Lewis-Skelly's new contract, transfer news & MABA (Make Arsenal Bald Again)
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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. We'll be chatting about all the things Arsenal from the past week. To do that, I'm joined by Art de Rocher and James McNicholas. Good morning. Morning, guys. Morning. Nice to see you.

Well, there's lots to talk about. I mean, it was nice to see all the photos and videos from Myles Lewis Skelly's signing of his first long-term contract for the Arsenal. Just, you know, proud for all of us and his family, all the Arsenal fans. You might have seen Ian Wright

posing with Myles Lewis-Skelly as he signed, and Myles calling him uncle. He does have an avuncular feel about him now, doesn't he? I wanted to know, if you were to sign your first professional contract with the Arsenal, which Arsenal player, past or present, would you want to pose next to you as you signed? Art? I mean, there's only one answer, really. Yeah, you can't choose him, though.

No, unless it's another answer. Okay, then maybe there's two. Yeah. Thierry Henry, I think. It's obvious. I don't think anyone else comes close, really. I mean, that's fair enough. But I've got to say, I'm having Dennis Bergkamp, really. And I think he does come close.

Okay, fair, fair, yeah. Maybe I was a bit harsh there. Yeah, no, no, I get it. Thierry's great. I'm having Dennis just because, you know, I'd look behind me and I'd think, oh, yeah, he's the one who sets the standards, right? Okay. If he's, like, smiling benignly, I'm like, you know what? I've got a chance of doing it here. As opposed to, I have to play with this idiot, you know, look on his face. That wouldn't be so good. So I'm having Dennis. Who are you having, James? Yeah, it's tricky for me, the...

unveiling photograph because you're stood currently Arsenal between Mikel Arteta and Andrea Berta you've got a very handsome man very beautifully sort of coiffured and a fashionista in Andrea in the finest Italian wear so I was thinking that wouldn't be too flattering

for me you fit right in James don't do yourself down honestly I thought what about Steve Bold two big beautiful men side by side I think we need to do more to promote bold positivity you know what I mean and I think between me and Boldy we could do that are there any players in the squad that are bold

No, and it's a big representation issue for us. Yeah. Need more diversity. Yeah, diversity. There's going to be some campaigns, leafleting next season. Just you wait. I'll be there on the roundabout outside the Emirates with a big banner. Do you know what? I'd pay you money now to see that. Make Arsenal bald again. Make Arsenal bald again. Yeah, yeah. Fair enough. Fair enough. I like that you've gone with the look rather than the talent. Listen, these photos last forever, mate. You've got to think about that.

That is true. I mean, if I wanted another Jewish footballer to stand behind me, I'd have to go back to about 1975 or so. I'm not sure there's that many knocking about. But yeah, OK, good choices, I think. Steve Bould, Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry.

Miles, he's signed the contract, right? He's going to be one of the highest paid teenagers in the world, Miles. Joined the club at eight. He's 18 now. James, you wrote about Miles' new contract for the Athletic alongside David Ornstein. What can you tell us about the process? I mean, these things are complicated though, aren't they? Even for a player who's been at the club all that time.

Yeah, they are. And delicate too, because of Miles' age, he was only allowed to sign a contract of a certain length, his previous deal. So actually, he was 12 months from the expiry of that contract. So you've got this bizarre situation where Arsenal have got a player who's only just broken into the first team, demonstrating his talent, suddenly a huge new star, but he's sort of perilously close to the first team.

to the end of his deal. Fortunately, that's been resolved. Arsenal have got the contract done. Was there ever a possibility? I mean, I know there was talk around Madrid and all the rest of it. Was that ever even a minor possibility? I think they had polite inquiries, as you would expect. I think any club doing their due diligence would have looked at Miles' situation and thought, let's ask the question. But I think when the question was asked,

The answer was, we're in talks with Arsenal and the priority is to stay here. And who can argue with that? I mean, he's in a perfect position. He's playing first team football, 18 years old. He's made the breakthrough to the England team. And I suppose from that perspective, it was never going to be a particularly difficult deal to do because Myles is in such a great position and has got such a strong connection with the club.

But it was interesting the way they went about it. Very unusual, very unique approach to the renegotiation process. I mean, Team Lewis Skelly went in and presented themselves. Both of his parents spoke in front of Mikel Arteta, Per Mertzacker. Myles himself spoke about

his mentality, his inspirations, his vision for the future, what the number 49 shirt means to him. He laid out how he sees things developing over the next few years. That's almost unheard of for any player to do that, let alone an 18-year-old, to go in and talk to the major decision makers of the club and present with slides about where he sees himself going. I think Arsenal were in

impressed but also a bit taken aback and obviously that presentation ends in an ask and a value for miles and clearly arsenal have got close enough to it to satisfy everybody and uh yeah it's a really feel-good piece of news i think it was just gave everybody a boost and a lift and credit to the club i think the way that they documented the renewal and the signing was really touching as well

Oh, this whole thing, this, the quote that when he said, I want a legacy, I want to win everything there is to win in the game. I want to win trophies on the bigger stages whilst being a person that's always learning and stays grounded, which is so important. I mean,

I know when Mikel Arteta came in and he gave this whole presentation, he obviously understood what he wanted. He wanted a legacy. This is what it's about. To hear that from a player, though, Art, I mean, James is saying they were quite taken aback, but Myles is someone very, very special and it must give a boost across the whole club hearing something like that. Yeah.

Yeah, I think what makes it even more impressive is he's still only 18 years old. And to imagine ourselves at 18, I definitely don't think I would be able to...

kind of carry a presentation with Mikel Teta sat across the room. Maybe not even now, but I think when you hear the words that Miles uses and also the way he uses them, you can see that he's someone who's mature beyond his years. Got an aura, hasn't he? He's got an aura. Yeah, yeah, definitely. And

What really pleased me was the fact that he is keeping that 49 shirt because I think when he first maybe one of his first appearances one of my song choices was the 49 chant and I'm just so happy that he's kind of understood what that means and is keeping it and making it his own basically so yeah long may his success continue and I'm really excited to see kind of how he progresses

I mean, I have said on this podcast that he could break the appearance record. I mean, he's 18 and he could play for the next 20 years with sports science and the way nutrition. I mean, he really could. And yeah, fingers crossed. But yeah, very, very pleasing news.

Still a few to be sorted. Waineri, Saliba, Saka. I mean, they're not as urgent, but it's still something. We got any updates either of you guys? Any updates on any of that? Shaking of heads. Afraid not. Afraid not. You know, they'll come. Saliba and Saka, I think, are the two, aren't they, that everyone's looking at? And who knows? You know, knowing their agents, they weren't in a hurry to do those renewals last time. They might want to wait and see how...

the start of the season pans out. So I don't expect any news imminently on those ones. No. So Arsenal fans have had to learn the value of patience this summer, haven't they, really? And this is not a bad thing, just to say. One swallow does not make a summer, as they say. Ethan Wanaire won the Euros, the under-21 Euros with England. Art, you were out there early on. Why is he not in the team?

because he's a brilliant footballer and we know how good he is but why is he not in the team yeah i think it's an easy question to ask not as easy as one to answer yeah well sorry about that's the way it's gone yeah yeah but to be fair um he is the youngest player in that squad by about two years and when he did come on in the group stages he did actually look

quite good, but his starts weren't as, say, impressive. And that's not because of his talent, but it's just because of the makeup of the team at that point. Lee Carsley was experimenting in the group stages with this kind of four triple two shape. So two older midfielders, two attacking midfielders, and then two forwards who weren't actually

natural strikers so they kind of limped through the group stages and then he changed they lost to Germany didn't they in the group stage yeah and that was a Germany team that had made 11 changes so that kind of tells you where everything was at but in the knockout stages Lee Carsley kind of went to a more

conventional shape which had Jay Stansfield starting up front and uh moved Harvey Elliott to one of the kind of attacking positions off the right so it just meant that Ethan's kind of game time was coming off the bench sometimes actually was coming off the bench to go up front which was interesting but yeah I mean he's part of that squad he's like worthy of a medal and I still thought there were moments where for instance he was playing off the left and it looks quite good um

because of the way he kind of used his body to find space. And it was quite an interesting just, yeah, watch ahead of next season. So, yeah, even though he wasn't a regular star, I wouldn't kind of say it was the end of the world for him. Okay, fair enough. And as for the winning feeling, James, these things have got to help, haven't they? Having players in the squad who've won trophies and they know what it takes. You know, Germany...

you know, they came back from 2-0 down in the final. They get back to 2-2 and then they've got to dig in and that's got to help. I think so, yeah. It's all good experience, isn't it? And yeah, I think it will have been a really good experience for Ethan this summer. Let's hope he can bring some of that

winning habit back to Arsenal next season. Quite, quite. But last week we did an episode where we played a World Cup knockout style game to decide who was Arsenal's most underrated player. James, Amy Lawrence, Adrian Clarke and me. Conspicuous absence there was Art de Rocher. It was his birthday. Happy birthday, by the way, Art. Cheers. 27, yes?

20, apparently.

I mean, or is it just too early, like too early an era for you? I actually don't know who won. I've seen James and Amy since the recording, but I just wanted to know how my picks did. So I didn't actually ask them who won the whole thing. Okay. All right. Well, first of all, Alan Smith won.

Right? Alan Smith won. Yeah, that's fine. I think that's fine. Okay, you're approved of that. But who were your choices again? Remind us who your choices were again. Mine were a bit rogue. Adebayor was in there.

uh yeah vermont was in there i think oxlade chamberlain was in there as well and i think from memory james said only adbio made it past the first round yeah thomas vermont didn't get a lot of yeah i think he was slung out before the first round i think he might have been to be honest with you but no one got anywhere near the uh that's the business end the squeaky bum end of the season um

Anyway, it's good to have you back. Sorry, I was coughing there. I was saying it like it was ironically. It was good to have you back. Come see the Arsenal! Come see the Arsenal! You love it!

As you've probably heard by now, we've teamed up with BetMGM this season. We'll be using BetMGM lines to make all of our picks, and we'll have special offers for our listeners each week. If you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code THEATHLETIC, and you'll get a one-year subscription to The Athletic, plus up to a $1,500 first bet offer on your first wager with BetMGM. Here's how it works.

Download the BetMGM app and sign up using bonus code THEATHLETIC. Make your first deposit of at least $10, place your first bet on any game, and claim your voucher for a one-year subscription to The Athletic. See?

See BetMGM.com for terms. U.S. promotional offers not available in D.C., Mississippi, New York, Nevada, Ontario, or Puerto Rico. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Available in the U.S. Call 877-8-HOPE-NY or text HOPE-NY 467-369 in New York. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP in Arizona, 1-800-327-5050 in Massachusetts, 1-800-BETS-OFF in Iowa, 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help in Michigan, 1-800-981-0023 in Puerto Rico. First bet offer for new customers only in partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino,

and hotel. Don't forget, if you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code THEATHLETIC and you'll get a one-year subscription to The Athletic, plus up to a $1,500 first bet offer on your first wager.

Right, that's what I said. Right.

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Let's talk about transfer news then, because in the end, all the other stuff we talk about is really a precursor to... Who have we bought? Have we bought anyone yet? Have we bought anyone yet? Christian Norgard.

Let's start with that. I'm hearing that we're finalising an agreement. David Ornstein reported that Arsenal were finalising an agreement for Brentford's Christian Norgard, around £9.3 million. Basically, James, a direct replacement for Thomas Partey, or at least in that position. Would that be right? Yeah, I think so. Or a replacement for Jorginho, however you want to frame it.

Arsenal lost a lot of experience in that part of the pitch with Partey and Jorginho both being out of contract this summer. Jorginho obviously went off to Flamengo and Partey, they couldn't find an agreement. Zubamendi's coming in, but they needed to supplement that. And Norgard was a ready-made, experienced Premier League option. We know Mikel Arteta loves a Premier League player. We're probably going to talk about more Premier League players later in the show. So yeah, a certain degree of logic there. A little bit unusual to sign a guy

who's over 30. But then again, I think that makes it a bit reminiscent of the Jorginho deal. This is a guy, Captain Brentford was a leader in the dressing room there.

very steady player as far as I can tell good defensively don't think he's going to get any of the fans off their seats necessarily but a reliable squad option yeah essentially yes and I think people would have been happier would they not if other people had come in first do you know but but almost for the first signing or you know one of the early signings it's a bit I'm underwhelmed yeah the order definitely I guess dictates the reaction of

of how things go. But I think to be fair, the way I look at it is if Arsenal have the injury issues that they had last year, I'd rather have Norgaard than not have him. Um, especially when you get into those winter months. So I'm fine with it. I guess now Kappa has been done officially. If I can start to get some of those, um,

There's more squad option players confirmed and then you look to get the big ones in. Yeah. And, oh, do you think that Zubimendi, assuming that he is coming and he's been circling the Emirates for about a month and a half, hasn't he? He's two minutes away. It's like one of those camp companies. Oh yeah, he's two minutes away. You know, and has been for about a month and a half. But do you think Zubimendi and Norgard are an upgrade on Partey and Jorginho? I mean, I'm not totally sure. I'll be honest with you. What's your feelings, Art? Yeah, I'm not,

I don't think it's a yes or no at the minute, just because I need to actually watch them play first. So yeah, I think Zubimendi should be an upgrade just for what it allows you to do in midfield. But then Norgard, I think a lot of what, say, James was talking about is intangible stuff. You can't really put your finger on it and say, OK, yeah, I can see the...

Maybe you can see the leadership, but it's more of a skill that I guess the players will appreciate than fans would. So, yeah. That's all right. That's all right for me, to be honest. One of those guys where the players go, we like having him around. And if he's a good character as well. You know, we wish him all the best. Look forward to seeing him in an Arsenal shirt. Kepa Arrizabalaga signed, was confirmed on Tuesday, signed for five million quid, triggered a release clause in his contract. James Sampson,

What do you think about a guy who signs for a club knowing he's going to be backup, especially backup keeper? And now he will get games. You know, hopefully we'll go quite deep in the FA Cup and the League Cup, maybe even in one or two group stage Champions League games. Who knows what happens going forward? But yeah,

you know, he knows that he's going to be on the bench for most of the big games. What do you think about a player doing something like that? It's a good question that because goalkeeper is different from other positions, isn't it? If you're a striker, but you know, you're not first choice, you still think I'm going to get 20 minutes at the end of a game. And whatever Mikel Arteta might have said in the past about wanting to substitute his goalkeepers, I'm not going to do that.

I don't think he's actually going to do it. So it is a bit of an odd one. Yeah, I think it takes a certain personality. That's what I would say. You need to be a certain personality to accept that and to still bring your best attitude every day. You know, I know it's something that when Aaron Ramsdale was at the club, for example, he really struggled with. You know, he found it very, very hard to play that supporting role as a number two. There are other goalkeepers who are,

maybe more suited to it and when you look at Kepa's career he's done it before he's done it at Real Madrid he did it for a period at Chelsea he's done it at international level as well so I think he has shown a capacity to kind of compartmentalize and set his own feelings to one side and be a supportive squad member and presumably that was part of Arsenal's decision knowing that

You know, he and Rye have a great relationship and he's going to try and push him all the way. But yeah, it's an interesting one because Kepa, he's only 30, you know, and he played every game pretty much for Bournemouth last season. So I'm a little bit curious to see how that plays out. And I understand why you asked the question.

but Kepa has shown in the past he can and will do that if needed yeah and I'm not questioning his attitude in general I'm really not and I thought he had a good season last year for Bournemouth and there were certainly signs I've seen him play really really well he looked a little bit flaky but I think there was a lot of pressure on him was there not when he was bought by Chelsea for 71.6 million in 2018 so his value has certainly come down quite a bit

I mean, as I thought about this signing, I thought this is a good signing. This guy, you know, he's a good goalkeeper. I thought he played well last year. Yeah, when we talk about, I guess, upgrades and stuff like that, I think this is a clear one. I remember being at the Girona game when Neto played and it was just...

he had your heart in your mouth whenever the ball kind of went near him even when he was on the halfway line it was just ridiculous so i think um kepper i'm fine with that as well because it it

And it's interesting the phrasing Arsenal used in the announcement on Twitter, or X, whatever you want to call it now, kind of raising the level. I think he does that. So yeah, it's all good with me. And I think when you look at how Bournemouth played last year, I don't think it's a coincidence that Iriola went for him as well because...

He's very kind of similar to Arteta in some ways. And the goalkeeper would have been just as important as the outfield players. Yeah, he can step in. He should be able to step in the team without too much difficulty. Sixth player we've signed from Chelsea in seven seasons. Mixed results, James, yeah? I think from Luis, Willian, Jorginho, Havertz, Sterling and Kepa. It is a kind of extraordinary role call, isn't it? I mean, so much business involved.

between the clubs over the years. Yeah. And maybe more to come as well, even this summer, which, you know...

It's crazy. That will talk. Noni Maduweke. Noni Maduweke. I suppose if Chelsea will buy so many footballers, you know, the sheer law of averages, eventually you're going to buy one. Yes, that's true. We all get. Everyone gets a Chelsea player. Yeah, it's like everyone gets a medal at a school sports day. Everyone gets a Chelsea player if you're in the Premier League. Also, we're working, Arsenal working on a deal to sign 21-year-old Valencia defender Christian Mosquera.

Art, do you know much about this guy? Have you seen him play? I mean, I would not recognise him if he came in here right now. No. I started to watch some stuff back just to kind of get a better idea for how he defends and stuff like that. Right-footed, physically imposing centre-back. Yeah, can play on both sides though and a bit of right-back. So interestingly, he actually replaced Gabriel Paulista. So the old

Arsenal Gabriel at Valencia and then moved to left-sided centre-back so I think having someone who's I guess versatile enough to do both jobs is good but you'd primarily be wanting him to be that kind of backup to Saliba because you don't want to be in a situation where Mikel Arteta has to play two left-footers at centre-back so yeah I think he's very tall got big frame so it'd be interesting to see

I think he's still very young, so he's still maybe got some bits in his game to iron out. But I think good place to start with in terms of his age and just what he's able to do as a defender as well. Yeah. I feel a bit somber for Tommy Askew, to be honest, because I think this sort of tells you that he ain't going to play much football before the end of the year. Also reports, James, that he had a verbal agreement with RB Leipzig before we swooped in. Does that get them all sort of

and make it harder for us to get Benjamin Sesko over the line? I mean, I don't know. I'm asking the question. The suggestion is that perhaps the player and Valencia's demands elevated after the

European Under-21 Championships where Mosquera was playing for Spain and that put Leipzig off. To be honest, I find Leipzig's interest quite encouraging because I think of them as a really smart club and they've got actually a very good track record of developing these young, athletic centre-halves. I'm thinking of Canarte in the past. I'm thinking of Yves Meccano. There's a decent production line there of Leipzig

good young defenders who come into the club and then gone out into big, big clubs elsewhere. So let's see. I think this is an interesting signing for Arsenal, a player with a lot of potential, but Valencia currently working overtime to try and keep him. You know, we hear they may have made a contract offer. They've laid out their vision for the club for the future. They can probably offer him

week in, week out, regular game time, which is something he's not going to get at Arsenal. So it's an interesting decision for Muscari too. It's like, does he take the leap to go to Arsenal, you know, play Champions League football and, but probably have a reduced role in the squad in the short term? Or does he stay where he is, play every week and hope, you know, a bigger and better move comes down the line? It's an interesting one, but we'll have to wait and see. This is Hand Break Off, the Arsenal podcast brought to you by The Athletic.

As you've probably heard by now, we've teamed up with BetMGM this season. We'll be using BetMGM lines to make all of our picks, and we'll have special offers for our listeners each week. If you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code THEATHLETIC, and you'll get a one-year subscription to The Athletic, plus up to a $1,500 first bet offer on your first wager with BetMGM. Here's how it works.

See?

See BetMGM.com for terms. U.S. promotional offers not available in D.C., Mississippi, New York, Nevada, Ontario, or Puerto Rico. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Available in the U.S. Call 877-8-HOPE-NY or text HOPE-NY 467-369 in New York. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP in Arizona, 1-800-327-5050 in Massachusetts, 1-800-BETS-OFF in Iowa, 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help in Michigan, 1-800-981-0023 in Puerto Rico. First bet offer for new customers only in partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino,

Don't forget, if you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code THEATHLETIC and you'll get a one-year subscription to The Athletic, plus up to a $1,500 first bet offer on your first wager.

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We got you. Visit Verizon today. Price guarantee applies to then current base monthly rate. Additional terms and conditions apply for all offers. Hi, I'm Kristen Bell. And if you know my husband, Dax, then you also know he loves shopping for a car. Selling a car? Not so much. We're really doing this, huh? Thankfully, Carvana makes it easy. Answer a few questions, put in your VIN or license, and done. We sold ours in minutes this morning, and they'll come pick it up and pay us this afternoon. Goodbye, truckie. Of course, we kept the favorite...

Hello, other truckie. Sell your car with Carvana today. Terms and conditions apply. They get a handbrake off and you can see that they are more free to play. Ian Stone, James McNicholas and Art de Rocher on the Athletics Arsenal podcast Handbrake Off. Here's a good name for you, Eberichi Eze. We all saw how well he did for Palace last year. I've got to be honest, I do have a soft spot for Palace today.

I was very happy to see them win the FA Cup last year. I'd like to see them, hopefully that European thing is resolved for them because I think that would be a terrible shame if that didn't happen. And there was also a bit of me that thought I'd like to see that team sort of see what they can do in Europe because I like the way they played last year. That being said, Art, that being said, if we could get Eberici Eze...

I'm not saying I would sell my own grandmother, as they say, because I can't do that. She's no longer with us, and it would be morally wrong in a number of ways to get her involved in any sort of transfer speculation. But...

David Ornstein reported yesterday that he's high among the options to bolster the attack. There's no contact with Crystal Palace yet. I thought we'd reach out to his camp, Art. I did discuss how many he has in his camp. I was saying 15. What do you reckon? I actually don't know, to be fair. I know you don't. I realise that. 15 is probably a good shout, I'd say.

Yeah, yeah, over 10, but you don't want any more than 20 in your camp, do you? Otherwise it's like herding cats. I mean, Eberici Eze, what a player, and he would make us better, wouldn't he? 100%. I've seen a lot of talk on socials over the past couple of days about, oh, can you play left wing? Would he be better in size? It doesn't matter. Yeah, get in the team, we'll work it out. I think there's few players where it genuinely doesn't matter where they play and he's one of them, and...

Arsenal just don't have a player like him. So I think, yeah, as with you, I'd be really, really excited by it. And to be fair, it's the name I brought up as a dream scenario on one of our pods, I think, last month. So yeah, it's something that I'd love 100%. Was it your idea? No, no, no. I'm just saying...

I've got evidence there to say. I believe you. We all believe you. It's all right. We can always go back and listen to the tapes. James, are we spending... Let's say, I mean, his release clause stands at £68 million, which I think is pretty good in today's market. But are we buying him because he's a great player...

But we don't know where he's going to go in the team. Or would the money be better spent on, say, Rodrigo and a striker and a good holding midfield player, rather than just go, right, here's almost 70 million quid and a guy that we're not sure where he's going to play, even though we'd love to have him? I think that's an interesting point. I mean, I'll give you my sort of fan emotional response to it, which is that

I don't absolutely know how Eze would fit into Mikel Arteta's system. And my initial response to the story or the rumours was kind of that I didn't even necessarily see the fit. He doesn't feel to me like a Mikel Arteta player. Yet, that is exactly the reason that I desperately hope it happens.

Because I think he is a bit of an antidote to a lot of the issues we encountered last season. The over-reliance on Man Odegaard for creativity, the struggles against low blocks and teams that sit in deep, the tendency to occasionally look a bit pre-programmed, pre-patterned in the way that we play. I think Eze is somebody who...

has real genuine flair in his game, whether he's playing off the left, whether he's playing through the middle, whether he's playing in behind a striker as he does as one of two tens really for Palace. And I think the fact that he would kind of exist outside of our conventional structure is partly what makes this so appealing. And if Mikel Arteta is prepared to bring him in, I actually see that as a sign of sort of

development and evolution in our manager that he recognises the need for a bit of free spirit a bit of pure creativity a bit of devilry to add another dimension to this team yeah well now I'm excited after hearing that to be honest with you I mean I really would love to see him in an Arsenal shirt I think he's an absolutely outstanding player and a great finisher and can take a free kick as well by the way so

We mentioned him earlier, Noni Maduake, could cover on the right for Bukayo Saka. He can play left as well. 11 goals and 5 assists in 44 appearances last season. James, do you think, I mean, it might be a good fit, but it depends on the money, doesn't it really? Yeah, I mean, there's a certain logic to it. I have to be honest and say of the various sort of deals that are in the ether and being talked about,

This is probably one that I'm slightly less, well, certainly less excited than I am about the Eze one. I think maybe the Chelsea thing is a factor in that. I think like a lot of Arsenal fans, I feel a bit fatigued by players kind of being bombed out of Stamford Bridge and turning up at the Emirates Stadium. And yeah, maybe it feels a little bit underwhelming as a winger signing when you've been talking about

Rodrigo or Nico Williams or Anthony Gordon. There's no doubt Maduweka is a talented player. And if you look at his output last season in terms of goals and assists, he's actually very good. He can play off either side. I think of him as a right winger, but apparently he's very good off the left as well, but hasn't had a great deal of time there for Chelsea.

He's a perfectly competent backup for Bukayo Saka, someone who could replace his speed and threat and directness on the flank. I don't think he'll come cheap, though. 23 years old, England international. He's at Chelsea, so presumably on about a 15-year contract, something like that. So I don't think he'd be coming for backup money. No. So, yeah, yeah.

It's an interesting one. I think he would add depth and variety and options. I'm not convinced he improves our first 11. Well, no, no. And would the same art go for Adam Ola Lutman? I mean, I've loved watching him. He was linked the other day. I love watching him. And when he plays really, really well, I think there was a game in the Europa League last year for Atalanta where he scored a hat-trick. I mean, he looked...

in the was the final right and he looked amazing right he looked like a player uh he blows hot and cold I think potentially left wing we don't know do we really know I that wouldn't be one that I'd kind of be overly excited by just because I think when you're looking at Arsenal's

squad right now especially on that left wing i think i'd rather someone who's actually a left winger or just someone who isn't a converted striker playing there so even if it's a midfielder who can play left wing i think that's a bit better than having someone um who's more of a forward out there that maybe isn't as used to you know taking his man on going outside going inside and yeah i think

for his skill sets maybe it's just not one where Arsenal are the best fit no and still you know on it goes with Rodrigo as well has been on the bench for the last few games from Madrid at the Club World Cup and then there's also of course the striker the striker

The one that we're all waiting for. Apparently, there was a picture and messages exchange between a fan and Sesco's barber, right? Where the barber seemed to believe Sesco was on his way to Arsenal. Well, if that doesn't confirm it for us, I don't think anything will, really. Yeah.

So we'll leave that there. A couple of things from questions from the mailbag. Mailbag. So old school. Juan Felipe Palacio. Love the podcast. Greetings from Colombia. Should the referees play some amateur football? I think there's some wrong decisions they make because they do not play the game. Example, some are running at full pace and a minor touch can make them fall. Those are never given. They are sometimes. Thanks. Juan Felipe, um,

I mean, I'm sure referees do play a bit of amateur football sometimes, but it's obviously, I mean, they must do. They can't just come straight from, you know, I don't know, whatever happens to them, failing the traffic warden exam or something. They end up as a referee. James, do you think there's something in that? Maybe a little bit more experience of playing the game might help? Maybe, yeah. I think we need to look at a root and branch review, really, of the pathway into referee. You know, we've spoken many times about referees

narrow pool, haven't we? Too many northerners. Too many northerners. Yeah, too many white men from the northwest of England, basically. It's just not at all representative. And when you look at the pool of players and compare that in terms of profile to what we've got in terms of referees, the disparity is enormous. We still talk about Uriah Rennie as the great outlier in that. Rest in peace, by the way. He died a few months ago. Yeah, yeah. And that was very sad to hear, but

With respect to Uriah, it's crazy that he's such an anomaly within that. I think the whole process of how people are attracted into refereeing needs to change. I'm actually an advocate for, and people may think this is crazy given the standard of refereeing, but I think you need to make refereeing

an even better paid gig. I think you need to make it something really aspirational that people want to do, that people pursue as a career really aggressively and make the rewards enticing. Yeah, with the money that's knocking around at the top of the game, you know, you could pay very, very good wages. Doesn't necessarily mean you get better people though, does it? I think widen the pool as well. You know, we've got a Premier League full of

stars from all over the globe and yet we've only got referees from the northwest of England you know why aren't we cherry picking the best of the best of the best until we can develop our own referees you know let's bring referees in from anywhere because and pay them what it takes I think that if we really believe this is the best league in the world let's ensure we have the officials to match that standard Oh I've got a question for you it's Camille F how aligned are the men's and the women's teams in how they approach transfer business

you know, the philosophy to focus on sustainability, long-term planning. Is there a similar thinking both for the men's and the women's? Yes, to an extent. I'd say there's probably some areas where you can look at it and what we've spoken today about kind of raising awareness

the general level of the squad that's something the women's team want to do as well this summer and you can see that in their interest in Taylor Hines who can probably provide a bit better cover in fullback areas but then yeah we are talking about the European champions yeah right the women's team I mean I mean we are talking about the best team in Europe yeah yeah um but then I'd say maybe when you compare it to last year when Edu was in charge you'd say his kind of

was more an executive level. So he'd maybe just be kept across things and then if he had to be involved, he could step in. Whereas I don't think that's the case with...

Andrea Berta he's probably just more focused on on the men's team but then the the foundation and the structure around the women's team recruitment is a lot stronger than it was when Edu first came into to his role so yeah there's a some areas where they'll obviously have to be a little bit different but then uh

thinking in terms of what they're actually doing there may be some similarities It was a question sent a few weeks ago from at Packstar which four players one each from the 80s 90s noughties and tens would you want to add to this squad and why from my own personal point of view if we take the noughties and noughties together can I just not have I don't know Tierra, Maria, Robert, Perez and Patrick Vieira and Ashley Cole

For example, can I not have them? I missed out Dennis Bergkamp as well, by the way. James, anyone from the 80s that you would... I mean, Rocky, right? Yeah, I guess so. David Roquas would be a great shout. 90s...

Well, I suppose you could have Thierry Henry. He arrived in 99. He squeezes in there, doesn't he? We could have Bergkamp from the 90s and, oh yeah, Wrighty. There's a few. There's a few. Any from the 10s? Any from the 10s? Van Persie? Are we counting him? What? What? What do you mean, what? I was just, it's how he left. So? Who cares? His attitude. This is the thing with the Adebayor thing that I mentioned as well. It's like,

Grow up. Let it go. Like, I don't get why people are so hung up about stuff like that, especially 15 years later. Like...

it doesn't matter anymore. It happened. It's funny you say that. After we record this, I'm going on another athletic pod about Ashley Cole and his move to Chelsea. Are you? Yeah, so look out for that elsewhere on the network. I did say Ashley Cole and you guys didn't bat an eyelid because, you know, one of the best left backs we've ever had and kept Cristiano Ronaldo quiet when he played against England. He's the only one who managed it as well. And I,

I also had some sympathy with how the club dealt with him, even though it sounded ridiculous when he said, oh, I wanted 60,000, only got 55. And you went, oh, mate, really? Come on. But I loved Ashley Cole and I thought he was an absolutely fantastic player. And look what he did for Chelsea as well. So maybe you're right, Art. Maybe we have to let these old enmities go and get real. Van Persie's a very, very good call.

Oh, there's one for Adrian. What's your second favourite cheese? Have you got a favourite cheese, James, by the way? Because we were talking about cheese on one of the podcasts. I like Comte. I think I... Did I say Comte? I thought it was Comte, but it might be Comte. Yeah. Not the Arsenal middle-class club in any way, all right? Just so you know, all right? Let's have a song to finish. I...

There's a couple of different versions of this song. One of them, I can't say the artist. Because it's a rude word? No, because he's been rightly cancelled. Oh, right. There's a number of options we have here, but okay, fair enough. Well, what's the song? No, the song is I'm Coming Home, but go for the Skylar Grey version. I'm coming home, I'm coming home Tell the world I'm coming home

That's more in hope for Eze. Because he was with us when he was a young kid. From the ages of 8 to 13. I can see the athletic feature now. Do you know what I mean? Eze's time at Arsenal between the ages of 8 and 13. Seminal for him. It was seminal. James, what have you got? Let's have a song. I went for Eminem Legacy from Oswego Skelly. This is my legacy.

I think, wait, Skylar Grey might sing in that as well. Sorry, I'm... If I pick the same artist as Art on Handbrake Off, this is the best day of my life. I've never felt so young. Yeah.

What a turnaround from me and Steve Bould at the start of the podcast. You and Steve Bould at the start. See, you've still got some game. Wait, wait. Let me see. Use the feature. Actually, Art is currently looking up who was on that recording. Sorry. No, she's not. She's on that album quite a lot because that's MMLP2. So she was about to play. Yeah, yeah. That's the point. Art.

M&M Legacy featuring Dr. Dre, Skylar Grey. Is it? Is that a remix? It's a legacy. There's a legacy. There's a legacy remix with Skylar Grey. Okay, we'll take the remix. Don't take this away from me. Don't dangle this carrot. What are you doing, man? That was one of the greatest moments of James' later life. Yeah, okay. I mean, it does feel like there's a little bit of relief now as the signings are starting to happen.

So I thought, well, I went, as some of you know, including Hello Adam, particularly. It's Adam, I believe, who came and said hello to me at Glastonbury in the other field, where I think I saw one of the most intense things I've ever seen. I went to Prodigy on Sunday night. Oh, wow. Incredible. I watched it on TV. I can't imagine what that was like, though.

It was a lot, let me tell you. It was a lot, but I absolutely loved every second of it. And one of the songs they played was Breathe, which I was finding it hard to do, actually, while it was being played. But, oh, my God, I think Arsenal fans can maybe breathe a little bit now because people are starting to come in. And if you ever get a chance to see Prodigy live, I would take it because it's mind-blowing. That's it.

for this edition of Handbrake Off. Thanks to James McNicholas. Thanks to Art de Rocher. And thanks to Robbie, our producer. Thanks for listening. And we'll see you next week when we'll have more Transfer Speculation. Maybe there'll be loads of people coming in. I'm sort of feeling like it might happen now. Thanks for listening. See you soon.

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