Transcription
Arsenal through to the next round. Frank's been blowing up the text message group because even though there was plenty of attacking talent out there, Frank is not happy. He said Arsenal pretty much played like a League One side.
Well, he didn't, but he wanted to see more attacking from Arsenal tonight. Would that be fair, Frank? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because, because we expect much more from that team and uh, and what I saw against Manchester City is not, for me, the uh, um, the outlook of of what a team should be if they want to, if he wants to win the Premier League today.
I don't know. I didn't watch the game so I can't say, but you know, winning 2-0 against Port Vale is good enough to go back to London and be happy and see what's going to happen in the next game for Arsenal in the Premier League. But what I saw, really, what I saw against Manchester was very much too much conservative, and having Ez Martinelli and Saka on the bench. It's impossible for me.
We've got a whole season ahead. It's round three of the Carabao Cup. You're up against lower opposition. What do you want to see from an Arsenal team? Wouldn't they care? Who cares? Nobody cares. And actually, if you look at the 10, the 10 subs Arsenal had, they were bonafide starters, as were the 11 they started. It's just, as long as you win this game, nobody cares. They really don't care.
The only thing you take from this game is if I'm an Arsenal fan, I'm going to assume that they were thinking what I was thinking when I saw this starting 11. Did we buy Ezi to play him in the early rounds of the Carabao Cup? Is that what we did at Port Vale? At Port Vale. Yeah, that was the f—it was the only thing I thought about when I saw the, when I was watching this game and when I saw the starting 11, that's the first thing I could think of, and I couldn't think of anything else.
I'm with Frank. You play your best players in the big games, and when it comes to Port Vale away, you keep them on the bench so they don't get kicked, hurt, or injured. End the story. You know, the fact that, uh, I don't want to make it about your personal issues, Stevie, but the fact that Arteta hasn't been starting Ezi actually cost you money. Ain't that right?
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Didn't you lose money to Dan because he didn't start Ezi? Or? No, I won the bet. I told him he wouldn't start him. Oh, you won the bet. Yeah, I won the bet. Well, hey, my apologies. No, because I know you think, because I know what Arteta is like. All right. I said he wouldn't play. I said he wouldn't play him. And of course, Dan did his usual. There you go. All right. Which is... And that's why I find it ironic that against Man City at home, you try to win the Premier League. Is he sat on his backside? But then they play Port Vale away midweek, a game that doesn't matter. Guess who starts? Ezi. I mean, it's just ironic. And of course, who scores? A nice goal. Of course it does. Clean finish inside the 18-yard box.
Paul won as well yesterday, beating Southampton 2-1 in their Carabao Cup clash with both Alexander Isak and Hugo scoring. But it was the latter who was also sent off. He seemed to forget he was already on a booking when he took his shirt off to celebrate the goal. Well, here's Arne Slot on the situation.
In the first one was already needless and to a certain extent stupid, because you have to control your emotions. And I know how hard it is if you play Premier League or every league in the world, if you're number nine, then the other, the defender can almost do everything he wants, and then when you should pull a little bit or you push him a little bit, then you get a free kick against you. But it's always best to control your emotions. And if you cannot control your emotions, do it in a way that it doesn't lead to a yellow card. And then I told him, uh, as well, and I've said it to numerous media already. If you score in the Champions League final in 87 minutes after outplaying three players and hitting it in the top corner, I can maybe understand that you are like, "Ah, this is all about me. What did I do?" But I'm old-fashioned. I'm 47 and old, maybe, and I haven't played on this level, but I did score a few goals. And if I would have scored a goal like this, I would have turned around and walked up to, in this situation, Federico Chiesa and said, "This goal is all about you. This is, uh, this is not about me." Um, so, yeah, needless, not smart. You call it stupid. I call it stupid, by the way, as well.
Stevie, you got to love that guy. What's not to love about Ali Slot? He doesn't mess around with it. He's not coming out and trying to be the hard man and drive it down Ekitike's throat. He just does things the right way and says what he has to say. You know, he's not, he's not trying to cover it up or, you know, loads of managers would come out and say, you know, try and cover, try and, "I'll leave him alone, he's only young," and he doesn't do that. He's telling you, "I told him it was stupid. I told him what he should have been doing," but he does it in such a way that you don't take offense, and and I'm sure Ekitike won't take it as an offense or in offense. So, I, I just, I love the way the guy handles himself. Yes, it was stupid. You can come out with all the words, but I will stick up for him for the, for once, because I always give it. I did it with all my players that I coached. They all get one chance to be stupid. The second time they do it, no, they get the hammer. So, Ekitike has done it. He needs to learn from it because that's what you have to do. We all make mistakes at times, but as long as you learn from it, then it's okay. But you get one chance, and he's, he's in my, sorry, in my book, his chances are gone. That's it.
Can I, can I take you into the mind of stupidity from Ekitike and as to what he was, he must have been thinking? Alexander Isak scores his first goal for Liverpool in the first half, and with the arrival of Alexander Isak, Ekitike is looking around, is doing the math and saying, "Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. I've had a good start with this dumb, stupid, whatever you may want to call it." But that is, I think the reasoning here is that he's feeling the presence of the other guy who's just come in, who just scored a goal, and who now is probably going to play ahead of you. And by doing this, you have probably solidified that decision for Arne Slot, who now says, "Go ahead and play. You come and sit right here with me."
A one little, but see, that's, that's why that one time is okay. Because what you just saw, if all the things Ali's saying are right, what you just saw is a guy, you know, we keep hearing us talking about, you need a squad, you need competition for places. That's what you need. That's what it, that's what this is. This is, nobody wants to play a round of the EFL Cup if you play for the big boys, basically. And Ekitike has shown you that it matters, that that guy's got an opportunity to maybe get my starting position. So the competition's fantastic, as long as you don't do stupid things like he did. You get the one and you learn from it. It's perfect. That's what you want at Liverpool. You don't want people stepping on the field thinking, "Well, it doesn't matter what I do today, I'm playing the next game." That's perfect. That's what you call competition for places.
Do you like how Slot dealt with this, Frank? Yeah, you know, I mean, I like what Arne Slot said about it, and we all agree that's absolutely needless and and and stupid, and I said it yesterday. Um, the only thing I disagree with Slot, he said that he's 47 and he's old. You know, I'm, I'm, I'm 57, so what do I have to think about him being old at 47? But whatever. Uh, but the, the other thing is, is, um, you know, as, as Stevie said, you point the thing, you say to the guy, "That's the first time and the last time." And, uh, Hugo is is young. I think he knows deep inside, he knows 100% that he, he was absolutely stupid to do that. I think he's a clever guy. He's a smart guy, and he, he has learned that he will never do that again. But I agree with Ali. That's a pity for Liverpool, and that's why Arne Slot said to him something, because the competition doesn't exist anymore, or I mean, for that game, where he knows that Isak is going to play, and if Isak scores, he will carry on playing, and Ekitike will pay even more for that stupid, uh, move.
Yeah, we thought we'd let you know as well, Frank, that you're not the only person to get Hugo Ekitike's shirt this season, because his former manager and Southampton manager now, Will Still, did manage to get his hands on one as well. Here's what he said about the situation. He said, "He's a funny lad. We caught him before the game, and he said he'd come on and score and then give me a shirt and bugger off, which is exactly what he's done." So, he managed him at Reims, obviously, they've got history there, but that was just a nice, light way to end it. Everyone's had a little bit to say about Ekitike and his shirt-off celebration. So, we'll see what comes next from Hugo Ekitike.
Draw is done, but standing out at the very top there is Liverpool against Crystal Palace in the fourth round, though this time around. Stevie, I wouldn't have chosen it. I'll be honest. Yeah, but definitely has a standout tie. Newcastle, Spurs also has been picked up there. So, this is what we're looking at at the moment. You wouldn't have chosen it right now. It's a bit of a different Crystal Palace this year. It's a bit of a different Liverpool this year. Yeah, but what's going to happen? Had a look at my crystal ball, just as you were showing that. Palace are going to play the first team, and Liverpool are going to play the reserves. So, that, that's, this could go Crystal Palace's way. I absolutely could. I absolutely Crystal Palace, after winning the FA Cup last year, will absolutely want to win either the FA Cup or the Carabao Cup. They know they're not winning the Premier League. They know they're not getting in the top four. So, they will be going out to win this. And Liverpool will put out a similar team as they did against Southampton.
Stevie sounds stressed to me, Frank. So, so yeah, that, that's just following. Well, can, can we agree to, can we agree to disagree? I mean, I was at Wembley when Crystal Palace won against Liverpool, and I think it was a, it was a lesson for, for Liver, for Liverpool, and for Arne Slot. And Slot, I think, will want kind of a revenge, and I'm pretty sure he's going to put the, the first team to, to make sure that he, uh, he can erase, um, that loss that he got against Crystal Palace in the final at Wembley.
Frank, let me ask you a question. If you're Liverpool's manager, and you're sitting top of the Premier League, and your goal is winning the Premier League. Yeah. Are you going to play your first team on the Saturday, the Wednesday, because it's Crystal Palace and the Carabao Cup, and then have to play them again on the Saturday in order to get so-called revenge for, for what? For the Charity Shield? I don't think so. Come on.
Yeah. Stevie, I have another, I have another question. When you were playing, did you think about the fact that you played on Wednesday and Saturday and Wednesday and Saturday? That was a problem for you? We played like that, and they all carried along. We didn't, you didn't care about that, Frank. What you and I did, and how and how things were done when you and I played, that's not how they do it today. That's it's a diff, it's a different mentality. You and I, our mentality was, "I don't care what cup this is, I'm playing and I want to play, and I better play." That's not how it works now. These, these, these guys know me.
Yeah, but you want, you want everything done that you want everything. It doesn't change. It's possible, but it doesn't change what's going to happen and what teams do today. I mean, you're looking at you, so you're saying that they're all soft, that they cannot play every, they cannot play every three days because of the system. I'm not saying that. I'm just telling you that that Arne Slot and and all these top managers ain't going to play their first team. What's, I mean, what's the next round? Is it the fourth round? They're not going to, they're not playing the first team in the fourth round of of the card. But it's, we're going to make, we're going to make a short story. I totally agree with you. I'm pretty sure he's not going to play the first. I think it's a pity. It's a pity. That's it. Yeah.
No, it is. I, I think it's a pity. If, if, if I may, Stevie. Sure. Pro, try to provide a different perspective. I'm going to give you Crystal Palace's perspective. You think they're excited to play Liverpool? You think they, the draw comes out and they're go, "Yes, yes, we, we got Liverpool." I don't, I don't believe so. But they will understand that there's a good chance they're playing Liverpool reserves, by the way. Maybe. And they want to win the trophy, maybe. But the Liverpool reserves, we have talked about how Liverpool has become this team that made all these acquisitions that brought all these players in. We're talking about some of the best players in Europe that may actually play on that day. And not all of them, but some of them. I don't, I look at it from the perspective of Crystal Palace. I'm not sitting back going, "Man, this is amazing that we get the opportunity to play against one of the best teams in the world. This is great. What a great chance this is to advance past the fourth round." I, I don't, I mean, you, you sound, you sound like, like your team is not one of the best teams, if not, if not the best team in the world.
All I said was that Crystal Palace will play the first team and Liverpool won't. I know. Quite frankly, let's be honest, if, if the game was tomorrow and it was Crystal Palace's first team against the team that Liverpool put out against Southampton, you, you would think Palace are going to win, wouldn't you? No. Oh, come on. What? I'm, I'm rooting for your team. I'm so, I'm making a case for your team. I don't know why you're so negative on your own team that Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace would be excited to play Liverpool.
Well, Frankie, Frank just sat there and told you they completely gave Liverpool a lesson with their first team. So, what chance is the reserve team? All right. Hey, hey, Liverpool, pack it in, Liverpool. This season's going to be terrible for you. Are you kidding me right now? [Music]