Episode 66 - Arsenal's Kai Havertz PROBLEM + Real Madrid STUN Man City

On today's episode, Patrick is joined by Neel Shelat to discuss all things Champions League from Tuesday's slate of games. They start with the big one, Real Madrid's 3-2 victory over Manchester City. Where were the new transfers, what went wrong for both teams, and can City bounce back in the 2nd leg? After discussing the other games from Tuesday, the conversation switches to the Saudi Pro league and the market opportunities for smart teams. Should more European clubs be trying to get players BACK from Saudi? The episode ends with Kai Havertz' season ending injury. Should Arsenal have made a move in January? Enjoy!

Neel's article on Man City's huge January window: https://www.thetransferflow.com/p/manchester-city-spent-180m-planning-for-the-future

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Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

01:04 - Neel’s Manchester City transfer article

03:17 - Marmoush is the biggest impact for this season

04:35 - These transfers were meant to rejuvenate an aging squad

05:16 - The transfers did not play early

05:53 - The start of the game + Real Madrid’s initial plan

07:29 - City should have taken more advantage of Madrid’s poor start

07:49 - City have forgotten how to close out games

09:48 - The pressing in this game was staggeringly incompetent

10:35 - Bellingham grew as the game went on

11:18 - Their 2020 matchup and the similarities between the games

12:42 - City’s intensity dropped in the second half

14:49 - The threat of Vinicius vs. De Bruyne

15:42 - Will City become more of a transition side with Marmoush?

17:28 - City must score early in the 2nd leg

18:28 - Quick roundup of Tuesday’s UCL games

18:55 - Juventus vs. PSV

21:33 - Dortmund vs Sporting + the transition to Kovac

24:42 - Opportunities for teams in the Saudi Pro League

25:46 - How many foreign players in the Saudi Pro League?

26:58 - Teams are maxed out - No more huge market movement

27:48 - Fofana example + the opportunity to get players to improve European teams

28:49 - Teams have to be careful with wages

31:08 - Players now have to be careful about getting replaced in a few years time

32:29 - The difference between Saudi and the Chinese Super League

35:16 - Kai Havertz out for the season for Arsenal

36:04 - The timing of moves matters

37:31 - Rotating players to avoid injuries during long seasons

39:06 - Arsenal have ran their stars into the ground

39:45 - Options to replace Havertz + players returning from injury for Arsenal

40:42 - Arteta needs to think about his 13/14 key player rotation + Using Arsenal’s great academy

42:16 - The amount of games are not going to go down ($$$$$$)

42:55 - Where to find Neel

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