Myles too good for Monaco
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The Athletic FC Podcast Network. The only way to score is, of course, to play with a hand break off.

Hello, I'm Ian Stone. This is Handbrake Off, the Arsenal podcast brought to you by The Athletic. So last night, Arsenal moved to third in the Champions League table of, what is it, 36? Is it 36? After beating Monaco 3-0 at the Emirates. To talk about that.

And have a quick look ahead to Everton on Saturday. I'm joined by James McNicholas and Art de Rocher. Morning. Good morning. Morning, mate. Morning. Now, the Arsenal boys, they wore some rather fashionable baseball-inspired jackets as they walked onto the pitch to line up last night. Yeah.

Do you like that look? The front of it's alright, but I didn't really like the A on the back. I think just a clean back and you'd be fine, but I think the doubling up of the A was a bit too much for me.

Right, it's just too much Arsenal, essentially. I mean, they're really trying to sort of let you know it's an Arsenal. Were they on sale in the club shop, by the way, last night? Somebody said they were. I'm assuming so. I didn't go and have a look, but you'd assume it would be. They are on sale right now. They're on sale.

recommended retail price 160 pounds are they i said 120 yesterday and i okay 160 quid all right fair enough um i mean any other um walk of life would you like the next walkout outfits to be inspired by james well maybe it's just the time of year ian but it's got to be santa suits hasn't it they're already red and white

Get a little elf one for Leandro Trossart. What, individual ones? I quite like it. Yeah, I think so. All with a fake beard. I think it'd be great. Right, right. Arsenal walking out in Santa suits. Do you think that really sort of gives the impression of Emirates being a fortress? Fortress Emirates. Hey, it's Christmas. Maybe sleigh bells as well. Some sort of sleigh bell thing going on if you want to go for it. I don't know.

I don't think we'll get Mikel's sign off, but hopefully we can sneak it past him. No. What do you think? I,

Other walkout outfits, inspirations? I didn't really get an inspiration. The only thing I could think of is maybe do like opposite of non-uniform day at school where you get maybe their kids to choose what they wear in the walkout. But I think that's probably a dangerous recommendation. That could be disastrous in all sorts of ways. Why can't I have it naked? It's what his son wanted. It's...

It's why he's just got an Arsenal hat strategically placed. Yeah, I found this question difficult, really. I was wondering about rhythmic gymnastics, but with actual, like, a ball. I don't know, some sort of... Yeah, see, I knew that was a ridiculous thought. But anyway, £160 on sale right now if you want one. You can actually, Ian, they are actually... There's a knockdown.

price today they've reduced it from 160 to 144 i'm not on any commission here but i just thought it's such a bargain at that price that you'd all need to know immediately well i'm gonna get one for the whole handbrake family to be honest with you all right yes just keep an eye on those stockings those jacket size stockings arsenal three

What a legacy. Yeah.

What a legacy. I mean, it was an outstanding performance, wasn't it? Really, the 64 minutes he was on, I was surprised he was taken off. Yeah, he did really well. When he came off, you've got to remember he's been out with an injury recently and not long been back with the first team. I also just think...

sort of physically and emotionally a night like this for him. His first Champions League start, probably quite demanding, quite draining. And I think it was probably a smart decision to finish with a bit of seniority on the pitch. Obviously, Timber came on. They brought Jorginho on in midfield as well. But for Myles Lewis-Skelly, I was delighted. His involvement in the first goal, obviously the most eye-catching moment

moment of the night for him. A really nice little turn away from his man. Ball between the lines. I feel like you could pick any Myles Lewis Skelly appearance, probably going back to pre-season, and you would find two or three of those passes forward between the lines. I think...

You know, he's a midfield player who's used to playing in a kind of 360 environment, right? And you can see him almost enjoying the fact that he's playing with the whole game in front of him and he can pick those passes out into the lanes. I thought he was very good. I thought Mikel Moreno in front of him on left side midfield had a decent game as well.

And I thought it was telling that Arsenal's first goal of this game came down their left-hand side, right? I think that flank was opened up a little bit and Myles Lewis-Skelly deserves a lot of credit for that. Yes, he absolutely does. And there's that whole thing, isn't there, about if your teammates trust you. We've talked about Ethan Waineri a lot this season and how the players want to pass to him. And the same thing goes for Myles, doesn't it?

Definitely. I think when you're looking at when he received the ball for that first goal, he's under serious pressure, considering his age, considering his experience. But that's a situation he's received the ball in so many times, even going back to

under 18s level. Yeah, that's a midfield. That's a midfield position, isn't it? That he's standing here. We're on the attack. And so he knows what to do in that situation. Exactly. But also the big difference is like his strength in those situations to actually take the contact is, I think, very special. It's one of his key selling points, I'd say. And what's really impressive is, as James said, is

That's not the first time we've seen that pass. So I'm really, really encouraged by his hour on the pitch. And hopefully now that, I don't know, top eight seems probable. 88%, I believe the stat is for top eight. Yeah, hopefully we see a bit more of him in the Champions League as well as Ethan Monieri as well. I just want to say one little detail I really liked about Myles last night was when he was substituted, he

he came off the pitch and at that moment Mika Arteta was actually giving some instructions on the timeline and I think a lot of young players would have sort of had a glance at Arteta and thought oh he's busy I'm just going to go and sit down you know but I like that Miles sort of went up to Arteta and was like I'm going to get my well done he waited for his moment and Arteta turned around saw him gave him a big high five big hug big slap on the back but I really like the confidence of being like I

I've earned this tonight. I'm going to have my moment. Yeah, you know what? I saw exactly the same thing and I thought, bit needy, do you know? It's what I thought, to be honest. Bit needy. Was that okay? Because basically that is my life, being like that, right? So I can recognise the signs.

But yes, you're right. From an 18-year-old to go, I did all right, didn't I? And he went, yes, you did. And there was a definite... When Mick El Suri was there, he made sure, didn't he, to go, yes, it was great what you did. There was a really sweet interview on TNT, Miles and Bukayo Saka. Bukayo Saka is now the senior pro, by the way, in all this, at the grand old age of 23. But this pathway...

I mean, we talked about it quite a bit. It's quite difficult with teams at the level that we're operating at now to get players in because there's such good senior players. But Bukayo has shown the way. And he's obviously an inspiration to the young Haylen kids, isn't he? Because they go, yeah, it's possible. Yeah, he must be a great role model for the likes of Myles and Ethan. And it was sort of surreal seeing him as the kind of senior player

in that situation, like, you know, the world's youngest uncle or something. It was kind of strange. But...

He played the role to perfection. And what he said to Myles Lewis-Skilley, I thought was really interesting. You know, he was saying, this is your level now. You're able to do that. And that should be your takeaway from the game tonight. It should give you enormous confidence. He said it to him before as well. So it's obviously inspirational. Yeah. Hey, Lend. Well done again. Really? We've got another goodie there. I mean, is there one question I have before we move on from Myles? Oh, yeah.

The way that he plays, obviously being a midfielder, he'll learn more about defending and it'll help having players like Gabriel and Saliba and all the other defenders when we finally get some of them back because we have had some injuries in that area. But do you worry a little bit about having that midfielder's mentality in defence when sometimes it's just about getting the ball away?

Not with him. And the main reason for that is... Because he's strong. Yeah. His physical capabilities are much greater than other options there. And I feel like in the Shakhtar game, for instance, when he came on, you saw someone who was really proactive in their defending and...

I think there was a moment where he used his body really well to win a foul in that game, which is something that I don't think you'd see from normal 18-year-olds who are playing our position. So with him, I'm quite assured with him at left back. And I'm pretty sure as well that somewhere down the line, he will find his way back into midfield because everyone knows that's his position. Let's talk about the other end of the pitch, Gabriel Jesus. I actually thought he played all right last night. I didn't think he had a good performance against Fulham.

But last night, I thought it was better. Still the confidence, but when he came off and I was saying, when he got an assist and I was getting some stick from Jay, who was sat next to me, saying, really, is that what we're going on about now? And I said, well, we can't go on about Bukayo's assists and say how great they are and not talk about other players when they have assists as well. James, how would you sum up his performance last night at Cabrillo Jays? Yeah.

I think in some ways he looked a little bit more like the Gabriel Jesus we know. I thought it was a really nice assist. I thought he was telling that when Bakai Saka put that ball in the net, not everyone, but half the team ran to Gabriel Jesus, didn't they? I think the other half ran to Myles Lewis-Skelly. But there was a sort of sense of the players almost trying to boost his confidence. I half imagined that Saka was like, Jesus, you scored. I didn't even touch it. You scored, mate. Well done. It felt a bit like that. But I...

You could tell there was a bit of frustration in the crowd in those moments where he went through on goal and didn't finish. Good save, by the way. Some good saves there. I did think the goalkeeper was pretty good. Especially on that first one, he really spreads himself effectively. Yeah, he didn't do a lot wrong. I mean, I suppose I say he looked a bit more like the Gabriel Jesus we know. And part of that is somewhat erratic finishing. But I thought his all-round game was better than it is.

It has been. So maybe some green shoots there. Let's hope so. And Mikel said, you know, it's millimetres, centimetres. These things are such fine margins. We've just got to hope. I mean, maybe that whole thing that what James was talking about, about the other players giving him confidence, that that's what it does. It moves him up. And then, you know, I mean, he could feature again on Saturday. And if he scores, who knows?

Yeah, I mean, in a weird way, I'm not sure if him drifting out wide, thriving out there is almost easier for him to do because he's out of the spotlight, unlike in those moments when he is one on one with a keeper. But I think going forward, when you're looking at the amount of games Arsenal have...

It's going to be important to actually have an option that isn't Kai Havertz as well. And I think when you look at what Jesus gives to Arsenal at his best, which is movement in and around the box and a bit more unpredictability that can unlock that left side, you hope that yesterday night is something that can really bring that back. Because like James said, the assist is actually really nice. The placement of the pass, I don't think a lot of players...

get that right in the moment so uh that's a perfect ball wouldn't it really yeah so i think really encouraging night after those two those two misses and hopefully he can kind of continue in that vein yeah and while we while you mentioned the crowd james there was there was a bit of disquiet wasn't there there was a slightly strange atmosphere quite a lot of empty seats by the way uh the ticket exchange was um there were plenty of tickets available apparently and

And there was also a certain sort of feeling when Jesus missed a few chances, a bit of grumbles, a bit of grumbling. Is that just indicative, James, of the season we're having so far, where it feels like it's been going on for about a year and a half already? And there's just a general, it's not quite happening in the same way. A year ago, or two years ago, we'd have got six in that game. Yeah, it was a funny game in that respect, in that by half-time it felt like it should have been about 4-0. And then the second half,

From where I was stood anyway, it seemed like a much closer affair. And yet Arsenal ran out 3-0 winners. As for the atmosphere, I think it's partly to do with this Champions League format. We've spoken about that before, but I just think there's an uncertainty about what exactly the stakes are. And there's so many games that it feels like the sort of drama is

is a little diluted. And I feel like we don't, as a fan base, we don't really know what we're playing for yet because we've not experienced, you know, going through in the top eight or not going through in the top eight and what that means and the consequences of it. So I feel like there was a slight sense of, in a month which is absolutely packed with games and there's so much focus on our Premier League campaign, as absurd as it may sound for a team who weren't even in this competition two years ago, a home Champions League game

did feel a little less vital in a way yes I think that's basically what it was and but even even things like playing out from the back oh I remember David Raya a couple of times holding on perhaps a bit longer than we would want and and I thought to myself you know what this is how we play

We have to accept it and the crowd has to accept it. But the players also were trying to get the crowd going a couple of times. They were feeling as well, weren't they? Yeah, I think some of it's probably expectation as well. Everyone's waiting for that first goal to come. And when it doesn't, you just get a bit restless. And I think even from the press box, there were moments where I think Bakayosaka was trying to make some runs in behind but wasn't being seen properly.

And me and Amy were kind of looking at ourselves like, why is that ball not being played? So I think it's just maybe a bit of, okay, the players know they need to hold on to the ball. They need to take their time, but we want a bit more. And it's about, I guess, dealing with that. But that being said, I still think the ball could be moved a bit quicker at times. Yeah. A word for Jakob Kiriol.

Got a clean sheet. A different back four again. A lot of injuries. And I thought William Saliba said some nice things. It's the first time we've had a lot of injuries in defence, but a good defender has to adapt well.

And I think we did well. He was talking about Miles playing well and Kuba Kivior as well. And Thomas being at right back, not his position. James, you've talked about him. It's his third game at Kivior, his third game at centre-back in a row in his favoured position because he's not going to get a lot of games there. Hopefully, Gabriel will be fit very, very soon. That Jesus one-on-one, that came from a great pass from him. Yeah, and he has got that in his locker. You know, this is a guy who...

During his time in Italy, he played at the base of midfield as well. He's a very able ball player. That was part of what attracted Arsenal to him in the first place. I think he did well last night. I think it was a good night for him. Very steady, good on the ball. It's been really important for him, actually. Because you go back to that Bournemouth game, William Saliba sent off, Jakob Kivior comes on. He has an absolute nightmare with that back pass and ends up being substituted actually before the game is out.

I think his confidence probably would have been at rock bottom around that time. And I think he would have been struggling. It'd be only natural, only human. But this little run in the side has really picked things up for him. And we saw last season, albeit at left back, when he gets a run in the team, he grows in confidence across that period and his stature grows with it. I think it's really, really great that he's had this opportunity and that

He's done well at the same time, like you, Stoney. Can't wait for Gabriel to be back ASAP. I need him to start getting on the end of some of those corners again as well. Yeah, yeah. Our set piece, what we've produced from set pieces last night, we are now Open Play FC, as they were saying on social media. Ian Stone, Art de Roche, James McNicholas here on the Athletics Arsenal podcast and break off.

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Here we are, this is Hand Break Off. Let's talk about the midfield three last night. Mourinho, Rice and Urdekard. This is the midfield three that's going to happen going forward, Art. What did you think? I mean, James mentioned Mikel Mourinho. I like the way he takes the ball in tight areas and that physicality. And he can turn away. I really like watching him play and I think he's taking steps forward. This may be his best game for the Arsenal.

Maybe. I think he'd done well. There's other performances I've liked from him too, but what really stood out in the first five, ten minutes or so was how he was underlapping Gabriel Martinelli and actually giving him some support, which he hasn't had for a while, which was nice to see. I think the first one actually came from Declan Rice spraying the ball out there and then Erdegaard came over and got involved too. So that was...

quite encouraging to see the way those guys the dynamic formed was quite natural it seemed and

And then throughout the game, I think you just saw, you're growing in confidence, I think. And then when you're looking forward to the next few games, next few weeks, you're hoping that, yeah, we actually are able to see the midfield that was planned for in the summer. And hopefully he can maybe grow in confidence as well and be a bit more of a threat going forward too. And taking Declan Rice off, James, I mean, it shows you the depth we've got.

now in midfield I mean that would not have happened really last season would it no and he's probably playing with a bit of pain still I would imagine as well he broke that toe didn't he before the international break um and that might be you know a bit of a niggle for him to be managed but being able to bring on someone like Jorginho is ideal in that situation you know a Champions League game at home you're already in front you just need to control things um

But it was interesting to see Declan Rice playing at the base of midfield. Do you think he works better there? I think it can be debated. I think that's probably the role that's best suited to his strengths.

I think ultimately, like he is probably the outstanding ball winning midfielder in the Premier League. You know, he can progress the ball. He can carry it. He can pass. I don't mean to write those things off at all. They're a big part of his game, but I'm not sure there's anybody better at kind of covering those channels in their own half or on the halfway line. I think that,

What was interesting to me last night is in the first 30 seconds of the game, I saw him drop right in almost between the centre-backs as we've seen Thomas Partey do and start to build up from there. And it's funny, I actually think if he plays in that role as the holding midfielder, he can be more involved.

in Arsenal's play than we are used to seeing him in that kind of left eight position. I think he can become a bit peripheral there at times. So I'm really intrigued to see how this develops. I thought there was a good balance between Rice, Mourinho and Odegaard. Very physical midfield as well, which obviously you need in the Premier League and I think makes them hard to handle in Europe as

So let's hope they can put a bit of a run together. I mean, it's mid-December, right? And we're only just starting to see it. So it'd be fantastic if over the next month or two, we get a proper look at that trio. And I would just say on the dynamics of how they worked, when in the first half, there was a moment where Mourinho actually came over to the right side of midfield and that opened up a pocket for Rice to run into and carry the ball. So I wouldn't say...

Arteta would just marry himself to Rice 6, Marino left 8. There may be a bit of, I guess, flexibility within that and within games, which I think he tried to do at Bournemouth, but obviously it didn't work out as he planned. So, yeah,

So, yeah, I think it'll be really interesting to see how those relationships kind of develop. Missed a lot of chances last night. The Martin Erdogan one upset me, to be honest with you. I mean, he's too good to do that, isn't he? I mean, there are occasions. There was a shot in the first half where Saka played it inside to him and he curled the shot just sort of over or just wide. And I said...

to my son who was sat next to me that it would have been better if that was the other way round, really. Yeah. Erdogan passing to Saka. Saka's got a decent... Erdogan's got a decent shot on him, but that was a poor miss last night. And sometimes with his finishing, there was also a chance in the first half, in the second half as well. So...

Just got to work on it a bit. I mean, listen, he's a brilliant footballer and we love him, but every player's got things I can work on. Yeah, it was weird. There was another shot from Martinelli. I think he missed, but he went to the exact same spot, just wide of the post. Yeah. I don't know whether in those situations... They were aiming for that bit. Maybe they're just thinking too much. Yeah. Especially Erdegaard had a lot of time with the ball there. So that's kind of my thing. He's probably tried to concentrate a little too much on...

that kind of form of strike because we know that's the way he likes to strike the ball and he's probably just dragged it a little bit so yeah I'm not too upset maybe not as upset as you were but yeah I think come the weekend he'll probably be all right be nice if he gets one at the weekend that'd be really really good um we weren't I know it's ridiculous right we we will just talk one more minute about the Champions League and I know it's ridiculous we haven't really talked about Boko a second but

James, there's nothing really left to say, is there, really? I mean, he's just amazing and his numbers are amazing. He's the only player who's got more goal involvements in Europe this year, I believe, is Mohamed Salah. That's the levels he's operating at now. You know, two more. And as you said, by the way, a Sterling finish, really. It was exactly the sort of goal that Raheem Sterling should be scoring if he could get on the pitch.

Well, I mean, he got about, you know, a dozen of those a season for a time at Manchester City. And I think we need to be getting Bakayas Sakamor goals like that as well. You know, if you think about the Fulham game, he gets a header at the back post. This game, obviously it's disallowed, unfortunately. This game, he arrives at the back post to tap in that Jesus chance. I think there are easily...

five to ten goals a season or more there for Saka if we can get that left-hand side functioning and make sure we create chances from that flank. He can arrive there and, as he's shown already, he can finish. Yeah, I mean...

We are running out of stuff to say about him. He really is that good. We're blessed, aren't we, really? And before we move on, a bit of appreciation for our Champions League campaign so far. We have got Dinamo Zagreb, who are currently 24th out of 36, and we've got them at home. And then we've got Girona away, who are currently 30th out of 36. Not an easy place to go, by the way. Liverpool got a 1-0 win yesterday.

Only slot said they didn't play that well, but they got the result. I mean, I think we're doing well in this competition. Really? We've had a lot of injuries and we've sort of come through without too much pain. Um,

I mean, I'd back us to get top eight at this point. If we do the job at home to Zagreb, 16 points in most of the simulations gets you in the top eight. I know it's very, very tight, but a win and a draw will almost certainly do it. What do you think about how it's gone so far?

I've not been too surprised and that's just because of how seriously Mikel Arteta takes European competitions, especially the Champions League. He kind of set a stall out last year with only making, say, two or three changes per game after the Premier League. So you knew what you were going to get from him this year in terms of lineups. And I think you've really seen the team have taken it seriously too. And when you look...

I guess, two, three months in the future. I think having that free, a couple of weeks, not playing in the, in the knockout stages too early can be really useful for us. Maybe they can go on another Dubai trip if needed. So yeah, I think throughout the group stages, obviously Bakayosaka has been the main guy throughout, but it's also been nice to see Ethan and Miles feature in, in the competition as well. I mean,

I mean, I want those extra two games, do we, James? I mean, we could do anything to avoid them. Yeah, especially with, you know, some of the injuries we've had and how stretched we've been at the back. I think it'd be great if we could avoid that. Hopefully we're going to have, you know, a Carabao Cup semi-final potentially to be thinking about as well. So it's going to be a really busy period and anything we can do to lighten the schedule would be great. Yeah, and getting some of our defenders back would be lovely. We have one more act for you this evening.

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They get a handbrake off and you can see that they are more free to play. This is Handbrake Off. I'm Ian Stone with James McNicholas and Art de Rocher. Everton at home, Saturday 3pm. They haven't played since the 4th of December due to the Merseyside derby.

I mean, the tiredness shouldn't come into it, should it, James? Or, I mean, we played, was it Wednesday night? We're playing Saturday afternoon. They haven't played for quite a long time. But I tend to feel that two and a half days should be enough for recovery. And it's not like we're not travelling anywhere. I mean, listen, we would expect to beat Everton at home, would we not? And that's what the boys will be expecting as well. But they were on a bit of a run before their game was postponed.

Yeah, I mean, it's a curious run. They got draws against West Ham and Brentford, which I suppose aren't bad results. They then got heavily beaten at Old Trafford and then smashed Wolves 4-0, I think, which was a resounding victory and a bit of a surprise. All set pieces, wasn't it? Was it all set pieces? Wow, it's the set piece derby then coming up. It's the set piece derby, yeah. Should we bother with open play at all? I don't know.

Just take it in turns to take corners and see who wins. I wonder if as well, substitutions we saw last night, you know, Rice coming off, Martinelli coming off, were those partly with the Everton game in mind? Arteta will be well aware that they're coming into this fresh, but equally, Arsenal come into it with rhythm, right? And sometimes that has a value too. This is a game that Arsenal...

expect to win and I think they kind of have to win to be honest you know especially after the Fulham game I think anything less than a victory is going to be

really, really disappointing. I mean, you know, we do say must-win games. Have we got any not-must-win games from now to the end of the season, to be honest with you? I mean, aside from a couple of, you know, away legs in the Champions League when we won convincingly at home, when we can get, yeah, we'll take the draw. Other than that, we have to just keep winning now, don't we? Yeah, I think if you maybe look at the Carabao Cup, depending on how much you take that seriously, but...

Yeah, in the Premier League, every game, I think you have to be at it. And what is going to be really interesting for me is just how quickly they move the ball. I know I mentioned it earlier, but against Fulham, despite all the possession, it just felt like they were going through the motions a little bit. And I wouldn't want that to kind of seep into the performance of

on the weekend. I want them to be, have a bit more zip about what they're doing and actually take the game to Everton, which they should be capable. Yeah. Urgency is what I want to see because I did feel there wasn't maybe enough urgency in the Fulham game, particularly in the first half. And by the time they got it, well, they got what they thought was a winning goal.

If that happens in the 70th minute, they get another chance, don't they, really? And we need a bit of urgency from earlier on. Yeah, definitely. So hopefully that comes. And with that left-hand side opening up a bit more, maybe they'll be a bit more balanced too. Let's have a song before we go. Art, what have you got? Well, Myles Luskelly became the second youngest player to start in the Champions League for Arsenal yesterday. Fabregas is first.

Fabregas is always first, isn't he, when it comes to these stats. Yeah. But yeah, Miles was born in 2006, so I thought I'd go for something from 2006. And I'm going for Life is a Highway, which was in the Cars movie, which is an Unreal movie. Life is a Highway, I wanna ride with you.

It came out the same year Miles Lewis Skelly was born. Yeah, which is kind of scary to me, but we moved. Scary to you? Imagine how I feel. You know, I was well into middle age by the time Miles Lewis Skelly, but that's all right. I'm very happy for him and I'm, you know, life has different phases. So I was going to get all philosophical there and then I drifted off. That's what happens when you get to this age. What about you, James? What have you got?

I went for a track called Superstar by Lupe Fiasco just because, as I said, I'm running out of things to say about Bukayo Saka. He is an absolute superstar. You mentioned Mohamed Salah's the only guy ahead of him in terms of goal contributions this season. Well, I make Saka probably the best player in the world on form right now. So for Saka to be in that company just tells you quite how extraordinary he is. I watch you sing of superstars

I might have had this before from ages ago. Obviously, some of you know how much I love the jam. And I went to see a jam exhibition. And as I came in, on an old telly, they were playing a song called When You're Young. And I always loved that song. And it took me right back. And that's what we've got at the moment. We've got some players who are

incredibly talented and incredibly young. So that's what I'm going for when you're young by the gem. And that's it for this edition of Hand Break Off. Thanks to James, thanks to Art, thanks to Steve who produced us today and we'll speak to you after Everton at the weekend. Ta-ra. Music

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