THE ARSENAL OPINION - BY LE GROVE

Jacob is in flip flops and a vest. Johnny doesn't blame him. It's hot, the World Cup is electric, and they needed to get on the mic and talk about it.

Here's what's inside:

🔥 Hottest of Takes — Jacob goes political on the biggest sporting event in the world, and the take lands harder than you'd expect. Johnny goes after a player everyone is treating like it's 2015 and he's not having it

🌍 The World Cup Is Unreal — how did a tournament with so much controversy before a ball was kicked turn into one of the best World Cups in living memory? Johnny and Jacob go through it

👑 Messi — Is The Discourse Wrong? — Jacob makes the case that the greatest player who ever lived is being carried a little bit right now. Johnny has a very specific counter. It gets spicy

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England vs France Final — Both Lads Call It — the quarter-final predictions, the Argentina problem, and why Jacob thinks Bellingham and Rice can do what nobody else in this tournament can

🔜 Coming On The Members Pod — a signing that has apparently landed and a number one transfer target get the full treatment. Members only

Subscribe at patreon.com/theArsenalOpinion for ad-free episodes and support the show. And for the best Arsenal writing on the internet, sign up to the newsletter at le-grove.co.uk.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jacob got in at five. Pete is ready to go. England beat Mexico. The World Cup is alive. And there's a lot to get through before Belgium.

Here's what's inside:

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England Are Through — the debrief, the Bellingham penalty question, and why Pete thinks Tuchel just pulled off something quietly brilliant in the Azteca

🌟 Arsenal At The Core Of The World Cup — Odegaard, Rice, Gabriel, Martinelli, Moreno. Pete and Jacob go through every Arsenal player turning up on the biggest stage and ask whether ten years ago you could have imagined this

💸 The Dream Summer Takes Shape — Rogers, Barcola, Bruno. Jacob lays it out. If those three walk through the door this summer, Pete thinks Arsenal become genuine favourites for every trophy going

🤩 The Player Nobody's Expecting — Pete and Jacob end up somewhere unexpected, throwing names around that felt impossible twelve months ago. Vinicius, Isak, Joao Pedro — what if there's someone even bigger just around the corner?

😴 Jacob Went To Bed At Five — he held his own for nearly an hour. Remarkable scenes

Subscribe at patreon.com/theArsenalOpinion for ad-free episodes and support the show. And for the best Arsenal writing on the internet, sign up to the newsletter at le-grove.co.uk.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pete, Matt and Johnny. Six hours until the Azteca. England vs Mexico. Everyone's nervous. Nobody's going to bed early.

Here's what's inside:

🔥 Hottest of Takes — Matt has breaking news on Balogun's red card being rescinded and goes straight after FIFA's transparency problem. Pete did altitude research for this podcast and it shows. Johnny goes 2-1 Mexico. Everyone is concerned about Declan Rice's hamstring

⚖️ FIFA, Trump and Balogun — the red card gets overturned 90 minutes before kick-off. Trump thanks FIFA publicly. Pete, Matt and Johnny on what it says about how football's governing body makes decisions under pressure

🏔️ The Altitude Problem — Pete has done the research and it is not reassuring. The Azteca is 7,700 feet above sea level. Unacclimatised players, fatigued legs, hamstrings under pressure. Johnny would very much like no hammies off the bone please

🇧🇷 Norway vs Brazil — The Arsenal Stakes — Gabriel, Martinelli, Odegaard. Three players, two teams, one knockout game. Pete and Matt work out who they'd rather see go through and why

💸 Monga Goes To City — Arsenal walked away, City went over valuation, and the lads give their verdict on whether Berta called this one right

🔮 Predictions — Pete goes 1-0 England, Declan Rice free kick. Matt goes England to progress. Johnny goes 2-1 Mexico and has a horrible feeling he might be right

Subscribe at patreon.com/theArsenalOpinion for ad-free episodes and support the show. And for the best Arsenal writing on the internet, sign up to the newsletter at le-grove.co.uk.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Arsenal Opinion | Thursday Therapy — Spurs Have Lost The Plot

Pete and Matt. World Cup on. Ronaldo ticking down his games. And Spurs have just spent £185 million on two midfielders. Wonderful stuff.

Here's what's inside:

🔥 Hottest of Takes — Pete has a FIFA World Cup playlist directive that drops jaws. Matt is done with England, going as far as choosing an Arsenal win over Coventry on opening day above a Three Lions World Cup triumph. He means it

🇵🇹 Ronaldo's Last Dance — Pete can't cheer a Harry Kane goal. Matt has cut every Spurs fan out of his social life. A brief and important discussion of both positions

🌎 Pochettino Glow-Up — the California surfer dad era. Hair too soft for a man his age. Workman's jacket. Matt's a convert. Pete notes he never quite absorbed enough Spurs to be fully ruined

⚠️ The Declan Rice Problem — a genuinely worrying conversation. The minutes he's played, the World Cup games still to come, and what it means for Arsenal's title defence if he comes back anything less than 100%

💸 Spurs Spend £185 Million — And Arsenal Should Be Furious — Tonali, Fernandes, eye-watering fees, a six-year contract at an absurd weekly wage. Pete and Matt make the case that there's no way Arteta sees this and doesn't go straight to Berta demanding the same

Subscribe at patreon.com/theArsenalOpinion for ad-free episodes and support the show. And for the best Arsenal writing on the internet, sign up to the newsletter at le-grove.co.uk.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Johnny and Jacob have a chat about the haaaawtest Arsenal topics.

Here’s what’s inside:

🎤 Hottest of Takes — Comedy Origin Stories — Johnny and Jacob answer a Discord question and go deep on how they actually got into stand-up, the open mics nobody remembers, and the path that led them both to AOP

⚖️ Morgan Rogers vs Bradley Barcola — The Real Debate — a Twitter thread sparks a genuinely brilliant conversation about buying a profile versus buying a fit, whether either fee is justifiable, and what Arsenal actually learned from the Havertz and Eze signings

🎯 Did Eze Actually Get Replaced? — Johnny and Jacob dig into the closing weeks of last season, the Champions League final snub, and whether the number 10 spot is genuinely up for grabs again

🌍 World Cup Watch — Eurocentrism in football discourse, names neither of them had heard of before this tournament, and the games that have got them properly hooked

🔒 Coming Up On Patreon — a deep dive into Bruno Guimaraes and Alex Scott. Members only

Subscribe at patreon.com/theArsenalOpinion for ad-free episodes and support the show. And for the best Arsenal writing on the internet, sign up to the newsletter at le-grove.co.uk.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices