Ricky Lawrence

@Alan_Alger_ Appreciate the mention. A tad harsh on Kepa - he’s been an unused sub in 2 of the 6 finals you referenced. In fairness to Zubimendi too. First season in the league, played in almost every match. He’s no Patrick Vieira but he’s no Fabio either.

Carabao Cup Final reflections - recorded this morning. #AFC podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/foo…

@Alan_Alger_ @REDactionAFC My only moan from last night (sounds like I timed my entrance just right and missed the light show) was the lack of Que Sera Sera after the game. The Havertz song was great but got to play a song we virtually never get to sing too.

@REDactionAFC Ha ha, FFS. I genuinely mean it.

Feedback on the pre match light show required please. I thought it was visually superb, but the music was not a good match. Wbu?

@Alan_Alger_ Thought we played well for 65 minutes today and that was with 10 men!

Imagine if we started playing well… etc etc… or if we had a striker…etc etc… In the last 34 days we’ve only had the luxury / serenity of a 2-goal Premier League lead for 12mins 👀 Top of ALL the tables though! #AFC

@PR_Gooner76 I feel our hand was forced by Havertz's injury. And yes, Eze could of course come (very) good. But think how much of a bad spot we'd be in if we didn't sign him!

@RickyJLawrence I’m not saying Eze won’t prove to be a great signing still. He’s mostly underwhelmed so far but that could change. I just feel Semenyo is more what we need right now. Regarding Arteta, I thought he wasn’t going for him until Eze convinced him over the phone! 🤷🏼‍♂️

Message for Mikel… please buy Semenyo in Jan and sell Martinelli in the summer. It’s that simple. Thank you 🙏🏼

@PR_Gooner76 Easy to say that now but at the time every fan thought it was fantastic. I don't think anyone was as excited as Arteta either. I share your concern re Nwaneri but I'm now starting to think it's intentional. There's no need to play him into the ground. He's still only 18.

@RickyJLawrence Lol. I’ll tell you what… I’d probably give back the money for Eze now to buy Semenyo. I’m worried about the impact he’s having on Ethan too. I have a feeling that both Eze & Gyok were slightly panic buys more for the fan base than ones that Mikel was desperate for himself.

@PR_Gooner76 Yeah, that’s what I meant. Can you write one slagging Eze & Gyokeres off next please?

@RickyJLawrence It was before the game!

@Alan_Alger_ @afccharlie @MRIRBT Most importantly, he was giving our best attacking player a fantastic chance. Saka arguably should have done better. but don't blame Timber at all here.

@afccharlie @MRIRBT to be fair to Timber, the defender was positioned perfectly at all points, the cut back was the only option.

This had to go across

@PR_Gooner76 @Alan_Alger_ I know what you mean but we're a different team now. Arteta just wants us to control games and we rarely look like conceding. I'm confident we'll sharpen up at the other end of the pitch. Been without our best striker since the second week of the season.

@RickyJLawrence @Alan_Alger_ Think you’re slightly missing my point. We can’t keep scraping wins as if we don’t put the game to bed we are always at danger of conceding out of nothing and dropping points. Hence why I believe we need to start winning more convincingly to avoid the potential of that happening

That was… another three points. #AFC

@PR_Gooner76 @Alan_Alger_ Still, a lot, lot closer than they ever came.

@RickyJLawrence @Alan_Alger_ Also I’m not really buying the “hit the post” arguments. Trossard’s was a bad miss & Zubi’s was the outside of the post and never going in.

@PR_Gooner76 @Alan_Alger_ Well...we don't. We get the same number of points regardless. Agree re the first half but other than just naturally being nervous as a fan, at what point did Everton look like they were even close to scoring?

@RickyJLawrence @Alan_Alger_ Maybe a bit harsh. First half very poor though imo. As I mentioned better in 2nd but HAVE to start becoming more clinical. At the end of the day we need to start winning these kind of games more convincingly if we want to be champions.

@PR_Gooner76 @Alan_Alger_ Think that's a bit OTT, Paul. They didn't have a sniff all game. We were in 2nd gear which I think is going to be crucial come later on in the season. We also hit the post twice and had one cleared off the line.

@Alan_Alger_ So poor… again. If we’re scraping wins against average teams missing their best players then I can’t see how we’re winning the league this season. Saying that there were signs of encouragement 2nd half. Hoping this is a blip & we’ll kick into gear soon now players coming back 🤞🏼

@arsenalpodcast @boydhilton @Josh_Landy @Alan_Alger_ Agree with pretty much everything Alan said though I’m not that fussed re the changing of the captaincy.

🆕 Stick With The Program. @boydhilton @Josh_Landy & @Alan_Alger_ reflect on a season filled with moments but missing silverware. We look back at the injuries, sending offs & opportunity missed. Thanks to everyone for listening. On all pod platforms or ⬇️ megaphone.link/COMG9331066415

@Alan_Alger_ It was as if Arteta wanted to get him on but with as little time left as possible. And it almost was still too long.

Great to sign off the home season with a win and to beat Newcastle, because they’ve been a thorn in our side for a while. KT deserved his plaudits. Top professional. All Gooners wish him the best. Good to see Havertz back on the pitch too. Rice outstanding, as always! #AFC

@Alan_Alger_ We made a profit on Matt Turner - that's a shrewd piece of business!

@Alan_Alger_ Sorry, maybe not a stretch in when the game turned, but think it would be unfair if you were putting that down to him losing the ball on the edge of their box (blaming him)

@RickyJLawrence Not a stretch in the slightest. They dominated play after that moment.

@Alan_Alger_ Yeah but did you see that push by Rice?!

@adamdnathan Yeah, of course and we were incredibly lucky to play Hull in the final (and Wigan in the semi final) but we had some tough games to get there.

@RickyJLawrence All of those were at home, which helps. But the point is when you get to the big one, it’s hard enough to win at the best of times, so being given an easy opponent when you’re on a trophy drought is obviously a huge benefit

This is absolutely true, and has played a big part in our narrative over the last 20 years. Arsenal got to play Birmingham, HULL, and Aston Villa in successive cup finals. Every finalist we’ve played since 2008 has been a domestic, or European champion that season.