DECLAN RICE TO SCORE THE WINNER! | West Ham v Arsenal Preview FT (Jamie) @WestHamNetwork

I guess that's right. People deluded, I'm back again. Come on, Ian. People deluded, I'm back again. It's West Ham against Arsenal on Sunday. This is a man that we've been trying to get this done for a while. I'm happy that we're finally doing this. Jamie, how you doing, man? I'm good, man. Thank you for having me on. How you doing? Minor, man. I'm good, man. I'm still riding the high of beat in Liverpool. Obviously, towards the end of last year, it was terrible. Now, it's great. And we're the best team since sliced bread and all of those sort of things, man. But we're doing war on Sunday. You lot have had our number, man. So let's get straight into it, man. In fact, before all of that, let people know where they can find you and the sort of content you make and things, man. I'm a big fan of plugging people. Yeah, for sure. Thanks, mate. So you can find me on the Jamie talks on everything, whether that's like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, everything. Jamie.talks. I'm a big West Ham fan. I'll make content around West Ham, of course. And then you might see me on shows like DR Sports on the weekend and whatnot. So, yeah, that's where you'll find me, guys. That's where you need to head. And he's even done a few bits and pieces with some players. If you head to his Twitter account, all his information will be in. I almost forgot what it's called. The YouTube description when this video is out, man. Before we get specifically into West Ham and Arsenal, what have you made of your season? Because just from quickly browsing you lot, since you've beaten us, it's been a bit of a wobble really and truly. Like what's your favourite picture for a non-West Ham fan as to how you lot feel at this moment in time, bro? Yeah, the mad thing is our last competitive win came against you guys in December. We haven't won since then. Obviously, we've been knocked out of both the cups and we haven't won in the league. Obviously, the winter break was part of that. It's hard to complain too much as a West Ham fan right now purely because we're sitting seventh in the league and I think we're fighting above expectations really and we're still in Europe. I think we've been quite unlucky and it's a cop-out answer. I think we've been quite unlucky in the last month or so with injuries and whatnot. But our good players are starting to come back. So, I think we can start picking up results. I'm not one of the Moyes out guys. I'm a Moyes in guy. I think some of the stuff he's doing at the club right now, he's kind of working magic. He's taken us from 17th in the table to seventh in the league. Won a European trophy last year, man. Won a European trophy, yeah. And whatever fans want to say about that trophy, man, that's one of the greatest days of my life. It's a European trophy, no matter what people have to say about it. I will take it, yeah. I mean, you're bang on the money there. But you touched on something because obviously, I'm not a West Ham fan. The whole David Moyes debate, where is all of that? Because, I mean, as you said, you're sixth, seventh. I think if you win your next game, you put pressure on Manchester United who, unfortunately, you lost to. What are the criticisms of David Moyes? And as you said, you're a David Moyes in. What's the good about David Moyes? Obviously, he's a Premier League veteran of sorts. I think a lot of the issues that some West Ham fans have with David Moyes is the style of play. And I'm not really a stat-heavy guy. But if you look at kind of like RxG in terms of the amount of points per RxG, it's like one of the lowest in the Premier League. And we're like near the bottom of the table in terms of what we should be getting out of games, so to speak. So, the football isn't always good to watch. And I think a lot of the time, we have genuine quality players in our team. And I think some West Ham fans feel like we play with the shackles on. So, we might kind of sit back and try and pick you off and whatnot. And that has been effective in some big games like against Tottenham or against you guys when we beat you 2-0. And you had like 30-odd shots on our goal. So, we've been ugly. And I think a lot of West Ham fans don't like that. I think they want more attractive, expansive football. And they want, you know, the players that we've got, you know, your Pacotas, your Kudus, you know, your Jarrah-Bones to be able to play more free-flowing football. The reason I'm not necessarily for that, of course, you always want to see better, attractive football. Of course, you do. The reason I'm not necessarily for that is I've seen my club relegated twice in my life. And I don't know what manager we could get that's out there that could get us playing that attractive, expansive football. That's really going to come in and change, you know, just change our identity, you know. So, I think that's where West Ham fans sit. They're like, some are on this side, some are on that side. And quite often, West Ham fans are like the most unhappiest fans in the world. Oh, you should see ours, mate. Yeah. Oh, man. That's an interesting perspective because last season, you know, you won the Conference League and stuff. And I do feel it kind of changed the narrative around the football club because it did kind of paper over what would have probably been a disappointing Premier League season last year. A bit of a double-edged question. Do you think that bought David Moyes some time and do you think he'll be there next season? That's the big question, isn't it? I think we were terrible last year. I think, like, over the calendar year, we weren't very good in the league. Like, we were near relegation form. But our form in Europe, like, we created the record for, like, 17 unbeaten. And, like, 17 win streaks. So, our form in Europe probably kept him in a job. And, obviously, winning the Cup was our first major trophy in decades. So, that's probably given him a bit of juice in the bank. What I want to say, though, obviously, is, like, you know, he's taken us from 17th on the table to, you know, being seventh. To even be in Europe is kind of... Yeah, you're flirting with European qualification for next year, man. Europa League, maybe Champions League mathematically as well. Exactly. This is what a lot of rival fans don't really understand when it comes to West Ham. And, like, I'm the most optimistic West Ham fan. But, like, these are the glory years for me. You know what I'm saying? As you said, back-to-back relegations. Man, like, you might laugh at that as an Arsenal fan because you've seen your club win leagues. No, I'm not one of them snooty Arsenal fans. You know what I'm saying? But, like, for me, man, like, seeing my club win anything was not something I ever really expected. And that's the vast majority of fans up and down the country. And, like, I feel like lots of, you know, clubs on a similar level to West Ham or even below would, like, dream of those days out. So, like, being able to watch my team on a Thursday night in Europe and, like, end up winning that competition. Like, you know, I could have died a happy football fan that day. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, I mean, I don't know how it feels to win a European trophy. I think my club underachieving that. So, hopefully, we can be mentioned in the same vein. You know, above David Moyes, are you disappointed with the owners? Because, yeah, you've won a European trophy. But I look at what Brighton have been doing, potentially Newcastle. I know Newcastle's an anomaly because they've spent money. Villa kind of have been expensive as well. But West Ham were kind of expected to be one of those clubs that kind of reached them realms. How do you feel about the ownership or the people above David Moyes? Well, it's always the way, like, there's always so many rumours, like, swirling around the hierarchy of West Ham. Whether there's arguments between David Moyes and Sullivan or Tim Stuyton and Sullivan and all these people. All I do know is that, you know, we sold Declan Rice, like, a generational player for us. I think you guys are obviously seeing how good he is this year. We've been seeing that for years. And I think we've put that money to good use. And, like, everyone we've brought in, you know, I don't know who's been solely responsible for it. You hear reports of what night it is, David Moyes or David Sullivan or Tim Stuyton. One thing I will say is that the players that we've all brought in, West Ham look a stronger side as a result. So something clearly is working. That isn't without its flaws, of course, because we've just gone through a January. We only brought in, like, a Calvin Phillips who hasn't played football in 18 months. We let three squad players go. So you can maybe ask the ambitions of the club when, you know, you're sitting sixth on the table and you've got quite a thin squad. And, you know, going into that Manchester United game, we had four youth players on the bench. So there's just things like that, like, where you might raise eyebrows. But it's hard. It's really hard as a West Ham fan to honestly, like, I get it. I get some fans' frustrations, but it's hard to sit here when we're seventh in the table and be like, no, we need to change this, this and this. Because these are the glory days, guys. Like, I've seen, like, go back and look at, like, the lineups that we had under, like, Slavan Bilic and stuff like that. We were in the trenches, man. You know what I'm saying? We were in the trenches. Like, we've been in the trenches. So the fact is, like, now we're out here, we're fighting above our weight. Like, over Christmas, we were, like, top of the form table. Like, you know, beat Tottenham, beat Arsenal, all these clubs. And it's just like, you know, I think we've got to have perspective on things. You know what I mean? I mean, you said it then. It's a difficult one for football fans, especially where all the points you've mentioned and the European trophy. I feel a bit like that with Arsenal. Like, obviously, we should be aspiring to win stuff. We probably could have won a Premier League title if certain variables happened last year. But I do think people aren't, you know, everything's always white and black, bro. It's like, if you believe this, then that. I think Arsenal fans, we kind of have to be grateful. You know, that was a few years ago. We were saying Rob Holden and Pablo Mourinho are our best centre-halves. And I'm not, exactly, it's crazy, isn't it? And I'm not saying... Covid Arsenal. Exactly. Covid Arsenal was entertainment for everyone. And probably us winning the FA Cup in that region, in that period, if I remember correctly, you know, papered over cracks. And I understand the ambition and things. And I always say, last season, in line with our project, that was probably the best and worst time. Because it shows what a project can do. But it also arouses imagination. It kind of makes fans be a bit impatient for success and things. I'm not saying we shouldn't, you know, we should have more patience. Because it's been 20-odd years. But it's an interesting one. You touched on it. And I can't have a West Ham fan here. What have you made of Declan Rice in an Arsenal shirt? Because I must admit, I think all football fans deserve to give you an apology. Because we sat here and, yeah, I've rated Declan Rice. But you lot were waxing lyrical. And it's like no one was taking you in. You was like a crazy crackhead outside a train station. And now everybody can see it. Like, listen, I've got no praise. I've got no more words to describe Declan Rice, man. Yeah, man. I love Declan Rice, man. Like, it broke my heart that he went to Arsenal. I can't lie. But, yeah, he's just carried on. One of the things that I don't like is, like, you see people online say, like, he's grown as a player. I don't necessarily think he's developed and changed that much. Doing the same things in an Arsenal shirt, what he's doing in West Ham, really. He's doing the same things. But he's also being asked to do more. And that's the key thing. And he's playing with, like, you know, let's have it right. He's playing with better players. People like Martin Odegaard and Saka. Like, you know, these, like, players that are on the precipice of becoming world-class players. You know what I mean? So it was a good move for him and a good move for us. Because, like I said, I think we've redistributed that wealth that we got for him quite well. But you could have another one that should be at the Emirates if I'm on his quality. You want Kudas as well? Yeah, man. He's quality. And it seemed like he was there for the taking. You can't have him. Just, like, you've taken our, like, you know, our Kingston man. Him or Bowen, man. You've taken Dave Decker-Rice. You can't have the star boy as well. You can't have both, mate. Do you know what I mean? Like, come on. Let us have something for a bit. To be fair, you're probably going to lose Paqueta as well. It seemed like he was going to go City. But the betting stuff, I don't know how that panned out. End of the season, an 85 million clause opens up in his contract. So, as an Arsenal fan, are you paying that? Some people don't want to pay 85 million for Paqueta. I think that's a cheap deal. It's not my money, bro. He wouldn't be my first choice target. Not because anything to do with him. I just feel we probably need another profile midfielder to sit next to Decker-Rice. But if there's money spare, I'm having Paqueta. He's adaptable. He's Brazilian. He can play in the eight. He was one, a bit like Bruno Gomarez. Before, they kind of ended up where they ended up. They were there and Arsenal fans were waffling about them. And apparently, Eddie was in talks. And one reason or another, they're not hearing it. And midfield, you touched on it indirectly as well, about Decker-Rice playing with better players. I don't feel we're going to see a new look Decker-Rice, per se, throughout his Arsenal career. But I don't think we're going to see him better on the ball until we address midfield. Because the Liverpool game was an anomaly in that. Jorginho was kind of, you know, a bit deeper than him. Decker-Rice was playing in a bit of a different role. But other than that, he's had to chaperone a lot. He's had to hold Kai Havertz's hand. I do think he's improving in the final third. And I do think he can become a player that can get 10 goals all comps. But literally, he's doing everything he was doing in the West Ham shirt. And that's the benchmark. The best praise I can give Decker-Rice is that, for me, it's like you've always been here. If I didn't know that you was at West Ham, I would have thought you've been part of the furniture here. Did the move to Arsenal take you by surprise, though? Because he was always linked with Chelsea. It seemed like City was involved. And then we've just got involved. Nah, not really. It was always going to be him or City. And I think you guys got it fairly unrivalled, really. Like, the move was quite... I say it was quite quick. It kind of dragged on a little bit. But the entire time, it was like kind of, you know... We all knew he was going to end up at Arsenal. And even before the end of the season, there was that clip of him with Odegaard getting him to sign his shirt and whatnot. So you could see that there was conversations happening. As a West Ham fan, I hate to say it, you can see why you'd want to join Arsenal as well because of the project. And you guys are only going in one direction, really. You're just unfortunate to exist in a world where you've got Man City and Liverpool. And a revitalised Liverpool. But this is what I'm saying. This is where it comes down to expectations of football fans. Because as a West Ham fan, I'm buzzing to be sitting seventh. I really am. Because I think if we can sit seventh at the end of the season, that's a European qualification for next year. We're going to attract more players to the club and whatnot. You guys, if you finish third this season, which I think is quite likely, I'll be honest with you, it's a complete failure. Do you know what I'm saying? And that's the problem with Arsenal fans. I do think, obviously, we need to move into that ambition of winning the league. I definitely feel there's some things we could address. No matter how good City and Liverpool are, I know we can't win every game. But you touched on it, the West Ham game. For me, the better team won because you got the three points. But it isolated to 90 minutes. What did West Ham do which we didn't? Put the ball in the back of the net and show them street smartness. Things about them. I feel we've still got those elements about us that City and Liverpool don't on top of the experience. And you are right. People would say it's regression. We finish second, then we finish third. It's not that I want to say I'll take third. Of course, I'd love to win the league. But I think it's something to move with. I'd say for next season, though, I think where Arteta is concerned, whether he can win a title or something is another thing, bro. But I think there will be real degrees of expectation. And that's what I mean by the best and worst thing that happened last season was actually fighting for a title. Because I think more people may have had some patience, really. Completely off topic, but do you think Bowen goes to the Euros? He should do. I think so as well. He's our right winger. But he's been playing centrally recently with the injury of Mikel Antonio. He's adaptable. I think he offers something different to what other players don't. But Gareth Southgate's got his favourites. He's called him up before. But do I think he's going to call him up over a Rashford? I just don't know. That's the annoying thing. You know what I mean? He deserves to be there. And another player I'd throw in there is James Wall Prowse as well. I'm surprised he doesn't get more of a look in where England are concerned. I think he does the basics to a high standard. But I just think what goes against him is he's not as glamorous as some of the more midfield options. But then again, you need that. I'd rather Wall Prowse go than Henderson. Who knows? For us to go through, it might just take a decent Wall Prowse delivery and then we're keeping it moving. But as you said, Southgate plays his favourites, man. Did the Calvin Phillips one take you by surprise? Not really, man. I think it's a good move. Again, I'm sat here. Football fans are fickle, man. I know I sound like I'm straight football fans. You know what I mean? But football fans are fickle. They forget how much of a good player Calvin Phillips was. There's a reason he went from £42 million to Man City. From Leeds to City, yeah. Do you know what I'm saying? He's just unfortunate to not be anywhere near the level of Rodri and who else is in world football. Do you know what I'm saying? Maybe Declan Rice, you can have a conversation. But even then, it ain't clear cut. Do you know what I'm saying? Yeah, yeah. Rodri's the poster boy of that position, man. Do you know what I mean? So Calvin Phillips, when you get... He excites me coming at West Ham. I know he hasn't played football for 18 months. I know he had a poor debut, gave the ball away, led to a goal for Bournemouth. But when you've got Pep Guardiola coming out and saying his long-ranging passing ability and his general passing ability is better than Rodri's. He's up there a couple of years ago in terms of statistics with the best players in the league in terms of defensive turnovers and whatnot. The closest comparison to another sport is a quarterback with his long-range passing. And for the way that we play, we catch teams on the counter with Caduce or Bowen, progressing the ball up the pitch and holding the ball up in advanced areas. So with Calvin Phillips at our disposal alongside a James Ward-Prowse or an Alvarez or even a Salchik when you want to throw him in and whatnot. I think it's a super exciting sign-in. I think if he's hungry, he's going to want to get to the Euros. Do you know what I'm saying? If he's got a point to prove, he wants to play football, which he clearly does. He's been playing for us. Then it's a no-brainer for us. I think we're getting a quality midfield option. I really do. And let's have it right as well. If he has a good six months at us and we don't manage to sign him, you wouldn't be surprised if he went and signed for a top six club. Villa or Newcastle or something else. I think you touched on it. It's just unfortunately you've gone to City in it where you're almost average because everybody's star-studded and everyone's got quality. I think the only thing with Calvin Phillips is you haven't played a lot of football. You have had a lot of knots and we're in and amongst the seasons. So he's going to have to get with it quickly. I know silence can go wrong, but David Moyes is a very experienced manager. He's been in the game for a long time. If he wasn't convinced that Phillips could bring something, then he wouldn't be at the club. What do you make of West Ham Arsenal? Because based on little things you've said, it sounds like two very contrasting styles. I think you've got a very good counter-attacking team. I think you've got downplayed the individual quality of a couple of players. I think you can damage us via set pieces. I think with your midfield trio, whoever is in midfield versus us, two contrasting styles. But I think that is a very good match-up, really. I actually think Declan Rice is going to have to do a lot. I think with us against you lot, we have to turn it into a football match. You lot kind of not turn it into a fight, but you lot need to turn it into like a poster game for the Premier League where it's just high turnovers, end-to-end stuff. What are you expecting? It's not even Upton Park anymore, but yeah. I think a key part of the game will be who wins the midfield. And I think, I'm not just saying this to be inflammatory, of course, but I think the two worst performances I've seen out of Declan Rice's career has been when he's played against us. Oh, we agree. We agree. And that comes down to the fact that we probably just know his game inside out. Obviously, the cup game didn't go very well for you guys. And then obviously you gave away the penalty against Saeed Benrahma in the second half. I think you're right, man. We've got genuine quality. I think Paqueta will be a huge miss. He won't be there for the game. Oh, he's not there? No, he's been injured for a little while, man. That's brilliant for us, man. They got injured in the first half against you guys as well and then didn't play for the second half. That's where, you know what I mean? It's funny how these things work, man. Yeah, so I'm apprehensive about the game just purely because, like I said, man, we haven't won since the 28th of December against you guys. That's our last win in competitive football. You guys obviously haven't won in three. We drew two all last year, then beat you in the cup and then beat you in the league this year. But going into this game, I really don't know what to expect. I would love to see a one-all draw. I really would. But you put in a strong performance against a tough Liverpool side last week and you're going to be flying high and full of momentum. And who knows? You might even have a deck on rice that has a point to prove and may have got over that emotional damage. But I'm going to back the boys and just say we're going to get a one-all draw and hope that with Mikel Antonio coming back on the side, we can maybe have him running the channels in the middle and bowing on Kudus in the flanks. I think we can do some damage through that. But yeah, attack the right-hand side, bowing against Zinchenko, I back that. You said it there. And I think that's the thing with Zinchenko, unfortunately. I think he's a good player. But if you're talking about what he's good at, it's not really anything defensive. And I feel whether it's Arsenal's strongest team, if we assumed everybody's fit from Arsenal and just assumed Zinchenko's the left-back, that's the man you're going to target. You know he's going to invert and you know he's going to leave space in behind. And you know he's susceptible to obviously falling asleep, as we saw in the League Cup. That's what scares me. The counter-attack scares me, especially if we're... I don't think you lot are just going to live on the counter. I hope you do, because I think you lot tried that against United or a negative approach and it didn't work. I think boys will learn from that. I think you lot have the quality to make it a fair match and you lot can exploit set-pieces and counter-attacks. I think, you know, based on what your form, looking at your form and what you said, that scares me more because it's typically sides... Like, look at Fulham. It's sides like this that cause us problems. And obviously you've got nothing to lose. If Arsenal win, there's not no paper sold about that. If we lose, then the headlines they wanted to write against Liverpool, obviously, you know, are going to come out. So I'm quite nervous. And it seems like... Well, to be honest, since you lot have come to the Emirates, there's definitely been periods, since we've moved to the Emirates, sorry, been periods where you guys have just been our bogey team. I don't know where it is. I don't know why you lot don't like us. We're experts as well, so allow us. But I'm quite nervous and it seems like David Moyes just seems to have something over our tether. I don't know if it's the master versus the apprentice, but of course, I'm hoping we can win and keep things moving because this month is crazy for us, bro. So where would you say your weaknesses are then if we were trying to exploit them? It really depends on how David Moyes lines the side up. When we've not had Pak Attar in the team, we've really lacked creativity in the middle. There was a period of time where he was playing on the left-hand side and he'd float into the middle almost like as an inside forward. And then he would just make the team tick with a pass over the top or what not or something magic. Exactly what I said. And we are very much missing that at the moment. So without him in the side, it will be on players like Mohamed Kaddous and Boeing to just kind of try to expose your weak areas. In terms of what we're missing, that is it. It's just the creativity I think for us right now. And it will just depend on how David Moyes lines us up in our last league game. Not last league game, sorry, the game last Thursday where we drew. He started Salchek as like a false nine. And it was almost like an experiment that didn't really work. He played him in like the Fellaini role. Yeah. We didn't have enough really to get the ball to him and create enough chances and what not. So I do worry if we play against an Arsenal side and kind of have that approach that we'll just get picked apart. But it's just creativity that we're lacking right now. How about you? What are you lacking? He wants to put the ball in the back of the net, I would say. We don't have that. We don't have that whether it's Ivan Toni or whatever. I would say I hope Tommy Assu is going to start because I don't think, you know, if I take a name the exact same lineup, obviously if we lose the game I'm going to ask questions. But going into it, I can't really have any problems. You've beaten Liverpool. Everyone I guess deserves their spot. I think Tommy Assu has to be in there because I think if you go, the Liverpool game is one thing where Saliba's going to have to hold that. But the Nottingham Forest game where for us relatively straightforward. But then we made it an unnecessary nervy five minutes because it's a ball over the top again where Zinchenko's concerned. And I just think Tommy Assu needs to be there really because he gives us a lot of height. Again, you've played football, you know, if you try and take the game to a fullback and you can see they're equal to it then you're going to try something else. If you can see it's working then that's cash money really and truly. And Kudus and Bowen running into that right-hand side, our left, that is where for me it's won or lost. In terms of what we're missing, I think it's just a striker and I think for me it's the midfield. It's the midfield. I know Declan Rice is mustered, Odegaard's great but there's a hole in the left eight. I don't know if Kai Havertz is still going to play up front. Jesus has a bit of an injury allegedly. If Havertz goes back to the left eight then I feel we're going to have problems building up play. I think there's a correlation between Jorginho coming in and us just looking a bit better. Declan Rice can be higher up the field than several players. So I would say for me it's the midfield. It's that left eight. It's really just the left-hand side and we know Saka is going to get kicked lumps out of him. There's going to be three, four players next to him. Can somebody else pick up the mantelpiece because if they're paying attention to Saka there's got to be someone else. I look at West Ham and if I had to describe I would say street smart. David Moyes street smart. Your players street smart and I think we lack street smartness at the Emirates. Yeah, we had possession and shots and all of that jazz and sometimes you play better and lose but you need to put the ball in the back of the net and that's something that I feel David Moyes' men or West Ham in you lot's case you've had over us in recent games. Do you think there's a bit of a rivalry developing? Because definitely where social media is concerned I was freaking out. I've already got enough problems. Do you know what? Everyone hates you guys man because you're the loudest. You're the loudest fans on social media. Every asshole has a microphone. Do you know what I mean? So I mean my hatred for football club comes out of the friendships I had as a kid growing up so I don't like Tottenham. I don't like Arsenal. I don't like Chelsea because all my best mates are just those teams. You know what I'm saying? The game is the game my friend. So I don't know if there's much of a rivalry. I think between the clubs like you know the clubs themselves probably not man because we do business quite often. Even in January we were inquiring for like Emile Smith-Rowe and Reece Nelson. That was going to break my heart. You could have Nelson but Smith-Rowe he can't go man. He probably will go in the summer. But yeah because of that I feel like the clubs probably don't have much of a rivalry at club level but there's definitely something between fans because West Ham are a rowdy bunch you know Arsenal are a rowdy bunch you know. We're a bunch as well. We like that you haven't won in three games against us. Do you know what I mean? Like I like it as a West Ham fan that you know you went 2-0 up at the London Stadium Saka misses a penalty and then we bring it to all. Don't remind me man. And Declarest picked part of his pocket as well. That's what I mean street smartness bro and that's I'm just thinking you lot are going to try and burst our bubbles I know that you know you lot are the bubble gang and what not but that is what scares me. I wanted to ask you as well like this is just a random question as a West Ham fan do you lot feel at home in your new stadium yet? Do you know what it's a difficult one man because there's lots of generations in football fans of course like there's an entire generation of West Ham fans now that don't know Upton Park for me I saw both and they are completely different things like Upton Park was an intimidating atmosphere was a throwback to what football really was and the London Stadium is almost like it does lack a bit of personality at times of course but I've also seen some of the best games of football and best atmospheres of football that I've ever seen like when we beat Sevilla at home in the Europa League a couple years ago that's the best game I've seen live other than the final in Prague and that was in a West Ham stadium where 60 plus thousands of fans were all chanting and going in the right direction so I very much feel like it's what the fans make it it can be quiet it can be like quite a vacuous kind of atmosphere but when it's rocking it's rocking West Ham fans just need to do more to make sure we do that every home game and every game that we play as an away fan I imagine like a lot of fans say it's the worst away day in the Premier League because you're so far away from the pitch I was just about to say that and that's why I was sorry to cut you but that's exactly why I asked you because I've been to Upton Park that's a typical British ground the way it was and I've been to you lot's new place and you're very far away so it's like can you really get immersed in it like that go on man I'll cut you off that's just football though I think that's a sign of football as a wider kind of game because I know Tottenham's new stadium is incredible it's like one of the best stadiums in the world of course I don't want to praise them but you're right about that no you know what I'm saying but like even the Emirates and like Highbury there's such big differences like say for example you go to like a game at like Sellers Park or Kenilworth Road do you know what I mean like that is like a throwback to like almost like footballs in the 90s where it's like these new style stadiums are like they're good and I love going to games don't get me wrong but they're like a different product it's like going to concerts do you know what I'm saying it's like concerts do you know what I mean like yeah Burnaby will come to like came to the London Stadium exactly that's what I'm saying so like the game can be there on a Saturday and then Burnaby can come on Sunday so like you know what I'm saying like those kind of things like are always going to contribute to football as a business and it's there to make money as a fan I can get on board with it because I have good experiences there you know I love the games when I go there the camaraderie of West Ham fans is still there there's much more tourism attributed to the clubs you get a lot of like international fans come over and because it's like a super central stadium you get a lot of yeah right next to Westfield and that as well I'm saying man we get a lot of Ghanaian fans as well now because of Mohamed Kaddous and what not and I think that's the kind of avenues that people don't see that having a bigger stadium and more of like a you know just a bigger stadium that's the kind of things that it brings to the club I think Chelsea probably need to do that at some point theirs is a bit delicate but Arsenal went through that Spurs went through that you lot went through that I've seen some news about Man United are trying to get their new stadium Everton or in their rumblings even the Barcelona's in Madrid so it is something that's necessary and I think it's a bit of a it's a bit of a weird one because football's a global game isn't it everyone regardless of what they look like should like it but then I do think the clubs or better yet the stadiums lose their bitter touches and their roots a bit via that so it's it's almost like catch 22 if I'm completely honest with you man it's crazy what have you made of Arsenal this season yeah watching them from afar I feel like you're not as good as last year but in terms of offensively I think you're like seventh highest in the league in terms of goals but I think defensively you're a lot more solidified obviously having Saliba fit Gabriel playing well I think the only real weak point in your defence is like left back when Zinchenko occasionally makes a mistake but I think you've got two keepers that are kind of like you know I know you're going with you're not going with Ramsdale at the moment but I feel like Ramsdale was an OK option and obviously the signing of Declan Rice obviously Declan Rice is doing what Declan Rice so from afar I see you guys playing probably some of the best football in the league you know I'm fortunate enough to have been to the Emirates a few times in my life and the atmosphere at your stadium you can clearly see you guys are loving the football there at the moment I was there for the first Champions League game actually this year that you guys played who was it against the Dutch team the Dutch team you won like 5-0 can't think of who it was PSV I think it was PSV was it PSV it was either PSV or Lens I think Lens is French whoever it was man I was there so I should really remember this looking from the outside yeah I look at you guys and I think I feel sorry again this is crazy I'm saying this publicly I feel sorry for you guys I really do because I feel like any team that I've got ambitions for the title are always going to come up short in a league where Man City exists you know what I mean and there is always like the ethical kind of things associated to Man City and all the charges that they've got looming over them and all these other teams in the league that seem to be getting charged but Man City are getting away with 115 so it would seem so I feel sorry for you guys in that way where you've got a team that are so relentless and I feel very similar towards Liverpool fans as well because throughout Klopp's tenure for example imagine if Man City were in the league how many Premier League titles he'd have for example so it must be tough and you know yeah you guys are clearly a good team I do still think you are get at a ball though if you know what I mean by that I feel like Declan Rice has brung some real leadership to your team and he's got that bite he's the kind of guy that's going to get you through the tough moments and we've seen it you know at Luton we've seen it at Man City he's scored big goals and big moments for you guys but I do still feel like when the going gets tough you might have a little bit of a soft underbelly and when you know the age old saying is that Arsenal come down with the Christmas decorations you started the year well you didn't have a good Christmas so it'll be interesting to see what your April and May look like and whether you can actually sustain the charge this year or if you drop a few clangers like Southampton or West Ham away you know what I'm saying and that's what jars me about my football club because you know I agree with everything you're saying about Liverpool and more about City because they're the big bad bullies and I can't expect my club or any club really to win every game get 100% of the points but that's where I think we're in line of our project with what we're doing I've got nothing but praise but if we're removing that and looking at a title then you have to be a lot harsher because these variables make the difference and I still think we've got this element of self capitulation and not controlling the controllables I actually I'm not saying this to say Arsenal are the biggest and baddest in the world but I don't think there's been many times we've been outplayed even when we've lost games but that's what annoys me more because we should be getting more points there's probably a few other games in that as well and you look at Spurs or Chelsea we've shot ourselves in the football twice as well in fact to be fair the only times I think we've been out played you lot in the league cup we were absolutely ---- there's nothing around that rotated squad or not fulham away from home we was crap as well but that's what annoys me more because these are the small variables that you can control and if you are going to win a league which I think is well it's not impossible but incredibly unlikely I think you need to do a lot better at that really and that's what jars me I hope that this is our blip that you mentioned in December and we're out of it now but we're Liverpool and City are going to drop points we're also going to drop points and I don't think there's too many more times we can do that or afford to do that and I think we're at that stage now where you need external factors to fall for you you need City to get some injuries or start dropping points you need Liverpool to fall down and we need to almost guarantee we can get full points we've got to go to a difficult place for us with you lot on the weekend we've obviously still got to go to the Etihad people can say what they want about Man United but we don't typically travel well there so we've got to get points there I don't know there's a lot to be said I am a bit annoyed with Mikel Arteta I love him to bits I think he's a good manager but I feel when he comes out and says things like we've got the smallest squad if you said that in the first year I hear that but you've been here four years now you're smart enough to not be saying that if I'm honest obviously I know injuries can happen exactly it feels like we keep doing that bro yeah and just to draw it back to what you said earlier obviously like lacking a striker and what not I think the main thing that you've been missing and obviously you spoke about it in December and spoke about the game that you lost to us I think you've really struggled at times this season just to put teams away I remember in the West Ham game you had 30 shots on target or what not ridiculous yeah the whole kind of game was kind of around that narrative but it was like all about quality of chances and like what actual opportunity you had to put the ball in the net and other than like a few you know good saves to Mariota there wasn't really enough and that came down to just you know your front three not really producing high quality chances to go and take the game and then West Ham on the other hand you know we were more ruthless more clinical it was just like more streets when we got our set piece we scored ahead as you know I'm saying so just being able to put teams away is like something that you guys might be missing so that's why I do worry for you you know in the in the judgment part of the season because we've seen over the last couple years that you saw like missing out on top four and then last year what happened happened so yeah it's an interesting one when it comes to Arsenal I always you know whenever I see Arsenal lose I do like tip my hat and you know I have a good day don't get me wrong but I watch all the fan channels I hear it the games the game I'm the same oh it's quite mad man my last question for you then man score predictions I know you've got to back your boys I'm gonna go 3-1 Arsenal because honestly I think it's gonna be a draw but I'm trying to positively speak things into existence so I'm gonna say 3-1 Arsenal same score line as the Liverpool game man okay okay I'll go with one all just because we're not winning games at the moment we're not conceding too many man you know at a game of side of course I'll go one all I think I think we've got quality to damage you and I don't think you'll score too many against us and I mean and you said it there indirectly just before you answered the question set pieces I hope that we've always the best thing that we could do is just go and watch the West Ham game at the Emirates and learn from that really so hopefully we can do that man if I let you get out of it Jamie man I know you said at the start but let us know where they can find you once again and all the platforms you feature on and all of that stuff man love man yeah so everyone you can catch me at Jamie talks on all socials yeah do a lot of West Ham based content most recent YouTube video I did was with Nigel Real Coker I don't know if any of you remember West Ham captain under 21 captain under 20 England under 21 legend man exactly 500 games for them go check that out on the Jamie talks YouTube channel and Jamie talks on everything else thanks for having me man minor Jamie again all the information will be in the description of the YouTube video when you're done Jamie send me the interview of the Nigel Real Coker thing and we'll get that in there as well man may the best team win on Sunday my friend man you know I'm looking forward to seeing your content when you lot lose the fingers everything crossed man but yeah man make sure you're following Jamie and the West Ham lads content make sure you're hitting the like button and let us know your thoughts whether you agree or disagree with everything we've discussed well on that note Jamie and everyone peace we're out safe