Laura Woods issues cheeky jibe to Jamie O’Hara over rallying cry against Arsenal

Laura Woods was quick to remind Jamie O’Hara of Tottenham’s impending relegation as she returned to talkSPORT Breakfast.

Woodsy, who signed off as host of the Breakfast show in June 2023, was back on Wednesday to preview Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final first leg away at Atletico Madrid.

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Speaking from the Spanish capital, the TNT Sports presenter was immediately forced to defend her beloved Gunners.

Having already fired back amid accusations from Alan Pardew earlier this season towards Mikel Arteta‘s side, Woods was once again subject to listen to anti-Arsenal slander.

Fans and pundits believe Arsenal vs Atletico has the potential to be one of the worst Champions League semi-final spectacles in history.

That fear has been ramped up after the epic nine-goal thriller in the first semi-final tie between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.

Arteta has become known as being an agent of the dark arts, and for the second time this campaign, he will battle against the master in Diego Simeone.

Gunner need to lose

And Sports Bar co-hosts Jamie O’Hara and Jason Cundy want nothing more than to see Arsenal’s chances of lifting a first European Cup come crashing down against the LaLiga outfit.

Issuing a rallying cry to Atletico, former Tottenham midfielder O’Hara said: “Tomorrow night, the heart of Madrid, basically the rest of the world, beats for one thing and one thing only.

“Atletico Madrid slapping Arsenal tomorrow night at the [Wanda] Metropolitano, we don’t just play for a badge, we play to reclaim the soul of the game.

“For too long, the world has had to endure the borefests of north London, the endless hallow passing, struggling to score goals and Set Piece FC.

“Arteta’s Arsenal hey call it, tactics, we call it shambles, we’ve got Woodsy, Piers Morgan, Martin Keown, giving it large before anything has even been won.”

It was then the turn of ex-Chelsea defender Cundy to beg Atletico to get one over Arsenal, as he remarked: “Tomorrow, we need to save the rest of the world from Whinge and Cringe FC, one heartbeat.

“Tomorrow, we unleash a real spirit, you don’t need a thousand passes, you need one heartbeat, one roar and Simeone to drop the biggest stinkfest, snatch-and-grab in Champions League history.”

Having the final say, O’Hara ended by saying: “Let’s save the beautiful game from the boredom of the Emirates.

“Stand tall, fight hard, show them that football isn’t a spreadsheet, it’s war!”

Laur and order

Woods joined former colleague Ally McCoist back on the talkSPORT Breakfast show on Wednesday morning, where she was instantly asked about the rallying cry.

And she was then quick to poke fun at the situation regarding O’Hara’s beloved Spurs, who are on the cusp of relegation into the the Championship as they sit in 18th spot with four Premier League games to go.

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Giving her instant reaction, she joked: “I don’t appreciate you lot setting traps for me, by the way, I haven’t even opened my mouth yet!”

She then revealed that a giddy O’Hara had hinted that she would be set-up, as she said: “I just got a text message from Jamie, ‘Have you been on yet?,’ ‘No, why?’ ‘Oh, we’ve got a surprise for you,’ he’s like a kid at Christmas.”

Woods continued: “But Jamie O’Hara, sorry, Jamie O’Hara sitting there like that, where all of a sudden he’s got a mouth because you beat Wolves.

“Congratulations, you’ve won one game against Wolves.”

Co-host Ray Parlour – a three-time Premier League champion at Highbury – then quickly pointed out that Spurs’ victory at Molineux was their only top-flight triumph in 2026 so far.

Keen to stick the boot in, he stated: “We’ve got the two main trophies still to play for, and Tottenham fans are just hoping they can stay in the Premier League.

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“So that’s the difference between both clubs at the moment.”

Woods then touched upon Tuesday’s match at Parc des Princes, where she proceeded to aim a final dig at Tottenham.

She said: “Last night was ridiculous, it was a ridiculous game, and then you look at tonight and you think, ‘Hmm, it’s going to be slightly different.’

“But you’re never going to look back on those games and how they were won, I understand the neutral wants to watch a good game and that’s fine.

“But for your own fanbase, when you’re watching your own team go into a game like this, you’re never going to look back and go, ‘Wow, that was an incredible game.’

“It’ll only matter if you make it into the final.

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“In the same way that if Spurs get relegated, they’re never going to look back on that one Wolves win and think, ‘At least we won that game in that year.'”

To highlight the gap between the north London rivals, Arsenal have the chance this weekend to go six points clear at the top with three games to go if they beat Fulham at the Emirates.

As for Spurs, they could find themselves five points off safety should they lose away at Aston Villa and West Ham beat Brentford on the road.