Extra-time with James Benge - United eye MLS + Zubimendi concerns & VAR farce

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Welcome back to Inside Arsenal.

Welcome to this week's episode of Inside Arsenal. Extra times, always, I'm joined by James

Banger of CBS Sports to chat all things Arsenal a little bit later in the week this week,

the normal, but good to have you here, James. How are you, mate?

All good.

Yeah, good.

Hello, everyone.

Yeah, we didn't chat on Monday, because there's nothing really to talk about, was there?

Nothing happened.

Monday didn't happen.

Sunday didn't happen.

Monday didn't happen.

It's my fault, everyone, that we didn't do a show earlier on in a week after doing the

show on Monday morning, I couldn't face doing another one later that afternoon, so I told

James we're going to have to do it later in the week, mate, I can't deal with it, and

you very kindly agreed to do that, so it's a later inside Arsenal extra time.

I feel better now.

We're not going to use those words.

I don't want to even say any of those words.

Tim Pop, that's all I've got to say.

Tim Pop.

Yeah.

Doesn't mean anything.

I don't want it.

Yeah, it was obviously this point.

How was it in the press box?

How did you find it?

Yeah, I am quite dispiriting.

You build yourself up, and I think the sort of knowledge that, you know what it's sort

of like, it's actually the game from a work perspective you would want, which is like

there's something to talk about, something happened in the game that makes for interesting

writing.

And also it's sort of well and quickly done in the 75th minute.

Like professionally, it flowed, and I think that's kind of what, like, I'm sure you all

agree with me on this.

It does sometimes ease the sort of pain a little bit, like you can sort of put your fan

hat.

I mean, you know, you can separate those two sides and get on with work, and you know,

in the end you kind of go like, well, I'm happy with the work I did, and that's all

like in tape.

I like someone here who has an affinity towards us, and it's happy with the work they've

done today.

I thought you were very good.

I read your work after the time.

I thought it was very good.

I thought it was very good.

I thought it was very good.

And that's it.

We're never going to speak about it, in case we're going to look, but we are in international

great, and it's all very quiet, mate.

I think this is a really important time.

I'm going to wait next week.

So actually, you're probably not going to do a show next week.

I don't think everyone, but I'm going to wait.

I'm doing my annual centiparx Easter trip, not missing Real Madrid this time coming

over.

I've picked it at a time.

I'm doing it at lower.

I'm doing it at lower.

It must be over the moon.

I know.

I do miss Southampton away, unfortunately, but it's not quite Real Madrid at home.

So Declan Rice is free to bang in a couple of free kicks if he wants to get Southampton.

I won't feel quite disappointed, but yeah, I'm kind of looking forward.

I'm going to use that as the real sort of recharge of the batteries, and to get ready

because I imagine what's going to come over the next six to eight weeks is going to be.

It's going to be pretty big, pretty stressful.

So yeah, I'm going to use that time.

I'm going to use that time.

I'm like, how are you finding it international?

Do you have been sort of preparing?

Are you working a lot during these internationalals?

Are you taking a bit of a sideways sort of step on a backwards step?

I'm very lucky that both that my editors and bosses are understanding of the fact that,

you know, for all of us who work in football media, this is both the usually terrifying

and exhausting sprint to the finish.

And then when we sort of get to the finish line here, it then becomes the like running

a marathon at full sprint of a World Cup.

So I'm very like my bosses are very understanding on this.

And then it probably also helps that I have a colleague out in Italy who has got to be right

across the big footballing story of the week.

Guys in America, of course, our focus is the US men's national team.

And like, I'm kind of like, oh, well, on Tuesday, I'll pop along and see how Tom's

to course getting on when England played Japan, and that'll be about it for me.

It's nice to know, isn't it?

That's kind of what we need it.

It's been so stressful.

And it's going to be so stressful that it's going to, it's quite nice to have this little

break now.

I don't normally like international breaks.

And I know after a bad defeat, sometimes you just want to sort of, you want that next

game to come.

But I have to say, I think, I think for all of us, this is quite well timed.

I think for a player, it's well timed, I think for our TETA, I think for fans, everyone

to get ready for what's to come, I think it's a nice little break.

And for once, I am quite enjoying, I'm just quite enjoying it.

I think it's important.

We are.

There's still quite a bit to talk about.

I think we're going to, there's some interesting stuff going on about, um, play of coming

in, players coming out.

And this is always the time of the year, isn't it?

When you start to sort of, people start to look into the summer transfer window, it's

all a little bit quiet.

We're not too far away from it now.

We've already seen, like, links with Cava Skellier, of course, which we've got quite a

few questions about, um, uh, some Marsley Skelly as well, Mars, it, Mars is an interesting

one.

Mars to Manchester United.

I said a while ago, it might be done this show, I've said it a few times, so we're going

to have to, Arsenal fans are going to have to accept, I think, this summer, there might

be a couple of transfer moves that happen that are not going to be very popular.

And there's players who we like, players, a lot of people don't want to leave, might

end up leaving this summer because some money needs to come in.

Um, I'm not sure there would be many more unpopular than Miles Lewis Skelly, uh, and

Manchester United.

Now, there, there have just been a few things.

I've skyved on a story today on it again, another, another place, um, Lincoln Miles

as a potential target for Manchester United, along with, like, Lewis Hall and a few other

leftbacks as well.

Um, so I don't want to go too much into the actual man, Manchester United.

There's a lot of other things too much.

But in terms of player exits coming up this summer, do you agree that this is just the

kind of thing that, uh, I think Arsenal fans are going to have to accept that if they want

to get some good money for a few players, which Arsenal need to do, there might be some

unpopular decisions being made, especially potentially with Premier League clubs, Premier

League rivals.

Yeah, I mean, the, the reality of your players is that, you know, if you want that big

money, it's only coming from the Premier League and maybe half a dozen other teams in

Europe.

Right?

You're going to have to sort of, I mean, I kind of think the future of like being a fan

of a big club in the Premier League is just going to be that you kind of get used to

seeing some of your players cycle around two, three of the big teams, you know, more players

like, uh, my mind's gone blank on exactly like Garnacho, more moves of the sort of Garnacho

type.

Yeah.

Because they're the, they're the guys that can make the money work, you know, specifically

with Lewis Skelly.

I can't think of a deal that personally I would want less from an emotive standpoint,

but it's, you know, the reality of Lewis Skelly, anything you're an airy is that they

are players in a position where the club is really well stocked with talent.

And there is almost no more valuable commodity in world football right now than a early

20s, late teens, England eligible and therefore homegrown eligible footballer.

And if you, you know, if you don't want, if you want, you know, these guys to stay, that's

fine if you're sort of the consequence about your willing to accept is that you don't

go out and strengthen the attack.

You don't maybe upgrade it right back because, you know, even the sort of players on the

fringe that I, I know Arsenal would, or I understand Arsenal kind of would consider

offers for someone like Ben White.

The reality is at this moment in time, a player like Ben White, a lot of teams will look at

his injury history and say, oh, or, you know, we'd love to, you know, we might even say

we'd love to have this player, but we don't know that you cannot, we can offer you a premium

for him because we don't know that we're going to get 35 games from him a season.

Erdogard is a sort of different factor at, you know, if he was one on the list, even someone

like Gabrielle Martinelli, you know, I reported last summer that Arsenal weren't really expecting

him to go.

A lot of that is because, because by the time the window opens, you know what the market

for these players is.

You know what, where the sort of then diagram of clubs that can afford him, players you

want to sell and, you know, players, it clubs that the player would want to go to, you know

where that is.

And for a lot of players, it's quite, it's quite small, even the, even the ones that

are sellable for the prices Arsenal want to bring in, so I would hate it, I own a Lewis

Skelly 49 shirt, which I said to myself at the time, this is foolish.

You shouldn't do this.

Put a player's name and number on the back, but I wanted it.

And I would still, you know, really value it, but yeah, it's, it's a business and it's

the moments when it being a business really sucks.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, I mean, when you look at the squad that Arsenal have at a moment, and you look at

the summer window and potential, you know, big sales, which, you know, could solve quite

a big issue.

I mean, those two names just do scream out, don't they, and Miles and Ethan, and they

would just be too massively unpopular sales, but they are to where you look at where the

most value could potentially be, and it is those two players, isn't it?

I mean, some of the names you listed there, you know, Ode to God, they've obviously got

to make a decision on, um, jesus, jesus, Ben White, you're not making much money out

of those two.

I don't know, Kai Havats.

I mean, I've seen Kai Havats has been speaking today, or as in his press conference yesterday

and he's re-treated now happy as a Arsenal.

Um, obviously he's got a couple years left on his deal.

Ricotta Calafuri, maybe there would be some money there, but again, we've seen he was

linked with Chelsea, wasn't he again, it would have to be a Premier League club, if

you really want to get true value for someone like Ricotta Calafuri said, it does, you

know, Miles and Ethan, two players who are not getting any minutes, um, I think Miles

has got like, I don't know, one minute of action in the last eight games or something.

Um, it does kind of, those are the two names that really do pop out.

Did you see Ethan's goal that we came from, I'll say it was nice goal.

It's really nice, really, really impressive.

It's a really good footballer.

Oh, we've, you know, this is strange how long we've been saying this, or it's just

the max diamond, and it's a, it's the problem you dream of having, but it's a bit of a

problem.

Yeah.

It's a problem you can like, you know, make good money on, but yeah, that's, I think

Ethan Renere is a really tough, like I, I mean, it's in many way, you know, the, the

reason there was a contract standoff last year is because Ethan will have been as aware

of the situation at Arsenal as we all are, that this path that leads to him as a star

at Arsenal, it's sort of being squeezed on both sides, and there's, there's no shame

in that.

You know, it's a, it's a triumph for Arsenal, if Ethan goes, even if he's brilliant somewhere

else, because, you know, it's not entirely free to develop a player from the academy, but

it's, you know, it's a huge amount of money, and it's a, it's a win for the academy, and

his name will be outside the Emirates Stadium, and, you know, whatever he achieves, he'll

be taught, taught at Hayland, but oh gosh, I don't like it.

I don't actually know what it, I've not, I've not, I mean, I don't know many of anyone

interested in city fans.

In fact, I bet it, I'm not sure if, sure, I do know many of you interested in city

fans properly, but I wonder how they feel about Col Palmer, either, you know, does it hurt?

What, I don't know if you've spoken to more city fans than I have about this, but how

they actually view the Col Palmer sale now and what he's gone on to achieve, and you

know, is it, is it a painful one for them to sort of watch when he's in a Chelsea shirt

and he's scoring goals, and he's doing what he's been doing, or is it just when they

look at, still I think, you know what, that was a, at the time, it was a decent amount

of money, and it wasn't really a mistake.

I'm supposed for them, though, they kind of, he would be playing for them.

And it depends on what you achieve as well, as long as you're doing well, it doesn't

really matter, it's not what you sort of look on with too much regret if you're still

doing well, winning games and winning trophies, so it kind of, it revolves around that as

well.

Hmm.

I've got to say one miles or Ethan in the summer, he would have the emotional decision

Ethan.

And that's not like not liking Ethan, it's just, I couldn't, I don't, I don't like, always

going to have a candle for miles, let's Skelly.

Do you see Miles playing next season, though, if he stayed, do you see a way that Miles

gets to sort of minutes, he probably needs, no, and this is, this is why I shouldn't be

a director of football, because you can't get attached.

Whereas I think you would sort of, I mean, certainly at the moment you would say like, if

Ethan, you're an area, he was at Arsenal right now, we'd be doing a podcast going, don't

worry, Ethan, you're an area, he's very good, he can be a number 10 option as well, and

you always got, you know, you're always probably going to get more value from your third or

fourth choice to attacking midfielder than your third choice left back.

Hmm.

Yeah, no, it's going to be an interesting one, definitely going to be an interesting one

in terms of, in terms of player sales, if what would you make of the links to Kamat

Skellier over the last 24 hours or so, to take three to tango, I don't see what the motive

is here for PSG to sell one of the best footballers in the world.

What do you mean?

PSG need money, they don't have much money.

Yeah, well, I tell you, you know, let's not, let's not go too deep onto the politics side

of things, but things keep going as they are.

We're a little bit less money for sports washing.

No, it's definitely not the O2D upon the politics side.

I just don't see now how a sort of scenario work, because I was speaking to someone that

played with Kvara Napoli, and they, you know, sort of impression, I get of him, and you

see this, you know, in his interviews as well, he's not someone that would kick up a fuss.

You know, he obviously wanted to leave Napoli after Ossum and went, and as that team was

breaking up, but he didn't really like, force his way out to best of my knowledge, I think

it was really like Napoli felt though, it was the time to make a deal.

And he said he's happy in Paris, so I'm saying all that to make sure I don't get hurt.

He'd be the perfect player for Arsenal.

He would change, you know, he would be like a deck, like when Gabriel J. Zeus arrived,

I think he pushed the ceiling up another level.

They could be the best team in the world, for certain, with Kvara in.

They might be the best team in the world now.

Well, the Injus got in touch, and she asked about Kvara Skelly also asked about you, as

well, she'll get to you.

So what do you think of the Kvara Skelly Arumas?

And for James a while ago, I mentioned that you might be able to share some news about

why you were giving your wife a cup of tea.

I wondered if you were any closer to revealing that.

I had some female intuition about that, and I just wanted to ask.

Finally, thank you both for the great content.

Oh, no, it wasn't a cup of tea.

It was a hot water bottle, the awful hot water bottle.

I still bear the scars.

You still bear the scars of the hot water bottle incidents, are you?

Are you able to share any more news?

Talk to me again in July, late July, and we'll...

Why is there a date circled on your calendar in late July?

Yeah.

You know, I don't want to fingers crossed.

I mean, I don't think it should be making any guest appearances,

but hopefully we'll have an addition to the squad in a few months to an ounce,

which is really exciting, and yeah, it's really exciting,

unless, of course, you're my bosses and are trying to work out how you're going to

have a world cup if, when I happen to, like, vanish on two weeks for two weeks.

Oh, congratulations, my friend.

I'm sure everyone would like to pass on their best and their congratulations as well,

and I'm sure they will in the comments below.

So, yes, injure your female intuition might well have been right.

On that one, and in terms of Kabat Scalia, as James just said,

and I said in my show this morning, he would absolutely be number one

underlined about five times at the top of my list of potential summer arrivals,

but like James, I am very, very not confident that that is something

that would actually happen.

I mean, no, so we are talking what sort of money to get Kabat Scalia out of PSG.

I mean, huge amounts.

I mean, that would put Declan Rice transfer in the shade, surely.

And I don't know what wages is on a PSG and PSG's wage bill is very clouded

in murky waters as well, but I would imagine he is on huge amounts

of money, which is why he was so keen to get out of Napoli and widen PSG

with the only club he was going to go to.

I'm not confident that it's something we would do, but wow, it'd be exciting.

We've got some other questions about Kabat Scalia as well,

but sort of link into that.

We'll go through in a minute, because we've got plenty of questions for you

from you guys lined up for this one.

So we'll carry on on it.

Before we get on to some of those questions,

let me just bring that off the page.

You brought this to my attention just before we started recording.

Now, our friends at the Premier League's key match incidents panel,

brackets KMI, have just put out that they've unanimously voted

that Arsenal's Cai habits should have been awarded a penalty

on field against Everton now for some of you trying to remember what that was.

It was when I think it was Michael Keane, wasn't it?

Yes, Depp Tonney's foot in the first half when he was put through,

who put the ball through, if you might, I mean, Supermendi, I can't remember.

It was Supermendi?

Supermendi, yeah.

And Habit's went through, went down, referee said no penalty,

and no penalty is given, then it was pretty clear from the videos

that there was definite contact on the foot that made him fall down.

I think the Sky Studio at half time was Jamie Redden after maybe Mika Richards

was saying it was disgraced, wasn't given clear penalty.

So anyway, they have voted.

The KMI instance panel have voted that it should have been a penalty,

but, and this is where I just do not understand this at all.

They have also voted that the VAR was correct, not to intervene.

So on one hand, they unanimously voting that the referee should have given a penalty,

but didn't, but they're saying that VAR should have intervened,

which I just don't understand, because if you're unanimously saying the referee

should have done something but he didn't,

then surely you're saying the referee has made a clear and obvious mistake.

And then I figured, or I thought, that is exactly what VAR is there to do.

So that baffles me out more than, I think, anything I've ever heard

from the KMI panel previously.

It just makes no sense, because, you know,

I actually understand why Andy Mardley missed the trip,

because I think in that moment, you sort of see that, you know,

Keen's hands and Keen's body weight is quite near Habit's his back,

and that's where you would be looking.

And look, you know, the reason we brought the AR in is because these sort of micro trips and clips

and all that, we're getting missed.

And, you know, we know from what Sky said at the time that there was a three-second check on that.

You can't see or process the clip on Habit's in three seconds.

And that's the thing is, like, the key match in St. Panell should be saying,

why did this take three seconds to review?

I know that sometimes it feels like we're all quite Goldilocks when we criticize VAR.

We don't want it being long enough, but not too long.

But clearly, anyway, everyone can agree that that's just not long enough

to make an informed decision on, like, what's happened there?

Can we should we check that from a couple of angles just to confirm?

I think there's this real issue where VAR sort of thinks the referee said that

so we should go with that.

Even if we're not sure that the referee has all the information he needs to make that decision.

So we just won't, we won't intervene because high-bar, whatever that means,

the high-bar seems to, you know, sometimes be one you could, you know,

you could drive a tank under another times, you could step over it quite easily.

I think it's such a sloppy decision.

And it's a decision that could have changed the title race.

And we should be calling these out when they don't sort of favor the team

we're covering.

I think it's really important to sort of, and also to get a proper public explanation

for this, not for it to be sent to a friendly journalist to kind of give a quick cover

of, it's, you know, there's nothing really attributable there.

There's no one really answering questions about that because it's a bad mistake.

It's a bad mistake from VAR, not from Andy Madley.

And these shouldn't happen again.

That's why I just don't understand that.

And you're right.

Exactly.

It's a bad mistake by VAR, not so much for F3 because it happens so quick.

And if the referee is just slightly, you know, kind of focusing attention on the arms

rather than the feet, it'd be very hard to see that little, you know, the stamp on the

foot, which takes, have it's down.

And so that's what VARs for.

And so to say that the referee is made an error there, but VAR hasn't, it just, it just

has a sort of, what's the white wash, it's like, oh, let's protect VAR here, sod the

referee for a month and a bus, but it just really, really confuses me on that one.

And it really does.

I mean, we've seen, I think Arsenal so far, like the, the last line of Dale Johnson's

story, who is the friendly journalist who likes his VAR, says that Arsenal had no VAR

as against him this season, but there were two spot kicks for the opposition have been

logged in their favour.

So that was their Everton.

It was, it was, it's a lever kick someone, when they were trying to make a clearance,

I think in the Everton away again, and the Brighton one, we might, and Ellie and I agree

with this one.

I think Martin Ellie was very lucky, but he didn't give away a penalty on a half time when

he got, he had that sort of tussle with someone and he was looking the wrong way.

I think he got away with it, and I think they voted that that should have been a penalty

or should have been overturned by Pierre-Yar.

The on-field decision.

But I don't get this one.

This one completely baffles me out.

The explanation, none of it makes sense to me.

I have to say.

From that day.

I feel like it's, it's, there's a lot of refereeing being led by Sky Sports News and Sky

Sports.

And, you know, that whole game, we should say as well, was one where it felt like Arsenal

could not show the level of physicality that Everton showed it, and we're entitled to

show, because the all the tour cons Sky Sports News have been, and Sky Sports have been

dark arts and, you know, Julian Nagelsmann, and I'm Julian Nagelsmann.

Brighton.

No, it's not.

It's not.

I've been heard since quotes.

And it, you know, it doesn't, to me, feel like, you know, I've watched a lot of Arsenal

games.

This is in a lot of other Premier League games this season, and it doesn't feel to me like

referees are able, and it's hard to just sort of get the narrative out of their heads

at all.

Do you feel that Arsenal have been slightly less physical from corners in the last few

games, because of the focus at all?

I've not really spoken about it, and no one's really spoken about it, but I have, in my

mind, been thinking it when I've been watching some of the set piece routines, and I just

feel like we've kind of moved away a little bit in the last few weeks of what we were

doing before.

I don't know if it's just me over thinking things.

I reckon if we go back and watch them, we see a lot of the back post runs, which have

always been a part of Arsenal's corner diet, but it feels like right now that is just

what they're doing, because what they're doing there is not sort of physically intimidating

opponents.

I can't remember what game it was before, but Artetta was also really, it was when I asked

him the question where he sort of said, you need to get rid of man-to-man marking and

open play, and he was then asked about corners, and he was really forthright about saying,

we don't block.

What we're doing is not blocking, and it does feel like they've gone away from that.

I wonder if some of that was also because Champions League referees were like stamping

down on that.

Maybe time, as is there right, and so they've sort of been like, we should adapt in every

league, so we don't get caught out, but I agree with you, I think there's trying to be

a lot more creativity, a lot more guile, and a lot less physicality.

Yeah, I think defensively as well, but we just know surprise, because there was so much

focus after the Chelsea game wasn't it about Arsenal giving away potential penalties, that

maybe they've just said, don't do anything stupid, because the referees can be looking

at things a lot.

I've just seen David Ryze being up for the save of the month as well, that was from

that Everton game.

How many other months?

I believe player in the month.

Oh, yeah, player in the month, yes, indeed.

I think I'll set his up to manager in the month, isn't he?

As well, right.

I'm going to go into questions now, because we've got loads of them, so I wanted to share

as many of these as I possibly can.

We've got him from Oli here, he says, off-topic as it's the international break, but James,

have you played Football Manager 26 this year?

I know it's not as good as any more, I dislike it.

If you have what team have you played, and can we see your squad and story, I probably

should have shared this one with you before.

But have you, are you a Football Manager 26 in it this year?

I have played it, but like Oli, I've gone off it and I find it really hard to explain

why.

Other than it doesn't feel right, for folks that aren't regular players, there was

a Football Manager 2024, it happened, it was fantastic, and then the plan was to really

radically change everything, especially the match engine, which if you kind of play it

now, it looks like a sort of FIFA game from a decade ago, change that, really freshening

it all up.

They couldn't get FM25, came back with FM26 and it has been not great, not bad, but kind

of not like the UI experience just doesn't quite flow.

So I've played it, I've had like a few false starts, I did a career mode where I've kind

of been, I'm at the moment I'm doing a career mode where I'm like, bouncing around

European super club, so I did a year with Galatasaray, then went to Milan, no, Lava Cousin,

Milan, and now at PSG managing with Kaya Saka, with every intent, I'm just, honestly I'm

waiting for Mikhail Arteta to lose the Arsenal job, and then at whatever point I will just

take that job, and that then might have to be a moment to fire up the in-game editor

as well, and bring Pekaya back to the Emirates with me, but yeah, it's not, it just doesn't

hit the same as it used to, I haven't found the rhythm of picking up a shoes return and

taking them up to the pram, it's too quick, it feels like you can sort of fly by things

that used to take a lot of time, and the tactics are all broken as well, I haven't loved

it, but I hope FM27 will not be really good, okay.

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So Simon asked if you could choose Arsenal players, only choose Arsenal players, past

or present, what would your all-time England 11 look like?

We might need to help each other out there.

Yes, well I'm going to say we'll do this, we're going to have to say this is kind of

modern era Arsenal players, because I mean you could go back to the 30s and pick players

like Ted Drake and people like that, but obviously we haven't seen them, so it's very hard

to sort of include those sort of players, so just as a sort of slight disclaimer there,

we're not forgetting those amazing players, it is brilliant things, I think we'll have

to sort of go more down the sort of modern era routes, so yes, what should we say?

Golf team?

Yeah, this is England team, four four four two's got to be really right, Golf team David

Simon.

Easy.

Yes, right back, Leigh Dixon.

Kenny Samsung left back, isn't he?

Kenny Samsung's left back, that's going to be a hard decision.

Yeah, well that's going to be a hard decision, who's that left back, so we'll get back.

Kenny Samsung.

And a goalkeeper's obviously, I mean to send it back, I'm going to say Tony and so yeah,

it's not another, oh, we should have picked Ben White right back, it's to win, everyone

up.

We'll get him in the squad, get him in the squad, yeah, yeah, so so and Tony for me, obviously

special shout out, you could have Steve Bold, Mike Keone obviously played a lot of games

for England, but for me, so and so and Tony are the, are the two agree with that?

Yeah, 100%.

I think that's quite easy.

So left back, I mean, I am going to have to say for me, Ashley Cole, because I've just,

I didn't really see Kenny, I was right at the end of his time at Arsenal when I was starting

to support them and I just didn't see him enough, so it's very hard for me to say.

I know Kenny was a fantastic left back, brilliant for Arsenal and for England, but I would,

you know, actually Cole was the best left back in the world when he was playing and so I would

have to say it Ashley.

Probably his best for England as an Arsenal player, like Euro 2004, I mean, he was incredible.

I think probably a better player at Chelsea, but a better, better in England, shirt in

Euro 2004.

I thought he was, you know, if you look back on it now, him and Renie were the, the two

best English players at that tournament.

Yeah.

So in midfield, I would say, oh God, rice, four four two, so you'd have Declan Rice in

Central with field, would you?

I suppose, although I don't think we seem like as much great Declan Rice as an Arsenal

player, you know, again, best, best, his best performances were at the Euro's for me,

2021.

But I would say I'd have rice.

Yeah, probably, I'm just trying out, I mean, I've got Wilshire, yeah, I'm thinking Wilshire,

but I'm thinking, baby, rowcastle, I'm trying to work out where I'm going to play rowcastle

on the right, or do I play in the middle?

I think I'd play rowcastle in the middle, and I might have, so either Theo or Paul Merson

on the right, the Chios Sacka.

For me, it's got to be Sacka.

Oh, yeah, Sacka, maybe, yeah, that's true.

Sorry, but Chios, I totally forgot about you.

Being quite good in England, shirt.

I totally forgot about Chios Sacka, he's been ending on player of the year a couple of

times, and has been great in major tournaments.

Actually, yes, I would definitely have Chios Sacka on the right, so I totally forgot about

Chios.

I'd have Sacka on the right, I would have, I would have rowcastle and deck on rice in the

middle.

I'd say that it's a mess, Wilshire, guys like Ox did play some games, but they don't really

think.

He had a couple of good things in the names as an Arsenal player.

Maybe I'd go 4-3-3, and I'd find a way of playing sort of rice as a six, and then I'd

have Wilshire and rowcastle ahead of them, like the two-eighths, and then I'd have Sacka

on the right, Ian right up top, and maybe Merce coming off the left, although Merce

had absolutely no left foot whatsoever.

I mean, again, there'd be someone like me who would walk up, walk up the left.

Yeah, I mean, neither did walk up, you can play walk up the left.

No, I mean, you had to sort of Georgie Armstrong who, again, you know, I just didn't see

you, Georgie obviously, but it was an unbelievable, unbelievable player, unbelievable winger for

Arsenal.

I don't, I'd probably say the players that I've seen, I'd probably find a way of squeezing

Merce out onto their left foot, right on his right foot, so that's what I'd do 4-3-3.

I think I would play Sacka on the left and have Wilshire on the right, just for that

night in Croatia.

Okay.

Oh, what a night.

What a night.

There you go Simon.

There's our, there's our past and present, all-time, past or 11, kind of, of the modern era.

Anyway, right, Jack has got in touch now, and he says, I'm starting to worry about Zuby

as a big contributor to our lack of attacking intent.

Obviously, there are positives of the way he plays, in games we can control, but against

better opposition, I feel he slows the game down a lot, often looks to pass sideways

or backwards before looking forwards and would rarely take any risks in his passing.

I can barely recall him playing a ball further than 10 or 15 yards this year.

I also worry he's physically cut out for the, I also worry whether he's physically cut

out for the challenges of our schedule.

It's been well documented.

He's not been at his best since a middle of January, at least, and again, can hardly

recall him playing a 490 at a high level since then.

If you can't deal with the physical demands of the schedule, then is he the right guy interested

to hear your thoughts?

What do you think about that?

I think Zuby Mendi is not the player that are, not the Arsenal fans thought they were

getting when you think Spanish deep-lying midfielder.

Your expectation is a guy that comes in and plays 100 passes a game, and I don't really

think we've seen that, I think we've seen that once or twice from Zuby Mendi, but not

against the level of our opposition, we would expect, I just don't think that's how Arsenal

want to use him.

I don't know if you've got those stats, I sent you.

Yeah, I put them here.

Fire that up, so the folks are listening rather than watching, you're talking someone that,

both hands of central midfielder's in Europe's top five leagues over the last 365 days, so

this does include, it's just good for YouTube viewers, because you can see lots of green

bars, 83% trial in passes attempted, 80th in progressive passes, like that's good.

You would think Arsenal 6 would be a little bit higher, there's a lot of green everywhere.

I think some of what he has done very well for Arsenal doesn't reflect in stats, doesn't

reflect even that much in watching him live in the moment, because it's him moving off

the ball to create passing lanes for others, and I've had a couple of games like the Chelsea

game where I just found myself watching Zuby Mendi, and I was like, he's not going to

get the ball here, but someone else will.

That's sort of specifically on the question of getting the ball forward and 10 plus yards.

Since the turn of the year, he ranks fifth among Arsenal players, so he's behind Saliba, Gabrielle,

Raya and Rice.

So I think there's something here that we've not got, which we also haven't kind of worked

out exactly yet, and it feels to me like,

it's very often is a case when I come away from these pods.

Something to go and chat with Michele Arte to about, like, how much of this is the plan?

How much of this is reacting to circumstances?

Can Zuby Mendi be the loam six?

Because I just think Arsenal are a bit more punchy in attacking terms when it isn't

here, man, deck, limb, rice, as a quite deep-lying shield, neither of whom bomb on, especially

if you don't have califiori at left back.

I think that, yeah, I think he's really good and he's great off the ball, but I don't

necessarily think the questions that have been asked are invalid, if you know what I mean.

No, I agree, but I also think that I think it's impossible to ignore that this is his

first season in a Premier League in the amount of minutes that he's played in the amount

of games that he's played.

And I think that Zuby Mendi's season has very much been kind of split in half, really,

because the first half of it, he was exceptional.

I loved watching him play.

I thought it was fantastic.

He was popping up all over the pitch.

And there was so many games I came away from and I just like, God, Zuby Mendi is so good.

And there's definitely been a dip in form, a drop off in form.

And I just wonder if that is more down to the fact that he is absolutely knackered more

than anything else.

And you know, a second season is he going to be, is his durability going to be better

because he's more used to it?

The fact he hasn't had a winter break, is he going to get used to that more?

He's obviously coming off the back of it.

He'll be coming off the back of a World Cup.

So he's not going to get much rest in the summer.

So maybe that'll be an issue.

I just feel like it's a little bit early to start kind of writing him off

because I just go back a few months of when I was thinking, God, this play is so good.

I'm loving what I'm seeing from Zuby Mendi here.

So I don't know is my answer in terms of, is he, is it a bit of an issue?

Just on the minutes, I should say, for fact fans, he is second for Arsenal for minutes

with 3,574.

David Raya has only played to 26 minutes more.

And among players in the Premier League this season, as I have it, he ranks 12 for minutes.

So kind of ahead of him, you've got some goalkeepers, some centrebacks,

so you'd maybe say, I've got a bit less ground to cover,

and then Sobba Sly and Enzo Fernandez and Morgan Rodgers and the midfielders

that pop out as ahead of him.

So we should say a huge bit of low account, isn't it?

You know, as you've seen in the Premier League and slap bang in the middle of a title race

and the, you know, the kind of stress that that brings as well

and the pressure that that brings, I think it has to be taken into account,

I think when you talk about the little drop off that we've seen from him

in the second half of the season.

So I think it's definitely valid, as you said, because he's such a key player

and that position is so important to how Arsenal operate.

I think if you've got a player who's sort of not at his best at this crucial time

in the season, it's going to stand out.

And I think it is standing about out of it, as we've mended at the moment,

but I do wonder if his game's just a little bit more limited at the moment

because he is just physically, he's absolutely spent,

because he certainly looks like that at times.

Yeah.

Let's hope that who's in Spain coach, Delafuente?

Yeah.

You need to have a look at Roderick, mate.

Check him out.

Well, I'm sorry, he called it.

He said to you, Mendy's second best midfielder in the world yesterday,

didn't he, or they before said that Roderick is the best

and that was who Mendy's second best midfielder in the world.

Hey, do you see a way that Arsenal signed a proper midfielder

like that to sort of compete in that position in the summer, though?

Really?

I'm not sure I do.

I think that's really expensive for to kind of an expensive way

when you've got a midfielder that's the second best midfielder

in the world as Delafuente says.

I think that would be a very icy investment.

I would rather be like getting a player that overhalls a starter first

and then sort of looking at someone that's a bit younger

and a bit more available like.

Obviously we know there's interest in Sandra Tanali.

So that would be a very effective way

of like you pick three from two between him, Rice and Super Mendy.

But it wouldn't be top of my priority list, that's for sure.

I think it's more the sort of make up of Arsenal's midfielder

I look at at the moment because I do think that the fact

that we're now seeing the kind of the double pivot type thing

was even Mendy and Rice.

That Michele was, we've seen more and more as the seasons got on

because I don't think the season really started like that.

I thought it was more, you know, the sort of stereotypical

Arsenal set out that we've seen last couple of seasons

but it's kind of shifted more towards the 4-2-3-1

as the seasons got on, hasn't it?

And I do wonder if that takes a little bit away from Rice.

You think the second half last season

and the sort of box crash in Rice that we saw.

I don't think we've seen that as much this season

and whether that is kind of down to Michele just doesn't quite

fully yet trust.

Mendy has a six in the Premier League on his own

that he's asking Rice to stay closer to him.

I don't know, but I do feel like the make up

at the midfield certainly at the moment

kind of means we're not seeing the,

getting the most out of Rice as we potentially could.

And some of that's that third midfielders.

Well, like if that third midfielder is Ezra or Havertz,

you probably want them up close to Yokores.

That's where they're most valuable to you.

Yeah.

This is everything that we were complained about with Martyn Erdogard

but God it makes it hard to progress the ball

through midfield when there's only two of you

and I thought that's what we saw against City,

wasn't it?

It was just you couldn't get out.

So you had to go long.

And if you couldn't win the long balls,

the ball was coming straight back out of you.

Yeah, how many minutes have we seen Erdogard

as a supermendy and Rice share the pitch?

That's how many changes after.

Because I think that could change a lot for Arsenal.

Yeah, I mean, you always find that you always,

when a player's missing, it's when obviously you start

to miss in the most when the player's not there.

And Martyn Erdogard,

there's been so much on Chris and about Martyn Erdogard,

I think, you know, so much unfair criticism about him.

I know he's not been in his best of last sort of 80 months or so

but when he's not there,

man, it's so obvious how much Arsenal missing

and what he could bring to his squad, isn't it?

And that cup final was just the perfect example of that.

Absolutely perfect example of that.

We got on from a just mango juice.

He says, can we recall Ethan from Lone like we did in Ketia?

No, no, we can't.

That's aged terribly, that loan deal aged terribly.

I don't want to see him and say I told you so, but you did.

I told you so.

I mean, even though I wouldn't have,

well, actually, I would have done.

I think I probably did.

But to lose Marino Erdogard in this.

After he said, now he's from an area alone.

Well, how classic Arsenal,

how classic Arsenal,

but no, there is no recall option there.

I mean, it's just not going to happen.

Anyway, it happened.

I suppose if all parties agreed and Marseille were happy to.

Can't register them.

Sorry.

You can't register him.

Well, that's true.

Of course, I'm kind of registered now here.

So you can't even do that.

If only there was some way of knowing that a famously combustible club

managed by Roberta,

deservedly might just explode at any moment.

What a shock.

What a shock.

We got on from coach coach Craig West says,

what do you reckon about soccer and or Ethan moving up top on playing as a strike

or a bit like in Bappé and Dembele?

Obviously, not the same quality, but similar size and profile,

both are good finishes.

I can see them being dangerous there,

although the premise is a lot more physical.

I think the thing is there.

I mean, you talk about in Bappé and Dembele, you know,

what is there?

What absolute top quality, obviously, is that lightning quick.

Aren't they lightning quick to play as a striker?

I don't really see that in Ethan or certainly Bacayo

to have that pace to get away from the defence and run with the ability

that in Bappé and Dembele do.

I just don't see it.

Finishing ability, maybe.

And Michele's, obviously, talked about Ethan potentially ending up playing more as a 9.

But I don't think I think they're very, very different to in Bappé and Dembele.

Yeah, and in the age of smashing the ball long to get away from the press,

can you have Ethan Nrenary or even Bacayo soccer leading,

like being me out there?

Maybe in some games, I certainly was Sakka.

I just think he's still one of the best right wingers in the world, playing it right away.

What do you make of Sakka's form at the moment?

It seems to be a sort of an everyday question amongst Arsenal fans at the moment,

isn't it?

Should we be worried about Bacayo Sakka?

It's just like those words that I've just seen him have heard them so many times.

And would you make it at the moment?

The ball's just not going in the net, is it?

And it's just that.

It is just, I don't think there's much to worry about.

I think it's just a player that's a little bit off form, off colour.

Maybe needs this season as a year to adapt to lacking some of his old burst.

Maybe that will come back since the hamstring surgery.

But if this is a down year of Bacayo Sakka,

it still has to be said, it's a really good year where he just hasn't scored and assisted

as many as the work he has done suggests he might otherwise have.

So I would not worry about it in the slightest.

I still think we're a couple of just a couple of years or a couple of even weeks

from sort of Sakka going on a run.

There's nothing I see in Sakka that makes me worry.

Well, I mean, that's kind of an answer to Salvatore's question there where he says,

our dear Sakka on the other side, do you think if next season is the same,

Arsenal start thinking about some serious questions.

Other options, what would you do if you had a full-trend Sakka for two years running?

I just don't think we will have a full-trend Sakka for two years running.

I think Sakka is too good.

He's had a poor season that I think there's a lot of misgain circumstances, but behind it.

I don't actually think that is bad a season.

There's a lot of people say either.

I'm not worried about Sakka.

If there's anyone in this squad that deserves patience and deserves time and all that sort of stuff,

it is that man.

He deserves Arsenal fans to stick with him.

Everyone can have a sort of downturn, can't they?

Sakka has given so much to this football club over the last few years.

I'm not too worried.

I have to say, Sha says, do you guys think we are missing a trick in the transfer market?

We didn't snap up.

Skelier last January.

So many of us have had a take in this January.

I'm pretty sure we won't get Alvarez because we've just got Yokores.

All these three players have made it improvements over our current squad,

but we are just too conservative and safe with regards to risking the market.

And as years progress, we look a bit stale like our attack now.

I'd love to hear your opinion.

I bet every club, I mean, you talk about City there,

but I bet City fans can look at a sort of mistransfers and stuff like that

and say, we've missed a trick there in the transfer market.

Exactly.

They wouldn't be getting run through as they were until about three weeks ago

on a weekly basis if they had Declan Rice in midfield.

I mean, I would question the idea that Semenio is a definite upgrade on what Arsenal have,

even though it sort of feels like he is at this moment.

I think he is.

I mean, he, or at the very least,

he may be an upgrade, but is he such an overwhelmingly better forward than the options

that are wide on the left that he's the one you put your chips in for?

You know, you and I both think Kibara absolutely should have been.

I don't really think that it would happen when PSG are there,

and if he's interested in PSG.

So now about Alvarez, I wouldn't kind of rule anything out,

because if Arsenal can do the right business going out,

they'll be money to spend, and they'll be a bit of money to spend anyway.

I just think you can't have everyone you want.

Like you just,

Arsenal are not immune from the consequences of mistakes they make,

so they have to be right when they make an investment and so often in the last five years

they've got a spot on.

Manchester City can take someone like James Trafford, stick him on the bench,

and you know, I cover a bit of City, and I see them in a few games,

and it's a name that comes up in, you know, before EFL cup ties,

but as the James Trafford story felt anything like the Aaron Ramsdale story,

so there's the media angle of it of like,

City just don't drive conversations in quite the same way that Arsenal do.

It's just, that's just Google and the economics and all that.

And I don't really think Arsenal could be a team that,

more than a season, just kind of say,

oh yeah, we'll, you know, we'll pay James Trafford,

we'll pay James Trafford's start of money to not really start.

City can do this, City can have Calvin Phillips still on their books.

I think so, yeah.

And next year they'll just go, okay, we'll,

we'll go and find a better DM, and they can do that,

as they say through entirely legitimate means,

and they deny all 115 charges,

and they have the greatest commercial revenue in, in all sport.

And I don't want to say anymore.

I think you'd need to really, really quickly here.

I don't know what dreams as OC Cape Town, but who do you guys think might be our reality for left wing?

If I was a better man right now,

I still feel like they might go for Anthony Gordon.

That might be a more realistic one.

I'm still going to be expensive, but maybe, you know,

Michele does like Anthony Gordon.

You know that there might be one that trying to explore.

I think you're right.

I think I'm definitely more likely than Kevin Scalia.

There's a little bit, a little bit of sort of contention around who is,

or is it agency status and all that, and he's expensive and not quite the sort of business that has been doing under our tetra,

but just keep an eye on Yandee a mandate.

80 million.

A lot of clubs in for him, potentially.

More of a right, right.

I am going to call time on this because the school run is calling,

so I'm going to have to go and get my kids all the way going to be standing around waiting for me,

wondering where the hell I am.

So it's been a pleasure.

As always, James, thank you very much for joining me.

Thank you everyone for watching and for listening.

I'll be back in the morning.

So do it all over again as we head towards the weekend,

international games to talk about tonight as well.

Fingers crossed.

No injuries to talk about in the morning.

Cheers mate.

Take it easy.

I'll speak to you soon.

Cheers.

See you soon.

And good luck to both the Irish teams.

Well said.

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