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International break round-up & Fulham preview

2025/3/27
logo of podcast Handbrake Off: The Athletic FC's Arsenal show

Handbrake Off: The Athletic FC's Arsenal show

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Adrian Clarke
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James McNicholas: 从情感上讲,我更倾向于我们的阵容,因为我无法割舍那些我喜爱的球员,例如萨卡、马丁内利、德克兰·赖斯和萨利巴。然而,从战术和足球角度来看,阿尔特塔带领热刺取得了显著的进步,这使我不得不考虑选择阿尔特塔执教的热刺阵容。 如果要选择一支在联赛中排名更高的球队,我可能会选择阿尔特塔执教的热刺阵容。 Adrian Clarke: 阿森纳的阵容明显优于热刺,我毫不犹豫地选择阿森纳阵容。热刺阵容中,我找不到任何一个让我想要加入阿森纳的球员。也许如果孙兴慜状态出色,他可以胜任阿森纳左路的位置。考虑到阿森纳目前缺乏前锋,索兰克或许可以考虑。但除此之外,我没有其他选择。 Ian Stone: 这个问题很有趣,它引发了关于情感与理性选择之间的权衡。James更倾向于阿森纳阵容,因为他更看重球员的个人情感联系。Adrian则更注重球队的整体实力,认为阿森纳阵容明显更强。这反映了不同视角下对球队价值的判断。

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The Athletic FC Podcast Network. The only way to score is, of course, to play with a handbrake off. Hello, I'm Ian Stone. This is Handbrake Off, the Arsenal podcast brought to you by The Athletic. The final men's international break of the season is over. Yes! And the players that went away are returning, hopefully without...

Too many injuries and we'll talk about one of them. We focus shifting back to the Premier League and our match against Fulham early next week. Joining me to reflect on the break from an Arsenal perspective and look ahead to Fulham are Adrian Clarke and James McNicholas. Morning or evening in fact where I am. I'm in Australia. Good day mate. Yeah, good day indeed.

Good day, mate. Yes, yes. I'm not doing that again. They do say it, though. I also, by the way, got my first no worries, mate, today as well. It was a really lovely moment, I must say.

We did answer some of your questions last week sent to us on Blue Sky. We couldn't get through them all, but this question was left over we thought would be a good opener. It's from The Wiggler on Blue Sky and The Wiggler said, Would you rather have the Spurs squad managed by Mikel Alteta or our squad managed by Ange Postacoglu? Or as Tottenham fans call him, Aussie Idealus. Yeah.

which I think is pretty funny isn't it really you'd have to develop a decent sense of humour watching them lot up the road wouldn't you James the Spurs squad managed by Mikel or our squad managed by Ange wow what a choice it is I think I'd actually dear me

Emotionally, I think I would choose our squad. I don't think I can quite bear to part with all those lovely players. You know, I can't let Bukayo go. I can't let Martin, Declan, Saliba, all these guys I love so much go. The manager though? The manager? The man who's taken us...

From eighth to fifth to second in three seasons? Of course, of course. I think that might be the tactical and football choice. That's why I say emotionally, the sheer weight of the people that I'd be losing among the players I think would hurt me too much. But if you were trying to pick a team to finish higher in the league...

I wonder if you might stick with McHale and give them Spurs' group. Adrian, what do you reckon? I think it's a no-brainer. I think it's absolutely our squad every single day of the week. It's on a different level to Tottenham's. I mean, who from Spurs do you want in our team? I don't want any of them, really. I mean, you could make an argument that Son might get in if he's on form on the left. Maybe Solanke at the moment because we've got no striker, but...

There's no one else. I don't want any of them. And actually, Ange Postacoglu is quite fun. And it might be fun to see what he did with our group just for a few weeks because there is an argument

I bumped into a few of the ex-players this week at a great event. We recorded a pod, which I think will be coming out next week. Yes. With Dixon and Smith and Davis and Andy Cole. Absolutely brilliant they were. Yes, so look out for that one. But they were talking about us playing freer and the need for us to play a little bit more freely. I think Ange would probably do that. So in a way, just on a short-term loan deal, I wouldn't mind seeing how this team performed play-by-play.

his tactics because I think we do it a lot better than Spence sorry Mikel I have to go with the boys here as well our squad and then if it doesn't work out we sack him and get Mikel in

I think I probably would, wouldn't it really? It's not like he wouldn't come back, is it? Yeah, it's win-win, isn't it really? So, Arsenal women won 3-0 against Real Madrid, went through 3-2 on Agria in front of 20,000 fans. Slightly lower number than I would have expected for a Champions League quarterfinal, but an amazing performance. I watched the highlights of this. Alessia Russo got two, Mariano Caldente got the other.

Unless it was a bit unlucky with a hat-trick goal as well. Ruled out twice for offside. Adrian, we dominated them. I mean, I think we were a bit unlucky after the first leg to be 2-0 down. But it was mainly the pitch that...

to be honest, but we battered Real Madrid. I mean, they're not in the Barcelona level, are they, the women, but still a decent side and we made them look ordinary, I thought. I think they beat Barca recently. So, you know, they probably aren't, but they're capable of beating Barcelona. So they're not terrible at all. No. Mate, this was an absolutely...

out of this world performance in my opinion it was as good as I've seen a women's team play certainly as good as I've seen Arsenal women start to finish yeah I think yeah that's what I loved about it it was relentless attacking from minute one to minute 90 even when we had the lead we're still on the front foot going for more goals it's got to be the blueprint for that team to try and replicate that

week in week out because if they play to that level I think they're better than Chelsea I genuinely do it was phenomenal obviously Chloe Kelly her crossing was amazing Alessia Russo was ridiculously good and yeah I have to say the caveat is and you'll like this the caveat is that it

It was a rare sort of evening where I didn't really have much going on. So I thought I'd better spend it with Mrs. Clark, with my wife Kate. And so I was watching it on my phone. So while we had on...

Married at first sight, Australia, Stoney. So make sure you say hello to the guys for me while you're over there. Big fan of both. You know, entertaining show. And the match was stunning. If the men can use that. If I'm Mikel, I'm showing the fellas that. I'm saying that is how you get stuck in.

to a top team at Emirates Stadium it was brilliant yeah you know I'd never heard of Married at First Sight Australia before last week and this is the second time I've heard about it now I'm quite tempted to watch it they actually marry them right do these marriages work out by the way very rarely yeah

Fair enough. I don't believe that they're legally binding, the marriages. But they can turn it official at the end of it. They're not legally... I don't think that's really a marriage then, is it? They're just essentially going out. But anyway, back to the Arsenal beating Real Madrid. James, I think the most impressive thing was that they went for them in the first half.

And they weren't, you know, it didn't quite work out. They had a few chances, but it didn't go in. But they didn't seem in any way discouraged. And the way they came out for the second half, they just upped the tempo. And when you see the highlights, it's all basically in the Real Madrid penalty area. Yeah, and it finished 3-0, but could well have been double that, frankly. I mean, how Alessio Rousseau came out of this game without a hat-trick.

It's kind of incredible, isn't it? She was that good and she had two goals disallowed by the narrowest of margins. A couple of other chances as well. Yeah, like really, really harsh. And it would have been great for her to get that third. But...

I think it all comes down to the timing of the first goal as well. Like you said, the first half, there was a lot of pressure, a lot of good deliveries into the box, but Arsenal not necessarily capitalising or maybe committing as many women forward as they might have done in those key moments. But when they came out after the break, there was none of that sort of discouragement that you suggested that there could be. They were straight on it and they scored within minutes.

I think it was within 60, 90 seconds of the half restarting. And that was critical because suddenly you felt, well, it's back on. Going on, isn't it? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And there might have been slightly less numbers in

as you mentioned, but I think with it being a night game, the atmosphere was every bit as good as you would expect. And together, team and fans got over the line. So really fantastic night in what's an amazing month for this club. I mean, to have these two-legged affairs against Real Madrid in the two Champions League competitions, this is absolutely what it's all about. And,

It's a real privilege and a pleasure to watch our club in these big prestige games. Quite, it's where we want to be. Have they done the draw yet for the semi-final? They haven't, have they? Lyon. Is it Lyon? Yeah, tickets on sale actually. They don't even have a date for the game and you can still get early bird tickets already.

You know, OK, I guess I'll just keep it to you. It's one of two dates. It's one of two, to be fair. Right, OK. OK, fair enough. At some point, we will be playing Lyon over two legs in the semi-final of the Champions League. Hear that? Spring is here and the Home Depot has great prices on grills to make this season yours.

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Where does she come from? What does she want? When will she leave? Today's the day. The Woman in the Yard. Only in theaters March 28th. Now, let's talk about the international break. We talked quite a bit about Miles Lewis Skelly. I mean...

What a debut, scoring. I mean, England do have an issue on the left side. You know, there is a shortage and obviously I don't think Thomas Tuchel would necessarily have promoted an 18-year-old into the squad and into the team. But at the same time, Adrian, he's such a good player, Myles Lewis Skelly, and he's, you know, I remember when people talked about

Pekai Osaka and how every time they challenged him when he was coming through the academy, he just stepped up. So they put him in a two years ahead age range and he just looked comfortable. They were training him harder. He was comfortable. You get the sense that Myles Lewis Skelly has the same sort of genetic thing going on. Definitely. Yeah. No, but funnily enough, speaking to Paul Davis on Tuesday night, he worked with Myles for the England under-17s when he was 15.

Yeah. He was the best player. He said he didn't know much about Miles ahead of that and he was blown away by how good he was. So, you know, for Devo to say that, I think is, you know, that carries weight for me. Two excellent performances. The debut was brilliant. Great goal with a run in behind from Bellingham's pass. But I love the way he was...

confident to come into midfield give it to me i'm going to make things happen loads and loads of those little forward passes between the lines you know he's a courageous boy he really isn't afraid to to do anything really which is what you want to see isn't it on a football pitch so no i think that thomas tuchel will love him just as much as michael arteta does

The true test is against the elite nations, isn't it? And the sad truth is England don't play anyone decent, really, until maybe the summer. I don't even know who we've got in the summer. I don't think we've got very many hard fixtures lined up. So it's going to be a nice, gentle introduction to international football. But, you know, it's those huge games against the very best that will test someone that's not played left-back all their lives. But...

He's passed every test so far, hasn't he? So good luck to him. That's the other thing, James. He's not a left-back. I mean, he's 18 years old. Thomas Tuchel said he was amazing in camp, full of confidence, full of humour. You see everything on the pitch, off the pitch. He does it with a natural confidence. How he plays football, full of courage and quality. He was decisive and opened this game for us. 18 years old.

first season really in a first team with Arsenal now playing for England playing with that level of confidence I've got boys who are now men and when they were 18 there was a real difference between when they were 18 and when they were 21-22 and you can see it Myles Lewis Skelly he seems to just be there and ready now yeah I think that's something that

The academy deserves massive credit for, his family deserve massive credit for, and it's something he takes a lot of personal responsibility for himself. You know, that kind of self-improvement, mindset, mentality, that's genuinely a part of being an athlete he's really fascinated in and reads about and does everything he can to get himself in the right place. And I think in terms of his place with England and what Tuchel thinks of him, yeah,

you know, you just said he's not a left back. Well, I think that kind of hits the nail on the head. I think the flexibility he gives a coach like Tuchel in game to be able to change the shape, the build up,

is perfect for Tuchel. You know, this is a guy who's played with a back three, he's played with a back four, who likes to react to what's happening actually during the match. And Lewis Skelly's versatility enables him to do that. So I think he's going to be a big part of the squad. There are other left backs. I think Lewis Hall's had a really, really good season for Newcastle. And when he gets fit again, I'm sure he'll be in contention. But yeah, I expect Lewis Skelly to be part of things. And we're a year out from the World Cup. It's quite exciting to think about

what that Arsenal contingent might look like in 2026. Yeah, and they're that good. They could all be in the team, couldn't they, really? Ethan Waineri scored. Of course he did on his England Under-21s debut on Monday against Portugal. Another one of those left-footed finishes that he's got, Adrian. I mean, again...

We're just repeating ourselves to a certain extent. And we're sorry, listeners, if that's the case. But we just, I don't have enough praise. Isamu Neri is only just 18 as well. And what a player. I mean, he's going to step up pretty soon, isn't he? Yeah, I mean, I thought as soon as, you know, he merged earlier on in the season as a real first team difference maker. I said it on a different podcast, I think Saturdays.

said it on the Totally Show, you know, part of the Athletic Network, I said, this kid will be in the World Cup squad. There's no doubt about it. And a few of the guys on the panel probably looked at me funny because they're like, who is he? Like, we don't even know him. But I don't think you'll find many people

Who wouldn't expect him to make that squad and even be challenging to make the starting 11 come 2026. So, yeah, he's sensational. And he won't have many games in the 21s. I'm pretty sure of that. I think he was unlucky not to get a call up here.

you know bowen played on the right didn't he and yeah yeah bowen's a very good player you know ahead of him i guess in the pecking order but he could easily have played that role no cole palmer he could have potentially come in for him but yeah his time will come by the way guys i just thought i'd chip in you know you know i've mentioned uh those tickets going on sale for the leon game i've just seen they sold 5 000 within the first hour even though the fixture details aren't

confirmed yet so pretty impressive going Barry I think there's going to be a bigger crowd in the quarter final isn't it get on it Gunas Arsenal in the Champions League semi-final and hopefully in two Champions League semi-finals in a couple of weeks Declan Rice played very well in both games as well and he is something isn't it James

I mean, let's say Ethan Waneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly actually do end up in the squad and possibly in the team. We could have four starters in there. Declan, by the way, I mean, I think Declan is really coming to form the last six, eight weeks. He and Mo Salah have created the joint most big chances in the Premier League in 2025. This is the Declan Rice that we saw last season, isn't it? Yeah, I think since the turn of the year, he's...

he's found a different gear in his performances. I don't know if there was something maybe going on with him physically after, you know, playing so much football over the past couple of years, but I just felt that he lacked that edge in the first few months of the season. And he now looks like a guy who's,

flowing, really enjoying his football. A couple of assists as well for England, for Harry Kane. The second one I thought was just like a really great driving run into the penalty area where you saw that spark of physicality where when he goes, you can't really live with him. So I thought that was super encouraging. And yeah, as I mentioned, the England contingents getting stronger. You've got Myles, Ethan, hopefully not too far behind. Bakayo Saka was at the game with England the other night, chatting to Tuchel in the tunnel afterwards.

And we shouldn't forget about Ben White, who Tuchel also mentioned and said, you know, he's happy to come back in and be considered for selection when he's fit enough and when he's getting regular football for Arsenal. That's the first thing he needs to do. So,

Yeah, we're shaping up quite nicely. If you're an Arsenal and England fan, the future looks bright. Quite. And also, by the way, Max Downman scored a goal for the England under-17s. And he's, what, 15 at the moment as well against Northern Ireland, Haylend.

I mean, hey, listen, we can only thank you. You saved us about 200 million quid if all these guys come through. Martin Erdegaard, a hat-trick of assist. There's a video going around I saw on social media of Martin Erdegaard's football for Norway. Just beautiful. I mean, I don't particularly want to see Erling Haaland happy, I'll be honest with you. I don't. But Martin Erdegaard looked outstanding and he did look himself, certainly from this video, Adrian...

We need him. We need him to be at his best, don't we, in the next eight, ten weeks, whatever it is. Big time, yeah. Yeah, look, when Odegaard plays well, the team play well, you know, we can all see that. He is the tone setter. When he's on it, you know, we're a better pressing team. We're a more imaginative team. We're a less predictable team. So, yeah, hopefully he's feeling good. Look, his baby's growing. Yeah.

Hopefully sleeping a little bit better, which might be having an impact. But more than that, I just think he's getting his feel back. We all have these little mini crises where you're just not really quite at it and you don't know why. Hopefully, yeah, he's back in the groove. And look, if he's happy...

In terms of like the international scene, you know, Norway haven't been at a major tournament for I don't know how long. If he's got that sort of fire burning in his belly, I think that can only be a positive for us as well. You know, happy Martin is good for the team. Quite. Mikko Marino scored again. Loves scoring, doesn't he? James, I'm assuming he scored from midfield in this particular game.

But he can finish, can't he? He's pretty calm. And it's sort of funny about how players, how their careers, the trajectory, you know, he wasn't getting in the Arsenal team. If everyone's fit, he probably wasn't in the first team. And now he's very much in the conversation. And if he can chip in with goals, he obviously is happy to be in front of goal with a chance.

It's an asset, isn't it? It's an asset in this particular case. Yeah, he was playing a different role with Spain, but I think it's probably good for his confidence that he's scored again. He scored the first penalty in their shootout as well in their second game of the international break.

So that form in front of goal continues. I do think Miklata seems to have decided this is how he's going to approach things without Kai Havertz. I think he's going to stick with Mourinho, even if he gets Bakaya Saka back. I think that, you know, I originally thought that maybe when Saka and Martinelli are back, he might revert to using Trossard through the middle. He's played with that front three before with some success, but

But I think the physicality, the presence, the structure that Mourinho brings to the team is something Arteta really values. And my sense is that that's what he's going to stick with between now and the end of the season. So for Mourinho, who was playing in La Liga a year ago, that Real Madrid tie...

It's going to be absolutely massive for him. Good God, yes, it is. It's going to be massive for all of us, to be fair, though, isn't it, really? True, true. Even for me at seven o'clock in the morning when I'll be watching it. Ricky Calafiore got a bit of an injury, a little slip while changing direction. There was a lot of, oh my gods, on social media, but two to three weeks. Adrian, I mean, he has been a bit unlucky, hasn't he?

Ricky, but hopefully nothing too serious. No, yeah, exactly. Yeah, this one passed me by. I must admit, I didn't see the incident or haven't seen it yet. So yeah, I'm disappointed because I am a fan of his. I really am. But look, Marzo Skelly is doing brilliantly. So it's not an issue. As long as he stays fit, that left back is covered.

but I do want the option of Calafuri whenever he's available because I think he adds this gallivanting, buccaneering style that sometimes the team needs. And as we've seen, he's got an eye for goal as well. So, yeah, the sooner he's back, the better. I think next year, Calafuri is going to be maybe an even bigger player for us. Who knows whether Lewis Skelly will slip into midfield again

more often and it might open up more chances for Calafuri to shine but yeah hopefully he comes back soon quite and the centre half well Saliba played the full 180 minutes against Croatia in the Nations League and Gabriel came back early because he got a yellow card I like the sound of that anyway after the break what we're going to do is we're going to talk about Fulham back to the Premier League next week this is Hand Break Off the Arsenal podcast brought to you by The Athletic

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Ian Stone, Adrian Clarke and James McNicholas on the Athletics Arsenal podcast Handbrake Off. Did hear about the news about Trent going to Real Madrid. That will hurt Liverpool, won't it? I mean, I don't particularly want to talk about them for any length of time, but

Adrian they have been good and he is an excellent player and I think losing him they missed that is passing that they're going to miss out on isn't it really yeah definitely yeah I mean he's worth a few goals every season isn't he for Liverpool in terms of assists and even scoring them himself so no no yeah good luck to him really

Real Madrid has a very special pull, doesn't it? So I don't blame him for going. It's what would knock-on effect be. Obviously, they'll probably have to spend money on a right-back. And...

between now and the end of the season how's it going to impact the morale there and obviously the decisions that Van Dijk and Salah have to make I understand that both are playing hardball seriously and it's going to be fascinating but yeah it's lucky for Liverpool really they've got such a healthy league because if we were that bit closer with all this nonsense going on and their form which I think isn't great I

I really do think we could have reeled them in, but yeah, I think the gap's too big now. I would say so. But also, James, it does show how imperative it is that we get, you know, Saka and Saliba, I guess, tied down to new contracts because you can't let it go into the final year. Otherwise...

I mean, it's not, listen, it hasn't affected Liverpool that much because they're winning the league at a canter, really. But, you know, we don't want to be in that situation, do we? No, we don't. I mean, it's an awful lot of talent in a precarious position. And look, I think Van Dijk will stay. I think Mohamed Salah will probably stay too. But Trent's a huge loss for Liverpool. He's been such an integral part of everything they've done over recent years.

there's reasons those players got towards the end of their contracts. They had a lot of uncertainty in key positions, sort of chief executive, sporting director, even the manager, right? With Klopp announcing he was going. And the manager, yes. Yeah, I think a lot of these players wanted to stick around and see how that played out. Obviously, that's left Liverpool in a very tricky position, but I think it's,

For us, it's good news, right? Because I think we've already got one eye in Premier League terms on next season. And I think it's shaping up really positively for us. I do still think that as difficult as this year has been, I just have that feeling

that real belief that I don't think we can be quite as unfortunate as we have been with injuries next year. Touch wood. Okay. Hang on. Can I just record this down? Yeah. Yeah. Time and place. Time is basically, well, it's 11 o'clock where I am, but it's midday where you are. And it's Thursday, March the 27th. When James said that. Yes. Great. Yeah. Send all your hate mail to me, but I do mean it. Like when I look at the next season, um,

And I look at the squads. Obviously, we've got a transfer window to go and you never know what could happen. There's no one who I'd want to swap with right now. I really think Arsenal are set up really well. And I think we'll start next season as favourites. Not saying we'll win, but I think we'll be justifiably favourites. Quite. Fulham next Tuesday, 7.45pm.

kick-off. We drew 1-1 in the reverse fixture, almost won it, didn't we, with a late goal. Was it Bukayo Saka that was ruled out for a marginal offside? I mean, what do you think? Again, not that many options, but Marino up front with Trossard and Martinelli either side and then bring on Ethan later on? Yeah, who knows? I mean, yeah, Ethan might be worth a start. Look,

we've got options finally, you know, going forward. So that's good. What about Ben White then, do you think? Because he doesn't seem quite up to speed. Yeah, well, look, the issue is that Fulham's strength is down their left. Anthony Robinson is having a fantastic season. He's their most dangerous player. He's improved, hasn't he? Sorry, Adrian, to jump in, but I remember Arsenal beating Fulham a few years ago and Saka had him on toast. Mm-hmm.

And he's a better player going forward and defending now, isn't he? I think he's among the best left-backs in the league. I think he's been linked quite heavily with Liverpool. So that could be a move that he makes. You know, he's a top player. And yeah, it might be a tough one. I would think if Timber is fit and healthy, because I know he's been ill in the international break, then if he's fit enough to play, I'd play him, if I'm honest.

But Ben White will get his opportunities, I'm sure, between now and the end of the season. Yeah, Fulham have whipped in way more crosses in open play than any other team in the division. And they've got, obviously, a target man in there, whether it's Jimenez or Muniz.

So, yeah, down the flanks, we're going to have to be solid. We're going to have to play well in this game. Well, if you talk about solidity, Timber would certainly be the choice, wouldn't he, really? James, we struggle against Fulham, don't we? One win in the last four. They're one of those teams who have, what's it, people have talked about like a mid-block team. It's them and a couple of others, Villa, where we struggle to get results. And one win, two draws and a loss.

This is a really tricky fixture for us. It has been. And I think last season, you know, I think people would have looked at the two Fulham games and really thought that that might have been the difference for us. So we certainly owe them one. It'll be interesting to see the two former Arsenal boys as well. Alex Iwobi's been playing terrifically this season. He's been really excellent. I think he's become...

the player you kind of always hoped he could be in some respects, you know, I think industrious, creative and product added to Emile Smith Rowe, who started on fire really at Fulham, looked great straight away. He seems to have faded away a little bit. And it's interesting. I think if you chat to Fulham fans, they,

you know at the moment his form isn't really where they would want it to be so yeah interesting times for those two Oniwobi yeah I completely agree only three players have created more chances in open play than Alex Iwobi this season which is nuts really Kulisevskiy

Cole Palmer and Mo Salah you know there's some output from Alex Iwobi yeah Smith throws a class isn't he but yeah he's maybe not at his very best at the moment the one other thing is that Fulham have always been an attacking team okay a team that want to pass short and neat and tidy and get on the front foot and hurt you

cast your mind back to the game at Craven Cottage they sacrificed their usual style of play to basically be mega defensive they let us have Aldebar I think

You know, 65, 70%. And they blatantly played on the counter. Those long balls from back to front caused us a few problems. So I'm fully expecting them to rinse and repeat in this game. And they've even gone to a back three in some of their games lately. So don't be surprised if they rock up with a back five, which is very unusual for Silva. But that's begun to be part of their armoury. So, yeah, this could be, unfortunately...

It could be another one of those attack v defence type games where we have to watch ourselves, you know, not getting caught on the break. Well, I remember that game now and first 15 minutes, we had the ball pretty much the whole time and it was in their half and then they played one long ball forward and they were 1-0 up. It was one of the most frustrating things. Was it Jimenez, wasn't it? So, yeah, OK, tough game in prospect, but, you know, we are the second best team in the country statistically. We should beat them.

So hopefully that'll be the case. Let's have a song before we go. Adrian, what have you got for us? I wanted to big up the women's team. You know, as I said earlier, I thought it was a phenomenal performance. As good as it gets, really. And...

Two players in particular were unreal, and that's Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo. So I'm going to go with Girl on Fire. This Girl is on Fire by Alicia Keys because the pair of them were absolutely on flames, as they say. This girl is on fire

James, what have you got? Yeah, I was thinking along the lines of it was a great comeback win, obviously. So I was thinking in the lines of sort of coming back to life and resurrection. Because I'm looking forward as well, something we didn't touch on is like, when are we going to see Bakayasaka? I don't think that's far away at all now. So I went for Bring Me To Life, Evanescence. Wake me up inside.

because life came back into the women's team's Champions League campaign and I'm looking forward to seeing Bukayo Saka back on the pitch soon we all are and he's been about isn't he like you say you saw him talking to Thomas Tuchel he was on the bench for another game he's around and about now and soon soon and the sooner the better um

We were just discussing before we started recording how, you know, being in Oz and I said, I want some Australian, you know, some music from Australian artists. There isn't a huge amount. And the last time I picked a Kylie Minogue tune, I got just loads of abuse on Blue Sky. But then we were talking about Natalie Imbruglia and I was thinking, well, here's the thing about her. I'm loving, I love traveling about and doing this job, but

I didn't really want to leave Arsenal, to be honest with you. And people sort of laugh at me when I say it over here, how great it is in Melbourne. But basically, I feel torn by the whole thing. Nothing's fine, I'm torn. I'm all out of faith.

See what you've done there. So I thought, yeah, I'll have Torn by Natalie and Bruno. Thank you very much. It was a bit on the nose, wasn't it, really? But I'm sort of pleased with it. Anyway, that's it. It could be for all the hamstrings, Ian, as well. It's the other way it could work.

Thank you. Thank you very much. That's exactly what I meant. That's it for this edition of Handbrake Off. Thank you to Adrian. Thank you to James. Thank you to Robbie, our producer. And we will be back at some point next week. Have a good weekend. Ta-ra. Ta-ra.