[producer] How would you describe the January transfer window?
Oh man.
Yeah.
[sighs]
[soft music]
[producer] Is this your other office?
Yes.
When I have to work from home, it's here.
Sometimes my telephone,
10, 11, midnight,
America, Brazil, here, etc.
People are calling me and I have to pick up the phone.
Talking about 10,
20, 50, 60, 70 million pounds,
to negotiate that kind of deals is a big responsibility.
And I get it.
[journalist] I think the Aubameyang situation is really volatile.
[journalist 2] They've got to try and maybe get Aubameyang out of the door
and free up some money there and get him away from the football club.
[Gaspar] The situation with Aubameyang, this wasn't planned.
But during the season things happen.
But I'm not sure if the fans understand that.
[security] Hello, mate.
How you doing?
[security] Oh Edu! Sorry.
-[fan] Can I have a picture? -[Gaspar] Yes, how you doing?
-Edu, can I have a picture? -Edu, what about Auba?
Get some signings. Come on!
-Was that a yes? -Take care, guys.
[producer] Does that happen every game?
A little bit, yes.
But it's nice, it's nice.
On Aubameyang we have to really be careful
because the chance to make a mistake is quite huge as well.
[hip-hop music]
When you love what you do, that is called passion.
We have to believe, we have to have energy.
[shouts]
Show these people how much you care.
[cheers]
Let's go for it.
[crowd chanting]
[soft music]
[journalist] Well the January transfer window is open,
the rumour mill is back up and running.
[journalist 2] The big conundrum is what to do with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
We have got a problem now which is
we have a player
that feels like he is nowhere near the team,
no chance of competing.
Yeah. Don't like it.
We ain't got much time because we play on Sunday,
we need to have resolved it one way or another.
[narrator] Arsenal's plans for the January transfer window
are now dominated by the future of one player.
We have to talk to Aubameyang and to Mikel.
He has to come back to the squad and help us until the end of the season.
We're going to have to reintegrate him, we have to.
We need to speak to Mikel then.
There needs to be a conversation with Mikel then.
Yeah, we don't think that is that easy but we have to do something.
[Venkatesham] Who knows, you never know in football.
But be aware, downstairs, the relationship is zero.
[Venkatesham] Okay, I get that.
We weren't expecting it to be a busy transfer window.
Given the amount of money that we'd invested in the summer
and the players that we brought in, we were very happy with those players.
We obviously have the Auba situation but it is...
It is a challenge.
[cheers]
[narrator] Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored 92 goals for Arsenal.
[commentator] Oh, that's wonderful!
[narrator] But he hasn't played since December,
when he was stripped of the captaincy
and excluded from team training due to a disciplinary breach.
[Arteta] At the end,
rules and discipline brings clarity
because at the end, you cannot measure trust.
When you look at the eyes of that player and...
and you believe that that's gone,
that's a really difficult point to get something back from it.
[narrator] Mikel Arteta doesn't want the situation with Auba
to be a distraction to the rest of his players.
Mikel is returning to Colney from one week out with Covid
and brings the squad together
ahead of a season-defining January run of games.
In the next 10 days we play 4 games
and we play 3 different competitions that are going to decide a lot of things
of what is going to happen in this season.
I had a lot of time to watch things.
I watched 21 training sessions.
There are a few players that train exceptionally well.
There is a vast majority of players that train well.
And there's a group of players that they just come.
The training session on Sunday,
if I was here, 4 players,
they go out of the training session.
4.
4 players after 15 minutes go.
We're not training in the park,
we are not in nursery and we are not here wasting our time.
Too many players laughing
and the other thing is complaining.
Somebody gives a bad pass, complaining.
I give a bad pass, it's his mistake.
No, we have to raise the level
and it goes for everybody, guys, yeah?
For every single one, because now it's in or out.
So every fucking day in training, every single ball.
Let's go.
[upbeat music]
Let's go!
[narrator] With Auba out of the squad,
there's an opportunity for 22-year-old striker Eddie Nketiah.
[whistle]
Eddie, you are part of this! Come, Eddie.
[narrator] He's England's all-time top scorer at under 21 level.
For Arsenal, so far Eddie has only scored 5 goals this season.
[Eddie] I've scored a lot of goals in the youth team.
Yeah, it gave me confidence 'cause I knew obviously that I could score
and I could finish if I'm put in the opportunity.
[Arteta] Good, Eddie!
[Eddie] It's a big club with obviously big players.
There is a lot of competition, especially in the front areas.
As a player, you've just got to be confident that you're good enough
to deliver if you're given the chance.
[narrator] Eddie's earned a place in the starting line-up this weekend
as Arsenal begin their run in the FA Cup.
[commentator] The men of Arsenal,
winners of the coveted cup for the 3rd time in 14 seasons.
[narrator] A competition they've won a record 14 times.
[cheers]
[Arteta] Last one!
[whistle]
[fan] Come on the boys!
Come on boys, come on.
[intense music]
[fan] We've got to go for the FA Cup.
It's our trophy, won it 14 times. We've gotta go for it again.
[narrator] Tonight, Arsenal face Nottingham Forest from the Championship,
the league below them.
Mikel is giving an opportunity to 7 players
who don't normally start matches.
[chanting]
No easy task in front of 20,000 raucous home fans.
[Arteta] Okay, get together, boys. Come on together.
Okay. Today we're starting a new competition,
a competition that is in the history and the DNA of our club.
So I want, from the 1st minute, I want everybody at it.
I want to see my team come here and dominate them.
Use your physicality, your intention and after your quality to win it.
All the best.
[clapping and shouting]
[suspenseful music]
[commentator] It will be a difficult test for Arsenal,
they need to be bang up for it.
The host Nottingham Forest get this game underway, the FA Cup 3rd round.
[cheers]
Arsenal will try and start on the front foot here.
It's opening up, a shot comes in but it's wide.
[music continues]
That's a loose ball, isn't it, by Tavares.
[commentator] Don't know what Tavares is thinking about there.
[commentator] Nketiah, makes one for a shot.
It's a yard and a half wide of the target.
Arsenal will certainly need him involved more.
[narrator] 30 minutes into the match, Mikel makes a change.
[commentator] It is Nuno Tavares.
[commentator] You have to be really unhappy to take someone off
in the 1st half, don't you?
[commentator] Yeah, and do you know something,
he's absolutely quite right.
[crowd boo]
Oh the gloves are off. And he is not happy.
[commentator] Johnson showing good pace.
Arsenal are in trouble here. Ball back in, a good save by Leno.
Arsenal just wobbling a little bit in the last minutes.
Mikel Arteta won't be very happy.
[narrator] With an hour played,
Arsenal haven't had a single shot on target.
[commentator] Good ball in.
Oh dear.
That was a wasted opportunity for Nketiah.
[suspenseful music]
Early ball in.
[shouts]
It's Lewis Grabban.
He got the wrong side of the Arsenal defence
and he turns it in from close range.
Forest fans invading the pitch.
Well, Arsenal sloppy with the ball, giving it away too cheaply.
It's simple, it's too slow.
[tense music]
[whistle]
Arsenal have been disappointing.
-[whistle] -[crowd cheer]
There goes the final whistle
and it's a big win for Nottingham Forest then.
They have knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup.
[tense music continues]
[Kieran] Fuck me, guys.
I accept losing, guys. I accept losing.
I don't accept these fucking standards. I'm telling you, I don't accept them.
I don't accept them, these standards.
It's nowhere near.
Nowhere near!
And I know the desire and your attitude, that attitude is not enough.
Courage, not enough.
To run is not enough, you have to have much more than that.
And it's nowhere near.
You agree with me guys? Yeah?
But between you fucking do it and demand yourself...
That's what I'm telling you in fucking training.
Because I see it in training, that it doesn't matter to give the ball away.
"It's okay, sometimes I go to the next ball and I run."
No! Because in a game it's a goal!
When I lose a duel, I am upset.
When I lose the small sided games, I am upset!
Because that's the fucking standards!
Because you come here and now you fucking lose.
It's nowhere near guys, it's fucking shit.
I'm telling you, shit!
[player] If we play like that against Liverpool, we're fucked.
[tense music]
-[Emile] My mum's gone away today. -[Laura Andrews] Has she?
-And I ain't got no food. -What happened to your chef?
She's not coming today, she's on holiday.
-How long is she on holiday for? -Comes back tomorrow.
Okay.
[Dan Tilley] What you gonna do for tonight then?
-Little Nando's, innit! -Ah there he is!
He's probably going double chicken wrap.
Peri chips with two perinaise.
[Rob] Do you want me to do Auba's signature?
[upbeat music]
[narrator] Auba is currently 5,000 miles away
representing Gabon at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Back home, Arsenal are out of the FA Cup having not scored a goal.
The absence of their star striker puts pressure on Mikel
at a crucial point in their season.
[journalist 2] There's a massively fractured relationship
with Mikel Arteta and Aubameyang.
Can this be repaired? Should they try and repair it?
[journalist] If Aubameyang had a long-term future at the club,
he'd have been back in by now.
[journalist 3] I don't know where you go with Aubameyang
because if it's as deep as we're led to believe
there seems to be no alternative.
[narrator] Mikel meets with Tim Lewis, one of Arsenal's 4 directors,
to discuss Aubameyang.
[Tim Lewis] He went and made a mistake.
Which you reacted to, quite rightly.
And you've made your position clear.
A lot's going to depend upon
how do we get Auba out?
Can we get him out?
[Lewis] The relationship with Mikel is not transactional,
it's a relationship.
He is the manager.
So, on something like Aubameyang, I am here to support him,
challenge him, help him,
when he asks for help to respond.
I don't give him football advice, that would be ludicrous.
There isn't an easy right answer here. But...
If we go past the end of January, he holds all the cards.
[Lewis] I know clearly all the pressure is on him
'cause he's the guy out there in the public domain,
addressing the questions that are put to us,
but it is a team behind him that's making that happen.
[narrator] As the January transfer window rolls on,
time is running out for the club to make a decision on Aubameyang's future.
We need to relook at the project,
-look at the plan. -Yeah.
And there's only certain things you can do.
[Venkatesham] Do we need to chat on anything?
-Yeah. -Or everything?
Yeah everything. [Edu laughs]
[Venkatesham] Edu, on the call yesterday,
I thought you summed up the position perfectly. Perfectly.
-[Gaspar] I was talking to Rich... -Yeah.
Everybody's losing, isn't it?
Everybody's losing.
It certainly does not feel like there's going to be a market,
something's going to happen to the market which is going to change the situation.
We need to come up with a solution.
Because with this problem, it's not going away.
[Garlick] Mikel has got a lot on in terms of managing the team,
and that should be where his focus is.
Where we've got with Aubameyang,
you need everybody working together.
[Arteta] We as a club discuss
between all of us what is the best situation to do.
This is not an Auba and Mikel situation, this is much bigger than that.
[Mark Gonnella] And we've got to focus on the next game,
I mean, and I think you just go around that loop.
And when they push it, guys...
Because you know how media are going to react,
how people are going to react,
how these stories are going to be presented.
[journalist] Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is away at the African Nations Cup
where he's out partying.
Do you feel vindicated that you've been absolutely right
in your treatment with Aubameyang
and the fact that he's a bit of a problem player?
The decision that I have taken, obviously, they were always
in the best interest of the club and trying to do the right thing.
And so far the players that are here are fully committed.
[Gonnella] Thanks everybody.
Thank you.
I made a decision when I decided to be a manager
that I was going to open up with the players
and to do that then you have to accept that if you're going to open up,
that you're going to get hurt.
[upbeat music]
[narrator] One player who knows what it's like to be
at the centre of a controversy is Granit Xhaka.
[Granit] We have a very young team.
Our job as experienced players is to give them a lot of advice
and to tell them it's not so easy
because you need a lot of work.
I'm one of the oldest already and I'm still 28 now.
[upbeat music continues]
People think I'm very aggressive because of my game.
You see us for 90 minutes on the pitch,
you see the...
the different side of a person.
[crowd shout]
[narrator] Granit has been given 4 red cards in his Arsenal career.
Since he joined the club, no other player in the Premier League
has been sent off more.
[commentator] It is a red card for Granit Xhaka.
Now this is not the first time he's done that.
[narrator] He was club captain 2 seasons ago, but fell out with the fans.
[commentator] Now some of the Arsenal fans are actually applauding
as they take off Granit Xhaka and his reaction there is not good at all.
[narrator] Like Aubameyang, he was stripped of the role.
-[fan] Xhaka, Xhaka leave it. -[Granit] You have a problem?
Some days you're great, some days you're... [bleep]
[Granit] Shut up, man!
-Shut up. Shut up. -[hubbub]
[Granit] You have people that love you,
and you have people that don't love you really.
They criticise you, they write you stuff where it's very hard.
People think that football is about the cars, houses,
the money and stuff like this,
but not one of us when we were kids started football because of the money.
You start football because you love it.
People forget we are as well human being.
This part, this family here, have to be together,
and it's only together you can go through difficult times.
[upbeat music]
[commentator] Who will make it to Wembley to face Chelsea
in the final at the end of February?
[fan] Liverpool are a top side.
For us to feel that we're progressing, we have to beat 'em.
[upbeat music continues]
[narrator] Tonight Arsenal play in the semi-final of a 2nd competition:
the EFL Cup.
Their last real chance to win a trophy this season.
They face Liverpool.
Last time the two teams met, Arsenal lost 4-0.
[commentator] It's a massive game this evening,
Liverpool are at the top of their game,
and it's a big ask for Arsenal.
[narrator] For Mikel, with rumours still rumbling around Auba,
a win would help respond to the critics.
Both Granit and Eddie start the match for Arsenal.
Let's go, let's go! Come on!
The energy starts now boys. Not after, now, now, now, now. Be ready.
[Arteta] Guys, let's go for it.
I want to fill the team with emotion.
I want to look at your eyes
and I want to see an attitude and a fire and belief.
I want to see courage when we defend and when we play,
composure and quality.
Against them, you know what we have to do.
When you are there you have to stay with the runner,
you have to block shots, you have to defend,
we have our goalkeeper, let's fucking go guys.
[clapping and shouting]
[crowd chant]
[suspenseful music]
[whistle]
[commentator] Arsenal get this underway.
[crowd chant]
Oh my goodness me, Ramsdale caught there...
That could have gone badly wrong for the Arsenal goalkeeper.
[narrator] Liverpool control the game from the start.
[commentator] That's Minamino!
[commentator] Liverpool definitely taking this game to Arsenal.
[commentator] Liverpool come straight back. Robertson.
[suspenseful music continues]
[crowd shouts]
And a red card.
Straight to his back pocket to dismiss Granit Xhaka.
-[crowd boo] -[commentator] Xhaka once again sees red,
that's for the 5th time in his Arsenal career.
[commentator] And Arsenal find themselves down to 10 men.
[melancholic music]
Fuck me, man.
[narrator] Mikel is forced into making a defensive substitution.
[commentator] Eddie Nketiah's night is over, for Rob Holding.
Arsenal will have to defend for their lives now.
This will be a real test of their character.
[suspenseful music]
Minamino.
Arsenal just standing firm.
Moving into the final moments of the 1st half, can Arsenal hold out?
[whistle]
[Ben] Don't fucking concede.
Keep going. Come on.
Okay, listen, if we have discipline
and we are active in defending, guys, we can do it.
Discipline, guys, suffer
and now play the game that we want to play
which is a game that is completely against what we want to do
and everything that we trained,
but is the necessity that we have to do to play the game.
We have no other solution, and we have to survive here today. Okay.
[clapping and shouting]
[tense music]
[whistle]
[commentator] Can Arsenal hold out for 45 minutes?
Oh that's a shot from distance, which almost caught out Ramsdale.
[crowd chant]
Excellent defensive work by Gabriel.
Liverpool cannot break this Arsenal defence down.
And the Liverpool frustrations are beginning to show.
Liverpool are running out of time.
[narrator] If Arsenal can hold out for 1 more minute, it will be a huge result.
[commentator] Minamino! That was the chance they'd been waiting for.
[suspenseful music]
[commentator] And Arsenal have recorded a fantastic result.
[whistle]
That was a monumental defensive display.
And Arsenal are in a better position heading into the 2nd leg
of this EFL Cup semi-final.
♪ Arsenal, we love you Oh, Arsenal, we love you ♪
We were away from home, we were down to 10 men.
I was singing just now, I couldn't stop singing
"0-0 to the Arsenal", I was like:
♪ 0-0 to the Arsenal ♪
Because genuinely I've seen wins
and I've walked away less proud than I was tonight of the boys.
[hubbub]
[Kieran] Boys, not many teams can come and do that, man.
Not a fucking chance.
[crowd chant]
So guys,
before the game I said to you here that I wanted to see a team
that shows emotion and plays with emotion and plays with courage.
Sometime when I was watching you play I had "gosebumps", is that right?
-The word you say? -Goosebumps.
What you did here today, to compete the way you do,
to show the discipline that you show, the courage, the fight,
the discipline and when a teammate has to do something in the last line
and he gets sent off, that's when you lift him and you protect him.
And the way you've done it today, it was absolutely magnificent, guys.
I'm so proud of you, guys. Well done.
[clapping]
[crowd chanting] We are the Arsenal!
[journalist] Arsenal fans will be delighted with this result
but when Xhaka was sent off,
the referee got it spot on, Xhaka got it wrong yet again.
[fan] Xhaka's got to be disappointed with this one today,
he's got to look at this and really...
try and turn it around, if he doesn't analyse his performance and say,
"Listen, I need to change something,"
then I don't think there's a future for him at this club.
[narrator] Following the semi-final, spirits are high at Colney.
[drumming and chanting]
[laughing]
But Arsenal now haven't scored in 2 consecutive matches.
Cheers, Piers.
[Aaron] Oh, he thought you were fantastic again.
Oh shit, it's Auba v. Thomas today.
Come on, Gabon! I hope Auba comes back, man.
I miss him, man.
[narrator] In the gym, the post-mortem on Granit's red card begins.
But, bro, one question:
why were you the last defender?
I told you, because this guy. If he gives a good pass, we score.
[Bukayo] Bro, you blame me for your red card?
The domino thing starts there.
[laughter]
The domino effect starts with men up the pitch, bro. It's not my fault.
If your pass comes good, we have minimum a shot on target.
Bro, even if we have a shot on target, the keeper saves.
You avoid those extra runs back.
They can still do this pass, Granit.
The problem is men up the pitch.
Yeah, men on the pitch. 3 against 1.
How is that good? I have to sprint.
You have to control yourself.
Don't worry guys, I take the blame, no problem.
If I don't stop him we are 1-0 down and they fuck us.
So thank you to Granit as well once.
Granit...
[tense music]
[beep]
[soft music]
[Granit] Hey!
[speaking Albanian] My love.
Hello.
Hi!
[babbles]
[narrator] Granit lives with his wife Leonita
and their 2 children Ayana and Laneya.
Daddy!
[Granit] We grew up with my brother, with my dad,
so my mum she was the only girl at home
and she always told me: "So difficult with you guys."
And now it's the opposite side,
I have 3 girls at home and it changed everything.
[speaking Albanian] Give Dad a kiss?
[speaking English] Love you.
You are more calm,
you think twice before you do something now because of them.
[babbling]
This when we married each other.
Pictures we never forgot because it was a special day for us.
Here I can do whatever I want.
No pictures, nobody's screaming from the back.
Nobody's saying something bad to you.
I know it's not so easy for her when I'm down or when we lose a game,
but she's the only person who I can speak very openly, you know.
When they lost a game and then he comes home like he's really upset.
I try to speak with him a little bit and tell him next game's better
and everything but...
When people say he doesn't give everything,
he can't sleep the whole night when they lose.
Because on the pitch is what I love most because of the passion, you know.
What I do, I love.
In and off the pitch I am really proud of him, so yeah.
[soft music]
[narrator] Auba has returned from the Africa Cup of Nations.
[Aubameyang] Jose.
Hello. How are you? Everything alright?
-Yeah, you? -Yeah. You alright?
[narrator] He's still training alone.
Everybody alright?
-Your boys are good? -Yeah, yeah.
Are they back at school?
Not yet but Monday.
And your mum? She's good?
-Yeah, she's good. -Nice to hear.
Rough few weeks?
Yeah.
[Sam Wilson] You okay mate?
Yeah mate, are you?
[Wilson] So today you'll do this session,
we'll get you moving again and just check everything's okay,
just to check you respond well.
That means you won't be available for Sunday.
And then we'll make a plan from there.
Mikel will speak to you.
Sure.
[tense music]
[narrator] While he's been away,
Mikel and the Arsenal board have made their final decision.
To try and enable Auba to leave the club
in what remains of the transfer window.
[producer] When was the moment that you knew
Auba couldn't be part of the team anymore?
When I look in his eyes and I saw and I felt what I felt,
that that level of trust was gone.
That day.
It's a really difficult decision to make in the middle of the season
and with the most important player at the club
and they're not getting the impact of not having that player
could have in the performances of the team.
But if you put all these ingredients together and then there's still,
the decision is clear, then you have to make it.
[tense music continues]
[Aaron] We're missing Auba a lot, his personality,
his quality on the pitch...
But the manager's decision... it's his decision and we respect that.
So it's not like it's been a big surprise in the dressing room
which I think has been the good thing.
[journalist] They've had to make a decision to get rid of him,
it leaves Arsenal short.
[journalist] Bear in mind the wages that he earns at Arsenal,
it's not going to be an easy departure.
[narrator] Aubameyang is paid a reported £350,000 a week.
It's now up to Edu and Rich to get him off the payroll
and playing at another club.
[Garlick] What do we want him to do?
There are 2 options.
Loan or terminate his contract,
because I cannot consider selling the player,
nobody gonna hear and buy the player.
No, 'cause I mean he's 32.
[Gaspar] It's impossible.
So, which one for us would be the best?
It's terminate his contract.
If he goes on loan, it's the worst scenario possible to us.
At the moment yeah,
because we still have the liability potentially for the next season,
unless he terminates.
[Garlick] You're looking at 2 things with the Auba situation.
Obviously, you know, he's fantastic player,
he's scored a lot of goals.
But if he's not going to be contributing to the team
then it makes sense
to save the wages and to cut a deal.
The only way we can terminate his contract is if he agrees
"We terminate the contract you can go," okay?
Mutual consent.
We don't want him coming back, we want just a clean break.
Long-term the club is in a much, much better position.
[upbeat music]
[narrator] Arsenal want to terminate Aubameyang's contract.
But it will only be possible if they can find another club big enough
to sign him and pay his wages for the rest of this season and next.
[upbeat music continues]
During the window, the Arsenal board make several other big transfer calls.
They let more players leave including Ainsley Maitland-Niles,
Sead Kolasinac,
Calum Chambers,
and defender Pablo Marí.
It's hard my friend, after 3 years.
It's not easy, but this is the life.
It's a sad moment for me but I'm happy because I'm gonna play,
I'm going to have a new challenge in my life.
So I wish all the best for Arsenal and for my teammates.
[Rob] When someone is leaving, obviously you have no idea
what's going on in terms of talks and stuff.
And then one day you'll just get a text into the team group chat
saying like, "Lads all the best for the season I'm moving to this place,
"wish you all the best" and that's it.
It's football and people move on.
[engine revving]
[Garlick] It was quite clear that we needed to move some players out,
some of the players that hadn't been playing in the squad
and that Mikel thought that needed to get out and play,
and we needed a bit of a reset.
[narrator] The Arsenal squad is now nearly half the size
it was last season.
And there are no major incoming signings.
[soft music]
[podcaster] They've got to do something, haven't they?
They've got to do something. They've got to try and kick on.
Bring a better standard of players in.
[podcaster] I mean we have not scored a goal in...
I don't know how long, about 600 minutes of football.
[podcaster] They've got to be doing some business,
they have got to be doing some business, they've got to.
We're at the start of our process now.
And there's gonna be various evolutions to this,
you'll see the squad grow.
But from, from our point of view,
if you're having to bring in 5, 6, 7 players in January transfer window,
something's gone wrong previously.
[narrator] With 10 days left of the window,
there is no sign of a deal with Auba.
No other clubs are willing to sign him permanently and take on his wages.
[tense music]
[suspenseful music]
[commentator] A Cup semi-final and a place at Wembley up for grabs.
What a match in prospect as 2 heavyweights in English football
trade off in Arsenal and Liverpool in the EFL Cup semi-final 2nd leg.
[suspenseful music continues]
[Gaspar] It wasn't easy when Mikel came in to me talking about Aubameyang.
But you have to really be sensible
and say yes, he's right and we have to support him.
[whistle]
[commentator] Liverpool get the tie underway,
a roar goes up around the Emirates.
That's a big challenge to make people understand
what's the best for the club. Because all they see, they see a game.
[commentator] Jota, he's come inside his man.
It's opening up for Jota,
oh, it's gone in!
He's almost hit it in slow motion, it wrong footed Ramsdale.
And Liverpool have taken the lead
in the semi-final.
[cheers]
What we have to see is a big picture.
What's the best for the future of this football club?
[commentator] Jota could be in, he's in, he's scores.
Diogo Jota's made it 2-0 to Liverpool.
[tense music]
Arsenal are, unfortunately, a beaten team here.
All the Arsenal fans as well have sensed it,
there's been a mass exodus.
[fan] No midfield, we've done nothing in the January transfer window,
so we can't expect nothing different.
Same old stuff, same old Arsenal.
He needs to do a bit more, we need a new striker.
You can't fall out with players and have no one to replace them
and you've just got Aubameyang just there, just at home.
You've got... It's embarrassing, bruv. It's embarrassing.
[tense music]
[journalist] Any Arsenal fan is going to be very, very upset
to think that it's January
and they know there is no trophy they can win this season.
[journalist] You can see the pressure building on Mikel Arteta
if they don't get in the Champions League spot.
[journalist] Is it true you still got a way to go to be able
to go toe to toe with teams like Liverpool?
Yeah, because you need
to have a squad of 20, 22 outfield top players
and to do that, it takes time.
[journalist] Do you think Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be leaving the club
before the end of the window?
Auba could not be selected again for today's match.
[journalist] But will he still be an Arsenal player?
I don't know if he will be able to be selected for the following match.
["Can't Hold We Down" by Kano feat. Popcaan]
[narrator] Arsenal's January run is nearly over
and they've been knocked out of 2 competitions
without scoring a goal.
You need to control the ball and maintain the rhythm. That's it.
[narrator] A break in the season allows players time to recover.
[Arteta] Be forward first, yes.
[narrator] Mikel's brought his players to Dubai for warm-weather training,
but maintaining squad discipline remains a top priority.
What do you have to do? Just let it go?
What do you have to do?
What do you do? Let it go, it's okay, let it go.
What happened in the last 10 years, let it go...
The next one the same, the next one the same..
And it's called... In Spain, it's called "Casa Pepe."
You know what "Casa Pepe" means? "Pepe's House."
Everybody do whatever he fucking wants.
We have to increase the level, let's go.
[narrator] Arsenal face some tough fixtures over the next few weeks.
[Arteta] Well done, Granit!
[narrator] A top-four finish and a return to European football
is now Mikel's sole focus.
[whistle]
[Arteta] [hoarse voice] Ball here, Sambi!
Forget about it, tell him,
if he goes, you go.
Let's go.
Same! Granit, play.
-[O'Driscoll] You all right? -Why?
Your voice is fucking terrible.
[Arteta] All right, let's go!
[coach] Finish well, guys! Come on, finish well.
[whistle]
[commentator] Welcome to 5 Live Sport on deadline day.
[narrator] On the final day of the transfer window
an offer has been made for Auba.
Barcelona, one of the biggest clubs in world football, want to take him,
but only on loan.
It's a good deal for Auba
but a loan would mean Arsenal will still be locked
into paying his wages next season.
[in Spanish] Look, the situation we find ourselves in now
will cause, in the end, another sort of tension.
[narrator] Edu and Rich have until 11pm
to persuade Barcelona to sign Auba permanently instead,
once his Arsenal contract has been terminated.
Let's try to finish it, Rich, and be direct to the guys.
We just got to do a call with...
Fine. You know he's in Barcelona?
-Who? -Auba.
I've just been sent a tweet of him walking into Barcelona Airport.
Really? Okay.
[Gaspar] Let me see, let me see it first.
[tense music]
[narrator] Without Arsenal's permission, Auba has flown to Spain.
-[hubbub] -[fan] Auba, thank you!
What's Aubameyang supposed to be doing now?
-Training. -[Garlick] He's supposed to be training?
[call tone]
[narrator] Edu calls one of his representatives.
-[man] Hola Edu. -Hola.
Send it to us what you guys wants to do
and then we will decide if we're going to accept or not.
Because I know the player just arriving in Barcelona.
[man] This is something private for Pierre-Emerick.
He's come to visit Barcelona, his father lives in Barcelona.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay.
So we live in Disneyland world.
We as a club are waiting for you guys
to say to us something of what you guys wants to do,
or he has to travel back to London.
[man] You want us to send you another email with an improved offer?
Yeah. We are very much far from our expectation.
[man] Okay.
-Okay. Cheers. -Bye.
So, in reality where are we in terms of what's gonna happen today?
The balls really in their court now.
Let's wait.
[intriguing music]
[journalist] Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang,
there's still no financial agreement in place,
but negotiations are still ongoing between Arsenal and Barcelona.
Things have changed!
-The game's afoot. -Yeah?
It's what Sherlock Holmes used to say.
[narrator] As the transfer deadline approaches,
Barcelona are refusing to back down on their offer of a loan.
[tense music]
[journalist] Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, we know he's been in Spain today to try
and negotiate a deal with Barcelona, those two clubs unable to agree
how much of his wages that Barcelona will pay.
Looks like he will be heading back to Arsenal.
Mikel?
[narrator] Mikel calls from Dubai for an update.
[in Spanish] We didn't find a solution between us.
What they just sent is the same as we had before.
We tried to find a solution, but we couldn't.
[tense music]
No response from Barça.
They've not offered anything, have they?
No.
Now it's a waiting game to see if anybody blinks.
It's a game of poker.
[tense music continues]
[vacuum]
[narrator] With just hours remaining, Barcelona want to talk.
[Gaspar] You call them or I call them?
[narrator] If they will agree to sign Auba
and pay his wages instead of loaning him,
Arsenal will save tens of millions of pounds.
Hola Mateu.
Hola.
Okay, so, Mateu, I think we can do a deal, I think our preference would be
to agree a termination of the player's contract today.
Barcelona will offer Pierre-Emerick a contract for next season,
that will cover his salary.
That's what our plan would be, to do it that way.
[Mateu] Okay. Congratulations because I think for you,
it's a very, very good deal.
Congratulations.
[Gaspar] Thank you. Ciao.
-Still gotta get it done. -Yeah.
[narrator] Rich and the Arsenal lawyers
now need to terminate Aubameyang's contract
and file the paperwork with the Premier League
before the 11pm deadline.
[lawyer] This is getting a bit tight now.
[suspenseful music]
Hi.
How you getting on, yeah ?
Is it signed?
-Sending it now? Right okay, okay. -[lawyer] It's coming now.
[Garlick] Well, we need them like now.
[suspenseful music continues]
[Garlick] Done.
Right okay, we've submitted them, they've gone to the Premier League.
Yeah so, we got in before 11, okay?
-[man] Signed as well? -Yeah.
[man] Signed on our side?
Bye.
Well done, guys.
-Well done! -Well done, guys.
[Garlick] We got it done at 10:59.
Okay, something like that done it's relief, it's a sense of pride.
I think once everybody realised that this might not happen,
it focused people's minds.
[upbeat music]
[narrator] In Spain, the world is introduced to Barcelona's newest player.
[journalist] Aubameyang's posted a farewell message to Arsenal fans.
It is a little bit of a sad way to exit, actually.
[journalist] A lot of Arsenal fans, they're disconsolate with this news,
not so much that Aubameyang is leaving
but that Arsenal aren't planning to replace him.
What was the actual plan?
For me, Arsenal are taking a massive risk.
Arsenal have scored 1 goal this calendar year
and they've allowed Aubameyang to move to Barcelona
and they haven't replaced him.
We did what we believed was the right thing to do,
but we are very clear: we only want the best people
and the best players at this club.
I am extremely grateful for what Auba has done at the club
and the way I see myself in that relationship,
is a solution, not a problem.
My memories of Auba
are all exceptional moments.
[joyful music]
I didn't want to finish like that
because, first of all, I think Auba deserves something better
and the club as well,
but it could not be, in my opinion, any other way.
[soft music]
[narrator] It's been a difficult January for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal.
[hubbub]
They haven't scored for a month.
Mikel needs a reaction from his players
in the fight to qualify for European football next season.
Win against Wolves, and they can make up ground on their rivals.
[suspenseful music]
[crowd chant] Arsenal! Arsenal!
[journalist] The clash between 2 teams who are harbouring ambitions
of a top-four finish
and the winner tonight will edge that bit closer
as Wolves host Arsenal in the Premier League.
-Red Army! -Red Army!
[fan] We're at a position now where top-four is the only thing to go for.
It'll be a difficult game but we have to win. We have to win.
[suspenseful music]
[hubbub]
[player] Try to help each other. Work together.
Okay, guys listen. Get together.
We have to start super-fast.
We go and be dominant and play the way we want to play, guys.
And be aggressive and have balls and courage to go.
I want to see people make decisions and have the eyes to win the match.
Completely. Because you know what they're going to do.
They're going to dive, they're going to insult you,
they're going to provoke you, they're going to provoke you even more.
Okay, let's go and do this.
[clapping and shouting]
[upbeat music]
[crowd cheer]
[whistle]
[commentator] And it's Wolves who get the start in here.
Arsenal 5 games without a win, they need this one tonight.
[crowd chant]
[narrator] Arsenal dominate the game.
[commentator] Super work from Saka, and the shot from White.
Nicked on beyond Lacazette. There's Gabriel!
And Arsenal have the lead!
[crowd cheer]
And see how Mikel Arteta
relishes that.
[narrator] Gabriel's goal is the first Arsenal have scored
in 478 minutes of football.
[suspenseful music]
But with just over an hour played, Wolves win a throw-in.
[commentator] Martinelli is clattered into Podence there.
And now in retreat he makes another foul,
right in front of the referee.
[crowd boo]
A yellow card.
Two yellow cards! Martinelli is off!
Two separate offences inside the same passage of play,
and that is what Arsenal and Arteta did not need.
[tense music]
Fucking hell.
[narrator] For the 5th time this season, Arsenal must hold on with 10 men.
[commentator] Here comes the Wolves' free kick.
Oh, it's gone in!
Awful luck for Arsenal.
But hold on... The flag is up, and it won't count.
[crowd chant]
Jiménez! And Arsenal just about squeeze it away.
[crowd shout]
This would be a massive win for Arsenal
if they can hold out just a little while longer.
[whistle]
It's over. Big, big Arsenal win. Arteta is jubilant.
[upbeat music]
[commentator] It takes Arsenal to within a point of the top 4.
[chanting]
It is a massive 3 points.
[cheering]
[joyful shouts]
[whistling]
[banging and clapping]
[journalist] Aubameyang is in Barcelona now.
What did you think of the whole situation?
[man] They have let player after player leave
and haven't recruited anyone in.
[commentator] Lacazette. That's a complete miscue.
You will score, I have no doubt.
Being at a big club like this, you can't have bad days.
[commentator] Jota fires it in, Liverpool have scored!
Any slight opportunity they get...
[fan] The manager's been here for two years
and for two years, we haven't seen any major improvement.
[Lorena Bernal] People really feel extremely passionate
about what's happening in football.
[shouts]
They hate you, really.
[upbeat music]