Hello and welcome to a brand new arse blog, arscast, right here on arsblog.com.

How are you? Hope you well. Thank you very much indeed.

As always, for being here. I hope your week has been all right.

It's been a sort of tricky one,

hasn't it? Because it started with the disappointment of what happened on Sunday against Manchester City. And any defeat sort of lingers around like a bad smell. It takes too much time

to dissipate and to disappear. but eventually it goes away and the air

feels a little bit more fresh. And to be honest, I don't really know how to apply the rest of that

analogy to the Newcastle game on Saturday. I mean, there is an obvious one, you know, that whole scene and train spotting when

Spud wakes up in the morning and lifts up the sheets, but that's not an image anybody needs

at the start of a podcast, is it?

Even though right now it's right there in your head.

I'm sorry, I really am.

But this is what football is driving us to.

This is what Arsenal is driving my brain to.

It's not my fault.

It's external forces.

Beyond my control.

I suppose I could just open up the metaphorical window

and let the fresh air blow through.

Sweet summer breeze. That's what we need. But what we've got

is a podcast. What we've got to do is talk a bit about Arsenal. So let's get on with the show.

And with me today to shoot the Arsenal breeze a bit more than Arsenal have shot themselves

...