0:00

Hello

0:13

football fans, the Premier League is back

0:15

after some of the most dramatic, heartbreaking

0:17

or potentially uninteresting football across the international

0:20

break, depending on your point of view.

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Those are just some of the descriptions levelled at

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us too, but we're back with another essential questions

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ahead, another weekend which could

0:29

go a long way to shaping the

0:31

title come the end of the season.

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Come Sunday night, will it be advantage, Man

0:36

City in the title race, Can Arsenal upset

0:39

City again at the Etihad, or will it

0:41

be Liverpool at home to Brighton with

0:43

all the eggs in their basket this Easter?

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There's no false advertising on this Super Sunday

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live on Sky Sports where you can catch

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both games with our coverage starting at 12.30pm

0:52

on Sky Sports Premier League. I'm football journalist

0:54

Ron Walker, and to look ahead to the

0:56

big matches this weekend I'm joined in the

0:58

studio by two of my Sky Sports colleagues,

1:00

welcome back to the esteemed Pete Smith. Hi

1:02

Ron, how are you going? I'm very good,

1:05

how are you? Yes, very good, thank you.

1:07

My international break was partly spent at

1:09

Wembley, and it was just like

1:11

watching Brazil for, well for

1:14

parts of that game, it wasn't quite really like

1:16

the Brazil of old, they weren't wearing yellow for

1:18

a start which was a bit disappointing, and there

1:21

was a flash of flair I guess

1:23

from Vinicius and Rodrigo and young

1:25

boy Endrick coming on and making his

1:27

name, but not so much

1:29

flair football from Gareth Southgate's side unfortunately in

1:31

that game. Saved that a little

1:33

bit for Tuesday against Belgium didn't they, and

1:35

it was almost like a role reversal, looking

1:37

good going forward but couldn't defend for Toffee.

1:39

Yeah, it's issues to

1:42

sort out I'd say before the summer.

1:44

Definitely, okay that's Pete, also in the studio,

1:46

hello again Sam Blitz now, how

1:48

was your international break? Well it was

1:50

very good, I was covering Wales, semi-final

1:52

and the final, heart breaking that

1:55

Poland, you know, Wales really should have put that

1:57

playoff final away, Poland didn't have a shot on

1:59

target. it in normal time

2:01

and extra time. And then last night I

2:04

turned to the women's game as

2:07

I was at Chelsea's Champions League

2:09

quarterfinal win over Ajax and we're

2:11

talking about trebles,

2:13

double trebles, but I think

2:16

Emma Hayes' side looks like they're going to go one

2:18

further with the quadruple. I think

2:20

as the weeks go by it looks more and more

2:23

of a likelihood really that they're going to get

2:26

over the line. Not a bad way to sign

2:28

off for her before she heads over to the

2:30

state side, is it? Now

2:32

it's been a couple of weeks since we

2:34

were last together talking about all things title

2:36

race, so let's just have a little reminder

2:38

of how things stand at a very, very

2:40

tight top of the Premier League. Arsenal top

2:43

ahead of Liverpool only on goal difference

2:45

both sat on 64 points. Man

2:48

City are a point behind

2:50

those two. Now, Arsenal

2:53

are top but they don't seem

2:55

to feature much in the title conversations apart

2:57

from when we're involved obviously. It seems

2:59

to be all about City and Liverpool and

3:01

City at home to Arsenal in the big

3:03

match of the weekend that we've already mentioned,

3:06

4.30 that one live on SkySport. So I

3:08

think the first thing to ask about this

3:10

game is looking

3:12

straight at the physio table. Now England

3:15

will be the ones that maybe are fresh in people's

3:18

minds. Kyle Walker dropping

3:20

out of the England squad, John Stones coming off injured

3:22

on Tuesday night, but it's not just that Pep

3:25

Guardiola has got to worry about, is it? Well

3:27

the third one was Manuel Ocangi who limped

3:30

out of the Switzerland squad as well, so

3:32

three issues there for Pep Guardiola to deal

3:34

with. I think the latest we're hearing is

3:36

that Kyle Walker's 50-50 for this game on

3:38

Sunday, whether it's a hamstring strain or

3:40

is it just a tight hamstring, that's what they're trying

3:42

to sort out and whether he can play on Sunday.

3:44

They like to keep their cards because their chests don't

3:46

they as well? Well that's part of it isn't it?

3:48

I guess I was going to say we'll find out

3:50

more in Friday's press conferences but these managers don't like

3:53

to give too much away do they? And John Stones

3:55

I think maybe looked a little bit more

3:57

of a concern potentially there but you

3:59

know yeah. It's going to be a bit of

4:01

a shake up for Pep Guardiola in the back line

4:03

there. Ruben Diaz was interestingly dropped, wasn't he? Didn't start

4:05

the game against Liverpool. I mean, don't know if you

4:08

say dropped these days, always just left out for a

4:10

tactical reason. You know, I don't think you'd tell Ruben

4:12

Diaz who'd been dropped, but yeah, maybe not

4:14

quite looking like the player he was when he was player of the season

4:16

in 2021 and

4:18

had that fantastic year for them. Maybe just drops off

4:21

a little bit, but he's still a quality player, of

4:23

course. And, you know, they're not the bad options in

4:25

Jostco Guadio and Nathan Aque to come into that back

4:27

and I think maybe Ruko Lewis be coming in at

4:29

right back if Walker's not fit, which could be an

4:31

interesting one because you look back. It

4:33

feels like he had a bit of a breakout in

4:35

the first half of the season. But if you look

4:37

now, he's only played against Huddersfield Burnley and in the

4:40

second leg of that Champions League game with

4:42

Copenhagen since the club World Cup. So he's not had

4:44

a lot of game time. He'd obviously get brought

4:46

up to the senior England squad in the

4:49

midway through that international break. So it could

4:51

be interesting one if Gabriel Martinelli is fifth.

4:53

He's over that cut that he sustained on

4:55

his foot against Sheffield United because I'm sure

4:57

Arsenal would love to see Martinelli running at

4:59

Ruko Lewis down that flank. You

5:03

never want to question Pep

5:05

Guardiola's squad depth too much, given the

5:07

riches at the disposal all over the

5:09

pitch. But it could be a

5:11

little bit of a patched up team, especially with

5:13

Edison out as well. And that's something we've seen

5:15

too much in terms of that level of second

5:17

choice defence. Well, I think I've had this debate

5:19

with a few people in the office. I actually

5:21

really like Stefan Ortega. I think he's absolutely excellent.

5:25

I don't think Edison not

5:28

being there is an absolute crisis for them.

5:31

I was having a debate with Rich

5:33

Morgan of Liverpool Allegiance about who the best

5:35

backup goalkeeper in the league was. Because I think

5:37

Rich Morgan and maybe Jurgen Klopp as well feels

5:39

that Kelleher is the best backup. But Ortega has

5:41

done a lot of good things in my eyes

5:44

anyway. But I think in terms of the change,

5:46

yes, we talk about Martinelli getting at Riko Lewis

5:48

or whatever, but it's not just the defensive side,

5:50

is it? It's also about the

5:52

build up plate for Man City and those

5:54

patterns of play. And we've seen John Stone

5:56

stepping into midfield and playing almost in number

5:58

10 positions. in the weeks

6:00

before international break. So it's disruptive,

6:02

certainly, for Manchester Yolanda. I

6:04

actually think that this backline

6:07

problem that Pep Guardiola has is a lot more

6:09

bigger problem than I think we actually is

6:12

being advertised in the

6:14

football world, really, because I remember in the

6:16

City Arsenal game last season,

6:19

Pep put Manuela Kanji at

6:21

left back against Bukayo Saka,

6:23

a really nullified Arsenal's biggest

6:26

strength in depth. Now, even

6:28

if a Kanji's fit, if Carl

6:30

Walker and John Stones aren't, then

6:33

a Kanji's probably going to have to be put on the

6:35

right-hand side or at centre back next to Diaz. Because

6:37

G potentially

6:52

not coming against Carl Walker, but it's

6:55

the other side as well. I think

6:58

you're absolutely right to suggest that

7:00

the build-up play as well

7:02

is absolutely massive. Can you see Guevardio

7:06

or a Kanji stepping into midfield in

7:08

the same way, but also

7:11

to the same impact that

7:13

John Stones does? I think it changes, because then

7:15

I think you see Rika Lewis coming in as

7:17

a hybrid right back, full back

7:19

running, stepping into midfield. So they'll play it slightly

7:21

differently, rather than that player stepping out of the

7:23

centre back, they're stepping from full back positions. It's

7:25

all very technical and tactical, isn't it? I

7:28

think in terms of the injuries, I think there's two sides

7:31

to the coin of it even with

7:33

the Arsenal situation as well, because Bukayo

7:36

Saka pulled out of the England squad, didn't

7:39

he? Gabriel missed the Brazil

7:41

squad as well, didn't he, with his Achilles

7:44

issue. But both of those players

7:46

were precautionary and brought out

7:48

of the squads before they played, where obviously we saw

7:50

Walker and Stones forced out of the matches. I wonder

7:52

if that preventative measure of

7:54

them not having to go through the whole

7:56

international break and try and play the matches,

7:59

maybe they can... I've no big good shape. Do

8:01

you want my answer? Do you want my answer depending

8:03

on those three? They're absolutely fine They

8:06

are already Planning to

8:08

be in this marthonelli sack Marthonelli

8:10

sack of Gabrielle they're all starting

8:12

de Bruyne Edison. They're all starting

8:14

like it's it's It's

8:16

the classic thing when if you sneeze nope, you

8:18

can't play international football. That's Because

8:21

everyone's very precautionary and of course this game

8:23

was sort of hanging over the international way

8:25

even before it started Yeah,

8:28

I think all of them really fine I think

8:30

marthonelli is the key one for me because he was out

8:32

before the break So he was already

8:34

injured and it's a question of whether he's

8:36

back but sakura and Gabrielle I

8:39

think that they're straight into the

8:41

well even if you're 70% you want to play in this game Don't

8:43

you have to plan this game? You know if you're because sakura and

8:45

you're feeling a little bit of a twins you

8:47

think no no I need to plan

8:49

this Yeah injections in football. That's a Whole

8:52

another story Here to the

8:54

Etihad this season doesn't he so I think he'll be if

8:56

he's got a chance of playing He's

8:59

probably been playing through the pain barrier fair amount

9:01

this season already. Let's look at the stats I

9:03

mean Arsenal have got the best record against man

9:05

City Liverpool in that top three race this season

9:07

They've won two drawn one of the

9:09

three games Against their

9:12

title rivals, but I guess maybe the

9:14

big question here is can Arsenal

9:18

Upset the odds of the Etihad because if

9:20

you're looking for the last time that man City were

9:22

beaten at home You've got to go back before the 2022

9:24

World Cup It was that Ivan

9:26

Tony led Brentford game where they won it

9:28

in the last minute since then it's been

9:31

33 wins from 38 home games 505 days it will be

9:36

since their last home defeat on Sunday now

9:38

Arsenal have won all eight of their Premier League games

9:40

since the turn of the year and Conversely

9:44

have lost all eight of their last

9:46

games at the Etihad so how

9:49

much should we say that that plays into it because You

9:53

Wouldn't call the Etihad a fortress in a way would you because

9:55

I mean it's not like you haven't got a cop like Anfield

9:57

But city just get it done. They're just a professional

9:59

unit I think a lot of people will

10:01

draw comparisons between this game and the one we had

10:04

in April when Arsenal were in a very similar

10:06

situation. If they went to the Etihad and won, they

10:08

would go on to win the title. I think

10:10

that's a very fair assessment given

10:12

what the points gap was there.

10:14

But I think it's very important to remember

10:16

that this is a very, very different Arsenal

10:19

side. I think it's very different in two

10:21

ways. I think the first way is that in

10:23

the back end of last season, William Saliba got

10:26

injured. And I think there's a

10:28

very, very big case to say that if Saliba

10:30

had played at the Etihad, that Arsenal

10:32

may not have lost. And

10:34

therefore, if Saliba had been fit for the back

10:36

end of the season, then Arsenal would have probably

10:39

gone on to win the Premier League. And the

10:41

other one is the is the absolute key obvious

10:43

addition that Arsenal have made

10:45

this season and that is bringing

10:47

in Declan Rice, who, you

10:49

know, we were on the football show earlier, and

10:51

Mark McAdam reporter put up the heat map of

10:54

Declan Rice's season compared to where he was at West

10:56

Ham last season. He is everywhere.

10:58

He's literally people talk about

11:01

the 12th man being a

11:03

fans fans thing. It is.

11:06

He is literally like two players in

11:08

one he has that just ability just to nip the

11:11

ball back away from a

11:13

team looking to break or a team looking

11:15

to build and just win it back in,

11:18

you know, very advantageous positions.

11:21

I don't think Arsenal have had that player

11:24

for goods. I'd

11:27

say eight, nine, 10 years. I'd even go

11:29

for far as to say, I think

11:31

not since Patrick Vieira, I would say which

11:33

is even longer. Arsenal have had such a

11:35

consistent player in that middle of the park.

11:38

We're going to touch a bit on an

11:40

article that you wrote comparing him and Rodri

11:42

as lighthouses later on in the show. But

11:44

we've been talking to Declan Rice ahead of

11:46

this weekend's game. Here's him talking to Melissa

11:48

Reddy about what he's added

11:50

in terms of he's scored a couple of late

11:52

winners against Luton and Man United, but also how

11:54

Arsenal have managed to drag themselves over the line

11:56

and keep themselves top of the table so far

11:58

this campaign. I've obviously

12:00

been in big pressure situations this season,

12:02

games where if we hadn't won

12:04

we'd be slipping away from the teams at the top and

12:07

you feel that pressure before the games. You know in your

12:09

mind that you have to go out there and do everything

12:11

you can to win and get three points in our

12:14

really five off-10 moments. So hopefully we

12:16

can keep putting ourselves in

12:18

big pressure games and that's where you learn the

12:20

most about yourself and the team as well. You're

12:23

already talk of a player off the

12:25

season contender. You seem to be absolutely

12:27

reveling in it. There are

12:29

so many good players in the Premier League in my

12:31

position. I think there are so

12:34

many good attacking players as well. Obviously

12:36

it's so good to be spoken about

12:38

in that manner but we've still

12:40

got such a long way to go. I think them awards and

12:42

they're nothing to me at the minute. I think the main things

12:44

are the ones we want to get as a team and we're

12:48

right in it. So it's nice to take their test and take them

12:50

out of time. So that was

12:52

Declan Rice. Now Pete, you've

12:54

sort of touched on how Man City are going to play.

12:56

I think that's probably fairly, not set

12:58

in stone because it's so fluid, but you

13:01

know what I mean? We could imagine the sort of

13:03

game they're going to play. It doesn't change too much

13:05

from week to week. Arsenal, they mixed

13:07

it up well when they won this game at

13:09

the Emirates earlier this season. I think it's going

13:11

to be a sort of repeat performance for Michael

13:13

Arteta because you think of the two managers surely.

13:16

If you offered him a point right now,

13:18

I'm sure publicly he'd say no but he

13:20

wouldn't be too unhappy with that, would

13:22

he? Interesting, isn't it? Interpreting what each result

13:24

would mean for those three teams at the

13:27

top of the table. I mean, if there is a draw, then Liverpool

13:30

beat Brighton. Suddenly, they're in a really commanding

13:32

position. Can't turn you back for one minute.

13:34

Yeah, I know. Absolutely. You do not want

13:36

to drop any points. I think

13:38

there's also this feeling that I've got is that

13:41

these teams aren't, they're going to slip up. Each

13:44

team, I think, is going to drop points between now and the

13:46

running because you look at the running and I just think there's

13:48

so many tricky games still for them to all navigate. I think

13:50

Man City are in a real tough position now.

13:52

As soon as I get out of this game, they're thinking about Aston

13:54

Villa next week and it's like, that's a potential

13:56

banana skin for them. And I think Arsenal's really

13:58

tough period is coming up. with the games that they've

14:01

got. And then I think Liverpool have got a

14:03

tricky finale as well. So yeah, it's not all going

14:05

to be decided on Sunday, but it's a big one.

14:07

And in terms of asking about how they could do

14:09

it, I think the

14:11

thing we're asking, we always think about the mentality

14:14

and it's so much about what happened at the

14:16

back end of last season and also the stick

14:18

they got in there about our Teta playing, you'll

14:20

never walk alone at the training ground about trying

14:22

to prepare to go to Anfield. Well, I think

14:24

we saw before Christmas, a really

14:26

brilliant performance from them at Anfield and they

14:28

really showed that they are growing as a

14:31

team, you know, in terms of their quality, but

14:33

also in terms of their mentality for these big games.

14:35

I think a big, big factor for them in the

14:37

season is the couple of wins they've got over Man

14:39

City. This outrageous record where they'd lost 15 of

14:42

their last 16 games against Man City going into

14:44

this season. They beat them in the

14:46

Community Shield on penalties and it just felt like a

14:48

real moment for our Teta and this team. You know,

14:51

we always talk about whether the Community Shield really matters

14:53

or it feels like it mattered this year because then

14:55

they go and beat them at the Emirates and now

14:57

they go to City where they've lost their last eight

15:00

in a row, I think, Arsenal and

15:02

it's like, this is the next hurdle and

15:04

if they can clear this, then we'll stop in the

15:06

Marine because they have been so good against those top

15:08

sides this year. That same performance they put in at

15:10

the Emirates would be a perfect away performance as well,

15:12

wouldn't it? It would, yeah. You'd shut them down and

15:14

then try and just get

15:17

something out of nothing because there wasn't anything really in

15:20

that game, was there? The XGIs? Well, I think we're

15:22

going to see a very tight game. Yeah, I think

15:24

we're going to see a very tight game on Sunday

15:26

because, well, Harlan hasn't had a shot against Arsenal this

15:28

season. He's played them twice, which is amazing really. There's

15:31

credits for Saliba who's really marshalled him so well this

15:33

year but also the work of Rice, as Sam's mentioned,

15:35

there in front of him and the whole set-up of

15:37

Arsenal. But they're a team now who's set up to

15:40

control the ball and almost control the match, don't

15:42

they? If I try and think

15:44

of it like a snapshot, a picture of

15:46

Arsenal this season, it's them

15:49

pinning an opposition team in and almost not allowing

15:51

them out when the ball pops out but then

15:53

Rice is there to pick it up or Gugino

15:56

picks it up and you've got Odegard crafting and

15:58

Saka trying to get in. past his

16:00

marker from that right side. And that's just a vision

16:02

I have of Arsenal just

16:05

pinning teams back. And they did that at Liverpool in

16:07

phases, which is incredible to think you can go to

16:09

Anfield and dictate the play like that in moments. Absolutely,

16:11

and I think that I was there covering the game

16:14

in October at the Emirates. And actually, if you look at

16:16

the team, it's actually very similar to

16:18

the available side that Arsenal

16:21

have now that is so informed. They

16:24

didn't have the Kiyosaka, which was the key sort

16:26

of, it was meant to be the key destabilizing

16:28

injury and they still came through it, albeit via

16:30

a cagey last minute winner. So there was something

16:33

missing in attack, but

16:35

they started with Jurgenio at the base and Rice further

16:37

in front. And that, for the last few weeks, has

16:40

worked so, so well for

16:42

Arsenal. And the fact that they've been able to turn

16:44

the ball over quickly and turn it into,

16:47

turn defence into attack is

16:50

gonna be really important because as we know,

16:52

as we've seen from City in recent weeks,

16:54

they're so susceptible to conceding chances,

16:57

shots, and goals on

16:59

the counter attack. I mean, remember- They've got

17:01

Stefan Ortega in goal though. Oh, there you

17:03

go, sorry. Oh, I'm so sorry.

17:05

You need your catching practice for him. I'm so sorry

17:07

they don't have the best goalkeeper in the world when

17:09

you put his feet available. But

17:12

yeah, I remember that game, remember when City played

17:14

Chelsea? And everyone was saying, oh, well, City

17:17

are gonna win, this is an out of form

17:19

Chelsea team, this is out of confidence, they're not

17:21

at level. And suddenly, Chelsea

17:23

produced this performance that, you

17:25

know, they could have, I know they were eventually

17:27

pegged back, they could have been two, three, four goals-

17:30

Yeah, they should have been. In front, I remember when

17:32

actually City hosted Brentford as well in their game in

17:34

hand. Brentford had quite

17:36

a few chances to go and take

17:38

the lead. And it was

17:40

the likes of Johan Wieser and Francon Yekka

17:44

at the end of those chances. Now, if

17:46

that's Declan Rice, Bekaya Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, you're

17:49

talking about a very different result. So I agree

17:51

with you. And Pete, because all

17:53

of those games were low scoring matches.

17:57

And City beat Arsenal 4-1 in this fixture last season, so

17:59

you need to go on- to win the title. I'd

18:01

be shocked if it was more than three goals are in

18:03

this game. Now

18:09

talking about who was and wasn't available at the

18:11

Emirates back in October, of course one

18:14

man who was missing from Man City, Rodry,

18:16

made such an important contribution this season. We'll

18:18

talk about him and a little bit more

18:20

about where the game's going to be won

18:22

after the break. Welcome

18:34

back to Essential Questions. Now

18:36

we're looking at what could

18:38

be the title this

18:40

weekend. So obviously you've got to decide

18:43

where this match is going to be won

18:45

and lost. Pete, if there's not going to be

18:47

too many goals in it and we've touched before the

18:49

break that it looks like it could be a cagey

18:51

affair, you want your goal score is informed,

18:53

don't you? I'd say City, I think, have

18:56

probably got the edge on that at the moment. Obviously,

18:58

there's a certain Erling Harland who I think

19:00

we don't need too much introduction for. But

19:02

also, we've talked about whether Declan Rice might

19:04

be in the running for play of the season,

19:07

but Phil Foden, that's who Pep

19:09

Guardiola was talking about a few weeks ago. He's got seven goals in his

19:11

last 12. They've got

19:14

a lot of weapons in attack. They certainly

19:16

do. I think he's already up at career

19:18

best figures for a Premier League season, Phil

19:20

Foden. So he's had an absolutely

19:22

fantastic season. We're tricky coming off an international break because

19:24

he never quite does it for England, does he? It

19:26

was pretty good on Tuesday, I thought, the second half.

19:28

You were there, weren't you, weren't they? I think certainly

19:31

on Saturday against Brazil, it was one of those performances where

19:33

it was sort of on the

19:35

fringes and you sort of walk away thinking, are

19:37

England really playing to his strengths? But yeah, you're

19:39

right, on Tuesday when he came into a more

19:41

central area, suddenly that's where he comes alive and

19:43

I'm sure Man City will be trying to get

19:46

him into those positions and that's where

19:48

the work of Giorgino and Rice will really be. So I'm

19:50

trying to limit him and him getting the

19:52

ball in those positions. But yeah, interesting you

19:54

sort of say about their roomform

19:57

options in its act because Haaland, I think...

20:00

four games now for club and country with

20:02

no goal. Never write him off. For him

20:04

that's a drought. Anyone else you'd be like

20:06

that's fine. Absolutely, crisis. Yeah and I think

20:08

I pointed out on the show earlier you

20:10

went for a four game period without goal

20:12

earlier this season then came back and scored

20:14

two, one and then five against Luton

20:16

so yeah write him off at your peril very

20:18

much so. But it's as if he listens to

20:20

us. I know you just gets

20:23

angry doesn't it? He lets that long hair

20:25

down like I did last season against Arsenal

20:27

and smacks the ball in. But at the

20:29

other end you've got Kai Havert who suddenly

20:31

just is suddenly clicking isn't it for him

20:33

even scoring for Germany during an international break

20:35

you know he's just like a player who's

20:37

come alive now in the past nine games

20:39

ten games or so you know it

20:41

felt so much that first part of the season was like

20:44

how do we get the most out of Havert's what's going

20:46

on. We know this players got talent but you know you

20:48

could see the confidence dipping and it just wasn't working for

20:50

him at all was it and then you

20:53

know it was almost like Arteta just

20:55

cracked it with this Giorgino, Rice, pushed

20:57

Havert into that false nine role, link

20:59

up the play and lo and behold

21:01

big goals would follow for him and they

21:04

like points winning goals have followed for him.

21:06

It's absolutely baffling that we're talking we're putting

21:08

Kai Havert in the same sort of theme

21:11

as Erling Harland because you're where he was at the start of

21:13

the season. Wouldn't he put him in the team would you? I

21:15

mean yeah I don't want to touch on this too much because

21:17

it's a bit more general but do you think is

21:20

this is he the real deal now because he's you know

21:22

anyone can have a purple patch but and

21:25

he did have some decent form of Chelsea

21:27

at times but do you think he looks

21:29

like he's actually found and

21:32

Arteta has managed to find something that suits him

21:34

and will work in the longer term. I think

21:36

the big question is is this a purple patch

21:38

or is this going to be you know sustained

21:41

this is it now. It's been sorted out you

21:43

know. He's a confidence player haven't he? Ron

21:45

I think you and I did the piece back in December on

21:48

having a happy and hungry Haverts and

21:51

that being and that being so crucial but

21:53

it's actually true because in the last five

21:55

seasons Haverts scores in batches he scores in

21:58

these little blocks. I

22:00

think he's got what five in his last eight games

22:02

for club and country which you know

22:05

is Typical habits he will come alive

22:07

and then he will fall away and then he will come

22:09

alone He's almost a very perfect

22:11

squad player because oh well no,

22:13

but okay hear me out on this And

22:16

I don't disagree. I just I just I'd like you to

22:18

say that to his face Yeah, no, but in the fact

22:20

that you know he will go on a

22:22

big goal scoring run, but he will then

22:24

have a moment Where you

22:26

can then bring in a Gabrielle Jesus and you probably

22:29

need to give him a bit of rest So he's

22:31

probably Michael Artes his dream isn't he because then he

22:33

can really rotate his strikers round as he's done Since

22:36

basically before Christmas cuz Jesus had a go

22:39

Trussards had a go habits is having a go like

22:42

no one's talking about there being unhappy strikers

22:44

Arsenal apart from potentially Eddy and kettie who

22:46

now really looks out to the pitcher now

22:48

So yeah, I think you're right Peter and

22:50

the fact that when the confidence dips is

22:52

bad for habits Yeah, but you've got other

22:54

options Exactly, and I think it's one

22:57

of them isn't it like No

22:59

one is looking at him and going right? He is gonna be like a

23:01

20 30 goal a season man Which I

23:03

think they were when he first came to Chelsea from what

23:05

he'd done in Germany, but yeah Let's

23:08

look at this sort of midfield creators

23:10

cuz there's a few of them

23:12

in there Kevin de Bruyne back for 12 games

23:14

He's already got 13 assists in 700

23:18

minutes that's 54 minutes between

23:20

each assist. I wouldn't mind those sort of numbers On

23:23

the other side Martin Erdegaard got five

23:25

goals in his last five Sorry

23:27

five goal involvement in his last five Premier League games

23:30

weirdly much better on the road, although maybe not that

23:32

weird Considering you know more

23:35

space to attack more spacing behind Ten

23:37

of his twelve goal involvements have

23:39

come away from the Emirates this season. So

23:42

see the man to unlock this All

23:44

the stats We

23:48

went to the Opta forum last week didn't they say he's come back

23:50

with But it

23:52

was it make as many notes as Ron

23:54

clearly no I was

23:57

too busy writing a rice

23:59

and rotary piece for onto that later. It's been

24:01

well-teased. It's like lighthouses, isn't it? This

24:03

is the theme. It's like a beacon

24:05

every time we talk about this. The

24:07

thing is that the Breuenert and Edergard

24:13

are the two main

24:16

attacking midfielders, aren't they? They're

24:18

the two people where

24:22

you go, right, you need to unlock a

24:24

defence. It's these two, right? Because ultimately,

24:28

City and Arsenal aren't used

24:31

to defending, basically. So, you

24:33

know, it looks like they've

24:35

got quite a resolute defence, don't

24:37

they, in terms of Salih, and Gabrielle? But

24:40

we had to do our dreaded combined 11s

24:42

earlier. Oh, lovely. And that involves some of

24:44

us having to

24:47

choose between De Bruyne and Edergard.

24:50

And... Sam didn't think the Premier League... I mean,

24:52

Edergard's great, but you can't choose him over De

24:54

Bruyne. Well, Sam didn't think the Premier League's greatest

24:56

assist maker of all time deserved the place of

24:58

things. Wow. At least I didn't play a 3-2-1-2-8 formation

25:00

or whatever it was. Three,

25:06

why the other over here? 3-2-2-3, Sam.

25:08

It's a well-established formation. Yeah, okay. I remember

25:11

that from Football Manager. Not sure about real

25:13

life, but there we are. So,

25:16

right, I like wingers and fullbacks, right? Let's

25:18

get on to Lighthouses, because we've been teasing

25:20

this for long enough. Rice versus Rodry. I

25:22

think we can probably both agree the best

25:24

number six is in the league. Now, there's

25:26

a lot of really interesting stats in the piece

25:28

that you wrote for the website, Sam.

25:31

Rodry, I think we would have known

25:33

already, but the stats very much back

25:35

it up. Rodry, more of a linebreaker. No one's

25:38

made... Sorry, displaced more defenders by their

25:40

passing this season. Rice, more of a

25:42

carrier. He's displaced more defenders with his

25:44

carries. Where

25:47

are they going to make it one and last? Well, yeah. I

25:50

think it starts with both managers have

25:52

been vocal about calling those

25:54

two players Lighthouses. What do they mean by

25:57

that? Well, what it means is that...

26:00

basically like a lighthouse in the middle of the ocean. A

26:02

lighthouse in the middle of the ocean, you've got

26:05

waves and sea crashiness, chaos all

26:07

around you. There's attacking, defending, et

26:09

cetera, and they just sit and

26:12

they sort of look out for people and

26:14

they sort of clean up messes and then,

26:17

yeah, basically that. So that's-

26:20

Very plastic, isn't it? Exactly. I've never seen a lighthouse that

26:22

does quite those things. No,

26:25

but yeah, as you said, Ron,

26:27

Rodgerie is the pass master in

26:29

terms of breaking the lines.

26:31

I think that's a key theme

26:34

for City and Arsenal this season. Normally

26:36

they're posed with low

26:38

block defenses that they have to come up against.

26:41

So Rodgerie breaks

26:44

the lines through passes and rises

26:46

the ball carrier. He gets the ball and

26:48

he runs with it. The

26:52

strange thing is that both players

26:54

have six goals and both players

26:56

have five assists this season. And

27:00

we also, they're shooting accuracy, they're

27:02

passing accuracy, and the number of

27:04

tackles are also identical. So they're

27:06

basically playing the same role. And Declan

27:08

Rice said on England duty this week

27:11

that Michael Artessa wants his number

27:13

six to be like Rodgerie. He actually

27:15

name-checked him. So I

27:17

think that, you know, Rice was brought in

27:19

to give Arsenal more control, but I think

27:21

that what perhaps they weren't

27:23

expecting from him was these goals

27:26

out there that

27:28

both him and actually Rodgerie. And

27:30

important goals as well. Important goals,

27:32

winner against Luton, winner against Manchester

27:34

United for Rice, and Rodgerie,

27:37

winner against Sheffield United right at the beginning of the

27:39

season, late equalizer against

27:41

Chelsea at home, late goal

27:43

to put the 4-3 up at Chelsea away.

27:47

And of course the Champions League final winner

27:49

last season, perhaps the most important goal

27:52

in City's history. So,

27:54

you know, while they have been

27:56

tasked with this control, this lighthouse control

27:58

of their team... They're also going to

28:00

have to look at each other because Rice

28:03

is going to be sort of making those late runs into

28:05

the box. It's probably going to be down to Rodry to

28:07

stop him and Rodry is going to sort

28:09

of venture towards the edge of the box

28:11

and Rice is going to have to be

28:14

the one to track him. So it's a

28:16

wonderful, wonderful individual battle at the Etihad on

28:18

Sunday. I think we're talking

28:20

about where this game is going to be won or

28:22

lost. I think it's there, that

28:24

sort of square where Rodry

28:27

and Rice will want to sort of pick

28:29

up. Oh, this is sounding more like a

28:31

chessboard. Oh yeah, but we're talking about

28:33

low scoring games, right? The fact it's been

28:36

sort of very slow and methodic and these

28:38

big games this season. I

28:40

think you can sort of compare them to chess

28:43

matches, can't you? Yeah, very much so. It's really

28:45

interesting what you're saying about Arteta wanting his number

28:47

six to be like Rodry because he is

28:49

master against the Prentice, isn't it, in terms of

28:51

Guardiola against Arteta. And there's so many methods

28:55

that Arteta uses which have stemmed

28:57

from Pep Guardiola. He's such an obvious

28:59

influence for him, isn't it, with the

29:01

hybrid full backs or the sort of

29:03

Rodry styles holding the field or even

29:06

the way they set the attack up. Yeah,

29:08

there's so many sort of borrowed ideas

29:11

or inspired ideas from Guardiola which obviously

29:13

Arteta has taken on and maybe adapted

29:15

or tweaked slightly. And

29:17

yeah, I think it does

29:19

fascinate me, that battle between those two managers

29:22

and how they approach the game and apply

29:25

their ideas, their shared ideas. It's going to have to

29:27

be the big new one, isn't it now? Jurgen Klopp's

29:29

leaving. This is the main event now. Well,

29:32

it depends because, you know, Roberto

29:34

Deserbe, if he gets the Liverpool job... Ah,

29:36

you're jumping the gun. Well, hang

29:38

on, no, I'm more sort of like providing a

29:41

nice little teaser for what's to come, Ron. It's

29:43

a lovely segue. But if Roberto Deserbe gets the

29:45

Liverpool job, well, Pep Guardiola

29:47

has been very vocal about how Deserbe has

29:49

influenced him. So there's

29:51

almost sort of like master Guardiola,

29:53

apprentice Arteta, and then this sort

29:55

of weird work experience. That's sort

29:57

of like this... The

30:00

Wizard in in yeah, yeah, there's a bee

30:02

in the background there sort of influencing everybody

30:05

So the cool wizard let's let's touch. I

30:07

mean Lighthouse a physical

30:10

wizard. What have we got next for

30:12

Liverpool against Brighton? Considering

30:15

I mean Liverpool let's just get out of the

30:17

way They'll be clear favorites when they Brighton not

30:19

in the best of form shipping goals of fun

30:21

Probably not looking forward to going to amfield given

30:23

all of that But if they

30:25

can get a result, I mean you remember I

30:27

think it was last season They got that 3-3 Leandro

30:29

Trossard hat trick and that was they were superb

30:31

that day I did that game. Is

30:34

this a bit of an Anfield audition for Roberto deserbe

30:36

potentially because Jaby Alonso they

30:38

won him but could well be on his way to

30:40

Bayern Munich. Yeah, it's a great opportunity

30:42

isn't it for deserbe to showcase his

30:44

football and You know since

30:46

he'd joined Brighton their attacking metrics are right

30:49

up there with the top teams in the

30:51

division I think what they've really badly been

30:53

missing is someone's what we talked about Arsenal's

30:56

mischances early this season that Brighton, you

30:58

know So much have not capitalized on

31:00

their good attacking pluses two goals in

31:02

the last five games something like that.

31:05

It's It's

31:07

it's interesting where Brighton are because you feel like

31:09

they've not really kicked on from where they were

31:11

last season But they're still in such a good

31:14

position compared to that sort of best of the

31:16

rest budget It's a weird mix, isn't it? Yeah,

31:18

I mean Brighton Brighton did sell Cosado

31:21

and the callous without really well be able

31:23

to later played a handful of games in

31:25

Ligon last season It's what 19? So it's

31:27

a big ask and they've had so many

31:29

injuries as well They've had so many injuries

31:31

to key players this year as well. Yeah,

31:33

by no means getting onto them at all

31:35

I'm just saying it's it's where they are

31:37

is I Think

31:40

that the football that he plays there

31:42

is so attractive But maybe they've not got the

31:45

rewards for it and and there's lots of different

31:47

factors for that They overachieve last season

31:49

as well. Can you considering where they came from? I mean

31:51

firstly 100% 100% Yeah,

31:53

and absolutely I've had the European came home and got

31:55

some knockouts, but then they'll feel like they let themselves

31:57

down Yeah in that defeat away to Rome. So So

32:00

really in a mixed season for Brighton and

32:02

that's a whole other conversation about how you

32:05

analyze that and Yeah,

32:07

what happens next at Liverpool? That's another whole conversation

32:10

Have another podcast for that don't you? Yeah,

32:12

I think the Derby knows that it's that

32:14

it's a potential audition for Liverpool I think

32:16

he's clearly a very intelligent man. He'll be

32:19

aware of the context I think Brighton as

32:21

a football club will as well because they're

32:23

the type of club who are

32:25

always thinking one step ahead So for example when they

32:27

sell Marco Corrilla Purvis is stupid and is there to

32:29

step up? It is, you know, they sell can

32:32

I say them a callister? But they've got the most

32:34

creative play in the Premier League this season in Pascal

32:36

Groats Who is my favorite player season by an absolute

32:38

country mile? Well when they do Graham Potter as well

32:40

They get a Roberta deserby exactly. They probably know who

32:43

their next manager is already. Don't they exactly so Yeah,

32:46

it's interesting. You mentioned that that three-all

32:48

draw game wrong because that was actually

32:50

I think was deserby's first game second

32:52

game it was yeah, it was very

32:54

very very near the start very very

32:56

early on in his Brighton tenure and

32:59

That was with very limited Preparation.

33:02

So now this is with nearly

33:04

18 months body of

33:06

work. This is how it's basically a

33:09

Chance for the service say this is how I could Rebuild

33:13

Liverpool. This is the style of play that

33:15

I would bring after 18 months because those

33:17

first 18 months two years at Liverpool Are

33:19

going to be massive. Yeah after Jurgen Klopp.

33:21

So it's it's Yeah,

33:23

it's a wonderful wonderful

33:25

opportunity for deserby to

33:27

get a Top job

33:30

because I think he's in that category of manager,

33:32

isn't he? That is

33:35

it almost feels like he might not ever get

33:37

a top job in terms remember Marcelo Bielsa He

33:41

never got a big Premier League

33:43

job He never got huge the

33:45

league or all sorts of job

33:48

in Europe's top five leagues I think

33:50

this is a really important moment in

33:52

deserby's career now on Sunday that game

33:54

Anfield Right, are we both we all

33:56

going for Liverpool home wins on Sunday?

34:00

I'm not sure about that. We haven't even

34:02

discussed them once in this podcast. So, you know.

34:07

What are we saying? Well, I think Liverpool,

34:09

they spent the last two weeks due in, haven't

34:11

they, on that defeat at Old Trafford. Again,

34:14

they should really have won the FA Cup

34:16

game and lost in such

34:18

dramatic circumstances. So I think, I

34:21

think Liverpool had such an intense period between

34:24

New Year and that

34:26

international break that, you know, they did need to

34:28

break despite the success they'd had in that period

34:30

in terms of the Carabao Cup and the kids doing

34:33

so well. So a

34:35

bit of a rest and reset for

34:37

them. I think they'll come out, they'll

34:39

come out flying on Sunday, determined to

34:41

make a statement at Anfield ahead of

34:43

the big game down the road at

34:45

Manchester City. That's

34:47

the thing with Brighton, I think they might be

34:49

walking into one here. I think they'll. I

34:53

think it will be a very tight game. There

34:55

could be a lot of goals in there. I

34:57

think they, I think they, you

34:59

know, we're talking, we could have another 3-3 in

35:02

that one because, do you remember when

35:05

Liverpool played City earlier this

35:07

month and Arsenal played Brentford the day

35:09

before? And it's a very,

35:11

it's almost an identical context. If Liverpool win,

35:13

they've got a very good chance of sitting

35:16

top of the table on Sunday evenings.

35:18

So they'll be aware of that context.

35:22

I just think that, I think Liverpool will

35:25

edge it, but I think Brighton will give

35:27

them a very, very good game.

35:29

Let's not forget, Mohamed Salah is back now, I

35:31

think. I think he is, he will

35:34

be back playing 90 minutes on Sunday, I think. Right.

35:38

The big one of the weekend. Next on

35:40

the line, what's going to happen at the Etihad? I

35:44

think a draw. I

35:47

think it's, I think this is going to be an extremely

35:49

tight game. Sam's already said he doesn't think there'll be more

35:51

than three goals. And I think he's right. I think 1-1

35:54

or a, a 0-0 could,

35:56

could be on the cards because I think it's

35:58

going to be so tight and cagey. I

36:00

think all those games between the top side, I'm trying to

36:02

think, I don't think that there has been any game

36:04

between the top three this year. One

36:06

side's really broken out and one comfortably. So you

36:08

know, could go right down to the wire, obviously

36:10

saw Arsenal grab that late winner at the Emirates,

36:12

didn't we? And edge them on penalties in the

36:14

community shield. So could go right down

36:17

to the last few seconds and maybe we'll have

36:19

a dramatic finish to it as well. But

36:22

yeah, it's really tight and I

36:24

think as it's going to be in title race all the way

36:26

to the final day, to the final whistle of the season, I

36:28

think it's going to be a real

36:30

close battle and we love it, don't we?

36:33

Yeah, I also think it's going to be 1-1 but

36:35

I'll pose a different question to you too. If

36:37

it is 1-1, what

36:39

will happen at the end of the season? Who

36:42

wins the title if it's 1-1? Probably

36:46

City. Yeah, I

36:48

think that keeps City right

36:50

in there, doesn't it? I think if an Arsenal win

36:52

makes it quite tricky

36:54

for City, doesn't it? Liverpool win as well

36:57

on Sunday. But as

36:59

I say, I still think there's twists

37:01

and turns. Arsenal have Tottenham away, Liverpool

37:03

have Everton. It's just so

37:06

many teams fired up to stop these

37:08

big sides from winning and

37:10

so many teams with huge things

37:12

to fight for themselves that

37:16

mapping out the results, even at

37:18

this stage with what, 10 games, 9 games to

37:21

go is so tricky. I think that's a very

37:24

important point you made there, Pete, because

37:26

everyone's talking about Arsenal and can they

37:28

bring it and can they break the

37:30

who-do, yada-dada-dada. But if

37:33

City lose, they're 4 points behind. They

37:36

might not be able to get those 4 points back

37:39

because Liverpool have already shown they can go win the

37:41

final 10 games of any Premier League season, no matter

37:43

who they're playing against or whoever's competing with them in

37:45

the title race. I think if

37:47

Arsenal win that game, then

37:49

that will give them the massive boost to

37:52

even go to Tottenham and Manchester United and

37:54

say, look, we've won at the Etihad, we've

37:56

got no fear. I also think

37:58

that if it's a draw, I think that's a big difference. I think

38:00

it's a good result for Arsenal because I think one

38:02

thing we haven't spoken about is gold difference and Arsenal

38:06

have that in their favor and if they're

38:08

chasing down Liverpool by

38:10

two points if Liverpool be

38:13

bright in the Anfield and the city Arsenal

38:15

games a draw then Arsenal

38:17

need only one slip up from Liverpool and They

38:20

need to win the rest of their games to

38:22

then go and sit back on top of

38:24

the table again. So I Don't

38:27

think mikalatas will ever send an Arsenal team out

38:29

to get a draw But

38:32

I think that important context of if it's

38:34

20 minutes to go and it's

38:36

level They've

38:38

got the options of Thomas party Tommy

38:40

assu to bring on that little bit

38:42

of sure things up I

38:45

think that's going to be an important context for a game

38:48

that I think we can Fair to

38:50

say an answer to the question that we posed at the

38:52

start Fed say this

38:54

would be the title side there. Yeah, probably I think

38:56

I fair well Find

38:58

out how it all unfolds live on

39:00

sky sports on Sunday The coverage starts

39:02

at 12 30

39:05

p.m. On sky sports Premier League with Liverpool versus

39:07

Brighton before What we can probably

39:09

say is the main event of Manchester City versus

39:11

Arsenal keep across sky sports news and the sky

39:13

sports website For all the build-up team news here

39:15

from the best pundits and also you can find

39:17

out how to follow us on WhatsApp And after

39:20

the match keep an eye out for the sky

39:22

sports football podcast as well as quarry novels as

39:24

well If you're still bursting for some extra analysis,

39:26

thanks for listening. Thanks Pete. Thanks Sam and

39:28

we'll be back with more essentials