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The Athletic FC Podcast Network. The only way to score is, of course, to play with a hand break off.
Hello, I'm Ian Stone. This is Handbrake Off, the Arsenal podcast brought to you by The Athletic on Saturday. The Arsenal drew 1-1 with Brentford. And a bit like the podcast last Monday, we're going to reflect on the game and more importantly, look ahead to the Champions League quarter-final second leg tie against Real Madrid. I'm joined by Art de Rocha and Adrian Clarke. Morning, evening.
Afternoon. Good, eh? Afternoon. Oh yeah, that's true, afternoon. Alright, we're doing all three in one go. Oh my God. Yeah, we will talk briefly about Brentford, but obviously the focus is going to be on Wednesday night. I mean, obviously...
I hope we win. I've never hoped for something as much as this, I don't think. Has anybody ever hoped for anything more than this, Adrian? I mean, just really, genuinely thinking about it. It's really, it's hard to think of anything more. Yeah, I'm not a big sort of,
Hope, it's not like I don't really think about getting stuff. Like I'm not, no. Have you seen the Shawshank Redemption? I have, yeah. Hope is a good thing. Possibly the best thing. Andy Dufresne said that, mate. Yeah, I get it. I like it. I kind of just live in the moment. I don't get sort of fixated on wanting stuff. I think that's what the point I'm making. I'll tell you what I am hoping for.
And I've just looked at it. So basically, I love snooker. Okay. I love snooker and I love going to the Crucible. I've been for years. And one of my best friends has got me VIP tickets for the Crucible. And I can't wait for it. But if we get through, if it's the Tuesday night, which I think it might be, then I'm going to have to miss the semifinal. So I'm desperately hoping for a Wednesday night.
semi-final if we get through. So I've only just clocked the date, the 29th of April. I'm supposed to be at the Crucible. It's going to be an amazing day. He's paid for it. So I can't back out. I mean,
I might have to miss it. So you'd have to miss the semi-final rather than the snooker? I can't let my mate down. He's spent a lot of money on this. Can't let the arsehole down, mate. I got up at five o'clock in the morning to watch the game the other day. Anyway, all right, fair enough. They don't need me. We know where your priorities lie, Adrian. We understand completely.
I'm sure there's a snooker podcast somewhere you'd like to be on right now. Oh, mate. Stephen Hendry's got a good one. Has he? Is there a snooker podcast? What is it called? It might be called a snooker podcast. Oh, wow. I'm not sure. I can't remember what it's called, but it's very popular. Yeah, okay. Fair enough, yeah. Anything you've hoped for more than us winning the Champions League, Art?
To be fair, I'm probably quite similar to Adrian, but the last thing I could think of was like, I would look forward to maybe releases of games or movies and stuff. And the most recent one that I really was looking forward to was Spider-Man 2, which was October 2023. Game or film? Game. Game. And it was an unbelievable game, to be fair. Was it? Yeah, it was unreal. At the minute, I'm...
in terms of media hoping for a Batman 2 release date because that's been pushed back all the way to 2027 so yeah in the meantime I'll do the Champions League though yeah yeah yeah yeah no I mean I actually I mean Jay asked me our producer Jay asked me like opening question I was thinking about hope and anything that I've hoped for more than this I
You know, there isn't... This would be the pinnacle, to be honest with you. Remember, I've been on this earth quite a bit longer than you guys. And, you know, we haven't even got... Well, we got to the final, obviously. But this... The point is, this feels real now. This feels real. I mean, it feels like we're contending. And this might not be the only chance we get, by the way. But this does feel like a chance if we win on Wednesday night. Before...
Before we talk about that, briefly, Arsenal won, Brentford won. Adrian, this had draw written all over it, didn't it? I mean, it just felt like we'd probably maybe take the lead and then they'd probably pin us back because we'd make a few changes and it would be a bit disjointed. That's certainly how it panned out.
Yeah, they're all good opponents, aren't they, Brentford? They're stubborn. At the start of the game, they made it really scrappy and fragmented. The ball wouldn't sit down. You know, it was all deliberate. It was very sort of ragged and scrappy. And that was by design, really, from Thomas Frank. Then, actually, I thought once we settled into it, we played pretty well up until when we scored and then made some changes. But,
It was a frustrating game, but it was also a bit of a nothing game, wasn't it? We all knew there wasn't much riding on it. And Brentford are a lethal team, the most lethal in the Premier League when it comes to converting chances. So they didn't need many. I think they only had three shots, but it was actually a really, really nice finish, wasn't it, from Wisser? It was one of those games where we were the better side, should have won. You should have won, yeah. No one was overly worked up about the fact that we only got a point in.
No, and although we'll come to about the risk of being dragged into a top five battle in a second, but the goal on the counter, we're quite good at transitions, Art. You know, this was a really, I mean, I like the way David Royer was waiting for the right pass and then as soon as Rice was away...
I was a little nervous, I have to say, to see Thomas Partey sprint in 60 yards. And how is he, by the way, just before we carry on? Do we know how he is? I'm not sure at the minute, but Mikel's pretty...
pre-match press it will be on Tuesday so probably find out then. Alright well I'll add a bit of hope to that one as well because I'd love to have Thomas Partey in the base of the midfield for that one but you know it was a great counter-attacking goal and we don't we're doing it a bit more now but it's nice to see isn't it Art? Yeah I think even in the first half Raya did try and kind of spring I think it was Martinelli
in behind a couple of times but it's something that even if you think back to last season there was a spell where Raya actually did go quick quite often I think it was around February March time and then he kind of stopped for a while so I don't know whether it's something where they don't want to do it all the time because then teams will kind of just you know work it out or whatever but
I, in my head, I was just really pleased that Declan Rice was able to make another one of those surgeon runs. And it kind of ended up being my match piece at the end of the day, because it was probably the most interesting thing that happened in the whole 90 minutes. I think it,
Hopefully, when you get maybe a bit of space as well at the Burnabout, there'll be kind of opportunity to replicate that again in the week. Hold that thought. We'll do that in a bit. Of course we will. Great goal, wasn't it? One of my favourite goals of the season, Stoney. It was a good finish as well, wasn't it?
Yeah, really good finish. Yeah, because you've got to remember, he's not standing there waiting for it. He's had to sprint a long, long, long way, Thomas Pryor, to get there. He was breathing quite heavy, I'd imagine. So to keep his sort of technique together was really good. The weight of the pass was perfect, though, wasn't it? The weight of the pass and Declan Rice. Yeah, look, Declan Rice was brilliant for that goal. Obviously, it was outstanding from Raya.
to roll it out the way he did. But yeah, Declan Rice is kind of unstoppable when he, when he gets into a gallop like that, but he could have gone the easy option and gone left. I think to, to Martin Elliott would have been, but he didn't. And he knew that that was a moment that we had to seize. It's a moment where we could score a goal. So that's why he held onto it longer than a lot of players would have done. And yeah, it was just a perfect setup and a great finish. Yeah. Now I've found myself sort of,
spontaneously clapping that goal. I really, really enjoyed it. Yeah. I mean, quite a lot of changes. So, you know, we've said this before, Adrian, Mikel doesn't make that many changes and when he does, you know where the priority is. And we all know where the priority is now and the players know it as well. And maybe that takes away a bit of the intensity of some of these league games. Yeah, of course it does. Yeah, it's bound to.
Yeah, minds are on Madrid. As simple as that. And if we were still really in the title race, then there would have been a different look at that. Of course there would. But I think the last two games, the Everton and the...
And the Brentford have really sort of signalled Mikel Arteta's intentions for the season. And yeah, look, even if it's only a subconscious impact on the players, it will have an impact on the players, yeah. And in terms of being possibly dragged into a top five battle, I don't know what you are. I'm perfectly okay with that, to be honest with you. I mean, I don't want them to be dragged into a top five battle. But what I mean is,
The priority is the Champions League. We have a chance of winning it, right? We know we do. The players know they do. And the focus has to be on that. And if that means that we're going to drop points that we wouldn't normally drop, well, so be it. And I'd like to think we've got enough of a gap. And Chelsea obviously screwed up the other day and Forest lost. So, you know, they are going to get closer. It is going to get tighter. But...
Do you know what? It is needs must. Everything has to be on getting us to and through the final in Munich on the 31st of May. Yeah, the Forest loss was actually quite big when you think about it because I think if Newcastle win the game in hand that they have, it'll go to four points. So you've still got a nice kind of buffer there.
I think it would just be nice to see maybe some players like Kieran Tierney get some more starts. And yeah, hopefully they can kind of have nice moments before the end of the season because I think he was really unlucky not to have his goal on the weekend. That was a shame, right?
Yeah. Hopefully he could actually have like a proper big moment before the end of the year because he deserves it. Champions League final winner, mate. That's, that's what we're looking for Kieran Tierney. And then thank you very much, Kieran. We appreciate it. Christian Norgul's challenge on Martinelli. I mean, I thought that was an awful challenge and, and, uh,
I know Mikko was not very happy. There's not much to say, is there, at this point, Adrian? If an Arsenal player gets that, I mean, it was always, if Granit Xhaka did that, he'd have been sent off without even, they wouldn't, see you, mate. Goodbye. Here we go again. I always judge it on the Lewis Skelly scale. You know, it's the modern, new Lewis Skelly. If that's, if that's what they deem to be red card worthy, then, then that's the bar for me. And I know they overturned it, but,
But Howard Webb did try to justify it and say that it was close, which it never was. So yeah, that's the bar for me. And this fell above that bar. Could easily have been a red. And if it had been given, then it wouldn't have been overturned. But on the day, I described it as a very naughty challenge, dangerous challenge, one that could have seriously injured Martinelli. But at the same time,
I could see why it was a yellow and not a red. I almost felt it was in that sort of no man's land between yellow and red. That was my honest perception of it. But it is the kind of tackle we want to kick out of the game. So if they want to be that strict, and they have been strict with us this season, probably should have gone red there maybe. We've only come to see the Oslo! We've only come to see the Oslo! We've only come to see the Oslo!
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I think we should talk about Real Madrid, to be honest with you, because really that's all that matters at this point. The Real Madrid Ultras have announced they will do something they've never done before when the team bus arrives on the road to the Bernabeu on Wednesday. Do we know what that is, by the way? I've kept seeing this all over Twitter and no one said what the thing is.
So can we speculate on what the thing is? Do you think they'll moon the Arsenal bus? Do you think they'll maybe do that? The ultras? Or this is for the Real Madrid bus, isn't it? The first thing I got in my head was like, there was a game, a Champions League game, City versus Liverpool, where I think the Liverpool fans pelted the City bus with loads of random things. They did. And that was the first image I got in my head, but I don't know what they could do for their own bus. Like,
Yes, their own bus. Weird. I mean, what are you going to do? Just direct the traffic, you know, clear the road. They can hype it as much as they like. The bottom line is, it's, you know, green pitch. You know, it's got a goal at each end. Nothing changes, you know. So, yeah, bring it. You know, it adds to the sense of the occasion, but it shouldn't impact us.
Well, not if it's their bus. No, no. The one thing I would say is like Arsenal should take this as a real compliment. I think this is the biggest club in the world and they're doing all this nonsense for you.
I think that should show the levels that Arsenal are now at and I think give all the players and staff a lot of confidence in what they did last week that they can do it again this time around.
Which is exactly not what the Real Madrid ultras want. But, you know, fair enough. They're also going to close the roof as well. I mean, that, I think, I mean, my God, there'll be an atmosphere in there. I mean, that will be something. How are you feeling, Adrian? I mean, I'm nervous about it, but because it's Real Madrid, if it was almost anything else, anyone else, I think 3-0. And I've seen articles saying 3-0 is a difficult scoreline. No, if it was 1-0, they'd know what to do. Whereas 3-0...
I am nervous about it because it was such a brilliant thing that happened at the Emirates last week. Yeah, I said Highbury, okay? I said Highbury. I could have said Dial Square for the older listeners. Woolwich. Yeah, Woolwich, yeah. I said, you know,
because it was such an amazing thing and we know what can happen at the Bernabeu Adrian and if something unbelievable and horrible did happen that would just take away everything from what happened last week as splendid as it was so I'm I am nervous but
the boys know what they have to do, don't they? Yeah, we're all going to be a bit on edge, aren't we? It's totally understandable because we all want it so bad and after that amazing night, you know, one of the best nights I've ever had at a football ground, that's for sure. I don't want it to be in vain. I want us to go through and go and win the thing. So,
Yeah, they've got great players. We saw in the first half, didn't we, Mbappe in particular was electric. And if he brings his A game, he's going to be exceptionally hard to contain for a second 90 minutes, isn't he? And he's absolutely not the only one. So no, it's an...
going to be an intense challenge but I do I do have faith in the group of players to stay calm manage the game I've got faith in Mikel Arteta to get the to get the tone right
The only fear I've got is like an early red card or something like that, or a calamitous error in the sort of first 10 or 15 minutes that gives them a goal and maybe a real leg up. That situation is the worst case scenario. But hopefully we can avoid that and basically just turn the match into a little bit of a non-event. Quite. And yes, it's a huge test. Of course it is. But last week was a huge test and look what they did. So...
I mean, I'm with Adrian in that way, that I do have faith in this team and this manager. And, you know, they will see this as an opportunity to go, do you know what? That was not a one-off, what happened last week. And we are in this competition to win it. And we have to get past teams like Real Madrid. And if we do, what a step up that will be in terms of the status of
of our club in this competition 100% one of the things that I've kind of been thinking about
since Arsenal got to the quarterfinals and then also the women got to the semifinals for the second time in three years was the football heritage phrase from Jose Mourinho a few years. He went on this 12-minute rant basically after Man United got knocked out of the Champions League at the round of 16 and he basically went through where they finished in every season for the past seven years. And I think the thing you mentioned there, Ian, about I guess the status of Arsenal in Europe is
for the past 15 years, it's been nothing. So I think getting to the quarterfinals and being competitive this season was the main kind of thing for me. But now I think you're getting to a stage where you can actually break new ground. And that's what's really encouraging about not just the first leg, but also the
being able to be in a position in the second leg where you can make it an event as well and I think I was chatting to Seb Hutchinson who does like co-commentary for actually no not co-commentary he does main commentary for Sky Sports and ITV and we were talking about the Jack Wilshere Barcelona game and how no one talks about the second leg because Arsenal lost yeah
I think it'd be nice to have a similar moment in the first leg, but also have a second leg to talk about as well this time around. Quite. And that football heritage thing, Adrian, that Art just talked about. I mean, I remember last year when we played Bayern Munich and I went to the second leg in Munich and
And there was a general feeling that that was, I think we'd sort of reached our level in the competition. I didn't really have confidence that we were going to get through in Munich. We're better now in this competition and we have expectations to go further in this competition now. And that shows that the team is growing. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Not if you listen to Gary Neville, but let's not get me started on that one. Well, who listens to him? Well,
To be fair. I mean, if he wants to talk about people going backwards, look at his own punditry. Definitely doesn't put as much...
spade work into it as he used to and it shows. What are you, sorry, did he say anything in particular? He said that we've regressed, that we've gone backwards as a team, which, you know, completely ignoring the injuries, the, you know, the, the, the, Is that what he said? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. What? He said he got shot down by, he said it on American TV and got shot down pretty quickly by Robbie Musto, who's a pundit over there. Yeah. And I think he's, he's been,
kind of widespread you know ridiculed for some of the things he said there it's just I don't think it's fair you know because I do think that this team has done amazingly to get to this point to
to still be easily second, still be at this stage, you know, ahead against Real Madrid with everything that's gone against us this season. Oh my God, it's wound me up just hearing what he said now. I'm actually thinking, mate, do you even watch us? No, that I think is the issue. I don't think he's watching closely enough, but there you go.
No, the heritage thing is important. It's important for player retention, isn't it? You want Saliba and Saka and all these guys to feel like we are...
you can't really get any better than Arsenal that's the feeling we've got chances we have got chances and we want them to see that and just on other than player retention I think the recruitment will be really interesting as well because Arsenal have recruited really well without even being in a Champions League semi-final like they signed Martin Odegaard without Europe Ben White without Europe and
Yeah, I think it'd be really interesting to see what they could do if they prove they can kind of get to a Champions League semi-final. Yeah, definitely. I think the first leg is, if you're any perspective signing, you watch that first leg, you're thinking, whoo,
Yeah, like, I'm interested. They want to play with those players at that stadium. Of course. Dani Ceballos might be playing. Choumanis returned from suspension for them. That would mean that Luka Modric may be not playing.
Kamavinga's suspended. Kamavinga is suspended. Yeah, the sending off didn't actually make any difference, did it? Because he was suspended beforehand. And I did see Mbappe get sent off at the weekend and I was thinking, oh, is he suspended for the next game? But sadly, it doesn't quite work that way. It doesn't. On the midfield though, Stoney, I do think that that's where we absolutely scored in that first leg, didn't we? I mean, I was really impressed with Rice and Partey.
And Odegaard, we had too much for...
for their midfield unit of Kamavinga and Modric. It wouldn't surprise me if Valverde, who played right back, comes into midfield with Chouameni, who returns, just a complete new central midfield. And then they'd have to risk it by putting Lucas Vazquez right back. But I think that surely Ancelotti will have seen, wow, this Arsenal midfield is powerful. We need legs in there. And Valverde and Chouameni would definitely provide a different
test for us tactically in that regard I think that getting that balance is probably going to be really interesting because if you move probably Madrid's hardest worker into midfield away from right back then you leave Gabriel Martinelli who I thought played ridiculously well in the first leg but obviously he wouldn't get the praise that others did because he wasn't on the score sheet but he's been getting to some nice rhythm I think so I think that
would almost play into Arsenal's hands a little bit more as well if you kind of leave that side a little bit open. And the game state does, Stoney, like 3-0 means Real Madrid have to come at us. And, you know, it's going to cause some nervy moments, of course it is, but...
it's also going to leave the gaps for those breaks. And we don't get the opportunity to counter that often. But when we do, as we saw at the weekend, we can be absolutely mustered from those fast breaks. So I do think the game state...
and maybe that Real Madrid sort of rejig could, yeah, they could both work in our favour, hopefully. But we can't allow, I mean, Real Madrid will to a certain extent set the tempo, won't they? Because, you know, they're at home, they'll have whatever it is, 80,000 in the Bernabeu behind them. But we can't set up to not letting a goal, can we? I mean, even if we've got very good defence and hopefully they'll do the job. But,
In the end, it's not going to be the same game. I'm sure that Carlo Ancelotti... I mean, I said on the pod the other day that I thought that Mikel Arteta, to a certain extent, outcoached Carlo Ancelotti. And I didn't get a lot of agreement, I have to be honest with you. To be fair, when you said it, I just... I wasn't looking or watching the game through that lens. So it wasn't that I didn't agree. It was more just, yeah, I kind of... I just...
My mind was elsewhere. I just, well, I suppose my point was that I didn't, I mean, as much as the players got a tremendous amount of praise and obviously Declan Rice for what he did, but I don't think Mikel Arteta got enough praise for the way we set up Adrian. You know, I thought,
I thought we were absolutely outstanding in every department and that includes the management. Yeah, it was a really sort of courageous performance, I think, tactically. You know, we did put Myles Lewis-Skelly into midfield. You know, he risked leaving Rodrigo free and it caused them more problems than it caused us. You know, it was a proactive approach. Physically, we were stronger than them. No, it was a really good tactical performance, definitely, because the balance was right, wasn't it, between...
you know, the desire to go and score goals, but also to not leave any holes. I think we sort of nailed it. And that's, I just think rinse and repeat is really what I'd like to see. I don't want us to go there and have, you know, 15% of possession and sit on the edge of our own box. I think we're better than that. I think that we can go there and keep the ball with confidence. We can go and attack them because let's face it, Real Madrid's,
Great strength is their attack and their great weakness is their defending. So we've got to try and score a goal here. And if we do score, they need four to take it to extra time. And look, the last time we conceded three was Luton Town. And that feels quite a while ago, doesn't it? So I was looking at some of the numbers. I mean, they score pretty much in every home game, as you might expect. I think 18 in a row. But in the last 12 games they've had at the Bernabeu, the opposition have also scored.
So we should absolutely have that balanced approach again, I think, and get at them when we can. Come see us, though! Come see us, though! Come see us!
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They get a hand-wreck off and you can see that they are more free to play. Clarky were getting a lot of love last week, calling for Declan Rice on free kicks. I mean, you haven't been the only one, but a lot of people going, oh, Clarky knows what he's talking about. Yeah. I mean, to the point where they were saying it so much, I thought to myself, are they saying that he doesn't know what he's talking about the rest of the time as well, right? Because...
Quite possibly. It was really good. It was Declan, not me, first of all. But yeah, I'm glad... Look, I was banging the drum because...
No one hits the ball cleaner than Declan. And I just think we had such a bad record from him. I was like, this guy is definitely worth a try. So yeah, he's made me look clever there, Declan. But really, it's all his work. And how many... Go on now. No, I was going to say, the thing is now, he might not score another free kick for a while. You know, they're not easy to score.
I expect two in the Burner Bell, to be honest with you. I mean, nothing less will keep me happy. By the way, how many times have we watched them? I mean, I might be up to 500 now. I mean, obviously the algorithms on the various social media sites I spend far too long scrolling on feed me more of this stuff. You know, somebody there somewhere has been working out going, he just basically wants to watch Declan Rice score on a free kick from as many different angles possible.
with as many different commentaries as possible. Watch-alongs and all the rest of it. I mean, any favourites you've seen? I saw quite a good animated version of it. Have you? It was like a minimalist animation, but I can't remember who did it. Is there a Lego one yet? There should be a Lego one at some point. There's usually a Lego one at some point. I mean, they're things of beauty, aren't they, Adrian? I mean, they're just things of beauty. Oh, look, yeah, I...
It was a privilege to see it, really. It was amazing. It was amazing. And I've loved the fallout. But the whole world was talking about it. Yes, the whole world. The whole world had been talking about Declan Rice, had been talking about Arsenal. Because he's gone and done it against the most famous club in the world. Those pictures, that goal has been played in all four corners of the globe over and over again. You know, Arsenal...
you know, people are talking about us, which is fantastic. I just love the phrase, all four corners of the globe. Yeah, they don't have corners. I don't know if you, you know, I don't, I'm not a flat earther, just so, just so you know. Yeah.
If we were going to name the podcast, I would name it that. Anyway, we've had an email from Kevin. We get emails from all four corners of the globe. This is from Kevin. Morning, says Kevin. One of the many best things about Tuesday was Declan Rice's beaming infectious smile. It is. It was infectious.
And they said, which made me wonder if in Rice and Saka, we have the two best smiles in the Premier League. And also, and the former Arsenal players, Ian Wright, another fantastic smile. And then he says on the free kicks, the second was better, but the first was more beautiful. And there was the one, there was one that showed Mbappe's face. Did you see that? Where he sort of like, just give a little nod of appreciation. He's like, okay. Gallic shrug. Decent, decent. We do have good smilers, but,
but you know it goes back to that point you want to see your players enjoying football being themselves you know not being sort of inhibited in any way and you
you know, I really do like to see it. And, you know, Ian Wright is a legend for his goal scoring, but also for his personality. Of course he is, yeah. Yeah, we love him. And I think that in Rice and Saka, we have two that are like that. I was thinking about past Arsenal players as well. Santi Cazorla is another one, isn't he? You know, he played with a smile on his face.
And it made him a freer spirit, didn't it? And I think that's why he'll remain a sort of cult hero at the club as well. So yeah, it's good. Smile more. I mean, I don't look at other players and whether they're smiling or not really, but it's good to see. No, no. Obviously them up the road, not a lot of smiles over there at the moment.
The gift that keeps on giving. Thank you, boys. We appreciate it. Come on, Frankfurt. Let's have a song to finish. Adrian, what have you got for us? I have got one from about eight or nine years ago. You'll know it. Calvin Harris with Rihanna. This is what you came for. Because when these guys signed for us,
Most of them, when they joined, we weren't in this position. We were a Europa League team. We were not in Europe knocking on the door of the Champions League. We weren't the sort of team that got to play at the Bernabeu with a three-goal lead. So this is what you came for. And yeah, just enjoy it.
Make the most of it and yeah, just play your game because these guys belong on that stage. They just got to believe it. They do. They absolutely do. Art? Adrian actually made me think of a song about five minutes ago when he said,
he's got the whole world in his hands about deck and rice so that might be the other thing i was thinking about was about deck and rice as well because i'm sure you guys know the arsenal guys call him the horse so a horse with no name also is in my head so i mean jay can choose whichever one he thinks no name who sings no name what neil young
Neil Young. I guess. I don't even know who sings this. It's just one of those songs I hear like all the time. Well, maybe not all the time, but you know when you just hear a song. Oh, yeah. I've been through the desert on a whore belt. Good to be out.
It's funny because I didn't even think about the horse thing, right? Yeah. And when I did reference it in commentary, the goal the other day, I did say that when Rice gallops down the centre of the pitch, he's impossible to stop. So there you go. Maybe that's why, you know, subconscious or not, I'm not sure. I think it was Zinchenko that came up with the nickname. So Zinchenko.
So, yeah. Well, I'm loving, I mean, just love watching him at the moment. He's playing so freely. It was very sad news this week that Clem Burke, the drummer of Blondie, died. One of the great rock drummers. So I thought I'd have Dreaming by Blondie because we are and let's keep doing that.
Have a good week, Gooners, and enjoy as much as you can Wednesday night. Champions League court final await around the dribble to three-goal lead. I'd have taken that before the first leg. Yeah, I would have. I wasn't going to go there, Art. I wasn't, and we're not. It's been lovely chatting to you guys. Thank you to Art de Roche. Thank you to Adrian Clarke. Thanks to Jay, our producer, and we'll see you on the other side. Ta-ra.
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