The Athletic FC Podcast

Ayo Akinwolere is joined by The Athletic’s George Caulkin and French football writer Tom Williams to explore some intriguing parallels between the state-backed 'projects' at both Newcastle & PSG - ahead of their hotly anticipated clash in the Champions League...Have Newcastle actually learnt from PSG’s mistakes, and, after turning over a new leaf under Luis Enrique - are PSG actually trying to be a bit more like Newcastle?Produced by Adonis PratsidesAdditional Production: Mike StavrouExecutive Producer: Adey Moorhead***• Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door with Drizly or Instacart by going to coorslight.com/COOLIGANS  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Pearce and Oli Kay are alongside Ayo Akinwolere to react to Liverpool's VAR-impacted defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.Both the PGMOL and Liverpool have issued statements following Luis Diaz's first half 'offside' effort not being overturned by VAR, with the panel dissecting events around the mistake made at Stockley Park.Plus, there's analysis of the Reds' start to the season who despite seeing their 17-game unbeaten run ended possess one of the league's most devastating attacking line-ups as well as remodelling their midfield during the summer transfer window.Produced by Guy ClarkeExecutive Producer: Adey Moorhead***• Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door with Drizly or Instacart by going to coorslight.com/COOLIGANS  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Leventhal hosts Caoimhe O'Neill, Nick Miller, and Tim Spiers as they look ahead to match day seven of the Premier League.One game stands out among the rest: Tottenham vs Liverpool. With both teams unbeaten so far this season, we ask where the improvement in both squads has come from, and what kind of match it will produce.We also take a whistle-stop tour around some of the other fixtures, with Man United facing Crystal Palace for the second time this week, the champion’s Man City away to Wolves, and can Everton make it three wins in a row versus Luton?***• Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door with Drizly or Instacart by going to coorslight.com/COOLIGANS Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Roberto Calenda, the agent of Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, has threaten the club with legal action for mocking the striker on TikTok.James Horncastle and Carl Anka join Ayo Akinwolere to dissect and debate the fallout and analyse the impact the social gaff could have for one of Napoli's most prized assets.With his contract set to end it's final year in the summer, could this incident mark the beginning of the end for Osimhen's time in Naples?Produced by Guy ClarkeExecutive Producer: Adey Moorhead***• Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door with Drizly or Instacart by going to coorslight.com/COOLIGANS Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ayo is joined by The Athletic's Carl Anka and Simon Hughes, plus Chief football writer for Dutch newspaper AD Sjoerd Mossou, to explain how Ajax imploded - after the ugly scenes on Sunday that led to 'De Klassieker' being abandoned...The panel discuss the power vacuum left by Marc Overmars, Edwin van der Sar and former manager Erik ten Hag, and how far the club has fallen from that run to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019.Also, what role the former Arsenal and Dortmund transfer chief Sven Mislintat has played in this summer's chaos, as Ajax, like so many of Europe's legacy clubs, have been plunged into an 'identity crisis' of their own.Produced by Adonis PratsidesAdditional Production: Jay BealeExecutive Producer: Adey Moorhead***• Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door with Drizly or Instacart by going to coorslight.com/COOLIGANS Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After Rodri's red card at the weekend, Pep's Manchester City will have to find a way to cope without the most reliable player in the Premier League... But is he more than that?With the trip to Arsenal looming, Ayo is joined by City writers Sam Lee and Mark Critchley, to talk about how the Spaniard became the lynchpin of Pep’s all-conquering champions, a sliding doors moment for Kalvin Phillips and how the best 'problem-solvers' in football might try to adapt to this temporary set-back.Produced by Adonis Pratsides & Jay BealeExecutive Producer: Adey Moorhead***• Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door with Drizly or Instacart by going to coorslight.com/COOLIGANS Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Ornstein and Art De Roche are alongside Ayo Akinwolere following Arsenal's 2-2 draw in the North London Derby at home to Tottenham Hotspur.Within the game, Gabriel Jesus missed a presentable chance to put the Gunners 2-0 up in the first half while Eddie Nketiah also drew attention later in the game too, for Mikel Arteta's men, leading to debate around whether or not Arsenal possess the firepower needed to mount a Premier League title challenge.As well as the panel getting stuck into the debate, Mark Carey also drops in to dive into the data regarding Arsenal's attacking output.Produced by Guy ClarkeExecutive Producer: Adey Moorhead***• Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door with Drizly or Instacart by going to coorslight.com/COOLIGANS Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Leventhal welcomes a packed studio to preview this weekend's biggest clash: Arsenal vs Spurs plus David Ornstein pops up to bring us exclusive details on Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard's bumper new contract.In the red corner, Jay Harris and Jordan Campbell represent the Arsenal side of things, while in white we have Tim Spiers and Alex Kay-Jelski. Who will emerge victorious, both in the studio and on the pitch? And as a cherry on top of the cake.To finish the episode we also hear briefly from Spanish football expert Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero on the upcoming Madrid derby. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following the signing of David Raya on loan from Brentford, Mikel Arteta has maintained his view this season he can rotate between the Spaniard and last season's first-choice goalkeeper, Aaron Ramsdale.With Raya having started each of the last two matches Ayo Akinwolere is joined by former Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland and former Arsenal and Tottenham stopper, and now Women's Football Editor at The Athletic, Chloe Morgan to debate the possibility of rotating goalkeepers.Plus The Athletic's Arsenal writer Jordan Campbell drops by having been at Goodison Park as Arteta floated the idea of making in-game goalkeeper substitutions.Produced by Guy ClarkeExecutive Producer: Adey Moorhead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barcelona had failed to win by a five-goal margin in any game since Lionel Messi left for PSG back in 2021... So after back-to-back 5-0 wins in La Liga and last night in the Champions League, are Xavi's side finally ready to entertain again? Ayo is joined by The Athletic's Spanish football writers Pol Ballus and Dermot Corrigan to find out who 16 year-old sensation Lamine Yamal is, if Joao Felix has finally found the perfect home and why a first La Liga title in five years wasn't enough for Xavi.Plus, how AI is helping the team cope with their rigorous fixture schedule and whether any more financial 'levers' will be required in the coming transfer windows.Produced by Adonis PratsidesExecutive Producer: Adey Moorhead Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.