AD-Free Episode 455 - Best Performance Of The Season

Paul was unbearable to listen to on this podcast

Great podcast and I love the passion of the team. Personally if this defeat and performance had come against a full squad of players including ESR, Saka, Luiz, Xhaka my patience with the team and Arteta would be stretched to breaking, but we were depleted and Liverpool are not as bad as people made out. We move forward together. Come on Arsenal!

Agree with Clive's concerns on trusting "the Club" with the rebuild. Too much deja-vu over the last few years.

This game was a struggle for many including some of the pod crew - it hurt in a way that drove diverse opinions. Isn’t that what fan discussion is all about. We go through a period of after loss grief in different ways. The podcast literally has 10’s of thousands listening now and it’s amazing how we all think the same and differently at the same time. We always say we are so fortunate with our audience - we really mean that as we can process things in a safe space amoungst people who know us. We try to please you all but just can’t but we will try 😂👍🏾

Great podcast,love the passion.

Would have loved to see Hector! Clive, Paul and Tim know the game and Elliot facilitates. That is how it works. I love the Pod!!

Stephen Lambert

We need to stop playing Pepe on the right it doesn't work. Give Pepe the left and let use his strong foot we have Nelson, Martinelli and Willian for the right.

@ DougL Word!

Brutally honest? If Tim is on the Pod list, I don't miss it.😬

" I can sadly kind of understand Elliotts frustration with Paul many times because I share it. How Paul creates these lose-lose situations for Elliott and the listeners. Elliott needs to tell Paul that he disagree and I fully understand that, and the following discussion rarely ends well. And if Elliott leaves Pauls takes completely unresponded for the listeners. Thats almost impossible to do at times. Lose-lose. " I fully agree with this. Despite the fact that Elliot can maybe be overly combative at times, he's often forced into it. I couldn't believe that Paul spent several minutes in this episode effectively making the argument that this wasn't a terribly bad performance, but rather just a slightly bad performance. In other words, creating an argument out of absolutely nothing at all. What's the point of after such a poor performance trying to make the argument that we were still bad but just not quite as bad as we thought? That's just a pointless argument, it means nothing.

@T Roberts. Thanks. I completely agree with you about the importance of different opinions, creating a dynamique in the podcast. Its just that I really do prefer that the different takes in a discussion provide me with thoughtful and interesting points that creates a new insight, new perspective, that makes at least a bit of sense. The other 3 do have different opinions and discussion at times. Those discussions in general create more interest from me. @ DougL. So well put. Better than my text. 👍I couldnt agree more. Especially with your description of whats extra worthy with Tims participation. @ Per Torkildsen. Thanks for being more human and nice to Paul than I am. I certainly believe that Paul is a nice guy. And even more important, a huge Arsenal-fan like we all are. 😊Its not personal at all. Its more the extent of what he, imo, adds to the discussions, adds values to me as a listener. His views most often dont add any value or interest to me as a listener and as a fan. Thats the honest and brutal truth. The mentioned issues I have with Clives actions has though been more intense during this season than issues with Paul. Clives Ruler Techniques, because thats what I think he does even if he doesnt intend it or are aware of it, has frustrated me more. To be fair thats what Elliott does at times towards Paul too. And probably triggers Paul a bit. But I can sadly kind of understand Elliotts frustration with Paul many times because I share it. How Paul creates these lose-lose situations for Elliott and the listeners. Elliott needs to tell Paul that he disagree and I fully understand that, and the following discussion rarely ends well. And if Elliott leaves Pauls takes completely unresponded for the listeners. Thats almost impossible to do at times. Lose-lose. I just cant understand how Clive has interpreted from collegues and listeners that we all want to hear him explain how things are. I think for some listeners its perfect and welcome. But again, explaining for the rest of the panel and all listeners... How he frames it. Not for me. That needs to change to not lose my interest completely. Ok then, whatever take on Arteta and the project so far, lets all keep hoping we will be standing with a EL-trophy and CL-qualification in the end of the season. 🙏

I've been kinda holding off stating this for quite some time. I could listen to Elliott's emotion and Tims analysis all day, but... I also think having differing views and solid discussion is beneficial to any topic. That being said, I have to be honest and say that in the past I have looked at the crew list for the Pod and sometimes decided to skip that ep, if you know what I mean.

Elliott, I am a first year Patreon and has to be honest. I have my opinions about the crew of the pod. I believe that you are a brilliant host, love your quick comments. 😊 Your football understanding is obvious. You have been so right in so many topics. About squadbuilding, giving cobtracts to ageing stars for example. And so on. To me, you and Tim are the big stars of Vision that makes it worth listening too. You both combine the rational football analyzis with an emotional understanding as fans and part of the panel. You are not so invested in Artetas project that you feel the need to ”protect” Arteta or the club at any cost. You and Tim mix up critic and Kudos to both the club and Arteta when its fully deserved. Tim was brilliant in this episode. Critical about certain Arteta-decisions both on and off the pitch in a very good and smart way. But then there are 2 others. To me Paul is not creating debates in a good and interesting way. He is just not having a good, celeber, interesting point football-wise, almost never. It is so frustrating to having paid for a year to listen to him. I cant really see what Paul intellectually brings to the pod football-wise. There is different ways to create interesting discussions. Clive, he has some interesting analyzis at times. But my problem is this, he almost always presents his views as a need to explain how things are, for everybody that listens. Like his views are undisputed facts for everybody who has eyes just because he is a Sunday League coach. He has a kind of selfproclaimed football-understanding higher than the panel in the pod and higher than everybody that listens. It would be more appropriate if Clive would be more humble and always present his views as his views. No more, no less. Any contradictory view to his own he often is quick to label as emotional, or having an agenda against Arteta or the club. He therefore puts himself on a sort of piedestal with him standing for the rational, logical, distanced takes. It is for sure not his obvious intention to put himself on a piedestal but to me thats what he does. Most people probably disagrees with me. Clive is a popular guy it seems. And I think that he seems like a supernice Arsenal-guy with a big passion for Arsenal. Like many of us for our whole lives. I also have a big problem with Paul and Clive being so heavily invested in Artetas project that they for a long time seem both unable and unwilling to be even the slightest critical about so many of the decisions that Arteta keeps getting wrong on and off the pitch. I mean, it would be possible to choose to believe in Arteta longterm but still being extremely critical short-term about bad specific decisions and bad judgements thats on him. That hurts the club both short- and longterm. Devalving the value of so many players and so on. Most likely I wont be a patreon for Vision next year because of above. For sure it doesnt work as ”therapy” as some of the other Arsenal-podcasts. Vision has the exact opposite effect on me so often. I just get more angry and frustrated as a Gunners-fan.

The lengths that Paul and sometimes Clive go to not criticize Arteta is maddening.

Am I the only one hearing music from 1:36:20-1:37:00??

Watch that back it wasn’t too bad??? So with Clive on this, why make myself miserable all over again

I'll fly over if the live event is going to be in England! 👌

If it was one game Paul we wouldn't be scrapping for top half

I’m grateful for fans like Paul. Elliott needs to realise stats can be whatever you need them to be. There’s managers doing great things in terms of tactics and gameplay this year who are doing poorly in the table e.g potter, klopp, arteta. Meanwhile you have managers playing turgid, reactionary football who have gained a better points total e.g ole, mourinho. I’d even say moyes is giving me the early hodgeson at palace vibes with his physical but slightly one dimensional style. Let’s remember we blew West Ham out the park in the second half. Clive said it, arteta’s arsenal have a high ceiling but a low floor...and personally I hold arsenals senior players responsible for this, the amount of points we’ve chucked just due to basic character flaws and careless errors. And sorry auba is now a definite concern. this pippo inzaghi style forward is surely more of a luxury rotation option off the bench than a starter. He simply doesn’t offer anything other than getting on the end of chances. I think both pepe and martinelli are far better in build up whilst also having substantial movement and goal threat. Arteta needs to be ruthless in the summer and don’t let this become another ozil saga. Because you fuck up a culture when your £350k a week captain gets outshone by teenagers. Look at the last 10 minutes and see how martinelli presses those liverpool defenders as soon they allow a long ball to bounce. That’s how you play when there’s no service in to you. Auba doesn’t need to be told this ffs! That’s non negotiables

I for one enjoyed Poz’s contrarianism today 😂

Out of interest.... that live meet, would that be in the US or England?

Arteta does adapt but too slowly, clives right about the three at the back without luiz. And I’m with Paul, arteta has shown me enough to put faith in him even if he doesn’t win the europa. But if he doesn’t we must start to play more of the kids

If I didn't know better, I would have thought Elliott and Paul hated each other, My grief with Arteta is that we only play well when everything is perfect, but when the stars are not aligned (like injuries, fatigue, no CAM) we collapse, we go from good to bad, instead of good to not bad,he doesn't adapt, and let me tell you the conditions we not always be perfect

I think both Paul and Elliot have a point here because we have shown in one season we are capable of being both a good team and a bad team - That means every performance is both an outlier and an example of a trend, that trend being our inconsistency. Our only consistency has been our inconsistency and you can always look at individual performances or run of games within that up and down pattern to argue either side of the debate.

Cai

I got really frustrated listening to Paul act as if concerns about Arteta are only based on one game and that anyone asking tough questions is essentially being hysterical now. This idea that a somewhat promising run in recent times should completely discount what happened before Christmas, but that at the same time anyone questioning Arteta is only focused on "one game" is a joke and it infuriates me that questions about the manager are dismissed in this way...

Arsenal lost by 3 goals at home for 2nd time this season, have just registered their 12 loss ( new bpl record) and sit 10th in the league and we can't discuss the manager after that. That's ludicrous

Paul point on Arteta and the dressing room is utter nonsense

You can have the locker room and not be good enough. I don't know if Paul watches basketball, but the Golden State Warriors with Mark Jackson is the perfect example.

Arteta is not filling me with any confidence. Continues to play auba on the left after giving him that contract. Invested in willian. How can you trust him with further investment in the summer?? The Owner needs to be proactive and demand answers from arteta and edu. But he will do that only if he cares. Abrahamovich sacks arteta by now and so does the city owners

Paul is the pseudo-intellectual Tye (from AFTV). I thought he couldnt get more deluded but in this ep he takes delusion to another level. This guy is starting to make me cringe / want to turn the pod off lol.