Steve McManaman not the most balanced pundit when it comes to Arsenal

At some point—most likely at the end of the season—I will be reviewing the various outlets that provide football content.

However, while watching Wednesday’s Champions League tie, TNT’s presentation was so poor it could not be ignored.

To begin with, viewers were left wondering why the official was walking over to the monitor, with the commentators unable to fill in the gaps—you know, like they are paid to do!

Then, despite VAR taking minutes to review two penalty claims, none of the commentators were willing to take a firm stance on whether a foul had occurred. Two out of three of them were ex-footballers—again, that is literally their job!

Then came the full-time analysis…

It is understandable why broadcasters like to invite representation from both teams involved. Of course, Steve McManaman was always going to be disappointed after watching Real Madrid get knocked out of the competition they are champions of.
While not quite the legend he believes himself to be in Spain, he does understand the standards of the club, the pressure of the badge, the expectations of the fans, and he has insight into how the media will respond.

He wanted to stress that Arsenal had only won a quarter-final and that the victory would mean nothing if the team did not now go on to lift the trophy. While I do not agree, everyone is entitled to their opinion, and there will be those who share his point of view.

The issue was that the pundit repeated the same point over and over again, even appearing frustrated with the rest of the panel for giving the Gunners credit. He seemed more annoyed by the defeat of his former employers and allowed this to influence his analysis.

The problem with this is that there are Gooners who pay above the odds for their subscriptions, and therefore have a right to expect that a historic night for their club is reported properly.
Remarks such as “We have been here before with Arsenal” undermine the significance of what our young squad achieved. This is only the third time we have progressed this far in the Champions League.

Even if we do not reach the final in Munich, Wednesday clearly marked a mature performance—one that Arsenal would not have been capable of producing just a few years ago.
The Bernabéu will be an experience that this group, if kept together, can use to grow. They left the Spanish capital mentally tougher.

Remember, McManaman is not doing TNT a favour. He did not happen to be walking around the stadium and agree to stop for a chat.

He was paid thousands of pounds to present coverage, fully aware that Gooners were the target audience, and yet he downplayed the achievement.

It would be easier to accept had this not been the former midfielder’s prediction before the first leg, as quoted by MSN:

“The big thing about Arsenal is […] they haven’t got a centre forward to do damage and that will always hinder them.

The second leg is in Madrid and we have seen over the last few years that if they are in the game after the first leg they will get it done at home.”

The 53-year-old was not alone in that view. But what you cannot do is make Real Madrid favourites due to their European pedigree and then dismiss a 5-1 aggregate loss.

There is a reason so many were nervous about defending a 3-0 lead—because it is in Real Madrid’s DNA to find a way to survive at this level.

Since Thursday morning, however, Real Madrid have apparently become just a group of individuals, Carlo Ancelotti is suddenly considered past his best, and the squad is deemed to be ageing.