

16:08

it is chaos. I've lost a

16:10

number of times. How

16:13

many times did PLC hit the woodwork? I

16:15

don't know. I mean this is a perfect

16:17

example of what you're talking about, isn't it?

16:19

One of those goes in, you know, you're

16:21

talking about something completely different and

16:23

the whole narrative around the game changes and the

16:26

you know, Borussia Dortmund's fantastic defensive effort which I

16:28

think is, you know. It was. It

16:30

was brilliant and I love the fact that, I

16:33

really love the fact that, you know, in

16:35

this day and age where I think a

16:40

lot of modern football is based around

16:42

pace and pure pace is seen

16:47

as a sort of an acceptable offset

16:49

to a lack of technical quality in

16:51

some areas, right? Because you have

16:53

these young guys who are just blistering and

16:55

somebody like Matt Hummels who

16:57

not only scored the goal

16:59

that won the second leg

17:01

but defended so brilliantly by

17:06

virtue of his incredible experience and reading of

17:08

the game and again, look, there were these

17:10

moments where PSG could have done better in

17:12

front of goal but I really

17:14

like that about this game and this

17:16

tie that someone like Hummels at 35

17:18

years of age can be the difference

17:20

maker in the modern game. It's absolutely

17:22

magnificent. And it's not that

17:25

they haven't got, you know, quick players

17:27

because if you get carried by the

17:29

UMI for example, you see, it's certainly,

17:31

it's not slow but it's

17:34

true. It's the virtues of, some

17:37

people said it was old fashioned virtues.

17:39

I've heard that a lot about the

17:41

way that Borussia Dortmund beat

17:45

PSG twice, one nil over

17:47

the two legs. We shouldn't forget that. They

17:49

didn't concede it, won both games. And

17:53

I'm thinking maybe we should rethink the

17:55

idea of being old fashioned because in

17:58

a way this kind of... of attitude

18:05

is basically

18:09

a return, it's a return to

18:11

collective values and which of course

18:15

is something to be celebrated.

18:17

I'm hoping that even

18:19

when people talk about Real Madrid, I

18:23

think too much is made of initiatives for example. I

18:27

mean the others

18:30

are pretty damn good too and also

18:32

they worked on by Valverde

18:34

or Chwemini for example. Or

18:37

Luka Modric last night if you

18:39

noticed the incredible sprint

18:41

and tackle that he made

18:45

in the Real Madrid box, he got all the

18:47

way back from taking a corner to

18:49

chase back and prevent what was going to be

18:51

a very, very dangerous counter attack before Real Madrid

18:53

had even scored one of their goals, unsung heroes.

18:57

Absolutely and you could say that it's again

19:00

a triumph of the collective because

19:03

that team is very much in Angelotti's

19:06

image as well.

19:08

He's amazing journey

19:10

in football. I

19:12

don't know

19:18

which words you can use for

19:20

that because he's Superman, right? He

19:23

doesn't look like it. He likes to drink. He

19:26

likes a little bit of the old celsicia as well.

19:30

He's a thoroughly enjoyable

19:32

company, all these other things.

19:35

So he's not really Superman but

19:38

he is very much a team man

19:41

and we talk about

19:43

return to old fashioned values. Those

19:45

values have never really gone out of

19:47

fashion to be absolutely honest. It's just

19:50

that our obsession with individual talents which

19:52

is again we talk about Vinicius and

19:54

he had a great game. Or the

19:58

absurdity of concentrating on Kilian Bape over

20:00

two legs. I mean, I really can't

20:02

bear that any longer. I've had enough.

20:05

The way that it was shown by

20:08

the British broadcaster

20:10

TNT constant, and I

20:12

know the director was in the park de

20:14

Parnasson, maybe they didn't necessarily have the

20:18

possibility to cut their own images for that. It

20:20

was just a general feat. But the talk was

20:22

all about him. Bape, the slo-moos

20:24

were all about him, Bape, who had two

20:26

absolutely stinkers, two absolute

20:28

stinkers. And as if it was

20:30

all about him. And it's not. It's

20:34

not. So what I'm hoping, sorry, this

20:36

is a very long digression, but

20:38

that the success of a team like Borussia Dortmund

20:40

can actually make people think again about the fact

20:43

what constitutes the root for success

20:45

of a great football team. Yes, individualities, of

20:47

course, you know, come on, they've got some

20:49

good ones at Borussia Dortmund as well. But

20:52

it's the collective force. And

20:55

to be honest, we are also

20:57

a perfect exemplar of that. We've

20:59

got some brilliant players, wonderful

21:02

players, players who, you know,

21:04

fingers crossed, touch wood and everything.

21:07

If we do win the big trophy,

21:09

whatever it is, in the next couple

21:11

of years, these players, they will have

21:13

their faces and their names on

21:16

the outside of the stadium. Because

21:18

that's how strong a relationship we're building with

21:20

them. But the

21:22

major the principal value of

21:27

that Arsenal team, and one

21:29

of the reasons why we are so connected to

21:31

it is precisely because we feel it is a

21:34

team and it's based on this same

21:36

old fashioned values. And they're not

21:38

old fashioned at all. They're actually

21:41

the bedrock of success. Yeah, and

21:43

you can you can add to

21:45

that individual talent, data analysis, intelligent

21:48

recruitment, everything you can think of preparation

21:51

of set place,

21:54

of course, in our case, but

21:56

fundamentally, it's because everybody

21:59

from for each other. And I know

22:01

it sounds a bit like a cliche, but

22:04

it's a kind of obvious truism

22:08

that it is not old

22:11

fashioned to put forward right

22:13

now because the society we

22:15

live in, which is all about

22:17

individuality, individualism, be yourself. You're

22:19

amazing. No, you're not. Actually,

22:22

you're not amazing at all. But you can

22:24

do amazing things with other people.

22:26

Sure. And to see a team

22:29

like Boris and Othmuth where they were so obviously

22:31

fighting for each other in that way. And,

22:33

you know, they've been

22:35

so, I mean, some of

22:38

the Nicholas Fullkrug, I mean,

22:40

what a story. Actually, you could

22:42

say this is the story of Fullkrug and

22:45

Joseph Leu. Yeah, it's amazing. If you

22:47

look at the trajectory of those two guys

22:49

in football, you think, no

22:51

way. And Fullkrug is not

22:54

that quick. It's not that slow, but it's

22:56

not that quick either. I

23:00

was going to ask you a little bit about

23:02

Mbappe. And you sound like you

23:05

don't really want to focus too much on him,

23:07

but I'm just curious as to what, you

23:09

know, how you view his

23:11

time at PSG in the

23:13

context of what maybe PSG

23:16

were trying to do.

23:18

You know, they bought Neymar, they bought

23:20

Messi, they had Mbappe.

23:22

The goal, the project, if,

23:25

you know, such a thing existed in a coherent

23:27

way at that club, was to

23:29

win the Champions League. And

23:32

once again, they failed in that.

23:35

And it looks like he's going to leave.

23:37

It looks like he'll go in the summer.

23:39

He'll be at Real Madrid

23:41

by the looks of it. And God almighty, you

23:43

know, who knows what they'll do in the Champions

23:45

League when they've got a guy like that to

23:47

add to all the other incredible talent that they

23:49

have with that collective element

23:51

that you're talking about. But, you

23:54

know, as a player who's turning 26 now in December, I

23:57

think it is, how do you view his years? years

24:00

at PSG, in

24:03

an objective way, I guess, as a

24:06

Frenchman and as somebody who knows

24:09

and understands his talent in

24:12

that league and everything

24:14

else that's been going on around him in these

24:17

last four or five years. Well,

24:21

there are many ways to look at it.

24:23

One of them would be, if you look

24:25

at the stats and everything he's done, what

24:27

he was supposed to do, he has scored

24:29

and assisted a crazy number of

24:31

goals. He's often

24:33

been brilliant. He's scored

24:35

some fabulous goals. He's been also sometimes

24:39

very, very bad on mediocre.

24:46

But it's in complete contrast

24:48

with Mbappe we know from the

24:50

French national team, where he's

24:52

in a very different context

24:55

and where he has been an absolute

24:57

top player for the same

25:02

period. With PSG, to be

25:04

honest, it's a bit of a mess. I

25:09

think that what the title is

25:11

one that don't really matter.

25:18

That all the circus around him

25:20

and his relationship with the club,

25:22

his relationship with all the superstars

25:25

has been one of the most

25:27

boring stories ever. I

25:30

think it would be very good for him to

25:32

leave Paris-Sajama. And it might be

25:34

very good for Paris-Sajama for Mbappe not to be

25:36

there any longer. It

25:39

was, as you said, it was a project,

25:41

not a career. And the

25:43

project was to move from Monaco. Everybody

25:47

knew from the age of 12

25:50

that he would be playing for one of the

25:52

top clubs in Europe, in the world. It was

25:54

clear in everybody's mind if you talk to people

25:56

who knew him when he was a kid. And

25:58

such is his talent. I

26:02

think, and the whole nonsense about Macron, the president

26:04

of the French Republic,

26:08

moving in to try and give his penuettes

26:12

a salt on the question and encouraging him

26:14

to stay in France and

26:17

him becoming the kind of flag bearer of

26:19

Ligon, a competition in

26:21

which PSG only

26:24

encounters serious opposition. I would say, one game out of five. So

26:26

this is not how he's going to

26:28

progress. This

26:32

is why what is achieved, and he has

26:34

achieved a few things statistically and

26:37

a few titles, really doesn't

26:39

really matter. It doesn't

26:41

matter. If

26:44

he had, you know,

26:47

Jeuseleux and Fulcrück have had a better season than Kingdom

26:50

Bapé. Now, we

26:52

can say it now. But still,

26:54

I mean, I'm a bit amazed. He's

26:57

been also, he's been awful over

26:59

the past few weeks, even past few

27:01

months. I don't know if

27:03

it's the consequence of the

27:05

prospect of finally going to Real Madrid that

27:09

he's had enough, that he

27:11

doesn't quite fit in with what Luis Enrique is trying

27:13

to do with PSG, which is to create

27:16

a team which is very much about the collective, that's

27:18

for sure. But

27:20

he's been very poor. He's trying too much. He's trying too hard.

27:24

He wants to be the center of attention all the time.

27:26

He's been very petulant on the pitch, which

27:29

is, you know, surprising for somebody who is

27:31

so smart, so intelligent, so composed.

27:35

I think it's just, yeah, get out.

27:37

Get out, Kélion. Go somewhere else. I

27:40

mean, it would be, I mean, what will he do in a team

27:42

where there's also Rodrigo and Venezius up front? I'm

27:45

very interested to see that. And

27:49

because who's the biggest star of the lot? People

27:52

will see him Bapé at the moment.

27:55

But on the strength of that

27:57

season, it's Venezius, right? I

28:00

mean, it's going to be fascinating to

28:03

see where he fits and where exactly

28:05

they're going to play him. Because

28:08

Vignesh's plays on the left as well. Yeah,

28:10

but I mean, and Bapay down the middle

28:12

sounds pretty tempting to me. We

28:15

shall see, it will be interesting. But

28:18

as you can hear, I

28:21

think that the way that everything has been

28:23

about him in France, I

28:26

think that there was a stat I saw the

28:28

other day that 60% of

28:30

the front page is devoted to football

28:32

in the keep. I had a photograph

28:34

in Bapay in them. Wow. It's

28:38

insane. That's a ridiculous spotlight

28:40

to exist under, isn't it?

28:42

Even if, you know, it's a high profile.

28:44

Yeah. And it's about him and

28:46

it's to the point that it becomes ridiculous. Like

28:48

some journalists will go to the games almost in

28:50

the hope he's going to have a stinker so

28:52

that they can give him three out of ten.

28:57

Yeah, it's either nine out of ten

28:59

or zero. Yeah. And

29:01

it's not a good environment for him

29:03

any longer. And

29:07

Madrid probably will be, yes, a

29:09

much more competitive environment. And

29:11

around Madrid does have to play more than five

29:13

games a season to win the league. So

29:17

yeah, it will be very good. And

29:20

let's see what he does in Germany

29:22

at the Euro because he's had his

29:24

best moments under a French without

29:27

a doubt. Yeah, just for

29:29

the record, 306 games for PSG, 255 goals, 108 assists, which is absurd.

29:37

Even taking into account, as you alluded

29:39

to, some of the games in the

29:41

league, in Liga, maybe not

29:43

as competitive as he might face elsewhere.

29:46

I want to move back to Arsenal and you talk

29:48

about the collective and you talk about how that

29:52

has been the foundation of what Arsenal have

29:54

done and built and how we've progressed. And

29:56

I fully agree with that. I

29:58

do want to talk to you about some insights. individual

30:00

players, one

30:03

of whom I, you know, you can correct me

30:05

if I'm wrong here, but I feel like from

30:08

what I read, you know, when

30:11

his name is mentioned in relation to

30:13

the France national team, whether it's from

30:17

Didier de Champ or whether it's from

30:19

certain French pundits that the

30:22

perception of William Saliba among Arsenal

30:24

fans is very different from the

30:26

perception of William Saliba among, you

30:29

know, certain pundits

30:31

or media in France

30:34

that they don't seem to rate

30:36

him as highly as

30:38

we do over here. And I don't think it's

30:41

a coincidence in any way. And

30:43

I'm not saying it's just down to

30:45

him. I think his partnership with Gabrielle

30:47

is brilliant. And I could go through

30:49

this Arsenal team and talk about relationships

30:51

and people and players who've been brilliant

30:53

this season. But I also don't think

30:55

it is a coincidence that we are

30:57

heading into the penultimate weekend of the

30:59

Premier League season and Arsenal are still

31:01

in the title race and still have

31:03

a chance of winning the Premier League,

31:05

albeit dependent on somebody doing

31:08

something against Manchester United, which, you

31:11

know, Fulham flying kites at the training ground. I'm

31:13

not 100% sure that's the best preparation for a

31:15

game against Man City. But that could be just

31:17

me. I could be wrong here. But,

31:20

you know, as somebody who

31:22

watches Saliba Week-in-Week out for

31:25

Arsenal, are you

31:27

a little surprised about the sort of disparity

31:30

in the view of the quality of

31:32

this player? Yes,

31:35

I am. And I find it

31:37

almost incomprehensible. But

31:40

this being said, remember something

31:42

which I think I've already mentioned to you is

31:44

that Didier Deschamps has never been to a Premier

31:46

League match since

31:49

he left England himself when he was playing

31:51

for Chelsea. And he doesn't go to Premier

31:53

League games. I've never seen

31:55

his right-hand guy

31:57

either at the Premier League game.

32:00

So all the reports they will get will

32:02

be from scouts sent by the French FA.

32:06

That's already quite amazing, isn't it? When you

32:08

think about it, because he's not

32:10

the only French player who actually plays in

32:12

England, is he? No, there are

32:14

fewer than there used to be, but there's still a few of those.

32:17

Anyway, so that's the first thing. The

32:19

second thing is that some

32:21

of the choices of the addition have been

32:23

have been bizarre when

32:25

thinking that William Saliba was available and

32:30

of course that he prefers perhaps

32:33

center backs who are even more imposing

32:35

physically than William Saliba. But even though

32:38

Saliba is very imposing physically, but

32:41

so he will go for a break by Connate or

32:43

the other two, but make a new, for example. But

32:46

the extraordinary thing is that when it doesn't

32:48

have his first choice defense together, he

32:50

would also ask Benjamin Pavard to play

32:53

in central defense. Excuse

32:55

me. One of the

32:57

Hernandez brothers. I mean, they're good

33:00

footballers, but none

33:02

of them is in the same category

33:05

as Saliba. And it's not

33:07

just us, our small fans who say that. I

33:10

think any people who follow the

33:13

Premier League will tell you that this season

33:17

is being the best center back in the league. And

33:19

I don't think that anybody would disagree with that. Van

33:21

Dyck was very good for a part of the season,

33:23

but is has had a

33:25

few problematic weeks, should we say. Ruben

33:28

Diaz is not quite at the same level. There's

33:30

a lot of chopping and changing. John Stuntz has

33:32

been injured. And you look at all the possible

33:34

candidates. And he's the obvious choice

33:36

for, you know, center back of the season. And

33:39

for us, it's obvious because he's got

33:41

it all. He technically is also

33:43

got the speed. He's speedy enough

33:46

to use that for recovery. His

33:48

positioning is superb. He barely

33:51

ever commits fouls with one

33:53

to one is imperious. You

33:56

look at all these things, it can play from

33:59

the back, which is. The thing that the French

34:01

national team is not necessarily the best at, you're

34:04

thinking, well, come on, TJ, wake up. You've

34:06

got this guy. He's your solution. Now,

34:09

the thing is that Saliba

34:11

needs a Gabrielle, right? And

34:15

who would be Gabrielle to Saliba?

34:19

Who would be also have,

34:21

you know, left footed unless,

34:23

well, I don't,

34:27

I'm not quite sure. I

34:29

would very much rate Ibaime Iqbalaté

34:31

myself, but it tends to play on

34:33

the same side. So I don't know.

34:35

But there is a definite discrepancy between

34:37

the way we perceive him to be,

34:40

which I think is correct, and the

34:42

way that he's talked about in France,

34:44

and especially the way he's talked about by

34:47

the people who really matter, like

34:49

Thédédéchamps, who's made some comments about him, which,

34:51

to be honest, were on the verge of

34:53

public criticism. I mean, that was a while

34:56

ago, but he did that as

34:58

if he didn't quite rate him, which

35:01

is astonishing. Is it

35:04

because there was his career

35:06

trajectory has been a bit complicated, signing

35:08

from Saint -Etienne to Arsenal, then going

35:10

back to Saint-Etienne, as

35:13

the low knees and going to Nice,

35:15

then going to Marseille. Yeah,

35:17

but he's been great in all of those

35:19

clubs. And now he's

35:22

great in a club that is fighting against

35:26

Manchester City for the Premier

35:28

League title. It was a whisker

35:30

way of qualifying for the semifinals of the

35:32

Champions League. I mean, there is something I

35:34

don't quite understand. Yes. Deschamps

35:37

said back in March, he does

35:39

things I don't like. Like

35:42

what did you? Well, that was

35:44

my question. Like, what about

35:47

his game? Is it that you don't

35:49

like? Is it the positioning?

35:51

Is it the reading of the game? Is it the

35:53

aerial prowess? Is it the ability on the ball? Is

35:55

it the ability to carry the ball forward? Is it

35:57

the fact that, you know, there was a moment

36:00

in the North London Derby

36:02

where Son had a chance and he got between the two

36:04

Arsenal central

36:10

defenders and he whacked it over the

36:12

bar but what was so astonishing about

36:14

that chance was that I

36:16

can't remember the last time that

36:18

happened where a ball went between the

36:21

two Arsenal central defenders and

36:23

the opposition were clear in on goal

36:25

and the reason that it sticks in

36:27

my mind is because I've spent fucking

36:29

five years previous to that watching that

36:32

happen over and over and over again

36:34

and going what the fuck

36:36

is going on why can't these guys sort

36:38

this is basic stuff. So

36:40

I'm sort of staggered at

36:42

the idea that every

36:44

defender and every player makes a little mistake

36:47

here and there or pass that doesn't quite

36:49

go where it goes but is there

36:51

a frequency to that with Saliba? No.

36:54

Do they stand out because they're so rare? Yes. I

36:57

do not get it. I heard William Gallas say

36:59

something about it as well. I'm like what

37:02

are you watching? What are these

37:04

guys actually watching or are they watching

37:06

or are they simply making their proclaim

37:09

or making these statements based on

37:12

their own perception rather than

37:14

the reality of what they're seeing whether they're at

37:16

a game or watching it on TV? I

37:19

think perhaps strangely

37:22

enough is the impression of calm

37:26

that he gives on the pitch

37:28

which might be a problem with them because it can

37:31

look that he's too relaxed and not

37:33

focusing enough when it's the complete

37:35

opposite. It's just a player who exudes class.

37:38

And if you think of William Gallas, I

37:40

mean Gallas was a very good central defender

37:42

but he was not exactly known

37:45

for his calm. He was

37:47

not exactly known for his ability to play from

37:49

the back. And I think maybe one of the

37:51

things which DJ Deschamps

37:53

doesn't like about William Saliba being

37:56

risk averse as he is is

37:59

the fact that Saliba trust himself in

38:01

a tight situation, close

38:04

to his goal line, to get

38:06

the ball out in a clean fashion and to

38:08

find one of his teammates, which means taking a

38:10

few risks from time to time. Attempting

38:14

a dribble by his own corner flag, and

38:17

we've seen that so many times, and

38:19

then finding a pass. And I think

38:22

Deschamps in his mind, this is complete

38:24

anathema. We can't have that. His

38:28

French team doesn't play very well

38:30

from the back at all. If you look at

38:32

it, the way that France

38:35

plays through the lines is

38:37

relying on players like Tuamini, for example, who

38:40

has got a superb vision, what

38:42

a player he is, to go

38:44

through the lines. But the central defenders, you're

38:46

not going to ask Héron-Béz or Conaté, or

38:50

Conaté maybe a little bit, or Upe-Mécanno, to

38:54

do this kind of building from the back. You're not going to do

38:56

that. This is not their game. They're standing

38:58

by it is his game. And maybe that's something that

39:00

Deschamps doesn't want to happen. Yeah,

39:03

he's maybe playing the way he's being asked to

39:05

play at Arsenal, which is at odds with what

39:08

Deschamps wants anyway. It's

39:11

a mystery to me. And we've lost Rafael

39:13

Varane as well, who was, perhaps of all

39:15

the central defenders, the one who was the

39:17

closest in terms of standard play

39:19

and elegance. But Varane has

39:22

been gone for a while, and we miss him

39:24

to be absolutely honest. And

39:26

Salipah would be an obvious replacement, almost

39:28

like like for like, but I think

39:31

even better, which is saying

39:33

something. Let's

39:36

talk Kai Havarts. And he

39:38

was named Arsenal's Player of the Month.

39:41

We've had these questions over

39:43

the last while about who is the

39:46

player who might, in

39:48

a title push, just step up and produce

39:50

what you don't necessarily expect that player to

39:53

produce. And you know, I think of Freddie

39:55

Humberg when he scored

39:57

all those goals on the run into the title

39:59

that year. And it

40:01

strikes me that the Kai Havarts

40:04

is probably that for

40:06

this season, whether it happens or not,

40:08

whether we win the title or not,

40:11

that second half of the season contribution

40:13

from him has been extremely

40:15

important, not just in terms of the

40:17

end product, but also the structure

40:20

of the team. And I think

40:22

it's really interesting to think about, you

40:25

know, how a manager at the start of the

40:27

season will sit

40:29

down and strategize. And I

40:31

think we've seen

40:33

in the last few years that there has

40:35

been a really coherent strategy at Arsenal in

40:38

terms of recruitment, the types of

40:40

players, the

40:43

profile of the players, where they're going to play on the pitch, all

40:46

of that. And here

40:48

we are towards the end of the season

40:50

with a player who I think was earmarked

40:53

for a very different role

40:55

when he was signed, but has

40:57

flourished in a different position. And

41:00

as a manager, you have

41:02

to be fluid enough

41:05

or flexible enough to lean into what

41:07

a player is doing on the pitch

41:09

and perhaps, you know, change different parts

41:11

of your team in order

41:13

to accommodate that. And you know,

41:15

I think you could probably draw a through line

41:17

between Havarts and

41:19

his impact up front and

41:22

also Declan Rice and his impact as a

41:25

number eight. Whereas I think Rice was brought

41:27

in to be a number six, Havarts was

41:29

brought in to be the number eight, and

41:31

they both shifted a couple of positions forward

41:33

or a couple of a bit

41:35

further forward in the team to tremendous effect.

41:39

And now the job maybe for Minko

41:41

Arteta is to think about a different way of

41:43

structuring his team from the one he probably had

41:45

at the start of the season. I'm

41:48

very happy that and glad that you

41:51

you've tried to define what Kai Havarts

41:53

position was in the team because as

41:55

to me, I'm unable to actually call

41:57

him anything. I

42:00

don't know. I genuinely don't

42:03

know. He's a

42:05

nominal number nine. Box to

42:07

box, centre forward. Have we just went

42:10

to the new position? Yeah. Well,

42:12

his runs are very unusual. His runs

42:14

from the left are very unusual for

42:17

a centre forward. I mean,

42:21

it's absolutely magnificent with his back

42:23

to goal as a header

42:25

of the ball. I mean, that is also, it's made

42:27

such a huge difference to the team as a whole.

42:30

That you do, you can, you have this

42:32

option. And which Raya, by the way, is

42:35

using a lot and rather well. Yeah. But

42:37

he's not an all, I mean, it's

42:40

always been, Kajhaber, it's this

42:42

problem that everybody has known for a very

42:44

long time in Germany that he was, you

42:46

know, a, but they call a generational player.

42:49

It's just a matter of how

42:51

do you use this potential? Because

42:53

he's very tall, he's strong, he's

42:55

quick, technically very adept,

42:57

both feet, superb header of the ball,

42:59

as I already said. He's

43:01

got a bit of the devil in him as well,

43:03

which is quite nice from time to time. And

43:07

but where do you play him? And OK,

43:10

we play him as a number nine, but we don't

43:12

play him as a number nine, if you see what

43:14

I mean. I mean, he's which is

43:16

great, which means that there

43:18

is a tactical flexibility about that team,

43:21

despite the fact that we have more or

43:23

less the same team every single game. And

43:25

we think, OK, second on the right, Leo

43:28

on the left, and if it's not Leo, it's

43:30

Gadi, Ryze, Barthe, maybe

43:32

Georgi Neu, blah, blah, blah, blah. We know

43:35

what it's going to be like. But the

43:37

difference is that when we see the way

43:39

we play, when we are

43:41

in action, there's something really

43:43

unpredictable about him, Kajhaber, his

43:46

placement, his movement, the

43:49

angles that he chooses. And

43:52

it's a role that he's never really

43:54

had. It's a hybrid role. As you

43:56

say, it's a box to box number nine, which

43:58

is also an attacking. midfielder. And very

44:01

interesting, I was looking through is that,

44:03

you know, he had this fabulous season

44:05

with Bayon Vakusin back in 2018-2019 when he

44:07

was a baby. And he scored, I mean, 20

44:12

goals in total for Bayon

44:14

Vakusin that year, which is pretty prodigious, especially

44:17

since you, when you look at the positioning

44:19

that he had at the time, he was

44:21

an attacking midfielder or sometimes even deployed as

44:23

a true number eight, a central midfielder, and

44:26

he still scored all those goals. And he

44:28

never played once as a center forward. Once,

44:31

once. And then here,

44:33

and for years, people have been tearing their

44:35

hair out, wondering where do we play him?

44:37

I talked to people who follow

44:40

Chelsea, they will tell you that they all knew

44:42

that he had the qualities, but we didn't know

44:44

how to make the best of him.

44:46

And now it seems it's happened. It

44:49

seems it's happened. But it does help when

44:52

you've got players like Martin de God,

44:54

or who can play with you and you can

44:56

play off. It does help

44:58

when you've got players like that or Declan Rice, or

45:00

even I would say George and you or everybody else

45:02

for that matter, because I love them all. I

45:07

think that's true. I also think there's

45:09

a, there's

45:11

a really good example here of how

45:15

a player can take time to fit into a

45:17

club. And I remember when he,

45:20

when he was having those early struggles and when

45:22

he was settling into the team, you could see

45:24

a player that was completely devoid

45:27

of confidence in comparison to the one that

45:29

we have now, you know, even, even

45:31

the way, you know, we've talked about this so many times

45:33

down the years, how quickly do you

45:35

pass the ball? How hard do you hit the ball

45:37

when you're making a pass? And

45:39

simple things like that were, were,

45:42

you know, missing from his game.

45:44

And there's a decisiveness to the

45:46

way that he plays. And look, I don't want to make spurious

45:49

comparisons in any way. But

45:52

there have been down the years

45:54

at Arsenal examples of players, big

45:57

players with big talent. who

46:00

have taken a long, not maybe a long

46:02

time, but have taken time to settle in.

46:04

And this again is not to make direct

46:06

comparisons, but you know, Dennis Burkamp

46:09

being written off as a

46:11

flop by Stuart Peirce actually

46:14

in one of the newspapers because he didn't score

46:16

for the first six, seven games when he came

46:18

to Arsenal. Thierry Henry signed as a forward,

46:21

it took him a while to get off the mark. The

46:24

famous example, and I think it is

46:26

maybe a little bit overblown at times,

46:28

is Robert Peirce who,

46:31

it did take him a little bit of time to get used

46:33

to English football because it

46:36

was so different from what he was used to. But

46:38

at the same time, I think the idea

46:40

that Peirce had a terrible first season at

46:43

Arsenal is overblown. It took him

46:45

a while to get going, but when he did,

46:47

you could see that there was an amazing player

46:49

in there. I think there is something similar to

46:51

this with Havertz in that he had

46:53

this Premier League match, but his

46:55

experience at a basket club, a

46:58

basket case club I should say

47:00

like Chelsea, obviously had

47:02

an impact on his confidence. He

47:04

probably wasn't completely blind to

47:07

the reaction to his signing. And

47:09

here we are down the line and this

47:12

is a guy who looks completely and utterly

47:14

settled at Arsenal, completely and utterly at home

47:16

with what Michael Artero wants from him and

47:18

is delivering. And patience is

47:20

not always a virtue that is

47:25

one with high regard among football fans,

47:27

but it does pay off from time

47:29

to time. Yes, it does.

47:32

I was trying to think of other players

47:34

who had similar tough

47:37

period to start with, Obe. Kachelny?

47:39

Toughish. Maybe? Who?

47:43

Sorry? Laurent Kachelny maybe? Maybe.

47:47

In a very different kind of team obviously. Alexander

47:51

Klem? Maybe

47:56

yes, maybe not. It's hard to tell, but it's quite

47:58

a bit of a challenge. quite

48:00

logical as a team answer would take some time

48:02

to fit in a system.

48:05

And yeah,

48:07

I don't know really what to add to what you

48:09

said, because I agree with absolutely everything you've said, which

48:11

is, I don't know if it's a good or a

48:13

bad sign. But

48:16

the, I think

48:20

one of the main things that, you know,

48:22

Michael Arterta has

48:24

achieved is to make

48:30

footballers into who

48:32

they already were but didn't know.

48:35

Mmm, that's quite vanger-esque, isn't it?

48:38

Yeah, it is actually. In this way, when you

48:40

think about the players that he signed

48:43

and repurposed and, you

48:45

know, got things out of them that they didn't

48:47

think they were capable of. Lauren,

48:49

for example, was a great example of, you

48:51

know, brought in as a midfielder and he's

48:53

told you're playing right back and he's like,

48:55

why? And then, you know,

48:57

Oh, that guy was only probably the best

48:59

right wing, right wing on

49:02

the planet. That certainly is for me. You

49:06

know, never played in that position

49:08

until two or three years ago.

49:11

Never. Leo

49:13

Trossard, who is Western, is

49:15

one of the other players, by the way, you

49:17

talk about those players like Trediljönberg, who have got

49:19

this huge impact on the end of the season.

49:21

I mean, Trossard, who

49:25

costs very little, has

49:28

been one of those players. And

49:31

scoring super important goals on a

49:34

number of occasions. And

49:36

again, playing on the left hand

49:38

side, which is not exactly the, I think the

49:40

positioning that you would have associated him with

49:42

when he was at Brighton. Yeah,

49:46

it's, he's

49:49

made, yeah, he makes players

49:52

realize that actually, this is where you're going

49:54

to be the best. And,

49:56

but it works both ways because the players

49:58

are also are

50:01

giving back so much in

50:05

terms of their own commitment and

50:07

the fact that nobody is complaining about it.

50:11

And saying well, my natural position, what you

50:13

hear from Foden saying my natural position is

50:15

that of an attacking or an Hamilton or

50:18

whatever and he said okay fine all right.

50:20

You don't hear that you don't hear Bukay

50:22

Ostaka talk about talk like that. That's

50:26

the Kai Havards. I

50:28

think he plays in the Kai Havards role. You

50:32

have to think of that there's a Machiavelli role,

50:34

there's the Kai Havards role. I'm a target man,

50:36

I'm a defender,

50:40

I'm a winger, I'm

50:42

the guy who suddenly will come

50:45

in the box at the last minute. I

50:47

love Jungberg. I can

50:51

play on the wing as well and I can play

50:53

as a central mid. Wow my goodness, it's

50:56

remarkable how it's all falling together in

50:58

the right places, in the right slots.

51:02

Yeah, Martin Odegard is another player

51:04

who obviously whose potential was obvious

51:06

to everybody but has been unlocked

51:08

at Arsenal. I enjoyed Arteta

51:11

talking about him this week in the

51:13

context of one of his own favourite

51:15

players. Arteta said one of his favourites

51:17

was Michael Laudrup who was an incredible

51:19

talent. He said he sees similarities

51:21

between Odegard and Laudrup

51:24

which is high praise

51:26

indeed for those

51:29

of us fortunate enough to have seen Michael

51:31

Laudrup. He was just an amazing

51:34

footballer and to

51:37

compare Odegard to him is really something. Yeah

51:40

and I talk about late

51:42

developers as well.

51:46

I mean the one name that

51:48

comes to me to my mind immediately is

51:51

that it's of Denis Bergkamp because not

51:53

because they're so similar, it's just

51:56

that he does things that only Denis Bergkamp could

51:59

see. have seen and could

52:01

have executed. That there are each

52:04

game even when he's not absolutely on top and

52:06

he's on top at the moment. There

52:08

are always four, five, six times

52:10

when you basically

52:12

think, did I just see what I

52:14

just saw? How did

52:17

he see that pass? This

52:19

thing that he manages to turn on

52:21

the sixpence from this and exactly not

52:23

moving one inch in terms of his

52:25

positioning. If you put a GPS on

52:27

Martin Udugar, there are moments where

52:29

he doesn't move, it just

52:31

spins on left, right, left, right. And you

52:33

see the guys around him, there's about four

52:37

footballers who are trying to nick the ball of him

52:40

and they all go left, right, left, right, they

52:42

don't know what to do and miraculously the ball

52:44

ends up in the feet of an Arsenal teammate.

52:47

How many players can do that? Dennis could do it, he

52:49

can do it. Some of the

52:51

passes are pure Dennis as well. I say

52:54

it's against this ability to see things that

52:56

we cannot see ourselves and which make an

52:58

awful lot of sense after the event when

53:00

you say, yes, of course, that was the

53:03

pass, that was the pass, that was the

53:05

thing to do. Yeah, but he

53:07

could see that before the ball

53:09

actually touched his feet, which is what Dennis

53:11

could do when the ball was traveling

53:13

to him, he knew what he was going to do and

53:15

he knew how he would execute it. Which is why I

53:18

think of Dennis more than any other

53:20

player when I think of Martin Udugar and

53:22

also for the aesthetic value, I

53:24

think that he's the kind of player he makes

53:26

you purr, he makes your hair stand on the

53:28

end and not by you know putting

53:31

screamers in the top corner, which is great,

53:33

but his art is much settled on that

53:35

and much more beautiful for

53:37

me. And at the same

53:39

time, he's the guy who in the

53:41

90th minute will still be pressing from

53:44

the top and fighting like mad, whatever

53:46

the score line is. I mean, we are

53:49

blessed to have a Martin Udugar at Arsenal.

53:51

That's very true. I think the bird

53:53

camp comparison is a

53:56

really interesting one as well. You know, you're talking about

53:58

that and I thought immediately. of

54:00

the goal he created for Trossard in

54:03

the game against Porto. That was 100% pure

54:06

birdcamp, you

54:08

know, that kind of movement and that kind

54:10

of vision. I do want to ask

54:12

you, you know, we're heading towards the end, so I

54:14

don't want to keep you too much longer. But, you

54:16

know, we are going into the penultimate weekend of the

54:18

season and we're

54:22

in an amazing position.

54:26

It's possible that we could win the

54:28

league. It's not a certainty by any

54:30

means. There are things that we need to do

54:32

and there are things that we need other

54:35

people to do. But, you know,

54:38

football is full of surprises and full of

54:40

miracles and we'll keep everything cross for that.

54:42

But just sort of in

54:45

broad terms, you

54:48

know, how do you view this season as one of

54:51

growth and progress for Arsenal

54:53

and is it one

54:55

where regardless of how it ends up, regardless

54:58

of whether we win the league or not,

55:00

you know, do you see the potential for

55:03

more to come from this team and

55:05

this manager and what they

55:07

can produce and ultimately hopefully get those big

55:09

prizes under our belts? I

55:11

think it's a nine out of ten season and it

55:13

will be a ten out of ten if

55:16

our friends from up

55:19

the road do what they should be

55:21

doing on the 14th, which

55:25

is going to be a very strange experience

55:27

for many people, shall I say. I've

55:31

got Spurs friends, as I'm sure you

55:33

have, and they are really conflicted. They

55:37

are really, really conflicted about what is going

55:39

to happen. But, yeah, nine out of ten.

55:42

And for so many reasons, despite

55:46

a few bumps in the road, you

55:48

know, of course, the game against Aston Villa,

55:50

but you've got to admit that Aston Villa

55:53

played a truly exceptional game that

55:55

they defensively and offensively. Is there anything you

55:57

can reproach the players? Absolutely nothing. And

56:01

also, I'm certainly

56:03

not one of these people who thinks that your

56:06

team should win every single game, because it's not

56:08

going to happen unless you're Manchester City and we

56:10

know why they do that, which

56:12

is why we don't like them, which

56:16

is why it would be super sweet, should

56:18

I have to say. But

56:21

yes, no, this team has achieved

56:23

everything. I think it has played

56:25

the most beautiful football that we've

56:27

seen Arsenal play since, I would say,

56:30

the 2007-2008 team of

56:33

Chezkan and Lechlob

56:36

beat Milan, which was playing some absolutely

56:38

magnificent football. But I think it's

56:41

certainly played the best football, most beautiful football

56:44

in the country, without a doubt, certainly

56:46

since the 1st of January. Because we shouldn't

56:48

forget that we had a really, really complicated

56:51

start of the season. You will remember, we

56:53

talked about it and we were grinding

56:55

out results, we were not as convincing

56:57

as we'd been in the

57:00

season before, we were

57:02

not as fluent and fluid as we'd

57:04

been before. And then suddenly

57:07

something, it was progressive

57:09

and then we hit our stride

57:11

and then produced some football,

57:13

which I think is worthy of the best football we

57:15

saw the VEGA teams play in

57:19

the Highbury. And for

57:21

that, also, it's a 9 out of

57:23

10. Can they go beyond what

57:26

they will achieve? Yes, I think they can. The

57:28

fact of being, we know we'll be in the

57:30

Champions League and I think that people will

57:32

be really scared of us next season in

57:34

the Champions League. What

57:37

happened against Bayern will help. Domestically

57:40

speaking, in

57:43

fairness, if it were not for Manchester City,

57:45

we'd have sewn up the title, you

57:48

know, weeks ago. That's

57:50

the thing, there is always

57:53

this disbalance between

57:55

City and the others. And

57:58

some of this disbalance is due... and

58:00

let's acknowledge it, to the

58:02

exceptional talent of their manager,

58:06

very sound recruitment policy and some bloody

58:08

good players. These are not the

58:10

only reasons, which is why it's

58:12

a problematic success, but we

58:14

have to acknowledge that and that they

58:17

have made the extraordinary ordinary

58:19

and then we have to be able to

58:21

beat those guys. We've got

58:23

to also make the extraordinary ordinary, but that's

58:25

not the way we are. We are not

58:28

as perfect an organization. We are not as

58:30

perfect a club, a team, as

58:33

this strange animal at

58:36

the Etihad, which

58:39

is strange in

58:41

so many ways because it leaves me totally cold.

58:45

And I think it leaves most people totally

58:47

cold even though everybody keeps harping about how

58:49

beautiful their game is. It's not a dream.

58:51

I don't agree with them at all. I

58:54

don't think so. I think it's a soul-less

58:56

game. But anyway, that's a different conversation to

58:58

have another time. But we are not

59:00

like that. We are a very thoughtful team. I

59:03

love that about it. And

59:06

there is something prodigiously

59:08

exciting about it. And it's a very

59:10

young team. Obviously

59:14

we've sorted out the recruitment side of things.

59:16

If you look at the players we've signed,

59:18

my goodness, it's like hit,

59:20

hit, hit, you know, Tossar,

59:22

Jean-Gignon, and I love. Rice,

59:27

obviously, we could speak for hours

59:29

about Declan Rice. The

59:32

recruitment has been absolutely terrific. We

59:34

don't seem to have. I was looking at the time

59:36

that the players have got left on their contracts. We

59:40

are no longer in this situation when you start

59:42

fretting because one of your key players only has

59:44

a year and

59:46

a half or two years left. No, no,

59:48

no, no. Everything's been sorted. Every

59:51

reason to feel super confident, we've got a

59:53

manager whom the players trust and

59:55

who has built a very

59:58

special connection with us fans as well. So

1:00:01

I cannot see any other reason, any reason

1:00:04

not to be, first of

1:00:06

all, happy, grateful

1:00:08

and confident. Well,

1:00:11

let's hope that whatever

1:00:14

happens between now and the end of the season,

1:00:16

the success is with us

1:00:18

and it's not a problematic success. I

1:00:20

really love that turn of phrase. Because

1:00:24

I, you know, we've all waited so long,

1:00:26

it would be amazing to do it even if we

1:00:28

are, as I said, a bit dependent

1:00:30

on Fulham and Spurs and

1:00:33

West Ham to do something. But you

1:00:35

know, let's see and let's hope we

1:00:37

can do what we need to do

1:00:39

in our two games. And

1:00:41

either way though, it's a fun team and

1:00:43

it's a fun time to be an Arsenal fan.

1:00:45

That's the most important thing, have fun. Alright, we

1:00:48

better leave it there. As ever, Philippe, a pleasure

1:00:50

to talk to you. Thank you very much. Thank

1:00:52

you, Andrew. One

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Thank you very much indeed to Philippe you

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can find him on Twitter he is at

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Philippe Auclair at Philippe Auclair. So

1:03:18

that is just about that for

1:03:20

today's show we will turn attention

1:03:23

to our game against Manchester United

1:03:25

taking place on Sunday afternoon we're

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away at Old Trafford we will

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you'd like to join us for that. If

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you don't, no worries. Thank you so much as always

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1:04:17

have an RSCast Extra for you a

1:04:19

little bit earlier this week. We will

1:04:22

be recording on Sunday evening, not long

1:04:24

after the game, so we will have

1:04:26

that for you a bit later on,

1:04:28

on Sunday evening. So join myself and

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James for that. For now,

1:04:32

take it easy folks, and we will catch you

1:04:34

on the next one. Until then, cheers. Bye bye.

1:05:36

Welcome back to Sky Sports News.

1:05:38

The football season is over. The

1:05:40

European Championships are on the horizon,

1:05:43

but before the teams meet for

1:05:45

their training camp, they've been given

1:05:47

some time off by England manager

1:05:50

Gareth Southgate. We hear that England

1:05:52

captain Harry Kane has gone on

1:05:54

holidays to the Canary Islands after

1:05:56

a season in which he scored

1:05:59

a multitude of goals. But once

1:06:01

again, ended up without a

1:06:03

single trophy to his name.

1:06:06

Also heading away on holidays, sorry

1:06:08

we're just getting some breaking news here

1:06:10

in the Sky Sports Centre, we're

1:06:12

being told that the Canary Islands

1:06:15

is currently undergoing the biggest volcanic

1:06:17

eruption, since Krakatoa in

1:06:19

1883. Nobody

1:06:22

understands how this could have happened! It's

1:06:25

almost as if somebody is cursed

1:06:27

or something! We will keep

1:06:29

you up to date with developments as and

1:06:31

when we have them. Now though

1:06:33

on Sky Sports News, Unai Emery

1:06:35

makes that zombie sound he does!

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Krakatoa's

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frame is designed in-house with a huge

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is free both ways too. Go to

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at home for free. warbyparker.com/covered.