Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
If I thought you were cool, we would have hung out more in school, everybody. Welcome to the Football Ramble! Arsenal are through to the Champions League final. It's Wednesday 6th of May. I'm Marcus Speller.
Chapter 2: What was the atmosphere like at the Emirates during the Champions League semi-final?
I'm giddy Jimmy Campbell. And I too am Jimmy Campbell. Je suis Jim Campbell.
Yeah, I feel like we should save that for when he does something really abhorrent and we have to stick by it.
Well, when you learn about... Yeah, sorry. ...abhorrent things I've done.
Historic abhorrent things from Jim Campbell. Yes. What an evening, by the way.
And those things could have happened after the final whistle last night. I have to say, and it gives me great pleasure to say thanks to friend of the Ramble, Hank Madoukas. Madoukas for giving us that intro line. Good old Hank.
If you want to submit an intro line like Hank and become a legend for a future episode, get an extended edition of today's show as well, then become a friend of the Ramble on our Patreon. Just head to patreon.com forward slash football ramble to get involved. All right then, Jimmy. Arsenal 1, Atletico Madrid 0. 2-1 on AG.
Arsenal have qualified for the first Men's Champions League final since 2006. And AG is the right word, isn't it?
Based on the scenes right at the end. Yes, a little croaky voice there. Yes, very much so. That's more to do with hay fever, which has been...
absolutely kicking no one wants to hear about that lately it was an absolutely pulsating atmosphere at the Emirates last night one of the best I've ever experienced after the game while they were playing Friedrum Desire which I think it might be a UEFA choice I don't know UEFA take over don't they the concrete was shaking And that is a weird feeling.
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Chapter 3: How did Arsenal secure their place in the Champions League final?
Totally.
And I find myself quite moved by that. I was actually a little bit jealous watching on TV because, you know, from a neutral who wasn't there, it really felt like Atletico would have to conjure something out of nothing. And obviously the saw off chance at the end, I thought they had done that. Yeah. But even after that, it wasn't just groans. It was like, come on, we'll pick you up.
Obviously, we've had the London Marathon a couple of weeks ago. And you know those videos that come out of someone struggling and a couple of runners kind of put their own race aside and carry them forward. It felt a little bit like that, you know? It was a bit like, come on, it's fine. We still got this. The finish line's over there. Let's go there.
Yeah, the home advantage was really... I think Arsenal, I think they are a better side than Atletico Madrid. I don't think that's a controversial take.
And I always fancied... Fewer Nepo babies on your Arsenal team as well.
Yeah, exactly. And I always fancied them to beat Atletico or at least sort of, you know, do enough, you know, sort of edge them by the odd goal, which they did, of course. But that home advantage, particularly in the second leg, it was incredible.
Saka said post-match, didn't he, that he'd never seen an atmosphere like it at the Emirates and kind of reminded everybody that it's probably the biggest game ever at the Emirates, which I thought was a very fair point. As I say, the atmosphere and so on, it was something else. And they were getting the last 15 minutes, every interception, everything was celebrated.
Come on, come on, you can do this. And this was despite me trying to remind all the Arsenal fans that if they do go on to win the Champions League, they'll be the worst European champions of all time. Come to me, come to me. This is why you don't get gigs. And I don't understand why UEFA can't do anything about that.
What a time to be angling for gigs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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Chapter 4: What factors contributed to Arsenal's confidence in the match against Atletico Madrid?
I probably don't think he'll reach Drogba's levels at all as an individual footballer. But he has come to understand the role he plays in the team for games like this. Because this is, you know, this is usually, I appreciate, Havertz was injured, wasn't he?
He was on the bench, but he's coming back from a small setback.
But that's a Havertz game, really. You know, two months ago, that's a Kai Havertz game. And... You know, he came on and he did have its like role in a very different way in terms of like, he got them as far away from Arsenal's goal as possible. He put pressure on. And, you know, credit to him because, I mean, the chance, that is the big one. He does have to put that away.
He does at least have to hit the target.
At the time, I thought that that had come in maybe a bit too quick, was at a difficult height, and had a bit of bend on it, but looking at it back, I think you're probably right.
It's a lovely baller. We've all done it.
It stands up and you think, I'm going to side foot this. Well, we've done it. Not at the Emirates, though.
But you have been at the Emirates.
Yes, not on the pitch. It's not Old Trafford. But I, you know, you totally see, oh, yeah, and the way the ball's going, and it goes over the bar. But the fact of the matter is, when you're in the latter stages of the Champions League, in those crucial moments, you know, you look at the other forwards, the other teams who are left in the competition. It's what we were saying the other day.
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Chapter 5: How did the performance of individual players impact Arsenal's game?
It was like they wanted their lover back sort of thing. It was an amazing spell he cast on those players. I don't know if Maresca, there's something there. But yeah, Chelsea, I mean, it's an absolute shit show. They can't finish fifth in the league anymore.
They will be, as a number of teams around them, will be hoping that Villa do them a solid because if Villa do win the Europa League and finish fifth, then sixth place will go to the Champions League and the Premier League. And that's currently Bournemouth. And Villa, okay, they've got to get past Forest. And that's a huge game tomorrow night.
Villa rested a lot of players against Spurs and Villa's home form is really good aside from that one absolute abomination that they put in at the weekend. So weird. Yeah, yeah. But I mean, yeah, they've got a good chance of turning that around. But still... I think Chelsea now, they've got hope for Villa to do that.
And even if they do, are Chelsea really going to catch Bournemouth?
Well, this is it. Because they look like a group of players who, it's not that they don't have any belief in the project at the moment. It's that they don't really know what it even is. Like, if you are a Chelsea player, what sort of future are you looking at at the club?
Because if they continue with the policy, which, you know, kind of some wise heads suggest that they're now finally considering tweaking that and going for some more experienced players amongst the youth players they bring in and sort of shifting the balance on that a little bit.
What a thing.
Yeah, right, exactly. It's just like, as a senior player, you might think, am I just wasting my best years here while they kind of keep acting as like essentially a marketplace for young players? Yeah, totally.
Those Chelsea players, they have to take some share of the blame because, yes, we can blame the board. Yeah, we can say the manager wasn't up to it. But my goodness, they have been piss poor. I take your point about, say, Enzo Fernandes, who, let's be honest, would bloody love, you know, sending up an SOS call to Real Madrid. And they are reportedly interested in him.
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