Episode 872 - Arsenal give us a semi
Arseblog Arsecast, The Arsenal Podcast
arseblog.com
4.8 • 6.9K Ratings
🗓️ 16 April 2026
⏱️ 67 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode I'm joined by Tim Stillman to look back on Wednesday's 0-0 draw at home to Sporting, a result which sees us qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League for the second year in a row. We chat about some of things Arsenal did and didn't do in the wake of Saturday's defeat to Bournemouth, with focus first on a forward line that has some fundamental limitations that hamper our ability to play the kind of attacking football we'd like. As well as that, we discuss the way we controlled the game in the second half, leaning on the areas of the pitch where we do have top class talent, and how we restricted the opposition to just one shot on target all night. There are some interesting comments from Declan Rice about how the players feel about progression in this competition, parallels with some other European campaigns, and spotlight on how we're the only English team left in the Champions League after everyone else, and giants like Real Madrid and Barcelona fell by the wayside to set up a fascinating clash with Atletico Madrid in the next round.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to a brand new arse blog arsecast right here on arseblog.com. How are you? Hope you're well. |
| 0:31.7 | Thank you very much indeed, as always, for being here. Today we are looking back on last night's nil-nill-nill draw with sporting. Not the |
| 0:41.6 | greatest performance of the season by any means. Not the kind of performance that maybe |
| 0:47.0 | some people were looking for going into a game against Manchester City on Sunday, but sufficient |
| 0:52.5 | to get Arsenal through to the semiifinals of the Champions League, |
| 0:57.8 | which is not for everybody. It's not for Liverpool. It's not for Man City. It's definitely not for |
| 1:03.0 | Tottenham. It's not for Chelsea. We're in esteemed company with Atlatico Madrid, with PSG, |
| 1:09.3 | with Bayern Munich, Rail Madrid, Barcelona eliminated in the |
| 1:14.4 | quarterfinals, but we are through. And for all our problems at this moment in time, I think we have |
| 1:20.9 | to recognize that as obviously something to be celebrated. So look, there's a lot to get into, I think, |
| 1:28.7 | despite the fact this was a nil-nil-nill draw coming off the back of last weekend's game against Bournemouth, how we responded |
| 1:33.9 | to that, what we did on the pitch, perhaps more importantly, what we didn't do on the pitch, |
| 1:39.8 | are things we can chat about this morning. There were some shortcomings in our game, obviously, |
| 1:44.4 | but there were also some things that gave me, at least, some encouragement about what remains |
| 1:49.9 | of this season, given how much there is at stake and how much we still have to achieve, |
| 1:56.2 | potentially. So let's just get on with it, and with me to do that this morning, |
| 2:00.1 | it's Tim Stillman. Good morning, Tim. |
| 2:01.9 | Good morning. Let me ask you first. How are you feeling about this progression? Because I think if you |
| 2:08.5 | step back and objectively look at it, obviously getting to the semifinals of the Champions League is fantastic. |
| 2:17.2 | As people keep saying, and Michael Artetta |
| 2:19.0 | was keen to make the point last night, this is the first time in the 140 years of the history |
| 2:23.9 | of Arsenal Football Club that it's happened. Would have been quite the miracle if it had happened |
... |
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