Femi supports Arsenal, while Ife is a Chelsea fan.
The Gunners have had some good news this week with Mikel Arteta extending his contract until 2027, but Femi feels that the length of the deal is a sign that he needs to win some silverware if he is going to stay on.
Arsenal have finished runners-up in the Premier League in each of the past two seasons but the only major trophy Arteta has landed since taking charge in 2019 is the 2020 FA Cup.
“I found the deal quite interesting,” Femi said. “Maybe I am reading in between the lines too much but it feels like a little bit of a message to Mikel, saying something like ‘we have invested heavily in this project and process, and now we need a return in the next couple of seasons’.
“That’s kind of how I see it, because I would have said that if he had won the league last year, then that would have been a five-year deal for him.
“I have just read a book called Black Arsenal, which is a really beautiful read about the black culture at the club and the line of iconic black players we have had – from the likes of Paul Davis to Ian Wright and Thierry Henry.
“When I was reading about our history, it made me kind of realise just how important it is to have a big piece of silverware to attach to your career. There are lots of fantastic players and managers that have not got that, but if you want to leave a real legacy then you kind of need that trophy to go with it.
“For Arteta, it could be the Champions League or the Premier League, but I feel like his legacy needs to be stamped by one of those trophies even if, arguably, there is no harder time to achieve that than now.”
Like most Chelsea fans, rather than thinking too much about securing some silverware, Ife is still working out what he thinks their strongest team looks like.
“If I was picking the starting line-up I would like Pedro Neto on the left, Noni Madueke on the right, Cole Palmer as the 10 and Nicolas Jackson up top,” Ife said. “But, at the same time, I just don’t feel right leaving Christopher Nkunku on the bench.
“We can only pick 11 players though, and it is still too early for Enzo Maresca to know what his best starting XI looks like. We just have to be patient.
“It is hard to know what is going to happen and whether it will work out for him. Historically we don’t stick with managers for long, so when people ask ‘have Chelsea got a plan?’, then it is down to the board and how much time Maresca gets.
“Right now everyone is talking about how many players we have signed and how young they are, and that seems to be the plan – to sign a lot of young players with the hope that some of them become absolutely world class and play for us, and the others can be sold to generate profit for the club.”
Chris Sutton, Femi and Ife were speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.