All or Nothing: Arsenal (2022–…): Season 1, Episode 5 - Episode #1.5 - full transcript
How would you describe
the January transfer window?
Oh man.
Yeah.
Is this your other office?
Yes.
When I have to work from home, it's here.
Sometimes my telephone,
10, 11, midnight,
America, Brazil, here, etc.
People are calling me
and I have to pick up the phone.
Talking about 10,
20, 50, 60, 70 million pounds,
to negotiate that kind of deals
is a big responsibility.
And I get it.
I think the Aubameyang
situation is really volatile.
They've got to try and
maybe get Aubameyang out of the door
and free up some money there
and get him away from the football club.
The situation with Aubameyang,
this wasn't planned.
But during the season things happen.
But I'm not sure
if the fans understand that.
Hello, mate.
How you doing?
Oh Edu! Sorry.
- Can I have a picture?
- Yes, how you doing?
- Edu, can I have a picture?
- Edu, what about Auba?
Get some signings.
Come on!
- Was that a yes?
- Take care, guys.
Does that happen every game?
A little bit, yes.
But it's nice, it's nice.
On Aubameyang we have to really
be careful
because the chance to make a mistake
is quite huge as well.
When you love what you do,
that is called passion.
We have to believe,
we have to have energy.
Show these people how much you care.
Let's go for it.
Well the January transfer
window is open,
the rumour mill is back up and running.
The big conundrum is what
to do with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
We have got a problem now which is
we have a player
that feels like he is
nowhere near the team,
no chance of competing.
Yeah. Don't like it.
We ain't got much time
because we play on Sunday,
we need to have resolved it
one way or another.
Arsenal's plans
for the January transfer window
are now dominated
by the future of one player.
We have to talk
to Aubameyang and to Mikel.
He has to come back to the squad
and help us until the end of the season.
We're going to have to reintegrate him,
we have to.
We need to speak to Mikel then.
There needs to be
a conversation with Mikel then.
Yeah, we don't think that is that easy
but we have to do something.
Who knows,
you never know in football.
But be aware, downstairs,
the relationship is zero.
Okay, I get that.
We weren't expecting it
to be a busy transfer window.
Given the amount of money
that we'd invested in the summer
and the players that we brought in,
we were very happy with those players.
We obviously have the Auba situation
but it is...
It is a challenge.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
has scored 92 goals for Arsenal.
Oh, that's wonderful!
But he hasn't played
since December,
when he was stripped of the captaincy
and excluded from team
training due to a disciplinary breach.
At the end,
rules and discipline brings clarity
because at the end,
you cannot measure trust.
When you look at the eyes
of that player and...
and you believe that that's gone,
that's a really difficult point
to get something back from it.
Mikel Arteta doesn't want
the situation with Auba
to be a distraction
to the rest of his players.
Mikel is returning to Colney
from one week out with Covid
and brings the squad together
ahead of a season-defining
January run of games.
In the next 10 days we play 4 games
and we play 3 different competitions
that are going to decide a lot of things
of what is going
to happen in this season.
I had a lot of time to watch things.
I watched 21 training sessions.
There are a few players
that train exceptionally well.
There is a vast majority of players
that train well.
And there's a group of players
that they just come.
The training session on Sunday,
if I was here, 4 players,
they go out of the training session.
4.
4 players after 15 minutes go.
We're not training in the park,
we are not in nursery
and we are not here wasting our time.
Too many players laughing
and the other thing is complaining.
Somebody gives a bad pass, complaining.
I give a bad pass, it's his mistake.
No, we have to raise the level
and it goes for everybody, guys, yeah?
For every single one,
because now it's in or out.
So every fucking day in training,
every single ball.
Let's go.
Let's go!
With Auba out of the squad,
there's an opportunity
for 22-year-old striker Eddie Nketiah.
Eddie, you are part of this! Come, Eddie.
He's England's all-time
top scorer at under 21 level.
For Arsenal, so far Eddie
has only scored 5 goals this season.
I've scored a lot of goals
in the youth team.
Yeah, it gave me confidence 'cause I knew
obviously that I could score
and I could finish
if I'm put in the opportunity.
Good, Eddie!
It's a big club with obviously
big players.
There is a lot of competition,
especially in the front areas.
As a player, you've just got to be
confident that you're good enough
to deliver if you're given the chance.
Eddie's earned a place
in the starting line-up this weekend
as Arsenal begin their run in the FA Cup.
The men of Arsenal,
winners of the coveted cup
for the 3rd time in 14 seasons.
A competition they've won
a record 14 times.
Last one!
Come on the boys!
Come on boys, come on.
We've got to go for the FA Cup.
It's our trophy, won it 14 times.
We've gotta go for it again.
Tonight, Arsenal face
Nottingham Forest from the Championship,
the league below them.
Mikel is giving an opportunity
to 7 players
who don't normally start matches.
No easy task in front
of 20,000 raucous home fans.
Okay, get together, boys.
Come on together.
Okay. Today we're starting
a new competition,
a competition that is in the history
and the DNA of our club.
So I want, from the 1st minute,
I want everybody at it.
I want to see my team come here
and dominate them.
Use your physicality, your intention
and after your quality to win it.
All the best.
It will be a difficult test
for Arsenal,
they need to be bang up for it.
The host Nottingham Forest get this game
underway, the FA Cup 3rd round.
Arsenal will try and start on the front
foot here.
It's opening up,
a shot comes in but it's wide.
That's a loose ball, isn't it,
by Tavares.
Don't know what Tavares
is thinking about there.
Nketiah, makes one for a shot.
It's a yard and a half wide
of the target.
Arsenal will certainly need him
involved more.
30 minutes into the match,
Mikel makes a change.
It is Nuno Tavares.
You have to be really
unhappy to take someone off
in the 1st half, don't you?
Yeah, and do you know something,
he's absolutely quite right.
Oh the gloves are off.
And he is not happy.
Johnson showing good pace.
Arsenal are in trouble here.
Ball back in, a good save by Leno.
Arsenal just wobbling a little bit
in the last minutes.
Mikel Arteta won't be very happy.
With an hour played,
Arsenal haven't had a single shot
on target.
Good ball in.
Oh dear.
That was a wasted
opportunity for Nketiah.
Early ball in.
It's Lewis Grabban.
He got the wrong side
of the Arsenal defence
and he turns it in from close range.
Forest fans invading the pitch.
Well, Arsenal sloppy with the ball,
giving it away too cheaply.
It's simple, it's too slow.
Arsenal have been disappointing.
There goes the final whistle
and it's a big win
for Nottingham Forest then.
They have knocked Arsenal
out of the FA Cup.
Fuck me, guys.
I accept losing, guys. I accept losing.
I don't accept these fucking standards.
I'm telling you, I don't accept them.
I don't accept them, these standards.
It's nowhere near.
Nowhere near!
And I know the desire and your attitude,
that attitude is not enough.
Courage, not enough.
To run is not enough, you have to have
much more than that.
And it's nowhere near.
You agree with me guys? Yeah?
But between you fucking do it
and demand yourself...
That's what I'm telling you
in fucking training.
Because I see it in training, that
it doesn't matter to give the ball away.
"It's okay, sometimes I go
to the next ball and I run."
No! Because in a game it's a goal!
When I lose a duel, I am upset.
When I lose the small sided games,
I am upset!
Because that's the fucking standards!
Because you come here
and now you fucking lose.
It's nowhere near guys,
it's fucking shit.
I'm telling you, shit!
If we play like that
against Liverpool, we're fucked.
- My mum's gone away today.
- Has she?
- And I ain't got no food.
- What happened to your chef?
She's not coming today, she's on holiday.
- How long is she on holiday for?
- Comes back tomorrow.
Okay.
What you gonna
do for tonight then?
- Little Nando's, innit!
- Ah there he is!
He's probably going double chicken wrap.
Peri chips with two perinaise.
Do you want me to do
Auba's signature?
Auba is currently
5,000 miles away
representing Gabon
at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Back home, Arsenal are out of the FA Cup
having not scored a goal.
The absence of their star striker
puts pressure on Mikel
at a crucial point in their season.
There's a massively
fractured relationship
with Mikel Arteta and Aubameyang.
Can this be repaired?
Should they try and repair it?
If Aubameyang
had a long-term future at the club,
he'd have been back in by now.
I don't know where you go
with Aubameyang
because if it's as deep
as we're led to believe
there seems to be no alternative.
Mikel meets with Tim Lewis,
one of Arsenal's 4 directors,
to discuss Aubameyang.
He went and made a mistake.
Which you reacted to, quite rightly.
And you've made your position clear.
A lot's going to depend upon
how do we get Auba out?
Can we get him out?
The relationship with Mikel
is not transactional,
it's a relationship.
He is the manager.
So, on something like Aubameyang,
I am here to support him,
challenge him, help him,
when he asks for help to respond.
I don't give him football advice,
that would be ludicrous.
There isn't an easy right answer here.
But...
If we go past the end of January,
he holds all the cards.
I know clearly
all the pressure is on him
'cause he's the guy out there
in the public domain,
addressing the questions
that are put to us,
but it is a team behind him
that's making that happen.
As the January
transfer window rolls on,
time is running out for the club to make
a decision on Aubameyang's future.
We need to relook at the project,
- look at the plan.
- Yeah.
And there's only
certain things you can do.
Do we need to chat on anything?
- Yeah.
- Or everything?
Yeah everything.
Edu, on the call yesterday,
I thought you summed up
the position perfectly. Perfectly.
- I was talking to Rich...
- Yeah.
Everybody's losing, isn't it?
Everybody's losing.
It certainly does not feel
like there's going to be a market,
something's going to happen to the market
which is going to change the situation.
We need to come up with a solution.
Because with this problem,
it's not going away.
Mikel has got a lot on
in terms of managing the team,
and that should be where his focus is.
Where we've got with Aubameyang,
you need everybody working together.
We as a club discuss
between all of us
what is the best situation to do.
This is not an Auba and Mikel situation,
this is much bigger than that.
And we've got
to focus on the next game,
I mean, and I think
you just go around that loop.
And when they push it, guys...
Because you know how media
are going to react,
how people are going to react,
how these stories are going
to be presented.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
is away at the African Nations Cup
where he's out partying.
Do you feel vindicated that
you've been absolutely right
in your treatment with Aubameyang
and the fact that he's a bit
of a problem player?
The decision that I have taken,
obviously, they were always
in the best interest of the club
and trying to do the right thing.
And so far the players
that are here are fully committed.
Thanks everybody.
Thank you.
I made a decision when I decided
to be a manager
that I was going
to open up with the players
and to do that then you have to accept
that if you're going to open up,
that you're going to get hurt.
One player who knows
what it's like to be
at the centre of a controversy
is Granit Xhaka.
We have a very young team.
Our job as experienced players
is to give them a lot of advice
and to tell them it's not so easy
because you need a lot of work.
I'm one of the oldest already
and I'm still 28 now.
People think I'm very aggressive
because of my game.
You see us for 90 minutes on the pitch,
you see the...
the different side of a person.
Granit has been given
4 red cards in his Arsenal career.
Since he joined the club,
no other player in the Premier League
has been sent off more.
It is a red card
for Granit Xhaka.
Now this is not the first time
he's done that.
He was club captain 2 seasons
ago, but fell out with the fans.
Now some of the Arsenal
fans are actually applauding
as they take off Granit Xhaka and
his reaction there is not good at all.
Like Aubameyang,
he was stripped of the role.
- Xhaka, Xhaka leave it.
- You have a problem?
Some days you're great,
some days you're...
Shut up, man!
Shut up. Shut up.
You have people that love you,
and you have people
that don't love you really.
They criticise you, they write you stuff
where it's very hard.
People think that football
is about the cars, houses,
the money and stuff like this,
but not one of us when we were kids
started football because of the money.
You start football because you love it.
People forget we are
as well human being.
This part, this family here,
have to be together,
and it's only together
you can go through difficult times.
Who will make it
to Wembley to face Chelsea
in the final at the end of February?
Liverpool are a top side.
For us to feel that we're progressing,
we have to beat 'em.
Tonight Arsenal play
in the semi-final of a 2nd competition:
The EFL Cup.
Their last real chance
to win a trophy this season.
They face Liverpool.
Last time the two teams met,
Arsenal lost 4-0.
It's a massive game
this evening,
Liverpool are at the top of their game,
and it's a big ask for Arsenal.
For Mikel, with rumours
still rumbling around Auba,
a win would help respond to the critics.
Both Granit and Eddie
start the match for Arsenal.
Let's go, let's go! Come on!
The energy starts now boys. Not after,
now, now, now, now. Be ready.
Guys, let's go for it.
I want to fill the team with emotion.
I want to look at your eyes
and I want to see an attitude
and a fire and belief.
I want to see courage when we defend
and when we play,
composure and quality.
Against them,
you know what we have to do.
When you are there
you have to stay with the runner,
you have to block shots,
you have to defend,
we have our goalkeeper,
let's fucking go guys.
Arsenal get this underway.
Oh my goodness me,
Ramsdale caught there...
That could have gone badly wrong
for the Arsenal goalkeeper.
Liverpool control the game
from the start.
That's Minamino!
Liverpool definitely taking
this game to Arsenal.
Liverpool come
straight back. Robertson.
And a red card.
Straight to his back pocket
to dismiss Granit Xhaka.
Xhaka once again sees red,
that's for the 5th time
in his Arsenal career.
And Arsenal find
themselves down to 10 men.
Fuck me, man.
Mikel is forced into making
a defensive substitution.
Eddie Nketiah's night is
over, for Rob Holding.
Arsenal will have to defend
for their lives now.
This will be a real test
of their character.
Minamino.
Arsenal just standing firm.
Moving into the final moments of
the 1st half, can Arsenal hold out?
Don't fucking concede.
Keep going. Come on.
Okay, listen, if we have discipline
and we are active in defending,
guys, we can do it.
Discipline, guys, suffer
and now play the game
that we want to play
which is a game that is completely
against what we want to do
and everything that we trained,
but is the necessity
that we have to do to play the game.
We have no other solution,
and we have to survive here today. Okay.
Can Arsenal hold out
for 45 minutes?
Oh that's a shot from distance,
which almost caught out Ramsdale.
Excellent defensive work by Gabriel.
Liverpool cannot break
this Arsenal defence down.
And the Liverpool frustrations
are beginning to show.
Liverpool are running out of time.
If Arsenal can hold out for
1 more minute, it will be a huge result.
Minamino! That was
the chance they'd been waiting for.
And Arsenal have recorded
a fantastic result.
That was a monumental
defensive display.
And Arsenal are in a better position
heading into the 2nd leg
of this EFL Cup semi-final.
♪ Arsenal, we love you
Oh, Arsenal, we love you ♪
We were away from home,
we were down to 10 men.
I was singing just now,
I couldn't stop singing
"0-0 to the Arsenal", I was like:
♪ 0-0 to the Arsenal ♪
Because genuinely I've seen wins
and I've walked away less proud
than I was tonight of the boys.
Boys, not many teams
can come and do that, man.
Not a fucking chance.
So guys,
before the game I said to you here
that I wanted to see a team
that shows emotion and plays
with emotion and plays with courage.
Sometime when I was watching you play
I had "gosebumps", is that right?
- The word you say?
- Goosebumps.
What you did here today,
to compete the way you do,
to show the discipline that you show,
the courage, the fight,
the discipline and when a teammate
has to do something in the last line
and he gets sent off, that's when
you lift him and you protect him.
And the way you've done it today,
it was absolutely magnificent, guys.
I'm so proud of you, guys. Well done.
We are the Arsenal!
Arsenal fans
will be delighted with this result
but when Xhaka was sent off,
the referee got it spot on,
Xhaka got it wrong yet again.
Xhaka's got to be disappointed
with this one today,
he's got to look at this and really...
try and turn it around, if he doesn't
analyse his performance and say,
"Listen, I need to change something,"
then I don't think there's a future
for him at this club.
Following the semi-final,
spirits are high at Colney.
But Arsenal now haven't scored
in 2 consecutive matches.
Cheers, Piers.
Oh, he thought
you were fantastic again.
Oh shit, it's Auba v. Thomas today.
Come on, Gabon!
I hope Auba comes back, man.
I miss him, man.
In the gym, the post-mortem
on Granit's red card begins.
But, bro, one question:
Why were you the last defender?
I told you, because this guy.
If he gives a good pass, we score.
Bro, you blame me
for your red card?
The domino thing starts there.
The domino effect starts with men
up the pitch, bro. It's not my fault.
If your pass comes good,
we have minimum a shot on target.
Bro, even if we have a shot on target,
the keeper saves.
You avoid those extra runs back.
They can still do this pass, Granit.
The problem is men up the pitch.
Yeah, men on the pitch. 3 against 1.
How is that good? I have to sprint.
You have to control yourself.
Don't worry guys,
I take the blame, no problem.
If I don't stop him we are 1-0 down
and they fuck us.
So thank you to Granit as well once.
Granit...
Hey!
My love.
Hello.
Hi!
Granit lives
with his wife Leon it a
and their 2 children Ayana and Laney a.
Daddy!
We grew up with my brother,
with my dad,
so my mum she was the only girl at home
and she always told me:
"So difficult with you guys."
And now it's the opposite side,
I have 3 girls at home
and it changed everything.
Give Dad a kiss?
Love you.
You are more calm,
you think twice before you do
something now because of them.
This when we married each other.
Pictures we never forgot because
it was a special day for us.
Here I can do whatever I want.
No pictures, nobody's screaming
from the back.
Nobody's saying something bad to you.
I know it's not so easy for her
when I'm down or when we lose a game,
but she's the only person
who I can speak very openly, you know.
When they lost a game and then
he comes home like he's really upset.
I try to speak with him a little bit
and tell him next game's better
and everything but...
When people say
he doesn't give everything,
he can't sleep the whole night
when they lose.
Because on the pitch is what I love most
because of the passion, you know.
What I do, I love.
In and off the pitch
I am really proud of him, so yeah.
Auba has returned
from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Jose.
Hello. How are you?
Everything alright?
- Yeah, you?
- Yeah. You alright?
He's still training alone.
Everybody alright?
- Your boys are good?
- Yeah, yeah.
Are they back at school?
Not yet but Monday.
And your mum? She's good?
- Yeah, she's good.
- Nice to hear.
Rough few weeks?
Yeah.
You okay mate?
Yeah mate, are you?
So today you'll do this session,
we'll get you moving again
and just check everything's okay,
just to check you respond well.
That means you won't be available
for Sunday.
And then we'll make a plan from there.
Mikel will speak to you.
Sure.
While he's been away,
Mikel and the Arsenal board
have made their final decision.
To try and enable Auba
to leave the club
in what remains of the transfer window.
When was the moment
that you knew
Auba couldn't be part
of the team anymore?
When I look in his eyes and I saw
and I felt what I felt,
that that level of trust was gone.
That day.
It's a really difficult decision to make
in the middle of the season
and with the most important
player at the club
and they're not getting the impact
of not having that player
could have in the performances
of the team.
But if you put all these ingredients
together and then there's still,
the decision is clear,
then you have to make it.
We're missing Auba a lot,
his personality,
his quality on the pitch...
But the manager's decision...
it's his decision and we respect that.
So it's not like it's been a big surprise
in the dressing room
which I think has been the good thing.
They've had to make
a decision to get rid of him,
it leaves Arsenal short.
Bear in mind
the wages that he earns at Arsenal,
it's not going to be an easy departure.
Aubameyang is paid a reported
£350,000 a week.
It's now up to Edu and Rich
to get him off the payroll
and playing at another club.
What do we want him to do?
There are 2 options.
Loan or terminate his contract,
because I cannot consider
selling the player,
nobody gonna hear and buy the player.
No, 'cause I mean he's 32.
It's impossible.
So, which one for us would be the best?
It's terminate his contract.
If he goes on loan, it's the worst
scenario possible to us.
At the moment yeah,
because we still have the liability
potentially for the next season,
unless he terminates.
You're looking at 2 things
with the Auba situation.
Obviously, you know,
he's fantastic player,
he's scored a lot of goals.
But if he's not going
to be contributing to the team
then it makes sense
to save the wages and to cut a deal.
The only way we can terminate
his contract is if he agrees
"We terminate
the contract you can go," okay?
Mutual consent.
We don't want him coming back,
we want just a clean break.
Long-term the club is in a much,
much better position.
Arsenal want to terminate
Aubameyang's contract.
But it will only be possible
if they can find another club big enough
to sign him and pay his wages
for the rest of this season and next.
During the window, the Arsenal board
make several other big transfer calls.
They let more players leave
including Ainsley Ma it land-Niles,
Sead Kolasinac,
Calum Chambers,
and defender Pablo Marí.
It's hard my friend, after 3 years.
It's not easy, but this is the life.
It's a sad moment for me but
I'm happy because I'm gonna play,
I'm going to have
a new challenge in my life.
So I wish all the best
for Arsenal and for my teammates.
When someone is leaving,
obviously you have no idea
what's going on in terms of
talks and stuff.
And then one day you'll just get
a text into the team group chat
saying like, "Lads all the best for
the season I'm moving to this place",
"wish you all the best" and that's it.
It's football and people move on.
It was quite clear that
we needed to move some players out,
some of the players
that hadn't been playing in the squad
and that Mikel thought
that needed to get out and play,
and we needed a bit of a reset.
The Arsenal squad
is now nearly half the size
it was last season.
And there are no major incoming signings.
They've got to
do something, haven't they?
They've got to do something.
They've got to try and kick on.
Bring a better standard of players in.
I mean we have not
scored a goal in...
I don't know how long,
about 600 minutes of football.
They've got to be doing
some business,
they have got to be doing
some business, they've got to.
We're at the start of our process now.
And there's gonna be
various evolutions to this,
you'll see the squad grow.
But from, from our point of view,
if you're having to bring in 5, 6, 7
players in January transfer window,
something's gone wrong previously.
With 10 days left of the window,
there is no sign of a deal with Auba.
No other clubs are willing to sign him
permanently and take on his wages.
A Cup semi-final
and a place at Wembley up for grabs.
What a match in prospect as
2 heavyweights in English football
trade off in Arsenal and Liverpool
in the EFL Cup semi-final 2nd leg.
It wasn't easy when Mikel
came in to me talking about Aubameyang.
But you have to really be sensible
and say yes, he's right
and we have to support him.
Liverpool get the tie underway,
a roar goes up around the Emirates.
That's a big challenge
to make people understand
what's the best for the club.
Because all they see, they see a game.
Jota, he's come inside his man.
It's opening up for Jota,
oh, it's gone in!
He's almost hit it in slow motion,
it wrong footed Ramsdale.
And Liverpool have taken the lead
in the semi-final.
What we have to see is a big picture.
What's the best
for the future of this football club?
Jota could be in,
he's in, he's scores.
Diogo Jota's made it 2-0 to Liverpool.
Arsenal are, unfortunately,
a beaten team here.
All the Arsenal fans as well
have sensed it,
there's been a mass exodus.
No midfield, we've done nothing
in the January transfer window,
so we can't expect nothing different.
Same old stuff, same old Arsenal.
He needs to do a bit more,
we need a new striker.
You can't fall out with players
and have no one to replace them
and you've just got Aubameyang
just there, just at home.
You've got... It's embarrassing, bruv.
It's embarrassing.
Any Arsenal fan
is going to be very, very upset
to think that it's January
and they know there is no trophy
they can win this season.
You can see the pressure
building on Mikel Arteta
if they don't get
in the Champions League spot.
Is it true you still got
a way to go to be able
to go toe to toe
with teams like Liverpool?
Yeah, because you need
to have a squad
of 20, 22 outfield top players
and to do that, it takes time.
Do you think Pierre-Emerick
Aubameyang will be leaving the club
before the end of the window?
Auba could not be selected again
for today's match.
But will he still be
an Arsenal player?
I don't know if he will be able to be
selected for the following match.
Arsenal's January run
is nearly over
and they've been knocked out
of 2 competitions
without scoring a goal.
You need to control the ball
and maintain the rhythm. That's it.
A break in the season
allows players time to recover.
Be forward first, yes.
Mikel's brought his players
to Dubai for warm-weather training,
but maintaining squad discipline
remains a top priority.
What do you have to do? Just let it go?
What do you have to do?
What do you do?
Let it go, it's okay, let it go.
What happened in the last 10 years,
let it go...
The next one the same,
the next one the same..
And it's called...
In Spain, it's called "Casa Pepe."
You know what "Casa Pepe" means?
"Pepe's House."
Everybody do whatever
he fucking wants.
We have to increase the level, let's go.
Arsenal face some tough
fixtures over the next few weeks.
Well done, Granit!
A top-four finish
and a return to European football
is now Mikel's sole focus.
Ball here, Sambi!
Forget about it, tell him,
if he goes, you go.
Let's go.
Same! Granit, play.
- You all right?
- Why?
Your voice is fucking terrible.
All right, let's go!
Finish well, guys!
Come on, finish well.
Welcome
to 5 Live Sport on deadline day.
On the final day
of the transfer window
an offer has been made for Auba.
Barcelona, one of the biggest clubs
in world football, want to take him,
but only on loan.
It's a good deal for Auba
but a loan would mean
Arsenal will still be locked
into paying his wages next season.
Look,
the situation we find ourselves in now
will cause, in the end,
another sort of tension.
Edu and Rich have until 11pm
to persuade Barcelona
to sign Auba permanently instead,
once his Arsenal contract
has been terminated.
Let's try to finish it, Rich,
and be direct to the guys.
We just got to do a call with...
Fine. You know he's in Barcelona?
- Who?
- Auba.
I've just been sent a tweet of him
walking into Barcelona Airport.
Really? Okay.
Let me see, let me see it first.
Without Arsenal's permission,
Auba has flown to Spain.
Auba, thank you!
What's Aubameyang
supposed to be doing now?
- Training.
- He's supposed to be training?
Edu calls
one of his representatives.
- Hola Edu.
- Hola.
Send it to us what you guys
wants to do
and then we will decide
if we're going to accept or not.
Because I know the player
just arriving in Barcelona.
This is something private
for Pierre-Emerick.
He's come to visit Barcelona,
his father lives in Barcelona.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay.
So we live in Disneyland world.
We as a club are waiting for you guys
to say to us something
of what you guys wants to do,
or he has to travel back to London.
You want us to send you another
email with an improved offer?
Yeah. We are very much
far from our expectation.
Okay.
- Okay. Cheers.
- Bye.
So, in reality where are we in terms
of what's gonna happen today?
The balls really in their court now.
Let's wait.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang,
there's still no financial agreement
in place,
but negotiations are still ongoing
between Arsenal and Barcelona.
Things have changed!
- The game's afoot.
- Yeah?
It's what Sherlock Holmes used to say.
As the transfer deadline
approaches,
Barcelona are refusing to back down
on their offer of a loan.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang,
we know he's been in Spain today to try
and negotiate a deal with Barcelona,
those two clubs unable to agree
how much of his wages
that Barcelona will pay.
Looks like he will be heading
back to Arsenal.
Mikel?
Mikel calls from Dubai
for an update.
We didn't find
a solution between us.
What they just sent
is the same as we had before.
We tried to find a solution,
but we couldn't.
No response from Barça.
They've not offered anything, have they?
No.
Now it's a waiting game
to see if anybody blinks.
It's a game of poker.
With just hours remaining,
Barcelona want to talk.
You call them or I call them?
If they will agree to sign Auba
and pay his wages
instead of loaning him,
Arsenal will save
tens of millions of pounds.
Hola Mateu.
Hola.
Okay, so, Mateu, I think we can do
a deal, I think our preference would be
to agree a termination
of the player's contract today.
Barcelona will offer Pierre-Emerick
a contract for next season,
that will cover his salary.
That's what our plan would be,
to do it that way.
Okay. Congratulations
because I think for you,
it's a very, very good deal.
Congratulations.
Thank you. Ciao.
- Still gotta get it done.
- Yeah.
Rich and the Arsenal lawyers
now need to terminate
Aubameyang's contract
and file the paperwork
with the Premier League
before the 11pm deadline.
This is getting a bit tight now.
Hi.
How you getting on, yeah?
Is it signed?
- Sending it now? Right okay, okay.
- It's coming now.
Well, we need them like now.
Done.
Right okay, we've submitted them,
they've gone to the Premier League.
Yeah so, we got in before 11, okay?
- Signed as well?
- Yeah.
Signed on our side?
Bye.
Well done, guys.
- Well done!
- Well done, guys.
We got it done at 10:59.
Okay, something like that done
it's relief, it's a sense of pride.
I think once everybody realised that
this might not happen,
it focused people's minds.
In Spain, the world is
introduced to Barcelona's newest player.
Aubameyang's posted
a farewell message to Arsenal fans.
It is a little bit of a sad way
to exit, actually.
A lot of Arsenal fans,
they're disconsolate with this news,
not so much that Aubameyang is leaving
but that Arsenal
aren't planning to replace him.
What was the actual plan?
For me,
Arsenal are taking a massive risk.
Arsenal have scored 1 goal
this calendar year
and they've allowed Aubameyang
to move to Barcelona
and they haven't replaced him.
We did what we believed
was the right thing to do,
but we are very clear:
We only want the best people
and the best players at this club.
I am extremely grateful for what
Auba has done at the club
and the way I see myself
in that relationship,
is a solution, not a problem.
My memories of Auba
are all exceptional moments.
I didn't want to finish like that
because, first of all, I think Auba
deserves something better
and the club as well,
but it could not be, in my opinion,
any other way.
It's been a difficult January
for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal.
They haven't scored for a month.
Mikel needs a reaction
from his players
in the fight to qualify
for European football next season.
Win against Wolves, and they can
make up ground on their rivals.
Arsenal! Arsenal!
The clash between 2 teams
who are harbouring ambitions
of a top-four finish
and the winner tonight
will edge that bit closer
as Wolves host Arsenal
in the Premier League.
- Red Army!
- Red Army!
We're at a position now where
top-four is the only thing to go for.
It'll be a difficult game
but we have to win. We have to win.
Try to help each other.
Work together.
Okay, guys listen. Get together.
We have to start super-fast.
We go and be dominant and play the way
we want to play, guys.
And be aggressive
and have balls and courage to go.
I want to see people make decisions
and have the eyes to win the match.
Completely. Because you know
what they're going to do.
They're going to dive,
they're going to insult you,
they're going to provoke you,
they're going to provoke you even more.
Okay, let's go and do this.
And it's Wolves
who get the start in here.
Arsenal 5 games without a win,
they need this one tonight.
Arsenal dominate the game.
Super work from Saka,
and the shot from White.
Nicked on beyond Lacazette.
There's Gabriel!
And Arsenal have the lead!
And see how Mikel Arteta
relishes that.
Gabriel's goal
is the first Arsenal have scored
in 478 minutes of football.
But with just over an hour played,
Wolves win a throw-in.
Martinelli is clattered
into Podence there.
And now in retreat
he makes another foul,
right in front of the referee.
A yellow card.
Two yellow cards! Martinelli is off!
Two separate of fences inside
the same passage of play,
and that is what Arsenal
and Arteta did not need.
Fucking hell.
For the 5th time this season,
Arsenal must hold on with 10 men.
Here comes
the Wolves' free kick.
Oh, it's gone in!
Awful luck for Arsenal.
But hold on...
The flag is up, and it won't count.
Jiménez! And Arsenal
just about squeeze it away.
This would be a massive win
for Arsenal
if they can hold out
just a little while longer.
It's over. Big, big Arsenal win.
Arteta is jubilant.
It takes Arsenal to within
a point of the top 4.
It is a massive 3 points.
Aubameyang is in Barcelona now.
What did you think
of the whole situation?
They have let player
after player leave
and haven't recruited anyone in.
Lacazette.
That's a complete miscue.
You will score, I have no doubt.
Being at a big club like this,
you can't have bad days.
Jota fires it in,
Liverpool have scored!
Any slight opportunity they get...
The manager's been here
for two years
and for two years,
we haven't seen any major improvement.
People really feel
extremely passionate
about what's happening in football.
They hate you, really.
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
the January transfer window?
Oh man.
Yeah.
Is this your other office?
Yes.
When I have to work from home, it's here.
Sometimes my telephone,
10, 11, midnight,
America, Brazil, here, etc.
People are calling me
and I have to pick up the phone.
Talking about 10,
20, 50, 60, 70 million pounds,
to negotiate that kind of deals
is a big responsibility.
And I get it.
I think the Aubameyang
situation is really volatile.
They've got to try and
maybe get Aubameyang out of the door
and free up some money there
and get him away from the football club.
The situation with Aubameyang,
this wasn't planned.
But during the season things happen.
But I'm not sure
if the fans understand that.
Hello, mate.
How you doing?
Oh Edu! Sorry.
- Can I have a picture?
- Yes, how you doing?
- Edu, can I have a picture?
- Edu, what about Auba?
Get some signings.
Come on!
- Was that a yes?
- Take care, guys.
Does that happen every game?
A little bit, yes.
But it's nice, it's nice.
On Aubameyang we have to really
be careful
because the chance to make a mistake
is quite huge as well.
When you love what you do,
that is called passion.
We have to believe,
we have to have energy.
Show these people how much you care.
Let's go for it.
Well the January transfer
window is open,
the rumour mill is back up and running.
The big conundrum is what
to do with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
We have got a problem now which is
we have a player
that feels like he is
nowhere near the team,
no chance of competing.
Yeah. Don't like it.
We ain't got much time
because we play on Sunday,
we need to have resolved it
one way or another.
Arsenal's plans
for the January transfer window
are now dominated
by the future of one player.
We have to talk
to Aubameyang and to Mikel.
He has to come back to the squad
and help us until the end of the season.
We're going to have to reintegrate him,
we have to.
We need to speak to Mikel then.
There needs to be
a conversation with Mikel then.
Yeah, we don't think that is that easy
but we have to do something.
Who knows,
you never know in football.
But be aware, downstairs,
the relationship is zero.
Okay, I get that.
We weren't expecting it
to be a busy transfer window.
Given the amount of money
that we'd invested in the summer
and the players that we brought in,
we were very happy with those players.
We obviously have the Auba situation
but it is...
It is a challenge.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
has scored 92 goals for Arsenal.
Oh, that's wonderful!
But he hasn't played
since December,
when he was stripped of the captaincy
and excluded from team
training due to a disciplinary breach.
At the end,
rules and discipline brings clarity
because at the end,
you cannot measure trust.
When you look at the eyes
of that player and...
and you believe that that's gone,
that's a really difficult point
to get something back from it.
Mikel Arteta doesn't want
the situation with Auba
to be a distraction
to the rest of his players.
Mikel is returning to Colney
from one week out with Covid
and brings the squad together
ahead of a season-defining
January run of games.
In the next 10 days we play 4 games
and we play 3 different competitions
that are going to decide a lot of things
of what is going
to happen in this season.
I had a lot of time to watch things.
I watched 21 training sessions.
There are a few players
that train exceptionally well.
There is a vast majority of players
that train well.
And there's a group of players
that they just come.
The training session on Sunday,
if I was here, 4 players,
they go out of the training session.
4.
4 players after 15 minutes go.
We're not training in the park,
we are not in nursery
and we are not here wasting our time.
Too many players laughing
and the other thing is complaining.
Somebody gives a bad pass, complaining.
I give a bad pass, it's his mistake.
No, we have to raise the level
and it goes for everybody, guys, yeah?
For every single one,
because now it's in or out.
So every fucking day in training,
every single ball.
Let's go.
Let's go!
With Auba out of the squad,
there's an opportunity
for 22-year-old striker Eddie Nketiah.
Eddie, you are part of this! Come, Eddie.
He's England's all-time
top scorer at under 21 level.
For Arsenal, so far Eddie
has only scored 5 goals this season.
I've scored a lot of goals
in the youth team.
Yeah, it gave me confidence 'cause I knew
obviously that I could score
and I could finish
if I'm put in the opportunity.
Good, Eddie!
It's a big club with obviously
big players.
There is a lot of competition,
especially in the front areas.
As a player, you've just got to be
confident that you're good enough
to deliver if you're given the chance.
Eddie's earned a place
in the starting line-up this weekend
as Arsenal begin their run in the FA Cup.
The men of Arsenal,
winners of the coveted cup
for the 3rd time in 14 seasons.
A competition they've won
a record 14 times.
Last one!
Come on the boys!
Come on boys, come on.
We've got to go for the FA Cup.
It's our trophy, won it 14 times.
We've gotta go for it again.
Tonight, Arsenal face
Nottingham Forest from the Championship,
the league below them.
Mikel is giving an opportunity
to 7 players
who don't normally start matches.
No easy task in front
of 20,000 raucous home fans.
Okay, get together, boys.
Come on together.
Okay. Today we're starting
a new competition,
a competition that is in the history
and the DNA of our club.
So I want, from the 1st minute,
I want everybody at it.
I want to see my team come here
and dominate them.
Use your physicality, your intention
and after your quality to win it.
All the best.
It will be a difficult test
for Arsenal,
they need to be bang up for it.
The host Nottingham Forest get this game
underway, the FA Cup 3rd round.
Arsenal will try and start on the front
foot here.
It's opening up,
a shot comes in but it's wide.
That's a loose ball, isn't it,
by Tavares.
Don't know what Tavares
is thinking about there.
Nketiah, makes one for a shot.
It's a yard and a half wide
of the target.
Arsenal will certainly need him
involved more.
30 minutes into the match,
Mikel makes a change.
It is Nuno Tavares.
You have to be really
unhappy to take someone off
in the 1st half, don't you?
Yeah, and do you know something,
he's absolutely quite right.
Oh the gloves are off.
And he is not happy.
Johnson showing good pace.
Arsenal are in trouble here.
Ball back in, a good save by Leno.
Arsenal just wobbling a little bit
in the last minutes.
Mikel Arteta won't be very happy.
With an hour played,
Arsenal haven't had a single shot
on target.
Good ball in.
Oh dear.
That was a wasted
opportunity for Nketiah.
Early ball in.
It's Lewis Grabban.
He got the wrong side
of the Arsenal defence
and he turns it in from close range.
Forest fans invading the pitch.
Well, Arsenal sloppy with the ball,
giving it away too cheaply.
It's simple, it's too slow.
Arsenal have been disappointing.
There goes the final whistle
and it's a big win
for Nottingham Forest then.
They have knocked Arsenal
out of the FA Cup.
Fuck me, guys.
I accept losing, guys. I accept losing.
I don't accept these fucking standards.
I'm telling you, I don't accept them.
I don't accept them, these standards.
It's nowhere near.
Nowhere near!
And I know the desire and your attitude,
that attitude is not enough.
Courage, not enough.
To run is not enough, you have to have
much more than that.
And it's nowhere near.
You agree with me guys? Yeah?
But between you fucking do it
and demand yourself...
That's what I'm telling you
in fucking training.
Because I see it in training, that
it doesn't matter to give the ball away.
"It's okay, sometimes I go
to the next ball and I run."
No! Because in a game it's a goal!
When I lose a duel, I am upset.
When I lose the small sided games,
I am upset!
Because that's the fucking standards!
Because you come here
and now you fucking lose.
It's nowhere near guys,
it's fucking shit.
I'm telling you, shit!
If we play like that
against Liverpool, we're fucked.
- My mum's gone away today.
- Has she?
- And I ain't got no food.
- What happened to your chef?
She's not coming today, she's on holiday.
- How long is she on holiday for?
- Comes back tomorrow.
Okay.
What you gonna
do for tonight then?
- Little Nando's, innit!
- Ah there he is!
He's probably going double chicken wrap.
Peri chips with two perinaise.
Do you want me to do
Auba's signature?
Auba is currently
5,000 miles away
representing Gabon
at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Back home, Arsenal are out of the FA Cup
having not scored a goal.
The absence of their star striker
puts pressure on Mikel
at a crucial point in their season.
There's a massively
fractured relationship
with Mikel Arteta and Aubameyang.
Can this be repaired?
Should they try and repair it?
If Aubameyang
had a long-term future at the club,
he'd have been back in by now.
I don't know where you go
with Aubameyang
because if it's as deep
as we're led to believe
there seems to be no alternative.
Mikel meets with Tim Lewis,
one of Arsenal's 4 directors,
to discuss Aubameyang.
He went and made a mistake.
Which you reacted to, quite rightly.
And you've made your position clear.
A lot's going to depend upon
how do we get Auba out?
Can we get him out?
The relationship with Mikel
is not transactional,
it's a relationship.
He is the manager.
So, on something like Aubameyang,
I am here to support him,
challenge him, help him,
when he asks for help to respond.
I don't give him football advice,
that would be ludicrous.
There isn't an easy right answer here.
But...
If we go past the end of January,
he holds all the cards.
I know clearly
all the pressure is on him
'cause he's the guy out there
in the public domain,
addressing the questions
that are put to us,
but it is a team behind him
that's making that happen.
As the January
transfer window rolls on,
time is running out for the club to make
a decision on Aubameyang's future.
We need to relook at the project,
- look at the plan.
- Yeah.
And there's only
certain things you can do.
Do we need to chat on anything?
- Yeah.
- Or everything?
Yeah everything.
Edu, on the call yesterday,
I thought you summed up
the position perfectly. Perfectly.
- I was talking to Rich...
- Yeah.
Everybody's losing, isn't it?
Everybody's losing.
It certainly does not feel
like there's going to be a market,
something's going to happen to the market
which is going to change the situation.
We need to come up with a solution.
Because with this problem,
it's not going away.
Mikel has got a lot on
in terms of managing the team,
and that should be where his focus is.
Where we've got with Aubameyang,
you need everybody working together.
We as a club discuss
between all of us
what is the best situation to do.
This is not an Auba and Mikel situation,
this is much bigger than that.
And we've got
to focus on the next game,
I mean, and I think
you just go around that loop.
And when they push it, guys...
Because you know how media
are going to react,
how people are going to react,
how these stories are going
to be presented.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
is away at the African Nations Cup
where he's out partying.
Do you feel vindicated that
you've been absolutely right
in your treatment with Aubameyang
and the fact that he's a bit
of a problem player?
The decision that I have taken,
obviously, they were always
in the best interest of the club
and trying to do the right thing.
And so far the players
that are here are fully committed.
Thanks everybody.
Thank you.
I made a decision when I decided
to be a manager
that I was going
to open up with the players
and to do that then you have to accept
that if you're going to open up,
that you're going to get hurt.
One player who knows
what it's like to be
at the centre of a controversy
is Granit Xhaka.
We have a very young team.
Our job as experienced players
is to give them a lot of advice
and to tell them it's not so easy
because you need a lot of work.
I'm one of the oldest already
and I'm still 28 now.
People think I'm very aggressive
because of my game.
You see us for 90 minutes on the pitch,
you see the...
the different side of a person.
Granit has been given
4 red cards in his Arsenal career.
Since he joined the club,
no other player in the Premier League
has been sent off more.
It is a red card
for Granit Xhaka.
Now this is not the first time
he's done that.
He was club captain 2 seasons
ago, but fell out with the fans.
Now some of the Arsenal
fans are actually applauding
as they take off Granit Xhaka and
his reaction there is not good at all.
Like Aubameyang,
he was stripped of the role.
- Xhaka, Xhaka leave it.
- You have a problem?
Some days you're great,
some days you're...
Shut up, man!
Shut up. Shut up.
You have people that love you,
and you have people
that don't love you really.
They criticise you, they write you stuff
where it's very hard.
People think that football
is about the cars, houses,
the money and stuff like this,
but not one of us when we were kids
started football because of the money.
You start football because you love it.
People forget we are
as well human being.
This part, this family here,
have to be together,
and it's only together
you can go through difficult times.
Who will make it
to Wembley to face Chelsea
in the final at the end of February?
Liverpool are a top side.
For us to feel that we're progressing,
we have to beat 'em.
Tonight Arsenal play
in the semi-final of a 2nd competition:
The EFL Cup.
Their last real chance
to win a trophy this season.
They face Liverpool.
Last time the two teams met,
Arsenal lost 4-0.
It's a massive game
this evening,
Liverpool are at the top of their game,
and it's a big ask for Arsenal.
For Mikel, with rumours
still rumbling around Auba,
a win would help respond to the critics.
Both Granit and Eddie
start the match for Arsenal.
Let's go, let's go! Come on!
The energy starts now boys. Not after,
now, now, now, now. Be ready.
Guys, let's go for it.
I want to fill the team with emotion.
I want to look at your eyes
and I want to see an attitude
and a fire and belief.
I want to see courage when we defend
and when we play,
composure and quality.
Against them,
you know what we have to do.
When you are there
you have to stay with the runner,
you have to block shots,
you have to defend,
we have our goalkeeper,
let's fucking go guys.
Arsenal get this underway.
Oh my goodness me,
Ramsdale caught there...
That could have gone badly wrong
for the Arsenal goalkeeper.
Liverpool control the game
from the start.
That's Minamino!
Liverpool definitely taking
this game to Arsenal.
Liverpool come
straight back. Robertson.
And a red card.
Straight to his back pocket
to dismiss Granit Xhaka.
Xhaka once again sees red,
that's for the 5th time
in his Arsenal career.
And Arsenal find
themselves down to 10 men.
Fuck me, man.
Mikel is forced into making
a defensive substitution.
Eddie Nketiah's night is
over, for Rob Holding.
Arsenal will have to defend
for their lives now.
This will be a real test
of their character.
Minamino.
Arsenal just standing firm.
Moving into the final moments of
the 1st half, can Arsenal hold out?
Don't fucking concede.
Keep going. Come on.
Okay, listen, if we have discipline
and we are active in defending,
guys, we can do it.
Discipline, guys, suffer
and now play the game
that we want to play
which is a game that is completely
against what we want to do
and everything that we trained,
but is the necessity
that we have to do to play the game.
We have no other solution,
and we have to survive here today. Okay.
Can Arsenal hold out
for 45 minutes?
Oh that's a shot from distance,
which almost caught out Ramsdale.
Excellent defensive work by Gabriel.
Liverpool cannot break
this Arsenal defence down.
And the Liverpool frustrations
are beginning to show.
Liverpool are running out of time.
If Arsenal can hold out for
1 more minute, it will be a huge result.
Minamino! That was
the chance they'd been waiting for.
And Arsenal have recorded
a fantastic result.
That was a monumental
defensive display.
And Arsenal are in a better position
heading into the 2nd leg
of this EFL Cup semi-final.
♪ Arsenal, we love you
Oh, Arsenal, we love you ♪
We were away from home,
we were down to 10 men.
I was singing just now,
I couldn't stop singing
"0-0 to the Arsenal", I was like:
♪ 0-0 to the Arsenal ♪
Because genuinely I've seen wins
and I've walked away less proud
than I was tonight of the boys.
Boys, not many teams
can come and do that, man.
Not a fucking chance.
So guys,
before the game I said to you here
that I wanted to see a team
that shows emotion and plays
with emotion and plays with courage.
Sometime when I was watching you play
I had "gosebumps", is that right?
- The word you say?
- Goosebumps.
What you did here today,
to compete the way you do,
to show the discipline that you show,
the courage, the fight,
the discipline and when a teammate
has to do something in the last line
and he gets sent off, that's when
you lift him and you protect him.
And the way you've done it today,
it was absolutely magnificent, guys.
I'm so proud of you, guys. Well done.
We are the Arsenal!
Arsenal fans
will be delighted with this result
but when Xhaka was sent off,
the referee got it spot on,
Xhaka got it wrong yet again.
Xhaka's got to be disappointed
with this one today,
he's got to look at this and really...
try and turn it around, if he doesn't
analyse his performance and say,
"Listen, I need to change something,"
then I don't think there's a future
for him at this club.
Following the semi-final,
spirits are high at Colney.
But Arsenal now haven't scored
in 2 consecutive matches.
Cheers, Piers.
Oh, he thought
you were fantastic again.
Oh shit, it's Auba v. Thomas today.
Come on, Gabon!
I hope Auba comes back, man.
I miss him, man.
In the gym, the post-mortem
on Granit's red card begins.
But, bro, one question:
Why were you the last defender?
I told you, because this guy.
If he gives a good pass, we score.
Bro, you blame me
for your red card?
The domino thing starts there.
The domino effect starts with men
up the pitch, bro. It's not my fault.
If your pass comes good,
we have minimum a shot on target.
Bro, even if we have a shot on target,
the keeper saves.
You avoid those extra runs back.
They can still do this pass, Granit.
The problem is men up the pitch.
Yeah, men on the pitch. 3 against 1.
How is that good? I have to sprint.
You have to control yourself.
Don't worry guys,
I take the blame, no problem.
If I don't stop him we are 1-0 down
and they fuck us.
So thank you to Granit as well once.
Granit...
Hey!
My love.
Hello.
Hi!
Granit lives
with his wife Leon it a
and their 2 children Ayana and Laney a.
Daddy!
We grew up with my brother,
with my dad,
so my mum she was the only girl at home
and she always told me:
"So difficult with you guys."
And now it's the opposite side,
I have 3 girls at home
and it changed everything.
Give Dad a kiss?
Love you.
You are more calm,
you think twice before you do
something now because of them.
This when we married each other.
Pictures we never forgot because
it was a special day for us.
Here I can do whatever I want.
No pictures, nobody's screaming
from the back.
Nobody's saying something bad to you.
I know it's not so easy for her
when I'm down or when we lose a game,
but she's the only person
who I can speak very openly, you know.
When they lost a game and then
he comes home like he's really upset.
I try to speak with him a little bit
and tell him next game's better
and everything but...
When people say
he doesn't give everything,
he can't sleep the whole night
when they lose.
Because on the pitch is what I love most
because of the passion, you know.
What I do, I love.
In and off the pitch
I am really proud of him, so yeah.
Auba has returned
from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Jose.
Hello. How are you?
Everything alright?
- Yeah, you?
- Yeah. You alright?
He's still training alone.
Everybody alright?
- Your boys are good?
- Yeah, yeah.
Are they back at school?
Not yet but Monday.
And your mum? She's good?
- Yeah, she's good.
- Nice to hear.
Rough few weeks?
Yeah.
You okay mate?
Yeah mate, are you?
So today you'll do this session,
we'll get you moving again
and just check everything's okay,
just to check you respond well.
That means you won't be available
for Sunday.
And then we'll make a plan from there.
Mikel will speak to you.
Sure.
While he's been away,
Mikel and the Arsenal board
have made their final decision.
To try and enable Auba
to leave the club
in what remains of the transfer window.
When was the moment
that you knew
Auba couldn't be part
of the team anymore?
When I look in his eyes and I saw
and I felt what I felt,
that that level of trust was gone.
That day.
It's a really difficult decision to make
in the middle of the season
and with the most important
player at the club
and they're not getting the impact
of not having that player
could have in the performances
of the team.
But if you put all these ingredients
together and then there's still,
the decision is clear,
then you have to make it.
We're missing Auba a lot,
his personality,
his quality on the pitch...
But the manager's decision...
it's his decision and we respect that.
So it's not like it's been a big surprise
in the dressing room
which I think has been the good thing.
They've had to make
a decision to get rid of him,
it leaves Arsenal short.
Bear in mind
the wages that he earns at Arsenal,
it's not going to be an easy departure.
Aubameyang is paid a reported
£350,000 a week.
It's now up to Edu and Rich
to get him off the payroll
and playing at another club.
What do we want him to do?
There are 2 options.
Loan or terminate his contract,
because I cannot consider
selling the player,
nobody gonna hear and buy the player.
No, 'cause I mean he's 32.
It's impossible.
So, which one for us would be the best?
It's terminate his contract.
If he goes on loan, it's the worst
scenario possible to us.
At the moment yeah,
because we still have the liability
potentially for the next season,
unless he terminates.
You're looking at 2 things
with the Auba situation.
Obviously, you know,
he's fantastic player,
he's scored a lot of goals.
But if he's not going
to be contributing to the team
then it makes sense
to save the wages and to cut a deal.
The only way we can terminate
his contract is if he agrees
"We terminate
the contract you can go," okay?
Mutual consent.
We don't want him coming back,
we want just a clean break.
Long-term the club is in a much,
much better position.
Arsenal want to terminate
Aubameyang's contract.
But it will only be possible
if they can find another club big enough
to sign him and pay his wages
for the rest of this season and next.
During the window, the Arsenal board
make several other big transfer calls.
They let more players leave
including Ainsley Ma it land-Niles,
Sead Kolasinac,
Calum Chambers,
and defender Pablo Marí.
It's hard my friend, after 3 years.
It's not easy, but this is the life.
It's a sad moment for me but
I'm happy because I'm gonna play,
I'm going to have
a new challenge in my life.
So I wish all the best
for Arsenal and for my teammates.
When someone is leaving,
obviously you have no idea
what's going on in terms of
talks and stuff.
And then one day you'll just get
a text into the team group chat
saying like, "Lads all the best for
the season I'm moving to this place",
"wish you all the best" and that's it.
It's football and people move on.
It was quite clear that
we needed to move some players out,
some of the players
that hadn't been playing in the squad
and that Mikel thought
that needed to get out and play,
and we needed a bit of a reset.
The Arsenal squad
is now nearly half the size
it was last season.
And there are no major incoming signings.
They've got to
do something, haven't they?
They've got to do something.
They've got to try and kick on.
Bring a better standard of players in.
I mean we have not
scored a goal in...
I don't know how long,
about 600 minutes of football.
They've got to be doing
some business,
they have got to be doing
some business, they've got to.
We're at the start of our process now.
And there's gonna be
various evolutions to this,
you'll see the squad grow.
But from, from our point of view,
if you're having to bring in 5, 6, 7
players in January transfer window,
something's gone wrong previously.
With 10 days left of the window,
there is no sign of a deal with Auba.
No other clubs are willing to sign him
permanently and take on his wages.
A Cup semi-final
and a place at Wembley up for grabs.
What a match in prospect as
2 heavyweights in English football
trade off in Arsenal and Liverpool
in the EFL Cup semi-final 2nd leg.
It wasn't easy when Mikel
came in to me talking about Aubameyang.
But you have to really be sensible
and say yes, he's right
and we have to support him.
Liverpool get the tie underway,
a roar goes up around the Emirates.
That's a big challenge
to make people understand
what's the best for the club.
Because all they see, they see a game.
Jota, he's come inside his man.
It's opening up for Jota,
oh, it's gone in!
He's almost hit it in slow motion,
it wrong footed Ramsdale.
And Liverpool have taken the lead
in the semi-final.
What we have to see is a big picture.
What's the best
for the future of this football club?
Jota could be in,
he's in, he's scores.
Diogo Jota's made it 2-0 to Liverpool.
Arsenal are, unfortunately,
a beaten team here.
All the Arsenal fans as well
have sensed it,
there's been a mass exodus.
No midfield, we've done nothing
in the January transfer window,
so we can't expect nothing different.
Same old stuff, same old Arsenal.
He needs to do a bit more,
we need a new striker.
You can't fall out with players
and have no one to replace them
and you've just got Aubameyang
just there, just at home.
You've got... It's embarrassing, bruv.
It's embarrassing.
Any Arsenal fan
is going to be very, very upset
to think that it's January
and they know there is no trophy
they can win this season.
You can see the pressure
building on Mikel Arteta
if they don't get
in the Champions League spot.
Is it true you still got
a way to go to be able
to go toe to toe
with teams like Liverpool?
Yeah, because you need
to have a squad
of 20, 22 outfield top players
and to do that, it takes time.
Do you think Pierre-Emerick
Aubameyang will be leaving the club
before the end of the window?
Auba could not be selected again
for today's match.
But will he still be
an Arsenal player?
I don't know if he will be able to be
selected for the following match.
Arsenal's January run
is nearly over
and they've been knocked out
of 2 competitions
without scoring a goal.
You need to control the ball
and maintain the rhythm. That's it.
A break in the season
allows players time to recover.
Be forward first, yes.
Mikel's brought his players
to Dubai for warm-weather training,
but maintaining squad discipline
remains a top priority.
What do you have to do? Just let it go?
What do you have to do?
What do you do?
Let it go, it's okay, let it go.
What happened in the last 10 years,
let it go...
The next one the same,
the next one the same..
And it's called...
In Spain, it's called "Casa Pepe."
You know what "Casa Pepe" means?
"Pepe's House."
Everybody do whatever
he fucking wants.
We have to increase the level, let's go.
Arsenal face some tough
fixtures over the next few weeks.
Well done, Granit!
A top-four finish
and a return to European football
is now Mikel's sole focus.
Ball here, Sambi!
Forget about it, tell him,
if he goes, you go.
Let's go.
Same! Granit, play.
- You all right?
- Why?
Your voice is fucking terrible.
All right, let's go!
Finish well, guys!
Come on, finish well.
Welcome
to 5 Live Sport on deadline day.
On the final day
of the transfer window
an offer has been made for Auba.
Barcelona, one of the biggest clubs
in world football, want to take him,
but only on loan.
It's a good deal for Auba
but a loan would mean
Arsenal will still be locked
into paying his wages next season.
Look,
the situation we find ourselves in now
will cause, in the end,
another sort of tension.
Edu and Rich have until 11pm
to persuade Barcelona
to sign Auba permanently instead,
once his Arsenal contract
has been terminated.
Let's try to finish it, Rich,
and be direct to the guys.
We just got to do a call with...
Fine. You know he's in Barcelona?
- Who?
- Auba.
I've just been sent a tweet of him
walking into Barcelona Airport.
Really? Okay.
Let me see, let me see it first.
Without Arsenal's permission,
Auba has flown to Spain.
Auba, thank you!
What's Aubameyang
supposed to be doing now?
- Training.
- He's supposed to be training?
Edu calls
one of his representatives.
- Hola Edu.
- Hola.
Send it to us what you guys
wants to do
and then we will decide
if we're going to accept or not.
Because I know the player
just arriving in Barcelona.
This is something private
for Pierre-Emerick.
He's come to visit Barcelona,
his father lives in Barcelona.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay.
So we live in Disneyland world.
We as a club are waiting for you guys
to say to us something
of what you guys wants to do,
or he has to travel back to London.
You want us to send you another
email with an improved offer?
Yeah. We are very much
far from our expectation.
Okay.
- Okay. Cheers.
- Bye.
So, in reality where are we in terms
of what's gonna happen today?
The balls really in their court now.
Let's wait.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang,
there's still no financial agreement
in place,
but negotiations are still ongoing
between Arsenal and Barcelona.
Things have changed!
- The game's afoot.
- Yeah?
It's what Sherlock Holmes used to say.
As the transfer deadline
approaches,
Barcelona are refusing to back down
on their offer of a loan.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang,
we know he's been in Spain today to try
and negotiate a deal with Barcelona,
those two clubs unable to agree
how much of his wages
that Barcelona will pay.
Looks like he will be heading
back to Arsenal.
Mikel?
Mikel calls from Dubai
for an update.
We didn't find
a solution between us.
What they just sent
is the same as we had before.
We tried to find a solution,
but we couldn't.
No response from Barça.
They've not offered anything, have they?
No.
Now it's a waiting game
to see if anybody blinks.
It's a game of poker.
With just hours remaining,
Barcelona want to talk.
You call them or I call them?
If they will agree to sign Auba
and pay his wages
instead of loaning him,
Arsenal will save
tens of millions of pounds.
Hola Mateu.
Hola.
Okay, so, Mateu, I think we can do
a deal, I think our preference would be
to agree a termination
of the player's contract today.
Barcelona will offer Pierre-Emerick
a contract for next season,
that will cover his salary.
That's what our plan would be,
to do it that way.
Okay. Congratulations
because I think for you,
it's a very, very good deal.
Congratulations.
Thank you. Ciao.
- Still gotta get it done.
- Yeah.
Rich and the Arsenal lawyers
now need to terminate
Aubameyang's contract
and file the paperwork
with the Premier League
before the 11pm deadline.
This is getting a bit tight now.
Hi.
How you getting on, yeah?
Is it signed?
- Sending it now? Right okay, okay.
- It's coming now.
Well, we need them like now.
Done.
Right okay, we've submitted them,
they've gone to the Premier League.
Yeah so, we got in before 11, okay?
- Signed as well?
- Yeah.
Signed on our side?
Bye.
Well done, guys.
- Well done!
- Well done, guys.
We got it done at 10:59.
Okay, something like that done
it's relief, it's a sense of pride.
I think once everybody realised that
this might not happen,
it focused people's minds.
In Spain, the world is
introduced to Barcelona's newest player.
Aubameyang's posted
a farewell message to Arsenal fans.
It is a little bit of a sad way
to exit, actually.
A lot of Arsenal fans,
they're disconsolate with this news,
not so much that Aubameyang is leaving
but that Arsenal
aren't planning to replace him.
What was the actual plan?
For me,
Arsenal are taking a massive risk.
Arsenal have scored 1 goal
this calendar year
and they've allowed Aubameyang
to move to Barcelona
and they haven't replaced him.
We did what we believed
was the right thing to do,
but we are very clear:
We only want the best people
and the best players at this club.
I am extremely grateful for what
Auba has done at the club
and the way I see myself
in that relationship,
is a solution, not a problem.
My memories of Auba
are all exceptional moments.
I didn't want to finish like that
because, first of all, I think Auba
deserves something better
and the club as well,
but it could not be, in my opinion,
any other way.
It's been a difficult January
for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal.
They haven't scored for a month.
Mikel needs a reaction
from his players
in the fight to qualify
for European football next season.
Win against Wolves, and they can
make up ground on their rivals.
Arsenal! Arsenal!
The clash between 2 teams
who are harbouring ambitions
of a top-four finish
and the winner tonight
will edge that bit closer
as Wolves host Arsenal
in the Premier League.
- Red Army!
- Red Army!
We're at a position now where
top-four is the only thing to go for.
It'll be a difficult game
but we have to win. We have to win.
Try to help each other.
Work together.
Okay, guys listen. Get together.
We have to start super-fast.
We go and be dominant and play the way
we want to play, guys.
And be aggressive
and have balls and courage to go.
I want to see people make decisions
and have the eyes to win the match.
Completely. Because you know
what they're going to do.
They're going to dive,
they're going to insult you,
they're going to provoke you,
they're going to provoke you even more.
Okay, let's go and do this.
And it's Wolves
who get the start in here.
Arsenal 5 games without a win,
they need this one tonight.
Arsenal dominate the game.
Super work from Saka,
and the shot from White.
Nicked on beyond Lacazette.
There's Gabriel!
And Arsenal have the lead!
And see how Mikel Arteta
relishes that.
Gabriel's goal
is the first Arsenal have scored
in 478 minutes of football.
But with just over an hour played,
Wolves win a throw-in.
Martinelli is clattered
into Podence there.
And now in retreat
he makes another foul,
right in front of the referee.
A yellow card.
Two yellow cards! Martinelli is off!
Two separate of fences inside
the same passage of play,
and that is what Arsenal
and Arteta did not need.
Fucking hell.
For the 5th time this season,
Arsenal must hold on with 10 men.
Here comes
the Wolves' free kick.
Oh, it's gone in!
Awful luck for Arsenal.
But hold on...
The flag is up, and it won't count.
Jiménez! And Arsenal
just about squeeze it away.
This would be a massive win
for Arsenal
if they can hold out
just a little while longer.
It's over. Big, big Arsenal win.
Arteta is jubilant.
It takes Arsenal to within
a point of the top 4.
It is a massive 3 points.
Aubameyang is in Barcelona now.
What did you think
of the whole situation?
They have let player
after player leave
and haven't recruited anyone in.
Lacazette.
That's a complete miscue.
You will score, I have no doubt.
Being at a big club like this,
you can't have bad days.
Jota fires it in,
Liverpool have scored!
Any slight opportunity they get...
The manager's been here
for two years
and for two years,
we haven't seen any major improvement.
People really feel
extremely passionate
about what's happening in football.
They hate you, really.
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.