Who put the ball in the West Ham net?
43:27 Share

The Acura ZDX is more than just 100% electric. It's 100% Acura energy. With nearly 500 horsepower and an impressive range rating, the ZDX Type S delivers 100% excitement and brings unprecedented performance to the Type S family.

And it's 100% loaded with innovative features like an 18-speaker Bang & Olufsen premium sound system, available hands-free cruise, and Google built-in. Test drive the Acura ZDX and unlock electrified performance today.

As you've probably heard by now, we've teamed up with BetMGM this season. We'll be using BetMGM lines to make all of our picks, and we'll have special offers for our listeners each week. If you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code THEATHLETIC, and you'll get a one-year subscription to The Athletic, plus up to a $1,500 first bet offer on your first wager with BetMGM. Here's how it works.

Download the BetMGM app and sign up using bonus code THEATHLETIC. Make your first deposit of at least $10, place your first bet on any game, and claim your voucher for a one-year subscription to The Athletic. See BetMGM.com for terms. U.S. promotional offers not available in D.C., Mississippi, New York, Nevada, Ontario, or Puerto Rico. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Available in the U.S., call 877-8-HOPE-NY or text HOPE-NY 467-369 in New York. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP in Arizona, 1-800-327-5050 in Massachusetts, or text HOPE-NY 467-369 in New York.

1-800-BETS-OFF in Iowa, 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help in Michigan, 1-800-981-0023 in Puerto Rico, first bet offer for new customers only in partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel. Don't forget, if you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code THEATHLETIC and you'll get a one-year subscription to The Athletic, plus up to a $1,500 first bet offer on your first wager.

This episode is supported by Merrill. With a dedicated Merrill advisor, you get a personalized plan for your financial goals. And when plans change, Merrill's with you every step of the way. Go to ml.com slash bullish to learn more. Merrill, a Bank of America company. What would you like the power to do? Investing involves risk. Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith Incorporated Registered Broker Dealer. Registered Investment Advisor. Member SIPC.

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. On Saturday evening, the Arsenal blew West Ham away. Again, 5-2 at the London Stadium to reflect on the game. And look ahead to Manchester United on Wednesday evening. I'm joined by Adrian Clarke and Amy Lawrence. Morning. Hello. Hiya. Hello.

Hello. Adrian is wearing a sort of Arsenal Christmas jumper, I should say. Dennis Bergkamp. It's a Bergkamp Christmas jumper. It's a Bergkamp walking in a Bergkamp. He's got ice on the front and Bergkamp 10 on the back. Ha ha ha.

It's a birdcap Christmas. We are walking in a birdcap wonderland. I like that song as well. Do we have any players that we could... Don't know if you want to... It's like you should retire the song really, isn't it? Amy, you have quite strong feelings about this, particularly with Benny White, White, White. I know. Yeah, I think if it's a real iconic song for a real iconic player, I'm with Adrian, I think you retire it. Okay.

should be able to come up with something else. There are enough songs in the world. That is true. Although the song at the moment is Who Put The Ball In The West Ham Net. Who put the ball in the West Ham net?

After in team did. Seems very, very popular. That's really about all of us at the moment, which is very nice. And we'll get to that. We are second in the table. Arsenal and Chelsea are matching in all departments. Same goal difference, same goal scored. Then it gets to the team who collects the most points in head-to-head matches. But obviously we've only played them away, so that's not fair. So the clubs, they're tied in every metric. Therefore, it comes down to the alphabet. Yeah.

Have that, have that, you team beginning with C. So we wondered if there are any other suggestions for how you might separate teams. Amy, how would you separate the team? Well, looking at things at the moment, I'd say maybe amount of hair on the manager's head would do. I like it, yes. We're definitely winning in that department against most teams, aren't we, really? I'd be fairly confident in that front. I suppose we could go for something like

amount of trophies. We are up against Liverpool, can I just say. Yeah, but at the moment you're talking about Arsenal being tied with Chelsea. If Arsenal are tied with Liverpool, we can come up with some more appropriate rules. But the hair thing still applies. So that's why I thought that would be useful at the moment. There's a lot of bald managers out there, aren't there? You've got to blame Pep for that, I guess. I don't know. I think you've got to blame male pattern baldness for that, to be honest with you.

I don't think Pep's hair loss has anything to do with Enzo Moreschi. It's not like you go to work for Pep and suddenly your hair falls out. Otherwise, Mikel Arteta would not look like he does. So, sorry, Adrian. Sorry. I made quite a late night. I like it. What about you, Adrian? Any idea? I think it's easy. You just decide on who's earned the most fantasy league points.

Simple. You know, Premier League run the Fantasy League, don't they? And it helps that I've totted up the tallies this morning, all the individual players. And we do have more than Chelsea. Our boys have earned 625 Fantasy League points, Chelsea 594. So it's the only way. Adrian, how much time on your hands do you have on a Monday morning? Well,

Very little. This worries me. It took me, I reckon, three minutes to add it all up on a calculator. So, you know, I could spare that. Adrian, can you help with the kids? Sorry, I'm calculating the number of fantasy league points. Do you know what? What?

Do you know what? I did get the request, any chance you could clear the dishwasher before you do your part? And I said, absolutely no chance. I'm snowed. No, you're working out fantasy lead points and thinking about the baldness of various managers. Don't tell it, will you? Yeah.

Don't tell her. We are broadcasting. You understand. She doesn't listen. Of course she doesn't listen. Why would she do that? Hello, Mrs. Clark, if you're listening. I was wondering about the tidiness of the training ground. Do you think that would work? Like, you know, like train stations. They have...

What? They come round and vote. If we're going to separate the teams, what about on the tidiness of the training ground? You know how train stations, underground train stations, they have prizes for the nicest train station? East Finchley does quite well. I don't know that, actually, Ian. Well, honestly, I'm not making out. How are you noticing this stuff? How am I noticing? I've got a lot of time on my hands, you see. I can't.

You too. My kids are grown up. I don't have to do all that stuff. The other one was, I wondered how well, get the captains together and get them, like, get the captains to rub their tummies in a circular direction while tapping their head at the same time. So you can do that the best, right? They could do rock, paper, scissors. I was at a grassroots game yesterday where the two captains did rock, paper, scissors to see who would kick off. Good idea. And they did it about,

eight or nine times until they had a winner. I was quite captivated. It was quite competitive. No one carries cash anymore, do they? Even the referees. You can't use the cards to decide who's going to kick off. This is true. It doesn't really work. West Ham United 2, Arsenal 5.

Ridiculous, ridiculous game of football. One of the most ridiculous. 4-0 up after 35 minutes, 4-2 up after about 38 minutes, 5-2 by half time and then the rest of it was sort of just training ground really. Adrian, you ever seen anything like that? It was a bit old, wasn't it? I can't remember. I can't remember anything quite that crazy. Yeah, I mean at 4-0 I was in sort of wonderland. I was in a wonderland.

of my own. And then, obviously, there's a mad couple of minutes where actually West Ham scored two amazing goals. I think the pass that bisected our defence from Soler was absolutely superb, even though Trossard should track Wan-Bissaka. And then the free kick was great, even though it wasn't a free kick. But yeah, it was carnage, but mostly in a really positive way. So, yeah, I mean, if you score five away from home in a half...

That's pretty cool. And I was calling on commentary for us to go for eight or nine, but sadly it didn't happen. Yeah, so was I, but we can't expect too much. And we have got another game on Wednesday.

13 goals scored, Amy, in the last three games. We had scored 12 in the previous nine, which does coincide quite nicely with the return of one Martin Erdegard. I think everybody's lifted. Everybody's boosted. Everybody looks rejuvenated. I think the whole team are playing well. It's just that lovely thing when they've got that confidence to go and express themselves as they are at the moment. I think it's interesting that we're scoring all those goals and yet...

Gabi Jesus and Raheem Sterling still can't buy a goal at any level. They've only got 15 minutes or less than that, really. But, you know, yeah. But I think what is quite interesting is that it didn't look like it was going to be a very prolific season, sort of early on in the campaign when there was lots of 1-0s and the goals were not flowing.

as things stand, Arsenal have 13 different goal scorers this season, which is pretty healthy. And that spread, you know, a couple of defenders, obviously. Gabi Magalhaes takes the, you know, the plaudits for being the, I think, is he not the most prolific defender in world football or something at the moment? Adrian, you must know the stats. There's five different midfield players who have scored and six different forward players who have scored across all competitions. So I think Arsenal

Given that Arsenal don't have, you know, a 30 goal a season striker necessarily, they're not built that way. The fact that there is this sharing of goals, the fact that there is this threat that comes, you know, across the pitch is,

is a real blessing. And it's a cornerstone of how I think when they're on fire, that's how this team want to play. Everybody wants to feel that they can get involved in making and scoring goals. And watching Adrian, watching Man City yesterday, I mean, they've got whatever it is, 80 goal a season striker or something like that. It doesn't seem to make a huge amount of difference. My missus was sitting there watching the game with me. He's too busy being humble. He's too busy being humble. Just to worry about scoring goals. Keep that humility going, mate. Yeah.

I mean, I know it just gets funnier every week. My missus happened to be in the room watching the Liverpool Man City game yesterday. She said to me, is Haaland playing at one point? And I thought, yeah. So we've obviously found a way to get round that for the moment. And actually,

And it's interesting, there were a lot of pundits comparing Mikel Arteta to Jose Mourinho a few months ago. I think they're not quite as chirpy now. I thought that was a really bizarre comparison, I have to say, at the time. I sort of kept quiet. I didn't really bite on it.

in any of the things that I do, but I just thought, what? It was after the City game when we parked the bus a little bit because we had a man sent off and that was what it was about. Name me a team that wouldn't have parked the bus in that scenario. You know, it's just, I think, quite a ridiculous comparison. No, Mikel, when we've got our players, you know, when we're in a normal situation, Mikel always goes out to win. We play some pretty sparkling football. It's great. On the Haaland thing, you're right. If you rely on one guy and that

one guy becomes easy to mark and he's off form, then it obviously hamstrings you. The other guys get lazy because they think, well, let's just give it to Erling. And all of a sudden, a number of their players have gone seven, eight games without a goal as well. So it's great to spread the love. And on Kai Havertz, obviously he did score in this game. I do want to mention just a few other bits that he did well.

The goal, the brilliant goal that Trossard scored, the lovely move, doesn't happen if Havertz doesn't move from his striker's position out to the wing. He sees a gap. William Saliba's like, who can I pass to? He moves about 30 yards towards the wing to offer himself for the pass. He gives it to Saka and bang, Saka 1-2 goal. Saka's left to Urdegaard, given back to Bukayo Saka, cut right across and Trossard makes it to...

a beautifully worked move from Arsenal and it's 2-0 and there were a number of different things the one where Saka wins the penalty David Raya is allowed to boom it long to Havertz who backs into the defender nods it down brilliantly to Odegaard bang Saka's away and he wins little things like that

what makes Havertz so valuable to the team even the penalty goal where Gabriel gets his head punched in by Fabianski he makes a run to go and stand in front of Fabianski and that I think just put him off and made him sort of have to check his run when coming out to punch the ball you know Kai Havertz does a lot of things that

you know go unnoticed that help us and even if he only scores you know 15 in all comps this season he will add value in loads of other ways Trossard has set Kai Havertz away the defenders missed it it could be four it is it's turning into another bruising day here for West Ham United against Arsenal because they are cutting through this West Ham defence

I think we should do like an unseen, unsung hero every week. You know, because obviously the players we're going to talk about, you know, they're doing amazing things. But like you say, Kai does so much work off the ball. It was Martin Odegaard last week doing the work off the ball in order for us to score against Sporting. Yeah.

Let's talk a bit more about Bukayo Saka then. One goal, one penalty, one, two assists, four chances created. Somebody said, I was reading someone on social media who said, what's brilliant about Bukayo, one of the many things that's brilliant about him, is that if there's a weakness...

He seems to work on it and he comes back. So you go, oh, right, not quite so good in his right foot. So he doesn't go outside so much. Then he seems to do about, you know, 100 hours on the training ground and he's even better at that. Maybe he can get bumped off the ball. Not anymore. I mean, I imagine he'll be like the best header of the ball at the club in about three or four years' time. He...

he has a work ethic. I mean, I genuinely, I've said this before, I'm in awe of the guy. Yeah, I was at the game against Atalanta in Bergamo earlier this season. Bergamo. That's the one. Bergamo, yeah, yeah, yeah. I know it. Yeah, I forgot about that. Yeah, by the way, I think you did well with the, just now with the Mourinho comparison because I was expecting you to say that. Yeah.

that Arsenal were playing like Marino football and it was all going to get very... Were you? Were you? But the thing is, you see, I put the effort in on the training ground away from the pod. There you go. I spent hours saying that name to the kids. Anyway, so... Does the cat think his name is Marino now? The cat knows his name is Marino. Anyway...

Yes. But anyway, going back to Bergamo, I was watching the warm-up because we were quite early in the stands getting ready for the match. And they were doing a shooting exercise, you know, the one where they're just warming up their aim and their range. And you've got a member of staff who the player will kick the ball at that member of staff who just lays it off and then they run onto it and try and finish. And

Everybody was doing their right foot as in their correct foot or their preferred foot. And Bukayo spent virtually the whole time going in on his wrong foot and trying to smash it across the face of goal with his right foot.

And it was just really notable. And then once in a while, he just, you know, did his typical sort of curler of bending it with his left foot. But the majority of the finishes that he was trying, it was so obvious that he was working on that. And I think he scored a goal exactly like that in one of the games around that time. Can't remember which, but rifling it into the roof of the net from a narrow angle with his right boot. And it was really indicative of exactly that.

How much repetition, how much practice, how much dedication goes into making sure that you can be the best that you can possibly be. And it's reminiscent of when we look back and Dennis Bergkamp turned up in the mid-90s. And the players at the time used to look at him in a little bit of that sort of awe because he was the best player. He was the most technically gifted, but he also was the first at the training ground, the last to leave.

and treated every practice with quite a big degree of focus and seriousness. Yes, they had a good time, but he was there to make sure that he didn't let his standards drop one iota.

And, you know, I think it's Van Persie told a story about how he was in the bath or the jacuzzi or whatever it was. And Dennis had taken after training, gone out with a couple of kids and a goalie, reserve goalie or something to practice whatever. And did this same repeated exercise for 45 minutes when everybody else was in the canteen or in the shower or in the bath, you know.

And he was watching him and he said Bergkamp was flawless. And he kept doing it and kept doing it and kept doing it. And his fingers got all wrinkly in the water because he said, I'll wait here until Dennis makes a mistake till I get out. And I think that Saka shares that kind of, I would say, sense of exemplary responsibility in terms of how he approaches training and

And it's the eight-odd thing. You train how you play. If you don't train hard, it's very, very difficult to play hard come match day. But I think his levels are consistently striving. And that's...

Absolute credit to him. Thank God he's ours, Adrian, right? I mean, genuinely, it's just, it's ridiculous. And I've never, I mean, have you, you played with a few who had that sort of work ethic, but not many, I should think. No, no. Well, yeah, I was like, I was there at the time with Dennis. So I've seen it, seen it firsthand. He always used to do bits after training.

working on his touch and finishing and stuff so yeah no it's great it's absolutely brilliant it's great that the culture is so sort of suited to that as well you know pre-Dennisburg camp the culture wasn't like that at Arsenal and you know everyone just went home and went to the pub basically so he was a bit of a game changer and yeah

It's good to know that he's so dedicated. You can see it in this game, can't you? He's making such great strides. His dribbling is getting even better. Obviously, I've talked before about his power and his strength, but his footwork and balance is improving. The ball striking, tremendous. Running out of superlatives, he's just sensational. I wouldn't swap him with anyone.

Just no one on the planet. I wouldn't swap him. Yeah, I just genuinely wouldn't swap him for anyone. You know, Mbappe, the rest of them included, Vinicius. Salah's the one me and my mate had to discuss. Well, I wouldn't swap him for Salah because Salah's old. But yeah, that's the level he's operating at at the moment. I think he's the most valuable player. You know, certainly him and Erdogan are so valuable and Saliba.

But yeah, I mean it. I wouldn't swap him for a single player on the planet. I think a lot of Arsenal fans also enjoyed the moment when he basically shoved Emerson after he kicked Timber on the ground. And you know what? Great to see, right? Great to see. It's exactly that fighting spirit. Amy, do you want to add something? No, just what Adrian was saying about the value of players. Yeah.

I think those three people that you mentioned, everybody would have regarded for the last couple of years as being, you know, possibly that slight class above. But would you not say that Gabriel Magalhaes is attaining similar kind of invaluable status at the moment? Not attaining, he is. What he seems to do at both ends of the pitch, I can't imagine there's a team in world football that isn't looking at him enviously.

Saka then gets the kick across and it has worked for Arsenal and who else but Gabriel he is so deadly in those situations just stoops down Gabriel just to glance at him brilliantly no you're right yeah no you're right it's it really you should just couple them together shouldn't you just group them together Saliba and Gabriel

Yeah, they're equally as important. It is unfair really to put one above the other, especially when you consider the value of Gabriel's goals. But also the fight and the sort of determination that he exudes because that obviously rubs off on the rest of the boys as well. And he's been there right since the start, since Mikel Arteta was there. So he's really part of the fabric of the place and how sort of gauche he is.

He was. How young he was when he first turned up and he was maybe a bit impetuous. But then he played a game a few months ago where he was on a yellow card after about 15 minutes and you think, oh, I'm worried. But actually there was no need to be because Big Gabby's got it covered. Let's step aside, let's step aside.

Thursday night football is on, and it's only on Prime Video. Breaking the tackle. Touchdown. This week, keep the holiday celebration going as the Seattle Seahawks take on the Chicago Bears. You're going to love this. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. Eastern with TNF Tonight, presented by Verizon. Not a Prime member? Sign up for a 30-day free trial to stream the game. It's the Seahawks and Bears, Thursday at 7. Only on Prime Video.

Only on Prime Video. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com slash Amazon Prime for details. Learn from the world's best all in one place with Masterclass, the only streaming platform where you can learn and grow with over 200 of the world's best. Masterclass always has great offers during the holidays, sometimes up to as much as 50% off. Head over to Masterclass.com slash Spotify for the current offer. That's up to 50% off at Masterclass.com slash Spotify.

This episode is brought to you by I'm's Pet Food. When you choose I'm's dry dog or cat food, you can see a difference in your pet with your own eyes. Healthy energy in five days, healthy digestion in 10 days, and healthy skin and coat in just 25 days. Satisfaction for you and them. Guaranteed are your money back. Feed I'm's dry dog or cat food and see a visible difference. Visit imes.com slash difference to learn more.

One more word on Saka as well. He's on 10 Premier League assists. I mean, with our threat from set pieces and the way he plays, he could break the record, couldn't he? Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne, 20. Let's hope so. And takes penalties as well. Do we feel all right about this, by the way? No, you have it. No, you have it. Amy, I mean, in the end, if they score them, they score them. But, I mean, Saka's our penalty taker except when he gives it to Erdogan, it seems. Yeah.

Yeah, I suspect that might have been a bit of a one-off. I don't think they'll be kind of picking and choosing on a penalty-by-penalty basis. I think it might be just that kind of awareness that Odegaard maybe really needed or wanted a goal to get himself going this season. He asked, didn't he? He asked him. And Saka's generosity of spirit is such that that wasn't something he took any umbrage with. But I do like...

What they do in terms of someone who isn't the taker gets hold of the ball and lets everything settle and makes sure there's no nonsense and then just at the last moment gives it to the taker. I think that's quite smart. That's a fairly new phenomenon. Have you ever seen anyone do it before, Arsenal? I can't remember. No, again, I was chatting with someone the other day and we were talking about the set-piece thing because obviously everybody has a set-piece coach more or less now, you would think. So...

Is it that Niko Jovic really is the best in the business? Is it that the players are just so suited to what they're working at? And we were debating this and somebody said, and I think it's a really good point, that actually the quality of the delivery is so extraordinarily good.

And, you know, you can do all the best stuff that you can in terms of organising your set pieces or how you attack the balls and so on. But you can't, you know, it doesn't half help when you've got the consistency of...

very, very, very high quality passes. But the guys that are inside the box, like your Gabriels and the others that are involved in those sort of melees, those constructed moves really, aren't they, in terms of they're deliberately made. It gives the quality of the deliveries from Saka, which are born out of practice, and

They encourage the rest of the team to work really hard on their routines in the box. If the deliveries were crap... They wouldn't bother, would they? Yeah. They wouldn't bother so enthusiastically because they know the ball's coming into the right place. They're buzzing. You can see them all whispering to each other, right, we're going to do this move, this move, this move. And...

And yeah, it just complements one another. There's two sides to this set piece success. I mean, the way that he made Mickal Antonio sort of run the long route to track him was genius. And, you know, but the timing of it, the timing of it, and I give Saka a lot of the credit here, the timing of everything, he's very intelligent. It's ridiculously so. You've got to be...

precise to the sort of 0.2 seconds.

of timing the run and getting the ball in that spot at that moment, it's really hard. That delivery, I agree. I mean, I said this to Jay yesterday. We were chatting and I said those deliveries. And Detlef Rice took a free kick that led to the corner that led to Gabby being punched in the head by Fabianski. Detlef Rice took a free kick. I mean, it was like a shot. He pinged it in. It was an absolutely beautiful delivery that was just taken off the head of Kai Havertz, I think, by the defender.

I mean, it's really hard to defend against. And good. Really, really good. Word for Jorginho, doesn't play that much.

stepped up, looked in control of things. I mean, he hasn't got the pace. Adrian, he hasn't got the pace, but he's such an intelligent footballer and a great player to have around. Yeah, underappreciated probably. But yeah, no, he ticked over nicely. It wasn't an issue. It was noticeable that Declan, I thought in the first half, was playing very close to him. It was more of a two. He was still coming wide, but...

but a lot of his passes, Declan, were in the middle next to Jorginho and with Odegaard more of a sort of central 10. And then the second half, because we were up, I think it went to more of a three with Odegaard playing a little bit deeper, Rice very much to the left of Jorginho. And yeah, both aspects work really, really well. So yeah, Georgie has a part to play. We do want Mourinho and Partey back in, of course, but...

But he showed that he's a more enabled deputy. And briefly, before we move on to Wednesday's game, Amy, any concerns about being 4-0 up and in cruise control and then suddenly getting a 4-2 out of nowhere? They were good goals. I mean, as Adrian said, it wasn't a free kick.

It wasn't a free kick. I watched it a couple of times yesterday and Detnam Rice just took the ball. It was great. Andy Taylor said he took the man, he'd hit the man first, but I didn't see that. Anything to worry about, Amy? Do you think, my personal view is that if they would have been 4-0 up against a big team, they wouldn't have switched off at all. But there was a slight sort of cruise mode and suddenly it got to 4-2 and...

What do you think? I wouldn't massively worry about it when you win 5-2. I can imagine that Mikel was pretty fired up at half-time. Yeah, yeah. But I think ultimately I wouldn't worry about it now. If it became a habit, maybe. But it felt slightly freakish, to be honest. I think going 4-0 didn't feel freakish. It felt utterly...

a normal turn of events because of the quality of Arsenal's game and because West Ham looked absolutely all over the shop. But yeah, they put a good move together and scored a really nice goal to come back into it, which felt mildly annoying because it's nice to keep a clean sheet and 4-0 feels great. But then obviously the second one was... It did give you that momentary sense of panic. Newcastle 4-4 away anyway. Well, yeah, but I don't...

I think these are very different circumstances. It's a very different team. And I just couldn't see this team going the way of that bizarre experience from a few years ago. No, I wasn't massively worried, but it was nice to get the fifth and just re-exert that control so that it meant, I think, at halftime that you didn't really feel...

that much fear about what was going to happen. But clearly, against better teams, you can't really just take your foot off the gas. You've got to stay concentrated. Not for one solitary second. Adrian Clarke, Amy Lawrence and Ian Stone here on the Athletics Arsenal podcast handbrake off. You only come to see the Arsenal! Come see the Arsenal! You only come to see the Arsenal!

This episode is brought to you by Honda. When you test drive the all-electric Prologue SUV, there's a lot that could impress you about it. There's the generous passenger space, the clean, thoughtful design, and the intuitive technology. But out of everything, what you'll really love most is that it's a Honda. Visit Honda.com slash EV to see offers.

Whether you're ordering wings for the game, whipping up a seven-layer dip, or ordering pizza, there's something about football that makes you want to eat. And this football season, Uber Eats has the best deals on game day food. No matter what you're craving, from two-for-one pizza to buy-one-get-one wings, Uber Eats will be dropping new deals each week, all season long. Uber Eats, official on-demand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now. Terms and conditions apply. See app for details. We have one more act for you this evening.

I don't even need to say his name. Mr. Bob Dylan! A complete unknown is now a Golden Globe and Critics' Choice nominee for Best Picture. Bobby, what do you want to be? Whatever it is, they don't want me to be. Timothee Chalamet astonishes as Bob Dylan in one of the best performances of the year. And critics rave Edward Norton is absolutely fantastic. 70,000 people are here and Bobby is the reason for it. This Christmas. They just want me singing Blowing in the Wind for the rest of my life. Hey!

Don't miss the movie critics are hailing, Five Stars. It's pure cinematic magic. Turn it down! Play it loud! And named to AFI and the National Board of Review's Top Ten Films of the Year. Make some noise, BD. Track some mud on the carpet. A Complete Unknown. Only in theaters Christmas Day. Rated R. Under $17.99 without parent.

They get a handbrake off and you can see that they are more free to play. This is Handbrake Off. Let's talk about May and Hyde on Wednesday. Last season's game, obviously. Eric Ten Hag probably still going on about the offside. I do hope so. I genuinely hope so. I wish he was still their manager, though. Amy, well...

United, I mean, they beat Everton. Someone was going on about the Ruben Amarim effect, right? They've won two games in a row. They beat Bodo Glimt and Everton is who they've beaten, right? They're coming up against Arsenal at the Emirates. We'll be strong favourites for this, won't we? I think the biggest issue going into the game is just the fitness of certain really important players for us. And if everybody's okay or enough of them are okay...

I just think Arsenal focus on Arsenal. I'm just not that interested in giving too much brainpower to Manchester United. I think if Arsenal do what Arsenal are doing well this season and are good at in the last couple of weeks in particular, start on that front foot, start with that heavy pace, heavy pressing, intensity, aggression. And I think that that should work.

do enough damage to make sure that the game goes the right way. But, you know, obviously you can talk yourself into feeling a little bit, oh, what if maybe Man United are suddenly finalist, or what if he's doing this and that? But I think the situation Arsenal are in the league and what they're trying to do, which is catch up with Liverpool, who set off at an incredible pace. This is a period of the season where it's about going on one of those...

really strong, consistent runs. And, you know, next game, next game, next game, next game is just one they've got to get focused on the three points. I just don't want to overthink it. And in terms of the gap, Adrian, I mean, Liverpool winning again yesterday and they do look strong. They've got some tough games coming up. They've got Merseyside, I said that before, Man City as well. They're absolutely mulling them yesterday. Yeah.

And you did just put Everton in with Bodo Klimt as well. No, no, no, that's true. That is true. Everton, the most desired derby for Liverpool, is never an easy game. We've just got to do what we've got to do, right? Win eight, nine in a row and see where they are just around Christmas, New Year, and then take it from there. Yeah, exactly. No one really ever has a perfect season. You're always going to have...

you know, little bumps in the road. I know that we had the Invincibles, but it drew a lot of games. Points tally wasn't that special. Liverpool will falter at some point. Look, we've been there. If anyone knows about, you know, early pace setters, it's us. And we've been every bit as good as Liverpool in the last couple of years at the start of the season. And we still didn't win it. So,

Yeah, everyone that's crowning Liverpool already, I think it's too premature. 13 games. They look worthy contenders, that's for sure. Yeah, they do. Just to remind some of the younger listeners, we were 13 points behind Man Utd in 1997-98, although I think we had three games in hand. We had a 10-game winning streak to win the league. So it is doable. People have to...

just enjoy the moment because our team is playing beautifully. And, sorry Amy, go on. I think we'll have to win at Anfield. That is what I was thinking yesterday. I was watching that game and thinking we're going to have to win at Anfield and that is really something. But if we go there with a fit team, we're capable of beating them because they do offer up chances here and there, not to City yesterday. Well, just think back to the game against them. You know, various things went against us again in that game in terms of injuries. But,

But when we had our stronger team on the pitch, which isn't anywhere near our strongest. We were way better than them. We were way better than Liverpool. They did come back into it.

But over the course of that 90 minutes, even though we'd had a lot of obstacles put in our way, we were clearly the stronger side. So we just got to take a little bit of heart from that and think that, you know, OK, over the long haul, maybe that will come through. Yeah, long season. But a famous away winner, Anfield. I'm sure we've talked about one of those once or twice on here before. There's a few of those seem to happen in most title winning seasons.

Yeah, well, that's maybe what we're going to have to do. But right now, let's keep as many people fit as we can, get our first team on the pitch and just do the business. Let's have a song to finish. Adrian, what have you got for us? It's a simple one, bit of a tap in. We are into the groove, aren't we? So let's go with a bit of Madonna into the groove. Why not? Why not? You've got to prove your love to me.

Yeah, love a bit of Madonna, although listening to Like A Prayer and the lyrics are quite racy, can I just say. Just that, by the way. Amy, what about you? What have you got? I had a bit of a Pixies listening sesh over the weekend. Oh my God, why not? I really love the Pixies and...

Kim Deal. I mean, I don't mind admitting sort of... Girl crush. You've got a girl crush. Well, not girl crush. I'm just thinking if I could be anyone, I wouldn't mind being Kim Deal. I probably felt, I probably thought that in the 80s. But which made me think if you could, I'm going to ask both of you, if you could play an instrument in a band and you kind of imagined yourself doing that, what would it be? Because I think mine would be bass. Adrian? Yeah.

I think I'd want to be the lead singer, but if I play, even though I'm not a great singer, I think it would be guitar. Yeah, I'd want to be a guitarist slash singer. Cowbell. Cowbell for me. Cowbell.

I think Cowbell followed closely by Triangle. Yes, I think so. Oh, we've got a great sounding band going here. The Handbrake Band, sellout coming. Yes, quite. Anyway, it was Pixies and for Gabrielle, you know that he's coming. You can't do sod all about it. So the song is Here Comes Your Man. Here Comes Your Man.

You can choose Cannonball by the Breeders as well, by the way. Kim Deal's other band. I was thinking, I talked to you the other day about how balanced we all looked playing the last few games. I love the way the defence looks at the moment. I've got everything in its right place by Radiohead because that's how it feels to me right now. It's less than a sweat.

Plus, I keep seeing adverts for the Jackal on the telly and that's essentially Radiohead's soundtrack as far as I can tell. So it's been in the head. Anyway, that's it for this edition of Handbrake Off. Thank you to Amy Lawrence, thank you to Adrian Clarke and thank you to JR Producer. And some or all of us will be back on Thursday to talk about Manchester United. Ta-ra.

Shut up, David.

The time may be out of the playoffs, but I'm super excited to see the 12 best teams in the nation play. All the banter, insights, and more on Until Saturday. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.