Arseblog - The Arsecasts, Arsenal Podcasts

On this week's episode, I'm joined by James Benge of Football London to discuss most of the Arsenal squad agreeing to a round of pay cuts. However, Mesut Ozil was widely reported to have held off from the agreement – what should we make of that, especially in light of comments made by his agent during the week. There's also some European football waffle in there too.Then it's to New York to catch up with journalist, author, screenwriter, podcaster and Arsenal fan, Jon Ronson for some general chat about life during Covid-19, the impacts it might have on society, what he's been up to, some TV recommendations and lots more.Follow James @JamesBenge Follow Jon @JonRonson  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week's show gets off to a strange start, but we try again and James and I discuss the latest from the world of football which includes ... er ... no football, but there's chat about the Arsenal players taking pay cuts, the roles of Mikel Arteta and Hector Bellerin, and the prospect of Arsenal and other clubs being taken over if the financial crisis in the game continues. There are also loads of listener questions, starting with our opinion on how things have gone for the club on the 2 year anniversary of Arsene Wenger's departure being announced, a new contract for Bukayo Saka, keeping Cedric Soares, hidden turtles and lots more.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week's episode, the issue of football players taking pay cuts is to the fore, and with me to discuss that is Rory Smith, Chief Soccer Correspondent for the New York Times. We chat about an issue which all clubs are dealing with, not just Arsenal, at a time when the precarious nature of football finance is becoming very clear. Should players be responsible for cost savings which wealthy owners could easily cover? What other avenues could clubs go down, regarding salary caps? Will we see a more prudent landscape when we do see games played again? And how realistic is the idea of the Premier League season finishing by June 30th? All this and more with Rory.Follow Rory on Twitter @RorySmith  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week's show, James and I discuss the issue player wages and the proposed pay cut by Arsenal. Is it as simple as just accepting the terms, or is it a more complicated issue that needs to be discussed carefully and considerately before implementation? On the surface it's not a great look for well paid sportsmen, but what about the owners and other highly paid executives? Where does that money go? And if players take a cut, what are the implications for other staff at the club? We chat about all that, plus answer listener questions about contract negotiations, people's relationship to football, scouting then and now, what we're missing about football and loads more.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week's episode, I'm joined by one of our long-time friends, Amy Lawrence. We chat a bit about footballers and their new initiative to donate pay to the NHS, but we mostly chat about her life and work as one of the most respected football journalists around. We discuss how she become obsessed with football and Arsenal, how she began writing for The Gooner and made her way to the Observer via FourFourTwo magazine, wearing the dual hat of fan and journalist, and lots more.Follow Amy @AmyLawrence71  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On the latest edition of the Arsenal Women Arsecast, Tim talks to Max Jones and Aidan Small from Arsenal.com to chat about handling the Arsenal Women's official social media channels and the AWFC content you see on Arsenal.com. There is also some chat about accumulating accurate historical data on the women's team and the inter-relation between data and content on the club's official channels. Then Tim chats to Gunners defender Leah Williamson in our new 'teammates' feature. Who from the current squad would Leah back in a fight? Who are the best and worst singers and who would she vote for as Prime Minister? Find out on this episode!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week's show, it's a hair raising opening as we discuss James' new haircut, and ponder the implications of baldness on his work. There's also discussion of Jurgen Klopp, hair replacement systems, an all-bald XI, and questions from listeners about clubs furloughing staff, making a significant change to the game once things get back to 'normal', player descriptions, drinking, fighting and racing, why Mark Hughes is so sad right now, disturbing Sean Dyche imagery and LOTS more.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As questions are asked of top earning players and whether or not they should take a pay cut to protect the jobs of other staff, I ask Daniel Storey if we should be looking first at the billionaire owners. We chat about certain clubs taking advantage of government schemes which were not designed for them, football as a business and how precarious just a few months off might be, games behind closed doors and more. And away from football, I'm joined by Arsenal fan Tom Marsh, drummer for Lana del Rey, to chat about his life as a touring musician, how he got started, and how listening to the Arsecast up a mountain in Chile provided some much needed solace.Follow Daniel @DanielStorey85 - Follow Tom @TomMarshMusic  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today is the 19th anniversary of the passing of Arsenal legend David Rocastle. To talk about him, I'm joined by his great friend Ian Wright. We discuss the influence Rocky had on him as a player and a person; how the age difference didn't matter; what kind of a player he was; the emotional moment when he was sold to Leeds; and how Ian feels about the way David is remembered and held in such esteem by Arsenal fans all over the world – whether they saw him play or not.Watch the Rocky and Wrighty documentary here.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week's show James and I discuss the little bit of football news regarding Man City's belief Arsenal are trying to get them, and the idea of playing all the games in a month. We also think about football might be like when all this over, will transfers and people's perception of the game be the same. Mostly though, there's a lot of waffle about mad people with tigers, picking an all-time best/worst Arsenal XI based on shirt numbers, footballers with mullets, footballs with hernias, the weirdest Arsenal player of all time and loads more besides.You can see the footballer mullet pics here: https://imgur.com/a/ox87crf - and the updated Mavropanos one here: https://imgur.com/a/Ud7SAKc. The Podolski picture we talk about is here: https://arseblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/podolski_laughing.jpg  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this show I'm joined by author Jon Spurling to look back on Arsenal reaching three successive FA Cup finals in 1978, 1979, and 1980. We chat about the road to each Wembley showdown, including those incredible series of replays against Sheffield Wednesday and Liverpool, the finals themselves, key players, unfortunate moments, and more – as well as the fact we also played the Cup Winners Cup Final in 1980 too. A little trip down memory lane in this football-free world we live in right now.Follow Jon @JonSpurling1  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This is an interview that has been a long time in the making, and it did look as if the current situation with the world in various states of lock-down might delay it even further. However, it was an absolute pleasure to have a Skype conversation with former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas on Friday night.We talk about how his move to Arsenal came about. What was it like as a teenager leaving home to come live in London, and join a club at the height of its power and success under Arsene Wenger? That was a dressing room with some big names and even bigger personalities – how did a 16 year old deal with that? We chat about his time at the club, his development as a player and a person, Arsene Wenger as a coach and how he helped him, plus his departure in the summer of 2011, playing for Barcelona, the return to England, whether or not he could have come back to us and lots more.Cesc is very open and honest throughout, and I'm hugely appreciative of the time he gave me for this podcast. I hope you enjoy it. &

There's still no football, and Arsenal have delayed the players return to training, so that informs the early part of this episode. Then we play the 'Pick your favourite Arsenal XI without using the same nationality twice' game that has been doing the rounds on Twitter. We also pick 5-a-side teams, discuss Hector Bellerin and the impact of a vegan diet on professional sports people, there's a bit on transfers and ticket prices, reliving of some physically painful moments, a Magpie Fact, and a load of other waffle too including details of the long-awaited Arseblog v Gunnerblog FIFA/PS4 tournament. Hopefully it will help pass some of the time and keep your mind off other stuff for a bit.Here's the Magpie video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_1Um8pNiBo&feature=youtu.be  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this month’s episode of the Arsenal Women Arsecast, Tim is joined by author, broadcaster and journalist Dr. Carrie Dunn, Carrie is an expert and academic on all things women’s sport and is the author of two books about the Lionesses- Roar of the Lionesses (2016) and Pride of the Lionesses (2019)- which you can by here https://www.pitchpublishing.co.uk/shop/pride-lionesses – or from your local bookstore if they are still delivering- they would probably appreciate the business right now!Tim talks to Carrie about role modelling in women’s football, players in the women’s game are called upon to be role models, especially for young girls and to help increase participation in the sport. Many players see this as a privilege and an important responsibility- but to what extent is it fair? Is this just invisible labour we blithely place on female athletes?Then Tim talks to Gunners defender Louise Quinn, who is a patron for lots of initiatives geared towards increasing participation in sport for young girls. Louise

It's a football free world we live in now, but it will return. However, will what's happening now affect the game as we know it? How will clubs react? What are the implications of the economic impact of Coronavirus on football? I'm joined by Musa Okwonga to discuss that and much more. Plus we each give a couple of recommendations of books, music and movies to help you pass the time as more and more of us are spending time at home, away from the outside world.Follow Musa @Okwonga  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There's no football anymore, not for a while anyway, but the show must go on. James and I do our best to waffle a bit about the minuscule amount of Arsenal news floating around, but there's an awful lot of waffle as you'd expect. At least we appear to be keeping our club doctor, which is probably handy right now. We also ask why does Kolasinac have a giant Batman in his home gym? Who would be the player you'd least like to get quarantined with? Isolation movies and sandwiches, a surreal Dennis Hopper experience, and last but very much not least, Magpie Facts makes a triumphant and musical return.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A short bonus podcast with James and Andrew Allen, reacting to the news that dropped last night about Mikel Arteta being diagnosed with Coronavirus, and the fact that the entire playing squad and dozens of staff at the club are now in self-isolation. We also touch on the suspension of the Premier League and football in England until April 4th at the earliest, and wonder what we're going to podcast and blog about for the next month!Follow Andrew @aallensport and James @gunnerblog  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On a special, quite surreal, Arsecast Extra, James and I discuss all the mad stuff that's going on. And it is mad. With football shut down almost everywhere else, England is carry on as normal and we'll be playing Brighton on Saturday. We try to talk about that but as you'd expect the conversation is dominated by the Coronavirus, the impact it's having far and wide, and where it might go from here. On a football level we talk about the games, transfer windows, what happens when the Premier League is suspended, transfer windows, Euro 2020 which might become Euro 2021, magpies and magpie facts, deciding the league via FIFA on the Playstation, and LOADS more besides.Still watch this video if you haven't already: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcJDpV-igjs&feature=youtu.be  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this bonus episode in the wake of Arsenal's trip to Man City tonight being postponed because of exposure to the Coronavirus, I'm joined by Dr James McInerney – Head of the School of Life Sciences at Nottingham University. I ask him about the virus – now officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation – how it spreads, the symptoms and the effects, and what we can do to slow its spread. We also chat about what the impact the Coronavirus is having in other places tells us about what's in store for England and other countries where infections are beginning to increase. Plus what it might mean for football, and mass gatherings in general as this crazy season takes another bizarre twist.Follow Professor James McInerney @jomcinerney  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this week's episode we discuss the 1-0 win over West Ham at the Emirates on Saturday. A good result, but not a great performance. Is that something that should concern us at this point, or is it part of the slow process of rebuilding under Mikel Arteta. We chat about wins v performance in the context of criticism aimed at Unai Emery for similar; the intervention of VAR in this game which ruled-in Lacazette's originally ruled-out winner; and talk about the need for better attacking balance on the right-hand side. We then take listener questions about the Man City game on Wednesday, our predictions for the rest of the Premier League season, the impact on football of COVID-19/Corona Virus as games are being played behind closed doors elsewhere, and lots more. Here is the YouTube video referenced in the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcJDpV-igjs&feature=youtu.be  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.