00:00:00
00:00:01
S1 - E40 : Friday Preview and European Catch Up!
24 Plays10 hours ago
It's Friday, which means of course the boys are going to be looking forward to the upcoming fixture with Southampton at the Emirates this Satrday, but in a slight break from convention, in the last section, Josh and Noah take the time to discuss this weeks mad European fixtures as well!
Host : Josh Vince
Guest : Noah Jones
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Transcript
Introduction & Match Preview
00:00:09
officialgspn
Hello and welcome to the Daily Arsenal Podcast, brought to you as part of the Global Sports Podcast Network. It's Friday, which means it's time to preview our match in the upcoming fixture against Southampton at the Emirates, and I am very, very pleased to say that I am joined today by the one, the only, the ever magnanimous, it is Noah Jones. Noah, how you doing, my man?
00:00:29
Noah Jones
Oh, good. That was very kind of you. What an intro. Thank you very much.
00:00:33
officialgspn
I'm trying to big up everybody, you know, sort of like, we've got, we've got to stick together as a tight unit, especially when we're competing against the likes, you know, the Spurs and the United podcast, although I'm sure, you know, United have a lot to talk about at the moment and much more than we do, I'd argue, potentially.
00:00:34
Noah Jones
I love it.
00:00:42
Noah Jones
yeah Not in a good way, though. Not in a good way, eh?
00:00:50
officialgspn
Oh no, no, no, I'd much rather be in our position.
Arsenal vs Southampton: A History of Draws?
00:00:52
officialgspn
So what we're going to do is we're going to take a little look at the previous fixtures against Southampton, how we feel about the fixture coming up. We're going to look at the squads and forms. And then in the last section of today, we're actually going to do something a little bit different. We're going to take the focus away from Arsenal and just turn to the rest of Europe because it's been a cracking week of matches. It's been really, really interesting. So Noah, looking back.
00:01:14
officialgspn
Southampton um obviously not one of the ah the big teams in in a sense that they got a good history you know they were there in the top flight for 47 seasons you know second flight for 40 no they they've had a good old time of it but they're not really you know would you consider them terrifying opposition yeah
00:01:27
Noah Jones
Mhm.
00:01:33
Noah Jones
Uh, no, no, no, no offense of them at all. Um, I like Southampton as a club, but as you saw on their Monday night game, they're not on it.
00:01:44
officialgspn
No, damn not.
00:01:44
Noah Jones
They're not on it. Um, only thing that gives me fear is that horrible two seasons ago draw, um, last, last minute that kind of maybe crushed our title hopes.
00:01:57
Noah Jones
Um, so look, we're we're back for revenge. We're back for revenge.
00:02:00
officialgspn
Oh, a hundred percent. I mean, that season, I mean, we, uh, we drew with them twice, obviously, uh, three all at the Emirates and then one of us and Um, it was a rough year, that one against Southampton, wasn't it?
00:02:08
Noah Jones
is Yeah, it was. Theo Walcott in the first kind of two minutes crushing our hopes and dreams.
00:02:12
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:02:16
Noah Jones
But no, look, it's I think that's in the past. I hope that's in the past. This is me holding my hand up saying we should beat them and I hope we beat them. ah But yeah, they're not having the start they probably wanted.
00:02:31
officialgspn
No, definitely a more, I mean, they're 19th with one point. The only team below them is Wolves and that's on goal difference.
00:02:37
Noah Jones
Wow.
00:02:37
officialgspn
Wolves have minus 10 and Southampton have minus nine. So they are shipping goals hard. I mean, which, which is very encouraging for us at the very least.
00:02:46
Noah Jones
It's great, and one point is horrid. One point is
Leicester Match Analysis
00:02:50
Noah Jones
horrible. I feel for Southampton fans, I'm hoping it stays one point after this weekend.
00:02:52
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:02:57
officialgspn
i've I've actually got, you know what, being an Arsenal fan, I don't know about you. It's kind of like what you were just saying then. There is always that little bit of fear. It's like it's been conditioned into us, hasn't it?
00:03:07
Noah Jones
Correct, yeah. you You can never, and I'm sure we'll get into it, we saw it at the weekend, you can never put your hands behind your head to smile and relax.
00:03:15
officialgspn
No, not at all. In fact, we haven't actually spoken to you about the Leicester game. what did you What did you make of the match itself?
00:03:22
Noah Jones
but Do you know what? I had ah i had a 4-0 predicted. And tuning in at half time, I was like, well, just do it again.
00:03:25
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:03:28
Noah Jones
We're laughing. It's perfect. We were coasting. And then I don't know what it was. Was it that we've had a few good weeks now, tuning up at half time? Do you just switch off?
00:03:40
Noah Jones
for two seconds straight out of the gate of the first half, or the second half, sorry, and they they hit us. And then I think it's that weird 2-1 score line where if it was 1-0 and they scored to make it 1-0, they would probably sit back, get back into shape, no problem.
00:03:55
officialgspn
Yep.
00:03:56
Noah Jones
But that 2-1 score line then meant that Leicester went for us and what a world did James Justin scored.
00:04:02
officialgspn
Oh, absolute stunner.
00:04:03
Noah Jones
i The curve on that from that close to the goal is crazy. um And look, you can't you can't sniff at a goal like that, but we've got the job done. Hopefully it was just a blip and a lesson that won't happen again.
00:04:17
officialgspn
Yeah, I'm kind of feeling that it was. I mean, like you can't take away from that finish. Like I was very, very surprised to ship two goals to Leicester.
00:04:22
Noah Jones
you
00:04:25
officialgspn
I'm not going to lie. I thought I was pretty certain we keep a clean sheet. I'll be honest against them.
00:04:29
Noah Jones
Yeah. Yeah.
00:04:30
officialgspn
um But when you come up against the finish like that, like you say, the curve that he produced on the volley, it was a volley, a half volley as well.
00:04:38
Noah Jones
Volley, full volley is crazy.
00:04:39
officialgspn
all volley just shockingly good absolutely brilliant so i had a little bit of a look at the history and i actually brought this up with zach on the crossover podcast is that lovely dude zach but zach i hope you lose uh tomorrow um we've played them 48 times in the prem we've won 25 we've drawn 15 15 draw like when you look at slightly lower down the table opposition that's quite a high draw stat isn't it
00:04:41
Noah Jones
yes Yeah,
00:04:59
Noah Jones
o
00:05:09
Noah Jones
It is. It is. The only way I could kind of come to terms of that and not be too worried is that... they Did you still have a squad?
00:05:18
officialgspn
They did. Yeah.
00:05:19
Noah Jones
They did used to be a good football team. And I
Southampton's Struggles & Arsenal's Confidence
00:05:22
Noah Jones
think when you look back to Arsenal of old, the Arsenal with no backbone, I can absolutely see how we drew to them so many times.
00:05:30
officialgspn
Hmm.
00:05:30
Noah Jones
um And then we did it again two seasons ago, ah which we do not want to do again. And I'm sure that the drawing run stats is over, hopefully.
00:05:44
officialgspn
i i have a fee I've got a ah weirdly good feeling, but it I'll be honest, a weirdly good feeling as an Arsenal fan is never a good sign.
00:05:53
Noah Jones
No.
00:05:53
officialgspn
ah The only other thing I wanted to mention in this section before we take a little break is it's our boy Aaron. So he's played four games for them and he shipped 10 goals.
00:06:10
officialgspn
it's not been the best start for him do you reckon it's just because he's a little bit rusty or it's the defense for Southampton or where do you see the problem being yeah
00:06:20
Noah Jones
I think you can kind of attribute it to a bit of both. Look, we know Ramsdale is a good keeper. He's a good keeper. could verge on very good at times. um But yeah, he he has a tendency to maybe lose a bit of concentration um and he has a mistake in him, but let's be real, the Southampton defence isn't great.
00:06:36
officialgspn
yeah
00:06:41
Noah Jones
So whether it's his fault solely or it's the whole back line's fault, probably a bit of both. um I think the issue is if if you're one-on-one with some of the top striker's wingers, attackers in the Premier League.
00:06:54
Noah Jones
If it's got through your defence and you're one on one with a keeper, nine times out of 10, you probably fancy the striker, don't you?
00:07:00
officialgspn
Yeah, the odds are definitely on the forward.
00:07:01
Noah Jones
And so, exactly, and if if the defence is quite easy to get through, I mean, Ramsdale's only human, he's not the best keeper in the world. So, but I mean, I feel for him a little bit, but I need to put that aside for this weekend and hope we score 12 past him and then I'll get back to feeling bad for him.
00:07:15
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:07:18
officialgspn
Yeah, it'll be good to see him back at the Emirates and ah I'll be honest as well, it's nice to have a run of games at the Emirates that last as well.
00:07:20
Noah Jones
Exactly, yeah.
00:07:25
Noah Jones
Oh.
00:07:25
officialgspn
That away run was rough.
00:07:27
Noah Jones
we did We did well, by the way.
00:07:29
officialgspn
We did very well, very, very well.
00:07:29
Noah Jones
We did very well.
00:07:32
officialgspn
I'm still smart and a little bit off the city game, but it's gonna last for a little while.
00:07:35
Noah Jones
Absolutely.
00:07:37
officialgspn
Anyway, we're gonna take a little break now, and then we're gonna have a look at the form of Southampton slightly, the form of Arsenal as well, and the comments of one particular star boy, and if that has screwed us over ever so slightly.
Podcast Crossover & Challenges
00:07:50
officialgspn
So we'll be back just after this message from Zencaster.
00:08:41
officialgspn
And welcome back to the Daily Arsenal Podcast. It's Josh Vince here with Noah Jones, and we're talking about the upcoming fixture against Southampton. Now, I spoke to Zach from the Southampton Pod on Monday. That's when we did the, it was the only time we could really fit the crossover in just before the Bournemouth game. And he was feeling quite confident about it. And I actually brought up to him that, you know, Southampton, they've been struggling for points, but they haven't really been dismantled yet.
00:09:10
officialgspn
I think I might have tempted Fate there slightly.
00:09:10
Noah Jones
Yeah.
00:09:13
officialgspn
Like, when we when we look at that again, they were torn apart.
00:09:18
Noah Jones
It was it was It felt like I think going into that game like you say Zach said it should have been closer Now I think Bournemouth are a great team 100% But you can get at them, right?
00:09:25
officialgspn
Hmm.
00:09:32
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:09:32
Noah Jones
And so I think a newly promoted team like Southampton must be looking at a Bournemouth fixture going right lads This is a game
Southampton's Confidence Crisis: Arsenal's Opportunity?
00:09:38
Noah Jones
that we can win And then they just got battered
00:09:38
officialgspn
Hmm.
00:09:41
officialgspn
Yeah. but ah the What did the manager say?
00:09:43
Noah Jones
bu
00:09:44
officialgspn
he so He came out and said he was disgusted at the lack of effort in the first half, I think, the lack of fights, which is, it's a brutal thing to say to your players, especially a newly promoted side as well.
00:09:49
Noah Jones
Oh, that's brutal.
00:09:55
Noah Jones
Yes, yeah.
00:09:55
officialgspn
Because like you say, Zach was saying that this game against us is kind of a free hit, you know.
00:10:00
Noah Jones
Yeah, yeah, you don't mind it, do you?
00:10:00
officialgspn
You know, yeah, title contenders versus relegation candidates.
00:10:04
Noah Jones
Yeah.
00:10:04
officialgspn
Like, you'll take what you can get.
00:10:06
Noah Jones
Mm hmm.
00:10:06
officialgspn
But like you say, a game against Bournemouth, who are a good side, you know, they've been in the prem for a while now, they're established, but you'd still kind of fancy your chances.
00:10:11
Noah Jones
Mm hmm.
00:10:15
officialgspn
But when a team doesn't turn up and take them, I mean, it just, it scores disaster for them, doesn't it?
00:10:20
Noah Jones
Yeah, it does. And i I wonder now what that has done for their confidence, like, because when you're a team that's got one point at the start of the season, you don't really have a kick in the backside game like that.
00:10:24
officialgspn
Hmm.
00:10:31
officialgspn
Hmm.
00:10:31
Noah Jones
and ah ah Letting in two goals against Leicester, kick in the backside, right? Perfect.
00:10:35
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:10:35
Noah Jones
grass I think that'll only help us in the long run. going through the start of the season with a draw, and then coming against Bournemouth, getting battered, your manager annihilating you, and then having one of the best teams in the league the week after, oh mate, I ah i would be worried. ah know I know it's a free hit, I know it's a free hit, but if it gets to a, and I'm being massively presumptive here, if it gets to a five, six nil,
00:11:05
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:11:05
Noah Jones
it becomes not a free hit and it becomes slightly embarrassing, which I think could happen.
00:11:10
officialgspn
Yeah, absolutely. and Like, I think with Arsenal, in terms of the Leicester game, we probably, after the three away games that we had, they were huge away games, and you could see as well, it took so much out of the squad in those, like after the game's habits was collapsing on the ground, everybody looked shattered, and Leicester, I can kind of understand, energy levels dropped a bit, it was almost kind of like a recovery game.
00:11:24
Noah Jones
Oh, yeah. Mm hmm.
00:11:34
officialgspn
Like you say, now, well back in the groove,
Champions League Performance Against PSG
00:11:37
Noah Jones
Yeah.
00:11:37
officialgspn
and there is a real, real danger that we could really hurt them.
00:11:41
officialgspn
um looking at Southampton as well. Zach was mentioning they obviously they struggled to score but the main thing is they're very very susceptible from set plays.
00:11:51
Noah Jones
Oh, hallelujah.
00:11:55
Noah Jones
I mean, when you come up against Arsenal, if you have conceded set pieces this season, you're done for.
00:12:00
officialgspn
Yep
00:12:01
Noah Jones
You're done for. I i will be surprised if Gabrielle does not get a goal this weekend.
00:12:06
officialgspn
I, you know, I'm definitely going to put a little bit of money on it because it's, it's a hundred percent guaranteed. They're quite a short team as well.
00:12:12
Noah Jones
Yes.
00:12:13
officialgspn
Like, I think Barrington Diaz is one of their tallest players. And obviously he's, I mean, he's not hit the ground running by any stretch of the imagination.
00:12:15
Noah Jones
Yeah.
00:12:18
Noah Jones
No.
00:12:19
officialgspn
And on that note, their, um, their shots to go ratio is quite remarkable.
00:12:25
Noah Jones
Right.
00:12:26
officialgspn
0.04.
00:12:28
Noah Jones
Oh my word. Oh my word.
00:12:31
officialgspn
They've been shocking at converting chances, which against our defense, sounds pretty good.
00:12:37
Noah Jones
It is, mate, but all you're doing now is making me think it's going to be 8-0. And when it's not, I'm going to be fuming.
00:12:45
officialgspn
I look forward to the message in the group chat, just absolutely berating me. It's like, we're losing Josh, this is on you.
00:12:50
Noah Jones
It's all your fault, Josh. It's your fault.
00:12:54
officialgspn
Now, we talked a lot about Southampton there. Let's talk about Arsenal.
00:12:57
Noah Jones
It's...
00:12:58
officialgspn
Saka came out this weekend on, I think it was CBS with Vieira and that lot, and said, I don't want to put too much pressure on us, but I do think this is the year.
00:13:08
Noah Jones
Mm hmm.
00:13:10
officialgspn
Now, that came after a pretty convincing 2-0 victory um at home against PSG.
00:13:15
Noah Jones
Yeah.
00:13:17
officialgspn
ah What did you make of the PSG game?
00:13:20
Noah Jones
the So, it's a weird problem in a PSG well game because they're not what they used to be, right? and I mean, there's no beating around the bush, they're no Messi, Mbappe, Neymar, whatever.
00:13:26
officialgspn
Hmm. No.
00:13:31
Noah Jones
They're still a very good European team.
00:13:33
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:13:33
Noah Jones
And I think with the Champions League, European pedigree has like holds something in the game. PSG in your second Champions League game this season is a tough fixture.
00:13:42
officialgspn
It's a massive.
00:13:43
Noah Jones
No matter no matter what who's playing, what team they've got out, we didn't get out of second gear.
00:13:49
officialgspn
No, it was.
00:13:50
Noah Jones
It was easy.
00:13:52
officialgspn
It was comfortable, wasn't it?
00:13:53
Noah Jones
Yeah, yeah.
00:13:54
officialgspn
lot And you look at the stats. PSG did not have a bad game by any stretch of the imagination.
00:13:58
Noah Jones
No.
00:13:59
officialgspn
They had the majority of the possession. There are more chances. ah Fewer on goal. But they you know they gave us a game, a little bit like the um the Liverpool game, actually. like um but think They came up and they they you know they gave them a game and a half.
00:14:10
Noah Jones
A hundred percent.
00:14:14
officialgspn
But like you say, we we just seem to have found a very comfortable rhythm that we can sort of move into and play with at the moment. um Obviously we've said that Southampton, you you don't see them giving us too much grief.
00:14:27
Noah Jones
Hmm.
00:14:27
officialgspn
One good thing about the PSG game was we saw the first minutes of Michael Marino.
00:14:31
Noah Jones
Yes.
00:14:32
officialgspn
Yeah, back way sooner than I
Injury Impact & Tactical Adaptations
00:14:34
officialgspn
imagined he would be. I'll be entirely honest with you.
00:14:35
Noah Jones
Yeah, we were told months and months, weren't we?
00:14:37
officialgspn
Yeah, so very encouraging to see him coming back. The lineup was kind of as you'd imagine as well. ah Timber we're still not sure on though.
00:14:46
Noah Jones
Yeah, yeah, it's a I do ah do think with Timba, he's been subbed off quite a lot, right? When he's been on, he's been playing unbelievably.
00:14:52
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:14:56
Noah Jones
But because of injuries, team issues, whatever, he's paid a lot of minutes at the start of this season, which after a season off with an ACL, you probably don't want to say to him, right, you're playing the first seven games.
00:15:05
officialgspn
Mm.
00:15:09
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:15:09
Noah Jones
And he kind of has. So I'm not worried about him coming off. It would be nice if him, Ben Wyatt, or Tommy Asu was fully, fully fit.
00:15:20
Noah Jones
We could play one of them.
00:15:21
officialgspn
Mhm.
00:15:21
Noah Jones
But that's the good thing now. That's the good thing. We could swap every everyone around. I think the team is in, even though we've got injuries, is in a good place. Like you see, we're missing out on our star playmaker, Odegard, right?
00:15:33
officialgspn
hu
00:15:33
Noah Jones
He gets that team ticking, plays the balls. And for a couple of games, I was a bit like, have we lost our creativity?
00:15:40
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:15:40
Noah Jones
Now Trossard is doing it, now Saka is doing it, they're both being playmakers and I think there's a, like you say, what Saka said he doesn't want to put pressure on us but he's feeling good about this season. They all seem to be able to do everything and I think that's quite rare in that in football that any player can deputise anywhere and be fine.
00:15:53
officialgspn
e
00:16:02
Noah Jones
um Even Callifiori playing at left back, oh wait he's now up front, what's he doing?
00:16:05
officialgspn
Yeah, he was just, he was just going for walks was kind of cute.
00:16:06
Noah Jones
What's he doing?
00:16:09
officialgspn
He was having a crack in time.
00:16:10
Noah Jones
Absolutely. um But it's good. we Having three right backs injured at the same time is bizarre, but I'm not too worried because again, I think Timba can do 60 minutes, then bring him off for someone else.
00:16:16
officialgspn
It is, yeah. Hmm. Yeah, I have to admit, when when we were going through the transfer window and everything like that, bringing in California, I was like, okay, good, but do we really need more defensive players?
00:16:36
officialgspn
And my word, am I glad we went here for him now, because the amount of defensive injuries is staggering.
00:16:39
Noah Jones
he
00:16:42
Noah Jones
Yeah, it's it's bizarre. it's It's been a bit of a strange, like last season we got told we were lucky that we had no injuries.
00:16:48
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:16:49
Noah Jones
This season we're getting them, right?
00:16:50
officialgspn
Oh, yeah.
00:16:51
Noah Jones
And I think the way that Mikel is managing the team and the recruitment, I was very worried when Odegard went out. And look, I don't ah don't want Trossard to start in center midfield the whole time, but this like box midfield that we've got with Trossard and Haver swapping, and now Saka comes in to be the playmaker, is is a real genius tactical move in my opinion.
00:17:14
officialgspn
Yeah, it's working really well. So the big question is, I suppose, does the guard get straight back in?
00:17:21
Noah Jones
he oh He gets straight back in if he's fit.
00:17:22
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:17:27
officialgspn
Yeah, I think you're right.
00:17:29
Noah Jones
Just because he has a magical moment in games where we need him and we will need him at some point.
00:17:32
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:17:35
Noah Jones
So get back to full match fitness and I will allow him straight back into our team.
00:17:40
officialgspn
I'm sure he'll be very thankful for you letting him in now.
00:17:41
Noah Jones
He will, he will.
00:17:44
officialgspn
Reckon we're seeing Sterling in this game coming up against Southampton? He's not really been utilized much so far, is he?
00:17:50
Noah Jones
He's not, I saw him, I was there at the Bolton game and when he came on, he was great.
00:17:54
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:17:55
Noah Jones
I just wonder again, he's had a season or two of on the bench, off the bench, on the bench, off the bench. So not 100%. So again, I don't mind us managing his minutes for now. um Martinelli is maybe back.
00:18:08
officialgspn
The thing is, Martinelli looks very good. He's not finishing, but he's playing out of his skin and the defensive work he's doing has been remarkable as well.
00:18:12
Noah Jones
Yeah. Correct. Yeah.
00:18:19
officialgspn
um We're going to sort of finish talking about the Southampton game now, but before we do, we're going to do our predictions a little bit
Predictions for Arsenal vs Southampton
00:18:25
officialgspn
early in this episode. So, looking forward to the Southampton game. Eight, nine nil?
00:18:29
officialgspn
What are you thinking?
00:18:30
Noah Jones
I am going... Oh, this one could really make us look like idiots. I'm going... Because they don't necessarily play a massive low block.
00:18:43
Noah Jones
I'm going five.
00:18:43
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:18:44
Noah Jones
Five nil.
00:18:44
officialgspn
Do you know what? I was thinking six.
00:18:46
Noah Jones
Do it.
00:18:47
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:18:47
Noah Jones
I love it, mate. I love it.
00:18:48
officialgspn
Do you know what? Sorry. I'm really sorry, Zach. I know I said two won the other day, but no, six nil.
00:18:52
Noah Jones
Do you want the tigs?
00:18:53
officialgspn
After after that Bournemouth game, six nil.
00:18:54
Noah Jones
Wow.
00:18:57
Noah Jones
Yeah, fair.
00:18:57
officialgspn
Right. We're going to take a little bit of a break ah here, a little message from ah the Global Sports Podcast. Now, when we come back, we're going to talk about the week of European football because it's been a cracking old week. So we'll be back just after this message.
00:19:45
officialgspn
Hello and welcome back to the Daily Arsenal Podcast. It is the third section of our preview of the Southampton game. We've done our preview kind of and now we're going to look back at the European football from the week because my word were there some cracking games. We've talked about Arsenal PSG already and how Arsenal were very, very comfortable against PSG. Noah, is there any game in particular that stood out for you this week? Because there were some bangers.
00:20:09
Noah Jones
I mean, it's hard to pick one, isn't it? It's hard to pick one. I think Lil beating Real Madrid is fantastic.
00:20:13
officialgspn
That was huge and they didn't.
00:20:15
Noah Jones
Dortmund beating Santic 7-1.
00:20:18
officialgspn
Did you see the highlights from that? They were shockingly bad.
00:20:19
Noah Jones
Yeah, it was embarrassing. It was embarrassing.
Aston Villa's Upset Against Bayern
00:20:22
Noah Jones
um But probably the big one that sticks in everyone's head is Aston Villa beating Bayern Munich.
00:20:27
officialgspn
What a result for them.
00:20:29
Noah Jones
Aston Villa.
00:20:31
officialgspn
Like first, i' not I can't remember exactly how long it was, 20 or 30 years since they've been in Champions League. First night back at Villa Park, it kind of gave me a little bit of a flashback to last year with the St.
00:20:42
officialgspn
James's Park result against PSG.
00:20:43
Noah Jones
Yes.
00:20:45
officialgspn
And they played brilliantly. They just completely shut Bayern down.
00:20:48
Noah Jones
They were really, really good. And you know what? To swing it back to Arsenal, it makes that 2-0 at Villa Park early this season look so much better, mate.
00:20:56
officialgspn
It looks very, very good right now, doesn't it?
00:20:58
Noah Jones
It really does.
00:21:00
officialgspn
And you've got to give credit.
00:21:01
Noah Jones
It really does.
00:21:01
officialgspn
I mean, they're going to struggle to hang hang on to him. John Duran, the super sub, a sort of sliding first time effort from 30 yards out to chip Manuel Neuer.
00:21:13
Noah Jones
It's just, he is, he could get bought in January. He could leave in January.
00:21:18
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:21:18
Noah Jones
If he carries this on, he could leave in January. I'm still, I know Ollie Watkins is there, but I am surprised that Duran hasn't had the most starts yet.
00:21:28
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:21:29
Noah Jones
Um, because at some point you have to say, I've got to start him. I mean, he, he doesn't stop scoring and he doesn't stop scoring well these.
00:21:39
officialgspn
all of them are stuous
00:21:40
Noah Jones
ridiculous like um um He's already talking like he wants to leave. I didn't mean to be where he said, oh, I'd love to play by a minute one day after he just beat him. But no,
00:21:51
Noah Jones
so thanks for that um but no that villa, you've got to take it. I love that they're doing well. I think it's always good to see the unexpected happen. And boy, that was unexpected.
00:22:06
officialgspn
you know what? I know there's been a lot of talk about the structure of the new champions league.
00:22:11
Noah Jones
Hmm.
00:22:12
officialgspn
ah Admittedly, we're only two games in. I actually quite like it. I'm not going to lie.
00:22:16
Noah Jones
100% there's a there's an element of which is exactly what they wanted, of course, big teams playing each other.
00:22:21
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:22:21
Noah Jones
um The only thing the only thing I miss is for example, the first week we went to Atalanta through.
00:22:29
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:22:30
Noah Jones
In my head, I'm like, well, you wait for the return fiction lads. And then I'm like, Oh, no, because there isn't one.
00:22:33
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:22:35
Noah Jones
um That's the only thing I miss. But the games
New Champions League Format: Strategic Implications
00:22:39
Noah Jones
themselves are fantastic.
00:22:40
officialgspn
like The games, everything is on the line in the games, which makes it so entertaining.
00:22:44
Noah Jones
Yeah.
00:22:45
officialgspn
I mean, like, I kind of have to disagree slightly because you've got the likes of Leo Real Madrid. And Real Madrid, when you think about it in the group stages and in the knockout, what they've relied on so much is that second home leg back at the Bernabeu.
00:23:00
Noah Jones
Very true.
00:23:01
officialgspn
And now they're kind of in a position where they can't figure a team out and then come back and annihilate them at home. It adds, I think it adds a bit of uncertainty.
00:23:11
Noah Jones
That's a great point, mate. It is, it is.
00:23:12
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:23:12
Noah Jones
And I think will we'll see it more. Obviously, we're having some fantastic games. The fact that each team has eight games mean that you can have a couple of games where you're not at your best and still get through.
00:23:23
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:23:25
Noah Jones
So I think it will feel even better in three games time when there's only three or four Champions League games left and you've got potentially the likes of Real Madrid in the playoffs.
00:23:38
officialgspn
Yeah, absolutely. Um, another game that I have to bring up because, um, so um I work in a barometer. My manager is Italian and his family are Juventus fans.
00:23:46
Noah Jones
Mm.
00:23:48
Noah Jones
Oh, wow.
00:23:49
officialgspn
Did you see Leipzig Uwe?
00:23:51
Noah Jones
Yeah, that that again I think, again, you look at that game in itself and Juventus Leipzig. That is such a that is such a Champions League game.
00:24:01
Noah Jones
I love it.
00:24:02
officialgspn
is great, isn't it? And it was bonkers.
00:24:05
Noah Jones
yes Yeah, yeah.
00:24:05
officialgspn
Absolute, I think, right. So I've got it here. They had two injuries inside 12 minutes, Juventus. They lost Gonzalez and Brema um on six minutes and 12 minutes.
00:24:14
Noah Jones
That's it.
00:24:17
officialgspn
Then they go down one nil in the 30th minute, equalizing in the 50th. At which point, goalkeeper de Greggio on the 59th comes out of his box, handles the ball, gets sent off.
00:24:29
officialgspn
They get a direct free kick. The free kick hits Douglas Louise in the arm as he goes to block it, give away a penalty, go 2-1 down. Then out of nowhere, Vlajevic, who's been pretty rubbish all season, scores an absolute worldie.
00:24:40
Noah Jones
Yes. Yeah.
00:24:44
officialgspn
And then out of nowhere, Consezo, I think I'm pronouncing that right, Consezo, a beautiful little just dribble into the box and
Juventus vs Leipzig: Chaos and Injuries
00:24:52
officialgspn
tuck in with his left foot.
00:24:52
Noah Jones
Yeah.
00:24:54
officialgspn
It was the most insane game I've watched in a long time. It was brilliant.
00:24:58
Noah Jones
Yeah, i mean this is this is the thing that I do like about it is that you it means that the smaller teams can go for it.
00:25:09
officialgspn
yeah
00:25:09
Noah Jones
Because if Lille lost that game 3-0 against Real Madrid, for example, we've got six games left.
00:25:13
officialgspn
Yeah. Yeah.
00:25:15
Noah Jones
It's fine. So it is allowing teams like Villa against Bayern Munich to try and win instead of let's get a draw because one point will be enough it's allowing them to it's giving them the freedom to go for the win and i do like that about this format yeah oh yeah
00:25:31
officialgspn
yeah is but and the There's only one other game I want to talk about. happened last night. We're actually recording on Friday which is why this is coming out a little bit later than usual. It was a game that I think a lot of football fans were looking forward to. Porto Manchester United.
00:25:47
officialgspn
ah Again I was working during it and I didn't get a chance to watch much of it but I looked down at my phone seeing that they were 3-2 up after they'd been 2-0 down.
00:25:57
Noah Jones
it was it was You know what it was? it was I was like ducking in and out ducking and out with it and when it went 3-2, I was like, do you know what?
00:26:08
Noah Jones
They're not playing well at the minute, man United, but against a team like Porto, that is a fantastic result. And then I saw, the and then i saw um sorry, when it went too well, then I saw Bruno Fernandez get his own off.
00:26:18
officialgspn
yeah Again, no chat.
00:26:21
Noah Jones
ah Again, and this one won't be resented. Then I saw Harry Maguire score in the last 10 minutes. It just was ridiculous.
00:26:29
officialgspn
So I'd managed to catch the last five minutes and the thing that amazed everybody in the bar downstairs was that on the 78th minute, the substitutions that he made, you'd think you're three, two down, you're going to bring on another attacker. No, he brought on Harry McGuire and Johnny Evans.
00:26:48
Noah Jones
Yeah, so is is is and it's it's not a good substitute.
00:26:52
officialgspn
It's not.
00:26:53
Noah Jones
What is annoying now is that it works.
00:26:56
officialgspn
It's almost as if he was saying to Ineos, come and sack me, please.
00:27:01
Noah Jones
Yeah, yeah.
00:27:02
officialgspn
Do you know, the payoff will pay for an amazing holiday that I can take for the rest of this year.
00:27:02
Noah Jones
Yeah.
00:27:06
Noah Jones
I mean, he accidentally got it right.
00:27:07
officialgspn
I've had enough. Yeah, it's just like almost looked disappointed at the three.
00:27:10
Noah Jones
Yeah. were Yeah.
00:27:12
officialgspn
I was just like, oh, for goodness sake, you want me to do that, Harry?
00:27:14
Noah Jones
Yeah.
00:27:15
officialgspn
hello um Their next game is Villa away as well.
00:27:20
Noah Jones
Isn't that isn' not a Sunday?
00:27:20
officialgspn
i can Uh, so Sunday. Yeah. Two o'clock, I think massive game.
00:27:23
Noah Jones
Oh.
00:27:25
officialgspn
If he loses that, can you see 10 hog being shifted?
00:27:28
Noah Jones
all I had him, I had him and Mareska, I had him going before Christmas, ah before the season started and he's just backing everything up.
00:27:32
officialgspn
huh Yeah.
00:27:40
Noah Jones
I just, there's no, when you watch them, especially when I watch them against Tottenham, there's no no style.
00:27:44
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:27:48
officialgspn
No.
00:27:49
Noah Jones
There's no um identity. there is There is nothing to that team. They are just a bunch of blokes playing football. There's no, like when you watch Arsenal, Man City, even Tottenham, you know that their game is high line. You know that City's is inverted fullbacks. You know that Arsenal's is played to the wings and they cross it into habits. Man United have nothing. And they look really, really, they look down, they look down bad and our villa are going to batter them, aren't they?
00:28:17
officialgspn
Really looking forward to it.
00:28:19
Noah Jones
yeah
00:28:19
officialgspn
Really looking forward to it again.
00:28:20
Noah Jones
Yeah.
00:28:21
officialgspn
And I can honestly, I can see him being gone by mid next
Conclusion & Next Episode Teaser
00:28:25
officialgspn
week.
00:28:25
Noah Jones
Wow.
00:28:26
officialgspn
um Southgate apparently, the big name.
00:28:31
Noah Jones
Southgate.
00:28:31
officialgspn
Yeah.
00:28:32
Noah Jones
Southgate, you're the one.
00:28:34
officialgspn
Do you know what?
00:28:34
Noah Jones
Wow.
00:28:35
officialgspn
For the rest of the Premier League, Southgate, you are the one.
00:28:37
Noah Jones
Yeah. Penhog, you're the one. Stay.
00:28:43
officialgspn
Well, I mean, I really enjoyed looking back at those European games. That's it for today's episode. um A huge thank you to Noah Jones. Noah, it's always great having you on. Thanks so much for coming by.
00:28:51
Noah Jones
Pleasure mate, thank you for having me.
00:28:53
officialgspn
We obviously are done for the week now. We'll be back on Monday with our review of the Southampton game to see if either of our five nil or six nil predictions come true. ah Make sure to follow us wherever you get your podcasts.
00:29:04
officialgspn
Spread the pod. Share the love. We love you. We want you to find more people to love us. That is it from us. Have a wonderful day. Goodbye.