Have Arsenal thrown away the Premier League? FT @Bhavss14

I guess that's right, back charging definitely. People deluded, I'm back again. Come on, Ian. Come on, Ian, and with an introduction like that, what more is there to be said other than people deluded, I'm back again. I'm joined by Babs. What are you saying, my guy? Happy New Year and all of those things, man. Yes, man. 2024. Appreciate the invite, man. And let's have a great year, hopefully. Yeah, man. And hopefully it's a great year for Arsenal Football Club. Not to take the smile off your face, but we have to address the elephant in the room, you know. Again, it was probably naive if some Arsenal fans didn't think we would hit a blip. We've seen it with City. We've seen it with Chelsea. We've seen it with United. We've seen it with Spurs. And, you know, from August till now, we've just been chugging along. Despite injuries and concerns about depth and scoring goals and all of those sort of things. The month of December started brilliantly, to a degree, with two wins, I believe. Since then, one win in five. It looks a bit ugly. Fans are kind of, you know, talking about the league's gone, etc, etc. What's your feelings in relation to Arsenal in December, man? How are you feeling? Tranquilo. I'm feeling calm. Listen, do you know what it is? I've obviously supported Arsenal for long enough now to understand how our fans can work. Especially the last two, three, four years on social media. So, I'm used to it. And I've seen hell. I've seen us the 16th in December. So, I've seen a lot worse than what we are right now. And so, I like to always provide context. And I think I was actually on a live stream yesterday with Dan Potts and people like that. I saw that. I think it was you, Northside. Yeah, and it was Northside. And I felt like what I was trying to do. And sometimes, I think people forget this. I'm not ultra positive. I'm not this optimistic superhero, superman kind of thing. No. I just try to provide context. Because I feel like that's how I see life. I don't want to just see it as everything's bad. Right. Let's do it. No. What's the solution? What's the actual problem? And so, I think in terms of Arsenal's recent performances, you have to almost separate the two defeats. West Ham and Fulham were different games. West Ham, we were the better team. And we deserved to win that game. Opened up five, six times. Had more chances. West Ham had a fluky little goal where Sanchongo clears it, nearly goes off, stays on. It wasn't really deserved West Ham win. They were good, but we were the better team. Fulham was different. We were lacking the basics, the fundamentals. The physical intensity. Which is not something that I'm used to seeing. So, the fact that we're in December, and I could say Fulham's the only game this year that I've sat here and gone, yeah, we were outplayed and out-physiqued. That was the only game I could think of we deserved to really lose. Because Villa, I think we deserved to win that, personally. West Ham, I think we deserved to win that. Even the games we've drawn against Fulham before, I think we deserved to win that as well. So, it's a good thing, if anything. But I understand how fans see it. They see it through Man City only. Because everyone expects Man City to go 16 games winning in a row. And so, they think you have to be perfect. I get it, I get why they're concerned. But the fact that we're saying this, after all of our injuries. The fact that we've not. We haven't had party, what, three games all season? Four games all season? Last year, if that happened to us, we wouldn't be fighting for a title run. We would not be fighting for a title run. Good thing we got declarised, innit? There you go. But I think fans didn't have this idea. Because we're missing party, and we're missing timber. We're missing many first-teamers, by the way. Two, three, four first-teamers. That we should still be perfect. Well, that's what happens when you have injuries. You're not going to be perfect anymore. You're going to have to find a way to survive. And Arsenal have done that pretty well this season. And I think a win against Fulham, and we're not having crisis conversations. We're actually top of the league for a bit, and second right now. I mean, I don't check the league table, so I don't know where you're at in terms of being top of the table and things like that. I take every game as it comes. Being Devils advocate, yeah, you said we didn't deserve to lose to West Ham. Now, my part, as I said, I'm going to play Devils advocate. I believe you're right. I think, you know, we controlled the fine margins. I think the only times this season I've been really disappointed is, as you said, Fulham, and I would say West Ham in the League Cup. I don't feel it was competitive. I don't feel we won our one-beat-ones. I don't think we were efficient in both boxes and all of those things. And the manager said it. I agree with you with the Aston Villa-West Ham game, and I'd also extend that to Newcastle in that we didn't necessarily deserve to lose. But playing Devils advocate, you know, this is the Premier League. There's probably been times where you could count Brentford or Luton unlucky not to get anything from those games or games in general, even when we beat City. You know, you mentioned we didn't deserve to lose. I personally feel that Arsenal's at that stage now where, again, I agree with you, we need to look at the fine margins because that's what's going to get you a Premier League title. I don't feel it's good enough necessarily to be good or better than the team you need to score. So if we look at the West Ham game, like, would it be possible to agree that they were a lot more street smart than us? They were compact. They took their opportunities that we didn't, regardless of the amount of touches in the box. Do you feel we're at that stage now where we need to focus on these fine margins if we're going to win a Premier League title? And do you feel the margins are literally as black and white as winning or losing? Because as you kind of imagined, everybody's expecting City to come back. I know a lot of people said City was finished. Fact is, everybody's in and around everyone. And I feel we were due a normalisation of results. You know, since August till now, we've been ticking along and getting, not even getting away with things, but getting away with things. There was always going to be a time where there was going to be a normalisation of performances, where we were going to pick up some losses. You know, the Fulham game, I agree, is a very different defeat to West Ham. But fundamentally, when you look back in May, I don't think we're going to go over and say, that was a better loss, that was a better loss. So do you think we're at that point now, if we're going to be title contenders, where we probably have to, again, not for the over positive or negative people, for the balance asking fans, the boys have to focus on those fine margins because that's what's going to deliver us a trophy, surely. A hundred percent, but fine margins are based on what? Sometimes luck. That's what it is, right? That's what I'm saying. So you can't prepare for fine margins when it goes against you in terms of luck. You know, a shot that goes wide, you touch the ball like a centimetre left, it might go in. That's what fine margins are really and truly. But I agree, you know, fans are looking at those fine things and they're having that crisis because they feel like they have to. Because if they don't, then the standards are dropping. But I still won Arsenal in a title this year, so my standard hasn't dropped because of two defeats. I still believe it could happen as well. But in terms of how you get those fine margins to go in your favour, you have difference makers. And I'll give you the best team in the league at that. It's not even Man City, I'd say it's Liverpool. They've got players like Salah and Alisson that in those games where maybe they're not performing to their best, those two players are, because they're so well-classed, they'll find a way to make something happen. We don't have those players just yet. Players that are on the cusp of that, Odegaard, Sakharov, etc., but they're not quite there yet. That's why Mikel Arteta is targeted against him. So he sees that. He sees those fine margins and goes, okay, cool, how can I add that to my favour? I'd actually even argue the likes of Havertz. If you're talking about what his ideal is for Havertz, it's for him also to be a fine margin person to get in your favour, because he can arrive into the box, score a little scrappy goal, and that can win you a game. So we're working towards that. We're getting better at it, but I actually look at the season as progress to last year. Even the people think, you know, we got worse in terms of points. Last year, we overperformed our expected numbers quite a bit. I'm not saying we got lucky there, but that was fine margins going in our favour. Sometimes, as we can see this year, it evens out, and it's not going in your favour as much. That Martinelli chance where I think we kind of opened for love on the right-hand side, but he cuts back and Martinelli kind of puts it wide. Last year, that goes in, right? And we're having different conversations. So in terms of our underlying numbers, they're still pretty good, and that's a good sign. And the reason why it's a good sign is because there's always one team that's top of that underlying limit trick, and it's Man City. And there's a reason why they win titles year after year is because they always do the right things, and it eventually evens out in their favour. Even the year that Liverpool won a title, Man City was still the best team in the league in terms of expected numbers. So that's why they win five out of six league titles. So we're on the right course. I just feel like we've hit a little bit of a bump, but a lot of our fans' concerns, then it happens because when you lose games, you think, oh yeah, we're the worst. You over-generalise straight away. But I look at it as our attack. You look at the last two, three months. At the start of the year, in the first two months, I would say we were really poor. We weren't making chances. I know where you're going with this, and I agree. And now we're making chances. So the conversation's changed now. It's gone from, I'd rather be having the problem of not scoring the chances than not making the chance in the first place. So the fact that our numbers of chance corrections have gone higher shows that Mikel is working in the right manner. But that doesn't mean he's perfect. That doesn't mean that we are the final form to win a title. I think now you have to evolve again. And if your attack isn't clicking in a certain manner, then you want it to. And the Fulham game's a prime example because we couldn't penetrate them in the final 20 minutes. That doesn't happen to the team that wants to win a title. You need to find a way, right? And so when you've got the quality of Martin, Nelly, Saka and Code, you need to find a way to maybe complement them better. So I heard a lot of fans talk about the fact that we can have maybe Erdogan switch over and maybe throw a Smith row on the right-hand side to complement Saka better. Mikel has to try now. But I have to also be careful with how much fans want Mikel to try because if we change the entire team for our next league game and we lose again, we'll be the first ones saying, why didn't Mikel experiment? And I agree with you, but I agree with you. I feel, you know, Mikel Arteta, the better we get, he has to be judged to higher standards. If I praise you with all of this energy and what you're doing, then naturally I have to, I'm never going to ask more of Mikel Arteta or the players if I don't believe they can in it. So I do believe you've got to go, you've got to go down that route. But at the same time, I agree with you in that, you know, people, I do think football fans, they want all the youngsters to play, all the experienced players to play. They want the same 11, but they also want everyone to get an opportunity. And if life was fair, we'd all have less. In reality, that's not really feasible. Obviously, Zinchenko against Fulham was injured. So that's probably why he didn't start. But Kyrgios came in. I didn't quite agree with Gabriel Jesus being dropped, but I understood it on the basis of, we can have question marks over Eddie and Keita, but our problems are literally putting the ball in the back of the net. Eddie and Keita is a bit more interested than Gabriel Jesus in standing in the box. You mentioned, you mentioned something, and I want to play devil's advocate again. I feel when I look at Arsenal, since Mikel Arteta walked in the door, whether he's able to deliver us a Premier League trophy or not, I think if he left tomorrow, he could be proud. We've got players that are improving, players that you said, like you said, are on the cusp of doing things. You know, fans are happy. And the very fact of in the last few years, when was we talking about Premier League titles? We'll be here all day talking about the great decisions Mikel Arteta has made. But that's me looking at our trajectory. If I remove that hat and assume that last season, including now, we've arrived, we're talking about Premier League titles, based on what you said about, you know, the Mo Salah example, about how they do it week in, week out. Now, obviously we know Salah is significantly more experienced than the Bakayos and Martinelli, and we're kind of doing this kind of youngster thing. But surely it's got to be a pipe dream then, because you look at City and Liverpool, they've got certified goalscorers. We have goalscorers spread out throughout the team, but we don't have that, target man, whether it's a winger, that's going to get them goals, or a striker. And we have young, volatile players. We're probably over-relying on Saka and Martinelli. I wouldn't quite say they look burnt out, but they do, for want of other phrases, look burnt out. Surely then it's a pipe dream, because essentially, if Liverpool and City got guns, we're going with a blunt knife to a fight. I hear that. And, you know, that is a very good conversation to have, because Liverpool have an advantage, and so does City, and that's experience as well. The players we're talking about here have won titles. They have got over the line before. And so we have to do a feat this year that these players haven't done before, and it's difficult. And that's why you're going to get bumps in the road, like we had in the last week. It's not going to be clean, saying 99 points, every single game, win. It's not going to happen like that, because that's not a journey, is it? You know, you have highs and lows. It's not realistic in a Premier League season. We'd all love to never lose, but it can't happen. We're going to need a bit of luck to go in our favour. Key players stay fit. And if that happens, you know, we win a title, potentially. But I think Mikel's banking on the fact that he wants to control every aspect of the game, and that fans are now getting annoyed at that. They're going, oh, you've stifled our attack. But I think he wants to find a balance, because we're getting closer to that balance. And you look at the West Ham game as an example of it, is we were making a lot of chances, yet controlling the game also. In Mikel's eyes, he goes, yeah, I'm controlling the game. I'm limiting their chances. I'm making my own chances. That's him working. And 99% of the games, that will win for you. So he's trying to find a sustainable manner. And I think last year, his issue was it wasn't sustainable. That's why we fell off towards the end of the title, because it wasn't sustainable. So yes, it was great to watch in October, in August, but when it came to April, May, it wasn't working anymore. So he wants to find a system that he can replicate constantly. And, you know, we're actually, right now, fans look at it this way. We're playing with plan B, because I don't think Kai Havertz was meant to start for us straight away this season. And I think our actual plan A is Rice, Part A, and Odegaard. And how often have we actually seen our best midfielder this season? Last year, we saw a lot more often. People talk about Part A being injured and not being expected, but not this much. Not this much. Because last year, he played 28 games. And even that was after injuries. The year before, it was 23 games. So he still plays more than he's played this year. This has just been an even worse year for injuries. But that's why we can't take us under Clint Rice, to keep us in, within range. And then you're hoping that when Timber returns and Part A returns, it can stay fit. And some of our players, like Martin, we'll pick up form again, by the way. Then you're banking on those players to, you know, get those final margins to go in your favour. Because while Saka isn't Salah yet, you can become a Salah if you help off win a title. I think you're banging on the money though. And I think it's a bit harsh in that, you know, as much as I love the romance around our football club, the youngsters, the stars of tomorrow, the young manager, young director in terms of edu. We're going against the green. We're fighting to do the impossible like last season. I think we have to count our blessings where I'm definitely not over the moon excited. I'm definitely not on the floor. Reality is, we've got 40-odd points. We're in and around everyone. We will drop points against Seoul or everyone else. That's why I mentioned the fine margins because I do think we lack street smartness, specifically the players. You know, that's where I kind of look at the West Ham game and to a degree, with the Fulham game, I'm angry because you're not competitive. That's the minimum that has to be done. Cool. It was a bad day. It happens. Where I look at the Newcastles, the West Hams, nobody gives you three points. I think our players need to be a bit street smart. When you smell blood, go for it. Even games where we scored a whole lot of goals, we haven't necessarily done that. And I think at times, more or less like around the Liverpool kind of game, even in the Fulham game, I think we've started well and it's like we kind of drop off. We kind of do that thing we did against Liverpool last season or at West Ham away last season where we start well, we get the goals and then it's kind of like chill out. That's where I believe the manager can tell you stuff. He can give you water but you have to want to drink it. Where I look at Mikel Arteta now and I want to know your opinions on squad depth. Obviously, I have, you know, an appreciation for injuries. Injuries can strike at any time. I'm sure they tried to bring in certain players in August that ain't at the club but at the end of the day, you know, if my players try to win and they don't win, there's question marks and I think the same has to be extended to those off the field. I do feel to a degree that the squad depth is of Mikel Arteta's own doing, whether it's the players that have had to come in and they might not be good enough or the injuries or players that are good but not quite good enough to push us over the line. So I do think to a degree Mikel Arteta, he's standing in the rain and he's getting wet. Like in the same way, I praise you for this squad that you assembled. If there's little fragments in it that there's issues, then I have to praise you and I have to ask you questions. Like I'm a big fan of Zinchenko but I know when we need someone strong 1v1 defensively, he's not that guy. I like Kai Havertz finding his feet now but I think on top of Martinelli not doing the business of his own back, I feel because of, you know, Havertz not really being a direct replacement for Xhaka, Martinelli is suffering. I do think Martin Odegaard, Bakayo Saka and Benjamin White is becoming a bit scripted and I do feel a couple of our players look knackered because we haven't got any and I'm not being harsh to Mikel Arteta and I'm not saying you need to play Rhys Nelson necessarily but when I look at it with Saka, Smith-Rowe, Trossart, Martinelli, everybody's not, Jesus, no one's really thriving in the top four, front four positions so Arteta has to take responsibility indirectly if everybody's doing that as well as him himself but then I look at someone like Nelson, why is he in the squad? Because I don't feel Arteta trusts him as much and if that is the case, I am now leaning to the sense of get someone that you do trust that you will bring off the bench and things. So ultimately, if I praise Mikel Arteta for how he's assembled his squad, when it goes poorly, I surely have to look at him for the foundations. Where are you at with squad depth? Can we even cry about that? Because injuries aren't necessarily just to us and I'm sure some, even though we've been dealing with it from August, some fans of some other clubs would probably say what are you crying about? You're muted, I think you're muted bro. I'm not actually complaining about squad depth like that, I'll be honest. There's obviously the conversation that we can improve but we can always improve. It's never going to be perfect because you're always going to have injuries and you're never going to have De Bruyne behind De Bruyne, Saka behind Saka. You're not going to have that. You're always going to have a little drop off. So I think fans that complain about squad depth need to actually realise how far we've come from last year because Potter is a starter, he's injured right now. Timber would have been a starter, he's injured right now. There's two free starters that are still missing right now. Take that out of our team last year, we're not even in a conversation for a title. So the fact that this year we can replace a starter like Timber and like Partey with Rice and Zinchenko, whoever it is, shows how far our squad has come. You know, the fact that we can bring Trosser off the bench now, whereas last year for the first half he wasn't there. He would have had Smith who would have been injured. You know, Vieira isn't injured right now but if he's on the bench he can come off the bench as well. Our squad is improving but we're not at the final stage and that might happen next year, the year after that but Mikel knows that. So yes, can we add an extra 5% probably but I don't think that 95% can be ignored because we have improved most of our squad. There's a lot of players in the right areas. You're right and that's why you need balance when having conversations like this. I'm sure Arsenal fans I think we're the most optimistic when things go right. We're the most negative when things go wrong. I think you've got fans that are positive to the point where it's a bit toxic and then you've obviously got a negativity, misery, love company. That's why I think you need to look at it with balance. If I ask you on our front three players, really, let's start with Martinelli. What's going on there? Are you concerned? Obviously, I think you'll get back in form but right now it does look concerning. What do you think's happened with him and also indirectly Saka? I think in terms of Martinelli, he goes through phases. We saw it last year as well. Mikel has to almost find a way to get the best out of him again. Lastly, the thing was he was struggling to combine with players and it would be Saka on the right with the striker combining but on the left-hand side it wasn't working as much. Of course, when you don't have the quality of Martin Odegaard next to you and Havertz isn't Odegaard in terms of combination either, you're going to struggle a bit more. You've taken away Xhaka who was an integral part of the team and he's obviously gone and now you're replacing with a different dynamic so now once again Martinelli has to adapt and then when you're on top of that again, Fulham for example you didn't have Zinchenko either that passing player to get the ball forwards again, that's another struggle so now you've got Kivio and Havertz so I think it's a mixture of him not being I'd say maximised in terms of profile but also just confidence. The guy is still 22 or 23 or 22 and you're going to have that still. You're going to have them highs and lows as you try and bring consistency into your game. People always compare Xhaka and Martinelli to Mane and Salah but Mane and Salah only really made it when they were 26, 25 where were they at 22? They weren't playing for Liverpool were they? So I think it's a matter of just he's going for a little face and I think now McKeown needs to maybe take him out of the firing line I think he's lacking ideas that's what I see when I see Martinelli playing now I think he's kind of burnt out because he's played so many games and I think he's running through that last year was a lot more instinctive and now he's got that second album syndrome where he's thinking all the time what was I doing last year? That's what Arsenal fans do this year what were we doing last year? Did we beat them last year? We caught up in last year we caught up in the past too much but the future's yet to come it's not here yet we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow and I think that's what Martinelli needs to just relax a little bit more but I'm sure he'll find goals and that's how forwards work because once you get one, two, three goals you get confidence and it flows in together but he's 22 let's have some context behind him What about McKeown? I'm not concerned about McKeown I heard a lot of conversations about he's not being at his best this year but I don't think our attack has been firing at his highest this year last year I think Saka missed one two big chances all season this year he's already missed six so it happens you're not going to have perfection every single year and there will be a little slow par but he's still got 20 goals and assists in 26 games a season he's still being efficient he's still being very efficient so I think we're seeing Saka kind of he's doing what Salah does at times where even if Salah is not performing he'll still find a way to contribute to the game and provide a difference so he's becoming more of that and I think the more our attack improves and we find a more set attack so whoever the striker is going to be Jesus or Nketiah whoever starts more often starts more often and then you've got Odegaard playing in the role that he needs to play maybe it's a switch to Havertz on that side Saka will get better and better as well but Saka's always a player that warms into the season he always does that and I think when it comes to the later parts or the mid parts he starts to really fire away hopefully it's next well hopefully it's this Sunday really and Julio will be getting his boots on again exactly if I'm sitting here right now and saying because Saka's out of form and he's got 20 goals and assists meaning he's provided 20 moments of a game to change for Arsenal it tells you the high standards of the lad it tells you very high standards but I think again fans compared to last year because last year he would have been oh this and so I get it I get why fans are a bit concerned but I ain't concerned I'm just waiting to see how things develop because I think he'll develop again like Monelli will because he's very young where are you at with Odegaard and Jesus? I think with Odegaard I can see Mikel's learning more about him he's trying him in more suitable ways as an example when you Odegaard early in the season you were like he's not really playing at his best Mikel changed it to maximise his profile look at that Brighton game actually one of the only Bright Sparks in December he put on the clinic and he was alright I feel against Liverpool as well personally even against West Ham you know opening up a few times he was one of the better players but we lost so it doesn't really matter I think we're seeing him become more of himself and that's because Mikel's put him in a system now or put him in a part of a system that works better for him and so the fact that he's almost solved that problem that we had earlier gives me more confidence in Monelli because I can see him seeing what the problem is and find a way to fix it and I still feel like you could probably maximise Odegaard even better maybe try him on the left for a game to see how it works out to see if his passing profile helps Monelli out better to see if Saka had an elbow there's no seeing we're 100% but then I feel like our issue is we've got two runners on the left hand side and two touch defeat players on the right right Saka and Mark Odegaard both want the ball they both want a defeat whereas Monelli has both runners so I think that imbalance if Mikel does try it and it works out and I'm not saying it's guaranteed to work by the way because I ain't a manager but I just think it's worth a go and if we can see that and you know we talk about how to maximise Monelli and I think Mikel says the best player that combines with him the most is Fabio Vieira who's a passing profile Fabio Vieira is yeah and he's very similar to Martin Odegaard so I'm thinking I think Mikel will try it I think it's a matter of time he will try it and if it works and it sticks then I think he'll keep it as well where you at with Gabriel Jesus I think with Gabriel Jesus it's the same conversation you just accept him for what he is in that he's never going to be a consistent bagsman he isn't a consistent bagsman but what is consistent because he'll still bag you 15 a season that is consistent right so is he a 20 goal a season striker probably not but that's a world class goal scorer so yeah is he ever going to be a world class goal scorer no but he'll be consistent he'll still provide you moments over the season and if he starts every game this year he'll end up with around 10-15 goals he'll always do that so he's consistent he's good enough to get 15 he's always he's all around that mark anyway so even last I think he would've been that if he hadn't been injured for a few rebounds yeah he got 11 and then got the big injury so he always finds a way to be in that conversation so we have to accept what his profile is and also realise that you know just like almost Xhaka at times took it for granted now he's gone you go nah we've missed him now if we replace Jesus with a more striker striker let's just say goal scoring striker and then Martin and Isaka start to struggle even more then fans will be like oh but Jesus used to do this and do that you have to appreciate what he offers as a strength and stop focusing so much on his weaknesses and I think that's the thing with Gabriel Jesus when I mean accepting for what he is like I don't think you should be quote unquote our first choice striker I think we need a striker with decent it's never going to be Gabriel Jesus but decent general play but who's more interested in scoring goals that being said Jesus is a vital member of the squad and he might only get 10, 15, 5 to 15 goals but they might be decisive goals and I think I'm at that stage where I like Zinchenko for example but there's certain games that's not for you so let's play you in the games that are for you Gabriel Jesus you're not a goal scorer let's mitigate against that obviously I'd love to wake up and Zinchenko's great defensively Jesus the only mediocre thing about him is his goal return and then we're kind of laughing but that is what I mean about utilising your squad and that's it's not really a criticism of Mikel Arteta but it's like we take players who are decent squad players and we make them regulars and then it's kind of like us fans we're kind of surprised as to why they haven't been able to quote unquote collectively deliver I think you made an interesting point about our left-hand side I think our right-hand side's gone a bit predictable and I almost feel sorry for Saka and Odegaard because if them two not at it nine times out of ten forget our scoring and it's just not going to happen I think when you consider what I just said about the right and the left I personally feel that even in the Fulham game I think have us playing okay I think Odegaard was alright in the context of us being poor and I think Declan Rice is great I'd say the second half is the first time this season against Fulham where probably Declan Rice, Saliba, Gabriel all dropped off a level because nobody was at it but nine times out of ten he's a bracket above people but for me it does feel like there's a bit of a missing link I don't know what it is I can't really put my finger on it I don't necessarily think it's part A even though I'd like him in the team it feels like there's something missing so when we don't look necessarily that good off the left that good off the right and there's a bit of a teething issue centrally I think Arteta's got to probably find a way against that and I like the fact that we've got multiple goal scorers but with Martinelli and Odegaard not finding their goal scoring boots at the moment that's like 20 odd goals out of our team that could have been some defeats turned into draws or some draws turned into victories and I do think you alluded to it I think we sometimes forget how young Sacra and Martinelli are to a degree it's irrelevant if this is what we're doing but we can't expect them to do it week in week out and obviously Mikel Arteta knows that that's probably where other players have to come in to the fold so I think you're quite interesting comments with that where are you at with David Raya because I do feel one positive this well excluding the looting game but the latter part of December I think David Raya has kind of found his feet fans aren't really waffling about him and doing the whole Ramsdale thing I guess the jury is still out not necessarily wild but I think he's doing okay now where are you at with David Raya I think he's definitely improving but that's what happens when you can play his plan he's not going to be a 10 out of 10 from the get go straight away especially when he wasn't signed as an Alisson he was signed as a potential player that might work I think fans wanted Alisson but we didn't pay Alisson money you pay Alisson money you get Alisson but who is that Alisson in the market right now is there a goalkeeper you look at and go if we sign him and he's available he'll transform us like that so sometimes you have to appreciate you might get a 7 or 8 out of 10 player and that's what Raya is he isn't going to be that 10 out of 10 Alisson but he will be that 8 or 7 out of 10 I think the issue with Ramsdale was he'd have those very high games where he could be like Alisson at times and make some very good saves 10 out of 10 one week you want consistency and you're back full especially from your goalkeeper and if you don't have that from your goalkeeper you're going to struggle so Mikel wanted a more consistent goalkeeper I actually think Ramsdale's got a higher ceiling but Ryan's got a higher floor and Mikel wants that floor he wants that consistent goalkeeper he can do the fundamentals and basics better at times so I think I'm fine with him I don't have a problem with him and I think my only real concern is going forwards and if he can fix that then we're in business What have you made of our defensive performances? I'm not necessarily just referring to the defenders in the same way I always say our first attacker is David Rael that's why we play out from the back our first defender is Gabriel Jesus personally I feel we need to get back to the basics defensively I think we had high standards defensively and I don't know what's going on especially from set pieces you look at Luton you look at Fulham even before the goals came against Fulham I think the pressing wasn't quite as intense we're not following runners and things like that it feels like for me we have dropped off a level defensively even though we've got that Bermuda triangle of the two centre halves what have you made of us defensively because ultimately defence means you're titled I think what's happened is Mikel's looked at the attack and gone it's not quite working out so let me fix the balance and when you try to fix the balance you run the risk of potentially not ruining the defence but opening up a bit more often that's what's happened we've tried to go a bit more attacking and left more space in behind and that was always going to happen that's what happened last year as well obviously Benjamin White's overlapped Saka's had his pocket picked and then yeah they pull in the back of the net yeah and I also feel like a lot of our defenders there's a few defenders that are clearly not playing fully fit I look at Ben White's performance and I'm like that's not Ben White I don't think he's been fit for a while and you can tell that and you can tell how he's playing as well the way he's not being fit so I think it's a lack of maybe fitness at times but also Mikel trying to do what fans want which is attack better but you can't just have a 10 out of 10 defence and a 10 out of 10 attack if we had that we would win a title guaranteed yeah probably going to travel really yeah you know it's like when you pull the blanket you're going to have your feet maybe exposed for a second that's what happened you can't just have both sides covered straight away Mikel's trying to find that balance and I think I wouldn't say our defence has been poor we've conceded goals but how many chances have we conceded the Fulham game we did but look at the second goal we conceded it wasn't really like a clear cut Fulham wonder goal that's why I'm excited because for me a few weeks ago it was unfortunate yeah I feel like a few months ago that doesn't happen and that's my issue that's why I think everybody in this team needs to forgive themselves for anything that's gone negative this season thank their blessings that one good thing from August to December we were winning games to echo your point about the floor we've fallen on a certain floor the only criticism I have is what everyone wants I would have loved to have been that team that can pull away it's going to fluctuate I always say a week is a long time we've had 19 weeks I think Liverpool as great as they are I think their system is more flawed I'm banking on the fact they concede some sloppy goals they could have gone other way as well I think because their defence is weak it's not sensible really even me with Eddie I'm not selling Eddie unless I wake up tomorrow whether I rate Eddie or not there's other options we're going to be weaker I'm not selling or not there's other options we're not selling Eddie or not there's other options we're going to be weaker I'm not Eddie or not there's other options we're I'm not or not there's other options we're weaker I'm not selling Eddie or not there's other options we're I'm not selling Eddie or not there's other options we're not selling Eddie or not there's selling Eddie or not there's other opportunity. And that didn't happen. Mikhail didn't want to be on loan actually as well. So we might turn down the loan market. That's what I'm saying is there's always opportunities. And I think Arsenal look for opportunities. They'll look for the main players first. They will put maybe an offer forwards. They might put a negotiation there and there. But if it don't work out, they're going to look for opportunities. And there's always opportunities. And the fact that we got Urdu Guard as an opportunity shows that. So we'll see who Mikhail can sign. And even if it's a short term player, just to give us the profile, to give us an option. Because right now we don't have an option. If Havertz isn't working out, it's Smith-Rowe maybe. He's not the same player, is he? Where you at with... Okay, you mentioned number eight. That's your first. What other areas? In an ideal world, you could have two... Obviously, it's not realistic to assume. We'd all love it. But winger, striker, centre mid, defensive options. Probably a number two in the summer. Number two keeper. You could only get two. You said one was central midfield. Where would you lean towards? Another defender or another striker or a winger that could probably deputise slash be competition for Saka and or Martinelli? We have to be sensible here. And we know what Mikhail's gonna go for as defenders. He always goes defenders first because he knows that's the area. No matter how many we sign, we always get them injured. And who's behind Saliba right now? No one. So at least behind Jesus, you've got Nketiah and you can have Trossard. Maybe Martinelli play there. But behind Saliba, you maybe got Declan Rice. That's about it. So we have... I think if we're going to sign a player... That has a knock on effect for our squad as well and how we play football. If you move Ben White out and put Tomiasu, it's shifting dynamics. Kind of going back to what you said earlier about you can't really make wholesale changes or at least we can't. If you've got City's team, which I'm sure Pep would disagree, then yeah, you could probably be a bit more adventurous. I think you're right there. Giant signings are always going to be versatile. You look at Trossard as an example, he can play as a left winger, right winger and striker. If we sign a midfielder, he won't just be a number eight and that's it. He'll be able to play six as well. And so if we sign a defender, he won't just be a pure right back. He'll be a right back and play centre back. Maybe a left back as well. And if that's the profile we're going to go for, we keep hearing the name of Diomonde at Sporting. That's a profile that can play a right back and play a right centre back. So I think we'll go for that type of player. Almost like a Kivio, but on the right hand side. But obviously, hopefully a player that actually is more ready for the first team for the get-go. If I say some names to you, what would you do with them? Eddie Nketiah, for example, been linked with Brentford, Crystal Palace, 40 million shouts. What are you doing with him in January? Depends on the offers. If you put four, 40 million, bang, you've got 40 million at this moment in time. Bang, 40 million. No guarantee that Tony's arriving or anyone like that. 40 million has been given to you, Babs. Are you accepting it? If you're getting 40 million in January, how much can you get from him in the summer? That's what I'd say. Because, you know, if you're offering 40 in January, a bit more time in the summer and you might be able to get more money. So it depends on who's available. You're right. If we sign selling Nketiah and we can't sign Tony, we're sitting there going, hang on a minute, who's our striker now? We've only got Jesus. So it's more a matter of offer arrives and Arsenal only accept when they realise that we can sign the player to replace him. What are you doing with Reece Nelson then? Because he's another one that's been offered. Reece is a weird one because I'm keeping him because I love his profile. I think he's more important than people believe at times. Maybe Mikel believes as well. But 87 Premier League minutes though, even though I agree with you. But what does he want? If I'm Reece now, what do I want? Do I want to be an option for Arsenal or a starter for my career? Because he's, what, 24 now? Getting on a bit, man. He wants to be a starter. So Reece and Smith-Rowe are in the same boat where I'm looking at them going, look, bros, like, what do you want from your careers? Do you want to sit on a bench and maybe get a few minutes here at Arsenal, get a few vibe photos and here and there and get the Arsenal followers? Or do you want to actually go out there, play some minutes, get some football, become, play like a footballer, right? Can't just be training every single day, unless Arsenal's training is that good. But you just can't miss that, right? Go out and play some minutes. And I think with Reece, you know, the fact that there's teams in the Premier League that actually want to sign him shows how good he could be. He could have gone to Brighton, he could have gone to teams and there was Sevilla, I've got no interest. West Ham's still on to him now. Which could be a good move, to be fair for him. The issue is, if we let go of Reece, again, that's a lot of depth that he takes and kicks straight away. So I'm keeping him, personally, because I'm selfish. But if I'm Reece Nelson and I get a very good offer, you know, maybe he pushes for a transfer. I don't see that happening. I don't see him pushing for a transfer unless a crazy offer arrives, in which case you take it and you reinvest straight away. I mean, I think you're bang on the money. If no winger comes in, a bit like what I said with Eddie, for me, it doesn't make sense. Unless Mikel Arteta, which he's not going to do, sat here and said, don't worry, DG, we're going to sign a striker, we're going to sign a winger, whether it's a profile or not, then cool, you lot can leave. But we're cutting off our nose to spite our faces, if I'm honest. I agree with your point with Reece Nelson in that, you know, you've come from the academy, you've had that moment against Bournemouth, you clearly are respected to a degree within the team of Mikel Arteta. But despite the fact of our wingers, none of our attackers really thriving, you're not really getting a start. You've played 87 Premier League minutes, so it's like you are getting to that age now where you probably need to move on. I am a bit wary of the English players that we've spoken about, because obviously we can't sell them all for depth reasons, and obviously we need to register them and whatnot. Where you at with Aaron Ramsdell then? Because I personally don't see him leaving in January, I don't know. I'm sure in an ideal world you could make a case of him going out on loan. I don't think Newcastle are going to offer anything close to what Arsenal want. The summer is where he's going to have to resolve his future. If you get an offer for Ramsdell, are you considering it? Depends on how much the offer is. And at the same time, you know, Ramsdell, I don't think... Goalkeepers don't get injured often in touch, but obviously they don't get injured often. So the thing is where, you know, we could easily, I think, sign a replacement. Not Ramsdell quality replacement, but it will be a backup goalkeeper, maybe a prospect offer, you know. So if we get a... The thing with Giants is sometimes teams will be desperate. And if a team is desperate like that, and they offer a crazy amount of money, they might put it forward. But often what you get is loans, options to buyers, obligations to buyers. So it all depends on the offer. But I don't see Arsenal intending any offers in the first place, because they're going to be hearing the worst, just in case. Last question for you, Dan. Obviously, moving away from that, you've got Liverpool again, mate. Liverpool in the FA Cup. Where are you at? What's your thoughts? Let me have any predictions, talking points, just everything in relation to Arsenal-Liverpool, bro. Without Mo Salah, it's going to be AFCON, right, which for us is definitely a good thing. It's at the Emirates as well. So that's a very important thing as well. We've obviously lost to the AFCON party now, man. Yeah, when was the last time Liverpool won at the Emirates, with fans there? I can't think of it. They beat us in COVID, yeah? And Zlatan scored a few goals. Was it the Carabao Cup, you could say? I can't remember, and I hope beyond the end of Sunday, they can't remember either. It's not as often as it is. There was one, I'm thinking of now, that was maybe a 2-1, where Ramsdell kind of flapped at it. Was it 21-22? That was it. But last year, we beat them there. So we can definitely beat them at the Emirates stadium. Two games against them left. And let's not forget, as great as their attack was against Newcastle, we held them down to what? One big chance of a game. It's definitely a more competitive game playing Liverpool and City nowadays. And I still think we've got a long way to go. And I still think we have scope if we do stupid things to get batted against Liverpool and City. But I think generally, we've been a lot more competitive and that's the step of the right direction. So I think you're right. I do think it's another game that comes down to fine margins because the Liverpool game, it was all right. But we switched off. We let Trent play a difficult pass, which most players don't play. We gave Salah a bit too much time, which you can't, you know, 20 other wingers, you could do that. The 21st is Salah. You can't afford to do that. I'm a bit disappointed that, of course, you know, the who-do at Anfield continues. I do think it'd be a different game at the Emirates because of what you said. You know, I do think, you know, both teams are going to more so Liverpool with Salah than us with, well, to be fair, we'll miss Tommy Ass who's gone off to the Asian Cup. I do think there'll be changes. I do think we'll be on the front foot a bit more. And I do think in a way that, you know, obviously football is football and the sentiments stay the same way, but the Premier League has taken a bit of a downer. Sometimes it could be a good excuse to just focus on another tournament and things like that or competition better yet. So I'm not going to lie. I never expect to beat Liverpool, but it's the FA Cup. That's our trophy. One of my pet peeves with Mikel Arteta has been since we've won it, I won't say he's disrespected it, but I think we've all disrespected it. So I want to win, man. I'm going 2-1. I want carnage. I want blood. I think that's the best way to shock fans up in some way, giving them a big win. Yeah, 100%. And when you've lost two games in a row, Mikel can't take this. He has to take it seriously. He cannot take it for granted because if you lose three in a row, you lose a game at home again and you're out of the Cup. And the Cup is very important to a lot of fans, especially a lot of Arsenal fans that go to games. The FA Cup is massive for them, right? Old school fans love the FA Cup. So if you get locked out of that at home, there'll be a big problem. So I think, you know, the fact that we ended 2023 on a bad, on a bummer, Mikel wants to come out and make a statement, hopefully, and we get a win. So, you know, I'm not confident because we've lost two games in a row, but I'm believing because that's what I always do. I don't think anyone can disagree with that. Give me a prediction, finally, then. I'm going to go 2-1 Arsenal. Nervy one. 2-1 Arsenal. I love a 3-1 Arsenal. I'd love that. But I could see beating a 3-2 like last year. It'll be an open game. Maybe a 1-0. I don't know. I don't know. But Liverpool's attack is in very good form. They're going to make chances. So they'll definitely score goals. I don't think we're giving a clean sheet. I'll be amazed. So maybe two goals for them and three for Arsenal would be amazing. Do you think Ramsdale comes in? That's a good question. You know, and that's what Mikel will have to think about in terms of like, how much do you want to win this game? Because he sees Riyer as the better goalkeeper. Exactly. If you want to maximise your chance of winning the game, you start with Riyer. And having lost two games in a row, he might do that. But then again, Ramsdale's not played since his Champions League game. So that's not my biggest concern. It'll be then the likes of Kivul, who might have to start because Nishenko's injury looks like it. And Tomiakos going to the Asia Cup. So then, you know, that's where we have to maybe look at and see where does Nketiah start? Does Nelson start? Or does he go with Saka and Martinelli? Because if he does that, again, there'll be fans who'll be saying, Oh, why is he starting? He's playing in the Cup. Give him the rest. But we've only got three games in January. And not many league games either. So we have time to rest players, relax, get a win, you know, and get the season back on track. That's what I mean about you're damned if you do, damned if you don't. Because, you know, if he starts then... There's always two sides to it. Exactly. Why didn't you rest them? If he rests these players and we don't win, why did you... They will find a way to hate. You can't win. You can't. As a manager, you can't win. Me, personally, I can't look beyond the fact that it's Liverpool. I'm pretty sure these are the games that these players wanted to sign for. So I would personally sack a Martinelli regardless of whom you man are playing. Jesus, you're back up front. Odegaard, Havertz, Declan Rice, you lot are in midfield. As you said, left-back's a bit of a peak one. I'm not going to lie. Zinchenko is, I'll back Kiri all the way and stuff. But not that I can really defend Zinchenko at the moment. But if he's fit, you play for me. Benjamin White plays, the two boys in Saliba and Gabriel play. I am tempted to actually start Ramsdale. But kind of what you said at the start about too many changes. If Kiri all is in, if there's other changes, I think you kind of have to keep Ryder. I think we need to kind of keep some of the stability we've had, regardless of the performances. So it's a bit of a mad one. I forgot to ask you this. Going back quickly in relation to transfers, we've been linked with a few names. Would you take Onana from Everton? It's a good profile, for sure. Because you can play as a six and as an eight. But again, talking price tags, massive price tag on him, for sure. Because Everton, they're fighting relegation right now. They should be fighting mid-table, at least. But they're fighting relegation right now. So to lose Onana would take a lot of money. So would I take the player? Yeah. But do I see it happening? No. Where are you at with Vlachovic and Boniface? I think Boniface is intriguing because I like the way he plays. He's very much ecstatically pleasing. He's a Jesus type of player in that aspect. But this is his first year properly doing it at a top league. Last year he was in the Belgian league. I don't think he was in crazy numbers. So with that small sample size, I'm not going to put down a crazy amount of money on a player who's just signed for Leverkusen, who are high and flying fighting for the Bundesliga. So I think that's a no-go as well. And in terms of Vlachovic, it might be an option. You know, if Mikel becomes desperate for a striker. 50 million, allegedly, even though I don't buy that. He becomes desperate for a striker. Desperate for a striker. And he does go as well. Eddie holds the keys. If Arsenal fans want to see a striker, you're looking at Eddie Keita first, because he has to go first. I'm not saying push him out the club, but he will have to go first. He literally has to leave the free-up space, bring some money in, and reinvest. So that's why I'm looking at it. And I'm going, if you want to replace Vlachovic for Nketiah, I think that's an amazing move, because Vlachovic's better than Nketiah. But if we sign Vlachovic, he has to be guaranteed to start, because he won't want to leave Juventus and sit on the Arsenal bench. And I don't think... Do fans want to see Vlachovic sign in January or wait for the summer to Osimane? When I did a live stream, some fans are not really with Vlachovic. Osimane's the one, isn't he? I'm sure. You know, some fans will take Vlachovic on the six only. Pardon? There's some fans not even with Osimane. So there's different perspectives. All of them bring a risk. All of these players bring a risk. And I think the only player... The player that I definitely see fans want the most right now, because the players have seen them, is Tony. Because they've seen him play in the Premier League. How many fans go watch a Serie A? Not as much. Versus Tony, you know, we've seen him against Arsenal, we've seen him in many games. So I think Mikel, if we sign and strike in January, he needs to be some sort of a guarantee. But Vlachovic's player, he really wants it. So if you really wanted him, there must have been a reason why. But then again, there was once upon a time when Mikel And it didn't work out for him. So yeah, it's not that Mikel Arteta's talent idea is faultless. Everybody makes mistakes. But nine times out of ten, it's banged. What I will say is though, between January and the summer, or better yet, January and the start of next season, in an ideal world, I would obviously love to have more depth. I would love to have a number two because I don't see Ramsdell staying. I would need a winger. I'm not saying you need to get two. I'd say a winger, centre mid, striker, more defensive depth. And just about anything else, Mikel Arteta wants. So it'd be interesting, man. And as I said, it's been 19 game weeks. You know, a week is a long time in football. A day is a long time. There's been many highs and lows. And for anyone that, you know, thought it was over, it's not because, you know, there's a lot of games left really and truly. But Babs, this has been amazing. Let people know where they can find you. I can't imagine they don't already in any videos you've got to come out or content or any of that stuff, man. Yeah, Babs14 on the YouTube. And I've always said, just steal from the Twitter. Twitter's not bad nowadays, to be fair. Instagram, we've got, we've got the little shorts out there. But yeah, on the YouTube, we're going hammer transfers because the window is open. So let's go for it. As you said, as the man himself said there, people, again, this transfer season, 98% of these rumors are BS, but all our Arsenal content creators will be there to assess it with you. So again, I can't imagine you haven't. Make sure you're subscribing to Babs, you're hitting the like button. Make sure you're letting us know your thoughts on everything we've discussed. Do you agree? Do you disagree? Thought it would be boring if we all saw it the same way. But yeah, people, we're out Babs. Happy new year once again. Appreciative for tuning in with me, my guy. Let me let you get out of here safe. Safe.