[tense music]
[podcast] So it'll be interesting to see what happens today
because there's a little bit of history, a little bit of retribution...
Brentford absolutely hammered Arsenal first game of the season,
where Arsenal got a little bit bullied. They were wanting physically,
so we'll see how much these teams have progressed
from that first game of the season.
[podcast 2] You know it's a transitional period under Arteta.
But if you're an Arsenal fan,
the bottom line is you'd be thinking, "We are miles away,
"how are we going to get there?"
[fan] The manager's been here for 2 years
and for 2 years we haven't seen any major improvement.
The fact is we can't see the identity of the club. I'm not happy.
[fan 2] The club need now to step up and deliver for the fans.
That's what it's about, delivering for the fans.
Okay, guys, all week we have prepared, we have looked at everything.
We want to play, as much as possible, I insist, here.
And this is great. Great.
But what is going to make the difference now
is what is going to happen in this box,
and what is going to happen when we have to defend this box.
Before I go,
because it's still in my stomach
and I have managed to keep it for 4 months, 5 months, 6 months...
This is Toney after the game, when we play at Brentford.
You know what he did? You know this tweet?
"Nice kick about with the boys this afternoon!"
So today, they play in our house, guys.
There is only one team in that fucking pitch,
and it's us.
Only one team, it's like they don't play football.
We take that fucking ball, we take the game, we go for it.
And let's fucking win this game. Let's go.
[clapping]
[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]
[tense music]
[commentator] Brentford back defending.
The game looks to have slipped away from them now.
Arsenal got that second goal.
Ghoddos is bowled over on this near side,
and it will be a free kick for Brentford.
Free kick is curled in, headed away by Cédric Soares.
It drops to Janelt, left-foot shot from him,
hits Cédric Soares in the face,
drops to Nørgaard, and Nørgaard has scored.
[crowd shout]
And there will be no clean sheet for Aaron Ramsdale, it's 2-1.
[commentator 2] They almost switched off completely there.
It's almost like the final whistle had gone.
[whistle]
[commentator 1] And there is the final whistle. Bit of a nervy ending.
[narrator] Arsenal have beaten Brentford 2-1 in a tense game.
[Steve Round] Well done, boys! Well done!
[narrator] But it wasn't a convincing performance.
[tense music]
We were starting to joke because we're 2-0 up, well done.
Fuck me.
Guys, it's a shame that we conceded a goal at the end.
Guys, because you go again,
another clean sheet and nobody fucking scored against you.
What do you do?
Fucking hell, you have to, fucking hell, you have to, you know what, sort it out.
And you have to have that feeling and not the other feeling, eh.
Well done, guys.
[clapping]
[tense music]
I would have liked to keep a clean sheet.
Disappointing but still a great result.
The thing with Arteta, yeah, it's like, it's hit or miss.
Sometimes you think he's great
and he's going to take us to Champions League,
and next minute, you know, we're playing bad and it's "Arteta Out!"
[tense music continues]
[soft music]
[engine revving]
Smith-Rowe!
-[Emile] How you doing? -Can we talk about this, please?
-[Emile] What? -What the fuck is this?
-What's wrong with this? -No, what's good with this?
-What's good with this? -The white and the black, you know?
-Black and white? -Yeah. Black and white.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah. -Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[laughing]
[podcast] Aubameyang is in Barcelona now.
What did you think of the whole situation?
[podcast 2] For me, it's a bit of arrogance from Arteta,
a bit stubbornness.
[podcast 3] They have let player after player leave
and haven't recruited anyone in.
I am speechless.
[podcast 4] Ultimately, Arsenal are going to live and die by their results.
Nobody standing still, five push-ups.
[narrator] As fans and commentators question decisions
made in the transfer window,
Arsenal now enter the most intense period of the season
with a reduced squad.
Thomas, move!
[Arteta] It's true that we are shorter without certain key players.
We need to be stronger, it's how we're going to manage to do that.
And that's when the season is going to be defined.
If we play in favour of the press,
here we are trapped, yes?
We have to change the press.
One of my main objectives is engage with our fans,
that they believe in the team.
They are not happy and they want to see something different.
At the moment, what the expectations are
and what we can do, it's all the time a challenge.
[narrator] The matches are stacking up,
with the rearranged Covid fixtures needing to be scheduled.
Magic beanie.
[narrator] It will be an intense few weeks for the players.
Centre-forward play. Ready? One...
[narrator] Forward, Alexandre Lacazette, known as Laca,
is one of the most senior players in the squad.
[Alexandre] When I was a kid, my mum said
"If you want to play football, you have to play in front
"or you don't play football."
Maybe she knew I was not gonna be that tall, so...
I think she was scared for me to... to get kicked.
She had good advice. Always listen to mum.
Good, Laca. Go, go, go.
[hubbub]
[narrator] With his close friend Aubameyang leaving,
Laca has taken over the captaincy.
[Alexandre] No, it's been good. He reacted really well as well,
and he was, "I hope you're going to keep it, and you deserve it."
So he was really nice and positive about this.
We know this season is a lot, a lot for the club and the fans.
When they come now, they want to see their team to win so...
Everybody knows the target we have and the mission.
We just want to achieve it.
[narrator] But so far,
Laca's only scored three Premier League goals this season.
Today, assistant coach Steve Round
is showing Laca a compilation of clips from around Europe.
Benzema, top goal scorer.
-The best. -The best.
Look at his movement. Watch the readjustment.
Oh!
He gets a little bit lucky, but maybe because of his movement
he earns the luck.
The only criticism at times, Laca, that I could say to you
is that sometimes, you're not in the position to score
because you're either involved in the build-up too much,
or you've just been a bit late, or you've only done one movement.
Mm.
With one movement, two movements, three movements,
in between centre back and full back,
the more we can do this, the more chance we've got of scoring.
Your goals ratio should go up.
Because you can finish, that's not the issue.
Sometimes you may have to be selfish,
to be in a position to score and not link play,
and let the number ten do this. You know?
Okay.
-Okay? -Yeah.
Good man.
[soft music]
Meeting!
[narrator] Arsenal's schedule means that tomorrow night
they face Wolves for the second time in two weeks.
Arsenal won the last match by a single goal.
Morning.
Good afternoon, guys.
So let's focus today on what we have to do defensively against Wolves.
It's about in how many square metres we defend and with what density,
and then, what principles do we apply?
For tomorrow, if you allow me, I suggest that we do something.
Every time the ball arrives here
and they manage to contact with somebody here,
£5,000 fine!
You agree?
[Granit] And the opposite?
[Arteta] Eh? If you win the ball, you can win the money!
If you win the match, I give you a bonus!
This is where they are dangerous, guys.
It's going to be the key to control the game.
Thank you guys. Go.
[tense music]
[crowd chanting]
[crowd] Arsenal! Arsenal! Arsenal!
[commentator] It's sure to be a very tight and very cagey affair here,
Arsenal vs Wolves.
[tense music continues]
Ah, this season, up and down... I mean it started off so disappointingly.
You know, I think Mikel Arteta, at the moment, he's just got a job to do.
It's really important we win.
We've got to win two out of three of our games in hand, I reckon.
[announcer] Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time this evening,
please welcome the Arsenal!
[applause]
[fan] Lacazette, he's maybe not firing...
He's a very good link up player,
he holds the ball up very well, especially with his back to goal.
But I think Wolves are a good side, you know,
so it's not going to be easy by any standards.
[suspenseful music]
Ready for the fight, here we go, men!
I was going to tell you
what the Wolves players said after the game about us,
but I'm not going to do that.
Did you see what happened between Russia and Ukraine, guys?
How do you feel about that?
[Rob] It's scary.
How lucky we are to be here, guys?
I want you to play like tomorrow maybe they take this away from you.
Because it can happen, guys. In this fucking world, this can happen.
And go out there
and with a fucking passion and commitment like this,
every single ball, I win it!
I'm compact, I have the ball, I keep it.
I pass the ball, I help my teammates.
They beat my press, I fucking sprint, let's go.
[all] Let's go!
[commentator] There are more important things going on in the world right now,
but our job here is to bring a little bit of light.
[whistle]
We're underway in the capital!
[whistle]
[narrator] It's an intense start.
[crowd shouting]
[commentator] That's a risky back-pass,
and they're looking to capitalize on it now...
And it's Hwang who's opened the scoring!
[crowd cheering]
[commentator 2] It was certainly all of Arsenal's own making,
and Gabriel, he'll be gutted about that.
[tense music]
[narrator] Arsenal press Wolves in search of an equaliser.
[commentator 3] Saka into Lacazette, it's a good first touch!
Just taken away from him.
He's a man who is looking to regain his clinical nature in front of goal.
[whistle]
Well, we knew it was gonna be tight
and we knew that there weren't going to be too many goals involved.
[tense music]
Guys, when we win the ball, play the first ball forward.
We are always playing it back, back, back.
Try to play forward the first ball.
You can see that I'm coming and he's already...
like with the ball control.
I want to arrive on the ball...
Calm, calm, calm. Hey.
[Arteta] Gabi, you make a mistake,
it's part of football, mistakes.
Now is the moment to help him, he's made a mistake,
now we have to help him, guys.
Play, Laca we go, everybody inside, you four inside.
If we play...
If we play... Where is the ball?
If we play narrow, these three against one, so easy.
We have to make it a little bit bigger, so attract him, play,
and now we attack.
If he's here, Laca, if you come, we can play the ball here
and every ball that we put here, guys, it has to be in this area.
If we want to be here,
it's going to be 1 day, or 2 or 3 days from now to the end of the season
that we have to come back.
We are losing and we come back and we win the fucking match.
Let's go.
[clapping]
[whistle]
[commentator] Mammoth task in this second half...
[suspenseful music]
[commentator 2] Martinelli can swing it across. Lacazette!
It's a complete miscue from Arsenal's number nine!
[narrator] With time running out, Mikel makes two substitutions.
[commentator] Nicolas Pépé, Eddie Nketiah.
Wonder if this is gonna change the system at all.
[suspenseful music]
And here's Nketiah, laying it back into the path of Pépé!
[crowd cheering]
Arsenal equalise and it's two of their substitutes who combine.
Look at Lacazette!
[commentator 2] He's asking for things of the crowd
but they're giving all they can, they love to see that passion.
[narrator] There's 6 minutes of extra time.
[suspenseful music]
Arsenal are pushing for the win.
[commentator] And Saka...
isolating Otto, gliding infield, it's Saka!
[crowd shout]
Arsenal still on the attack...
Into the path of Lacazette!
[suspenseful music]
And into the back of the net!
And Arsenal have turned this game on its head!
[cheering]
Look how much that one means!
It's Arsenal two, Wolves one!
[commentator 2] That is a fantastic end to the game for Arsenal, what a comeback!
[whistle]
[crowd cheering]
There it is, the full-time whistle
and Arsenal take all three points.
And just listen to the sound inside Emirates Stadium.
[crowd chanting]
[upbeat music]
Good morning.
[Sam Wilson] Be advised. Pair up boys,
we're going to play rock, paper, scissors.
The loser of the three games is going to do ten push ups.
[hubbub]
[screaming]
[narrator] Mikel and the players now have three days off.
[Granit whistling]
Big man!
[narrator] When they return, they'll play four times in two weeks.
[in Spanish] Beautiful, really.
It's the image we transmit, right?
It's what we transmit.
For example, yesterday, we did not play our best match,
but we transmitted very good energy. You know?
-Are you going away or what? -No.
No, you are staying?
But tomorrow I want to study the players properly.
Tomorrow, I'll dedicate 15 hours to it...
Ah! Do it.
As they are away, I'll take the opportunity,
and I want to... but really, really well.
[intriguing music]
[producer] How do you think others would describe you?
I think it's difficult to describe the manager
without describing the person, so I think they would say that...
I'm honest, I'm direct,
and that I am probably very demanding as well.
So what we are looking at, so, warm-up with some speed.
[Arteta] Yeah. We have 20 outfield.
[Stuivenberg] The same 20 players normally? Yeah?
So we need to design those drills in the pattern that we have.
[Arteta] In this industry, respect is not unconditional.
Respect only is determined by results.
Because on the last four games, they haven't changed the back four.
No, and they don't have centre-backs.
[Arteta] People start to blame quickly.
And sometimes, they see a manager
in a way that is not realistic.
I suffer. I have feelings, I have kids. I make mistakes.
I cry. I laugh.
Inside that person, there is somebody else
that is dealing with something as well, you know,
that is not immune to what is happening.
[soft music]
[Arteta] Just spoke with Gary, I don't know if you have communicated with him.
[man on phone] Yeah.
[narrator] Mikel lives in North London,
with his wife, Lorena, and their three children,
Dani, Gabi and Oli.
[Arteta] I think he's gonna be willing to try,
but I don't think he's gonna be capable of training.
[Lorena] If he's on his own at home, he will be
24/7 in the office.
I don't like the sequence there,
I think it's much better to drop Gabi into the pocket
and move the nine into the right central defender.
It is hard for him, even when, I don't know,
we are on holidays in the summer, at the beach, he sees kids playing,
he would get up and start playing with them or coaching them.
Okay, Albert, perfect.
[Stuivenberg] All right, okay.
See you in the morning. Thank you very much.
We've been together for 20 years, so it's been like an evolution together.
It's not something that I stepped on without knowing what it was.
[Arteta in Spanish] Can you give me two sticks?
-Two? -Or three.
-Done? -Yes.
Good?
[producer] What do you think of your dad's job?
It's good, although sometimes, I don't like it
because he's, like, up there for like two hours straight
and he's not with us but when he's with us, I really enjoy it.
"Five more minutes."
Dani, you want me to score a goal?
It's on camera so you have to let it go, okay?
I need to look good.
So, normally it's like this. I'm here.
And from here, I have to try to score against him.
This is part of what happens.
Normally it hits the barbeque or the glasses there.
Come on, Oli.
Ready, Dani?
You see, what a save.
[producer] How is that for you,
hearing people saying not very nice things about him?
[Lorena] I take the good and the bad
and the critics and the opinions and everything
really as part of his job.
But normally I don't allow all that to get in the house.
I normally try to be outside of that bubble.
Sometimes I need to drag him out from there
and make him see, "Hey, it's just that bubble."
I mean, life is going on outside the bubble.
With me, he's quite vulnerable, like, he's completely open,
and we talk a lot.
[producer] One minute people are praising him,
and the next minute they want him to be sacked or to leave the club.
Or to die! I mean...
They hate you, really.
People really feel extremely passionate
about what's happening in football.
People put their joy on it, or their anger or their sadness,
or their deepest emotions.
So yeah, you need to not ride in that train
and focus on what you're doing
and what you can control and what is in your hands.
Otherwise, you...
you go crazy, I think.
[soft music]
["I Want" by Enny]
[narrator] Arsenals good run of form continues.
They've now won five league games in a row.
But it's Liverpool next.
Mikel calls a meeting for the defenders in the squad.
[Arteta] Good morning, guys.
The other day we suffered, we had difficulties defensively,
you agree with that, yeah?
Okay. So we need to understand why, okay?
The first one... As a line, you have to be one.
We were one line, yes or no?
The other day? Ben?
[Ben] Nah, I think we've been much better.
Okay. Communication, coaching.
Were you active coaching the other day in the game?
[Ben] Not as much as usual.
No. So we need to understand why.
And if we don't see it and we don't agree on something,
it's very difficult to keep improving, okay?
This is one of the main issues.
The danger is here, to protect this situation.
We squeeze and we react the full-back straight away.
Ball moves and I move, ball moves and we move, all of them,
because if one start not to move and the others are moving,
what happens?
[Ben] Gap in the line.
That's it. The distance of the line start to shift,
we are not one line again
and if we are one line the distances between the players is too big.
If you have any questions, guys, ask.
If you have a different opinion, ask, and do it, but do it here,
because here we can debate it.
Yeah? Let's go.
I think it's a really thin line between confidence and complacency.
That winning is something,
deserving to win is a different thing,
and performing to the level that we want is a completely different thing.
If I had to summarise that in one picture...
Er...
Let me get a picture for you, guys.
What do you see?
[producer] A duck.
[Arteta] Danny, what do you see?
[Tolhurst] Predominantly, I see a rabbit.
This is the most difficult thing in a football club,
and in the process that we are in right now, even harder.
My only aim is that everybody sees the duck or the rabbit,
because if you see a duck and I see a rabbit,
we are in a different pathway, in a different direction.
But I think we are starting to get in line where we all see the duck.
[soft music]
[Arteta] Yes, Eddie!
[hubbub]
Ben, you are committing...
If somebody come into him.
Now you are coming and coming and coming and going,
you just bring your opponent here.
[narrator] Ben White has been a key part of Arsenal's defence this season.
He's played more minutes than any of his teammates.
[Arteta] Oi oi oi! Oi oi oi!
[Arteta groans]
That's why you are a defender!
[Arteta laughs]
[narrator] Ben initially struggled to win over the Arsenal fans.
[Arteta] Ben.
Why we have problems with this phase now? With three at the back?
-Um. Too big? -Uh huh.
Too far apart?
I couldn't draw people in.
[Ben] It's weird 'cause my family
don't like football.
Never played it, dad hates it,
would never ever watch a game.
It was actually someone that my mum used to cut hair for,
and she used to come out in the garden with me
and she'd get in goal and I'd to boot the ball at her.
That's where it all started, really.
When they are starting to press our midfield line,
the space is in the back so we have to come here,
have good lines of passes to play in the next line.
If not, everything is under pressure... everyone, yeah?
[Ben] I don't think I was ever talented,
like, special...
I just worked so much harder than everyone else.
Well, I knew Ben for a few years, since the moment that he was at Leeds.
He's the type of player that caught my eye.
Brave,
and really talented,
and a fighter.
That's how I would describe Ben.
Good tackle!
He trains like he's playing
the Champions League final almost every day.
That's why he's come a long way in such a short time in his career.
[Arteta] Oxygen! Oxygen for Ben!
[tense music]
[Tolhurst] Yeah, so press conference.
Um, there's not too many in the room,
so as I said, it should be straightforward.
-[journalist] Good morning. -[journalist 2] Morning.
Morning. Morning.
[narrator] To win six in a row, Arsenal will have to beat Liverpool.
[journalist] Hi, Mikel.
What would you say is the biggest difference between the Liverpool match
last November to today's Arsenal team?
That it's five months later and we are playing better.
Erm, we have the right level of confidence, belief.
[journalist 2] Is tomorrow night the toughest test you've had yet
in this run?
[Arteta] Tomorrow certainly you face
a team that dominates every single aspect of the game.
So, when that happens, er, you have to be at your best.
-[Tolhurst] Thanks everyone. -Okay. Thank you.
[Tolhurst] See you soon.
[suspenseful music]
[crowd chanting]
[shouts]
[commentator] I don't think it's any great exaggeration to say
this could be one of the most anticipated games of the season.
[crowd chant]
[commentator 2] Both managers will bring it to each other,
both teams need to win.
[fan] Massive game, innit?
You can't come here expecting a result,
but we can come and expect a performance.
[fan 2] We're an in-form team,
we've won five out of five, so have they,
and they are one of the best teams in Europe.
[announcer] Arsenal vs Liverpool! Come on, you Gunners!
[crowd shout]
[Chunkz] To be fair, like, genuinely, I just want to see us play well,
that's the most important thing.
Obviously, it's Liverpool, incredibly hard game, we'll see what happens but,
er, yeah.
What brings me here, is hope.
[Arteta] Okay, guys. Today I feel like this.
I want to have a great night with you.
Lacazette, when you organise a night out for the boys,
you choose the location, you choose the right atmosphere.
What do you need from your teammates?
You need this nutter sometimes to come in and do something...
[screaming]
And going like this, you need Cédric that is singing
in the background with Granit.
[laughter]
I didn't meet my wife in a church or in a...
how do you say the... Where you read the books?
-[Round] Library? -In a library.
I met her in a nightclub,
and then I look at this beautiful girl and I thought I had zero chance.
So, I started... I started on the left, no chance.
I went on the right, no chance.
Then I grab another girlfriend of her
and then we started to have a conversation.
And then I had to dig, my friend, I had to dig so deep,
but at the end I got the reward. That's why it was a great night.
So, great nights, I don't know how they start and how they finish.
But you have to do something special and you have to do it together.
And I want to have this feeling today, guys,
that you go out there to have a great night.
Okay? Let's go.
[clapping]
[crowd chanting]
[announcer] Please welcome the Arsenal!
[cheers]
[whistle]
[commentator] Here we go, then. Arsenal vs Liverpool.
Here's Alexander-Arnold, almost catches Ramsdale out straight away.
[tense music]
[commentator 2] Excellent from Martinelli.
Great ball in! And Liverpool stretch it clear.
[tense music continues]
Lacazette! Fabinho's block.
Arsenal strong in their defensive shape.
Good clearance from White.
[whistle]
And it's been a tight first half, it is goalless at the break.
[hubbub]
Okay, guys, listen.
The most important thing,
we have to maintain the structure
and the compactness that we have in in the team.
And the compactness, Gabi, is between you and Ben.
Guys, we need to start the second half from the kick-off and we go again
and we go again and we go again.
Okay? Let's start to manage regains, manage regains,
manage regains, all the fucking time!
Let's go!
[clapping]
[Round] Concentration! Right from the kick-off.
[whistle]
[commentator] Arsenal get us underway in the second half.
Martinelli. He's away from Alexander-Arnold.
[tense music]
This is brilliant from Gabriel Martinelli!
That was a bit special.
[narrator] Arsenal start the second half on top.
[commentator] It's Thiago's error.
And Lacazette is in here! He found Odegaard!
Oh, it's breezed over, and Arsenal could not make the moment count.
Salah to come on.
Firmino to come on. How do Arsenal deal with this pair?
[suspenseful music]
[narrator] But with 54 minutes played, Liverpool find a way through.
[commentator] Oh, that's a fine ball, and Jota is onto it.
And Jota has fired Liverpool ahead!
[crowd cheering]
He won't be happy with that one, the Arsenal keeper.
[crowd] Arsenal! Arsenal!
Arsenal! Arsenal!
[commentator] Liverpool have nicked it back.
They're coming forward again.
It's Robertson, it's Firmino.
Arsenal, two behind now.
[cheers]
[whistle]
[narrator] Arsenal's five-game winning streak is over.
[ominous music]
Any slight opportunity they get.
Fuck me, they're so clinical.
And the second one, it's...
He's literally just got his toe in front of me.
[Aaron groans]
[Arteta] Guys.
It could not be a great night,
but it was great to see a team play at that level
against the best team in the league.
From here to here, we were the better team.
Where you win the games in Champions League
against the top teams,
it's in the two boxes, and there we lost the game.
We have to do it better against the top teams because if not,
you cannot win.
Hey, head up!
On Saturday, we have another one, we have to recover,
we have to sleep well, and start to think and start to talk positively
because we're going away to Villa and we're going to beat them. Okay?
Let's go.
[clapping]
[melancholic music]
[fan] The main thing for me is that
as a fan, over the last sort of three or four years,
we, not, didn't fall out of the club,
but we lost the connection that we always had for the last 10, 15 years,
and the players that Arteta's brought in, and the way that we're starting to play,
and the culture that we're bringing, Ramsdale, Ben White, like...
We're falling in love with the club again.
[chanting]
We can't let results like this put our heads down,
we can't get demoralised,
we have to just keep going and we will get top-four.
[melancholic music continues]
[Alexandre] I know tonight you always want to be perfect.
Don't worry, bro, trust me.
[upbeat music]
[Gonnella] The boys still positive yesterday?
[Arteta] Yeah. It was a very physical game.
[Gonnella] Cor! That first half...
[Arteta] Very, very physical.
But, Mikel, the noise in our ground is the best I've ever heard.
[Arteta] Morning. Morning.
[Gonnella] Morning, everybody.
-Morning. -[journalist] Hi, Mikel. How are you?
Do you sometimes look at football and think,
what a bizarre industry you work in?
I mean, the beginning of the season when Arsenal started badly,
you were under pressure.
You buy Ben White, 50 million pounds, people say it's a lot of money
for Ben White, and yet you're fourth in the table.
It's always good to hear different opinions
and people may be judging it, erm, early,
but you have to stay calm and believe in what you're doing.
It's down to the players at the end, they have this quality,
they have the mental strength, they have the ambition.
I'm happy with the majority of them, it's been good.
It's a quick turnaround from Wednesday night to an early kick-off on Saturday,
what have you been able to do?
How challenging is that?
Well, try to recover well mentally, physically,
eat well, sleep well, and um...
and be ready tomorrow.
[Gonnella] Thanks, guys.
[tense music]
[narrator] Arsenal now have only 63 hours to recover
before they play Aston Villa, their third match in seven days.
♪ It's a hard knock life for us ♪
[humming]
[narrator] And now goalkeeper, Aaron Ramsdale,
has picked up a hip injury.
The medical team rule him out of the Villa game,
a major blow for the club.
Jordy, how we doing for injuries there?
Rambo's the only other one. That impact on that iliac crest
put a little bit of soreness around that left groin.
Actually had a good conversation about how we manage him today
and this week.
So, yeah, it's gonna be a very light session for him today, no kicking.
But this just needs more time.
Erm... I think this is going to become more and more of a thing for Mikel.
He knows the plan in that if this doesn't get better
what our next steps are.
-All right, kid? -[Aaron] Yeah, you?
[Aaron] Probably my first, like, injury, um...
You're not doing the thing which you love
and you're not used to... to being in a situation
when I've been, erm, a starter in a team.
The other lads have been amazing.
We've had a small squad probably since...
since January, which has made everyone so much closer.
[hubbub]
[narrator] Ben looks over the key moments from the Liverpool match with Aaron.
[Ben] Being at a big club like this, you can't slip.
You can't have bad days.
It is tough mentally.
I have high standards.
I don't need anyone to tell me when I've not done something well, I know.
Erm...
I think I used to be very, like, up and down emotionally.
I wouldn't be able to sit inside and think about it all the time.
But as I've, like, grown up and I think I'm at a level
where I can be okay with whatever happens.
[narrator] Every first-team player has one-on-ones with the coaching staff.
Today, Ben's meeting development coach Carlos Cuesta.
I wanted to focus with you on three things.
Why? Because you have all the potential to be a world-class player.
Your level of activity when you want is top.
Your ability to learn is your biggest strength.
When I see you defending, I say "wow."
I mean, "How aggressive he is, how quickly he reacts,
"and how he is able to anticipate."
How many players in the world can anticipate like you do?
-[Ben] Yeah. -I'm telling you, not many.
I would say nobody.
You are special on your level of activity.
You know what I mean?
So, it's only a question of angles
-and body shapes. -Yeah.
Here, this situation,
you are not aligned with him, okay, because look how he moves.
Yeah?
-[Ben] I didn't, um, get across him. -Yeah.
Like normally, when I run past someone, I'd get across,
and then they won't follow then.
And there are some zones where I think that we can take more risks.
And in other ones that maybe we need to be a little bit more...
cautious, that's it.
And we will be always here just to help you.
To tell you all the positive things and...
-and yeah, to support. Yeah? -Perfect.
[Carlos] Let's go for that.
[tense music]
[fan] Come on, Arsenal!
[chanting] We all follow the Arsenal! Hello, hello!
We are the Arsenal boys! Hello, hello! We are the Arsenal boys!
I was "Arteta out" after the first three games.
We didn't really know the direction in which we were heading in,
but now, I think what Arteta's done with our side is brilliant,
and we just need to keep on building because our squad has a lot of potential.
[fan 2] I love what he's done.
I love, you know, the belief in the team.
I love the cohesion, you know, among the boys.
I mean, we're starting to turn up results and that's really good.
[crowd chanting]
[commentator] Aaron Ramsdale is out with a hip injury,
so Bernd Leno makes a rare first-team start for Arsenal.
His first start since conceding 5 goals at Manchester City in August.
And when you see how thin their squad is,
how little time they've had to prepare,
this is going to be a mighty tough examination for Arsenal.
[tense music]
[Arteta] Okay, so we are sharp from the beginning and we are physical.
We're going to go out there, guys, full gas, full energy, compact, high,
and I want to see a team that goes to win the ball high
and when we have the ball, that plays.
So, I want you to go out there with that fucking confidence today,
from the beginning.
That's the commitment. Yes? Let's go!
[cheering and clapping]
[suspenseful music]
[whistle]
[commentator] And so, it's Villa who get this game underway...
[commentator 2] The home side really start to get a feel of the ball.
[commentator 3] Delivered in rather quickly
and it needed Ben White to get across there.
Arsenal defending really well.
[suspenseful music continues]
[commentator 2] Leno flying in the air
to collect a deep cross into the penalty area.
That was brave goalkeeping!
[commentator] Does Arteta ever sit down?
[laughing]
-I've never seen him sit down! -He's always on his feet, isn't he?
[Arteta] Here!
[whistle]
-[commentator 2] Arsenal go short. -Saka, Cédric to deliver.
It's deep, still in their possession. Saka....
Oh, he's found the net!
[cheers]
He beats his former teammate Martínez
and sends the Arsenal fans into raptures!
At Villa Park, it's Aston Villa nil, Arsenal one.
[crowd cheering]
[tense music]
[commentator 2] Those Arsenal fans baying now for the full-time whistle.
[commentator] Might be the last chance here for Aston Villa.
They're gonna get a free kick!
[all] No! No!
[commentator 2] A lot depending on the defending
of this free kick for Arsenal.
[suspenseful music]
Wicked ball in, and Leno got a palm on it.
-[whistle] -And there it is, the whistle!
[whistle]
[cheers]
[commentator] There have been some outstanding performances today,
and Ben White in particular has been immense.
And the Arsenal fans are going absolutely crazy.
What a sight that is.
[crowd] We've got super Mik Arteta!
He knows exactly what we need!
Tierney at the back! Gabi in attack!
Arsenal on the way to Champions League!
We've got super Mik Arteta!
He knows exactly what we need!
Tierney at the back! Gabi in attack!
Arsenal's on the way to Champions League!
We've got Super Mik Arteta...
[intriguing music]
Edison invented the light bulb.
The bulb by itself is nothing.
I want to see a team that is connected with each other and that shines.
You go out there, fucking turn the light on and play football. Let's go!
[commentator] Oh, what a goal!
And Arsenal's destiny, maybe is not in their own hands for top-four.
I see you there in the first half and I'm saying, "What the fuck am I doing?"
[podcaster] You can't lose 3 in a row
if you want to be taken seriously as a team that's on the up.
[crowd boo]
[commentator 2] And it's Bukayo Saka,
the man who missed that penalty in the final of the Euros,
who steps up now.
[tense music]