# Episode 166 - Chelsea Can't Stop Stepping On Rakes + Will Arsenal Bottle it AGAIN?

An episode of [The Transfer Flow Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1756763626), 23 Feb 2026, 46 min.

Audio: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/VI4368405298.mp3

On today's episode, Patrick and Ted break down the North London Derby — how worried should Arsenal really be, and how bad could it get for Spurs? Then they look at two clubs dealing with the fallout of sacking established coaches: Chelsea can't stop stepping on rakes, and Real Madrid have no idea what they are anymore. Plus Nico O'Reilly is turning into a real player, West Ham are quietly terrifying, and football has entered a post-control era. Enjoy! Tickets for The Transfer Flow Conference (May 22, London) are available now for a 10% discount: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1981005227964/?discount=earlybird10 Join our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheTransferFlow Subscribe to our FREE newsletter: https://www.thetransferflow.com/subscribe Join Variance Betting: https://www.thetransferflow.com/upgrade Follow us on our Socials: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe1WTKOt7byrELQcGRSzu1Q X: https://x.com/TheTransferFlow Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thetransferflow.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetransferflow/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@transferflowpodcast Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro 00:38 – North London Derby: Arsenal's form and the bottling narrative 05:26 – Is the media manufacturing an Arsenal crisis? 07:06 – Arsenal's injury problems and what Arteta keeps getting wrong 09:25 – Arteta's rotation problem and the fullback injury curse 11:22 – An edge vs. Arsenal? 13:25 – Chelsea & Real Madrid: life after their control-era coaches 17:06 – Chelsea can't stop stepping on rakes 17:48 – Cole Palmer's injury concern and the coaching matters debate 19:16 – Rosenior’s midfield puzzle: Enzo, Andre Santos and Palmer 24:25 – Man United: are we underrating their rebuild? 27:27 – Why overpaying for players submarines clubs for years 32:01 – Nico O'Reilly and Pep's new NBA-style City 36:25 – Is Bernardo Silva done as a Pep staple? 38:28 – Champions League knockouts: why scorelines are getting crazy 39:32 – Football's post-control world 40:08 – West Ham are quietly terrifying 42:35 – Could Spurs actually get relegated? 44:22 – Outro: TTF Conference, Patreon & Variance Betting Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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