23/04/2017 MOTD2 Extra

Hello and welcome to MOTD2 Extra on BBC Two and BBC Sport website.

Joining me, the former England and Arsenal defender, Matt Upson, Phil

Bardsley and Shaun Custis, head of sport at Sutton. We would love you

to get involved, use the hash tag #bbcfootball on social media and you

can text us on 85058. Coming up, yesterday's goals as Chelsea beat

Spurs. Who will they face? We look ahead to Arsenal against Manchester

City. Hull beat Watford, six wins out of seven under Marco Silva. They

boost their hopes of Prem league survival. Swansea beat Stoke to end

a six match winless run. In the papers, the Express, record bid for

Monaco starlet. In the Sun, Antonio Conte's big risk pays off. The Times

has double vision and a story about Manchester United's Zlatan

Ibrahimovic's career could be over. Quite a semifinal at Wembley, wasn't

it? Hugo Lloris on his toes. Willian

scores for Chelsea! Christian Eriksen. Good ball. Little flick on.

It is in the net! Harry Kane, who else?

Penalty. He has given it. Willian to put Chelsea in front. And he does!

That is a delightful ball. What a great goal. Dele Alli scores it but

Christian Eriksen makes it with one of the assists of the season. In

goes the corner kick. It is dangerous. It is Eden Hazard and it

is in! Eden Hazard scores for Chelsea! Eden Hazard for Chelsea.

Cesc Fabregas onside. Still Eden Hazard. Brilliant goal! The Man U

matter which hammers Chelsea to within touching distance of the FA

Cup final itself -- Nemanja Matic. That goal is ludicrous. Five shots

on target. Four goals. You were at Wembley. It was a pleasure to be

there. Fantastic atmosphere which you always get with semifinals at

Wembley, you get a bigger allocation for the fans. Chelsea answered some

questions yesterday. April were beginning to doubt them. Spurs

answered other questions, are they the real deal? -- people were

beginning to doubt them. Spurs said they could put pressure on Chelsea

psychologically if they won. It has been a hammer blow for Spurs. With

Chelsea, the one thing Antonio Conte has done is he has put trust in

other players around the starting XI which has served him so well this

season. Chelsea walk away from that game knowing that the manager trusts

the whole squad and he can structure the team and bring players on and

leave players out of the team and still get a great result. He would

have been slaughtered if it had gone wrong, leaving Eden Hazard and Diego

Costa on the bench. Absolutely. The players they have got... Willian,

Pedro. I think obviously leaving Diego Costa and Eden Hazard out goes

to show the strength and depth of the squad. They have come to the

fore and as a defender myself, 75 minutes, 70 minutes, seeing Eden

Hazard about to come on, your worst nightmare. What is that like?

Normally he starts the game you can engage with him early doors. Coming

off the bench, fresh, raring to go, semifinal of the cup, he is there to

make a statement and he did that. Eden Hazard was rested but Diego

Costa was dropped. Two big players. Questions about Diego Costa go on.

They are fed up with him, the constant courting of the move. It

has been happening again this season. Is he fully focused on the

job? Eden Hazard is fully focused. When you see him come on, that must

have made Spurs thing, we are almost out on our feet, we have fought

hard, we have had the possession, a player like him comes on... I

thought Diego Costa was pretty good when he came on. He roughed them up.

But Eden Hazard made the 10% difference. With Diego Costa, he is

on the verge of maybe winning the FA Cup, Premier League, you can

understand why his head would be turned up about or cash! Come on,

Phil. Winning trophies is what it is all about. Look at his age and the

stage of his career, to make that decision about money now is a big

call because you look back and say, you look at the real achievements in

your life of what football brings, it is the title winning teams,

winning trophies. It must be the biggest reward as a player. Oscar

has gone to China. They are being picked by Brazil. For them, the

foreign players, maybe it isn't such a big deal to go to China. I do not

look at Oscar being the main man at Chelsea. Diego Costa is one of the

main men. Maybe they have got their eyes on other strikers. Tottenham,

we talk about the old Spurs having gone, but some might say they

fluffed the Premier League last season and this was a chance of a

trophy and they might not win the Premier League this season. They did

not play that badly yesterday, they were a bit unlucky at times. I do

think confidence wise they will be wondering, have they got it? Big

test this summer, will they invest? They seem reluctant because of the

way they did it a few years ago, spent money, did not work. You have

the building of the stadium. We do not see Tottenham associated with

the big names around Europe. Whenever we say, Man United, going

for a certain player, Chelsea, Arsenal. You do not hear Spurs being

mentioned as a club who will battle for the big names. The point you

make with the stadium is valid because any club that has such a

huge project happening as Spurs have with the stadium, they will have a

season of just consolidating and keeping together. Arsenal were very

similar when they moved out of Highbury to the Emirates. They had a

season or two when the team consolidates and stays as it is.

Mauricio Pochettino will be very disappointed with yesterday because

they dominated huge periods of the game especially before the penalty

that was given away, I do not think Chelsea were barely in the final

third for 20 minutes. They were controlling the midfield. It was

just mistakes for Tottenham. Hugo Lloris on the free kick will be

disappointed with his position. He had a slight shift to the right. He

would have expected to save that. The penalty was a striker playing at

wingback, really. The new stadium, what about the one in between? They

potentially have to play next season at Wembley. They have to decide

soon. They have lost seven FA Cup semifinals there. It is tough,

especially leaving your ground for a season. Do you have that in certain

grounds, you cannot explain it, something does not click? Yeah, but

you have to buy into it and the biggest problem Mauricio Pochettino

has is keeping the top players. Some of the big boys come calling in the

summer, I think he will possibly lose a couple. You have got to start

to look at Tottenham as a big boy. The last two leagues, pushing to win

the title. Total respect but I think Dele Alli and speculation about Kyle

Walker being unhappy. It comes back to money. If they will not paid the

money other clubs will be prepared to pay. If the finances work

themselves out, they will be in a position to buy new players. If you

were Dele Alli, you might make the right noises, but if Barcelona or

Real Madrid comes knocking, it is difficult to turn down, even though

he is young. The supporters are really pleased with the club. If you

were a Tottenham fan, you would be really impressed with what direction

the club is going in. A lot of young English talent. I think as a

supporter, it is a great club. For me, watching, they are the best to

watch on the eye and playing against them, we have had four stuck past

us. They have obviously got terrific English talent and that is what is

catching the eye of a lot of people. Dele Alli, you have played against

him this season, what is so impressive? He takes you into areas

that as a defender you do not want to go into. He sucks you in deep. He

does not want you around him tackling him. He will take you

places where he can get freedom and turn. I really like the runs he

makes into the box, late runs, not marked. He creates space as top

players do. He just keeps doing that. It was highlighted yesterday,

his goal, it is just... He reminds me of Paul Scholes. His desire to

get there. He is level between two defenders. He makes it into the box

and puts the finish in. The intelligence and he plays with

freedom and desire of a young player that has nothing to fear. They are a

very close-knit group. I do not want to bang on about it, but if they

lose one, it upsets it. Christian Eriksen, an integral part of the

team. They are coming together as a unit. You lose one vital cog and it

makes them vulnerable. Dele Alli absolutely key to the project, the

manager, risking Ericsson, there are a few parts, if one were to fall

away, who knows what the future would be -- Christian Eriksen. I am

sure the manage and club are where. We talk about Tottenham being big

maybe the only thing they are short of is the wage structure compared to

Man City, united, Chelsea. It is on a different level. That is the only

reason possibly why players would not want to stay. That is possibly

why they are going to a new stadium to try to generate that. Wait and

see. Arsenal against Manchester City shortly. A couple of big derbies are

ready. Celtic against Rangers in the semifinal of the Scottish Cup. The

latest from Andy Gillies. It is Celtic 1-0 Rangers. Fantastic goals

in the semifinals this weekend already and we have seen a really

good one here as well. Long ball forward from Celtic that found

Moussa Dembele with terrific control initially and the vision to lay it

back to Callum McGregor who passed the ball into the back of the net

from 25 yards. Terrific goal. Celtic absolutely dominant. Rangers

struggling to lay a glove on them. They have not created and a pigeon

idiot. At the moment Celtic heading for the final with Aberdeen. -- they

have not created an opportunity. Harry Redknapp, first game in charge

against Aston Villa. In Birmingham. Ian Stringer? 27 minutes gone,

taking it in his stride. The visitors deserve a lot of credit. He

has played three at the back. Aston Villa trying to exploit the hole

with Jack Grealish. Birmingham holding their own. You would not be

able... Chance in the tent minute, pantomime villain, could not get the

cross in. 27 minutes gone, 0-0. Former Birmingham player. How

shocked are you to see them struggling to stay in the

Championship? It has been a real surprise. They were stable under

Gary Rowlett who did a good job. Seventh when they sacked him. Great

position for them. Having worked with Gianfranco Zola. I can imagine

why you would employ him, I enjoyed working with him as a player, but it

went wrong. They are scrapping for survival in the Championship. It is

a huge turnaround. This fixture might be great for them, difficult,

but I have played in this fixture and it is a feisty occasion.

Sometimes that can bring the team together. Harry Redknapp, he will

not get bored at this! 70. He loves it. He has been itching to get back.

You hear him on TV and you read his columns in the Standard, you know

that if he had a sniff of a chance to come back, he wants to keep

managing forever. Turning our attentions to the bottom of the

Premier League, Swansea's win over Stoke. Sorry, Phil. Do you see in

the Swansea side enough that they think they can stay in the Premier

League? Disappointing day for us yesterday off the back of a good

result against Hall at home, to go into the game, confident, playing

decent stuff, just didn't turn up on the day. Credit to Swansea, they

laid down the marker early doors, got some good tackles in, and

unfortunately we couldn't get into the game. Leon Britton, the return

of him, he is everything involving Swansea. To come back at this stage

of the season for them. He played terrific yesterday, sat in the

middle of midfield, he makes them tick. I'm surprised he hasn't played

more this year, I'm sure he will be disappointed. On the back of a

performance yesterday I'm sure he will be in the team. First

appearance for Leon Britton since New Year's Eve. In these relegation

battle is how crucial is it to have experience like that at the crucial

time? It is huge, and he is passionate about the football club,

Leon Britton. Whenever I see him talk about Swansea he loves the

club, and that goes a long way in this position because you can

technically get it right, you can tactically get it right but

ultimately what keeps you in the Premier League at this stage are

players like that who are willing to go the extra yard, the extra mile

for the club and the more of those you your team it gives you a huge

chance to survive. I'm sure he would never admit this but the motivation

for Swansea must have been bigger, they knew it was a must win game for

them, they had to do it. However you argue it, Stoke are in comfortable

mid-table. And for Swansea it was a must, it had to happen, everybody

had to be on their game and it looked like they were yesterday and

they live to fight another day. It was a bold approach from Paul

Clement, playing with Llorente and Ayew upfront. Yes, we knew it would

be tough, Llorente is a big strong boy and Ayew has a point to prove

coming in in January. They played well together to be perfectly

honest. They caused us problems all day. A lot of focus on Llorente.

Yes, as I say, he is a big strong boy, they can mix up their play,

they can go direct into him, or they can play through Leon Britton and

Sigurdsson who was very good yesterday as well. On the whole for

us it was a disappointing result, as we thought it was a great chance for

us to get back in the top ten and push on. But it wasn't to be and

hopefully we can dust ourselves off and go again next week. Paul Clement

really wants to prove himself as a manager in the Premier League. He's

done very well as a coach, Derby, not sure why he had to leave Derby,

but he did and this is his big test and you could tell by the way he was

talking this week that he was desperate to get them back on track,

desperate to show he can match any of the other Premier League

managers. He's a proud man. That will be as big a win for him as it

is for the players. And for as we knew going to Swansea they were

fighting for their lives so you have two come out fighting straightaway

and we didn't do that yesterday. That was disappointing. Swansea go

to Manchester United next, Everton at home, Sunderland away, West Brom

at home, in that battle with Hull, I was at the KCOM yesterday, 2-0

winners over Watford. They went down to ten men, Hull, after 25 minutes,

Oumar Niasse it sent off. Let's chat to Michael Dawson, the Hull Captain.

Good afternoon, guys. The significance of winning the game

when you are down to ten men, what will that do for your confidence and

togetherness in this battle? I think we have shown an awful lot of that

since Christmas, since the manager came in. That is credit to him. We

have a squad together that we believe capable of staying in the

Premier League and our home form is vital. The record that we have had

since Christmas has been second to none, it's been incredible. It was

about winning our home games fourth of yesterday was a game that we

looked at having to win. Going down to ten men after 25 minutes, that

shows the character and togetherness. I don't believe it was

a red card and Oumar was gutted when he got a red, when we started the

game we were on top. To go down to ten men, we were under a lot of

pressure but we stood strong and the two goals in the second half, it was

thoroughly deserved and credit to the lads because they worked their

socks off. We talked about Marco Silva, we have picked him up on 5

live Xtra all season. How quickly has he moulded you together and how

impressed have you been? Incredibly well. He is a guy who is thorough,

everything he does, there is nothing uncovered on the training ground

going into the games. You are prepared. He sets you up and if you

are not doing your job you certainly know about it. He has set the

standards, as players we know on the training pitch Monday to Friday he

expects a performance because if you don't you will be out of the team.

He makes big decisions. He is a ruthless guy and to be a top manager

that is what you have to be, and to be successful. So credit to him and

hopefully we can keep doing what we are doing and stay out of the bottom

three come the end of the day. In those situations, I spoke to Marco

Silva after the game and he said he would appeal it because it was never

a red card from Bobby Madley on the Oumar Niasse. On those situations do

you either double your workrate or lose the game? That is what showed,

and a half-time, I knew at that time, thinking he hasn't left the

ground, all right, he has caught him. You look at it and I know

tackles happen and people take off, this isn't being biased because I am

a Hull player, that is not a red card. We don't want to take tackling

out and it was such a big decision with things riding on the game that

it riled us up and got the fans going and thankfully it didn't

affect the result. I understand how hard it is for referees but they are

big decisions and when you are down there, we didn't get it yesterday,

we got the three points which was the most important thing. Finally,

Michael, maybe still perhaps a bit of ill feeling from the fans towards

the owner etc, etc. But the atmosphere unquestionable. Yes, we

need that, we need the place to be rocking. Not just at Hull, but what

he did at his previous clubs, his home records have been amazing and

we need to state in the Premier League. After the first 15 minutes

we were disappointed not to get something out of the game and 15

minutes into the second half we took the game to them. Maybe it was a

little bit of naivete to be away at Stoke and going for the win, maybe

we should have sat back, they Mitu changes, Crouch and Jon Walters, who

gave us a handful when they came on. Our home form is important, we go to

Southampton next week and hopefully we can pick something up with the

confidence and form we are in, we have put ourselves in this position

and it is still in our hands and hopefully come the end of May we are

still a Premier League to because that is what you want as a player,

to play in the best league in the world in my opinion, and as a

football club it's just massive. Michael, we appreciate you coming on

today. Cheers, guys. The whole City captain Michael Dawson after their

win over Watford, incredible for Marco Silva, unbeaten in 41 games at

home acted 2014 when it was the Estoril manager, he has since

managed Olympiakos and Sporting Lisbon. On the flip side, the

Watford captain, not happy about their performance.

We have a moral responsibility to play a lot better than that because

we have at Liverpool, Chelsea, Everton and Man City in the run in.

If we think we can turn up and play like that we will definitely be on

the end of some big scores. The clearest thing I can say, not in the

business of apologising to fans, but that wasn't fair on our fans because

it is a long deep to get up here. It will be a long hard week, there will

be some words said and some things thrown and we will get people into

gear. It's not just about now, it's about next season. Everyone is

fighting for their position and we are all fighting for jobs because if

we play like that and lose the next five games, I think, I am pretty

sure the owner won't be happy in the manager will not be happy and they

will be more players going than coming. Matt Upson, is that the

right thing for the captain to say and do after the game? I think so,

it is good of him to come out and speak. From gauging the reaction of

what I've heard yesterday, the supporters really were not happy. I

think what magnifies the supporters' angle, and we talked about this

before the show, is the fact that they find it difficult to identify

with the group and the team at Watford because it is such a high

turnover of players over the last three or four seasons, they had a

huge amount of loanees, and I don't think they can quite identify in

what direction the club is going, even though they are in a great

position for where they are, I think fans and supporters identifying with

the players and the team is a huge part of enjoying a football club. If

you contrast it with Brighton who are coming up this season, the

community feel you have around Brighton where everybody is a

Brighton supporter, they are not interested in Arsenal and Man City

and Man United and all that, they want their hometown team. There is

an incredible community feel about that place and that Watford used to

have and you feel like it's gone now. Although they are safe and they

have done well, Matt is right, the turnover they have, you can't hope

to identify with anybody there, the manager, the owner and players, it's

impossible. Something is going right, they are tenth in the Premier

League and people watching will be wondering what you're talking about.

Quique Sanchez Flores lost his job when they were 13th, what will be

enough for Walter Mazzarri? Tenth? Where do they to be? You can see

Matt's point, it's easier for supporters to identify with local

players, rather than a new player coming in one season and often his

next club, whichever club the family on, you cannot hope to develop a

club long-term going forward. Eventually it is going to go wrong

and you presume they will be relegated and then that's the key

because then the fans really won't care because they don't identify. Do

the players understand that, Phil? That importance of the connection?

As you saw with Deeney, shaking their hands, is it something that

spreads across? Or is it only a few of you it resonates with?

Absolutely. A few of the clubs I've been lucky enough to play for have

always had a strong bond with the fans and the players. I think it is

a big factor in a football club. If the fans are onside and they are

with you then it makes it easier for a player. You have to give them

something to cheer about and obviously make them want to come and

follow you around the country week in and week out. Deeney is that

player, that's why he's the one talking to the fans, that's the one

that fans hone in on to get him to put it right. He has a huge

responsibility at the moment at Watford, and maybe unfairly on one

player. But because he is who they identify with, is he there longest

serving player? The fans can look at him and ask what is going on. They

are not asking the other players that. Two games in the Premier

League this afternoon. Liverpool v Crystal

Palace at 4:30pm; and Burnley

against Manchester United at 2:15pm. Steve Bower's at Turf Moor

for Match of The Day 2. Good afternoon. The win over

Anderlecht came at a real cost for Jose Mourinho's side on Thursday.

Absolutely, it is all hands to the deck for Manchester United with

those serious knee injuries for Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcos Rojo,

both expected to be out for a long period of time in terms of this

season, there will have to wrap Marcus Rashford up in cotton wool

who is trying to score for the third Premier League running today. Wayne

Rooney comes back into the thinking today, he hasn't a period in any of

the last five Manchester United games. They still have an

opportunity through the Premier League to get in the Champions

League spaces. The margin for error is very little, if they can win at

Burnley today which we will come to in it is easier said than done. It

will put them on a point of Manchester City before the

Manchester derby on Thursday, adding even more spice to that fixture.

They have got the hardest run in and they are down to knock the bare

bones but missing influential figures at the top and bottom of the

pitch. It is a chance for Michael Keane to impress against his old

club. In the Sunday Times he said he left United on loan but wanted to go

Barack Dummett back to prove himself. Lots of speculation about

his future and where he will be next season -- wanted to go back to prove

himself. Lots of clubs are interested. Whistle at the beginning

of this season, Leicester, when they were chances, bidding ?10 million

and ?12 million for him. He is a Man United fan, I watched him watching

the game against Chelsea at Old Trafford last Sunday. There is a 25%

sell on fee Manchester United have in that deal when he came to Burnley

so they might be able to use that to do what they did with Paul Pogba and

bring him back to the club, and you would think given the injury to

Marcos Rojo anyway that would be an area they would look to strengthen.

Is part of the Burnley team for Manchester United, bringing back a

painful memory of simile draws the season, 0-0 at Old Trafford.

Burnley, black and white, four points away from home, 32 here at

Turf Moor. The sixth best home record and Manchester United with

Michael Keane facing in the back four today, will have to be on their

mettle to get a result today. We have already seen Liverpool beaten

and Chelsea drop points and if Manchester United want to finish in

the top four in terms of their league position to get in the

Champions League they have to win this game. Burnley against

Manchester United kicks off at 2:15pm at Turf Moor. Matt Upson,

Michael Keane, parallels to you, leaving a big club and having to

rebuild, is that the right phrase, having to prove people wrong?

Definitely. I've been on the journey he is on now, the comparison to

where I was at 2040 Michael Keane is amazing in terms of the timings and

where he is in his career. It is another example of a talented in

this player that needs to play. When you are at a big club as a young

player you can be protected by the environment and the domination of

the team in matches and you don't really get the confidence to be

relied upon, or play every week. It has taken for him to leave a club

like Manchester United to go to Burnley with a manager that likes

resilience and likes players to defend with grit and determination

and learn his trade as a centre-back. He's had to go and

defend the box, he's had to deal with pressure, playing away, and all

those things that develop you as a young player, especially as a

defender and a centre-back, he has the experience now and he has

thrived on it and now looks the player he probably always was going

to be at Manchester United. You've done it as well.

Absolutely. I lot of us have gone away from Manchester United and made

a career. He is a shining example of what can be done. He has been linked

to a lot of top clubs. At the minute, he is at the right club,

Burnley, under Sean Dyche. It is difficult to leave a club like that.

In my experience, I had to really push that through. It is very easy

to stay in the security of such an amazing club. Sometimes for your own

personal development, the best thing is to branch out and do it. Fair

play to him, he has had the desire to do that to better himself. You

both knew you had to do it. You do not have any regrets, do you? No,

you get a taste of football as an 18-year-old and you play against men

and you want to do it every week and all of a sudden you are going back

to reserve team football and you are like, I want to play. That is

exactly what he has done. He was always in the background. Will was

the next big thing. He has gone off the radar. Lovely lad, fair play to

him. The next move is crucial for him because there is talk of him

potentially going to Liverpool, Everton, replacing Phil Jagielka,

Manchester City might be an option, huge decision process, all the top

clubs looking for defenders. Definitely. He is striking at a good

time. Outside of Chelsea and Spurs, every team is looking for a

centre-back. I do not think the level in that position is very high

at the moment. What a great problem to have for him. Anywhere as good.

With the right mentality, coming from Burnley where he has been

playing and enjoying his football, he has a good schooling there to go

and hold his own and progress. We mentioned about the costly night at

Old Trafford on Thursday, your paper saying Zlatan Ibrahimovic is off to

the US for an operation. What do we know? This is where he believes is

the right place to go to get it sorted. Some people suggesting his

career could be over. We always thought he was indestructible. He

has not suffered from injury greatly in his career. He has come here and

he is the main man and held off signing the contract. It shows even

people like him can be vulnerable to something like this happening. Such

a shame. We have loved watching him this season. We love his character,

you wanted him to stay in the Premier League because he is such a

great entertainer. Really hope he gets it sorted out. Definitely. To

go from... An example of how quickly football can change. To be at the

top of your game at that level at one minute and then have an incident

happened that could really flip it on its head. It would be huge

challenge for him to come back from this and I am sure he looks like the

type of person who is capable of it. Who would you rather play against,

Marcus Rashford or 's Latin Abramowitz? I came off the bench

early in the season and I marked him from a corner and I stood next to

him and gave him a nudge and he looked at me as if to say, you do

that again... I did not go near him after that! For me, top player. On

the other hand, what a breath of fresh air Marcus Rashford is going

to be. I think he will get his run till the end of the season in the

team and United fans are excited. There is a feeling they are

anaemic... There is a feeling they are

Why is it? Because he offers more channels? They both offer different

things but if you ask the one, defender's worst nightmare is a

striker running in from behind. Marcus Rashford's blistering pace.

It is difficult when you get two together, finding a place to

incorporate and engage. You have both of them in the team and one

pulling you here and another running you in the opposite direction. That

for me is the perfect balance. You can use lots of different players if

you are in the team and Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not there. If he is

there, you have to give it to him because he will go nuts. It will be

a big mess. Celtic leading Rangers by 1-0. Scottish Cup semifinal.

Harry Redknapp's first game in charge of Birmingham. You were at

the Hawthorns last Sunday. Is there the feeling now Liverpool who were

struggling against the lesser teams in the Premier League are starting

to get it right? I think so. Given some key players are missing, there

was no Henderson, Marne has been

outstanding. They are getting more resilient. They defended well

against West Brom even though they did not throw too much at them. They

coped. I thought it could be a challenge. They are sitting in a

great position having had an awful January I think. If you take that

month out of the equation, they would be around the title challenge.

You still play Liverpool before the end of the season. No, we played

them. I do not believe you that you have let it lie with Latin

Abramowitz! What about with someone like Firmino? We played a couple of

weeks back. The Liverpool team in the first half was the worst I have

seen in a long time. You were 1-0 up. Yes, we were doing really well.

They made a couple of changes that half-time. The whole team lifted.

Two players coming on. They took the game from us. The performances from

the two boys coming on, it gave the whole team and the fans a lift. It

just goes to show. Big test for them against Crystal Palace today. It was

well documented what Crystal Palace's run-in was like, the

hardest probably. Chelsea, Arsenal. They must be feeling really good

about themselves and probably preferring to play the bigger fish

than the smaller ones. They have really come on over the last few

weeks and pretty impressive stuff. Who will face Chelsea in the FA Cup

final at Wembley? Manchester City take on Arsenal in the other

semifinal and from both sides a final opportunity to win a trophy

this season. The FA Cup is very important game for me. It is the

next game and it is an opportunity to win a trophy this season. So of

course we are hopefully focused on that. My future is Sunday. The FA

Cup, how good the players are. I have said many times to them, they

still don't believe how good they are. They are fantastic players.

Winning titles helps you a lot. Winning helps you win more. I think

it could be a very intense game with two teams trying to move forward. A

very spectacular game. Once the first goal is scored. Let us hope we

score the first. Your thoughts on your old boss Matt Upson. He says,

it is more natural for local boys, they have been educated, players

like Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, they should take

responsibility, that is how we want to play, go together. Spot on for

you? The future of Arsenal even without Arsene Wenger? That is

Arsene Wenger's comments, that is as close as what he comes to maybe

publicly saying something about his players. He is not the type of

manager... Calling them out? He is not the type to do something like

that. Is that what he is trying to do? Maybe. Looking at that, he is

demanding something from them. If I compare them, looking at Spurs and

compare the group of English players to Tottenham? There is a huge

difference to what they are contributing, the Spurs players.

That is something for me in those comments he is highlighting. They

have quite a large group of young English players, some of them are

now in the middle of their careers or pushing on mid-20s, they are not

contributing and leading Arsenal as a football club enough compared to

the Tottenham players. That is a huge issue for Arsene Wenger and I

think the key to him getting the dressing room and the team back on

track possibly lies within that group. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, very

talented, where does he play question my very good at wingback

last week but he wants to play central. His issue is he wants to

play in that team and if you can be a starter at Arsenal, he will stay.

If he will not start, when he hits the crossroads, he will want to

leave. Interesting column in the Sun from Thierry Henry saying that the

FA Cup cannot make up for failure in the Premier League. I do not think

the Arsenal fans feel they will make up for it. They have been here

before. They do not feel it is enough. They want to see real

progress in the Premier League and they are not getting it. I do not

think he can hide anything. Two or three years ago, we thought it was

enough. It is not this time. This group of players, they have not made

any sustained contribution to that team. They have patches which make

you stand up and go, Alex Ross Mitch Inman had a good game. I see

Tottenham the English players, you know what you are getting from them

every week. They are on the pitch to start and they perform at a high

level consistently. For Arsenal, to move forward, that group of players

can lift that team. Having faced Manchester City this season, the

form of you were saying, Jesus could be back today, quite a proposition

-- the form of Sane. I faced him a couple of weeks back, exceptional

talent. Jesus, I played against him -- I have not played against him

yet, but watching him, exceptionally gifted player. Open expansive game

today. One I am looking forward to. Do you think Arsenal will play three

at the back again? Possibly. It might have been part of the reason

why they played three at the back against Middlesbrough, thinking of

this game moving forwards. Whatever formation, they will have to look at

Sane. Really interesting encounter. Phil, the importance for Pep

Guardiola winning a trophy? He is under as much pressure as Arsene

Wenger. People say, it is his first season, but it is Antonio Conte's

first season as well and he is proving it is not too difficult.

Thank you very much for your company. Mark is not here today.

There he is, back tonight. Albert is slightly high! He is in there! --

elbows slightly high. Arsenal against Manchester City is on Radio

5 Live. Quickly, Mark? Any advice? He looks like he is towing a

caravan! He will get round, probably another few hours! Good luck!

Whatever you are doing this Sunday, have a good one.