THE NORTH BANK - An Arsenal Podcast

Host Holly returns to discuss the 0-0 away draw with City with Stef, while Chris takes a breather. They touch on a great defensive performance and definitely a point gained, as well as the bigger picture of where we're at...and where we're (hopefully) going. Plus a look ahead to Luton at home on Wednesday - a potential banana skin? You can also join the conversation on our socials: ⁠Twitte...

In this episode, Chris & Stef soldier on without regular host Holly, to tackle possibly the biggest game of the season so far. Is it a must win, or a mustn't lose? What 11 will start the game? And can Stef start a new song in the away end? You can also join the conversation on our socials: Twitter @northbankpod TikTok @northbankpod Instagram @northbankpod   and discover loads more on our w...

Join Holly, Stef and Chris as we assess the remaining 10 games for the top 3. We don't agree on who will ultimately win, but one thing for certain is that it will be very tight. Where will the points be dropped? City, United, Spurs away? Chelsea or Villa home? Are we in a stronger position now than this time last year, despite not having the cushion of a points lead? Buckle up, it's gonna be wild!...

Join Holly, Stef and Chris as we look back at our nail biting, penalty shoot-out win against Porto, and look ahead to a very tasty quarter final reunion with that ex-Spurs legend, Eric Dier. Can you name the Arsenal starting 11 the last time we played Bayern, in 2017? We also discuss the brilliance of Odegaard, Raya and Ben White.  You can also join the conversation on our socials: Twitter @n...

Join Holly, Stef and Chris as we look back at our hard fought win against Brentford. We disagree on our man of the match, but do agree it was an excellent result, with a performance that could just stand us in good stead for the remainder of the season. We also look ahead to Porto - two of us are quietly confident, but have a listen out for Stef's rather precise, but neurotic prediction. You...

Join Holly, Stef and Chris as we look back at yet another remarkable performance and result on this record breaking run. There are stats, there are always stats. But we also ponder a few posers: Would you rather win like this, or with 97th minute winners? Are you enjoying the journey or is it only worthwhile if there's a trophy at the end of it? Is our defence as good as our attack?  We also...

Join Holly, Stef and Chris as we look ahead to Monday night's game at Brammel Lane. We discuss our prospects (even Stef thinks we'll win, worryingly), predict the starting 11 and have a stab at getting the score correct.  We also explore the importance of goal difference and take a quick look at the other fixtures this weekend. Only three league games in March, we simply have to win this...

Join Holly, Stef and Chris as we look back at the sweet revenge enacted upon Newcastle at the weekend. Was that our best first half of the season? Not one for hyperbole, but are we now playing the best football since the Invincibles? Do any of our returning injured players get back into the starting line up? Is Havertz now a £60 million pound bargain? So many questions to discuss - join us for cha...

Join Holly, Stef and Chris as we look back at Porto and ahead to Newcastle. We discuss what went wrong against Porto? Was it tactics, personnel, experience, bad luck, poor refereeing, Porto's dark arts? Or a little bit of everything? And what of Newcastle? Well, there's an epic monologue from Stef, rallying the troops. This one feels personal, revenge hangs in the air. We discuss the game in Novem...

Join Holly, Stef and Chris as we look back at yet another football schooling meted out to inferior opposition. There's a lot to love about this arsenal incarnation - we laud Havertz, Trossard, Saka, Odegaard, and the defence. There are plenty of jaw dropping stats to wrap your head around, involving Saka, goals and shots against. We also look ahead to our tricky away tie at Porto on Wednesday. Wou...

Join Holly, Stef and Chris as we look ahead to a rare Saturday 3pm kick off - this time away at Burnley. We chat through our predicted lineups and scores - can you really make any changes to a team that won 6-0 last time out? There's belated praise for Nwaneri, some stunning Saka stats and can you name the 3 players to have played for both Burnley and Arsenal? Finally, to tempt you further, can yo...

Join a very jubilant Holly, Stef and Chris as we struggle to dampen the sheer joy looking back at our record premier league away win instils. Who was your man of the match? We narrowed it down to about 8 players. Do we now no longer need a number 9? What was the most pleasing aspect of the game for you? And do you know our record Premier league home win? Listen for answers to these and many more q...

Join Holly, Stef and Chris as we look ahead to our trip to east London. Surely we can't lose three times in one season to the Hammers, can we? Now known as the Rice derby, we all struggle to pick our starting line up, but we do all think we'll win? Will Havertz get the nod again, or will Jesus come back in? What about Jorginho, or Eddie, or Tomi? There's also some chat about recent Raya improvemen...

Join Holly, Stef and Chris as we bask in the glory of the Liverpool win. Holly feels vindicated for his pre-game confidence. Was it our best performance of the season? Were we that good, or were Liverpool that poor? We look at Jorginho's man of the performance, praise Arteta's tactics and welcome back the celebration police with open arms. Not even Man City can dampen our enthusiasm.  Plus, w...

Join Holly, Stef and Chris as we look ahead to the big game on Sunday as Liverpool come to town. A must not lose or a must win? One of us predicts a defeat, one a draw and the other a victory - wonder can you guess who's gone for what? Should we park the bus, or play our own game? Will our forwards finally find their shooting boots?  We also look back at a good away win at Forest and spend al...

Join Holly, Stef and Chris as look ahead to the Forest game on Tuesday. In what has proven an unhappy hunting ground recently, we are still quietly confident of building on the Palace rout. Narrative kicks in again with Turner and Tavares possibly lining up against us. There's a few interesting Arsenal stats to digest, and how many of you can name the 9 Arsenal players to have more premier league...

Join Holly, Stef and Chris as we experience that winning feeling for first time in five weeks. Whilst the result was undeniably superb, the performance has still left us with sufficient worries to keep us going until the Forest game. There's praise for the subs, nice to see Emile get a reasonable run out, and do well. There's also 'Ivan Toney watch' with Stef now a believer as well.  Plus a n...

It's back! Join Holly, Stef and Chris as we welcome the football back. After enjoying our own winter break we find that we are still slightly worried about the Arsenal. What's the most important thing this Saturday; any kind of win so long as it's a win, or a win with style? We feel this could be a pivotal moment in the season - one of us thinks we'll hammer Palace, two of us are a little more cir...

Join Holly, Stef and Chris as we struggle to work out exactly how we feel about Arsenal right now. Did we actually play well against Liverpool? Can it be a system problem if we're creating so many chances? If it's a personnel problem why doesn't Arteta try different in-game options up front? We discuss what a reset might look like, does it mean a lowering of expectations for this season might be n...

Join Holly, Stef and Chris as we look ahead to the FA Cup 3rd round clash against Liverpool on Sunday. I pose some questions: is this exactly the game we needed, or the worst possible time to welcome one of the big hitters? Should we go strong, or heavily rotate? Is the FA Cup our best chance of silverware this season? Finally, I set the boys the challenge of naming the starting 11 for our most re...

Join Holly, Stef and Chris as we try to bring cheer into your lives at the start of 2024, but fail miserably. We're all a little glum in truth, but with a January transfer window to look forward to, all is not lost just yet. Two of us believe we will sign someone, especially if players are sold. There is praise for Arteta, but also a plea to be a little less rigid - in tactics, not hairstyle. The...

Join Holly, Stef and Chris as we attempt to put a positive spin on the loss to West Ham. Thirty chances created, surely that means we played well yeah? But no goals scored and two goals conceded suggest a different story. Is it player fatigue? Is Arteta too stubborn to better utilise his squad? Is a striker an absolute necessity for January? Or can these players rediscover last season's attacking...

Join Holly, Stef and Chris as we look ahead, through a worried lens, to this weekend's trip to Anfield. The stats aren't great, but we're a different beast this year, so at least two of us are predicting that we won't lose.  There's also talk of super league nonsense and some transfer guff thrown in for good measure.  Happy Christmas everyone!  You can also join the conversation on...

Join Holly, Stef and Chris as we look back on our win against Brighton. Was this our best performance of the season? Are we still missing too many chances? Was Declan Rice a steal at £100m? We run the rule over our rivals' weekend results - not a bad weekend for the Arsenal fan, was it! We also digest the Champions League draw which sees us pitted against Porto.  Plus - dark or milk chocolate...

Join Holly and Chris as we draw a line under the Champions League group stages - a job well done. But did Arteta make the right number of changes, did he get lucky with a clean bill of health, could he have played a couple of the academy kids? We also turn our attention to Brighton on Sunday and the need to get back to winning ways as soon as possible. Despite a few question marks over the fitness...