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The only way to score is, of course, to play with a hand-break-off. Hello, I'm Ian Stone. This is Hand-Break-Off, the Arsenal podcast brought to you by The Athletic. Well, last night...
Arsenal destroyed PSV Eindhoven 7-1 to all but booked themselves a trip to Madrid for the quarter-finals. We don't know which Madrid yet, but we'll get to that. To reflect on the game, I'm joined by Amy Lawrence and Adrian Clarke. Morning. Hello. Hello.
Hola. Hola. Yeah, happier than our last podcast, I would say. Last night, unexpected. Well, Robbie, our producer, has written, last night's result was an unexpected surprise. I think all surprises are unexpected, aren't they, really? That's really the very nature of surprises. Sorry, Robbie, I'm just saying. Some people may say I'm a pedant.
But I'm not the only one, as John Lennon should have sang. Many Arsenal fans were conservative with their predictions. Some even saying they'd take a draw. Yeah, 0-0 would have been a half-decent result. But anyway, instead we made history.
When was the last time you had a little surprise? Amy, when was the last surprise you had? Anything? Yeah, I've had a few bad surprises lately. So I racked my brains for a few good ones. I had the really unexpected bonus of seeing both my sons in grassroots score with their left foot, their wrong foot.
within a few days of each other. And that was, I was skipping about like an idiot. So I could take that. I also had a really lovely one. I think sometimes the best of those kind of surprises that make you feel really warm and fuzzy is when you bump into people that you don't expect to see at a certain place. And I was invited down by a friend to see the Hackney District Primary School Girls Finals a couple of weeks ago.
And I was really busy and I was just like so much going on. I thought, I've got to go, you know, do the right thing. Turned up and it was fantastic. And they'd asked me to say a few words as I was being introduced. I sort of turned around and all the parents who'd been watching their kids came down. And there was one of my old housemates from 30 years ago. And it was just fantastic. And we just sort of fell into massive bear hug and couldn't believe that we were seeing each other completely randomly.
And I love stuff like that. You all know I love hugs. It's one of my favourite things. So an unexpected hug from someone from your dim and distant past who you're very fond of would do for me.
almost up there with seven goals away from home and you haven't scored in a thousand years. There is that as well, yeah. I mean, it's true, running into people you haven't seen in a while, although I ran into someone in the supermarket a few weeks ago and it was great and everything, but it was aisle two and then I kept seeing them. LAUGHTER
By aisle seven, I generally, I was hiding behind the soft fruit. I mean, it was just like, I just thought, Lee Wick, just take an alternative route. I would have done that. It was awful. It was absolutely, it just became, like aisle three was sort of funny. Aisle four was like, yeah, yeah, all right, mate, nice to see you. Aisle seven, I'm f***ed.
F*** off. Just leave me alone, all right? I think I'm going to cut my losses and just go with the basket and go out of there. Go back another time. I've moved to a different supermarket. Just on the tiny possibility I might run into him again. Adrian, what about you? Yeah, the last surprise, last big surprise was that I came home, I think from a day in London working, and found that we'd got a cat.
The new cat. I wasn't consulted. No, of course you weren't. I wasn't offered the chance to have any kind of say in it. You'll be changing the litter tray though, mate. I'll tell you that. Oh, mate, we've already got two. I wasn't particularly up for a third, but I've got to say, she is the cutest little kitten, Pearl. She is a real beauty. So, yeah, I think she completes the family, but it was...
I was not involved in the process, which annoyed me at first. You've got to trust the process, Adrian. That's the point. You've got to trust the process, all right? It's just how it goes. How lovely. And Pearl, was that your idea, by the way? Pearl, the name? No, of course. They didn't ask you about that either. You know, we got a cat. I wanted to call it Eartha, as in Eartha Cat. Very good. Yeah, but that was vetoed by the entire family, I should say. Yeah.
last surprise for me well to be honest beating Man City 5-1 a few weeks ago was a bit of a surprise um
On a personal note, every time any woman has shown any interest in me at all... And by the way, any man should say exactly the same thing. I should point that out. Any time. Every time I wake up and Rosie's there, I think, well, Jesus, what are you doing here? So you get a surprise every morning? Every morning I get a surprise. No, it's just, you know what I mean? It's just, blimey, really? Okay, then. That sort of feeling. Anyway...
PSV Eindhoven 1, Arsenal 7. Loads and loads of stats. Last night, Arsenal became the first team in Champions League history to score seven-plus goals away from home in a knockout stage match. That's from Opta Joe. Six different goal scorers. And it was a pretty chilled evening, wasn't it, Amy? I mean, aside from ranting at Thomas Partey for giving away a penalty just before half-time, I think the whole thing was just very relaxed.
Well, I've been giving it a lot of thought overnight and I've come to the conclusion that Arsenal should score seven goals a bit more often. It's, you know, it's definitely a way to go. Yeah. You know, and I think with a bit of luck, you know, should be all right for the next round. I would say. Very pleasing. I mean, look, it was, it was, I think,
I remember having a chat with my editor before the game and we have a weekly chat on a Monday morning about all things Arsenal and to show what you think for this week. I said, given the problem of scoring goals, I think anything that means Arsenal don't have to score a lot of goals in the second leg, like probably even anything worse than a 1-0 defeat, I think that's probably it. But, you know, if Arsenal can...
Avoid that or worse. I think, you know, at least it keeps it interesting for the second leg. She messaged me half time. And oh, ye of little faith. But let's be honest. I don't think anybody saw it coming, did they? I'd like to know if...
The team and the management and the coaching staff felt there was something like that in the works. Obviously not that level of scoreline, but, you know, the performance of that kind of attacking intent and calibre and collective responsibility to, like, make sure that Arsenal are going to score goals and create chances and be dangerous. And that hasn't really been massively evident in the last few weeks. So they're just...
ever since the Habits injury, it felt like the only way that Arsenal could compensate is by everybody digging in and finding that little bit extra. And, you know, that was the disappointment is that nobody seemed to be able to find that and it inhibited. And they've gone from inhibition to total expression and high energy determination. And,
collectively and that it must be so rewarding for them all and it reawakens the season because everybody rightly was able to look at the evidence before the game and say you know how's the rest of this season going to look if the league's gone and the Champions League doesn't look too optimistic this could be a bit of a slog and what's the consequences of that for the team and
in its medium term and longer term future. And how wonderful to take all of that concern and obliterate it in one night. And for all those players involved to feel reawakened, to feel that the season has fresh purpose, to feel that they have renewed confidence to tackle what's in front and feel optimistic, positive and, you know,
There are things that can be done this season if everybody pulls together and gives everything they possibly can for the common good.
And the optimism and positivity goes for the fans as well. Adrian, did you see it coming? I had ate one, actually, weirdly. So, you know, I was slightly disappointed. But what about you? Did you see that performance coming? I mean, I saw Tim Stillman wrote this and I was saying it as well. Tim's a regular Arsenal writer for Arsenal Blog and what have you. And he said, you can see...
the amount of work they must have done on the training ground just to get them all further forward. Erdogan seemed to be playing further up the pitch, runs in behind. And it just, we were transformed, weren't we? Yeah. Yeah, no, it was a glorious performance. Of course, I didn't see it coming. Remember, we put the ball in the net nine times in the game. You know, two disallowed as well. Quite extraordinary performance.
Really. First and foremost, PSV played into our hands. It's like they'd never seen us play. So I don't want to take the gloss off it, but they did allow us to slice through them very, very easily. But that's by the by. Now, what I loved about this game was the freedom, the expression, was the courage to just go a little bit crazy. It was mayhem in terms of the movement. And I've been banging on about this all season, really,
in terms of... And especially, I've cranked up my moans and groans lately. Because without a striker, the only way you're going to really disrupt the opposition is to just cause chaos. And I've used that word a lot, but it's true. And I saw signs of it against Nottingham Forest, particularly in that first half that I really liked. And last night, it just came together. I mean...
Look at the fullbacks. They just kept popping up in various different positions. You know, Timber and Calafuri both ended up at centre forwards multiple times. You know, where Lewis Skelly was when he made that assist. Timber at the far post. What's he even doing there?
He wouldn't normally be there. What's Declan Rice doing down the left wing, crossing one of them with his left paint? I really, really enjoyed the fact that within a, obviously a solid structure, we were able to just frazzle the minds of PSV by doing things different. And I'm telling you now, especially while we haven't got a striker, it's imperative that we continue doing that. The trick now is,
is to do that against defensive teams, defensive teams that want to sit there and frustrate us. Because you still can. It's just going to look a little different, but we still can do that.
Maybe it took going to Holland to get Arsenal to touch base with their inner total football. It's true. That's what we saw. That's what we saw last night, wasn't it? Everybody being able to have that freedom to play in different places. It unlocked something in all of them and obviously befuddled. I mean, that picture of Luke de Jong,
on the substitutes bench. I mean, he aged about 10 years last night. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He looked like he'd just done a triathlon with his arms and legs tied together and weights around his, you know, bits of body. But he also looked a little bit like me after trying to get my kids to go to school most mornings. So I empathised with him slightly. But, you know, I think that was...
That was just a picture telling a thousand words of just like utter, utter shell shock. And, you know, how has this happened? I don't think there was ever any, you know, and PSV are, you know, they have a good reputation at home for a reason. They've scored something like 8,000 goals this season or whatever the stat was that they mentioned on the telly, but it was a bit intimidating when they brought it up in the first 10 minutes. And I wonder whether there was an element where Arsenal didn't
And they didn't play the team that they expected to play against. And that kind of threw them slightly. And then suddenly they were 3-0 down. And they just couldn't recover their composure at all. But the beginning of the second half was really so...
such a fantastic moment because I think if you are if you have been struggling for confidence for whatever reason and you have this magical hey everything's amazing and you're three and a half time but or nearly and then you can see this stupid goal and you think oh no what if what if they come out second half and they're really fired up and they get another one and oh god and you could it's easy to let your mind run away with you and think things might sort of turn really badly but
But whatever was said at halftime and the response to that was absolutely pivotal, possibly pivotal for the whole season. Because I think getting four and five very quickly in the second half and...
you know, taking the narrative and making sure that there wasn't a twist and that it continued on that vein was absolutely stunning. Uri and Timber did talk about changing the narrative, didn't he, really? And obviously, that's certainly what it feels like. But, but, and I'm just adding this, Adrian, because it could have been very, very different. Let's be fair. Like, a nil-nil, they have a great chance, a great chance. David Ryer,
basically palms it into the path and one of their players. Now, Gabriel did a great job of just diving in and getting as much, getting in the way as much as he could, but they should have scored there. It should have been 1-0. And then the other moment was when Myles Lewis-Skelly, and I think pretty much everyone except the most one-eyed Arsenal fan would agree, should have been sent off. And if it was the other way around, we'd have been raging about how can they not do that? It did feel like almost the first bit of refereeing that's gone our way. Yeah.
this season. I have no idea why he kept the second yellow in his pocket, but I'm very thankful he did. I think Mikel made the right move to sub Luis Ghelli. And, you know, listen, a great contribution for the second goal. We'll get to the goals and what have you in a minute. But,
You know, it's sort of weird, Adrian, after a 7-1 victory to think that could have gone a very different way. They're a dangerous team and you could see it. Yeah, I mean, Gabriel did do brilliantly for that chance where they hit the bar. Without him flying in front of the guy, he definitely scores. Yeah, we got lucky. Miles got lucky with that. I mean, I think, you know...
I also thought it was a common sense decision. I think sometimes referees are so eager to send players off and brandish their cards. And really, I think that should be a last resort. Personally, I think you should have to do more. And, you know, ultimately, all he's done is
trip someone up and just pulled someone's arm. And to leave the pitch for that, I think is really soft. But he was lucky. And I was saying in commentary that he needs to be substituted and Mikel did it. I think Mikel got all of his subs right last night as well. Even in the second half, there are chances. You know, David Wright had to make some saves.
So, yeah. End of the first half. End of the first half. De Jong had a header for 3-2. They're not a terrible team. You know, they beat Juventus. They beat Liverpool, albeit Liverpool, a weak Liverpool. But they beat them. So, no, it was one for the ages last night. It was total football. Amy's right. It was...
It was absolutely joyous to watch. And sometimes when you play that way, you play with such sort of abandon and have so much fun, you're going to give up chances. And I love the fact that we just backed ourselves to outscore PSV. Saliba, I thought, actually really grew in the second half. I thought he produced some really calm moments of defending. Not that it was a precarious situation, but I think whenever he was called upon, he looked real classed.
and he had a bit of an aura about him. So a step forward, I think, for Big Willie as well. Come see me, Oslo! Come see me, Oslo! Come see me!
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beat Sheffield United 6-0 in 2024, PSV last night, and, of course, Bournemouth 3-2 in 2023. Let's talk about some of the goals. Uri and Timber's header, by the way, is a great cross from Detlam Rice. Really good ball inside from Leandro Trossard to Detlam Rice. Nice little turn and a really, really good header. Um...
Adrian, like you said, he shouldn't have been there, or shouldn't have been there, but surprising that he turned up there. But that was some header. I mean, Alan Shearer was getting very excited in the commentary. Oh, was he? Yeah, he was. Yeah, because it was more of a centre-forwards type header. But he got up above Noah Lang and he buried that goal. That was a great pass. Well, you know, Noah Lang doesn't want to be having to defend at the far post, does he? So, again, it's...
it's a really positive mindset for timber to say you know what i'm gonna i'm gonna test you here i'm gonna get myself in at the far stick and see what happens
The whole mindset, the whole attitude was about how we can hurt PSV. And I love that. Declan Rice, I mean, he made two, three, four runs down that left channel in the first half. I didn't know what hit them. It was like, what? You're supposed to be a centre mid, mate. What are you doing there? But he was really good and it was a lovely cross as well. So, yeah, that was the settler.
Wasn't it? And then we, it's fair to say we kicked on from there. Yeah. And we'll talk about Declan Rice in a bit. I just want to talk about the second goal. Amy, I mean, the confidence with which Ethan Waneri hit that first time finish was,
I mean, people do talk about him being a striker. That's what a striker would do. Just no hesitation, off the laces, wallop, 2-0. It's hard to find enough superlatives for this lad at the moment. His efficiency and his decision-making and his technical skills are just so advanced. But it was such a wonderful moment. And the fact that the cross came from his pal,
And for them to enjoy that moment on that stage, it's just absolutely immense. Immense moment in what has been quite a lot of immense moments for Ethan this season. Who knows where he's going to end up? I think that the fact that it's not clear where he's going to end up, or even Miles for that matter, I still think that he will probably end up as a central midfield player. And I wondered whether some of those...
moments where it's a bit reckless are happening because he is a midfielder by trade and he's being thrust into some
very high spotlight scenarios in what is a fairly new position for him and quite a specialised position. But I think it's very interesting for Nwanehri to have had that moment because maybe the last game or two were a bit tougher than everything seemed so easy at the beginning for him. He just was making an impact every single time. But, you know, you could see that
when he's he's going to probably start being double marked soon you know it's going to and it's probably going to rely on that little bit of movement that he's got you know he's coming in off the right but he found himself was it near post didn't he he's in the near post so again it goes back to that point I was making about players just going kind of where they wanted
um makes a difference yeah by age 17 to be having the confidence uh and the intelligence to be making those kind of runs in this slightly free form arsenal um even that is another feather in his cap and he's now third uh highest goal scorer in the uh in the team after uh some season he is having um
The third goal was ridiculous, but nice little finish, I thought, by the way, from Mikel Moreno. He's very, very calm. There was a moment when the ball broke to him, Adrian, where he just, he took a second, didn't he, to assess what was going on and he passed it through the guy's legs into the net. Very, very, very cool finish. Go on, Amy. Adrian, do you think that for Moreno, psychologically having that goal, because
Because obviously, the longer I suppose it goes on with him playing this role and you could put a little kind of...
reasoning behind his goals at Leicester as well it was the cameo he was you know never really done it before it was a moment did he need to be getting a goal as a starter when he's doing all the hard yards that Havertz does and all the pressing and stuff do you think that that has an effect for him going forward yeah I think so yeah of course it does yeah it's um
Yeah, goals change the way that you feel about yourself. It shouldn't because you're still the same player, the same person, but goals make you feel happier or sad. That is the simple truth of it when you're playing in those attacking positions. So yeah, no, he definitely needed it. But, you know, he would also have taken confidence from the
The fact that in an 11 where we started up from, we scored seven, you know, because it's like, yeah, this can work. We can all make this work together. You know, the assist for Odegaard, the way he held the ball up, waiting for the right moment to slip him in, was classy. He is a really intelligent... I mean, I don't know him. I'm assuming he's really clever. He just looks really smart. I don't know if you agree with me. He just looks like a really intelligent kind of lad.
And I think you can see that in his football as well. And that's probably one of the reasons why Mikel Arteta trusts him.
to make the switch. He understands tactics and football. Yeah. Let's talk about the captain. Looked happy last night, didn't he, Amy? What an unbelievable relief to see Martin Odegaard look like Martin Odegaard again. Was he playing further up the pitch? Is that what was going on there last night? He seemed like he had freedom and he just seemed to be affecting the game. I think the way they set up might have allowed him to go and have fun. But
He still did it. I think he needs to be further up the pitch, doesn't he? Particularly with the situation Arsenal find themselves in without the strikers. I just felt like things were going slightly... It's like his radar had been reset. When you look at some of those passes and getting exactly the right amount of precision and fade on and things that he has been trying...
That haven't quite come off for him. And plus having people making runs all over the place in different areas was really helpful. But, you know, I think it was partly him. It was partly the way the team functioned, but it allowed him to maybe touch base again with,
how he feels best playing football. And that can only be a really helpful thing for Arsenal. Lovely finish, just side foot finish for the first goal of his after some great work from Ethan Wanheri, who just beat their defender. And then just a perfect, perfect cross and we're in. And then the second one, he scored, like you say, Adrian, Mika Marino held the ball up, switched sides,
and Martin Odegaard's off and then after that
I mean, not great goalkeeping, but not great goalkeeping. And I think, you know, with all of this chat, we have to acknowledge how terrible PSV were last night as well. I mean, they were terrible. They were so open. But it's lovely to see our boys run through in that way. He came from deep for that goal as well. And that's something that he can do. You know, it was a surprise factor. I don't know where he was. It was almost like he was in a right back position, but he made a great angled run, timed it brilliantly.
And yeah, what I loved about it was there was no hesitation. He just drove and drove and let it fly, didn't he? Yeah, the keeper's got to save it. Sure, but still. And that lovely little pass, I don't know if we're getting through the goals, but just the little outside of the foot pass for Calafuri, that was a thing of beauty, wasn't it? That was really something, wasn't it? I mean, there was a bit of fade on it. He hit it slightly off the outside of the foot and it just faded away.
towards the goal so Calafiori could just run on and give him a bit more of an angle. I love... I do love the Champions League ball as well. I know... Look, I'm a bit of a ball freak. League Cup didn't suit us. I mean, let's be fair, it didn't suit us, the League Cup ball. The Champions... I've got a Champions League ball here and it's probably not even the official one and it's so sweet to hit. It's just...
It's a thing of beauty. And the way that it spins, you know, when the patterns spin, I just love it. I kind of wish the Premier League would go with that particular manufacturer because I think they just make brilliant balls. But I think we're changing from Nike to Puma in the Premier League next season, I think.
which is going to be upset a few people. But hopefully they can come up with a ball as good as a Champions League one because honestly, it flies. And we saw how true it was last night of our shooting. Absolutely superb. What about Calafiuri's finish? Yeah, yes, right footed. I mean, all our left backs got on last night. It's nice to see all four get a run out at various points. Calafiuri, one goal, one assist as well, Amy. Yeah,
I mean, that's some cameo, isn't it, when he comes on the 35th minute? He just has presence. He has presence, impact. He's enjoying it. And I can't remember who wrote the post on social media, but somebody said, look, after a Nuanerian, Miles Ruskelly, he's the next youngest Nuanerian.
player at Arsenal. I think people are forgetting quite how young he is because he already arrived as a fully-fledged international with some experience and he played a few clubs in Italy. And he's dashingly handsome and you just think automatically he's got it. But he's in a new country. He's adapting to an entirely new everything in his life, in his football life. And, you know...
It has been an interesting transition into English football for him. Obviously, in and out the team, injuries, different things to get used to. It hasn't been steady, but you can see that there is something there. Again, there's a few players we've said, well, we're, you know, talking about Nwane Eri, Myles Liskeli, whatever, quite where they might end up playing. Well, maybe that's a similar question to be had about Riccardo Calafiori because he's
I don't know. Left-back seems like it might not be enough for what he can bring. I don't know. But I'm glad he's... I think he's a great player and person to have at Arsenal. And it's nice to think that there's more...
to come from him quite let's talk about Detlef Rice we mentioned him just before Adrian that was the Detlef Rice that we got last season wasn't it really just dominating really he was just gliding about and he was making interceptions and making tackles and just
running the game, wasn't he, really? He was. Yeah, no, it was superb. He was a real leader on the pitch. I don't know what happened against West Ham. It was still a strange substitution. You know, I still think an odd one. But in a way, it's probably just...
Made him dig it even deeper. Declan Rice, it sort of made him think, try even harder to impress the manager. I thought he was really good against Nottingham Forest as well. His attitude was fantastic. And in this game, the one moment that summed it up for me was in the second half when I think we're six up.
And David Rye catches a corner and he runs from our six yard box to their goal line to win us a corner. You know, that's what I call leadership. You know, that is someone who's setting the tone, setting the standards for what everyone should be looking to do in terms of effort and application and drive.
and determination. So yeah, no, top performance. I mean, he was really unlucky, not with the goal that was disallowed. He almost scored a carbon copy as well, didn't he? That was a great save that we didn't get a corner from. I mean, the referee made some odd calls, didn't he? There was two that we should have had corners for. The Zinchenko one as well, which was a really good save. no, great, great stuff from Declan. I'm sure you're going to get there, but
I want to flag up Trossard as well. He was next. He was next, Adrian. Lovely little goal, lovely little scoopy goal. But I also thought in general, he was a handful. He looked sharp. Yeah. Yeah. Amy, he was a handful, Leo Trossard. He seems to be a bit of a mood player. But when he's playing like that, he takes up a lot of defensive ability from the other team and he makes space for other players.
Yeah, and again, a bit like we were saying with Odegaard, I think that someone like that benefited from everyone playing well. You know, I think when it's all on him, which has been a little bit of extra responsibility lately, looking to him as probably the sort of the senior most experienced forward to be leading in difficult circumstances, it's been tough because things have not been going on around him.
Whereas once the team's clicked, it gives that sort of freedom for everything that he does to feel more
Adrian, in terms of the mood then, I mean, we've scored seven away from home in the Champions League knockout stages. I mean, it is an unbelievable result. The first time Arsenal scored six goals in a European away game since November 93, when we beat Stanley A 7-0 in the Cup Winners' Cup. Amy, you were there, were you? Well, funnily enough, that was the only game...
Of that Cup Winners' Cup run all the way to the glorious final that I missed that season. I went to all of the European home and away, bar the one we scored seven. Georgie Graham's magic hat, by the way. That was that year. Indeed. I just had a knee surgery, and so that's why I couldn't go. And the game wasn't on telly. So if you wanted to watch it, you had to go to Highbury to watch the Jumbotron.
So there was a crowd of us, including me waving my crutches around, watching the goals fly in, including Eddie McGoldrick.
remember we scored ian selly great times and the jumbotron and i'll remember it like it was yesterday you know it was sort of something and there were kids listening kids again it wasn't on telly no it wasn't and the internet didn't exist at that point so there was no there was no internet so there was no way of watching it on some hooky channel either um
I mean, Saka did a post on Instagram. There's a picture of Michael Jackson eating popcorn in Thriller. It's very, very nice. We're going to rest players for the second leg, Adrian. Yeah, you got to, I think. Yeah, you're not going to throw away a six-goal lead. Yeah, no, it's a great chance to sort of... I mean, the guys that are waiting in the wings are, you know...
not exactly bad players are they so there's plenty plenty there that can can come in and do a job I think it'll be sort of half and half pretty take out seven or eight from from the Man United game I would imagine
And, yeah, the guys that were on the bench last night should play. I mean, it'd be quite nice to see Butler-Roy-Dedji given a go. Or if not him, then let's look at Sterling up front or Trossard up front. You know, try something different like we did towards the end of that game. I'd expect Declan Rice. Califuri up front. Come on. Yeah, I mean, come on. It's coming. Amy, would that not just be taking the piss if we just put Califuri up front? Well, I...
Or is it taking the piss playing Butler or De Gea? He's a striker. I can't speak. He is a striker. I know, but... Yeah, OK. Well, anyway, it's all good and we're going to have a good time. Kivio will get a game. I mean, yeah, Ben White, it's probably his first start, isn't it? That's a good opportunity for him. Tini, I would imagine, will get a start. Jorginho... Neto? Do you think we'll see Neto? I've got no interest in seeing more of Neto. LAUGHTER
All right. All right. Anyway. I mean, it is only a six-goal advantage. And I imagine that most people are booking their flights to Madrid now, although they won't know when particularly. But anyway, very, very exciting. And that game is in the balance, by the way. 2-1 to Real Madrid. And Atletico missed some chances last night as well. Anyway, Champions League quarterfinal. I mean...
It could be worse, couldn't it? To be honest with you. I know the players. I saw Jurgen Timber and Detlef Reiss after the game and they weren't having it. But, you know, because the job's got to be done. But we're going to Madrid in a few weeks' time. This is Handbrake Off, the Arsenal podcast brought to you by The Athletic. Oh!
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They get a humbric off and you can see that they are more free to play. Ian Stone, Adrian Clarke, Amy Lawrence here on the Athletics iHeartRadio.
Arsenal podcast handbrake off. The bin men have just turned up outside, by the way. Can you hear them? Congratulations. Thank you. It's always an exciting day. Surprise. Surprise. Well, yeah. Well, no, it's not that much of a surprise. It's a Wednesday. We've got surprises for you. We've got a new... We're talking about getting a new sporting director. We do need one, don't we, Amy, to be honest with you? I mean, these things matter, don't they? I don't know...
how much because I don't understand really the inner workings but it seems to me it was all going very smoothly when Edu was there and then he left and then obviously January happened and the summer as well but
The former Atletico sporting director, Andrea Berta, seems to be the person the club have chosen. He's signed some very, very good players. Jan Oblak, Antoine Griezmann, Rodri from Villarreal and Luis Suarez as well. I mean, do you know a huge amount about him or aside from that, really? Well, I think he's got a reputation for being a very different kind of sporting director to what Arsenal have had
And I think probably the biggest difference would be a sort of attitude-y one. He aggressively goes for players that he believes in. But I think there's also things like connections with certain super agents and things like that that come with the territory with a sporting director like that. So that would be a bit of a change for Arsenal. Normally like to do things in this calm, understated way. So...
I think it will change the temperature if it is him. I don't think it's quite decided yet. There are still a few things being discussed internally. I don't think they've quite got to their point. Yeah, it would change the dynamic for sure. And I think, again, the fact that there was a kind of connectivity when Edu was there with all the senior figures involved,
He's the type of guy who maybe comes in and challenges that a bit more, whether that's for right or for wrong. So if it is him, let's wait and see. I think if it is him, that would also affect some of the support staff who may be moving on because I think he has his own people. Yeah, you have a dog behind you, Amy, looking very expectant right now. That's Rocky there.
Adrian, anything to add to that, really? I mean, listen, obviously we'll talk more about this story when things are confirmed. But, you know, we need the backroom staff to be right, especially with the summer we're going to be having. Yeah, exactly. I don't. Yeah, I mean, it could be a good time for a sporting director to come in because it feels like we need to splash the cash.
And there's no better way to make yourself more popular right away than splashing the cash, is there? So it'd be quite an attractive job for him. He got experience managing a big club, working at a big club, similar size teams. So yeah, I'm all for it. And I don't mind someone challenging me.
our ideas and challenging the way we go about things or the way we have gone about things in the past. I think that's really healthy, actually. But the most important thing for the new sporting director is that they're aligned with Mikel Arteta and that they get on well and that there's a very clear communication line. That's all I really care about, because if they're together as one, then it should work.
Yeah, Manchester United away at Old Trafford on Sunday, 4.30, kick-off. We beat them 2-0 at home in December. They did beat us on penalties in the FA Cup. I mean, Amy, they are so s***.
I watched them in the FA Cup go limply out of the FA Cup against Fulham, who if they'd shown a bit more adventure would have beaten them by two or three. But they're still Manchester United, it's still Old Trafford. It's not an easy game by any sense of the imagination, but if we turn up, and certainly if we play like last night, we beat them. You'd like to think so. You just need to look at the table and see who ought to be favourites.
And I think after an away trip in the Champions League and all that that brings in terms of changes to your routine and travelling and different kind of rest time and different kind of energy and adrenaline and all that, it's probably quite good to be facing a Man United team that are way off the strength of what we expect Man United teams to be. Last Friday, I went to watch Arsenal v Man United in the Youth Cup.
at the Emirates. And that was really interesting and quite enjoyable apart from the result. There were lots of good players on show for both teams. Max Dowman. Max Dowman was quite exceptional and plays with a personality in addition to what he can do with the football that is extremely striking. It was weird because there was...
No segregation. And there were quite a lot of Manchester United fans sort of sitting in amongst the Arsenal fans at the game. And at the end, there was a bunch of about 15 kids who were singing Bottle Job FC. To us? Yes. And I just thought, you know,
It was pretty funny, actually. You know, yes, they got the better of the FA Youth Cup on that occasion, also with a considerably older team, which makes a difference at that age group. But I thought, especially since them going out the FA Cup, and when you look at the positions in the league, and like you said, just now Arsenal have got a quarterfinal of the Champions League to beat, looking forward to.
all being well. So, yeah, there's a chasm right now and Arsenal just need to be serious and make sure that they go there and make sure that that chasm is evident. Play with the same character. Play with the same personality that we showed against PSV. PSV are a better team than Man United.
I'm not even joking. I'm not saying that to wind people up. They are a better team than Man United. So I'm not saying we should go there and win 7-1. Of course we shouldn't, but we can cut loose and have fun in my opinion because they are a bad team. I'm writing a piece on them at the moment on their attacking woes. I'll just give you some rankings of where they're at.
In terms of open play goals, excluding own goals, they're joint 16th in the league. Shots inside the box, 14th. Goals scored, 15th. Expected goals on target, 14th. Conversion rate, 17th. You know, they're where they should be.
14th is about right based on their performances this season. So, yeah, let's go there and show that. Let's show that there is that golf. And I think the best way to do it is to play with that chaos, that mayhem, that positional freedom that we had against PSV. I think we can rip into them big style. It's Bruno. Bruno Fernandes is a good player. He can make things happen.
I'm not worried about anyone else. No. 14th again, ole, ole. Honestly, this narrative about us second again and bottle job FC, I mean, if anything should provide incentive for the boys...
is hearing that nonsense. Let's have a song before we go. Adrian, what have you got for us? I mean, Amy particularly liked your Shania Twain choice last week, by the way. Oh, massive. She's a massive fan of Shania. Amy, she's actually dressed as Shania right now. It's like the big old hat and boots and everything. It's a classic, isn't it? Yeah.
I must admit, as a teenage lad, I had a lot of time for Shania Twain. Oh, hello. What are we talking about here? It's not even the tune then, is it? Go on then. What have we got? On a very different sense. This one's from the 90s and it's an absolute banger. And it fits for me. We've used the word a few times. George Michael, freedom.
because that is what we played with in this game. There's even a line in there today, the way I play the game has got to change. Now I'm going to get myself happy. And that's what happened. We changed the way we played and we got ourselves happy. Freedom. Freedom.
It was about playing football with chaos, wasn't it, that song, as I understand it? Yeah, yeah, that's what it meant, yeah. Yeah. Amy, what about you? Have you gone for Shania this week? No, Adrian, you did all right this week. Well done. I...
Just the scoring of seven was just so ridiculous. So I've gone for a song that says seven many, many times in its chorus. It's a definition of sound and where you're love like heaven. And if you check out the chorus, it's a seven loving. Excellent. I thought it was just beautiful watching that last night. I absolutely loved it. So I've gone for Oh You Pretty Things by David Bowie.
because it was really something to watch. That's it for this edition of Hand Break Off. Thanks to Amy, thank you to Adrian, and thanks to Robbie, our producer, and we'll see you after the Manx at the weekend. Have a good one. MUSIC