Ernest Hemingway and Norman Mailer understood sport not as a metaphor but as revelation of human nature. When the sword goes in for the kill, no bullfighter can be certain that the bull will not raise his head as its horns pass the man’s body, no matter how well the bullfighter has done to control the muleta. At that moment the bull has his chance at the man. The matador who stabs the bull without ever bringing his body within range of the horn is considered a coward. In the grim dressing room after the fight in Zaire, Foreman sat, trying to remember the punch that knocked him out, trying to figure out how he got there, then, according to Mailer, he turned to the reporters and said, “I found true friendship tonight. I found a true friend in Bill Caplan,” the man who had taken the heat when Foreman had been temperamental and arrogant.
In the game of soccer, the ritual sublimation of war, exceptional athletes perform in extraordinary situations. They are tested constantly and they are judged without compassion. Two weeks ago Manchester United showed how to exploit Arsenal’s weaknesses. On Sunday Chelsea perfected it, and when all seemed lost, when it seemed that Le Professeur, the great coach of Arsenal, Arsène Wenger, didn’t have an answer, they defeated the resurgent Liverpool 1-0 with a crossed ball header, old school. It was an ugly game in the first half, with neither team finding rhythm and the second half was little better except the ugliness had a quicker pace, but in the end, a very young Arsenal team took three points against an experienced Liverpool team that has been tough to score against and spent a lot more money in the off-season. Importantly, the victory puts Arsenal five points behind second place Man U and six behind league leaders Chelsea, not bad for a team many claim is in a crisis.
If Arsenal can claim third place it will be in one of the toughest leagues in the world which, even for a big club, isn’t a crisis, especially if they can progress in the Champions League. It’s true that financially they’re at a disadvantage compared to Chelsea and Man U. Not every team is like Chelsea and has the luxury of being owned by a billionaire who will loan a hundred million to a team interest-free. Man U’s financial difficulties have surfaced which will lessen if they are able to secure low interest bonds to refinance the buy-out. Coach Wenger has played the transfer market masterfully, buying players low, selling high and putting the money towards paying off their new stadium. Arsenal players are paid high wages but Arsenal pays other teams some of the lowest transfer fees for those players. Thierry Henry and Patrick Viera, two of the greats, came at half the cost of Man U’s Rio Ferdinand or Chelsea’s Didier Drogba.
Article comments
1 - Russ Evenhuis
I love Arsenal but it was awful watching the Man U and Chelsea matches. What made it worse was watching the matches with my neighbor, a Man u fan, and my daughter, a Chelsea fan. Arsenal seemed to have more chances but less idea of what to do with them than their opponents. They don't seem to have a cold blooded killer on the front line, some one like Henry was, and the defense was a shambles at times. I'm not sure how they will come out of this but, as you say, they are young.
2 - Earl Lundquist
Thanks for the post, Russ. I look forward to reading more. I completely agree. They need a big man up front who can hold up the ball and give Arsharvin a target. Saha, Bent, Yakubu, and Stoke City's Fuller all come to mind and all should be affordable. And to be fair, in the past five years Arsenal has had 1 Carling Cup Final, 1 Champs League Final (and qual every year), a great youth system and they're paying off a 60,000 seat stadium. Wegner is really, really good at his job. And my sympathies to you. There's little worse than watching games with Man U & Chelsea fans.