Ten-man Arsenal lose at Bournemouth | Arne Slot exclusive interview | Thomas Tuchel's appointment as England manager
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Hi there and welcome along to the Sunday Settlement podcast with me, Vicky Gommersall, and the assistant editor of The Mirror, Darren Lewis. Joining us this week is our chief reporter, Kaveh Solikar. Welcome to you both. So lots to get through. Let's get to it then. A major setback for Arsenal. Their unbeaten start to the season is over. They lost 2-0 at Bournemouth. Mikel Arteta's side had William Saliba sent off in the first half, meaning he'll miss next Sunday's game.

against title rivals Liverpool. Not a great day at the office for Arsenal at all. How big a blow do you think that is, Carvey, for Arsenal, that result yesterday? I don't think it's a massive blow. OK. I still think I would just make them favourites to win the title. Yeah, they were favourites heading into this weekend, weren't they? I think during a title race, you are going to have off days, you're going to have bad days at the office, and you're also going to come up against very, very good teams...

who play really, really well. And that's what happened against Bournemouth last night. I just think, as Declan Rice mentioned there, the important thing is that Arsenal need to cut out these red cards.

because, Mikel Arteta himself said it as well, you cannot play in the Premier League with ten men for 60, 70 minutes on a regular basis and expect to get results. So I wouldn't read too much into it. Of course, if I was an Arsenal fan, I'd be very disappointed. But you're going to have days like that during a long, hard season. Yeah, every time they've dropped points so far this season, it's been when they've been down to ten men.

because that's happened for the third time involving yesterday as well. Is it a slip-up that they can't actually afford against somebody like Manchester City and Liverpool? Well, it was a race to find margins last season. They lost it by two points last season. They dropped points mid-season against West Ham and Fulham. And so they've been telling us...

about how important it is not to drop those points, not to surrender those cheap points, as it were, against sides that they would be expected to beat. But as Carvey says, it's so early in the season that at this stage your instinct is to say it's a slip up, not much more. I really don't want it ascribed to the loss of Odegaard and Saka because they are two fantastic players, but Arsenal have lots of fantastic players.

It was just an uncharacteristic mistake from Saliba and from Trossard, both of whom have been wonderful servants for the club. So I really don't want to sit here and beat them up too much about it. It was a bad day. They'll have better days. And their away record, as we know, is outstanding. But it's interesting, you know, we heard the little clip there from Declan Rice, you know, he described it as kicking themselves in the foot. You know...

Obviously he was responsible for one of the red cards as well, wasn't he? So I guess he's thinking we really need to pick this up and get this right. Is discipline an issue? Do you think that Arteta's going to have to say, look, actually, we can't do this again. We can't go down to 10 men again all season.

See, you're going to probably disagree with me on this one. But I like the fact that Arsenal play with that edge. When discipline wasn't an issue, they were soft, they were pushovers, they dropped cheap points against sides you'd expect them to beat. Now they play right on the edge and I like that about

them and when they were successful under Wenger there were red cards all over the place in those invincible seasons in the double seasons because they were warriors and they're getting back to that now so it actually doesn't bother me as much as it bothers some people.

i've got to agree with darren actually um you know i i think when i think about the great arsenal sides the invincibles uh the side 89 under george graham they were really tough physical sides yeah exactly and during the end of arsene wenger's time at arsenal they became a little bit of a soft touch

And I think Mikel Arteta has sorted that out. But when I look at this Arsenal side now, I'm really impressed by their physicality. But I don't think they're a dirty side. I don't think... You know, they're not getting red cards for going around smashing people up. No. It's just silly red cards and the kind of red cards you're going to get in the age of VAR. And so I wouldn't say they've got a discipline problem. OK. But there is...

You know, there is an issue that needs to be sorted out. There's three mistakes, like the Declan Rice, you know, the second... But I still don't think that was a red card, the Declan Rice one, for kicking the ball away. You know, that's not a discipline problem. In my mind, that just wasn't a red card. No, I agree. I think there is an issue there, but I don't think...

Mikel Arteta has to say to his players, "You're being too tough. You're being too physical. You need to calm down." I think there's something else going on and a lot of it has to do with cutting out

stupid red cards the kinda red cars to unfortunately you're going to get a modern football yeah that was an error almost because he probably didn't need to do that diddy and specially at some the if William Saliba's talent as well he's been epic at the back for for us no you know it's a hard one because it when you look at it is taking one for the team that he knows say it was seen it happen a million times our players fall over in such a way that they impede the progress of the player

They will say they weren't pulling him back. They were just, in inverted commas, falling over. There are a lot of people who will say that Ben White is a fast fullback who could have caught him because he was 45 yards away from goal. There are other people who will say the goalkeeper backed away because he knew he would not get

to the ball and that Evan Ilsen would have been cleaned through. And be clear, as we can see at the top of the screen, he is going because it's a denial of a goal-scoring opportunity. He would have had the opportunity to score had he been set free. So I think the VAR and the referee are correct in this case.

I don't see it as a silly mistake. The one thing I do think might well be a mistake, why is Trossard playing it backwards? You know, Arsenal are a side of forward momentum. What are you doing trying to play it back from there? Especially someone as talented, as classy as you. You're going to try to hurt Bournemouth rather than play it back. That's the only issue I have with that. But everything else, I can see why it unfolded the way it did.

Just briefly, we talked about why he got that red card, a straight red, you know, for denying a goalscoring opportunity. Law 12 says that the referee was absolutely right to make that decision. Thank you, Law 12. But there's obviously the Bible next to your bed, isn't there? His initial decision was a yellow card. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sorry, I should have said a VAR, actually. I would have been happy with the original decision. I still think Van Nielsen had a lot to do to score from there.

And I think William Saliba would maybe, with his pace, have been able to get back and deal with the problem. And you've got David Rea to beat as well. So...

I would have been happy with the yellow card. But the rules are the rules. I'm not sitting here saying the referee made a mistake or the VAR made a mistake. But the potential good news is that he only misses one game, but the game that he misses is against Liverpool, which is obviously a title rival. So that's not great. No, it's not, because obviously if they were to lose that game, then six points could potentially become nine. And then suddenly you've got a mountain to climb against a side that...

just don't know how to lose but they do know how to build up. It's almost like they call it scoreboard pressure. You know, they do know how to psychologically get into your head because they can pull so far away so quickly into the season. So it could

Liverpool, they've got the best defensive record in the Premier League so far. They've got players who can score right across their front line. If you don't have the leadership and the aerial prowess that William Saliba gives you from set-piece, it's quite ironic they got done by a set-piece yesterday when they've been so exceptional at it so far this season. Missing Saliba, it's going to be huge for them.

OK, what are the papers saying today, please? Well, they're picking up on what we saw a second ago from Declan Rice. Naive and silly is a back-page headline of The Sun. And look at the subject there, Rice. You could see his anger as he was speaking in his Flash interview, the interview you do after matches. It's a third red after eight games and it does leave them in a difficult position.

And Rice, even from his time at West Ham, he's always been very good at calling a situation for what it is. Just to contextualise what he said further, he said, "I'm proud of the players who are fighting, but the naivety. "We need to stop making mistakes, as you want 11 players for 90 minutes. "We can't make silly mistakes. "You need all your best players on the pitch at all times.

and this is key, however, but the belief is so high and we will stick together. He's a great leader, isn't he? Terrific leader. And very articulate. And what you want in moments like this, where it's slightly tricky, is the clarity of a message so that everybody knows where you are, everybody knows that you're not wobbling, you can see the situation for what it is and you'll overcome the setback. That's what they've been so good at doing. OK.

Let's turn to this, because it was a crucial... Ugh, crucial. I can't see. I'll try and speak. That would help. Crucial result for Eric Ten Hag at Old Trafford. Manchester United recover from a goal down... A bit Steve McLaren there. A little bit, wasn't it? If she does.

Died to beat Brentford 2-1 to ease the pressure on their Dutch manager. The result ends United's five-game winless run. So, look, it is just their third win of the season so far. I know we're, you know, still only eight games in. Friday, Eric Ten Haag accused the media of creating fairy tales and what he called bringing lies. Are they? Only some areas of the media, he said, but are they? Fairy tales and lies? Yes, that's what he had described it as.

So was it a fairy tale? Was it lies that Manchester United were interviewing other managers to take over from Eric Ten Hag during the summer? I think...

On the one hand, I think, look, if you're going to be a journalist, if you're going to dish it out, you should be able to take it back as well. And Eric Ten Hag is well within his rights to say whatever he wants. But the bottom line is, he's manager of Manchester United. They're one of the biggest clubs in the world. If Real Madrid were 14th in the Spanish league,

the manager of Real Madrid would be under just as much, if not more, scrutiny. It'd be the same at Barcelona, it'd be the same at Bayern Munich. You're telling me that if Bayern Munich were 14th in the Bundesliga... They're 11th at the moment, Mancino. OK, well, when he said they were 14th... If Bayern Munich were 14th, would the German media all be sitting back and writing great things about how well Bayern Munich were playing? No.

I don't think it was fairy tales. I don't think it was lies. You heard it yourself. Jim Ratcliffe speaking to Dan Rowan at the BBC a couple of weeks ago made it clear he didn't exactly come out and bat

Eric Ten Hag wholeheartedly. He might have put things to bed, had he just said. He's my manager, of course I back him. He's not going anywhere, he's staying. He just said, Eric's a good manager but it's not my decision. We have to take stock and make some decisions. So I don't think it was fairy tales, I don't think it was lies, but

I think Eric Ten Hag is well within his rights to say whatever he wants. If that's the way he's feeling, I'm not going to judge him for feeling that way. He must feel that everyone's out to get him. But he's the manager of Manchester United. I know, but every single time... They're 11th.

But they also won yesterday. But I dare say everyone's focusing on the fact that they had to come from behind to get the win. You know, it's like the negative sometimes gets the precedence in terms of the... I always say that on this show, we're not out to... Who's out to get him? Well, I was about to say, we don't like to advocate on this show to have managers sacked. That's just not the kind of show we are. We're not the Jerry Springer show. We're a nice Sunday morning show. Well, indeed. But...

All of the criticisms around Eric Ten Hag are mired in specificity. Yesterday, before the start of play, Brian Mbuema had scored more goals on his own than Manchester United had scored so far this season. Just let that sink in. You're talking about one of the superpowers of European and world football. The style of play has been not particularly pleasant on the eye.

The league position had been poor. We've seen cases, as Carvey says, where other clubs have sacked managers on the basis of their performances or their league position.

Teams have been able to breach their defences really easy. What we just saw on the side of the pitch yesterday was calamitous. The moment De Ligt has an injury, they've got to bandage that up. They didn't handle that well as a result. Brentford go and score. They have to come from behind. That's the context of that come-from-behind victory. And as Carvey said, when you are manager of Manchester United, you are judged to a far higher standard than you are if you are manager.

the manager of a team outside of the top four. I would even say, in some cases, teams inside the top four, because Manchester United are one of the biggest clubs in world football. The recruitment hasn't been great, the performances haven't been great, the statistics around the club are horrendous. The first of those goals they scored yesterday, that was the first in 316 minutes of Premier League football.

So these are not unfair criticisms to explore and go around. And this is a journalist's show. Let's not kid ourselves. We get journalists on here to talk about what they've written and the journalistic landscape.

And what they have written, if you're going to write about a club like Manchester United, it has to be my own fact. And that's what the journalists who have been critical of Ten Hag have done. But I guess what he's sort of saying, look, as far as I'm concerned, the dialogue that I'm having with people, this is what I'm being told. So he's only telling, he's telling his side of the story. I think that might be the case. But, Carver, you just said, didn't you, Jim Ratcliffe was asked directly...

Okay, for all that ten hog is saying do you back him now? I'm sorry, but if Jim if you're a cliff says yes, I do. There's no problem. We're all fine There's no story. What was what was the fairy tale? What was the lies? What I Read is being reported is that Eric ten hog is under pressure because results overall haven't been good enough for a club as big as Manchester United and

if results don't improve, then United would look at replacing him. And during the summer, they were close to replacing him. They interviewed candidates to take over from him. That is what's being reported. So I don't think any of that is...

fairytales, I don't think any of that is lies. And I don't think anybody is out to get Eric Ten Haag. I don't think you can name me one journalist who's got a sort of personal vendetta against Eric Ten Haag and is trying to get him sacked. I think journalists are just reporting what is going on at Manchester United. I just know that if I was kind of in that position, I would... Maybe because I'm very sensitive, but do you know what I mean? I think I would feel...

that no matter what I did, even if I get the result, it'll be about the performance. If I get the result, it'll be about how I got there. As it should be, because you are in charge of one of the biggest clubs in the world.

Listen, I remember managers winning titles with Real Madrid and still getting the sack because their style of play isn't good enough. When you are at that level and you don't win leagues or you don't deliver a style of play or the level of performance isn't good enough on a consistent basis, you should expect to be judged. That's what comes with the kudos of managing Manchester United. And I think, really, it's incumbent on Ten Hag

to focus on arresting the slide that the club had been on because everybody knows he's a good manager and everybody knows he has promising players. Everybody also knows that the club have backed him and shown incredible support to him in investing in more players to give him the tools to be able to do his job. Creating this false narrative, I don't think it helps at all. The good news is the task up next is his old friend...

Jose Mourinho, former United boss in Fenerbahce. It's going to be an intriguing match-up, isn't it, seeing these two go head-to-head? It's going to be very interesting Thursday night in Istanbul. Fenerbahce, one of the biggest sides in Turkey. United's form in Europe this season hasn't been great. I think they've drawn both their games.

I think Jose will be looking forward to this. I'm not going to suggest that he feels that he wants to settle a few scores or he's got unfinished business with Manchester United. I'm not sure he'll be thinking like that. But obviously it is a game that he would have been looking forward to and I think it will be a big, big test for Manchester United because...

everybody knows what turkish football fans are like and fenerbahce is not an easy place to go to at all no see i think as soon as that draw is made i i i think you'll have looked at that and thought if there's one game we are winning this season it's that game honestly i think his press conference would be box office i think some of the publications fanatic and a couple of the others

They'll probably have big interviews with Jose Mourinho. I think for him, the match will start in the press beforehand. That's the way he is. He starts the Cold War, he'll ramp it up. He'll maybe give them some pressure and try to give the illusion of wanting to defuse it, but he will start that Cold War so that he gets into a few heads before the match. Do you think he'll talk about Manchester United before the game? Or will he be...

Will his attitude be to shut everything down and say, no, no, no, I'm just here to talk about the game? Or will he want to... Will he want to, like, revisit, you know, what went wrong and the people who let him down? It's funny, actually, because I think he'll do a combination of things. I think he might want to talk a little bit about that. He might even talk about your interview as well with...

Paul Pogba, because Paul does talk about him as well. So I think there'll be a combination of things that he'll talk about. But I would be very surprised if he didn't make some reference to Manchester United, given how much he thinks of himself in his own abilities and given how much he felt he had a kind of a raw deal when he was Manchester United.

because he did get them to a final. You know, he did do good things with what was a very dysfunctional squad, for want of a better word. And that's why I think he'll be motivated to win this match. Yeah. What are the papers saying? Um...

I don't know because I've been talking so much. We've got the Times, I think. Let's have a look at Jonathan Northcroft because we were talking a second ago about the touchline incident where De Ligt had that head wound and Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ten Hag were unhappy.

and they were behind at half time, but Ten Hag said afterwards, look at that word at the top, injustice. That's what fueled the comeback in the second half, superb goal from Garnaccio, and then the win rounded off by Haaland. And very happy Alex Ferguson, you might just be able to see him midway through the page on the right-hand side, beaming at the end of the match. A good performance, got to give them credit where it is due.

OK. All right. Thank you for that. Let's talk about Pep Guardiola because obviously his future has been in the spotlight this week. We know that the contract runs out at the end of the summer. He doesn't often sign his contracts until they get to the end anyway. We know that about him traditionally. He refused to say whether he spoke to the FA about the England job. What's your take on it or do you kind of expect him to leave City tomorrow?

at the end of this summer i think what's interesting is when there's a game on a sunday um the managers also speak to the sunday papers yeah and just looking at the papers today uh there's some good pieces about guardiola's future hinting that he may stay and i think the quotes were very interesting because basically what pep guardiola was saying to the sunday journalists was look

With me, it's not about trophies anymore. I don't have anything left to prove. I think he's won something like 12 titles at three different clubs as a manager. So he says it's not about titles, it's not about winning things anymore. It's just about job satisfaction.

HE SAYS, IF I ENJOY WHAT I'M DOING, IF I STILL LOVE MY JOB, I WANT TO CARRY ON DOING IT. HE SEEMS TO SUGGEST THAT HE STILL LOVES HIS JOB. HE STILL LOVES GOING TO WORK AT THE TRAINING GROUND EVERY MORNING. JUST READING BETWEEN THE LINES OF THOSE QUOTES, I THINK IT MAKES YOU THINK THAT IT'S MORE LIKELY THAT HE WILL SIGN A CONTRACT EXTENSION RATHER THAN LEAVE.

It's all about whether he's enjoying himself. You know what it's like if you come into work and you're looking forward to it. Yeah, every day. Yeah. Every day. Why would you want to stop? So Pep, I think, at the moment, sounds like he may stay. Yeah, would you agree with that? I get the sense. I remember sitting with him when they were...

I think they must have been just about to win a title. It must have been a year ago, I think. And I said, I'd be really terrified because if you go on and win the Champions League, I'd be thinking that's it for you at City because you've done it all. So it's almost like they wanted to win the Champions League but they would lose Pep in the process because he'd have won everything. But he was very much like, actually, I don't see it like that. So I think even back then, which I think was probably over a year and a bit ago, he was still sort of...

HAPPY IN HIS JOB. I AGREE, I THINK HE'S QUITE SETTLED. HE'S BEEN THERE, WHAT, EIGHT, NINE YEARS? EIGHT YEARS, ISN'T IT?

WHERE DOES HE GO? HE'S ALMOST LIKE AT A FOOTBALL CRUISING ALTITUDE. I LIKE THAT. HE'S DONE ALL THERE IS TO DO. HE'S WON A CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, MULTIPLE TROPHIES, TITLES, PREMIER LEAGUE TITLES. HE HAS BROKEN THE RECORD BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY FOR A LONG TIME NOBODY HAD EVER WON FOUR IN A ROW, THREE IN A ROW, FOUR IN A ROW. SO NOW THERE ARE NO MORE WORLDS FOR HIM TO CONQUER. AND HE CAN ENJOY IT. AND IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE

how that transmits itself to his team. But while we've been doing Super Sunday matchdown, what was the season when Leicester smashed him up 5-2? Was that 22, 23? Because that was a season where there'd been loads of questions around whether he would sign a new contract, whether he had the appetite to build a new team. And at that stage of that season, it was right about now, actually. A lot of people felt that that was the end and he ended up staying. And the

the last couple of contracts he signed, it has been around about November. So that could be quite interesting come the next international break, whether or not puff of white smoke from the Etihad, if you like. But I do think now it will be, as you say, because he's enjoying it and we could see a different city on that base. I don't think there'll be any let up in terms of intensity because all of the people at that club, they all buy into the same ethos in terms of the way that they go about their business.

And it's a very effective ethos as well. But I do think it will be about him now enjoying it rather than thinking he has anything to prove. Yeah, and also it's funny you say about coming into work and having a nice time. It's often the people that you work with.

I'll say no more than that. But it is often the people you work with. You come in every day and you see the same people. And it's interesting that he talks about Tiki Begiristan. And if he leaves, he says, well, not if he leaves, when he leaves, because we know he's going. He said a part of him leaves and Begiristan goes. So it's, you know, once people start to leave, that does change things.

the dynamic doesn't it? Before you come in, there is almost a symbiotic relationship between the two of them. He said they built one of the last great Barcelona teams at the Nou Camp. Very similar to Monchi and Unai Emery at Aston Villa. There is utter trust between the two of them.

in terms of the way that they go about their business, in terms of if there are setbacks, you never have to look over your shoulder when the camera cuts away to the person in the stand tapping into their phone. They trust each other and that has made for a really effective working relationship.

for them at City. So you can understand what he means when he says he's gone. Hugo Vianna's going to come in as a sporting director. He's obviously very... Because Ruben... I'm saying nothing more, you know, but there is... No, no, Ruben Amorimi, absolutely, absolutely. So there could be that. But I just... I think that is a big part of, as you were saying, when somebody that you feel connected to leaves the business, you do then start to question your future as well, don't you? I think there could be a situation where...

Pep really enjoys working with Hugo Viana. Maybe he thinks, wow, I love working with this guy. I want to carry on doing this. So who knows? Maybe that will be a factor in him signing a new contract. Knowing the way Manchester City works, though, they will be prepared for every eventuality, even if...

Pep Guardiola does leave. I'm sure they have succession plans in place. There's no panic ever. You'd never get the sense of panic from Manchester City. No, and also I think we've had this situation before where the people have been talking about whether Pep Guardiola is going to sign a new contract or he's going to leave. Manchester City have always done everything sort of behind closed doors. I know in the past when it looked like he may be leaving, some sort of high-level...

conversations were had with him and he was sort of convinced to stay. So I'm sure that kind of thing will be going on in the background. But I think if Pep Guardiola does leave Manchester City, obviously won't just be a massive blow for City, but I think it will be a blow for the Premier League as well. Because I think you could probably say that he's the greatest manager of all time. I know, obviously, Sir Alex Ferguson,

Nobody can deny what he's achieved. But I would think that Pep Guardiola may just be able to say... I don't think he would himself say it. No. Because he's been talking about it, actually. He said, Sir Alex Ferguson is out there on his own. It's an honour for me even to be mentioned in the same breath as him. But I think that's a debate for another day. Yeah, but also, every manager, bar none, you ask right now, who is the pinnacle? Everyone says Pep, so...

uh briefly the papers what are they saying sorry well that um love's fergie thing is on the back page of the mirror but we'll do pep love city uh simon mullock uh you can see from the subject there he's very humble about the fact that he'd never ever believed he would achieve as much as he has done but he says that if he does say as if he does stay as carvey was saying it would be out of love because there is nothing left for him to achieve at city

And it talks within this piece about the various people who are contenders for the roles, your owners, Michelle, Jaby Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen and Vincent Kompany. But none, you would imagine, would achieve what he has done in the way that he's done it. Yeah, I love that hall of fame. See what they've done there. OK, stay with us, because still to come, we'll discuss Tottenham's 4-1 win over West Ham as they bounce back from their capitulation against Brighton before the international break to beat their London rivals.

Welcome back. Tottenham turned on the style with three goals in eight second-half minutes to secure a comeback win over London rivals West Ham. It was 1-1 at half-time, but goals from Yves Bissouma

Pretty comical own goal from Alphonse Areola and then a third from Sung Hyo Min wrapped up the win for Spurs. They headed into the international break, Calve, that humiliating collapse against Brighton. We saw Ange Postakoglu on the touchline at the end as well, just looking a forlorn figure. That performance will have certainly chained him up, won't it? Yeah, I thought it was a brilliant performance from Spurs. Ange Postakoglu made a...

big decision at half-time, taking James Madison off. That had a big impact on the game, Papassar coming on. The Spurs had to do it the hard way because they conceded yet again, but they scored some brilliant goals. Kulusevski, I thought, was exceptional. Son was brilliant on his return as well. And I think this is...

the real Spurs. This is what Ange Postakoglu wants to see all the time now. And I thought in the second half they looked much better defensively, having those two sort of defensive-minded midfielders in front of their back four to protect that back four. And they were brilliant. And I really like the fact that Ange doesn't get too carried away. If you'd watched his sort of post-match interviews,

With the sound turned down, you would have thought that Spurs had lost. But my favourite moment of the weekend so far was that sending off. That was absolutely brilliant. That was like a carry-on film. I don't know what Mohamed Koudis was doing there, but I watched it about 20 times yesterday. I think he could have had three red cards. He could have had a red card for kicking...

Van der Ven there, then, you know, putting his hands in his face and barging into Richarlison and then putting his hands in someone else's face as well. Look, it was just comedy capers. Yeah, I don't think he could have any...

Question on that red card there. No, I don't think he... I don't think they'll be appealing that one. No, I don't think they'll be appealing that one. What he should have done is what Cole Palmer did when they had the... Do you remember Chelsea Nottingham Forest a couple of weeks ago? He went and sat down and watched it all from about five, ten yards away. Instead, he's in the thick of it, throwing more punches. He should have been on the bill of the boxing last night.

OK, let's turn our attention to Kulishevsky because he was great in that game. He's been great recently as well. I got a lovely stat on him. He's matched the mighty Zlatan's tally now of 17 Premier League goals with that goal that he scored yesterday. What's changed with Dejan Kulishevsky, do you think? He's just taken a bit of time to get into the season. I mean, when he first arrived, he came in actually the January, if I'm not mistaken, I might well be, before Postakoglu arrived.

but he made a terrific impact and at that stage he won a lot of friends as well with his ability to do that, cut in from the right-hand side and be able to use that hammer of a left foot to beat keepers. He's a very versatile player and he is a player who's very good at drawing other people into the play, finding space and...

exercising a terrific composure inside the box, but he just dropped off a little bit back in the last season, start of this season. He seems to be fighting in stride again, and that is a big, big plus for Spurs. Just very quickly, you've made reference, Carvey, to Sarr, and I think the importance of Sarr can't be overstated yesterday because Bissou was outnumbered just in front of the back four yesterday, but when Sarr comes on, there's two of them

They provide that protection for the back four and there's a terrific assist for Son from Saar where he wins the ball in that position just in front of the back four, plays the ball inside the full-back and then Son races in on goal.

really good comeback from Spurs and I think a reminder of the quality that they've got bad news for West Ham I think it could be a tricky old period for them yeah we might come back to that later in the show in terms of West Ham actually talk about Julian Opetegui because obviously they may be feeling a little bit of the pressure at the moment the papers I believe you've got one actually because this is one of the best match reporters in the game Matt Barlow who talks about the response from

Spurs yesterday to the defeat that come from behind win for Brighton at the Amex where Spurs had been weighing 2-0 and Brighton came back to win 3-2 after being 2-0 down. Son, big plus back from injury, scoring one, hitting the post on another occasion and coming very close as well. But just all round, it was a tremendous show of character in front of their own fans for Spurs who did need to make

A real impression yesterday and a statement, and that's exactly what they did. OK, talking of statements, let's get to Brighton, because they beat Newcastle 1-0 at St James' Park, thanks to Danny Welbeck's first half goal. Eddie Howe's side suffered their first defeat at home since January. Fabian Herzler's side are up to fifth. And, Carver, I was lucky enough to speak to Fabian Herzler the other week. What a football brain he's got. The tender age of 31, old enough to be his mum,

Very impressive, I am. It's the truth. You're old enough to be his mum. I am old enough to be his mum, it's true. Yes, and I told him that. I think he felt a little bit embarrassed. But anyway, a really good football brain. And it's funny, he talked about people that impress him most and actually, you know, he picked both Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel as big influences in his career.

But he's really impressive at Brighton, isn't he? Brilliant performance yesterday by Brighton to go and get a win at St James' Park. Herzl has been brilliant. I mean, I still can't believe he's only 31. And there have been some really good interviews with him in the papers this weekend. I didn't know that he used to be an art dealer.

No, he used to work in an art gallery in Germany and I think it was quite a sort of high-end art gallery like sort of selling Picassos. That's rather high-end isn't it? You know the reason why he lost the job as well don't you? Yes, now apparently he lost his job at this art gallery because he was caught too many times watching football games on his phone.

But he said that it did help him, that experience, to become the coach he's become today because it sort of really honed his management skills. Because he said, look, when you work in an art gallery, it's not just a question of saying to customers who walk in, buy this painting, this is fantastic. No, you have to sit down and talk to them and find out what makes them tick.

why they want to buy a painting, what they're hoping to achieve, what their ambitions are. So, yeah, I mean, that shows you why you need to buy newspapers, because you always find out things that you didn't know. I never knew that he had this sort of background in the art world. Brilliant. Love it. Danny Welbeck, obviously scoring the goal, 34 years of age, three years older than his manager.

Great performance from him at the moment, but the bad news is he was taken off on a stretcher, which appears to be a back injury, but he is having a superb run. Do you feel the way that Brighton are playing him is really suiting him at the moment? Yeah, there's total confidence in him in the way that he plays, the way that the team play suits him, and his ability to take the opportunities when they come to him is first class. He's been unfortunate all through his career with injuries.

But he seems to have really found a purple patch now at Brighton. I think given where they are, what's it, fifth in the table at the moment? You know, lots of people expected them to be much lower. With him fit, there's no limit to what they can achieve this season.

Welcome back to Super Sunday Matchday, ahead of a mouth-watering encounter from Anthea. Does Liverpool host Chelsea live on Sky Sports? Now, earlier this week, Patrick Davidson spoke to Liverpool head coach Arna Slott about his impressive start to life at the club, stepping into Jürgen Klopp's shoes and working with Trent Alexander-Arnold. Ten games as Liverpool manager so far. And I know managers like to look forward, not back. But you had an international break. Just to take a breath, how do you reflect on the beginning for you as Liverpool manager?

It's been a good start, let that be clear. There was only one game where we weren't happy with and that was of course the Nottingham Forest game. All the other ones I think we deserved to get the result we got, although maybe in an ideal world the difference between us and the other team would have been a bit bigger. So every time we won I think we deserved it, but some games we deserved it more than others in terms of how big the

the gap was between us and the other team. So it's been a good start. Also in the Champions League, it's always nice to start off in the best possible way. And we hardly did that except for that one game. Is actually the biggest challenge or the biggest change like the off-field stuff? I saw you did an interview where you were talking about obviously your English is excellent, but speaking a different language all day, every day. So is it because you know, obviously how to coach a football team, you wouldn't be sat here if you didn't.

So is it those off-field bits that are the biggest change for you? Yeah, for me off-field is the biggest change. The first time that I live abroad, it's the first time that I live separately from my family, from my children and my wife. And that's tough, right? And that is not the ideal world. You would love it to be different than that. But the good thing is that I'm in this building a lot. We work a lot, so there's not a lot of time to sit at home and feel like I'm alone.

We are either going away to a Champions League game or preparing for the next one. So that is different now going to a different country. Everything is new and then speaking English the whole day, that does get some energy out of you. This combination of new faces, new club, new league. This might be a really weird question, but you don't think in English yet?

Sometimes I count that in my head in English, but mostly I think in Dutch. But the good thing for me was that at my former club, we also had a lot of foreign players, so all of the meetings, the football talk was already a lot in English. So talking about football is not that difficult for me, but talking about a normal life, then sometimes you have to dig really deep to come up with the right words.

if you have a normal conversation during lunch or during breakfast. Forgive me if this is too personal, but in terms of your family, are you looking to move them over? I don't know, but are your kids ages where you think, no, they need to stay in school, stuff like that? I think it depends on how it will work out this year. So both of them are doing their exams.

So it was impossible for them to come. I wouldn't say impossible, but it would not be the right choice to bring them over. And let's see how it works out this year for them, for me, and see how we will do things next year. But first of all, we have to keep on winning for me to keep this job.

One thing that's really struck me listening to other interviews you've done, you seem really comfortable with the success that's come before. Premier League history tells us that following a great manager, and let's be honest, that's what Jurgen Klopp was for this club, isn't easy. But you seem to sort of wear the pressure if there is pressure. You seem to wear that quite comfortably.

I think I do, yeah. But that has a lot to do with how much I trust the players that I took over from him as well. So I wasn't surprised because I saw a lot of games of them and I saw a lot of training sessions as well. So I knew the quality they had.

and the only thing I have influence on is working with them and prepare them in the best possible way and that's what I me and my staff try to do. But I feel like maybe maybe a less experienced coach or not even just in football management actually a less experienced leader goes in wants to stamp their authority change this but I've seen I've seen loads of bits where you've said I know the culture's good the rules are good I think you looked back at every or not every but some of Jurgen Klopp's training I feel like

you have to be comfortable in your own skin to use the good things. Does that make sense? Yeah, maybe you should, but I think it would be a real strange decision also if this club had been so successful with Jurgen.

and so many players are still there, then to change everything, I don't think that would work out really well. So you just keep the things that you like a lot and implement a few ideas that you have yourself as well. But we've got experienced players that are used to a certain way of working and then it's sometimes also refreshing to change one or two things, but it would be stupid to change

everything where they were successful with. In terms of the things you have changed, you did an interview with Jamie Carragher where you talked about just

rebalancing the risk-reward a little bit, not always playing the difficult ball. Do you think the players are adjusting to that little change? Sometimes better than in other moments. But that will always be the situation. You will never reach perfection. We are aiming for it, but we will never reach it. So sometimes a player sees a chance, feels that that is the moment to play the difficult ball,

And if it happens, I'm the first one to say, "Well done." But if it doesn't, you see me at the line like, "Why does he make this difficult choice?" I lastly wanted to ask you about a couple of individuals. You, in the last couple of days, watched quite a lot of clips of Ryan Gravenberg, and it seems obvious with how consistent he is in possession, how well he breaks up play, that he'd be a good number six, but it obviously wasn't, because I think he did it a bit at Ajax, but you're the guy who's given him a regular run at six, so...

What did you see that other people didn't? He is not the typical number six that is making sliding tackles of three or four or five metres, which a lot of fans also like to see. But if you play in a possession-based team, which he does, it's a lot about keeping the ball, making the right decisions if you have the ball and bring the ball from the last line towards the forwards. It's just a bit of how you look at a player. But in the end, he also surprised me not how comfortable he is with the ball, but also how...

how trustable he is without the ball. I think that is something he picked up really fast, or was maybe already inside of him, but people and me never saw before. Is Trent, to pick out another individual, one of the most unique players you coach, having that kind of firepower that far back in the pitch?

talking about risk and reward and the choices he makes in which moment, then he's one of the players that can make his decisions sometimes better in my opinion. But to have a right full-back that is so special with the ball, that's an extra quality Liverpool had for so many years and I'm lucky enough to have that still because how many full-backs create so many chances for their team? So he should keep

bringing this risk to his game and in some moments find other options as well. But I also have to address, in my opinion, how well he's defending at Liverpool in the last few games we've played. So I see a player that is bringing his game further up, further up, which was hardly possible because he was already that good.

But I think he still does, and that's a good thing. Absolute last one. I'm not sure how much more you've got to say on the contract of Trent, Virgil and Salah. Probably not a lot. But I suppose it's been the one shadow, if that's the right word, over your early days. I know it's sort of beyond your control a little bit. But all I was going to ask you is, as a Liverpool fan, it would worry me, it would make me anxious having this carrying on. Do you understand that anxiety from people who maybe don't know the full picture of...

Maybe even if you know the full picture, I can understand that Liverpool fans feel this anxiety because all three of them have been really important for us for years and still this year. On the other hand, I would focus on what I see, that these players still bring up the best possible performances. So maybe we are in a good place. We would have been in a far worse place if they had the same contract situation and were not playing good anymore. Then everybody would say it's all about the contract situation.

But at this moment I'm very, very happy with what they are doing and that's my main concern more than the long-term concern about next year.

Lovely interview there from Patrick Davison with Arnold Slott. Let's start with the situation that he does talk about a little bit there at the end, Trent Alexander-Arnold in particular, because his story and his future is kind of gaining a bit of traction in the Spanish press, isn't it? So do you expect him to stay at Liverpool or do you expect him to go? What do you think? I'm not sure. I think we have to wait and see. But what we do know is that Marker,

You know, a very good Spanish sports paper who are quite close to Real Madrid have started writing quite a lot of stories about Trent Alexander-Arnold. And a few days ago, he was on the front page of Marca, this story, which I think, I don't have a Spanish GCSE, but I think it says he's not going to extend his contract at Liverpool.

So it's interesting that Marker have started writing about him so much. Also...

People who are into conspiracy theories will say he's very good friends with Jude Bellingham, they're best buddies. Jude Bellingham would love to have him at Real Madrid. It would be very difficult for a player to say no to Real Madrid. But I would just be a little bit worried if I was a Liverpool supporter about the fact that Marca are writing so much about Trent Alexander-Arnold because we've seen them use this playbook

before lots of times with lots of other players and basically at the end of the day if Real Madrid want a player sooner than rather later they get him I don't know

for a fact that they want Alexander-Arnold, but I just find it very interesting that Marca are sort of beating the Trents' drum quite so loudly these days. I mean, the world is a zoister, right? Trent Alexander-Arnold, I mean, he's such a great player and he's doing brilliantly at the moment as well. What do you think? Yeah, he's an exceptional footballer who's got his head screwed on, he's better than people make out defensively and he's exceptional going forward as well. He's a

superb dead ball specialist. He is a wonderful team player. Couldn't get in the England side. I know, but that's more of a failing of England than Trent Alexander-Arnold, let me tell you, because I think when you see him, if he were to play, whenever he plays for Liverpool, we see how good he is. If he's in an attack-minded side with the glitterati of Real Madrid, he'll probably go to another level.

There's an argument for saying he's done all there is to do at Liverpool. And I think Liverpool fans are fairly realistic and wise to the fact that it is a real crossroads for him. You did say something that struck me earlier. The big clubs get their business done behind closed doors. So this is not going to be played out in the public domain from either side. He's just going to focus on his football. At the moment, he's part of a defence, which is the best in the Premier League so far.

And they're all playing superbly well. So I don't think, well, clearly it is not affecting him. But it is a big decision for him to make. Does he continue with a new voice in that Anfield dressing room? Or does he take the chance, run his contract down and go to a club where he's surrounded by stellar names and big ambitions? Given that he's won the Champions League already and the Premier League, first Premier League in 30 years with Liverpool.

I wonder if he'd be tempted. I wonder if all three, Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent, were all thinking, let's see how Arnaud Slott gets on. I mean, he's had a great start, so for all three of them, perhaps that might be in their thinking, thinking, actually, I'm going to hang about here because there's lots to be achieved still.

I think that may come into it. I think we have to wait and see how the season develops for Liverpool. I think Arnaud Slot himself has said that the fixtures they've had so far haven't been that difficult.

But he's had a brilliant start, but he's got a big, big test against Chelsea today because I think Chelsea have been exceptional under Enzo Maresca this season as well. So I don't think it's quite at the level of the Liverpool-Chelsea games we had.

in the sort of glory days of Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benitez, but this could be a sort of new rivalry that's developing right at the top of English football between Slot and Maresca.

We'll see him on the screen. Let's focus on him then. It's the first Liverpool manager to win nine of his first ten matches in charge of all competitions. Just how impressed have you been with Arnott Slott? I know, as Carver makes a really good point, that actually they haven't quite perhaps been challenged by a top side in the table in terms of that. But he's very comfortable, as Patrick points out, you're very comfortable filling big shoes from Jurgen Klopp's.

Well, the first thing that strikes me about him is that he's a fantastic communicator and he's been able to deal with a number of issues in a very low-maintenance way. The second thing is he hasn't made it all about him. He's come into the club and he's recognised the fact that he is building on the foundations left by him.

left to him by Jurgen Klopp and there are fantastic players at the football club. And some managers, certainly during our 25 years as reporters, we've seen it time and again where they come and the players are not fit enough, the players are not good enough, it's one thing or another, whereas he's come and he's recognised what he has at his disposal. There's a good piece by Harry Redknapp today saying that he's been impressed because he's come in and done nothing

Now, it's not quite the case that he hasn't done nothing. But clearly what Harry's trying to say is that he hasn't ripped up what didn't need fixing.

And I think for that reason, there is that stability about Liverpool that has enabled them to go on this run. He's taken maybe the volume down slightly, whereas they played high intensity football under Jurgen Klopp, now it's more forensic and they're making incisions into defences rather than going in there and blowing the doors off.

But certainly as far as he is concerned, he is a fantastic acquisition for the football club and shows that their recruitment isn't just good in relation to players, but in relation to managers. Because when he was confirmed as Klopp's successor, there was fascination and, dare I say, one or two people were underwhelmed by Arne Slott. I think because they didn't know too much about him. But now we do and everyone is impressed.

Hi there, welcome back to Super Sunday Matchday. The end of this international break was dominated by the major news that the FA has appointed Thomas Tuchel as England head coach. He signed an 18-month deal and will take over from interim boss Lee Carsley in January. So, first question, Darren, did this appointment surprise you at all? It didn't surprise me because...

I know that the FA wanted to go and get... Wanted to listen to what a huge proportion of the public had been saying. They wanted an A-list manager to come in and get England over the line. It did dismay me, I have to admit, because...

I'm one of the people who feel that if you have a competition, then you've got to have the rules. You've got to stick to the rules of that competition. And it's not actually something that I've only been discussing this week. Earlier in the summer, in July, Jamaica made Steve McLaren their head coach. And I remember saying to people at the time,

What does that do for the development of Jamaican coaches? We've had lots of Jamaican ex-pros in this country who have got the experience of playing at a top level, who could have gone into that job. It is something that could have acted, excuse me, as an inspiration.

for a young, dynamic, forward-thinking coach to go there instead of you giving it to a manager who, for him, it's just a job. Whereas for a Jamaican coach, it could be an opportunity to inspire people. It could be an opportunity to develop people. And that's the point. England have got good coaches in this country that they could have given. And even if they don't,

the rules of the competition should not allow for you to be able to go away and say... But the rules do allow. They do. And the thing about the whole debate, because I've been watching it over the past few days, I'm no interested in the fact that Tuchel is German, you know, and all of that kind of stuff.

I think what's being weaponised against people who disagree with Tuchel's appointment is the whole little Englander thing or, you know, you're being quite myopic and it's as if the people who feel otherwise are more cosmopolitan. But the rules should be the rules. And England, as a developed nation, it should be the case that you put your trust in someone. One other thing on the whole thing.

England spent huge amounts of money invested in Sven, huge, the celebrated late Sven, and Fabio Capello, both of whom had outstanding CVs. But the best moments, I would say, of the last 30 years have been under a head coach in Gareth Southgate who had no CV that could compare with either man. But he came in, what did he do? Unified the squad, made it so that the climate was such that players wanted to accept their call-ups.

repaired the breakdown in the relationship between the nation and the players. But isn't that just about Gareth Southgate's man management ability or personal skills that perhaps Thomas Tuchel may have in abundance? Tuchel has outstanding communication skills, man management skills, tactical skills. I know it because I covered Chelsea all the way to the Champions League final in 2021. I was out on pre-season with Tuchel, sat across the table with him with

three or four journalists where he spelt out his vision for Chelsea building on that Champions League win. They've been the poorer for losing him. So I'm not going to sit here and say a single negative thing about Tuchel as a manager. England probably will fulfil their objectives with him. But that's not the issue. The issue is that if you have a competition, then you should stay within the parameters of that competition. And I think what we've done is we've got to a stage where

We're England, we've come close but not close enough, let's go and get a manager from another country. And I just don't think that helps in terms of developing coaches. I don't think it sends out the right message. And I think there was a legitimate conversation to be had around it. What do you think, Harvey? Well, I'm not English, so I'm not sure whether somebody who's not English...

Should have an opinion on whether somebody who's not English should be managing the England team. You can be objective Yeah, but if I can have an opinion, yes, please do my opinion is that I am surprised that Thomas Tuchel has got this job I'm surprised that the contract is only 18 months long. I'm surprised that he's not starting till January

I don't think it's a big enough job for somebody like Thomas Tuchel because there are not that many important games. England never lose World Cup qualifiers. The last one they lost was in 2009. So it's just going to be about the World Cup in 2026. I think the bigger point as well is not just about English players,

coaches, managers not getting the England job. English coaches and managers are not getting the big jobs at the big Premier League clubs. The last Englishman to win the title was Howard Wilkinson at Leeds in 1992. Well, you know, that's 32 years ago. And...

I just think, what kind of message are you sending out to young English coaches and managers? Somebody like Matt Bloomfield, who manages Wickham Wanderers in League One. They're third in League One. He's doing a brilliant job. The two sides above them, Birmingham City and Wrexham, have...

massive budgets compared to Wickham Wanderers. What kind of message are you sending out to somebody like Matt Bloomfield when you make Thomas Tuchel, the England manager, on just an 18-month contract and you say to him, by the way, you don't have to start till January? But I guess, I mean, nobody's going to argue with it if Thomas Tuchel...

ends up winning the World Cup with England. I think people will still feel the same. Listen, there'll be loads of people who are happy and loads of people who won't care, and we have to acknowledge that. But there will be lots of people who will say... They'll have mixed feelings about it, because if you think about it, and we'll come to Martin Samuel in a second, but...

I just tease a little bit of what he says. He's not holding back today. He's not holding back at all, let me tell you that. But there has only ever been one head coach of a nation ever who's won the World Cup that hasn't been from that country. Never. No, no, no, never. No, sorry, won a major tournament, I should say, not World Cup, major tournament, that's right.

that's not being from that country and that was otter a hug Lin to tell would we be having this discussion perhaps if it was Pep Guardiola because it didn't it felt like there was police yes we would and yes we should because no matter how good the the incumbent of the role

You are not following the competition parameters if you were to give the job to somebody who's exceptional, but not from that country. But when you say the competition parameters, there's no rule there saying that you have to be of the same nation. That's why it happens. I know the big nations, you've got the Italys, the Spains, they always seem to have...

their own nationality in terms of a manager, but there's no rule that says you have to have it. Well, let me just point very quickly. I know we've got to get to a break, so if I just quickly... I've got time. Let's see if we've got time. Go on, very quickly. Martin Samuel does not spear the horses. If you can, look at it, because he talks about the fact that as far as England are concerned, they are in a position where...

he says they're in a position where they are a developed nation uh they've got a structure they've got the that they are we sing all the time about football coming home we are the home of football so if that's the case why is it that we get after eight years of having the time to find a successor to southgate eight years of being able to put something together where young coaches can feel inspired and that

It's something that is an option for them. You go out and you do what is almost like a colonialist mindset where you just go and pluck something from another country and appropriate it. That's what the language he uses. It's a very strong piece, but it's a very intelligent, well-argued piece. And I think it's a really, really good resource. He says the FA hierarchy should resign.

He does. He does. He does. Sounds like a great piece to read. Just a caveat to that, I think Thomas Tuchel will be absolutely immensely strong. He's a brilliant coach. He's an exceptional coach, but the debate is the debate. Him being brilliant, the two can be true.

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.