Football Daily - Champions League Debrief: Bend it like Declan - Arsenal rampant against Real Madrid

Episode Date: April 9, 2025

Kelly Cates is alongside the BBC’s Senior Football Reporter Ian Dennis & former Arsenal and West Ham defender Matthew Upson at the Emirates Stadium, as well as former Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend, for analysis of Arsenal’s thumping victory over Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.They discuss Declan Rice’s two incredible freekicks, the electric atmosphere inside the Emirates, and whether the tie is already over. Harry Symeou, presenter of The Chronicles of a Gooner, joins them to discuss what it was like to be inside the stadium for such a memorable night for Arsenal. Mikel Arteta reacts to Arsenal's first goal from a direct freekick since 2021.Plus, John Murray is in Paris ahead of PSG against Aston Villa. Unai Emery gives his thoughts on returning to the French club he managed for two years and Youri Tielemans talks about battling with Europe's strongest teams.

BBC Sounds music radio podcasts. On the Football Daily Podcast, the Champions League debrief. With Kelly Kitts. Listen on BBC Sounds. Hello, welcome to the Football Daily Podcast where we're in a rocking Emirates stadium because it finished Arsenal 3, Real Madrid 0 as Mikel Arteta's Gunners took on Carlo Ancelotti's Galacticos. In the Emirates, our senior football reporter Ian Dennis and former Arsenal and West Ham defender Matthew Upson. Dan O'Wan is happening at the moment because it's a big win for Arsenal. It's a 3-0 victory

against the European champions and they're in a perfect position as they head to the Burnabout next week, but they're still only halfway through it. They've got themselves probably a scoreline that many Arsenal fans would only dreamt about coming into this stadium tonight, as the Arsenal anthem, the angel, reverberates around the Emirates. The red and white scarves are held aloft. They say about the streets they're our own. This pitch here tonight was Arsenal's own because they absolutely busted the second half. They didn't really give the European champions a sniff.

Two beauty-free kicks from Declan Rice, absolute belters. And then Michail Marino with an instinctive left-footed effort into the bottom left-hand corner. Cannavinga sent off right at the end to compound the misery for Real Madrid. It's a dream scenario, Kelly, for Michal Arteta. No number nine, no problem, Matt Upson. Ha ha ha ha! I knew that was coming, I absolutely knew it. You kind of said in the comms that, you know, a lot of criticism for Arthur without the number nine, but wow, what a finish. What a finish from Marino on the swivel.

It was not easy either because the ball was trapping at some speed and it had a little kick-off off the turf. It just bounced a tiny bit towards him to control it. He was leaning backwards as well to control it and guide it into the far post. It was just a brilliant, brilliant finish, you know, technically as good as the free kicks, but the free kick moments were just star of the show. To step up and bang two in like that from Declan Rice was just incredible. I've got to say Kelly as well, I know Peter the DJ here at Arsenal and he's now playing Rice Rice Babin. There's never a bad time for Vanilla Ice, but there probably couldn't be a better time for it for the Arsenal fans who were singing along at the Emirates.

Matthew Upson and Ian Dennis are at the Emirates, taking it all in. Andras Townsend joins us as well. Andras, that second-half performers, particularly from Arsenal, absolutely sealed the deal for them. What changed, do you think? I think the first goal kind of allowed Arsenal to relax. They got the goal they needed. Second one followed soon after. When they got in a rhythm they started counter-attacking Ramadjid. Ramadjid started throwing players forward and Arsenal started picking them off. And it was

3-0. It could have been a couple more in the end. In that second half Ramadjid didn't really... I'm trying to think of a good chance of Real Madrid had. I don't think there was any, if any at all. Yeah, they absolutely crumbled, Real Madrid. We should talk about the opposition, and large credit for that has to go down to the way that Arsenal played, the impact of the two free kicks,

what, 12 minutes between them to give Arsenal that two-goal cushion, and then Moreno adding to it, but Madrid just disappeared from the game. Yeah, they had a couple of, I think back in the first half they had a couple of good moments with Jude Bellingham, his precision passing, but they didn't really make anything off it and against Arsenal, if you don't sort of attack quick and score quick, they get men back so quickly that it's so difficult to score in that second phase and Raoul Medrido come in unstuck in that sense

and then they just stopped creating, they didn't really create anything and it was quite comfortable for Arsenal in that second half in the end. And Matt, Arsenal, almost there. They've got the return leg at the Bernabéu but they've got a three goal cushion now and they might well be on their way to the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, it's a tad too early to kind of be talking in that way for me. I mean, Real Madrid have been in situations probably nearly as dire or even worse than this before and managed to find a solution. So if there's any team at home that are gonna turn this around, it's gonna be Real Madrid. Whether or not they'll be capable, we'll have to wait and see,

but Arsenal should take so much belief, so much confidence about how strong this group is as a team, as a unit, the attitude and work rate that you could really sense and feel and sample for being in the ground. It had a real intensity about it, it had a belief about it and I think that's what drove the result to be honest. You know, tactically it was great, a lot of players played well individually but it just had a feel of a team with that kind of confidence

which is what you need when you're going to go away from home to a difficult place to play. So much confidence from that Arsenal and Peter the DJ is bringing out all the hits, Dedo. All we're missing now is Deacon Blue. This is the Michael Morino song, isn't it, that the Arsenal fans sing. But look, as I was sort of hinting earlier is it's difficult for the players because they're gonna have to come out now and say well you know it was really good but job done and we go again at the at the Bernabas. The fans though, particularly the other home leg, the fans can properly

celebrate this one. Oh yes very much so and I think Miquel Arteta, he talked yesterday had me about saying he wanted the supporters to play their part and I think every Arsenal fan that came into the stadium tonight had so much energy and so much vocal support they helped create what is turning into a fortress. That's 17 games unbeaten now at home in UEFA competition since they lost to Olympiakos in 2021 in the Europa League. So the supporters have played their bit in 2021 in the Europa League. So the supporters have played their bit. I'm trying to think, they've got the allocation next week of 3,875. There might be a few more who might be looking to try

and make their way out to Madrid. But listen, they've given themselves the perfect platform. Have you seen Arsenal fans celebrate like that in front of you when sat here before? I'm not sure if I had. No. I think they just enjoyed that second half of football. They enjoyed it to the maximum and rightly so. You're right, Kenny, the players, they have to play it down, but the supporters certainly didn't do that around us. So a huge win for Arsenal, which also benefits the rest of England. The Premier League is now guaranteed five Champions League places next season. Let's hear the thoughts of Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta in his post-match press conference.

We had a very complete and big performance collectively and you need that in terms of organisation, in terms of what we had to do to dominate the game and to create Madrid problems. And then these nights are about the two factors, one is the atmosphere that we created 15 minutes before kick-off, already something I haven't seen before. So playing with that energy, with that commitment with your crowd makes a huge difference. And then magic moments, individual moments at the size of all matches. And the first two goals of the club is just, I think it sums of the night. We haven't scored a direct free kick since September 2021. Burnley away, Martin Odegaard.

So it's been a long time. To score two goals in 12 minutes of that magnitude, of that quality, from the same player, a player that has never scored a free kick before in his career, what are the odds? But he's done it tonight and I'm a big believer. I think the crowd played something with the energy that they put in and it helped us massively to win the game. You were right in amongst it. For anybody who doesn't know, the commentary position

at the Emirates is right amongst the Arsenal fans. What was the reaction to this game? You're kind of tucked under the first tier that comes down. So you get a little bit of kind of a letterbox view here from right at the back of this stand and right all around us. I mean, he's a real kind of hive of intense Arsenal support and they were just, I mean, they were just going off, running up and down the steps, climbing on the fencing. I've not seen reaction to goals like that, well, ever sat here. And we were right in the thick of it. I mean, they're coming up to the side of us shouting,

you know, tapping you on the back, on the shoulder. It was just mayhem, especially when the third goes in. And the second Declan Ricebury kick, I mean, you're just not expecting that kind of thing to happen. And it just, this game produced some real top class moments that all these supporters will remember for a long, long time. Andros, there was the kind of goal, particularly the, and they were very similar actually,

the two free kicks, but the first one is the kind of goal that just changes the whole feel everywhere. Yeah, they couldn't really before that, they were struggling to find that moment, to find that breakthrough. They had three or four corners, had a few half chances, didn't really make the most of it, but speaking on those two free kicks, technically they were both perfection. The first one, he starts it so far outside the post

and it creeps in right at the last moment. Courtois can do nothing and the second one speaks for itself. But you can see they're working on that in training because the set-piece coach comes out and he's signaling to whip it around the wall. So I think that they're working on the perfect free-kick in training and in the biggest moment Declan Wright steps up and puts two in the absolute perfect spot. Which one's your favorite, Andros? Go on, I'll put you on the spot.

That is a tough, tough question. I think the first one, because the second one, one in the top corner, you see it so often, whereas the first one to start it, first of all, it's so far out from the goal, to start it so far out all, it's so far out from the goal, to start it so far out the post and bring it back in is such a difficult, difficult technique. And to be a world-class goalkeeper like Courtois from there is so tough for me, is that one. He had an unbelievable lean of his upper body,

didn't he, to get that swerve on the ball. Watching it back in slow-mo, it's a beautiful thing, actually, the first one. I agree, I thought that technically it was just an amazing strike from Declan Rice. There to see it in person was BBC Radio London reporter and host of the Chronicles of Ogunna podcast, Harry Simeo joins us now. Harry, how's your night been? Oh, it's been incredible. I don't even know how to put it into words. It's just been an unbelievable night.

I came here tonight hoping that Arsenal would take something to Madrid, but I was quite content with Arsenal taking a 0-0 draw, if I'm honest. And the first half was a little bit cagey than the second. There were times where it felt like Arsenal wanted to squeeze up the way they naturally do, but then just would put the brakes on because they were so aware of what Real Madrid can do in behind with the likes of Mbappe completely on top for me. And as Matt said, the atmosphere in here was just incredible tonight. I've been coming here from the day this stadium opened, and I

don't think I've experienced anything quite like it. The place erupted when the ball hit the back of the net on those three occasions. I think that was a great opportunity for the fans to get a little bit of a feel for the fans. And just incredible tonight. I've been coming here from the day this stadium opened, and I don't think I've experienced anything quite like it. The place erupted when the ball hit the back of the net on those three occasions. And again, at the final whistle has just been

an unbelievable night and exactly what Arsenal needed really, because the season has been a bit of a disappointment in terms of the league form. They have fallen off the pace, which has been really, really disappointing. They have lost key players throughout the campaign, which has prompted questions about a lack of transfer business or not enough transfer business. And there's been so many conversations around Arsenal to see them turn up with, you know, a patched up defense and then a makeshift center forward

and blow away the European champions is just incredible. And that's the thing, isn't it? When we've been trying to put into context how important this game was in terms of Arsenal's season, just you can give me the insight into what it means for Arsenal fans. Yeah, it means absolutely everything. You know, for a few weeks now, it's been all about this Real Madrid tie. You know, the league, it's been gone for a while. If we're being realistic, I know mathematically that's not the case, but we felt for a long time as a supporter base that, you base that we didn't have enough in the tank to catch Liverpool,

regardless of whether they were gonna drop points or not. And so when this draw came out, you're looking at it and you're thinking, we could go on a real ride here in the Champions League, and that could turn what was looking like a potentially disappointing season having gone out of the cups into a magical one. And there's nothing more magical than taking on Real Madrid,

the European champions. Here they come and you blow them away at home. I mean, I don't know what more you could ask for as an Arsenal supporter tonight. Just incredible. Harry, being honest, how much did you fear for Kivio pre-game and how surprised and impressed were you with him in this game? Yeah, I did. I mean, if I was the manager, I probably would have played one of Ben White

or Jurin Timber in there with William Saliba. I think that's what I would have done. But that's why I'm not the manager. Michael knows way better than me. And obviously, maybe because Ben White's not been quite back to full sharpness, maybe that was the thinking behind the decision. I thought he had a couple of moments in the first half where he gave the ball away and looked a little bit shaky. But again, like everybody else, he seemed to grow in confidence. And if he was low on confidence, which I don't think he is, I think he's a confident lad, then, you know, keeping a clean sheet against Killian and Bapé, Vinny Jr and Rodrigo and

Bellingham as well. What about the insurance that Pate provided in front of the central defenders? Yeah, I thought Pate was outstanding. I mean, I think he allowed the midfield to go and do their thing. He read the game. He shored it up at the back. He kind of did a little bit of everything.

But from your perspective, do you what was the special thing about Arsenal's performance? Because in the back of my mind, I've got a picture of what they's but from your perspective, what made that performance? You just named the team that was makeshift here without the center forward. Why was it so good? For me, it's the maturity.

The team for me over the last couple of years has just become more and more streetwise. And Arsenal, maybe a year and a half, two years ago under Michel Arteta, where we were maybe a little bit too kind of emotional, might have got sucked into the occasion and gone all guns blazing from the off and got caught on the break.

But instead it was kind of like, no, let's set up with a mid block, not a low block. We're not going to squeeze them too high up the pitch. We're just going to be a bit more mature in our approach. Pick our moments when to go. Pick our moments when it's time to sit and just be that little bit more compact. And that's what I love about this Arsenal team

and the way they've developed over the last year and a half. Harry, I suspect you've got some celebrating to do, so we're going to let you go. Enjoy Madrid. Thank you very much. Thank you for having me. Thank you very much to Harry Simi there. And what, Matt, you asked Harry the question about what you thought the significant part of Arsenal's display was. What was your, what was your answer? display was. What was your answer? I thought they had an edge about them and I thought it was very much the

psychology of the game was absolutely spot-on from Arsenal. They never felt like any fear, they never showed too much respect, they just went out there and thought we're going to smash it up. And that's that's just how it came across. Of course, it all came together in the second half with the moments. They searched for those moments in the first and they were just missing. But the presence and the physicality and they just didn't allow Real Madrid to get into the game. I thought the midfield, they got off the dude Bellingham.

He was that influential with the ball and Modric couldn't really pull the strings because they were on him. It just, you know, it had that feel about it and that for me was the most impressive part of Arsenal's game. Yeah, not too dissimilar then to Harry's sort of thoughts about them being streetwise and mature in that performance. Can we just take a second here to reflect on our producer Chris's phrasing of the next question I'm going to ask you, which is, was there anything vanilla about the performance of Declan Rice? As in vanilla ice? Yes.

To be honest, I thought that line deserved more. It wasn't mine, but I thought it was a line that deserved more than that. Well, it got a tumbleweed, didn't it? I thought it just melted away. Hey. Oh, not great. Anyway, so thoughts on Declavise's performance? Yeah.

I think that it will be remembered, of course, for the free kicks. But there was a lot, lot more, wasn't there? There was so much more to his performance in those free kicks. He was all over the pitch. You know, I've spoke about his contribution in the middle in terms of his running ability up and down and everywhere is immense. He's big, he's tall. I'm looking at him now standing down, pitch side doing some interviews. I mean, he's a big, rangy midfield player and he played that role and took to then step up and hit those two,

you know, it's stuff that dreams are made of really. It was something I spoke to him about actually when we were around England, Juicy, because when we did the game against Eindhoven in the Netherlands, they're winning what 7-1 and he does a 60-yard, 70-yard dash to still win the ball. Even then his energy levels and his work ethic is so high. And we talk about his two goals, but let's not forget his involvement, carrying the ball forward on the left-hand side, which led to the Marino goal.

But after that, he had, he had this, I said about the confidence and the feel and the swagger that Arsenal had in the second half. It was just everywhere. And he was driving it for sure. And I'm sure that sticking two free kicks in the top corner will give you a bit of confidence then, I mean, but he really led it in that fashion and that for me was the driving force from him. He had an all-round

night tonight that is just one of those to remember. You guys touched on the third goal and the first two goals were so good that we haven't even spoken about the third goal. Because technically the third goal is such a difficult finish. It's behind him, it's hit across the box with pace and he's guided it into the bottom corner. It's a very, very good technical finish and yeah, we've not really spoken about it. No, I mean the other thing when I watched the replay, he was on the edge of the 18-yard box when he hit that. It didn't feel like he was that far out, but I think he's nearly outside the box. It was a brilliant finish. Andros, I need to ask you about Real Madrid as well.

This was by no means a vintage performance for them, in large parts down to the effect that Arsenal had on them. Jude Bellingham, speaking to TV, said, there's a second leg. We'll need something unbelievably special, something crazy really, but if there's one thing, if there's one place where something crazy can happen, it's at our place. We're still alive, still got 90 minutes of football, anything can happen at the Bernabeu, but is it done do you think? One thing about around with Jude is never ever done. They've proven over the years against the cities of this world that they can make late late late comebacks. And we're talking about Real Madrid and yes it's three goals but they get an early goal at the Bernabeu against an inexperienced Arsenal side, anything can happen so yes it's unlikely because how well Arteta

sets his teams out in the big game especially away from home but he can never write off Real Madrid. Stay with us, very shortly we'll head to Paris ahead of Aston Villa against PSG in their Champions League quarter-final. I'm Alistair Bruce Ball. I'm John Murray. Hello, me and Dennis. And Fridays on the Football Daily means one thing. It's time for the Commentators View episode.

I was aiming to get there, I think, at 5.30 for what I thought was an 8 o'clock kickoff. My memory is coming over a bridge or coming down a road where you could actually see inside the stadium and I could see the players on the pitch getting ready for a 5.45 kick-off and I was nowhere near. The commentator's view, only on the Football Daily. Listen on BBC Sounds. On the Football Daily podcast, the Champions League debrief. With Kelly Kitts. Listen on BBC Sounds. Let's head to Paris, where John Murray's looking ahead to Aston Villa's quarterfinal first leg tie against PSG.

Well as I speak, Kelly, I am inside the Parc de France, not too far away from where we'll be commentating tomorrow night. It's just a walk down that corridor in front of me, turn left, turn right, left again, up the stairs and there we are. And also inside the Parc de France tomorrow night and here with me now two of BBC Radio WM's finest, Mike Taylor and the former Villa striker Gary Thompson and I'm gonna ask you the question first because you've not been here before what do you think? I think we both gassed as we went up the stairs didn't we? I mean we've seen a stadium like this on the television so many times but as you know and everybody who goes to a stadium

knows it's different when you're there so I hope the reaction that we've had isn't the one that Villa's players have tomorrow because a lot of them are used to this sort of occasion. But yeah, we've been to some big stadiums covering Aston Villa and all the other clubs, but it still feels like a special one. Yeah, Gary? Yeah, absolutely fantastic. I mean, as Mike said, we walked up the stairs and there was an awful lot of stairs. But when we got to the top and I just looked out, there was a bit of a gasp and just, I would love to be able to play on this pitch so much tomorrow because it's one of them where you look

at the picture you think yes and imagine tomorrow when it's full of people as well it's gonna be absolutely magnificent. And we you know as we speak now we're on the eve of Villa's first appearance in the quarterfinal of this great competition since 1983 you know this is and it is significantly stepping up as well isn't it against PSG? The moment he walked in he kept talking about demanding, talking about winning cups and people were saying well you had the bottom three on goal difference he has been demanding, he has pushed the team, he has brought players in, he's encouraged the players, he's coached the

players and now we've got to a level as you say we are now competing at the level where he thought we would be and many people didn't imagine we'd be. We played Rotherham five years ago and from there we ended up getting into the Premier League and it's been a long long journey from there. The journey has been fantastic so far. You've been along the journey with Aston Villa but as I say I think this is a significant step up against this Paris Saint-Germain team which I would say is the best PSG team that I've seen and I've been coming here quite a few years now and a lot and lots of individuals but Luis Enrique has got something special going here obviously they retained the title last weekend they are unbeaten domestically

what is it they've won 16 of their last 17 matches in all competitions. Thrashed Manchester City here. That match that they lost was Liverpool. They should have won it and eventually did the job at Anfield on penalties in the second leg. It's not going to be easy. No, it's clearly a very hard game. But Emory is something, and Gary, it's a bit different with Emory than other managers.

And as you know, we've all interviewed hundreds of them and they play down occasions or play down what a club he's going for. The first person to talk about Villa qualifying for Europe two years ago was Emery himself. He said why don't we have a push for Europe and everybody thought that's a bit out of the question and so it has gone on. So as Villa have raised their level and they have significantly as we've all seen, Emery says well let's see if we can go a bit more. I think we can go a bit more. He leads the way and the club follows in his wake. He builds expectations rather than dampens them. So to your point, yes clearly it's a very

difficult game but I don't think Emery comes here thinking how difficult the game is. I think he comes here thinking wouldn't it be great to win it? Pretty much the same team I think for PSG that we saw against Liverpool, although I think significantly Marquinhos is suspended for this. Their captain, very experienced player, real leader for them. But let's have a listen to what Unai Emery said to us here inside the Parc des Princes on the eve of this match. I spent here two years and always thankful and I learned I had here experiences and everything I did before of course is in my back and trying to transform for my moment now as a coach like I am.

And feeling good, it's the first time I am again here in Paris, and in Paris de Princesse, it is something special for me, special. And of course, very proud of how I am coming back here, playing with Aston Villa, the Champions League, and trying to enjoy this quarter of finals. How can you take advantage of the absence of Marquinhos in this match?

Because if it is to be Beraldo and Paccio, obviously very good young players, but don't have the experience of Marquinhos, so can you take advantage of the absence of one player? I respect PSG every player they have. Marquinhos, I know him. Of course his card is being amazing here in PSG. And he's a very important player for them as a captain.

He's going to play the second leg. But I think they have experienced players as well, with Hernandez, Pache is young, Verratti is young. But I think they are players learning so quick in this level and playing in this level because they are achieving it through their work with Luis Enrique and through their work here with PSG. But of course Marquinhos is very important for them and I know him how is as a player and how important is as a player for them. But we are going to expect another player that are going to play tomorrow.

So there we are, Unai Emery. I think, Gary Thompson, one other thing that needs to be mentioned now is Emi Martinez, Villa's big personality goalkeeper. He's got a history with France, we know what happened with the national team, Lille, extraordinary penalty shooter last season in Europe, decided that it would be a wise course of action and was pictured leaving for France with a baseball cap on his head that appeared to have a picture of a French cockerel on it and then an Argentina badge which featured some of the big trophies that they've won in recent times. Now I would call that

inflammatory and not necessary, what would you call it? I think most people would say exactly the same and when asked about it the players just sort of laughed it off, the manager sort of laughed it off as well but I would have said well just settle down just calm yourself a little bit but he's that nature he likes to inflame people he likes to get people at it. And this is, I think he thrives on it. And I think he'll do ever so well on the back of it tomorrow. But he loves it, he loves all this.

Yeah, he might thrive on it, but what about the rest of them? Because that is going to affect, I mean, the atmosphere in here, as you will experience, is going to be fantastic anyway. However, there will be, I think, an added edge because of that Yeah And everyone always says you come to grounds like this keep the crowd quiet quiet in the crowd

Make sure you take this thing out of the game when you've got a goalkeeper that inflames the crowd and what'll happen They'll be asking from this the off. He'll get the ball. He'll roll the ball on the obvious foot. They'll take it He'll have a look he'll draw them in who want people up. That's what he does, but that makes him the top goalkeeper he is So that's Emmy Martinez. Let's have a listen to Yuri Telemans, who also spoke to us. And, you know, I think for Villa, one of the things that has really made waves is the fact that this is this group as Aston Villa. This is their first season back in this competition. Normally, people talk about needing bags and bags of experience

in order to make ground in this competition. But for Yuri Telemans, this is how he sees it. We are happy in a way that it's a good team to play against. Either Paris Saint-Germain or Liverpool were two tough opponents to play against. So now at this stage of the competition, we're just here to play games, hopefully win them, and we're only going to face tough opponents, so we have to be ready and at the level of the competition. Very often it's said that even the very best clubs need to have season after season after

season of experience in this competition to really make an impact. So how can it be that you could do this in your very first season in this competition? I think it's just a case of being performing at the right moment. We have some players with a lot of experience and I think you can tell in the way that we play in this competition especially against some of the biggest teams that we've been playing against. I don't need to mention names that we've been playing against but I think some of the results we've had in this competition were really good. The way that we played and that we adapted ourselves to the competition was brilliant. I think the main thing is our focus and our

mentality going into games, knowing that we can do something here, but also knowing that we have tough opponents against us. We we're always ready, we're prepared, and we just want to give our best for ourselves. So there we are. Mike, Yuri Telemans, what do you think for a Villa team? I'll ask you this both. Camera and on manner or not? John McGinn?

Obviously Telemans is gonna play because he virtually plays everything. And I don't know about you, I'm thinking Rodgers, Watkins, Rashford. What do you think? Yes, I mean, Rashford's looked very effective playing furthest forward. I think he will probably gauge how fresh they are. They've had a very rapid fire run of games of late, but he now has a full card of, say,

20 first-timers. This time last year when Villa were making ground in the Conference League and probably were good enough to win that tournament but ran out of steam at the end of the season. Fortunately they had enough in hand over Tottenham to finish fourth. It isn't like that now. At that time he maybe had 13, 14 top liners now he's got 20 so he made eight changes for the game at the weekend and the team didn't drop at all. So he could make any of those combinations that you mentioned or something entirely different.

But what he does have, I think we can say now, is when Villa were last in the European quarter finals 40 years ago, they had a very high level team. This team matches that for quality with the depth. It is now the strongest Aston Villa squad there has ever been So emery in a way can't miss and I think it'll keep Luis Enrique guessing won't it? I think it'll be I think it'll be a tactical couple of matches Yeah, and I mean he said the other day which surprised me about Marcus Rashford being really competition for Olly Watkins And he really likes Marcus Rashford in the centre forward and most people see Marcus on the left hand side coming inside but he's looking at Marcus as the centre

forward but we've got Ramsey who can play on the left hand side as well plus we've got Rodgers who can play on the other side. Asensio of course. Asensio, I was just going to come to the magician, he's different gravy. We have got so many options as well, as you say, you can make changes and we still look strong. Tomorrow, whatever happens, you can look to the bench and know he's got people who can affect the game.

Yep. So there we are, we're look to the bench and know he's got people who can affect the game. So there we are. We're really looking forward to it, aren't we? Obviously, every Villa fan will want this to still be alive, Villa Park. That's the plan. Everyone was saying, even if 1-0 defeat or whatever, it's not the end of the world. But looking at this Villas side, I think it'll be at the draw. I think we'll come away with something and then we'll get them to Verla Park and we will bring the pain. They've scored in every match here this season, Paris Saint-Germain, in all competitions. So we'll see, Gary and Mike will bring you the commentary on BBC Radio WM and you'll

be able to hear it on Five Live with me and Paul Robinson and it should be special, so don't miss it. That is it for this episode of the Football Daily Podcast. Make sure you're subscribed on BBC Sounds and have your notifications turned on so you know as soon as we upload an episode. For now though, thanks for listening. A new series of Match of the Day Top 10 is out now, only available on BBC Sounds. Join myself, Garelinica, Alan Shearer, Micah Richards and my dog as we dig into the Top 10 of the Champions League.

We go through our favourite goalscorers, best moment and even our all-time 11th. Now that, gentlemen, is a list. No, well, he didn't get on the list. Correct. He didn't get on the reserve list. You can listen right now on BBC Sounds.