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Football Weekly
PSG break Arsenal’s hearts and Arne Slot out at Liverpool – Football Weekly
00:52:35
Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini, Philippe Auclair and Andy Hunter to discuss the Champions League final and more
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- [00:00]
A
This is the Guardian.
- [00:09]
B
Hi pod fans. Max here. Barry's here too.
- [00:11]
A
Hello.
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B
Football Weekly is supported by Hotels.com Now, Barry, question. When you're booking a hotel, do you use hotels.com actually you're probably just going to say I don't know. Producer Joel does it.
- [00:20]
A
I don't know. Producer Joel does it.
- [00:23]
B
Well, I think you should give it a try for yourself. Obviously it's a massive summer of soccer and loads of our listeners will be traveling to watch the tournament and and needing to book somewhere great to stay. So it's good to know that when you're a Hotels.com member, you can save up to 20% on hundreds of thousands of hotels. Plus you earn rewards on every stay. So each trip you take helps pay for your future trips. Just use those rewards like cash. And importantly, there are never any blackout dates.
- [00:45]
A
What's a blackout date?
- [00:47]
B
Well, it's a date where you can't use travel rewards frustratingly. Usually on or around major holidays or other peak travel periods. But there are no blackout dates with hotels.com rewards.
- [00:57]
A
Superb.
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B
Yes. So next time you're booking somewhere to stay, just book it at hotels.com hotels.com it's all in the name. Hi pod fans. Max here. Football Weekly is supported by contentful marketers. No matter what pitch you play on, a big win feels the same electric. It's that moment when you read the play before the trend even starts. Beat the clock on a campaign, a little help from AI and connect with customers in real time like you've trained for it your whole career. That's contentful. World class digital experiences, built fast, built beautifully. Create and launch personalized content in an instant across every channel your customers are watching. No chaos, no limits, just open field. Take your shot@contentful.com. Hello and welcome to the Guardian Football Weekly psg. We're in back to back Champions League. After beating Arsenal on penalties, Gabriel stuttered lent back and Baggio'd his penalty over the bar. Meaning the Gunners are still without a European Cup. We asked if this would be attack versus defense and that's how it turned out to be. Was this Arteta playing anti football bus parking of the highest order or simply the absolute best way to play against the best midfield? In attacking world football? When you're a goal up and you're really good at defending, there is no in between. And it all ends with the fairy tale of a nation state backside taking home the trophy and then to Arne slot sacked by Liverpool a year after winning the Premier League. Andy Hunter joins us to discuss if this is simply the ruthlessness of football. There are mitigating circumstances, of course, but it seemed like he'd lost the players and with Andoni Iriola sitting there, perhaps it's the right call. We'll round up the other major manager and transfer news answer your questions. And that's today's Guardian Football Weekly. On the panel today, an Arsenal heavy panel. Filippo Claire. Bonjour.
- [02:50]
C
Bonjour.
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B
Nikki Bandini, how are you?
- [02:53]
D
Bonjour, Sava.
- [02:55]
B
Bonjour, Sava. Out in Budapest, Tayo Papula. Hey, Tayo.
- [02:59]
E
Good morning, Max. Good morning, everyone.
- [03:01]
B
And representing everyone else, Barry Glendennick.
- [03:07]
A
Good morning, Max.
- [03:09]
B
I'm sure you can do it. Joe said. Can we also get producer Tayo on? It's only fair. You made us listen to an Arsenal love him last week when they won it. Now all we want to hear is collective tears and justifications for how it's still been a good season. You owe us loyal listeners who never miss a pot. Well, look, you're out there, so look. PSG 1, Arsenal won PSG, winning 43 on penalties after Gabriel and Ezra missed their penalties. How was it Tayo out there?
- [03:36]
E
Well, it's been brilliant, Max. It's been a celebration with people I've been going to the football with for 25 years. It's been a celebration of new friends. It's been a celebration of the fact that we won the League a couple of weeks ago and had the chance to get together in a fan park and do all of that. I think one of the reasons why I wanted to be out here is obviously to try and support the team to a Champions League win, but I wanted to carry on the celebrations of where we've been and it really has been like that, you know, Arsenal have obviously outnumbered kind of psg, unfortunately not in the bit that matters, but like on the streets and with the singing and with the cheering and so forth. So it has been brilliant. And up to, you know, six minutes in, it was felt like one of the greatest days, kind of of my life. So I'd like to say to Joe and anyone else like him, like to quote our old chairman, Peter Hillwood, as he said to our supporters once, thank you for your interest in our affairs.
- [04:31]
B
I just on Gabrielle, you know, skying that final penalty and penalties are. We will talk about this, no doubt in the World Cup, Nikki and I presume when, I don't know, Morgan Rogers skies one or whoever. It's so tough for him. Marquinhos, like embracing him was a beautiful thing, but but there was an interesting stat from the guess the attendance handle without crossing the stream saying taking men's World cup shootouts as the sample, 73.3% of no consequence penalties are scored. Players whose team are on the brink of winning the shootout convert 90% and players under elimination pressure collapsed to 34.6%. Like it's a very difficult thing to do. It is more difficult to. Than the other penalties.
- [05:10]
D
Yeah. I mean this. Well, you still hear people on commentary making the lottery references, but I think we're past the point of really calling these things a lottery, aren't they? And among the things that we've known now for a lot of years is indeed just the simple fact of winning the coin toss and getting to go first is an advantage in that situation, because you don't put yourself in that position of having the guy who needs to hit the penalty with everything on the line doesn't mean it's automatic. But it does put a lot of pressure on. On Gabrielle, who's had an extraordinary season, who I thought had a brilliant game by the way as well, made a couple of really huge challenges on. On doing Karat Scalia. I. I don't think you're going to find anyone in. Well, that's not true. It's a big old world out there. You'll find someone who's an Arsenal fan who will vilify Gabrielle, I'm sure. But you won't find many people who are Arsenal fans who will vilify Gabrielle for missing that penalty, which I think is interesting because you, of course had to. You couldn't help yourself, invoke some Italian trauma at the start of the show with Baggio missing that penalty in, in 94.
- [06:08]
B
Yes, he really was.
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D
He really was vilified hugely in the press and, and really unfairly because he carried an injury through that tournament and dragged Italy through to that final. But he. He still absolutely was made into a huge villain for it. I, I can't see that happening with Gabriello, both because of what Tayo's already said and no matter how much the people who don't like Arsenal want it to be a miserable, sad moment, I think most Arsenal fans just aren't right now. But I also just think that there's too much recognition of what Gabriel has done all season for him to become the villain of the piece in that scenario.
- [06:41]
B
Yeah. Here's the question then from Matrya, who says, are Nikki or Philippe or Tayo frustrated by Artesa's game plan? Arsenal have a huge depth of really talented Players and to only manage 25% possession and one shot on goal in 120 minutes is quite disappointing. And that, Philippe, is. The debate is. Is Arsenal's approach to this game. And I thought, having gone one nil up, they did the right thing. But other opinions are clearly available. What do you think?
- [07:07]
C
I think they did exactly what was the right thing to do. And I think what they gave was one of the most extraordinary demonstrations of this was a defensive masterpiece. And I know that there are people out there who think that every game should be like the psg, Bayern Munich, the first leg. I don't agree with them at all. And I'm not saying that because I'm a staunch Arsenal fan and there are actually, you can hear it in my voice. There's absolutely no sour grapes, no regrets whatsoever. And I think, strangely enough, I can't think of any Arsenal supporter at the moment who feel that they've been let down by their team or anything like that. I think people are still buzzing, really buzzing. And I think some of the commentary on Arsenal performance has been honestly, I mean, so biased and so blind. Because what exactly were they supposed to do? Yes, they've got. There's a wealth of talent in that team, but in attacking terms, nobody compares to Paris Saint Germain. That's the first thing. So what are you supposed to do to go head to head and try to play fancy football and try to attack, attack, attack and then lose, I would put it that way, is that Arsenal play to about 96% of their potential and force PSG to play to about 70% of their potential. Because all of the discourse we're hearing now is a discourse which is based on the result of a penalty shootout. If you invert the result for the last two shots on goal, we have a completely different discussion, which should already make us think, all right, let's be careful about what we say here, because it's also about the context and about. We saw what happened at the end and then we take. We. We. We make assumptions as to what should have happened before that. The other thing I would say is the reason why Arsenal had the lowest possession, I think, in any European final, is because PSG are bloody good in that every time Arsenal had the ball and were trying to build from the back, my goodness, that Parisian midfield was on them, I mean, like a rash and so well organized. And I thought it was, personally, I mean, in terms of level, tactical level, one of the best finals I've ever seen. It was incredible. So two proper heavyweights going for it. Could they have done it differently? Yes, but only up to a point. Because every time they did try to go up the field either, the players were not quite good enough. And that is something to talk about. That definitely is. But they did try, but they were in a situation where they couldn't do anything other than defend as they did. And by the way, this was no parking the bus, no way. It was as disciplined and mastered and controlled a display of defensive skills as I've ever seen. And I would put that on the level of what Inter did against Barcelona all those years ago in, in the champions league and 10v11, you remember. I think it was actually better.
- [10:16]
B
I was actually on the radio yesterday speculating as whether actually, you know, parking a bus shouldn't be the insult it is because parking a bus is probably quite a difficult thing to do. So actually, actually like it's a, it's a skill to do that. Nikki, you wanted to come in? Then I'll go to Baz.
- [10:31]
D
I feel like the people want to hear Baz. The people are ready now. Everyone listening is desperately waiting for a non Arsenal positive verdict on this. I was just gon say that I, I do think there's, there's two conversations, one of which is intent and one of which is reality and of what you're, you're capable of. And I think the first half actually, even though, yes, Arsenal scored and then, and then gave up a lot of the ball, actually the first half I thought was great from Arsenal. PSG did nothing in that first despite having the ball. And actually the, the next best chance after the goal was another Arsenal chance for hav later in the half. So I thought the first half is one story and I think you can talk about the game in, in phases after that. But I, I think that unfortunately there was a reality in the. Not wanting to kick him in particular either. But once Gyokares came on, he didn't do a good job of, of holding the ball up. The shape changed and habits had to move. And actually to me that was not a question of intent, that was a question of quality. That was a question of, of simply the player not performing to the level of this extraordinary level of psg. I do think that's going to get lost in this because we're obviously English language podcast and, and because there's an Arsenal focus. But PSG are the best team in Europe. They did smash to pieces a very good Bayern Munich team in the semi final and the quality there is so high that to match it you have to be at an extraordinary level and, and on the day, without even making global verdict, I do think Gyakresh was one of those players who once he came on huge. And I'd say it for some of the other Arsenal subs as well, by the way. So not just single amount, but you felt like the quality just wasn't quite the level it needed to be for that fixture.
- [12:10]
A
Well, just about the Gabrielle penalty. I wonder if he'd been allowed to take it with his head and someone had been blocking soften off, would you have scored? Almost certainly.
- [12:20]
B
But.
- [12:25]
A
I'm not saying Arsenal's approach was wrong. I thought their defensive display was brilliant and there were some brilliant performances in the Arsenal team. I was particularly impressed with Miles Lewis Skelly, who for a kid just was outstanding. But I find it, and, and I also must add the caveat. Michael Arteta is under, under no obligation to entertain me or anyone else. But I just find it a bit sad that the champions of the Premier League, which purports and sells itself as the best league in the world, go into a Champions League final, go a goal up and then play like a League two side trying to close out a third round shock in the FA cup at the Etiad. There's something really sad about that. I'm. I'm old enough to remember the 19, I think it was 1986 final between St. Bucharest and Barcelona. Stour Bucharest came to spoil, to destroy, to waste time. And boy, do Arsenal have time wasted in downtown.
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F
Absolute art form.
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A
It is incredible. And, and it worked. And they, they ended up beating, but it was a nil, nil draw and they ended up beating Barcelona 2 nil in a penalty shooter. It was a terrible, terrible, terrible game and it was largely down to Stau Bucharest spoiling tactics. But they got their name on the, the trophy. It worked for them, it didn't work for Arsenal. So I think kind of allowed to, to criticize their approach. And I, I don't buy Philippe's claim that he's, he's not letting his Arsenal bias affect his opinion on their approach because if I think it was another team, he would be very critical of that approach.
- [14:23]
C
I'm not so sure. Possibly. I don't know. I'm trying to think of similar examples and to be honest, it's, it's such a, such a unique final in terms of the first of all the quality. I mean, to be honest, if League 2 teams were playing like that, I, I'd watch a lot more.
- [14:42]
B
I watched a lot of League two last Year, I'd say. I'm not sure. I guess the point is, isn't it? It's different because Arsenal score early. That changes how they approach it.
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E
Right.
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A
Can I just add one little thing? Sorry.
- [14:52]
B
Yeah, yeah.
- [14:53]
A
Arsenal have some terrific players. Let them play back them.
- [14:58]
B
Because I think the question, Ty is, is if you play 10% more, does that open you up 10% more? And that's the risk, right? I mean, that's. That's the. That's the question. You don't have to go gung ho. It's not like. It's not like psgv Bayern or psgv Arsenal. There is somewhere in between where they could have maybe taken a few more risks. But I'm playing devil's advocate. I don't think they should have done personally.
- [15:18]
E
No. Agreed. And as many people have said, there are teams that have gone toe to toe with PSG this year and they were watching the Champions League final from home and the team that we picked were the best team to defend. And Arsenal fans looked at the team sheet and some of us would have hoped for perhaps a few different players on there who might have been able to take the game to PSG a little bit more. But the team that were out there were the best ones to defend. As soon as you saw him kapier in there, maybe there was an issue with Califioria in 90 minutes, I don't know. But when you see someone like Hapier in there, then you knew that we had this best to defend. And Arsenal do have players, but PSG are really, really good and you have to get the ball off them. And I thought, for example, it would have lovely to been seen more for Saka. But Saka wasn't. Saka wasn't in a system that was stopping him playing. It was PSG who stopped us getting the ball to him. As well as the issue on the at right back where he progresses up the pitch very well with like Ezra and he progresses up the pitch with Timber and. And Ben White. But if you're defending for that time, then by the time he gets the ball back in his own half, it's very hard to do anything. And Hakimi did very well against him. So, you know, it's about game state really. We would have liked to have done more, but we did also score after five minutes. And if you're not supposed to try and defend before, you're going to try and do that a lot more after you've scored against the best team in Europe. So, you know if that's stinking the place out, then, you know, get me a bottle of it. I thought the team could have done more. There's one moment in particular where, say, Martinelli had a chance to put Madoeke through. And as Filipe said, that's a case of quality that stopped us doing that. And I wish in that instance that things had been better. But it was a very hard game to play and I don't think we should have played it too much different from how we did.
- [17:03]
C
It's happened the season before and I think actually I was on the port after that game that I was intensely frustrated by the lack of ambition showed by Mikel Arteta's team during the season. One case in mind in particular, which really drove me absolutely nuts at the time, was the defeat at Anfield against Liverpool where Arsenal were actually so negative. And we had some very harsh words about that. And one of the reasons for that was, for example, I think Zubimendi was playing in midfield that day. And one of the reasons was that when there were passes available, threading, going past one screen of players, no, they wouldn't go. They wouldn't do that. It would always be lateral and backwards this time. If you look at, if you watch the game against psg, when Louis Kelly, who was absolutely magnificent, and Declan Rice had the ball in pivot position, you could try and look at the availability of passes and players to them to progress the ball through the lines. There were none. It's just like PSG are absolutely amazing at blocking all the possible paths for the ball to be progressing from one line to the next. So the ball went back because there was no opportunity to do anything else, which for me shows the difference there is about the way you approach a game against Liverpool. What we saw and defeat at the end was a negative approach at the game and which was punished, and rightly so, and infuriated me. What you saw against PSG was something which was imposed by the context, but also by an opponent that we tend to forget is, you know, as Tayo said actually and Ike said, the best team in the world at the moment and could be the best sim in the world for quite a while if it carries on like that.
- [18:52]
A
But seven teams this season have beaten psg. Two teams have beaten them twice. Now. I do appreciate that PSG often don't play their superstars in a lot of league games, but they have still lost against Marseille, Bayern Munich, Monaco twice, Paris FC twice, Sporting Rennes, Lyon. They're.
- [19:14]
D
They're not unbeatable Nobody's unbeatable. That's not the point. The point is that PSG actually, I think of part of what they've mastered indeed is that actually it's really hard to maintain top level through an entire season, especially when you're coming off a club World cup as they did and so you manage your energies for certain games. I think that PSG have been extraordinary when they've needed to be in this Champions League. I thought Bayern Munich were going to win this Champions League and I was proved emphatically wrong in that semi final. They were, they were, I thought, much better than, than the scoreline showed.
- [19:46]
A
Well, you weren't really. I mean they only lost by a dodgy penalty in the end and I,
- [19:52]
D
and I think that was actually the point I wanted to make is actually that by the way, even PSG are not above this sort of thinking. When they played away to buy, and they played an extremely different game to the game they played at home to buy in and they scored a goal early and then they played smart football, now their counter attacking was much more effective and dangerous looking in that game than Arsenal's was in this final. And that's a thing which maybe you can criticize for. I think you can. I don't. Maybe you can criticize Arsenal for, for not having more threat in the count on the counter in the latter parts of the game. But I think that again to me comes back less to a question of tactics. Yes, to a question of substitutions. I don't know if, if Arteta got the substitutions right, but I do think it comes to a question of, of technical quality, but also comfort working together in a system. PSG are at a different stage of their project than Arsenal are of their current project. That's also a reality. Right. These players have, have understood the system for longer and what Lewis Enrique wants for longer than, than this current version of Arsenal do. I'm not trying to make excuses. I think it's going to sound like that and I think that's the problem unfortunately is because people know we are Arsenal supporting, it's going to be very hard for us to say anything that convinces them otherwise. I do think even having just heard people saying it, we still probably haven't said enough about how good PSG are, about the fact that this team has done something that only Real Madrid have done since the Champions League became the Champions League, winning it back to back. About the fact that Luis Enrique is, in my opinion the manager of this era of football and has built a team that is extraordinary. I think those things are all worthy focuses of this story as well. And I think that it's also not trying to say that no one should criticize Arsenal because people will. And I think the thing that, that maybe is going to annoy some people is that most Arsenal fans aren't going to be upset because Arsenal fans are pretty happy with how the season have gone.
- [21:44]
B
Yeah, I mean, I suppose if I can be. I'm a Tottenham fan. Right. I didn't want Arsenal to win this, but I, you know, I, I, I think it was exactly the right thing to do. And I, and also, like, it's really hard to defend against a really good team. Like, it takes such discipline and it's more tiring to chase than it is to have the ball. Like, it's exhausting to do that. And I, I, I, I sort of. Yes. So I'm, I'm not making excuses. I was pleased they didn't win it. I'm not sure I wanted PSG to win it either, to be honest. But, but I, I, I, I, I, I totally understand the approach. Daniel Story made a point, Tyre, that none of Zuba Mende as a Madawake or Yokari started the biggest game of the season. They cost 230 million. So, so we have talked a lot about Arsenal having two players for each position, but he said, you know, they added depth rather than star quality. Right. Like, the squad is great. It is really, really good. But I think that's quite interesting that none of those players started.
- [22:38]
E
Yeah, I thought that was really interesting too. And I think the squad that we built was, it had enough depth and endurance for a long League campaign. But you need to win Cups, which I think is a little bit what Barry's been saying about us. Maybe we could have done more on the pitch, but. And you need, and you need star quality to win Cups. You need people with individual actions, which I think is the exact phrase that Michael Artetas used. Need star quality on the wings. You need somebody with a moment of magic in midfield and Arsenal didn't have that. But that squad was there, I think, to make sure that it could cope with the injuries which have derailed us before and almost derailed us again this time, because it is an absolute slog to win the Premier League. But, so we do need reinforcements this summer and Arsenal fans know that. I mean, we haven't played that well since November, like, let's be real here. But we endured and that's what the League lets you do. But, you know, we fell short when Moments of star quality were needed. So, yeah, 100 agree with that, Daniel Story said. But I think we will see that. And to Nikki's point, that's the next stage of the project to we've got the business at the back, so let's, you know, let's have the party at the front, as it were.
- [23:49]
B
So the opposite of a mullet, isn't it?
- [23:52]
A
Do you think he will start having party at the front or is it going to be more of the same next season?
- [23:59]
E
Well, it's a great question and if we're here a year later, Barry, and having the same conversation, then what some people suspect is a style issue with this manager, that will be a valid question. But I do think if the equality is out there, I do think we'll try and make that difference because we've got this brilliant defense and every Arsenal fan and the manager knows that we need to do something about the attacking kind of issues that we've had. And I think that will happen. I think there'll be replacements, certainly wide left, certainly more attacking positions. So, yeah, I'm hopeful.
- [24:31]
D
It's not just about the manager when it comes to recruitment, because I do think. I mean, I'm obsessed with France. I think he's the best player, maybe best player in the world right now. He's certainly the best player in the Champions League this season. He was a sensational player and I think it's, again, one of those little things that you can observe is he didn't have as big an impact in this game as he has in a lot of games, even though he was still very impactful. But I. I think that that comes down to recruitment as well. I think that's what Ty's just brought up is. Is completely also one of the things you can make a sort of valid criticism of Arsenal on. They've spent a lot of money and they bought some good players and they've achieved players that have won them the Premier League. But there are players out there who you can get who are even better and it's not like various Scalia, was it a financial cost that a club like Arsenal couldn't have reached when PSG went out and got him? So part of building the best team in Europe and that is what we're talking about, the best team in Europe and maybe the world is to going just landing the absolute perfect signing. And I. I do think psg, that's part of their story as well. Just incredible recruitment.
- [25:30]
B
Simon says was the ref blowing for half time while Saka faffed about the high point of the whole football season. And Adam says, I think the national response to Arsenal's defeat needs to be discussed. Has an English team losing a final ever caused so much open celebration for the rest of the nation? Why is this the case?
- [25:46]
D
John Terry missing a penalty got probably at least as much, to be fair.
- [25:50]
B
That's a very, very good point. Maybe that's just recency bias, Barry, I don't know. Or just maybe social media is just sort of polarized to this world that you can just instantly see people just yelling about whatever they want to yell about while you're sitting on the toilet.
- [26:03]
A
Yeah, well, I mean, look, we're having this discussion and I think it's been really interesting discussion. It's sort of me against three and a half Arsenal fans and I know exactly what's going to be.
- [26:17]
B
I take objection to that.
- [26:20]
A
I know exactly what's going to be clipped up and put on the socials and I am absolutely slaughtered by Arsenal fans accusing me of being bitter, of being jealous, of being a hater, of blah, blah, blah and no nothing, fool that, that's fine, I don't mind. But I mean, the TNT sport coverage was incredibly biased in favor of Arsenal and there seems to be this presumption at TNT that everyone watching at home, all the folks at home, wanted Arsenal to win. And I don't think anything could have been further from the truth. So, look, I've said it before and I'm happy to say it again. I don't like watching them play. They're bore me and I watch football to be entertained. But I've also said they have no obligation to entertain me and that's fine too.
- [27:13]
B
At one point the panel was, you know, Laura woods, who's an Arsenal fan, Rob Beckett, Romeganathan and Dar o', Brien, all fine comedians. That's quite an Arsenal heavy fun panel. Very briefly, then Philippe and then Tayo and then we'll end this and go to Arna slot being sacked.
- [27:31]
C
I think that one of the reasons, one of the main reasons why so many people have showing a dislike of Arsenal or actually much more than a dislike of Arsenal on, especially on X and even on Blue sky where I was on the receiving end of some absolutely astonishing comments on the night of the final. It was amazing. I've never blocked as many people on that platform. Just like block, block, block, block, block. One of the reasons, one of the reasons why so many people don't like Arsenal is what we saw during the parade yesterday, which was magnificent. Almost a million people I think there are people who are really pissed off by the fact that Arsenal has a community of fans which is as diverse as it is culturally, socially, economically. It really pisses them off. They hate that they hate us because we represent the type of society they hate as well. And I think that's part. If you talk to any Arsenal fan, there's a very big part of our fandom because we don't forget that we've got Emirates on our shirts or visit Rwanda on our sleeves, that our owner has given money to Donald Trump in the past. We know all that. But the community of fans is very different from that and it really takes pride of it and I think it really gets up the nose of rather a lot of people in. In a society that is as polarized as ours because we represent something completely different. And also take that, by the way. And I can understand why people hearing me would say, God, you think you're so much better than the others. That's not the point. I know we can come across as like that we're not so much better than the others. Every club that you love is the best club in the world. Beginning of, end of. But I do think that the political and social dimension of it is something which explains why there's been this level of animosity and even hatred towards Arsenal this season.
- [29:24]
B
Yeah. But I think there are probably lots of nice woke people who also find it funny that Arsenal lost. I think it's worth.
- [29:29]
A
Yeah, I. I would include myself. I'm very much. I. I thought the parade was fantastic, the, the diversity there with the group. I was watching the footage. Unbelievable.
- [29:40]
B
Ty.
- [29:40]
E
Quickly, I would just say they do hate us, but they also rate us again as well. And having lived through a very banterish era where Arsenal were being laughed at for all the wrong reasons, we're good again. I have sat there wanting the teams in the Champions League final to lose if they're. Whether they were English or not, and mostly out of jealousy. But it's our turn now. I don't think it'll be 20 years till we're back there again. I don't think it will be 22 years before we win the League again. And that in itself is there to be celebrated and celebrate it.
- [30:07]
C
We will.
- [30:07]
B
If it's not enough to hear and get annoyed by Barry, if you're an Arsenal fan, you can see him clipped up on Instagram and Blue sky and TikTok and now even on Reddit. There is a Football Weekly subreddit r Football Weekly Pod. So go and talk to our other listeners. Enjoy some hot behind the scenes content. This is hot. It's not like sinister hot. It's not carnal hot. From our producers. Plenty more to come apparently too. And that'll do for part one. Andy Hunter have been standing by patiently and we'll talk about Anna slot in part two.
- [30:37]
A
Get back in your box, Taylor. I don't want to see you again for another season.
- [30:48]
B
Hi POD fans. Max here. Barry's here too.
- [30:49]
A
Hello.
- [30:50]
B
Football Weekly is supported by Hotels.com Now Barry, question. When you're booking a hotel, do you use hotels.com actually you're probably just going to say I don't know. Producer Joel does it.
- [30:59]
A
I don't know. Producer Joel does it.
- [31:01]
B
Well, I think you should give it a try for yourself. Obviously it's a massive summer of soccer and loads of our listeners will be traveling to watch the tournament and needing to book somewhere great to stay. So it's good to know that when you're a Hotels.com member, you can save up to 20% of spent on hundreds of thousands of hotels. Plus you earn rewards on every stay. So each trip you take helps pay for your future trips. Just use those rewards like cash. And importantly, there are never any blackout dates.
- [31:24]
A
What's a blackout date?
- [31:25]
B
Well, it's a date where you can't use travel rewards frustratingly. Usually on or around major holidays or other peak travel periods. But there are no blackout dates with hotels.com rewards.
- [31:35]
A
Superb.
- [31:36]
B
Yes. So next time you're booking somewhere to stay, just book it at hotels.com hotels.com it's all in the name.
- [31:50]
G
Close your eyes. Summer smells like sunshine, fresh citrus and salty air. What if your living room could feel just like that? With Pura's new summer collection, it can restore your sense of well being with fragrances designed to move with your day. From bright energizing mornings to soft relaxing evenings make the invisible unforgettable. This year season, visit pura.com to find your new favorite summer scent.
- [32:25]
B
Welcome to part two of the Guardian Football Weekly. Ender says not now, Liverpool Today isn't about you. An Arsenal fan going, of course this had to happen on the day it was all about us. So we've done lots of Arsenal. Our Merseyside football correspondent Andy Hunter joins us. Hey Andy.
- [32:38]
H
Hi. Good morning. That was my reaction too. Not today.
- [32:41]
B
Yeah, I thought so. Did it take you by surprise? Because like the assumed understanding, I don't have any sources, Andy. I'm too lazy to have sources. My understanding was he's staying and I was happy with that and actually I was half an hour left of a radio show with a couple of fun quizzes I had to drop to do a serious phone in. Did it surprise you? The timing?
- [32:59]
H
Maybe the timing did. I thought towards the end it was inevitable. There was a sense of inevitability that he would go. But when he was still in place after the final game of the season and there was no little bulletin after that game or on the Monday and the whole week progressed I started to think well maybe, maybe they are going to stick with them. And as of Friday night our time slots people were still thinking he wasn't going anywhere on Friday night. They said he was safe.
- [33:28]
B
Really? Wow, that's so interesting, isn't it?
- [33:31]
H
And then he gets told about 11am, 11am Saturday and Liverpool made the announcement about 90 minutes later. So it did move quite quickly towards the end But I do think there was a bit an inevitability about the decision.
- [33:44]
B
Yeah. Do you think there was a turning point? Do you think there was a moment or do you think it's just been a general gradual decline in performances and as the season's gone on he hasn't managed to turn it around.
- [33:55]
H
That's certainly true. If I had to identify a turning point I would say the Chelsea home game because I mean he was getting abuse on social media all season. Pretty vitriolic stuff, completely out of order but I think when, and the frustration was growing but when the Anfield crowd themselves turn on him and the team in that Chelsea game I made a note of mine, I was just checking my, my cover. We're covering the match in the 39th minute. Chelsea like dominating possession for a long while. Liverpool haven't done anything despite getting an early lead and then there were catcause whistles, jeers. That was in the 39th minute. Then they get booed off at halftime then the substitutions get booed in the second half then they get booed at the final whistle and then the following week terrible performance at Aston Villa. Mo Salah comes out on the Saturday with his post calling for the heavy metal football half. The first team squad like it. So in the space of a week you've got the Anfield crowd and the first team squad kind of, you know, open descent against them. So I, I saw from, from that moment, from the Chelsea game onwards I
- [35:03]
B
would say you mentioned that Salah post Andy I mean he has thrown him under the bus in such a massive way. I guess the fact that the first team all liked it is a sign that he didn't have the dressing room anymore.
- [35:13]
H
Yeah, it's not a good look. And then obviously since when he, he was then sacked on Saturday, there's been very few Liverpool players posting, you know the Instagram messages of best wishes to him. But Virgil Van Dyke, Francis Jones, but very few which is kind of surprising given what he did there. But obviously hints at, you know, shows the problems behind the scenes as well. But I mean people say, you know, he was gone a long time ago, he wasn't. Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes only started conducting a review into what had gone wrong and what to do about two weeks ago or two weeks before the decision was made. So around the time of that Aston Villa defense. So you know, and as I say, Slotkamp thought he was safe on Friday
- [36:01]
D
night and he said it's kind of surprising. I mean I still think it's this extraordinary fact that this is the guy who won Liverpool's second league title in the Premier League era at all is going to be someone who's got that place I suppose in the history books regardless. And it feels like he's leaving with so little goodwill.
- [36:20]
H
Yeah, that's true. I mean it is an extraordinary situation but I mean he's the first Liverpool manager or head coach to be sacked, a title winning Liverpool manager coach to be sacked in that tenure. Kenny Daglish went but only in his was sacked but only in that second spell after coming back. So I mean this is unprecedented. Plus the mitigating circumstances for Liverpool season from Diogo Jota's death in July to you know, the more Monday the football side of things, you know, these last seasons, last summer's intake, the 450 million pound spend which changes the the entire perception of Liverpool as well. That intake apart from Hugo Ekitike was poor. If you look at the three main signings, Ekatike Isaac and Florian Wirtz, they were on the pitch together for 115 minutes due to injury. So you know, a game less than a game and a half. So there's three, he's not had them either. So there are so many mitigating circumstances and yet the crowds were against them. It doesn't look like the squad were united behind him. And it did have a feel of inevitability towards the end that you know, a fresh start is needed And I think if a manager or a coach of Iriola's quality is there and they can get him, I think then it kind of encourages them to act.
- [37:44]
C
Andy, a question. Do you think that the timing of the decision might be linked to the fact that they are now almost sure to lend Iraola as a manager and that because of that they thought now we can do it because we've got a successor.
- [38:00]
H
Yes, 100%. I don't think the way FSG operate or Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards, I don't think they make a decision as enormous as to sack on a slot without having the successor in the bag. So I think it'll be done very quickly. I think when they see that Iriola is speaking to several other clubs, Milan Leverkusen and Palace linked with them as well. And obviously the links between Richard Hughes and Iriola, basically they want to make an appointment, they want it all done before the World cup starts. In my eyes, you're not going for a coach who's currently employed somewhere else. You're going for someone who's available and a top coach is available. He's got links to the club or to the hierarchy and he plays the style of football that most sellers asking for but he won't be around to. To implement.
- [38:56]
B
Yeah, I mean, I suppose the interesting thing is, you know, we have seen managers who are very successful at inverted kind of smaller clubs not succeed at bigger clubs. And it is always a gamble. And yet there are so many reasons why Aurello does feel like a good, a good fit for Liverpool.
- [39:10]
H
Yeah, he does certainly style of play. Richard Hughes did several months, you know, background checks on Arne slot before they moved for him because obviously the time and Klopp gave them ample notice to get working on his successor. But he doesn't have to do that now. He's already done it so he's good to go in that respect. Plus he's got Premier League experience and what he did this season, having lost so many players, key players and push the team on again. It's something that Liverpool need because you know they've bought badly last last summer although there's talent there and he's got to get the best out of them. But and the style of play is what the fans certainly the generation that have grown up with Jurgen Klopp, that's what they associate with Liverpool now. So. And they want a return to that. They were drifted further and further away from it under Arne slapped and how
- [40:08]
B
much because the squad, like you said, we spent, they spent so much, so much money. But it does feel like that squad needs work.
- [40:13]
H
Right.
- [40:13]
B
Because Salazarov Canate's off, Robertson's gone. Even if Robertson wasn't starting every week, there's still a Problem at right back. So you might need another center back. Does Isaac now, you know Ekatika is injured but I guess he's. That could start and hopefully be better. But it feels like there's a. There's quite a lot of work to do recruitment wise.
- [40:32]
H
Oh there is absolutely. I mean at the end of the season Arnold's talking about, you know, we get a couple of top quality wingers in and everything's going to be all right. But Liverpool need a lot more than that. They need a, you know, a defensive midfielder for a start. The short of options as you say, right back and a center back which is going to get worse with Konate leaving. I mean you look at last summer they bought Jeremy Fringpong who's really. He's a wing back. Liverpool don't play with wing back and he was kind of like signed to cover for Salah at the African nations but you know, just mystifying some of the decisions. Isaac, I mean there's a lot of pressure and responsibility on him next season. Does he even fit that team? There's a. There's a lot to do. I think whoever comes in and I do think it would be a Raiola is as. Maybe one of the reasons they want him in quick is because there's an awful lot of work to be done this summer.
- [41:28]
B
But it's worth saying that Arna Slot wasn't responsible for recruitment. I mean I don't know how much say he had actually but like the recruitment criticism should go higher than him.
- [41:36]
H
Absolutely. Yeah. I think I said that on Saturday in my piece that you've got to look above Slot. Slot is what they. FSG and Michael Edwards they wanted. They wanted a head coach. They don't want an all powerful Jurgen Klopp type dominating the football operation. They want the coach to coach the team and obviously have input into the type of signings they're making. But the strategy and the transfer business is elsewhere now. It's not really on the head coach's door. He's head coach for a reason.
- [42:15]
C
If Slot has gone, do you expect other movements out of the door as well during the summer? Because. Because from the outside it looks to me that there were quite a few players who didn't quite pull their weight, whose attitude was questionable perhaps whether they liked their manager or not. Certainly their performances were well under par compared to what they had been before. So I'm not talking about the recruits who had such a mixed bag of fortunes when it comes to injuries in particular. But I'm thinking About more of the guardians of the temple, so to speak who were way back on the performance of previous seasons including the seasons when they were champions with slot and everybody was celebrating the fact that he had managed to make the team much more versatile and complete. Let's not forget all that. So some of those players bear a huge responsibility in what happened and it's very hard from the outside to understand how you can fall out with a manager that just made a champion out of you. And also what does it say in terms of your own professional attitude and how is the club going to react to that or is it going to react. Is it actually going to show some of those players the door?
- [43:28]
H
I think yeah, I think you're right. Absolutely. I think you absolutely nailed it. I think some will inevitably go but then they made so many changes last summer and they're saying like oh no putting some finishing touches in place if it was still on a slot in charge but it going to be in that situation again next season. There's so many going and so many leaders are going as well. Where's the leadership in that group? You know there's still question marks over Alisson's future. Juventus won him, Liverpool want to keep him but it's kind of up to him what happens now. He's only got a year left. Van Dijk's only got a year left left. Beyond those two where are the leaders. But I agree like Alexis McAllister, Cody Gapko, you know their forms all went down. And one thing about Salah's post about returning to heavy metal football when Liverpool won the league last year he was praising slots, tactics and approach for getting the best out of him and for delivering the title. And then 12 months later it's all his fault and it's certainly not.
- [44:33]
B
Yeah he definitely moved from. He moved from heavy metal to you know a sort of mid range what sort of you know, Nickelback style didn't he. For this, for this, for this season it was more that than Guns N Roses.
- [44:45]
H
I think Nickelback sounds a bit dramatic compared to some of the performances at the end.
- [44:50]
B
Too many modern references from me there. Nikki, final question.
- [44:54]
D
I was just curious which players Andy would build the team around and which players. I mean I suppose do you think they are going to build the team around if, if there is this, this transition period that's inevitable which are the ones that you do view as the ones that you start from and go
- [45:06]
H
from There I think is the obvious one. He was the Liverpool's best player last season even when you know, played out of position. That's an easy interesting one. Again, another one who's coming to two years left on his contract. Liverpool have let too many players get past the two year mark, you know, and then if you look at last year's defense, tight winning defense, Trent Alexander Arnold goes, Canate goes, Robertson goes. And other than the, you know, the small fee Real Madrid paid to get Trent Alexander Arnold in early for the club World cup, they've all gone for free. So Szoboszle is the main man now. I still think Mac Allister first season under slot was great.
- [45:51]
B
Florian Wirtz is so good though. Andy isn't he like just sort of think that has to work.
- [45:55]
H
He's clearly a talented player and in the right team would shine. Does he fit this team? Does he fit the Premier League? We're going to find out next season. They can't discard him after after one year. So vets has to come good, Isaac has to come good. But on what base are we basing that on? It's what they've done for other clubs. It's not what they've done for Liverpool.
- [46:20]
B
Yeah, fair enough Andy, thanks for coming on.
- [46:21]
H
Thanks for having me.
- [46:22]
B
Andy Hunter there, Merseyside football correspondent and if you thought that was one of those parts where Barry just wasn't saying anything, his Internet did go down in his defense. But he has returned heroically, Baz and we expect a big part three from you.
- [46:38]
G
Summer smells like salt in the air and warm sand Restore your sense of place with Pura's new summer fragrance collection. Discover transportive clean scents@pura.com Most people don't realize how much of their personal information is being bought and sold every day. Data brokers are making billions, pulling details about you from public records and the Internet, then packaging and selling it, usually without your consent. That's how your information lands in the hands of scammers, spammers, even stalkers. It's why you get endless robocalls and why ads seem to follow you everywhere. That's where Aura comes in. Aura actively removes your data from broker sites and keeps it off. They also instantly alert you if your information shows up in a breach or on the dark web. But Aura goes beyond data protection. With one app, you get a vpn, antivirus, password manager, spam, call protection, dark web monitoring, and even up to $5 million in identity theft insurance. All backed by 24, 7 US based fraud support. Other companies might sell just credit monitoring or even just a vpn. Aura gives you all of it together at the same price competitors charge for just one service. Start your free trial today@aura.com safety. Protect yourself now@aura.com safety.
- [48:12]
B
Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly. Just for the tape, Barry, your Internet went down for the Andy Hunter bit, so you're forgiven for asking no question questions.
- [48:21]
A
Yes, I apologize. I had a lot of probing questions I wanted to ask Andy, but my part two heat map is rather threadbare. Sorry, technical difficulties.
- [48:31]
B
Nikki, can we talk about Pochettino to AC Milan? He's held talks with them or maybe they just. Well, they didn't email him to say he wasn't in their plans. He gave a very cagey keeping all options open press conference. What do you make of that?
- [48:44]
D
Well, I'm excited that it's not just one of Max Allegri, Antonio Conte or Maurizio Sari or the cycle of Italian acceptable managers that these clubs have decided are going to rotate through. So it'd be nice if. If Milan are willing to be a little bit more open than some of the. The circuit feels like it is at the moment. But having said that for Milan are a mess. I mean, the way. The way this has all been handled, it feels like they've made the clear out that everyone wanted at the end of the season. That was certainly a popular choice among the fans, but it does feel a bit like no one did that. With a thought of what's happening next and Ibrahimovic is off to the World cup and could someone show a little bit of leadership and get this situation in hand? I don't know, but it's certainly nice again that it's a name that's not just one of the immediate names that's already been in charge of one of the other top clubs in Italy in the last five minutes.
- [49:37]
C
Niki, one question. Are the Italians already claiming Poch as one of their own and now they're saying Pochettino and not Pochettino and remembering that he actually comes from Italy or some part of him is from Italy. Have they already done that?
- [49:51]
D
I haven't had that, but yeah, that'll be a fun one for the pronunciation, the hard chk. I think he's famous enough that probably he gets the right pronunciation on that one.
- [50:04]
B
In other manager news, Frank Lampard was the favorite for the palace job after Iriola. Looks like he's off to Liverpool, but now the Lons manager, Pierre Sarge is in. I'd be very excited, Philippe, about someone being called Sarge and suggested he should dress as a sergeant major. But tell us a little bit more about this guy.
- [50:22]
C
I hope this is not true because I think that what Sasha has done with Lance is just extraordinary. Lance has had a season, just a magnificent season. They recently won the French cup as well. In the brilliant game against Sergey S. Nice, they really pushed PSG as much as they could. He inherited a squad. Honestly, Lance is one of those clubs, every time they do well, they lose their best players, which is the typical French thing to do, because those clubs have no other way to survive. So really well run club with an excellent owner, fabulous fan base, terrific manager. And now you're telling me he's about to leave, so I feel rather sad about that. But he would be a very good fit. I think he could do a Regis Lebree, you know, in England, he's that good. And that is actually really loved by his players as well, and by the fans and even by the press. So I do hope that he doesn't leave Lance, but unfortunately he might be a little bit too good to stay in Lens.
- [51:24]
B
Barry Anthony Gordon was unveiled at Barcelona. His Spanish was very impressive. I mean, I don't know why we should be surprised, but I was slightly surprised.
- [51:31]
A
It's probably a measure of my snobbery, but I was gobsmacked. It was quite surreal seeing Anthony Gordon standing there talking really good Spanish. So, yeah, that's a bad reflection on me rather than him. I. I find the whole transfer slightly perplexing. He's a fine player. I. I don't know if he's as good as he perhaps thinks he is. But look, we were all surprised when Rafina ended up at Barcelona because he wasn't particularly brilliant at Leeds and they've turned him into a fine player. So who's to say they won't do the same with. With Anthony Gordon.
- [52:13]
B
Yeah, he said I wanted to speak Spanish because as a kid I believed I would play for Barca, believe it or not. I just wonder if Real Madrid had signed him, if he would have changed the name of the team. I had a physio in Newcastle. We spoke Spanish every day. I told him, one day I'll play for Barca and I want to learn Spanish. The international break has begun. I mean, Friendly's ahead of the World cup. Scholar meet Curacao, 4 1. We're recording our World cup previews this week and they'll be out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, next week. So a good win for Scotland, but Billy Gilmour's injury has put a bit of shade on that one onto Man City, who won the women's FA cup final beat Brighton 4 nil. Please go and subscribe to Guardian Women's Football Weekly, out tomorrow, wherever you get your podcasts. And I finish with this email from Adam Wells, who says, dear Pod, Barry's offer to bunk up with Wilson in Frankfurt for the Europa League final next year, which was instantly shot down by Wilson, a little instantly, if you ask me, needs to be revisited. Aside from the great cost of lost content, we would all feel the pinch of we need to reconsider this from the POV of the hotel. Not only would this be a rare case of neither guest in a double occupancy room not absconding with those irresistible mini toiletry bottles, but a potentially unique case of the shampoo and conditioner not being touched at all. In these austere times, it would be nice if these bourgeois media men could think of the little people for a change. Sincerely yours, Adam Wells. I'd forgot that Wilson did. Didn't wash his hair either. When we live together, will you wash your hair, Barry? I mean, I don't care. I honestly couldn't care less. I'm interested in. I'm. I was thinking today about it, Barry, Am I fascinated to know, will it be harder to live with one Barry or with two children under four? Because you maintain how amazingly like. You maintain so much almost. You protest too much about how easygoing you are and I'm interested to see what it's really going to be like.
- [54:01]
A
Well, you'll find out out soon enough and you can let everyone know. I think I'm very easy to believe with. I'm low maintenance. I'm tidy. Not obsessively so. I can cook a bit. I do my share of the. The housework. I put the bins out. Well, the trash now.
- [54:23]
B
Sure, yeah. Down the chute. Will we do laundry together or separately, do you think?
- [54:28]
A
Separately.
- [54:28]
B
Is this bond.
- [54:29]
A
Separately. I'm. Yeah. My laundry does not get sullied by other laundry.
- [54:36]
B
My laundry is your laundry. Oh, it's a one. You know, we're one family.
- [54:40]
A
The one thing I will not stand for.
- [54:43]
B
Right. Okay.
- [54:44]
A
Is if, in the very unlikely event I haven't taken my laundry out of the washing machine, as soon as the machine finishes, if anyone else takes it out and throws it in a pile on the floor or on a table or in the back of a chair.
- [55:00]
C
Yeah.
- [55:01]
A
I will become enraged.
- [55:03]
H
All right.
- [55:04]
A
And you will see a side of me you have never seen before.
- [55:09]
B
So I'm to hang up and you won't like it. Do you have Any nerves about living with me, or do you think it'll be fine?
- [55:16]
A
I think it'd probably be fine, yeah. As long as I'm not hearing secondhand complaints about how things are going at home.
- [55:25]
B
Yeah.
- [55:27]
A
I mean, you're allowed a couple, but not relentless.
- [55:30]
B
I'll make a WhatsApp group and I'll say every time Jamie wants to say, it's 4 o' clock and they're both awake. How's your hotel room? I will. You'll have to be included, I hope. Are we sharing a bathroom or do you think we get our own one each?
- [55:44]
A
We're sharing an apartment and I presume there's only one bathroom? I don't know, but I have Google Image, Google map to it, and to seek out local amenities. All right, so there's a diner nearby, there are a couple of nice bars and restaurants and we're in. I'm a big fan of the Michael Connelly Bosch novels. Harry Bosch, the. The Detective. We're right staying bang in the middle of Bosch country. So there's lots of bars and restaurants he eats and drinks in that I want to visit.
- [56:15]
B
Right, okay.
- [56:16]
A
But we're not going to have much spare time match because you're going to have to watch nine to five football matches a day.
- [56:24]
B
Anyway. Anyway, more of this and on, no doubt. We're off for a week now. World cup preview pods out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday next week. And then we go daily from base camp in Los Angeles. From the opening day of the World cup on Thursday, we're releasing a World cup special episode of our sister podcast, Science Weekly, answering questions on players and heat, climate change and the psychology of var. Look out for that on your Football Weekly feed. But that'll do for today. Thank you, everybody. Thank you, Nicky.
- [56:49]
D
Thanks.
- [56:50]
B
Thanks, Philippe.
- [56:51]
F
Max.
- [56:51]
B
Cheers, Baz.
- [56:52]
D
Thank you.
- [56:53]
B
Football Weekly is produced by Ty Papula. Our executive producer is Joel Grove. Back next week.
- [57:08]
A
This is the Guardian.
- [57:17]
B
Hi, pod fans. Max here. Barry's here, too.
- [57:19]
A
Hello.
- [57:20]
B
Football Weekly is supported by Hotels.com. now, Barry, question. When you're booking a hotel, do you use hotels.com? actually, you're probably just going to say, I don't know. Producer Joel does it.
- [57:28]
A
I don't know. Producer Joel does it.
- [57:30]
B
Well, I think you should give it a try for yourself. Obviously, it's a massive summer of soccer and loads of our listeners will be traveling to watch the tournament and needing to book somewhere great to stay. So it's good to know that when you're a Hotels.com member, you can save up to 20% on hundreds of thousands of hotels. Plus you earn rewards on every stay, so each trip you take helps pay for your future trip trips. Just use those rewards like cash. And importantly, there are never any blackout dates.
- [57:53]
A
What's a blackout date?
- [57:55]
B
Well, it's a date where you can't use travel rewards frustratingly, usually on or around major holidays or other peak travel periods. But there are no blackout dates with hotels.com rewards.
- [58:04]
A
Superb.
- [58:05]
B
Yes. So next time you're booking somewhere to stay, just book it at hotels.com hotels.com it's all in the name.
- [58:19]
G
Summer smells like salt in the air and warm sand. Restore your sense of place with Pura's new summer fragrance collection. Discover transportive clean scents@pura.com Most people don't
- [58:31]
F
realize how much of their personal information is being bought and sold every day. Data brokers are making billions, pulling details about you from public records and the Internet Internet, then packaging and selling it, usually without your consent. That's how your information lands in the hands of scammers, spammers, even stalkers. It's why you get endless robocalls and why ads seem to follow you everywhere. That's where Aura comes in. Aura actively removes your data from broker sites and keeps it off. They also instantly alert you if your information shows up in a breach or on the dark web. But Aura goes beyond data protection. With one app, you get a vpn, antivirus, password manager, spam, call protection, dark web monitoring, and even up to $5 million in identity theft insurance. All backed by 24. 7 US based fraud support. Other companies might sell just credit monitoring or just a vpn. Aura gives you all of it together at the same price. Competitors charge for just one service. Start your free trial today@aura.com safety protect yourself now now@aura.com safety.