Matt Spiro

Thanks Amy! Hope you are keeping well.

Gabriel Heinze: The big brother helping Mikel Arteta to get Arsenal over the line As Arsenal pursue a first Premier League title in 22 years, BBC Sport looks at how the relationship between Mikel Arteta and his assistant, Gabriel Heinze, is helping them.

An article for BBC Sport on Gabriel Heinze and his relationship with Arteta. Thanks to Luis Fernandez, Didier Domi, Edouard Cisse and Yves Ribardiere for the insight #Arsenal #AFC #PSG www.bbc.com/sport/footba...

Stakes higher than ever in Coupe de France🏆

Marseille haven't won the prestigious trophy since Papin's 1989 hattrick. Lyon last won it in 2012.

With PSG out, @mattspiro.bsky.social, @tomwfootball.bsky.social & @andpscott.bsky.social ask which 1/4 finalist wants it most?

🎙️ shorturl.at/FsgEg

No Ballon d’Or
No Champions League
Still the face of his era

From wonderkid to Real Madrid talisman & France captain, is Kylian Mbappé already a great? Or is this the year that defines his legacy?

@mattspiro.bsky.social @tomwfootball.bsky.social @andpscott.bsky.social

🎙️ shorturl.at/Bzrqo

French football nearly went bust after its TV deal collapsed in 2020.

How did it survive? And why could Ligue 1’s new model soon be copied across Europe?

Find out on this week's podcast with @mattspiro.bsky.social, @andpscott.bsky.social & Jonathan Johnson.

🎧 shorturl.at/4T00g

Declan Rice has run the game today. Absolutely superb from start to finish #ARSSUN

Marseille are on the brink of crisis again; lose in the cup tonight and it could be time for a full meltdown.
@mattspiro.bsky.social @tomwfootball.bsky.social & @andpscott.bsky.social on whether De Zerbi is the man to lead Europe's most volatile club & the latest from Ligue 1.

🎧 shorturl.at/OXcwg

PSG draw another Ligue 1 team in the play-offs for a second year running. Monaco, who have lost 7 of their last 9 league games, could emulate Brest here by losing 10-0 over two legs (although it should be said that Monaco's only win in those 9 games was against... PSG).

Debt, doubt and a dancing No.9 What a difference six months can make. Relegated and on the brink of financial ruin last summer, Lyon are now flying high, dreaming of silverware and dancing to a samba beat.

Relegated and on the brink of extinction last summer, Lyon are now riding high in Ligue 1, dreaming of silverware and dancing to a samba beat

With Endrick on fire and looking to prove a point, Lyon are the French team to watch in 2026 🔥🔥
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Not sure which crime is the biggest committed by Marseille last night:

- Losing limply 3-0 in Bruges.
- Deciding to stop attacking in closing stages in order to ‘protect’ their deficit.

Deserved nothing more than to be eliminated by a 98th-minute goal scored by a goalkeeper 2000km away

Most of the analysis of Sunday’s Arsenal/United game seems to have been about the Arsenal fanbase. I’m hoping the supporters turn in a better performance tonight and get three points. It might help those nervy players to settle down

Luis Enrique suggested he wouldn’t be too bothered if PSG have to go through playoffs - as last season.

One factor to consider: they’re out of the cup, so only have 4 games in February (including basement club Metz at home). Would a playoff actually benefit them? #PSGNEW

#PSG look vulnerable ahead of #NUFC visit

😩 Bayern, OM, Monaco, PFC & Sporting have beaten them

❌ No Neves & Ruiz on Weds, an attack not (yet?) firing

@mattspiro.bsky.social @tomwfootball.bsky.social
& @andpscott.bsky.social on whether this PSG can defend its European title

🎧 shorturl.at/imtyo

Watching Joaquin Panichelli play for Strasbourg and wondering why Arsenal don't have a striker like that

Mason Greenwood’s talent means he’ll be Marseille’s biggest threat to Liverpool tonight.

A pariah back home, a hero in Marseille, @tomwfootball.bsky.social @mattspiro.bsky.social & Baptiste Reynaud examine the complex Greenwood paradox in this week’s pod.

🎧 shorturl.at/o76Hr

Marseille would be a great loan option for Ethan Nwaneri. De Zerbi desperate for a creative player to play centrally behind the striker. Ethan would get plenty of game time in high-pressure environment, in front of 65,000 mad fans.

Talks ongoing, as per @david-ornstein.bsky.social

#Arsenal #OM

When you see Mamadou Sarr playing with such maturity and class in the AFCON final, does nobody at Chelsea question the wisdom of paying Rennes €60m+ for Jérémy Jacquet?

At some point you surely need to show faith in individuals. Unless it really is all about speculating and stockpiling for BlueCo.

The @frenchfootballshow.bsky.social is LIVE ⚽🎙️😍

Thanks to @jacklang.bsky.social for joining @tomwfootball.bsky.social and me to talk Endrick & Lyon 🔥

We also dissect Paris FC's stunning cup win over PSG, and pay our respects to the late Rolland Courbis 🙏

Podcast link: shorturl.at/dur21

Luis Enrique had never before tasted defeat in the French Cup. PSG, 16-time winners, hadn't been knocked out as early as this for 12 years. Paris FC's stunning win at the Parc des Princes last night was both remarkable and significant. mattspiro.substack.com/p/cup-shock-ma…

Liam Rosenior - The Next GUARDIOLA, Or Next Chelsea FLOP?! YouTube video by The French Football Show

Our first pod of 2026 is live 🎧

This week, @mattspiro.bsky.social , @tomwfootball.bsky.social & @andpscott.bsky.social dissect Rosenior's Strasbourg > Chelsea switch & discuss the latest twists in a terrific Ligue 1 season 😍⚽

🎙️Audio: tinyurl.com/9xxcxfvh

📹 Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-yi...

Have enjoyed Liam Rosenior's time in France. Some words on the manager Chelsea are getting - and the mess he's leaving behind. #CFC #RCSA substack.com/home/post/p-...

France’s next generation is here: Olise, Cherki, Doué, Barcola, Akliouche.

The ammunition is there for Mbappé and co to run riot in the US - but will Deschamps finally take the handbrake off?

My latest piece: substack.com/home/post/p-...

Deschamps set to name a totally different starting XI for the game in Azerbaijan tomorrow. Rest for Saliba 🙏 #LesBleus #Arsenal

Latest podcast is LIVE:

I'm joined by @andpscott.bsky.social & 'the French Peter Dury', Julien Brun 🙌, to discuss the big #Ligue1 stories:

🤨 Familiar problems for Monaco
⚽️ Next steps for Paris FC
🕺 Beye bounces back in Rennes
😍 Love for Lille's Bouaddi
❓ PSG/Bayern trivia

🎙️ tinyurl.com/63fb5w58

Racism or not, Dönnum deserves lengthy ban It is impossible to know if Aron Dönnum's gesture towards Le Havre midfielder Simon Ebonog was fuelled by racism, but the Toulouse player should receive a lengthy ban regardless.

‘Racism or not, Dönnum deserves lengthy ban.'

My latest Ligue 1 newsletter on the ugly spat between Toulouse's Aron Dönnum and Simon Ebonog of Le Havre, Rennes' Lepaul-inspired revival, & 'ugly wins' for front-runners PSG, Marseille, Lens & Lille.

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PSG Regain Top Spot As Marseille SLIP | Across The Channel Ep. 11 YouTube video by Across the Channel

Vitinha's caviar, Thauvin's café crème, Abline's patate 🔥

Food expressesions aplenty in this week's 'Across the Channel' with @tomwfootball.bsky.social & Karim Baldé 🤣

More seriously, why isn't the mayonnaise thickening in Rennes & are the carrots cooked for Beye?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfP6...

1-0 Arsenal. Another goal from a set piece, another rock solid defensive display, another win. George Graham, present in the stands, must have been impressed by that #AFC

Have Chelsea signed the wrong striker? Chelsea were delighted to announce the signing of Emanuel Emegha for next season, but it's another Strasbourg attacker - Joaquin Panichelli - who is lighting up Ligue 1 right now.

'Have Chelsea signed the wrong striker?'

My latest piece looking at Argentinian striker Joaquin Panichelli who has made such a brilliant start at Strasbourg, it's not clear if Emegha is even getting back in he side.

substack.com/@mattspiro/n...

8 out of 15 goals scored by French players in the 3pm kick-offs. Do we still need to call it the English Premier League? 😉🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇫🇷