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S1-E34 : Thursday Forecast! Leicester City!
17 Plays8 days ago
It's Thursday on the Daily Arsenal podcast, brought to you as part of the Global Sports Podcast Network! Today Josh takes us through a quick preview of Saturday's fixture against Leicester City at the Emirates, with a brief look at the history of the fixture, the form of Leicester themselves, and how he feels we'll line up!
Host : Josh Vince
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Transcript
00:00:09
officialgspn
Hello everybody and welcome to the Daily Arsenal Podcast brought to you as part of the Global Sports Podcast Network. um I'm very happy to be here today. It is just me. Unfortunately today with the and the Arsenal team has been quite a lot of illness going around as I'm sure you can probably hear with me and we weren't able to quite fit in a record. So I've just finished work. I've got home. it's crawling into the early hours of Thursday morning. And I thought, do you know what? We can't leave you without a podcast. So it's just going to be a very quick one today, because I'm very much under the weather. But we're not going to let you down. We say we bring you a podcast every day.
00:00:48
officialgspn
and that is exactly what we're going to do. So today we're going to look be looking forward to the Leicester game. So obviously coming up on Saturday at three o'clock at the Emirates, Arsenal are going to be playing Leicester. What we're going to do in the three sections is we're going to talk sort of briefly about a little bit about the history and at least about my slight animosity towards Leicester. Not and not a deep on animosity, just ah as there's a slight niggle I have there, but it is fine. In the second section, we'll talk a little bit how their season's going in comparison to ours.
00:01:18
officialgspn
And then the third section will probably be relatively brief. It will be sort of summing up the Bolton game, how I think we did, um and what I think the lineup and miami my prediction will be. um I'm sure when Jamie hosts the crossover for tomorrow, um just because of timing for the Leicester team, then we'll hear his prediction as well. But to start us off, um Obviously, Arsenal and Leicester have played each other since the 1800s in different forms of one or the other. So what we normally do with the stats here is we just look at the Premier League era. So in the Premier League era, Arsenal and Leicester have played 34 games. There have been five draws. There have been
00:02:01
officialgspn
and there have been eight draws. I can't read. There have been eight draws. There have been five Leicester victories and there have been 21 Arsenal victories. So in terms of history, it certainly favours us somewhat as do an awful lot of the other stats. um In terms of the goals, Leicester have scored 35, you know, 35 goals and 34 games is pretty solid. I mean, if you're a striker getting that sort of return, you'd be absolutely chuffed with yourself.
00:02:28
officialgspn
Arsenal, on the other hand, in 34 games, have scored 70.
00:02:34
officialgspn
ah Just let that sink in for a moment. We've scored 70 times in the Premier League in 34 games against Leicester City. That's more than two a game. Like I say, it's the early hours of the morning. I'm pretty ill. I can't do the maths that quickly, but it's got to be 2.000 five or three or some sort of ridiculous number that Arsenal score when they play against Leicester in the Premier League. So we have that certainly on our side. Leicester have won the more penalties, they've won three penalties. In terms of the penalty scored however, we're even to a piece.
00:03:14
officialgspn
so we have saved a penalty against them. Clean sheets, 11 to 5 in favour of Arsenal. Yellow cards, it's been quite a scrappy encounter as well. ah Arsenal have received 47 yellow cards in this fixture, which is quite, again, in 34 games. That's more than one a game, you know, but, you know, yellow cards, especially nowadays, as we have found out much to Usher Green,
00:03:37
officialgspn
come along very regularly. Lester, however, had managed 63 and 3 red cards, whereas we've managed 5 red cards, so we might not be getting as many double bookings, but we've certainly been, I think we can argue, the naughtier of the two sides overall.
00:03:53
officialgspn
And obviously, when do we talk about Leicester, it's impossible not to talk about their title winning season. Now, this is where my slight chagrin comes in with Leicester, my slight animosity towards them.
00:04:09
officialgspn
Because obviously in that season, they won the title very convincingly. No one could take it away from them. It was one of the greatest achievements ever achieved in sport. It was phenomenal. um I still remember the season very, very well and being very, very frustrated because it was the first time in a very, very long time that we had come second. It was the first time in a very long time since we came second.
00:04:34
officialgspn
we came second with 71 points we were 10 points behind them so to be fair yeah they absolutely stormed it and they entirely deserved to win uh that title can't take anything away from them the fact that Jamie Vardy is still there attempting to have a party is ripe old age ah is rather remarkable. um They also have the achievement of being one of the clubs who avoided relegation from the Premier League after being bottom at Christmas. So in 2014-2015 Leicester were bottom at the Premier League and staring relegation down the face and as everybody knows in 2015-16 they kind of did the opposite.
00:05:12
officialgspn
They won the whole bloody thing. They did remarkably well. So they're not a team that we should underestimate. However, they are a team that I believe we are probably strong with them. So what we're going to do is we're going to take a little bit of a break now and then we're going to take a quick look at Leicester season. So we'll be back just after this message from Zencaster.
00:06:18
officialgspn
Hello and welcome back to the Daily Arsenal Podcast, all as part of the Global Sports Podcast Network. I'm your host today, Josh Vince, with a very, very croaky voice, so I do apologise if it's slightly unsettling for you listening away at home. There was a couple of other things I wanted to mention in terms of the head-to-head between Arsenal and Leicester. That was particularly the last time we played them in the Premier League, which of course was the 2022-23 season because of course last season they went back down to the championship but became straight back up with the man who's actually doing relatively well at Chelsea at the moment Reska so um got to give him some credit for that for bouncing straight about but they did have a phenomenal squad it does have to be set especially by championship standings but the last time that we played them in a premier league season which was in 2023
00:07:02
officialgspn
Obviously we played him twice, won at the King Power Stadium and won to the Emirates. So the King Power Stadium, it was ah pri it was a pretty tight game. We won the game 1-0 and it was the man who I've been waiting to turn on the afterburners all season. It was the magnificent, much maligned at the moment, but he will come good, Gabriel Martinelli. He scored it from a Trossard assist. In fact, the King Power Stadium and Martinelli ended up with the Man of the Match award that day while at the Emirates.
00:07:29
officialgspn
there were four different Arsenal goal scorers, four different Arsenal's goal scorers. It was ah was a hell of a day at the Emirates. Gabriel Jesus bagged two goals, very, very smart finishes from those two. One of my favourite Arsenal players ever, who we we really don't mention enough on this podcast, and yet he has a bit of a chequered history with the Arsenal fans, but But Granite Jakker, I mean, also obviously the things he's gone on to do with Bayern Leverkusen as well are pretty remarkable. He also netted for Arsenal on that day, as did Gabriel Martinelli. So, yeah, that's three of the four Arsenal players who bared for that day. William Slieber also managed to bang a goal. It just happened to be an home goal, unfortunately. And then ah James Madison,
00:08:16
officialgspn
gave Leicester an extra consolation goal it just before the final Martinelli goal, which brought the final score to 4-2 at the Emirates. So we took 6 points off of them, which was pretty remarkable with a goal difference of ah plus 3, so it was 5-2 aggregate effectively overall.
00:08:37
officialgspn
that season but but obviously that was the previous season that we played them. Let's focus on this season, see how Leicester are doing at the moment. So at the moment Leicester are sitting in 15th, they've had a bit of a rough start to things. um I mean all of the, this is definitely a debate that we need to have on the podcast as well because it's one that's being had in football in general at the moment.
00:08:59
officialgspn
and we can class ourselves in one of the lucky clubs without a shadow of a doubt because of the history and because of the size and the longevity of Arsenal but in terms of the teams who are coming up these days there's such a disparity in terms of quality and financial resource that it makes it I mean last season was it was I think only one of two Premier League seasons where all of the promoted clubs went back down again which is um it's not good for the game I don't think honestly
00:09:32
officialgspn
i think the Premier League is built on competitiveness and built on excitement and built on the thrills that anybody can win any game and well I mean actually Leicester are the perfect example of what makes the Premier League so brilliant they had teams in the league who were doing brilliantly like Arsenal we had a great season that season had as much as it pains me to say Spurs did do pretty well as well that season there was also City was still doing well Liverpool were in transition you still had the powerhouse of Chelsea teams like West Ham and Aston Villa were still kicking about you know and out of nowhere this team that realistically should have gone down the year before won the whole thing and I think that's what makes the Premier League
00:10:18
officialgspn
the best league in the world. I know obviously we're very biased being Arsenal fans but I genuinely think it's true that it is the best league in the world because when you look at think I think the Bundesliga is a phenomenal league but you look at last season it was a shocker that Bayern Leverkusen ran away with it. It's basically been Munich's I think it was for a decade prior to that and obviously Borussia Dortmund challenged them that's kind of the way that things are seen over there In France, there's been a couple of upsets, of course, recently, um but generally, I mean, the bookies favourite is going to be Paris Saint-Germain every season without a shadow of a doubt. Italy's become a bit more competitive, I found recently, although the teams, you know, Inter have just pulled away massively. they've They've been phenomenal recently, but Napoli have started well this season under Antonio Conte Juventus, under Marta, you know,
00:11:13
officialgspn
there there are teams who are pushing things, but they're still the big teams. Whereas in the Premier League, like, I mean, the game against Brighton for us is a perfect example. If you had never watched the Premier League, but you heard the name Arsenal and you saw Arsenal coming up against Brighton, your natural assumption is going to be, ah, Arsenal spank Brighton, it'll be a piece of cake. But no, but we were made to suffer because Brighton are in a phenomenal team and they're a mid-table team. So I really love the competitiveness of the league.
00:11:42
officialgspn
And that's why it gives me some hope that Leicester, going back to the point I think I was making about three minutes ago, the Leicester are sitting in 15th. So they're not currently in the relegation. So admittedly, we are only five games in.
00:11:56
officialgspn
and they have definitely struggled. However, I have i have hope for, I do have hope for them. I had more hope for Southampton, as you know from the ah predictions podcast that we did a little while ago, but I still have hope. you know it's still There's still a good chance that we can do something special here. Now, in their last game,
00:12:14
officialgspn
It was actually at home to Everton and Everton did the Everton thing that they are doing this season and went one goal ahead. I can't exactly remember who the goal scorer was off the top of my head. I'll probably go and check that during the break.
00:12:29
officialgspn
And then obviously as the game went on, it was a three o'clock kickoff last Saturday. I was commentating the Liverpool game at the time. Um, so I didn't get much of a chance to watch it. However, um, just watching the highlights now, it was pretty remarkable. Quite frankly, uh, Mavadini almost squeezing it in at the near post-pass Pickford. I think the only reason it didn't go in is because the rain sort of cushioned his gloves slightly and made it spin down ever so and well somewhat.
00:12:56
officialgspn
um But eventually, um they did manage to get it in from a it was a set piece. And um remarkably, because it's because it's early in the morning, I haven't actually written down who's called that goal. So apologies. This is probably sounding incredibly amateurish at the moment, but we bring you what we can whenever we can here at the Daily Arsenal podcast. So looking at them in the highlight reel, what leapt out to me in particular was that they do seem to be a bit of a threat from set pieces. Now,
00:13:29
officialgspn
no one no one is as much of a threat from set pieces as our beautiful boys in red are. I mean Gabrielle this season has just been and ah quite genuinely terrifying. He showed against Spurs and now he showed against City as well. I mean let's be honest why City put Dokku and Walker marking him. I don't think we'll ever know.
00:13:48
officialgspn
the true answer to that but we are very very strong in set pieces we're also very good at defending set pieces and our defensive record this season has just it's been out of this world for nominal so I'm not too worried in terms of the set plays there I think we have the defensive Nels to deal with it especially with Gabrielle Zaliba both being fit and now um califiori looks really i think he looks brilliant left but i've i've enjoyed timber i'm not convinced that white is fully fit yet so i wouldn't be surprised if we saw a similar back four i'm getting ahead of myself but a similar back four to the city game now they actually average more well 60 more passes than us again this season
00:14:28
officialgspn
this could be down to them trying to play but possession style football, or this could be because our average was completely and utterly thrown off by that Manchester City game that we just played where we spent 45 minutes with 10 men behind the ball, I think making about 30 or 40 successful passes. So, and most likely I can see them but probably doing what a lot of the slightly lower teams are doing and sitting back and inviting a bit of pressure from us. But I'm also not afraid to play out and they have got pace. mean about ma vdii and also I mean, he's older and now, but he's still got a ton on him as Jamie Vardy. Um, they've also opted for more aerial crosses than us showing that the tall threat up front. I mean, realistically, again, you know, it shouldn't be an issue with those two boys in the middle. We should absolutely be fine. And they're yet to keep a clean sheet in the premier league, which is always very hopeful.
00:15:19
officialgspn
And um they've actually conceded 1.6 goals per game to our 0.6. So in terms of the defensive now, so we definitely outrank them this season. I mean, we outrank them by.
00:15:31
officialgspn
11 places in the league as well. I mean, this isn't this is a game that is very much heavily favoured towards us. However, ah the beauty of the Premier League is you can't take any game that face value. I mean, look at Forest, they've done an astonishingly unbeaten, still unbeaten, Forest in the Premier League. Anyway, that's enough about Leicester. We're going to take a quick break, hear a quick message from our um our sorts of ah father group, the Global Sports Podcast Network.
00:15:58
officialgspn
And when we come back, like I say, this is going to be a slightly shorter podcast just because of the timing and because of the health condition of myself. But when we come back, we're going to briefly discuss Arsenal, the game of Bolton as well, and also um my predictions and ah predicted lineups as well. So I'll be back just after this message from the Global Sports Podcast Network.
00:16:54
officialgspn
And welcome back to this final part of our forecast prior to the Leicester City game on Saturday. So we've talked about the history of the fixture. We've talked a little bit about Leicester as well. Now it's time to talk about us, us arsenals. So I'm recording this on Thursday morning. This will be published at about five o'clock in the mornings and about four and a half hours time.
00:17:21
officialgspn
Obviously, yesterday, this will be in that case, we played against Bolton in the EFL Cup, and it went relatively well for us. We ended up coming out 5-1 winners, especially considering the squad that we played out originally. So, Porter Ingol, 16 years old, making his full debut for the Senior Club, he only he only faced one shot and and Bolton did score.
00:17:46
officialgspn
But it's encouraging to see that despite the fact that Netto is cup tied, that Arteta is not afraid to put in a player like Porter. and you know Raya I imagine needs a rest but there are also there's rumors that he's not 100% at the moment I mean Arteta still hasn't confirmed who the in like the big injury was from the city game because he has hinted at it He hasn't confirmed it yet. So this um predicted lineup that I'm gonna do in a little bit could be miles off come the game on Saturday and
00:18:17
officialgspn
He also had Louis Skelly, Callifiori, Kivior Nichols. I mean, he's a really young squad. And I think this is one of the beauties of the EFL Cup. Not everybody's for it. um A lot of people find it a bit dull.
00:18:31
officialgspn
I think it's important to be able to be rotating and resting players and just to see what the youngsters can do, which will bring us to one of them in just a moment. Rice played. Georgina was our captain. Wanyeri got a start. ah Raheem Sterling got his first start as well for us. And then Gary LTSU and Bekaya Saka started because when doesn't he start the games for us? it's It's just a little bit mad at this point in time. But what I found incredibly encouraging ah Rice was on the score sheet, a decent little girl from him. Raheem Sterling as well, um considering it's his first start fully proper for the club. 64 minutes in he netted a ah just a very nice sort of cheeky, I think it was a far post finish, just tucked it in, very much a Sterling sort of goal.
00:19:20
officialgspn
Havert's got on the score sheet again. It's good to keep him fresh. I i think he came on as a substitute um He did for Declan Rice at 62 minutes. So he came on just before Sterling got his goal, but the the key point for me I think is that Ethan Ranieri scored two. And he is a player that we've talked a little bit about on the podcast. Arsenal fans are gonna see more and more of him coming forward. And to net two goals against Bolton, who yes, I mean, they're about, I think it was 53 places below us in the, you know, in the league effectively, in the English league. They're not pushovers. Bolton, yeah, the youngsters tore him apart.
00:20:03
officialgspn
but they aren't complete pushovers. And when Yerry to get two goals, I think it's phenomenal. And I think that is what is going to influence my choice coming into the Leicester game because Trossard obviously is suspended. Cheers, Leo. um No, that's that's harsh. I do think, like I've said before on the podcast, it was his fault. He was brash to kick out, but I don't think the kicking the ball away should warrant a second jello. That's my opinion anyway.
00:20:33
officialgspn
In terms of, obviously he won't be playing. In terms of the back line, I'm going to say that Raya starts. And if Raya is the one who's injured, obviously it'll be Neto. Backline, I'm going to say Timba, Saliba, Gabrielle, and I think Callifiori keeps his place. I think he's been really, really good. And he's got the right energy. He's got the strength. he He has some real intelligence about him as well. So I can definitely see him playing against Leicester, ah especially as, and again, no massive disrespect to Leicester fans, but, um you know, they're not the biggest opponents that we're going to face this year, for example.
00:21:11
officialgspn
Going into the midfield is where it gets slightly tricky. Declan Rice starts, I think Declan Rice starts every Premier League game he can, seeing as we're mounting a chase. This next choice is tricking. He didn't actually do too badly against Manchester City, but I'm not a big fan of Partey. However, considering Giorginio started against Bolton, I can see Partey starting in the middle with Wanyari.
00:21:38
officialgspn
I think Wanyeri will get his first Premier League start against Leicester. I know that i think I spoke to JT briefly off stream, off podcast, and he said, so he thought it was a bit too wily, I think he's ready. I think he's ready, I really do. And then I think the frontline picks itself, I think it's Saka on the right, Havart's down the middle, and um Martinelli on the left hand side. So that's how I can see us lining up. In terms of predicted scoreline,
00:22:07
officialgspn
I'm going to go, do you know what, I'm going to go three nil, three nil, yeah. I'm pretty confident that we've got them. And that is it pretty much for this shorter, snappier and much iller version of the Daily Arsenal podcaster. I apologize for the state of my voice. I hope you enjoyed the very quick sort of preview that we've done for the game. um As we mentioned previously in the World Card Wednesday episode, because of the Leicester team's availability, we're doing this preview on Thursday and tomorrow on Friday Jamie Patterson will be hosting the crossover with the Leicester team. So make sure to look out for that. Have a wonderful day and we'll see you tomorrow. Until then, take care.