Duncan Barkes

Oh, sorry.

I got this cold.

I should have been in bed, not watching football.

Oh, forgive me.

But in this type of broadcasting, it's perfectly acceptable.

Gone are the days where at the BBC they would have... I'll tell you what they'd have done at the BBC if you'd been... At Radio 5, if you'd been under the weather in the way that I am, they would have called a nurse.

Oh, I really mean it.

But I'm going to persevere because I honestly think that there are a great many positives for us to take from the game.

However, there is a however.

And the however is, Arsenal seemed quite happy to let us play a little bit.

We had more time on the ball than we do against championship sides.

Because championship sides just close you down.

It's frantic.

There are regularly six to eight men within 10 yards of the ball.

Everybody straining at the leash to get a touch in.

And you get this ping pong bagatelle off shins and legs.

And eventually the ball squirts out of the melee.

It's almost like a rugby mall of players.

And somebody gets a chance to hold on to it.

And if they do make a meaningful pass of it, they'll pass it back to the keeper.