Liverpool’s Statement Win At Gung-Ho Spurs, Bournemouth In Dreamland & Wolves Outsmart The Foxes
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Hello and welcome to The Rest Is Football with Alan Shearer, a very silent Micah Richards and me, Carolinica. The festive season is well and truly upon us now and we've seen a few teams gifting away three points this weekend. There were big wins for Arsenal, Newcastle,

cheer out there you go Bournemouth and Wolves which we'll come to a little later but we'll start today with that extraordinary game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Liverpool thumping win against Spurs but first Micah you were supposed to do match of the day yesterday but you're not very well are you

I'm in a bad way, guys. I'm in a bad way, guys. Oh, bless him. Oh, bless him. Look, he's got no voice. I've lost my voice. I've tried so hard, tried everything I possibly could. So many people are going to be so happy with that. In other words, he's been on the piss for the last three days.

Nothing to do with alcohol, you know that. And if it was drink, it would be Guinness, Alan, you know that. Oh, goodness. Gaz, can I ask you a question? Yes, you can. In all your years, both playing and in broadcasting, how many days have you missed because you've had a cold or a sore throat?

None before COVID, but then for reasons we had to, didn't we? Yeah. But aside from that, I think there might have been once a couple of years ago when I completely lost my voice, but, you know, fighting spirit, that's what you need, isn't it, at this point? We got the call yesterday, oh, Micah, he might have an absent person because he's got a sore throat. I was like, oh, he's never going to pull out a match of the day because he's got a bad throat. Yeah.

Yet we turned up and he was nowhere to be seen. That's a stitch-up though. It's not a stale throat. Honestly, I can't speak. I can't eat.

Oh, I can't sleep. We'll let you off, Mike. We'll let you off. So long as you're all right. Hopefully I'll be all right. I miss you guys, you know. We miss you too, but obviously we don't want to make it worse. So get yourself in. Honestly, what a great actor. I mean, the timing's perfect and everything, isn't it?

I tell you what, leave it to Alan and myself. I think you need to go and lie down, mate. We'll do it. Don't worry about a thing. We know you're only doing this to avoid saying something about Manchester City and another defeat. Micah, just before you go, would you like to comment on, just give us one line on Man City. One whisper.

Crisis. Crisis. Okay. And now their ambassador's gone down. They're in desperate trouble. Oh, dear. Oh, dear. Anyway, get well. Get well. Go and get to bed. Watch what you're doing. I quite like that little whisper, though. It's quite, you know, you sound like an actor in a movie. Alan, wow, what a nuts game of football that was, wasn't it?

It was brilliant to watch. I mean, pure entertainment right from the very off. And so impressed with Liverpool. How good were Liverpool? They were absolutely magnificent. I mean, their pressing, their energy, their goals, their chances.

They're looking incredibly strong, our Liverpool. They really, really are in every single position. I thought they were really, really impressive. Some of the football was just a joy to behold, whether it be Trent, whether it was Salah, all of them really, weren't they? Playing some brilliant football.

Obviously, they came up against the Spurs side that have, you know, got key injuries, particularly in the centre of defence. And it's a big ask to play against this Liverpool side. You know, you've got an 18-year-old at the back who I thought did reasonably well. Dragosin struggled. So they're really missing, obviously, Van de Ven, Romero, even Davis as well. Goalkeeper. And the goalkeepers, you know, out as well. But at the same time, I tell you what, it's like he said the other day, didn't he? Are you not entertained? I mean...

I was really looking forward to it all day. Thankfully, Leicester wasn't on telly because the earlier game, Fulham Southampton was pretty drab. I was thinking, well, this is going to be a good game, but it really lives up to expectations. You're always going to see some wonderful football when Tottenham play. Anything can happen as it did today. And, yeah,

Yeah, but Liverpool are going to take some stopping, you know. I'm really, really looking forward, Alan, to seeing Leicester at Anfield on Boxing Day. Is that who they've got? It's the late game. It's an eight o'clock kickoff. So it would just be four match of the day. Oh dear. Fear the worst for that one. That could get messy. That could. I mean, if Liverpool turn it on that night, then with what I've seen with Leicester in the last sort of...

seven or eight days, then that could be messy. Yeah. Two goals, two assists for Mo Salah. I think the first player...

Two have assisted and scored 10 before Christmas. He's now Liverpool's fourth top scorer. 229 goals. Top three in Russia, of course, with 346. Roger Hunt, 285. And Gordon Hodgson, way back with 241. Superstar. I mean, I know both goals fell to him nicely today. Little tap-ins, but as we know ourselves, they all count the same.

but he's so consistently brilliant, isn't he? Absolutely. He's a superstar. He's a Premier League great. He's a giant of our game, has been for such a long time. Yeah, world-class. I love watching him play. I mean, today, he had everything about him, today's goals and assists and everything else. He could pass more now and again, but I honestly haven't got a problem with that, with being in the position that we're in. But,

I love his attitude. I just think he's a wonderful player to watch and he's a great goal scorer. What about Trent Alexander-Arnold today as well? What a passing exhibition. I watch him and think, how many goals would I have scored playing with him in a team? I thought exactly the same thing. His passing and his crossing are off the charts good. For a centre forward to be playing in that team with him, with his ability,

Oh, it's like, and I've said it before, it's just dreamland. I mean, he's just, the cross was brilliant that he put in for Diaz for the first goal, but he's passing to Mo Salah after about 10 or 15 minutes and it got blocked. Just the way it was, the perfect way and everything about it was just amazing. He also hit one. It wasn't probably the most difficult pass in the world, but he hit it with sort of the outside of his foot and it never left the surface.

down the right-hand side. I mean, his passing range with both feet as well, with both feet. I mean, it's something else. It's great to see him back in top form, back playing really well, which bodes well for England going ahead because I've said it for a long time. You've got to find a way to get that kind of time. Even if you make the odd mistake defensively, it more than makes up for it at the other end of the pitch. And as a striker, what?

I mean, I've said it so many times about playing on the same team as De Bruyne because of the balls that he puts in and the passing and whatever. Trent is exactly the same as what De Bruyne is in terms of when you make your run, when you want that pass or that cross delivered. More often than not, they just deliver it. They're lucky guys, those Liverpool forwards, to have him delivering every single week for them. Absolutely.

they're really going to take some stop in Liverpool, aren't they? I think at the moment, certainly in the first half of the season, their results have proved it in the Champions League as well. Probably the best side in Europe at present. I think Jude Bellingham said that in an interview, didn't he? Not long ago, that they are the best side in Europe. And particularly when you see Real Madrid and Barcelona are usually the couple of the candidates that

a little bit unpredictable although Real Madrid have come to a little bit of form before Christmas but I mean I mean I suppose if you want to be picky I guess the number of goals they're conceding I mean two against Newcastle was it two against Fulham I know they were down to ten men three today but I suppose they would have looked at the they would have known the Chelsea result going out before the game today with them dropping points at Everton that was always going to be a difficult game for them because of the way Everton are but

So, yeah, and they came up with a perfect answer. It was a really, really impressive statement from Liverpool today, I thought. Yeah, pretty much every player performed really well, didn't they? Even though they conceded three goals. But, you know, it's Tottenham. I mean, they're gung-ho, we know that. And he doesn't change things just because he's got a few injuries and played boring football. I mean, every time Tottenham play, I think, and some of the fans will disagree with me, and that's absolutely fine because we know it's a results business.

But you must look forward to going to see the games and not knowing quite what to expect. The only thing I would say with that is absolutely, I get it and I understand it. But sometimes as a player or a team, you have to take responsibility without your manager, without whatever way he wants to play. You know, they get to 2-1 today.

And a minute before half-time, it's still gung-ho. You just say, okay, we've actually taken a beating in that first half. If we can get to 2-1, we've probably been extremely lucky. So once you get that goal, you say, okay, two minutes to half-time, let's just see it out. But yet they still commit so many men forward and then get hit on the break. And once Liverpool get that third one, just before the break, you're thinking...

Done. I thought that sort of minute cost them the game and then they were never going to come back from that. They might have got a bit momentum, the crowd might have got going, I don't know, but it's just those little tiny things that make the difference, but you can't deny that. I get that. But when you look at those two teams lined up today, you thought, well, however Tottenham shape up, they're going to get beaten by that side, particularly if they're playing that well.

And they're not just playing great football, but, you know, they're closing down, they're pressing and their energy and everything is, it's a credit to the coach, Arne Schlott. You know, I like his manner, I like his demeanor, but I suppose it's easy to,

to have a good demeanour when things are going as well as they are for Liverpool at the present. But, you know, the last couple of games they'd drawn. So there's a slight bit of pressure. Chelsea closed the gap. Arsenal won, obviously, yesterday. So, you know, they're going to be top, well, they are top at Christmas. And I think they'll get another three points on Boxing Day. Yeah, they're very, very impressive. They're going to take some beating, really are.

Obviously there were a few games played today and I only saw two of them because the televised games and we didn't see what happened at Everton but I can guarantee I know what happened at Everton. They were organised, played people behind the ball and...

eats out another goalless draw as they did against Arsenal as well. So, I mean, he's going to keep them up, Sean Dyche. He's very organised and disciplined in the way he plays and they're hard to score against. Yeah, I mean, they've got a tough run of fixtures coming up now, Everton, over the Christmas and New Year period. But having said that, I've always felt that because of Sean Dyche and because of his experience and all of those things, they'll have too much for the teams in and around them.

And the most important thing for them absolutely is this season is that, is staying up because of their new stadium next season. So I believe they'll do that. And new owners, yeah, yeah, yeah. So they'll be all right because of Sean Dyche, yeah. Well, you said the tougher and the fixtures. I mean, Arsenal and Chelsea is pretty tough. True, yeah. Yeah. Very true, yeah. Yeah. Surprising Chelsea because they've been pretty free scoring as well, but it just shows you it's difficult when a team's organised. The other game that wasn't on television...

Bournemouth winning at Old Trafford by three goals to nil. The crisis of confidence goes on at Old Trafford. Once again, Rashford not in the squad, but the problem with doing decisions like that is when

results go against you, people will say, well, wouldn't Rashford improve this team? But wow, Bournemouth, they're up to fifth, by the way. Bournemouth, fifth. Doesn't this sort of weekend just sum up what the season has been up to now? I mean, the number of goals, the big victories for so many teams this weekend. Like Bournemouth are sat above City, Forest are sat above... I mean, it is, it's just crazy, isn't it? So...

I've got a friend who was at the game today who was a big, big Bournemouth fan. And his text to me was after the game, we wanted it more than them. They were miles. The better team were Bournemouth and they deserved to win and had a great day out. So good on them. Good day out for them. Really good season again. But I've said it last week and the week before that. I think for him, for Amorim coming in, honestly, he must think,

my goodness, this job is so much harder than I thought it was going to be because... And he must have... He has to have said to the owners, the money that you have spent and this is what I've got, you've given me, you've left me with to try and sort this mess out.

it's got a huge huge job on his hands massive at some point though they're going to have to trust someone well I suppose they did for Ten Hag for a while you know they bought him players that he obviously wanted but they weren't up to it really and now they've got Amrim and

And they'll have to trust him. It's way too early to judge him. At the moment, he's been mixing the team around. He's obviously looking at different individuals who can play, who can't with a long-term view, I would imagine, as to whether he wants to keep them, whether he doesn't, who figures in his plans, who doesn't.

He'll need some window, two or three windows at least, I think, and that they'll need to get the recruitment right, which is never guaranteed, particularly Manchester United in recent times. You know, they've got these new set of people there, but Dan Ashworth came in, now he's gone. So that adds to the, I suppose, to the chaos at the football club.

So tough times for them, but it is. I mean, it's never a free hit in management because of how it's been for so long there. They have to give him time to judge things, look at things, give them feedback. And this, I mean, this season probably is going to be, well, it is, it's a write-off for them, whether it claws something back in cup competition or what, but it has to be a write-off for them and he has to be able to

suss out who he wants, who he doesn't want and they've got to get rid of so many players and bring so many players in. So it all goes around back to being a massive job for him. Huge, really difficult one as well. The other game that was, well, there was two other games, Fulham, Southampton, not much happened there. It was pretty bland, but big win for Wolves at Leicester and not for the first time this season, Leicester have had to play a team with a new manager with a little bit of a bounce, obviously, but...

Again, it was a game that wasn't on TV, but from a couple of people that I've spoke to that went to the game said Leicester were absolutely dreadful in the first half. It was 3-0 at halftime and a bounce, obviously, for Wolves. Vitor Pereira's...

game in charge, cracking start for him. Leicester's problems are deep. I think we're all very glum as Leicester fans. And they were starting to apparently sing songs about Rudkin out. John Rudkin is the, I suppose you'd describe him as director of football there. When they got, I think, rid of Terry Robinson, it was in the middle of the 2014 season. Rudkin kind of

into the job without having any real experience of playing or coaching at top class football. And then he fell out with, I remember, the management team of Nigel Pearson, Mickey Walsh and Craig

And he's got in, obviously, with Vichai when he was there and now top. He's always seen with him every time you see him. And I think most Leicester fans think that he's the problem. Steve Walsh was the one who found Mahrez and Vardy and Kante. And I think he left because he felt he should have perhaps got the director of football role. But Rudkin managed to get it, I think, successfully.

there Susan Whelan was part of that successful title winning team FA Cup winning team and I think she's not so influential now so I think Leicester's problems are

as much off-field. I mean, you can blame coaches and managers all you want, but if the club's not being run well, then it's very difficult. So, you know, keep an eye on what happens. I've not changed my mind even when the day he was appointed, even though they got a couple of decent results, didn't they? When they beat West Ham and then drew with Brighton after being two down with a few minutes to go. I still was

of the opinion that is a massive gamble for him to take on because yeah I think there's so much surgery they need and I don't think they're a very good team at all I'm afraid I have to agree with you I don't want to go on too much about that you

You're still outside of the bottom three though, aren't you just? I know. So it's not all doom and gloom, Gaz. Come on, liven up a bit. I'm trying, I'm trying. But that was a big game today. You know, that was a really big game. You know, Wolves... If Leicester had managed to get three points, there was a nice little gap. Yeah. But every time the notification came through and I looked at it, I thought, oh no, oh no, oh no. Yeah. You know, obviously you thumped us last week as well. So...

A rude awakening, a rude awakening. It's a tough job for him. I remember when Brendan Rogers, a few years ago, after having that really successful run, he said, we need a refresh.

And he wasn't backed at that point with Rodkin. So, and then they end up blaming, you know, Rodgers. And, you know, that's an elite coach we had there. Yep. Fans always turn on the coach first, but they're not doing that this time. So we'll see what transpires over the coming days and weeks. But let's leave today's games there. We're recording this just after the Liverpool-Tottenham game and take a little breather. And when we come back, we'll discuss Saturday's fixtures. And there was some pretty extraordinary games there too.

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Welcome back to the Restless Football with Alan Shearer and me, Gary Lineker. Micah's whispering somewhere in the distance. Manchester City lost again. We put up a graphic of the table over the last eight games and they were...

joint bottom of that table, actually bottom but one, Southampton were bottom. I suspect now that Southampton got another point that Manchester City might be actually bottom of that table. Never in a million years would I have thought that at the start of the season. I did on Match of the Day on Saturday evening, didn't I, about how easy they were to play through, how many goals they're conceding. I mean, they're wide open.

And teams are just playing straight through the middle of them. And they look as if they're, they really do look as if they're shot in energy. Do you think possibly, I mean, obviously they've had a little bad run, but they've been right at the top competing year in, year out, year in, huge success, huge success. And then suddenly you lose a few games and it's something that they're not used to, they're not accustomed to. And they're,

then they're not challenging at the top of the table. So it doesn't seem quite as exciting for them possibly. It's very hard to maintain that standard forever. There's going to be a bad spell, but I just wonder whether it's so rare for them. They don't really know how to deal with it. And obviously they've got injuries. Obviously they have, but they've still got injuries.

a real array of talent in that side. Yeah, it's really interesting listening to Pep, you know, because obviously he is frustrated as hell. I mean, he's hurting like hell and he says, well, what can be done? He said, well, give me my players but then you look at the team yesterday, I've just got it here in front of me, their back four is Rico Lewis and

John Stones and Akanji and Vardial. And then in the midfield, you've got Tuck Kovacic back and Gundogan. And then you've got Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden and Jack Grealish and Erland Holt. It's like, really? And then I look at the bench and you've got Kyle Walker, you've got Nathan Ake, you've got Kevin De Bruyne, Savino, Doku. It's like these guys, you've got 50, 60, 70 million pound players on the bench. So,

Yes, the big one that's missing is Rodri, but we've said it before, it's a bigger problem than Rodri just being missing. I think it's a bit of everything. Obviously, there's a lack of confidence. Even the best players in the world and the best manager can have a crisis in confidence and just be normal and human, you know. But there's no doubt that they're lacking legs in midfield. Their recruitment probably hasn't been as good over the last two years.

to get them into this position as it has been beforehand. And yeah, it's very, very alarming. And there's no doubt. I mean, Mike has said it before he left us. It's a crisis. And I looked at the fixtures. They've got a few good fixtures coming up, which I'll say on a normal day, it's anything but normal. But you would think that they would get at least something back, some pride back because...

all of them, not just Pep, must be hurting so much because they're used to so much success. They're now going on to the pitch again

having the thoughts that many other teams and many other players have because they would normally go onto the pitch and just, it wouldn't even enter their heads about, it would just happen automatically because of how good they are. They're now having these thoughts, or shall I do that? Or shall I run into there? And all of these things, you put doubts in your head and you can see it. I mean, they really are all over the place at this moment in time. And it

And it is a mess. Form is so fickle, but as they always say, class is permanent. I suspect he'll turn it around, whether it's this season or I don't know. I think this is, I would hope, and I think that he'll see this as a real genuine challenge to get back competitive again and challenging for things. He said that this is the one time I wouldn't walk away. I'm much more likely to walk away if we were successful than I am. I'm not going to leave them like this.

So it's interesting though, isn't it? For the neutrals like us that, you know, you watch them and all of a sudden, I think it's quite refreshing as well for other teams in the Premier League because you don't want a team dominant every season unless you're a Manchester City fan. It's a wake-up call. You didn't need one.

because he's always had that incredible drive himself. But also, Gaz, in terms of the recruitment, would it be wrong to think, well, if you're a player that they want in January, would it also be on your mind to think, well, hang on, I don't know what's going to happen with the football club in the six months or years ahead?

Because of the charges, you just never know, you know. It's like they've got that on their plate as well. How quickly things can change in just a few weeks. It's crazy, isn't it? Football after the success they've had and they just were churning out victories left, right and centre for years gone by and dominating our game. And to see where they are now, it's just incredible. The one thing I would say though is I certainly wouldn't doubt

Pep Guardiola no the guy's a tactical master and I think he'll I think he'll turn things around in his own way it's but it's certainly in a rut at the moment let's not take away from the performance from Aston Villa though oh they were outstanding I mean the way Ashley did a bit on match of the day Ashley Williams

did a bit of match of the day the midfield how their midfield dominated um how they made it very very difficult for them i mean morgan rogers i thought was outstanding john duran was great he left him in the team teelamans i thought was fantastic in that midfield also pushed him a little bit further forward maybe in the 10 row as well alongside rogers um yeah

Yeah, there were so many impressive performances and I was really impressed with Aston Villa. You know, it was a great performance from all of them and the manager and his tactics, he got them absolutely spot on. Yeah, Morgan Rodgers is exciting as a player. We were texting during the game and

He goes past players, doesn't he? He's brilliant at running with the ball. The one thing we questioned, wasn't it, whether he could improve his finishing a little bit, but he certainly did that well yesterday. Really good finish, but he was very dominant in the game overall. Really exciting young English talent. Hopefully we'll see him in the international setup in the not too distant future.

But he's also going to be on the podcast. We're going to be speaking to him over Christmas. I look forward to getting to know him a little bit and his plans and his ambitions. The way he handles the ball under pressure and the way he sort of glides past...

he makes it look ridiculously easy. He's a wonderful talent. And if things keep going his way, then he could have a huge future ahead of him. And the other young talent is John Duran. What a season. I mean, talk about, I don't know, ratio per goals per minute. I would think he's better than

pretty much anyone in the Premier League this season. And he scored again. Ollie Watkins really has a fight on for the place that has very much been his for the last couple of years. But he's a handful and he can finish.

He really can. I think it's a really healthy situation for Aston Villa, for the manager, for Unai Emery, to keep using both centre-forwards, to give them the appetite to say, well, when I put you in, you've got to do something, or I've got someone sat waiting to come back in. I think Duran, correct me if I'm wrong, he may have only started five or six, seven games in the Premier League, but...

Again, I think there's without doubt huge talent there. As we know, there's so many things that can go right and wrong or whatever, but

it's a really good situation for them at the minute which the manager can use to his advantage I think the other thing about Duran is that we often see players don't we that come on make a difference score goals when they come on as a substitute and then it's a different thing when they start the game it's not quite because it's harder when you you know if you come on when people are tired in the last half an hour you get one or two more opportunities to score but

starting a game's different when everyone's fresh but you thought right okay let's see what happens when he starts a game and when he has he's delivered it was a right handful as well yesterday I thought well yeah the City defenders they couldn't handle him I thought he was absolutely superb but got to carry that on as well yeah yeah

Do you want to talk about Newcastle? Shall we? Isak, talking of centre forwards. Tell me how good. I'm going to say before we start here, right, because I'm not going to let you do it yourself. Because just before the game started, there was a bit of chat on our little WhatsApp group and saying whether they've not picked Isak in there, you know, the fantasy team and stuff. And you said...

You should. He's going to score a hat-trick today. Hat-trick incoming. Get ready for it, lads. And lo and behold. I know, yeah. Mystic Al. What do you think of him? How good do you think he is, guys? I remember sounding him out during, was it the Euros or was it the World Cup in 2018? I can't remember. But I thought, hmm, this young lad playing for Sweden's got a real, he's got something about him. And then he obviously went to Spain, scored goals there.

And he's silky, isn't he? He's one of those players that he glides across. He's a really astute finisher. He did miss a couple of yesterday as well, but that's often the case. If you score three, you tend to need four or five chances to do that. But...

He's very cool under pressure. He'll score a lot of goals. I really like him a lot. I think he's definitely one of the best strikers in the Premier League. The only issues that he's had really is that he's been injured on occasions. That's obviously no fault of his own. That's just a bit of bad luck. But imagine if he could get him and play in 20, 30 games on the bounce.

I think you'll see really impressive numbers there. Yeah. I know you've liked him. Yeah, I've liked him. I love his attitude. He's a very, very, technically very good. Yes, he did miss a couple yesterday, but he got his hat-trick. He's very good at finishing, very good one-on-ones. He's not flustered. He can go both ways and he's a nightmare for...

defenders and he was very, very good yesterday as were Newcastle again. It's been a really important week for Newcastle. Big week, Al. Yeah, yeah. Really big week. I know you look at the opposition, Leicester were really poor. Newcastle made them look poor. They batted Brentford in the quarterfinals on last Wednesday and again Ipswich at the weekend. I think the next two up are Villa and Man United. So they've got to carry that form on, keep that energy and

He switched things around in terms of Tenali and the midfield, which has certainly worked. And Tenali looks a really, really good player as well in the midfield. So, yeah, it's looking okay again for Newcastle. I've got to keep it up. I think you deserve a word for Jacob Murphy as well. Yeah, brilliant. I think he's a little bit underrated. I mean, he...

Puts in a shift every time, doesn't he? He certainly delivered yesterday. Caused some terrible problems down the left-hand side. Yeah, he's been one of Eddie's go-to guys and he's never, ever let him down. You could never, ever question his attitude. He's got a great attitude. He always works his socks off for the team. And he's been getting his rewards with goals and assists. And he's having a great time at the minute.

Got his goal yesterday, but I think for me, the most impressive thing was a little backheel, you know, for Isak's hat-trick, which shows he's full of confidence. He is. As for Ipswich, they've generally stayed in games and been pretty competitive, but...

certainly wasn't the case yesterday they really struggled and they're a bit naive on that left hand side Ipswich's left I think you and Ashley spoke about the positioning of Leaf Davis during that one but I presume that came from the coach's instructions I don't know but generally they've been in games and

starting to look to me like it's very likely that the three teams promoted might be the three teams that go down as was the case last season yeah trying to have hope with Leicester but it's hard to think tough yeah big win new manager yeah they were they were really naive yes and it was Newcastle made them look a poor team but they've got Arsenal next as well on the 27th which I'm doing that game so it's

it's not an easy one to come and bounce back from after you've been battered at home. No, and Arsenal, obviously, load of goals yesterday against Paris. Second time they'd scored a few against them in just a few days. Big blow, though, in terms of the title race. Obviously, there are a few points behind chasing Liverpool, so they...

you know, they're going to have to keep being consistent winning and losing Bukayo Saka. We don't know the gravity of it just yet, but it did look like a, well, it definitely looked like a hamstring, but you know, there are degrees, aren't there, of severity with hamstring injuries. And it did look like we saw him,

hobbling off on crutches towards the team bus at the end of the game. So that would be a big, big loss for Arsenal if he's out for a couple of months. I mean, when you take his goals and his assists and everything that he does for that Arsenal team, if he's going to be out for a period of time, it'd be a huge blow for them, there's no doubt. And we spoke about...

Jesus on Saturday, did we unmatch him there? So he's got to keep up that. They've got Havertz, they've got Trossard, they've got Martinelli. So they've still got plenty of options up there, but none of them

can do what Saka can do and can give what Saka can give. So they're going to have to keep going and get him back sooner rather than later. But it didn't look good, did it? Yeah, we were talking watching the game, weren't we, yesterday about Jesus comes, obviously he's had that massive drought, comes back, scores a hat-trick in midweek. And then suddenly...

All of a sudden he's scoring again. You know, he had the two goals that he actually did score, you know, both sneaked in, one just past the defender's legs and the other just inside the post. And you know what would happen two weeks ago, one would have been blocked and the other one would have hit the post and come out. It's madness, isn't it? Crazy. Yeah.

Suddenly when you score a goal or two, it's almost as though all your bad luck goes away and things fall for you again. And we've both been there, haven't we? We've both been, not quite to the extent that perhaps of Jesus, but those little runs where he hits a post or a keeper makes a...

unbelievable save and then one bounces in off your backside or something and you suddenly got six goals in five games. I think his last league goal, sorry, was back in last January, some of the end of last January. So,

How is it? I mean, you just can't explain it, can you? I mean, he's not a prolific goalscorer. No, he's never been prolific, but... Yeah, even then, that kind of... The belief and the feeling that he would have got from scoring in midweek

to then getting the managers back in again at the weekend to say, yep, I want you in, you go again. And that would have made him feel great. And just that feeling makes you, I don't know, it really is difficult to explain. Confidence and all of those things, but it is a stupid, crazy game at times, isn't it? Particularly life as a striker, I think. Yeah. She's so reliant on goals. It's a goals business. And when you're not doing it,

The world's not great, but when you're banging them in, the world's a wonderful place. It really makes such a difference. It really does. And talking about the world being a wonderful place. Don't worry, Nottingham Forest fans, here it comes. Wow. Just wow. How well, I mean...

what a first half of the season they've had going into Christmas you know where they are flying high in the table fighting for a Champions League spot there's a real consistency there isn't there in the way they know how they play they're happy to defend they're very good on the counter attack they break with an electric speed they've got the

the centre forward who's scoring goals you know they've got wide players with Hudson-Odoi and Alanga and Alanga on the other side who are very dangerous and quick on the break and

really good you know I mean obviously I keep saying this tip them to go down I think they'll be safe now I think they'll be safe just changed my mind especially going to Brentford who have this like amazing home record and

And they have been scoring for fun as well. So for them to go there and do what they did is, yeah, they have this style. They're not bothered about the opposition having the ball. In fact, they're quite happy. When you look at the possession stats, I think... Two central defenders are really good as well, aren't they? Really good. Their recruitment, I think, their recruitment has been excellent.

Excellent. And obviously, they've got pace. They can hit you there direct when they want to be. It doesn't bother them sitting and defending and suffering in terms of teams passing it around them. But when they get it, they can go at you really, really quickly. And that's what they've done. And that's what they're bloody good at. Yeah. Rather like Nuno Espirito Santo did at Wolves...

he's got a real tactical acumen, hasn't he? Particularly for a side that perhaps are an underdog side, perhaps in the Premier League, you could describe them as. And I think, you know, he's got a calmness, hasn't he? Or he seems to have to us from looking from the outside. You know, even in interviews, he's always very low key. Everything is low key, whether it's going good or bad. But there's a real organisation there. The players clearly know what they're doing. They've clearly bought into the idea. Yeah.

And you can see they're having the time of their lives, as, of course, will be the Nottingham Forest fans. So they should be. And we haven't mentioned the keeper. We've mentioned so many other players. Yes, Ells has been brilliant. The goalkeeper's having a good season as well, isn't he? So they're flying high, the Forest, and their fans will be absolutely loving it. And so they should. They will. What a wonderful way to finish with Forest flying high.

And I mean that. That's not through gritted teeth or anything. It's good to see teams like Forest and Bournemouth and even Brighton, teams that are challenging the elite. It's good for our league and it's very refreshing to see. What a great note to finish. And I just want to wish everybody a very Merry Christmas and goodbye from me.

Goodbye from me. Merry Christmas, everyone. And thank you all for listening and watching and everything else over the year. It's been great fun and we'll carry it on after Christmas.