Handbrake Off: The Athletic FC's Arsenal show

Amy Lawrence and James McNicholas join Ian Stone to discuss Arsenal’s 1-0 win away to Brighton on Wednesday. The panel reflect on the outside noise surrounding Arsenal, having perspective in relation to the difficult seasons of the past, Gabriel’s immense performance, the midfield duo desperately in need of rest, missing Merino and Odegaard, Saka scoring on his 300th appearance the club, Hincapie...

Amy Lawrence and Adrian Clarke join Ian Stone to discuss Arsenal’s 2-1 win against Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on Sunday. The panel reflect on the game being a painful watch, struggling to see out the final minutes, the lack of ruthlessness, the hurdles to overcome when trying to get over the line for the first time, needing the courage to continue to attack when defending a lead, whether Rice and...

Amy Lawrence and Art de Roché join Ian Stone to look ahead to Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on Sunday. The panel discuss how they’re feeling as fans as crunch time approaches, how the team navigate the next three league games before the international break, building on the momentum from the Spurs win, embracing the enjoyment of their offensive play, striking the right attacking balance in the upcomi...

Amy Lawrence and Adrian Clarke join Ian Stone to discuss Arsenal’s 4-1 win away to Spurs on Sunday. The panel reflect on how the Arsenal players bounced back after the mid-week disappointment against Wolves, Saka playing close to his highest level, Gyokeres best game in an Arsenal shirt, the attackers playing closer together, how Arteta can get more out of Eze after scoring five goals against Spur...

James McNicholas and Adrian Clarke join Ian Stone to discuss Arsenal’s 2-2 draw away to Wolves on Wednesday night.   The panel reflect on the fear felt throughout the club, Arsenal’s lack of attacking endeavour as the game went on, the lack of chemistry in attack, if Arteta’s football is too controlled, lack of game changers in the squad, the equalising goal, and whether this squad has a ment...

Amy Lawrence and Adrian Clarke join Ian Stone to discuss Arsenal’s 4-0 win against Wigan at Emirates Stadium in the FA Cup on Sunday. The panel reflect on the hunger of the squad after nine changes to the starting 11, Martinelli playing like he was on a mission, wanting to see more of Saka in midfield, Eze seizing his opportunity by pulling the strings, Kepa’s great response to Setford coming on f...

Art de Roché and Adrian Clarke join Ian Stone to discuss Arsenal’s 1-1 draw away to Brentford on Thursday night. The panel reflect on whether the result was a point gained or two points lost, the poor first half display, whether Arsenal are risk-averse, Raya’s concentration after another big save to redeem his mistake, Madueke’s towering header, Saka not looking fit when he came on, the need to re...

Amy Lawrence and Adrian Clarke join Ian Stone to discuss Arsenal’s 3-0 win against Sunderland at Emirates stadium on Saturday.  The panel reflect on how both teams approached the game, the different ways Arsenal can win games, taking more shots from outside the box, Zubimendi continuing to add to his game, the effective timing of the substitutions, Raya’s reliability after another clean sheet...

Amy Lawrence and Art de Roché join Ian Stone to discuss Arsenal’s 1-0 win against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg to book their place at Wembley. The panel reflect on the celebrations after Havertz’s last minute goal, the impressive defensive unit, whether Arteta will choose Kepa or Raya for the final, the performances of Rice and Martinelli, if Arsenal should’ve had a penalty, th...

Amy Lawrence and Art de Roché join Ian Stone to discuss Arsenal’s emphatic 4-0 win away to Leeds on Saturday.  The panel reflect on a great weekend for the Gunners, the team’s response to a difficult week, Arteta’s decision to start Havertz over Odegaard, Zubimendi’s ability in the air and Madueke’s encouraging display as the forward line found their shooting boots after the recent scrutiny.&...

Amy Lawrence and Adrian Clarke join Ian Stone to discuss Arsenal’s 3-2 win against Kairat Almaty at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night. The panel reflect on Arteta’s pre match press conference and his message to the players and fans, Havertz scoring and assisting on his first start since returning from injury, Martinelli’s excellent performance, Kairat’s away support, enjoying the new league form...

Amy Lawrence and Adrian Clarke join Ian Stone to reflect on Arsenal's 3-2 defeat to Manchester United, and ask whether the result really is the end of the world. The panel discuss the nature of the loss, what it means for the Gunners' title hopes and whether Mikel Arteta and his players can use it as a wake up call. Plus, the lack of attacking threat, what needs to change and whether the biggest t...

James McNicholas and Art de Roché join Ian Stone to discuss Arsenal’s 3-1 win away to Inter on Tuesday night to make it seven wins from seven games in the Champions League.  The panel reflect on the exciting attacking display, the space afforded to Arsenal in Europe, the strength of the squad after heavy rotation, Jesus’s player of the match performance, the benefit of Gyokeres off the bench,...

Amy Lawrence and Adrian Clarke join Ian Stone to discuss Arsenal’s 0-0 draw away to Nottingham Forest  The panel reflect on the disappointment of not fully capitalising on dropped points from rivals, the mis-firing frontline, the lack of urgency in attacking play, the impact the schedule is having on players, missing Calafiori on the left and taking perspective on the season as a whole. ...

Art de Roché and James McNicholas join Ian Stone to discuss Arsenal’s 3-2 win away to Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday night.  The panel reflect on their disappointment that the lead wasn’t bigger going into the second leg despite the win, Arsenal’s aggressive pressing, a good night for White, Gyokeres’ improved performance, Zubimendi’s attacking dimension, how the...

Amy Lawrence and Adrian Clarke join Ian Stone to discuss Arsenal’s 4-1 win away to Portsmouth on Sunday.  The panel reflect on Marli Salmon becoming the youngest player to represent the club in the FA Cup, Gabriel Martinelli responding to a difficult week with his first career hat-trick, Mikel Merino’s performance in the holding midfield role, Ethan Nwaneri’s encouraging display, Kai Havertz’...

Adrian Clarke and Art de Roché join Ian Stone to discuss Arsenal’s 0-0 draw at home to Liverpool on Thursday night.  The panel reflect on whether Arsenal lacked bravery in a disappointing performance, losing control in midfield in the second half, Gyokeres’ ineffective showing, the atmosphere in the ground, the lack of urgency to win the game, the Martinelli incident during stoppage time and...

Amy Lawrence and Art de Roché join Ian Stone to discuss Arsenal’s 3-2 victory away to Bournemouth on Saturday.  The panel reflect on the teams’s ability to get tight victories over the line, players improving since arriving at Arsenal, the midfield fluidity, Zubimendi’s impressive season so far, Odegaard hitting top form, Gabriel’s atonement for his early mistake, and Rice’s new chant followi...

Amy Lawrence, Art de Roché and James McNicholas join Ian Stone to discuss Arsenal’s 4-1 victory against Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.  The panel reflect on the freedom Arsenal played with in the second half, the two Martins running the midfield, Trossard’s excellent 2025, Jesus’ first goal since returning from injury, Gabriel’s influence on the team and the importance...

Amy Lawrence and Adrian Clarke join Ian Stone to discuss both Arsenal’s 2-1 win against Brighton at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday and their quarterfinal win against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup last week. The panel reflect on another nervy finish to the game, feeling positive about Arsenal’s attacking play despite poor finishing, Odegaard’s encouraging performance, Raya’s importance a...

Welcome to a special Handbrake Off bonus episode featuring some of our favourite stories and questions from our new segment 'Up Your Arsenal'.  We’ll be back with a regular podcast on Monday 29th December, where the panel will reflect on both Arsenal's Premier League game against Brighton and their Carabao Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace.  Please keep the Up Your Arsenal submiss...

Amy Lawrence and Adrian Clarke join Ian Stone to discuss Arsenal’s 1-0 win away to Everton on Saturday. The panel reflect on getting the job done in a must win away game, a steady but flawed performance, the slow start to the first half, a lack of cohesion in the midfield, still waiting for the team to click going forward, Declan Rice being back to his best, Victor Gyokeres’ improved performance a...

James McNicholas and Art de Roché join Ian Stone to look ahead to Arsenal’s game against Everton on Saturday. The panel discuss the possible contributing factors to the squad’s injury issues since the start of last season, Gyokeres’ start to life as a Gunner not yet meeting expectations, whether Arsenal can have a better record at Hill Dickinson Stadium than they had at Goodison Park and more. Plu...

Adrian Clarke and Art de Roché join Ian Stone to discuss the 2-1 win at home to Wolves on Saturday.  The panel reflect on the contributing factors to the disappointing performance, Arsenal’s poor first half displays recently, Arteta’s team selection, Bukayo Saka continuing to deliver, growing concerns around Victor Gyokeres, Ben White’s injury, and the excitement around Gabriel Jesus’s r...

Amy Lawrence and Art de Roché join Ian Stone to discuss the 3-0 win away to Club Brugge on Wednesday.  The panel reflect on the attitude throughout this Arsenal team, Noni Madueke’s player of the match performance, Ethan Nwaneri’s eye-catching cameo, the return of Gabriel Jesus, potential concerns over Victor Gyokeres’s form and Gabriel Martinelli making history in style with a spectacular go...