Arsenal v Liverpool early title race clash | Trent Alexander-Arnold interview | Vinicius Jr Ballon D'Or favourite
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Hi there, good morning. Welcome along to Super Sunday Matchday, ahead of a brilliant doubleheader of live Premier League action on Sky Sports for you this afternoon. Joining me today is Sky Sports News senior reporter Melissa Reddy and of course, as always, the assistant editor of The Mirror, Darren Lewis. Good morning to you both. Right, coming up for you over the next two hours, we're going to hear from the key protagonists as Tiger rivals Arsenal and Liverpool prepare to go head-to-head.

We're going to start with what is set to be a significant day in the Premier League title race as Arsenal welcome Liverpool to the Emirates. With the win, Arne Slot's side will go back to the top of the table and seven points ahead of Arsenal. So look, Melissa, Paul Merson believes that Arsenal cannot afford to lose this game. Do you agree with those comments? I don't think it would be ideal for them.

But I also don't think it's smart to be making concrete proclamations when it's only October, especially in the context of the way the season's shaped up already. This is Liverpool's first game against one of last season's top five, Arsenal have already faced

Tottenham, Man City and Aston Villa away, taken seven points from them. They've definitely had the hardest start so far of all the title contenders. And they've done so with Rice, Odegaard and Saka missing seven games already this season. And I think last season...

in the entire campaign. They missed just five. So Arsenal are hurdling a very difficult period and doing it quite well so far. Also, in the last 10 seasons, the eventual champions at some point or another at some stage of the season have been seven points adrift. So yes, too early to be making such declarations. You mention about missing key personnel,

Well, William Saliba, of course, is going to be missing. He'll serve that one-match ban.

And these stats will worry Arsenal fans because their win rate drops hugely. 75% with him, 42% without him. Is he kind of like the one player that Mikel Arteta would rather be with than without? Yeah, it's hard to actually overstate how crucial he is to the team. Not just because of his performances, but the aura, the calmness that he brings.

And he started like 46 consecutive Premier League games.

While Arteta likes to rotate, in all other areas of the pitch, not his central defensive partnership. That's really his banker. And I found it interesting that he was talking about, you know, sleepless nights, thinking about his lineup, because he's already changed his back four combination six times this season. Last season, he'd only done it nine occasions. Gosh, and he's already done it six of them. Yeah, that...

part of the pitch. He needs certainty there. And I think the team build from there. So Saliba, a huge miss for them. And while they've dealt with the absence of others, I think he is the one that it's hardest to mitigate for. The fact that they won't, as Melissa was saying, you know, they'll be without Odegaard, Ricciardo Cagliari, doubts over Saka, there's doubts over Jurgen Timber as well. Is this the perfect opportunity for Liverpool, even though Slott feels this is

kind of their toughest challenge yet. I think Liverpool would have been confident going into this match anyway because of their defensive record, which is the best in the Premier League so far this season. Because of the more measured way that they're playing under Arnaud Slot, which has given them so much confidence in the way that they go about their business. I think as far as Arsenal are concerned...

Yes, they're missing lots of good players, top players, but it's also a triumph of their recruitment that they're able to call in good players. They focus a lot on strengthening that defence. Kiriol will come in, you would imagine, today. And while lots of people will look at him and say, well, he's not of the calibre of Saliba, there are various changes if he wants to. He could even move Ben White into central defence and you would still have the personnel on either full-back position

either side or fall back to be able to slot in. So from that point of view, he does have a lot of options. He might also say that Liverpool's best centre forward isn't playing, Jota, who lots of people would say is the most natural finisher they have. So Liverpool have their own issues as well. But Liverpool will be confident going into this match because they don't have that lack of certainty that Arsenal have.

And they come into the match on the back of a fantastic record. But how many times have we sat here and thought a team was there for the taking a few hours later only for us to be WhatsApping each other? They say we get it wrong. No, but I'm just saying the unpredictability of the Premier League is such that we can look at

the state of play on paper and think this is going to be a difficult afternoon for them and they will come out and confound us. And if you look at it, the situation at the moment is probably the best possible team talk that Arteta could give to his players this afternoon. I was just going to say that. The best teams use these situations where they have...

Where it feels like against all odds or they have to scale an obstacle to their favour, it can rouse them. And Arteta is definitely that type of manager. And when you listen to all his media briefings in the course of the week, it's very defiant. It's very, we don't have any excuses. We know we're good. We're going to win. That's all we think about. And I think that's important. And it has helped them develop as a team, not just...

in terms of how they handle the big games. But I think psychologically in general, they're just so much more steely regardless of the situation. It's important just to re-emphasise what you were saying before, Melissa. There will be lots of people who look at this on paper and say if Arsenal lose, they're out of it. It's not true. You look at the last 10 seasons, as you've been saying, at some point, the team that has won the league has been seven points behind at some stage of the season.

And if it were to happen now, there are nearly 30 games to go to turn it around. It's like the first circuit of the Grand National. I say this one to you all the time because it's so true. You're talking about a marathon. You're talking about cup competitions coming into play, form, fitness, the intangibles that pop up every season that nobody can account for. So...

I think it'll be a terrific match. I think it's the second highest scoring Premier League game in the history of the competition. And Liverpool will be formidable opponents for Arsenal. Let's not kid ourselves. But I think as far as Arsenal are concerned, this game is no means a be all and end all. In terms of personnel for Liverpool, Jamie Carragher thinks that they need to make a couple of big signings in January. Do you agree with that?

I do think his point on Liverpool needing a utility defender, especially on the left side, would offer them a lot more flexibility and depth, which they do need and they've lacked in that area for a few seasons. The point about needing a creative heartbeat in the mould of Foden and Odegaard, I'm not that sure about because that...

midfield is operating so well with the tools it has at its disposal at the moment, which is that hard running, the effort off the ball. And the way slot is playing and the system, I'm trying to see where that

creative influence or that mould of player. Like Steven Gerrard of old. Yeah, how it would change the dynamic of the team or how it would improve it. Obviously, it's nice to have. It gives you a different method of attack and variety in your play. But that midfield just seems to me at the moment so well set up and there's so many options there already that I don't think Liverpool...

themselves as a club will be thinking, we have to buy that player in January. It'd be interesting to see if Jamie elaborates on that this afternoon because listening to you speak, what you're saying is that they would have to change a system to be able to accommodate that number two. Is that what you're saying? Yeah, number 10, yeah.

OK, because, yeah, it would be interesting to see, well, do you change your system so that if you do get injuries, you can have that number 10? Or do you keep it the same as it is, where maybe that... If it ain't broke, why try and fix it? Yeah, yeah. I'm more asking the question than making the statement. Yeah, knowing Liverpool as well as I do, signings aren't their solution. They don't think the way we're going to cure something or...

the easiest route to something is to just bring a new face in because especially in January, you'll think about the adjustment period. Can they immediately come in into that first team and be well versed in the demands? No, they'd need time to form chemistry, to gel, all those kinds of things.

They have made very good January signings, Liverpool, but those signings that they made in the winter were long planned out signings. Virgil van Dijk is the key one that's been mentioned, but that was only because they couldn't get him in the summer. We all remember why. Yeah, absolutely. Look, let's turn our attention to the papers. What are they saying about this big matchup then? Well, as we all know, Troy Dean is a good friend of Arsenal. LAUGHTER

Well, OK. I'm being a bit sarcastic there. But I think as far as Troy is concerned, his column has always been outstanding because he's so honest. He's so open, having played against Arsenal and spoken about Arsenal in the past. And here he's asking a very, very searing question in the sun today. Is it time? Well...

Let's read it. He says, Arsenal have to deliver. And I begin to think of the question, when is Arteta under pressure? It's a harsh question given what he has done for the club. But at some point you have to deliver. Now, Arteta has won a trophy, Arsenal, since he's arrived there. Dean, he's talking about in the context of the title, which is his own title.

Mikel Arteta's stated aim. Now, it kind of opens up the question, if you're an Arsenal fan, what do you want? Do you want trophies and the joy of winning? Or do you want, and I've kind of listed these here, the culture change, the development of players, the consistency of form, the respectability that Arsenal has brought back to the club as a superpower, the young players, the promise for the future, fitness,

would you set those things against winning a trophy? Or do you believe that if you don't have a trophy to put on the table as having won in the last two, three seasons, or if you fall short in the Premier League, that's failure? I don't think that is. I would respectably...

take issue with the idea that he has to win the league this season. He has to have won it last season. To be there or thereabouts, surely. Absolutely. That's what you want from your team. Obviously, he will want to win the league. I wouldn't want to say anything that Mikel Arteta doesn't think himself and doesn't tell us in press conferences all the time.

But I think if he doesn't win the league this season, and even though people say it's wide open, City don't have Rodri, City have sold Alvarez, it's there for the taking. Even if he doesn't win it this season, I look at the work that he's done there. We've talked a million times about the documentary, which gave us an insight into what he does, the way he works, what his vision is. Arsenal are in fantastic hands under Arteta, and I don't think they should buy into the idea that if he doesn't win it, then that's it.

Everything that he's put in place there has put them in this position where they are titled challengers, where they are a force in Europe again, where they are consistent, where they are viewed so differently. Now we're actually expecting them.

to put Manchester City, an absolute juggernaut, to the title because of what he has done and what he has built. And this conversation is always so funny to me because it was the same for Jurgen Klopp. Jurgen Klopp, people used to say, "Oh, well, Liverpool play nice football." But...

They haven't won anything. They keep losing finals. And you have to lose and you have to get close and you have to suffer the setbacks to learn, to gain the experience, to then become better, to then ultimately win. I think his line was, you have to lose big in order to learn how to win big. And it was the same process of you do all the right things, you follow the processes. And at some stage, it has to work.

Also, when we talk about these things, it seems to be in isolation. Like we're judging Mikel Arteta and Arsenal without the wider view of Manchester City under Pep Guardiola. There is a reason the rest of the league is like...

is Pep staying? Is he signing that extension or is he going to go? Because it will make a difference. It will change the complexion. Guardiola won. It took him, what, seven years, was it, to win the Champions League? They came close. They got to quarterfinals. They had big disappointments in finals, semifinals. But that's why they brought him in, to win the Champions League, and it took him nearly a decade to do it. So you do need that patience. You don't often get it in our binary culture at the moment.

But I think anyone who looks under the bonnet of what Arsenal are doing will understand what Arteta is doing. I'm just going to quickly give you one more. Yeah, of course. Nick Wright on the Sky Sports website. I love this. Does the numbers. Talks about Liverpool's excellent start to the season. The work he's done with Trent Alexander-Arnold and in particular Ibrahima Kanati.

Gerald Kwanzaa played half a game at the start of the season. We haven't seen him since because Gennady's come in. That defence conceded only three goals so far this season, half as many as any other side, three times lower than it was at the same stage of last season. They've got the best record in terms of expected goals against.

So opponents are struggling to even create high quality chances against a never mind score. And teams don't even score against them on set pieces either. And what Nick is saying is that people talk about what's Slott done. He hasn't done that much in inverted commas. But what he's done is more forensic. It's tweaks. You look at...

Alexander-Arnold is more of an orthodox full-back rather than one who tucks inside or bombs forward all the time. You look at Canati and the solidity that he has alongside Van Dijk, the confidence that he plays with now. And it looks as though, even though Arsenal are a very stable side defensively, because of their lack of options, they're going to struggle this afternoon against a side that do not give you a stiff, let alone the crumbs. Let's talk about the side that's going to be a bit of a struggle.

Let's get to it then, because Arnaz Slot is the first manager in English top division history to win 11 of his first 12 games in all competitions. And he looks to extend that record against Arsenal this afternoon. And he sat down with Sky Sports' Natalie Gedra.

Arne, thank you very much for talking to us. Let's start on the Arsenal match. So another big challenge. After what you showed in other big challenges against Man United and against Chelsea, what is the next step you expect to see against Arsenal?

It's difficult to see maybe because I said after the game and before the game that I think Chelsea is in a good place this season and the last part of last season as well. So interesting to see where they match up when you compare them to Arsenal.

But if you look at the last two seasons, I think Arsenal were... Then Arsenal is even a bigger test than Chelsea at home. In which way do you think it's different? Because it is different, but how do you see it? It's an away leg, so that makes a difference. And in terms of playing style, I see a bit of comparisons between the two teams. The way they go nine or ten times with the full-back inverted.

That's what you see with both teams. But if I look at Arsenal, I see a team that has an idea about every second of the game. So defending, attacking, transition, every detail has been trained. Don't forget the set pieces. So it's a team that has been led by a very good manager for years now and you can see this if you

if you look at the games. Yeah, Mikel gave a really good line midweek when talking about his problems with injuries and players who won't be involved and he said "believe me, on Sunday we'll be flying". Does that feel like it contributes to the game because you know they're going to be on their feet no matter who's going to play? I would be completely surprised if Liverpool goes to the Emirates and Arsenal is not trying to fly.

So this is who they are, this is also the way they almost take every home game. So they always want to have the initiative, they want to have ball possession, they want to pressure you high. This is what they do in every game. I also saw the game against Shakhtar, where my former colleague Marina Pusic is the head coach of Shakhtar, who had a very good game with Shakhtar. But in general, Arsenal at home is a team that has the ball a lot and dominates the game.

So we expect them also to be aggressive. But that's also who we are, so let's see how that works out. In these first few months of Premier League, did anything surprise you in any way? I don't think it did. I think when I came here, everybody spoke with very high regards about the Premier League, about the fans, about the respect between the fans. That is something that did surprise me maybe, because in Holland, in the biggest game,

of the league is Feyenoord against Ajax and it's impossible to play this with away fans at the moment. And if you look here, if you bring your family to the game even in an away lag, that's not a problem at all. That is something that has maybe surprised me but for the rest I think it matched my expectations. It's a great league to work in. So many great teams, so many great players, so many great managers, so many great fans as well.

because the atmosphere everywhere we go is great and I expect it to be special on Sunday as well. Right, more ahead of Arsenal against Liverpool is on the way for you, including an interview with David Raya, which is coming up after the break, and we'll discuss the state of the title race as the champions extend their unbeaten run in the league to 32 matches.

Welcome back to Super Sunday Match Day. The title race now and champions Manchester City are back on top after victory over Southampton, while Aston Villa conceded a 96-minute equaliser to Bournemouth. Unai Emery's side are up to third, though, but are five points behind City, as you see behind us here. Look, has that result for Villa, Melissa, changed your opinion about whether they really are in this title race? No, not at all.

Purely because I never base any of my assessments on one result. I think Villa have been exceptional to get results even when they haven't been at their very best thus far this season in the league. I actually thought their best performance was against Arsenal. That's where they look most like themselves and yet they lost that one. But it is a very positive sign that even though they're not

fully in their stride and also dealing with European games as well. That they're still finding ways to get over the line, whether that be late winners. I've found it interesting when I've heard Emery speak about the things that he needs to change or tweak for them to just get to that next level. And it's not tactical or psychological. It's more about controlling emotions in certain situations in games. And that comes from experience.

I just, when we talk about title contenders, in my head, it's always just automatically Manchester City. And then whoever's already proven that they can push them close, which

Very recent history means Arsenal and then wider history means Liverpool and with the way Liverpool are playing this season. I think Villa are definitely top four and even with their load that they're dealing with in Europe. Which they're dealing with very well. Yeah, I just think they have to show me a lot more for me to put them in that bracket alongside Manchester City because it takes a lot for me to associate any other team with them. I hear you.

What do you think, Darren? Does conceding that late goal show that Unai Emery still has quite a way to go with this team? Well, his body of work suggests that he can rub shoulders with the big dogs. He's done it before with other clubs in the big club world.

cup competitions. I think as far as the Premier League is concerned, we have had examples of teams come from the clouds to either compete or win it. Leicester came from nowhere. Chelsea, they came from somewhere 20 points back to win it, I think, under Conte.

I remember when Brendan Rodgers challenged for the league with Liverpool, they were 25 points behind the previous season and put themselves in the picture. So there are examples of teams competing for it. I think City and Arsenal are better equipped to win it. Liverpool have got a better squad than Aston Villa's do. But Aston Villa have got...

two goalscorers now in Duran and Watkins. Duran's had a fabulous start to the season. Their squad is bigger. Morgan Rogers looks like a superb by Ross Barkley scored yesterday. They have teams coming back from long-term injury layoffs that can strengthen their defence as well. Diego Carlos obviously came back. Tyrone Minks has come back.

They've bought very well as well and obviously he's brought back Jadon Filijean to the club, who has been terrific for them since his return. And they've got a master tactician at the helm in Unai Emery, who I still don't quite think gets the credit he deserves as a manager.

For the Premier League, it's wonderful to have another team in this graphic as a starting point. But somebody like

ebri who brings that x factor who brings that ability to take on big teams in a one-off game and be able to pull off a result get teams organized and set up so superbly well that they forced the german media to turn on bayern munich the other day after their champions league win they are top of the champions league league stage there are so many positives around aston villa

If they hadn't dropped those points against Ipswich, against Bournemouth, against Manchester United side that were there for the taking, they could be far higher up the table. They'd probably be over there rather than there. And that's the thing about Aston Villa. It is early and you're right.

We haven't factored with them in the conversation, but I think they're in the conversation. You mentioned the papers in terms of Bayern Munich, and they turned on them. What are the papers saying about Aston Villa then today? Well, Charlotte Dunker, friend of the show, has done a terrific piece for the...

Sunday Times today. And in it, she talks about the fact that, well, I'll quote her verbatim. She said, for Villa, if they are to be considered in the conversation for the title, these are the games in a European match week that they need to be seeing out. And she continues, one of the things that Emery has improved during his two years in charge has been Villa's ability to see out games. But there was a nervous energy here.

There were two VAR penalty checks for Bournemouth who were full of confidence after last week's win against Arsenal. And she makes the point that Villa have to be more confident in themselves and more ruthless with their finishing if they are to stay in that graphic.

Yeah, I mean, the fact that, you know, you mentioned they are top of the Champions League league phase, but ironically, they have drawn the two games, the last two games that have followed their Champions League exploits. So do you think, I know they're up against City, we've spoken about that at length, but do you think they're well enough equipped to do both, you know, in terms of Europe and the league? I think because...

I think because of their strength of identity and the fact that they've got such a clarity of purpose under Emery in what they're doing, in possession, out of it, just how they act and react as a club, that they can handle both. It's also, Emery was saying, we're looking for things just because the draws have come on the back of European games. We want to blame the load. And he has suggested it.

players get fatigued all the time, even when there's no European football. It's just natural, it's human. And he spoke about more game management, but not in terms of match situations, but the emotional situations in a match when the atmosphere is getting very tense, like learning how to maneuver those kind of situations. And that only comes with experience. And being in these situations where

People are now saying, "Oh, are they title contenders? Could they be in the frame come April? Can they keep this going?" That pressure added to what you have to do in a game-by-game basis

That will tell us how far they can go, but ultimately they have to learn how to do it because this hasn't happened to them before. Yeah, I hear you. Darren, the fact that they are up against a relentless Manchester City just make everything, as Melissa has been saying, even worse. 32 games now, unbeaten in the league. You're laughing. They're like those...

one of those movies that you watch where you're thinking, how are we going to kill this thing? You just don't know how to do it. I think as far as Southampton were concerned,

They were spirited. They played some good stuff. They missed a couple of opportunities. But once this goal went in, that was them finished. They were never going to... If City had to go up a level, James Duckett, a terrific piece in the papers today for The Telegraph, basically says they were never out of second gear. And that is Manchester City to a T. What they do know how to do

is win this type of game after a European week because I've had so much more experience of doing it that's what Emery has to do not so much Emery that's what Villa have to do because Emery's done it with other teams in other countries before Villa have to be able to do that this Villa have to

be able to do that. As far as City are concerned, we know they are better in the second half of the season. So all of this is just them hunting around as they normally do and chalking off those wins while other teams drop points. I expect that number to go up considerably. Maybe Liverpool's as well. The other two, not quite so sure just yet. It's so funny because we were talking at

earlier about, you know, in the last ten seasons, the eventual champions have at some stage been seven points behind most of the time. That has meant Manchester City, who go on that ridiculous run from February when they're just completely unstoppable.

Yeah, look forward to it already. Rye, more now ahead of Arsenal against Liverpool. David Rye will be in goal, of course, for Mikel Arteta's side this afternoon. And this week, he sat down with Sky Sports' Pat Davidson to take a look back through his journey from the lower leagues to the Premier League. David, look, your story, your journey has been an absolutely remarkable one. Incredible journey to get you to the point where you're now playing in these top-level, huge matches.

But should we look back at where it started? Yeah, of course. 10 years ago, where were you? I remember this. What were you looking at?

Well, first I was looking at my mum because she just passed cancer at that time. So that's why it gives you those memories. So I think I was signing my first pro contract. Signing your first professional contract. Your mum's just been through what you've just told her she'd gone through. You've gone through as a family. I mean, how emotional a moment is that? It is very emotional because, of course, finding out.

my mum and then she just passed it there. She moved in with me for a month, used to live with me. And of course having the opportunity to sign my first pro contract for Blackburn, it was obviously a remarkable moment, emotional moment as well. But yeah, if you look back, it's a hell of a journey. It is a hell of a journey. So this young kid, 19, from Catalonia,

He signs a pro contract from Blackburn, but then needs a bit of experience, maybe needs to toughen it up a little bit. So if you just swipe left, where did you go on loan to get that experience? Southport. Of course, that's a big change for me. I remember I needed some men's football time just to get away from the under-21s because I was feeling that I needed a little bit more because there was no pressure in the under-21s. I needed to play without pressure.

The first couple of games were tough, just finding my feet, but then after I found my feet, it was just, I was enjoying it, playing at this level, like I was getting elbowed left, right and centre, but I was really, really enjoying the challenge and people say I'm not tall enough, but

If you see there, even there, I was just coming for crosses and trying to help the team as much as possible and that's even worse than playing in the Premier League. Let's spend the last couple of minutes talking about the here and the now. So from that loan spell, it takes a couple of years but you break into the Blackburn team, then you obviously have a really important couple of years in your career at Brentford.

And now here you are, one of the best and biggest clubs in the world. At what point on this journey of yours, this incredible journey, do you start to think you can become the goalkeeper that you now are? I like to think that since I moved to England, since I moved to England in 2012, I said to myself, I want to get to the Premier League. And it was just a dream of a 16-year-old kid. And how big...

Is Sunday David. And does it feel a little bit, I mean, you've dealt with this all your life, all your career, and you wanted to get to this point, but does it feel like the scrutiny and criticism of the spotlight is a little bit on Arsenal rather than Liverpool at this point? It feels like they come here with the momentum, maybe, the form, the fully fit squad, and you're the guys having to maybe deal with

Would you say a little bit of negative energy from the outside coming into this? Well, when you're a kid, you dream to play those type of games. It's one of the biggest games in the country. Don't get me wrong, I think Liverpool are in a really, really good moment. Like you say, they're in a good momentum.

They've not conceded a lot of goals, they are creating a lot of chances, scoring a lot of goals and they are a hell of a team. But I think we have that belief, that togetherness and we have that mentality of trying to win every single game and we know things haven't gone our way. Obviously, for example, last game against Bournemouth, but we know what we're capable of and we have that belief that we're going to win this game on Sunday.

Stay with us on Super Sunday Matchday. Next, we're going to be discussing Enzo Maresco's scathing criticism of the Chelsea captain, Rhys James, and his leadership.

Welcome back to Super Sunday Matchday. Newcastle head to Stamford Bridge this afternoon to face Chelsea, whose manager Enzo Maresca has made some headlines after criticising the club's captain Rhys James. This week, this is what Maresca said. I spoke with him and I expected from him more in terms of leadership inside the changing room and for different kinds of things. So quite scathing comments then from Maresca, you'd have to say, Melissa. Why do you think he's done this so publicly?

Having spent time with Enzo Maresca, I have been a bit taken aback by how open and honest he is. Whereas some managers would absolutely not say such things in public. And there's been quite a few occasions now where when I was on the US tour with Chelsea, when he was talking about their high line and what was wrong with it.

And the way he just completely dismantled the way the team was defending and how they'd been previously primed to do that and ill-equipped in terms of their conditioning. I was just like, wow, it's wonderful to have a manager be so open, but at times you're not used to it. And then it does come across as very blunt and brutal sometimes.

Now, because he says he's had the conversation with Reece James already in a personal sense, I'm then wondering, has he had that conversation and still not seen a reaction yet? But I think the very best managers know which buttons to press for which players in order to get what they're seeking from them. Because not all players react to a public reaction.

criticism or dressing down. Some do. Some would rather a quiet word. And I think if a manager is saying that you're not doing enough off the pitch, if you're not contributing on the pitch, surely then you have to be doing something off the pitch. And Maresca feels that he's not doing it. It feels uncomfortable to me to hear that about a player because I

I think when you're saying somebody's had a bad game, that's different. That's a performance. When you're questioning somebody's attributes in general, leadership, leadership is a huge thing, especially for somebody who does have the captain's armband.

It's a little bit more uncomfortable off a conversation. But the way I know Maresca is he won't hold anything back. He just says it as it is and you have to deal with it.

Yes, the way he is. He's described James as a reserved guy. And he also goes on to say that they don't have any real leaders at the moment. Some are sort of making their steps towards it. Even Rhys James, he says, is getting there. Does this sound, you know, we've got to ask the question, you know, he does have this big squad. Does it sound like he wants rid of Rhys James? You have to speak. If I speak, I'm in trouble.

I just think of any job, any job. If you're watching this, whatever job you work at, if you were to get feedback, especially if it's negative, then you want it in private. You do not want it public. And

I've seen lots of fans, which I can understand, who are supportive of the club and anything that the club do and anything that Maresca does, who say, look, they're words of encouragement. They want Rhys James to get better. Rhys James is a world-class right-back. He's a world-class defender. And we've seen with his performances that on his days, he is one of the best in Europe.

I read this as Rhys James' future being in doubt. Maresca clearly doesn't fancy him, he's got other options in that position because I cannot think of an elite manager who would describe his character or characterise the leadership qualities of their captain in this way. And I was trying before the match, I was trying yesterday when I first saw these quotes

What other manager has done that? And I can't think of any. And I'm sure people will maybe email in or text or tweet in and suggest cases where that would have happened. But I would suggest that they would be exceptions. I'll just say this. Sometimes, and I've been a journalist for 25 years, been a journalist for a long, long time. And what we do in football sometimes is ascribe lots of different things

the characteristics to managers. Anything they say is right. Nothing they say can be wrong. I've said before on this show, his decision to give the captaincy to Enzo Fernandes was wrong. It sent out the wrong message for the football club. I don't care what Fernandes has done since then. You cannot conduct yourself in the way that Fernandes did on that bus in the summer and

and suggest that you are a leader of any group of people, suggest that you, in a football context, that you should be the person who is fronting your club. For him to turn around and then say, "Therese James, you're the wrong kind of captain," I disagree, and I'm allowed to disagree. I think he's wrong to do it, and I do not think people should buy into it or believe that because he's made that assessment, he is right.

To me, I have to say he's wrong to do it. I feel a lot of sympathy for Rhys James because if I were reading those comments, to me, as a player, you know, Rhys James has had injuries. He's been through a tough time. Yeah, he's 12, 18 months. Exactly. He's come through the academy. He's one of Chelsea's own. Chelsea fans love him. All the upheaval at the club that he's navigated and still being somebody that they can rely on and turn to and a reference point.

And for me, it's really difficult because I know a lot of players personally, and when they talk about how unlike themselves they feel when they're battling injury, because ultimately this one thing that they've sacrificed their lives for, that they've geared everything towards, you know, the way they live, their nutrition, the decisions they have to make, the seeding of family time, all that for this one thing, and they are denied the opportunity to do it.

through injury. And then it's not just when you get one injury that's bad, but when it's recurring and you just can't get over them. And mentally, that takes such a massive toll on you. And I know that struggle for players, so I feel I don't like it when players...

are injured and they're getting grief, whether that be on social media or in stadiums or anywhere, because ultimately they don't want to be injured. And grief is the right word, because what he's done with these comments about Rhys Jemison, he didn't just say the first bit, he started with it and he elaborated on it. What he's done is open up a conversation around grief.

Rhys James has given rise to criticism that he will now have from pundits, from fans, from people outside of the dressing room. You could have all of those assessments of Rhys James. And listen, I'm a journalist, we're journalists, we are never going to, we are all about people speaking. That's what we want. We are in the information business, so let's not kid ourselves.

I just look at this and I think that what he's done is given rise to a conversation around a terrific player that is going to be negative. And that is going to add to all of those emotional insecurities that Rich Jones may well have had. Do you trust your body? Do you think you'll be able to do what you could do before you had your big injury? How is that support? How is that G-ing up a player? I just don't see it. And I know we should sit here and say that everything they say is right, but it's not the case.

I think, and I was reading the comments of William Gallas today, and he was saying they might aspire to be in the top four, but they can't do it defending the way that they have done.

I cannot see that you would help that situation by criticising your captain rather than having words of support in public and maybe saying that kind of thing in private. You mentioned the fact that you were with Maresca during that tour, so you got very close in terms of what you could ask him, didn't you? I mean, there was this...

narrative wasn't there that all these players are on long-term contracts and perhaps that this will make them relax a little bit, you know, take their foot off the gas. Do you think this is any way connected to that and saying, actually, look, no one's safe. This is the captain I'm talking about. So hang on, guys, you all need to raise your game because he does mention a few other players as well in that dialogue and what he's speaking about. So do you think this is kind of like giving them all a bit of a G up? There is...

There are people at Chelsea and there is a conversation actually with sporting directors of other clubs who say

Chelsea have actually done phenomenally to get somebody like Maresca, who's so strong-headed, strong-willed, has authority, commands not just the dressing room, but the ownership, the recruitment teams. Everybody's pretty much following his path, which has been quite hard to do at Chelsea, who have been so muddled. He has been a fantastic coach. There's no doubt whatsoever about that. Yeah.

Then the other side of that, though, is, you know, he says he wants more from Reece James away from the pitch while he's injured. And I would just say it's so difficult for a player to mentally give when they are feeling so down. All right. Thanks for now. Stay with us. We've got plenty more coming up after the break. We've got more build-ups for Arsenal against Liverpool. Trent Alexander-Arnold reveals his ambition is to win the Ballon d'Or. Stay with us for that.

Welcome back to Super Sunday Matchday, ahead of a huge game at the Emirates this afternoon. Trent Alexander-Arnold will be looking to make the difference for Liverpool, of course, but doubts remain over his long-term future, with his contract running out at the end of the season. This week, he spoke to Harriet Pryor about his ambitions as part of the Sticker Book Challenge. There's a few things in here that you probably want to achieve, all of them in your career, but it's the thing that you'd most like to achieve.

Oh my gosh, this is hard. Win another Champions League title, win the Ballon d'Or, become Liverpool captain, win a trophy for England. So I'm going to give you some time to think because I'm going to first ask you, when you look back at your career in 20 years' time, or fans look back on your career, whether it's from an England perspective, a Liverpool perspective, how would you like them to think of you? I mean, a legend of football.

someone who changed the game. That's a main saying that I have, is don't play the game, change the game. So yeah, I just want that legacy of being probably the greatest right back to ever play football, if I'm honest. I know that there's been many out there, but I've got to reach for the stars.

and that's where I believe my ceiling can go. Let's talk about the Liverpool captaincy, you've always said that's a big dream of yours. But I've already captained Liverpool, you know. Like technically I have already captained Liverpool so that's something that... I mean I would want to be Liverpool captain but it's not my decision so that can't really be in there. That would be immense. Win a World Cup with England, that would change the game, win a Ballon d'Or.

I'd say Winneball and Dore. Really? Yeah, for sure. That's the last one I thought you'd go for. No, I'd say Winneball and Dore. Okay, talk to me about that. Why have you gone for that one? Because I believe I can. Because a lot of footballers say the individual achievements, they don't matter as much as those other things. But for you, I guess it would be part of helping the team during that season, whatever year it was, and being...

the best of the best. Yeah, and I want to be the first full-back to ever do. Can it ever feel like you've achieved what you wanted to achieve? Would that be the moment where you felt like you've got to exactly where you want to get to? No, I said it in that interview when I was with England. It's only the day after, the morning after you retire, you're able to look yourself in the mirror and say, "I gave it everything I've got." It doesn't matter how many trophies you win, it doesn't matter how many

the medals you've got, it matters about what you've given to the game and if you've reached your full potential. Because I've had potential being thrown around in my name since I was six. He's got the potential to be this, he's got the potential to be that. And then get older, he's got the potential to be a first-team player.

potential to play for England, he's got the potential to be a captain, be a vice captain, potential, potential, potential. You know, if you reach that potential and you know you've hit that potential and you've given everything to maximise that potential and be the player that you believe you can be, which is one of the best ever, then yeah, you'll be happy. It doesn't matter how many trophies you win, I guess. You've got the potential to do that? For sure. I believe it. Some people may call me deluded, but, you know, I believe I can.

So, look, Trent Alexander-Arnold wants to win the Ballon d'Or, but will he still be at Liverpool if that happens? As it stands, these three here, the vice-captain Trent, obviously the captain Virgil van Dijk as well, and Mo Salah, all had a contract.

the summer so it means that they can speak to foreign clubs with effect from the 1st of January. But the question is I guess it's are things progressing behind the scenes and let's start with Trent then because he's got these huge aspirations but he's being repeatedly linked with Real Madrid so is he the one that Liverpool are trying hard enough, oh not hard enough, or trying hardest to keep?

My understanding is that contract discussions for all three of them were underway in early October. And with Trent, he is the most important to tie down because in the context of his age, how unique he is at his position and what he means to the football club as an academy graduate.

He is the biggest asset. He's the highest value of the three of them. So I know Liverpool are pushing very hard to get all three over the line and doing what they can.

But Trent also is the one with the best alternate option. And it's interesting to hear him say he wants to win the Ballon d'Or because, by the way, that is one of Real Madrid's key sales pitches. And it has been now for about four seasons when they sit down with players

It's very evident, they say, if you want to win the Ballon d'Or, this is the club you win the Ballon d'Or at. This is the club where you become a Champions League icon at. They did it with Jude Bellingham. Unsuccessfully, they did it with Erling Haaland, where Manchester City just railed Madrid in his points ranking when he was deciding where to go.

And they will be doing it with Trent Alexander-Arnold. All the steps that Madrid usually do, which is a long charm offensive that also materializes in their press, in the Spanish papers on a daily basis, just to create that little bit of... A player starts to read everything that's been spoken about them in Spain. Then they're distracted a little bit. It...

is divisive for the team the player's currently at. So all of these typical Real Madrid moves we're seeing at the moment, it is unquestionable that they would happily sign Trent Alexander-Arnold on a free. Just very briefly, do you think that Liverpool are in a no-win situation? Because if he were to win the league this season, maybe even the Champions League, he might turn around and say, I've done all that I have to do. If they don't win those things, then he might see himself as having a better chance for Real Madrid.

Yeah, I also think the reality is Real Madrid can offer different things to what Liverpool can. And Liverpool is more about the sentiment. Liverpool can win silverware. They've proven they can do it with him. It's more the feeling around the club of going to Anfield, of that emotional pull and that tie and the threads. Whereas Real Madrid, you go and you become...

an absolute giant. I mean, look at Jude Bellingham, who's one of Trent's best friends, and how he has just escalated, not just his actual football level, but his brand, the persona, the energy and the interest around him. And that's the difficulty there. But, you know, all those things Trent said in that interview,

I spoke to him in 2019. We did an exclusive walking through Liverpool city centre, the docks, which he actually hadn't done because he's been a player for Liverpool all his life. So he didn't feel like he could do that. And as we're walking around, he said, I want to change the way

fullbacks are viewed. You know, Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, they tell us how important a fullback can be. I want to show people. And he said, you know that line, no one grows up wanting to be a Gary Neville. He said, I want people to grow up wanting to be like Trent Alexander-Arnold. So I don't think his ambition has altered in a sense, except he's now reaching, you know, the peak of his career. And so I

silverware, what he can do next and like he says when he looks back how much he's actually given to the game and achieved will be pivotal. I do know that for all three of them the intention or the idea is to give Liverpool the best opportunity to make them the best offer to stay

Just with Trent though, that lure of Real Madrid is huge. I also felt that it was, you know, for all three of them, I could understand if I was in their position, you know, Jurgen Klopp was leaving, Arne Slot was coming in, and I think he's given them the best foundation for them to say, hang on a minute,

we are going to win things under this guy as well. So I think there might have been a sea change in their head over the last, say, 12 games. In terms of Mo Salah as well, he's finding another dimension. Jürgen Klopp always said that he wanted him to improve year on year, didn't he? And he's doing exactly that. He's turned provider right now. Seven goals, seven assists.

So, you know, he's also got the hunger. When he got subbed against Leipzig, you can see how that distresses Mohamed Salah. He wants to be on the pitch. So do they need to keep him as well? Is he kind of irreplaceable for Liverpool? There's no player that's irreplaceable. We've watched enough Premier League, well, any kind of football to know that. But I think that as far as he's concerned...

If he were to leave Liverpool, you don't really see where else he could go at his age because he wouldn't, Real Madrid wouldn't take him at his age. Maybe a Barcelona would because obviously Robert Lewandowski is ripping it up for them at the moment. I hope Salah's not watching this. He's not going to like that. No, no, no. The

point I would make is that if you look at the average age of Real Madrid it's not that he doesn't have the quality to play for them it's that the average age of a Real Madrid player is much younger than Salah is now and so even though he is a fantastic he's a warrior not just a player a competitor and

I think as far as he's concerned, those options, would he want to go to any of the other big European clubs? I don't think so. I think Van Dijk, Liverpool are flying at the moment. He's in terrific form. We know as a defender, you get better as you get older. I think all three players are excellent, key members of the Liverpool side. What I would say about Liverpool is that

Very few people are talking about Liverpool's start to the season, the best of any top division side that we've ever seen. Underslot, understated. And it could well be that Liverpool, before we know it, we get to February, March, and we're thinking, could they win a treble? Could they win a quadruple? And that could make its own statement better than anything that the club could offer them. And so I'm quite intrigued to see how the season pans out.

Welcome back to Super Sunday Match Day. To tomorrow night's Ballon d'Or ceremony now, where Vinicius Junior is the favourite to win football's most prestigious individual award. He faces strong competition from Manchester City's Rodri, though. Can you separate these two at all, Melissa? I think the argument for Rodri would be his performances with the national team and Spain winning the Euros, whereas Brazil exited the Copa before people expected them to.

But I think for me the defining factor is the most important games and Vinny's contributions in them amid the pressure and the horrible atmospheres and the personal attacks and the abuse he's faced and to rise above all of that and be

in my opinion, the best player in the world at the moment. He is absolutely unreal at times. And it's stunning to me that Real Madrid can go and continue investing in players that they think are going to be the one when they already have it right there in him. And the other thing I know

that most of the voting centers around performances on the pitch. But there is also a category about fair play and class. And he's got the Vinnie Jr Institute, which he helps people back home in Brazil, kids who might be disenfranchised or are in danger of falling into social trouble and joining gangs.

He's more than just a football player and he's only young, but already has been such a game changer in so many important elements that football and society as a whole needs to deal with. Yeah, it ties in nicely with what Trent Alexander-Arnold said about wanting to win the Ballon d'Or and wanted to change the game, become a legend. You interviewed Vinicius Junior exclusively, didn't you? I mean, what impressed you so much about him?

He's a really intelligent young man. He's multilingual. He is someone very philanthropic. He cares about what happens in his homeland, as you've been saying. One of the things he was saying to me is Brazil doesn't need another footballer, doesn't need another superstar footballer. What it needs is doctors, nurses, teachers, educators. It needs a society that can educate itself because some of the economic conditions, he himself was very poor growing up.

And he understands the situation that so many of the people who adore him, the young people who adore him, go through. As you rightly say on the pitch, he's done what he's done through horrendous, horrendous sporting... Sorry, sporting racism. And I think as far as...

What he was explaining to me, that was that by the end of last season, because I did the interview in August, by the end of last season, he'd been abused 16 times in 18 months. Now, if you think about the headlines that

that reverberate around this country when a player's racially abused once and the trauma that player goes through and the disgust that everybody feels when that happens. And then you think about Spanish football when he called it out and Spanish football tried to push back at him and suggest that he was making a mountain out of a molehill. So what he did was use technology, use Twitter, use Instagram. And he did a big thread of the number of times and the number of stadiums where he was abused.

So he had nowhere to go. And Real Madrid complained officially about the fact that they felt referees were not including it in their match reports. So... And on the back of all of that, he had even more abuse. But there was one moment in March where he... I think he scored something like six times in three matches. And during that period, he'd been abused racially three or four times. And...

I think in relation to the Ballon d'Or, the biggest statement those people who are voting for the winner could make is to give it to somebody who's not just being sensational on the pitch and gets you off your seat like he did against Dortmund last week when he scored a hat-trick, but also to make a statement about what I believe to be the biggest sporting icon of his generation. Because so many sports battle with this, so many countries battle with this within sport communities.

And here you've got a man who was standing up by himself to take it on. And I said to him, listen, this is a lot for you. You're one person. It's a lot for you. And he says, if I don't do it, who does it for me? Who does it for me? Who actually stands up? And I'm not talking about the banners and all of the things that people say, but the things that they do. Who does it for me? And he says, I want to do it so that younger people understand.

don't have to go through it. Think about Lamin Yamal. Last night in the Clásico, racially abused Real Madrid in the last hour have put a statement out talking about the fact that they condemn that abuse. That's the atmosphere that Vinícius Junior plays in, excels in, excites in and has established himself in as the best player on the planet.

Yeah, it's remarkable, isn't it? What are the papers saying on this? Have they got him as their...? Well, Andy Dunne makes exactly this point, and it's very straightforward, doesn't take too many words, but he says, listen, Rodri's the type of player you watch, you quietly admire in terms of the way that he goes about his business. You nod knowingly at whoever's sitting next to you. Vinicius is the player who gets you out of your seat, and he did that so many times last season, and he continues to do so. That's why he's a worthy winner.

As I say, there could be no finer statement than to make this boy the best player on the planet officially. He should win that award 10 times out of 10. And it's not just about the entertainment. It's not that he's exciting. It's that he's decisive in the knockout games against the biggest opponents when Real Madrid need somebody the most. It's him that comes up clutch.

That's it for this week's Sunday Supplement podcast. We'll be back next Sunday, Sky Sports News from 10am with the podcast dropping as soon as we come off air. And if you don't already, please give Sunday Supplement a like, a follow or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening.