This week, Chris Wheatley and host Jason Jones reveal all about West Ham 0-6 Arsenal, latest injury news and much more.
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00:00 Yeah, I think I'm looking a little bit stupid now, aren't I?
00:02 Saying Arsenal need to sign a striker every week and then they turn up and score six away from home.
00:08 So...
00:09 Hello, welcome to another episode of the Chris Wheatley Show.
00:15 Shots TV's one-stop shop to keep you in the know on all things Arsenal.
00:18 I'm your host, Jason Jones.
00:20 I'm joined as always by Chris Wheatley.
00:22 This week, we'll be discussing Arsenal's emphatic win over West Ham on Sunday.
00:26 We take a closer look at the Gunners' ongoing injury concerns.
00:29 As always, we'll be putting your listener questions to Chris as well.
00:33 So without further ado, Chris, there's only really one place to start, isn't there?
00:36 London Stadium, Sunday afternoon, a thrilling win for Arsenal.
00:41 6-0 over West Ham.
00:43 They were four by half-time, another two in the second half.
00:47 Their biggest ever away win in Premier League history.
00:50 I mean, following the win over Liverpool prior to that,
00:53 it was some way to follow up and really emphasise their title credentials, wasn't it?
00:59 Yeah, couldn't have put it better myself there, Jason.
01:02 I think it was a superb win for Arsenal, wasn't it, at the weekend against the West Ham side,
01:07 who they've kind of struggled against this season.
01:10 In the League Cup, they lost, didn't they?
01:12 And I think in the league as well, they haven't done particularly well.
01:15 So it would have been a hat-trick of victories for West Ham against Arsenal
01:20 if they could have done it at the weekend, but they didn't.
01:22 They were absolutely terrible.
01:24 And I think David Moyes, who was close to being offered a new contract by the West Ham board,
01:30 may not be signing a new deal any time soon.
01:33 But that's not to worry for Arsenal, of course.
01:35 It was a really good result, really good performance.
01:38 And I think from back, the defence to the attack, they were superb.
01:44 Gabriel, in particular, he's really got his goal-scoring boots on this season.
01:49 Arsenal have actually scored the most goals from corners of any team in the Premier League this season,
01:54 which is 11 goals, each of the last three being headers from centre-backs,
01:59 Gabriel and Saliba. Gabriel with two goals, of course.
02:03 And I think, yeah, it was a really, really good match from Arsenal's point of view.
02:08 I think West Ham just weren't on it, really didn't offer anything at all.
02:14 And it was Declan Rice, wasn't it, against his former club, scoring a really good goal,
02:18 which kind of capped it off. And I think that was probably the goal of the match for me.
02:22 I don't know about you, James.
02:24 Yeah, it was a hell of a strike, wasn't it? A couple of assists for him as well.
02:27 It felt like a really, I don't know, he seemed quite conflicted, didn't he?
02:31 Obviously a wonderful performance for his new club, and he really did sort of dominate that midfield.
02:35 But I think we saw after that goal that he scored,
02:38 and it was a really brilliant strike from distance that he maybe didn't revel in it quite as much as he would have
02:43 if it was against another club, perhaps.
02:47 No, I think you can understand that from Declan Rice's point of view.
02:50 He's been at the club from a young age. He's grown up there.
02:54 He recently won a trophy with the team.
02:57 He's still got a lot of friends at the club.
02:59 And I think from his point of view, he's still got a lot of an attachment there.
03:03 So you can understand why he didn't want to celebrate.
03:07 Some players in the past, they have celebrated against their former clubs,
03:10 but I think Declan Rice, he was very subdued.
03:13 Although when the camera panned to him, when he got taken off and he was on the subs bench,
03:18 you could see him kind of laughing and joking with his Arsenal teammates.
03:21 I think he really did enjoy that goal, and the Arsenal fans did, of course, as well.
03:25 It was superb. And Declan Rice really living up to his £100m price tag this season.
03:31 He's been arguably Arsenal's best player.
03:35 He's really added another dimension to that Arsenal midfield.
03:38 And, you know, with the likes of Thomas Partey not being able to keep fit this season
03:42 and previous seasons, of course, I think he's really stepped up now
03:46 and shown why he's one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.
03:49 And he did it again at the weekend.
03:52 Now, obviously, we've mentioned Rice's goal, Gabriel's goal,
03:56 five different scorers for Arsenal across those six strikes.
03:59 I mean, one thing that we talk about on a near weekly basis,
04:03 Chris, is Arsenal's need to bring in a striker.
04:05 But I suppose when you've got half your start in XI,
04:08 and finding the back of the net, it's not so much of an issue, is it?
04:12 Yeah, I think I'm looking a little bit stupid now, aren't I?
04:15 Saying Arsenal need to sign a striker every week,
04:18 and then they turn up and score six away from home.
04:20 So, yeah, look, I think Gabriel Jesus wasn't even involved in the game, was he?
04:25 And interestingly, I think Bukayo Saka became the youngest ever player to score 50 goals for Arsenal.
04:32 We haven't even mentioned him. And Saka, we've talked about his form this season.
04:37 Maybe not as consistent as previous years,
04:39 but he's really doing fantastically well in terms of goals and assists.
04:44 So he did well, reached 50 goals, and then he got his 51st shortly after.
04:51 I've got to say, well done, Bukayo Saka.
04:52 He's really, since that penalty miss in the Euros,
04:57 I think he's come back and really done superbly for Arsenal.
05:00 He's bounced back and shown why he's really got such a strong mentality and why he has won.
05:06 Again, one of the best young players in the league.
05:09 But yeah, really good win all round for Arsenal.
05:11 I think Mikkel Arteta was very happy after the game,
05:14 of course, and they now need to continue that fine form going into the next games.
05:20 And I think, obviously, given results around the Gunners at the weekend as well,
05:24 we saw Manchester City sort of sweep Everton to one side fairly effortlessly in the end,
05:30 Erling Haaland with a double, and then Liverpool obviously survived a little bit of a scare against Burnley
05:35 at Anfield to ensure that they picked up three points as well.
05:38 It really feels as if we've got a sort of three-horse title race developing,
05:43 which obviously from a neutral point of view is very exciting,
05:46 but from Arsenal's perspective, just really emphasises the need to keep on picking up wins like this
05:52 to sort of keep pace with those other two clubs.
05:56 Yeah, it really does.
05:57 And I think we spoke in the last episode about Arsenal kind of falling apart last season,
06:01 that back end of the campaign, and it was when City started to pick up points
06:05 and then they just were absolutely rampant.
06:08 They completely dominated the latter stages of the league.
06:12 This season, you say it's a three-horse race, Jason.
06:15 I tend to agree with you, but, you know, looking at the table,
06:18 Tottenham are just sneaking behind Arsenal, aren't they, and Man City on points.
06:23 They've got 47 points, 24 games played.
06:26 City, the only team there who've got a game in hand.
06:31 Tottenham in the title race?
06:32 I'm not quite sure.
06:33 I'm interested to hear your opinion, Jason, on that.
06:37 I know a lot of Arsenal fans will be thinking they've got no chance,
06:40 but I think Adj Postakoglu's done a great job this season.
06:43 And yeah, they're certainly in, at least with a shout for the top four position.
06:49 Yeah, I think we've said it before, haven't we, Chris,
06:51 that maybe this season is going to come too soon for them.
06:55 I think that that sort of run of injuries they had when they lost,
06:59 you know, the likes of Niki van der Veer and James Madison,
07:02 players who've been really influential to them over the early part of the campaign.
07:06 I think when they lost them, it really did deliver something of a hammer blow for their hopes.
07:10 But I do think that, you know, I fully agree with you.
07:13 Postakoglu's doing a really, really good job in north London.
07:16 And I think that, you know, if they're smart in the summer,
07:19 if they can maybe have a slightly more injury-free campaign next time around,
07:23 then I think they could genuinely trouble the clubs who are currently above them,
07:28 maybe next season. But in terms of this year,
07:30 I think they're maybe just a little too far behind the rest of the pack to properly challenge for the title.
07:36 Now, Chris, despite Arsenal's wonderful win at the weekend,
07:43 they had to do it without a number of first-team players,
07:46 a number of big names still missing for the Gunners.
07:48 I sort of just wanted to run a few past you and just see if you had any insight on
07:52 when we can perhaps expect to see them back in an Arsenal shirt.
07:56 We'll start with Thomas Parthy, a man who, again,
07:59 we seem to mention on a weekly basis.
08:01 We know he's been really badly hampered by injuries this season,
08:04 can't seem to quite get himself back to full fitness.
08:07 But is it likely that we're going to see him back in the first team anytime soon?
08:12 Or is that one that Arsenal fans are going to have to be a little bit patient with?
08:17 Well, I think it shows how fast the season's going, isn't it?
08:20 Thomas Parthy hasn't played since October due to a hamstring injury.
08:25 It's been a long time since he's been in the Arsenal midfield.
08:28 And yeah, it doesn't look like he's coming back anytime soon,
08:34 although Mikel Arteta did say that he's progressing really well.
08:37 It's a bit too soon to tell you exactly when we're going to have him back.
08:40 So no real time frame on him at the moment, but probably the end of this month,
08:46 I'd imagine Parthy would be back in contention to start.
08:49 I mean, yeah, we've spoken about his injury problems before.
08:52 He's had a lot of issues, hasn't he, over the years.
08:55 And I think Arsenal probably going to be considering his future this summer
09:00 and looking at potential replacements because,
09:04 you know, at the moment he's not reliable for Arsenal in midfield.
09:08 Another obvious long-term absentee for the Gunners, Chris,
09:11 Urien Timber obviously picked up that horrendous knee injury on the opening weekend of the campaign.
09:16 Now we've spoken about him before.
09:17 You said that his rehabilitation is going well,
09:19 but it's one that is probably going to take a little while.
09:22 I mean, is he any further along in his recovery
09:24 or is this one that we are going to have to sort of just wait and see for a little while longer?
09:29 Well, there was a big hint on Timber's return to full fitness
09:33 when Arsenal named him in their Champions League squad a few days ago
09:37 and that is a telltale sign that he'll be back in contention very soon.
09:41 We're expecting him to be back by the end of the month in full training.
09:46 It's a really superb recovery for him after a really horrible ACL injury,
09:51 as you mentioned, Jase, on the first day of the season against Nottingham Forest.
09:54 And he did well in that game and he did well in pre-season.
09:59 I think the fans are desperate to take another look at him.
10:03 Great news really to see him back and I don't think there's any pressure for him to kind of start,
10:09 you know, anytime soon, but they are happy to get him back in the squad.
10:12 And I think he'll be a valuable addition to that right-back slot as well.
10:18 Valuable addition, not least because Takehiro Tomiyasu continues to struggle with injury problems of his own.
10:24 I mean, have you got an update on his fitness, Griff?
10:28 Yeah, Tomiyasu still recovering from a slight knock that he suffered at the Asia Cup.
10:35 Yeah, we do expect him to be back pretty soon.
10:38 Again, Tomiyasu, similar to Party, he's had quite a few injuries this season
10:42 and he will be hoping to get back to full fitness.
10:44 But yeah, it's not looking like it's too serious and we do expect him to be back fairly soon.
10:52 Slightly further up the pitch, we have Fabio Vieira,
10:55 obviously underwent surgery towards the back end of last year.
10:58 Is he any closer to making his comeback?
11:03 Yeah, he was initially expected to be out until the end of January.
11:07 That's kind of been prolonged a little. To be fair to Vieira, he's not really a regular starter,
11:12 so wouldn't really expect his return to be rushed to the first team.
11:16 But yeah, it's expected him to be a few weeks away from full fitness.
11:21 And as I said, he's not a regular starter.
11:25 So I don't think there's too much of an emphasis on getting him back or rushing him back too soon.
11:32 And another couple of midfielders who maybe don't start every game for the Gunners,
11:35 Emile Smith-Rowe, George Emio, obviously both have their parts to play in Nicole Artea's squad,
11:40 but are both currently on the sidelines.
11:42 Are they any closer to being back in that matchday squad for Nicole Artea?
11:50 Join us again on the Chris Wheatley Show after these adverts.
12:05 Welcome back to the Chris Wheatley Show on Shots TV.
12:12 And another couple of midfielders who maybe don't start every game for the Gunners,
12:15 Emile Smith-Rowe, George Emio, obviously both have their parts to play in Nicole Artea's squad,
12:20 but are both currently on the sidelines.
12:22 Are they any closer to being back in that matchday squad for Nicole Artea?
12:27 So for Smith-Rowe, it was an ankle injury, turned his ankle in training.
12:31 Unfortunately for him, he's had quite a few injuries over the season,
12:37 or a couple of seasons so far.
12:39 And I think Smith-Rowe, who Arsenal actually blocked a move to West Ham,
12:44 a lone move in the January transfer window, they do have high hopes for him.
12:48 Nicole Artea does like him, wants to give him minutes,
12:51 but it's these little kind of injury knocks which are really causing him issues
12:55 and causing him to not get those games that he really does want.
13:01 Oleksandr Zinchenko, he was a doubt for the West Ham game with a calf injury.
13:06 Again, not expected to be too much of a spell on the sidelines for him.
13:11 And we do expect to see him fairly soon.
13:13 Again, no time frame, but doesn't seem to be too serious for Zinchenko.
13:19 And George Emio, Chris, obviously the Italian midfielder as well.
13:23 Yeah, George Emio has a bit of a fatigue-related issue,
13:26 Nicole Artea said. He hasn't trained all week.
13:30 I think with him, he was the man of the match in the game against Liverpool.
13:35 Just needs to be managed a bit carefully.
13:37 Of course, he's one of the older players in the squad.
13:39 So perhaps it's going to take him a bit longer to recover after games than some of the younger players.
13:46 But yeah, it's not serious for George Emio.
13:48 So you'd expect him to be back in the squad for that game against Burnley on Saturday.
13:55 Finally, one last injury, one for you, Chris.
13:58 Gabriel Jesus, obviously we mentioned wasn't involved against West Ham,
14:01 not that it necessarily affected the Gunners too heavily.
14:06 When can we expect to see the Brazilian leading the line again in North London?
14:11 Yeah, he's on the mend from a knee injury, isn't he?
14:15 Gabriel Jesus has had that knee injury and it's causing problems for a while now.
14:20 But there is hope that he'll be fit for Burnley.
14:23 Mikel Otesa hasn't confirmed it, but he did say it was a short-term issue.
14:28 So a bit of positivity there from what the manager said.
14:32 And Jesus will be hoping to be available for that game against Burnley on Saturday.
14:39 Good stuff. And just sort of moving away from the injury stuff for a little bit,
14:43 Chris, I understand you've got a little bit of an exclusive on the future of an Arsenal squad member.
14:49 Can you shed any light on who that might be and what it might entail for us?
14:55 Yeah, I mean, we've reported it already a couple of weeks ago in the back end of the transfer window.
15:00 But Marquinhos, the young Brazilian winger, is about to sign on loan to the Brazilian side, Fluminense.
15:08 And that's going to be a loan deal with an option to sign permanently for the Brazilian side, if they like the look of him.
15:17 Marquinhos has had a difficult time on loan. He spent some time on loan at Norwich and in France,
15:24 but he's really not been able to get regular games or really assert himself.
15:28 I think going back to Brazil may be a blessing in disguise for him,
15:33 maybe a bit more in his comfort zone and he'll be able to get the best out of his qualities, of course.
15:39 Mikel Otesa has already sanctioned that move alongside Edu and we're expecting it to be announced fairly soon.
15:46 But yeah, Marquinhos going on loan back to Brazil.
15:50 As always, Chris, we've had plenty of listener questions for you.
15:56 I'm going to start with one from Nardji, who is asking you to predict the end of Arsenal season,
16:02 where they're going to finish in the Premier League, how they're going to get on in the Champions League.
16:05 Not to put you on the spot at all,
16:07 but if you had to take a guess as to where you see this season going for Arsenal,
16:11 how you see Palmeiro and Mikel Otesa, how do you see them finishing over the course of the next few months?
16:18 Yeah, I mean, we always ask about these kind of, to make these predictions.
16:25 And I think it's difficult, isn't it? Because things change throughout the season.
16:30 I think injuries are clearly the most important thing for Arsenal this season.
16:34 If they can keep a fully fit squad going into the back end of the campaign,
16:37 then they've got a really good chance of winning the league.
16:40 But I think it all depends on that. Simple as that. Injuries, if they keep a fully fit squad,
16:45 then they do have a good chance of winning the league. Manchester City, of course, Imperious.
16:51 They have an unbelievable squad, so strong, lots of depth there.
16:56 And I do think City are going to be right up there alongside Liverpool. In the Champions League,
17:01 it's a completely different kettle of fish. It's a knockout stage, two legs.
17:06 I think that means Arsenal have an even better chance of going further,
17:10 because I think on their day, Arsenal can beat anyone in Europe.
17:15 But as I said, on their day, and Manchester City, of course, last season showed how strong you need to be to win Europe's elite competition.
17:25 So yeah, I think they've got a good chance of going in the latter stages of the Champions League and winning the Premier League.
17:31 But of course, it's TBC, isn't it? I think it does depend on injuries and a whole multitude of factors, of course.
17:38 But I think injuries is the biggest one.
17:41 I think we've seen in the Champions League, obviously, especially in recent years as well,
17:46 you know, I'm thinking about Tottenham reaching the final of the competition
17:51 when they weren't necessarily in the title race as such at that particular time.
17:55 Like, you don't always have to be the strongest team in your country at a particular point to go far in that competition.
18:03 You can sort of finish third, fourth even, in a league and still make it to the sort of the deeper stages of that tournament.
18:12 And for my money, at least, you know, I think you're absolutely right.
18:16 I think Arsenal do have a very good chance of progressing to, you know, a quarterfinal, a semifinal,
18:23 perhaps even a final, depending on how the draw pans out for them.
18:26 And I do think that's a key factor as well, because, you know,
18:29 you could get a relatively favourable run to the final or you might go and draw a Real Madrid in the next round or a Manchester City.
18:37 And obviously all those things are factors to consider as well.
18:39 I think as far as the Premier League is concerned, from a sort of relative outside perspective,
18:43 if I'm being honest with you, I still think Manchester City are the strong favourites.
18:47 I think that game in hand and the fact that they do seem to pick up momentum
18:52 as the season progresses probably stands in their favour.
18:55 But I do think that Arsenal will have learned some lessons from last season.
18:59 I think they're stronger. I think they're more resilient than they were this time five months ago.
19:03 And I do expect them to push City even harder than they did last year.
19:08 And I expect Liverpool to be there as well.
19:10 But I think if I had to, me personally, make a prediction, I would probably also go with Manchester City.
19:17 We've got a question here from Adamu.
19:20 Chris, obviously we've already mentioned Emile Smith-Raw and the injury concerns that he's repeatedly dealing with at the moment.
19:28 Adamu is asking why he isn't playing regularly for the Gunners.
19:32 Now you've already sort of addressed that.
19:33 But I suppose the bigger question is, does he have a long-term future at the club under Michael Arte?
19:40 Yeah, I mean, it's a really good question.
19:42 We did kind of cover it earlier, but I guess the biggest thing there is long-term future.
19:48 Does he have that long-term future at the club?
19:50 And I would say probably not.
19:53 When you look at the amount of options that the club have in midfield, is he going to start regularly week in, week out when asked off a fully fit squad?
20:02 And I think the answer is no.
20:04 I think he's a really talented player, Emile Smith-Raw.
20:07 And when he's fully fit, I think he is certainly one of the most exciting players in the team.
20:12 He does things really simply, but does them brilliantly.
20:17 And I think that's what Michael Arteta likes about him.
20:20 He really gets on with his job in training as well.
20:24 And of course, he took that number 10 shirt, didn't he, after Mesut Ozil left the club?
20:28 Before that, Dennis Bergkamp as well.
20:30 I'm not going to mention William Callas.
20:33 But yeah, I think really Emile Smith-Raw is a superb talent.
20:37 And that's the reason why West Ham wanted to sign him in January and Arteta blocked it.
20:42 So I think we have to wait and see what happens in the summer.
20:45 But I think long-term future, difficult to see that he has too much of a long-term future at the club.
20:51 And there will certainly be plenty of suitors for him in the summer as well.
20:58 So I think there's certainly a bright future for Smith-Raw, whether it's at Arsenal or another team.
21:05 One man who almost certainly has a long-term future at Arsenal is, of course,
21:10 Mikaio Saka, the star boy, the talisman of this Arsenal side in many respects.
21:15 We've got a really interesting question here from Andre Peter, who is asking,
21:20 obviously, we've spoken so frequently about Arsenal's need for a striker.
21:24 He's asking you, Chris, whether you foresee a situation or a scenario
21:29 where Saka could potentially sort of make a transition into a more central role
21:33 in a similar way to the way that Thierry Henry did earlier in his career.
21:39 I mean, do you think that that's something Michael Arteta will be keeping half an eye on?
21:42 Or do you think that Saka is a winger and will remain a winger for the entirety of his career?
21:51 It's a good question. I think when you look at Saka's numbers this season,
21:54 he can certainly play across the front free.
21:58 I think his best position at the moment is on the right-hand side.
22:03 We know that Arteta likes players who can play in a multitude of positions,
22:08 as we've seen with Leandro Trostfeld, someone who can play in the false nine and on either flank.
22:14 I think in terms of Saka, I think you know what answer he's going to give
22:18 if he's asked about his favoured position.
22:20 He's going to say, wherever the boss wants me to play, I'll play there.
22:24 But I do feel like he is almost a natural winger.
22:29 And I think Unai Emery really helped him in his early years at Arsenal
22:32 by kind of playing him in different positions, getting him used to different roles.
22:37 Saka, of course, has played at left-back as well for Arsenal.
22:40 So I'm certainly not saying his long-term future is there,
22:44 but I think it's an example of where he's able to play and an example of his versatility.
22:51 So yeah, to answer the question in short, yeah, I think it's possible,
22:55 but I think Arsenal will be looking in the market for an out-and-out kind of Henry type player this summer.
23:02 Someone who's guaranteed goals.
23:04 And I think Saka is more of a player who's going to contribute in the final third,
23:09 but I don't think he'll be that kind of Henry type player.
23:13 That's all we've got time for in this week's show.
23:19 Join us again next week where we'll be discussing all of the latest Arsenal news and developments.
23:24 In the meantime, follow all the latest sports news at www.shotstv.com.
23:29 Check us out on FUFU channel 276.
23:32 Thanks to Chris. Thanks to you for listening.
23:34 This show is produced by Mark Wilson.
23:36 [Music]