Arsenal v Swansea; Premier League Match Preview

(Apologies, this is a little long, even by my own standards….Trying times, comfort in words, etc….)

Exceptional writing Kiwi and you lay it out all too clearly. The house of cards is on a foundation of one man. He built it this way and if you pull him from the mix it all topples and the reconstruction will be from the ground up. I (completely) agree that there is opportunity there for somebody young and (relatively) unburnt from flying too close to the sun to swoop in and use the powerful financial base of the club to grab us up at the bootstraps and make this moment our nadir. Guardiola is one, Klopp is the other in my mind (and both could bring their very own players with them). Interesting about the different ownership structure, big money and criticism of English football with German champ Dortmund hosting (already eliminated) Man City and sure to cement 1st place in this seasons’ group of death…. Personally I wouldn’t mind if Roberto Martinez came in. My impression is that there is A LOT of undervalued Spanish talent who can handle the weather. Michu is an example which comes quickly to mind….

Continuing with the tortured metaphors…Before we bury him (or kick him upstairs, which I also fear is quite likely….see below for a my own twist on this scenario), a little praise for Arsene, or at least his vision, which has been alluring to so many for so long, seems worthy of the indulgence….

Maybe it’s because I’m down here in the land of Don Quioxte, but for me, AW seems both a Pragmatist AND (or even more-so) a Romantic. Responding to relentless forces with a contrarian approach, our “professor” of economics is doing the not-so-novel thing of managing a business responsibly. It only appears radical given that football is more deeply than ever in an age of every man for himself. Like you, I believe this is all fine for a COO (or CEO) but a football manager must choose his players and then get them to produce on the pitch. This is where AW has failed–too much romance (hope) for certain types then too much rigidity and maybe egoism when they don’t (or do) pan out.

For me, the counterpoint is at Man U. with parallels that are striking but run in almost opposite directions. Up there, where they’re a decade ahead (with money, witness the big stadium and its diluted atmosphere), American owners come in and heap debt onto the club to shore up their portfolio. A “legendary” manager spends and spends to maintain results and they are on there on the pitch. The quality may be down, but by keeping his motley crew of rather dunderheaded players chugging along, while throwing money at a few of them (notably Rooney and now RVP), he is getting the job done. Financially, SAF is perhaps kicking the ball down the road, but who cares? The fans are happy, the brand is growing, etc., etc. It won’t be easy to follow in those footsteps when he finally steps down….

The contrarian approach with Arsene as company man (and, more distressing THE company) is in stark relief. “Come with me,” he’s told his collective group of misfits down the years (and I include the players, the rich-beyond-their-dreams board, and the new breed of sometimes well-heeled, highly literate supporters, amongst whom I am sometimes tempted to include myself. We enjoy the Arsenal brand and an occasional night in (now upscale) Islington….) The deal for the players is “I’ll pay you good money” (or take it from you, for the fans….), allow you to “express yourself,” and we will do it all correctly. I’m in charge, of course, so if you think you’re bigger than the project (AKA me), you can go fuck yourself.

For supporters it leads to the frustration embodied in the march or our local screamer, Mr. 133. For players who wish to be bigger than the man himself, it’s a ticket down the road. (Like I said recently, I’m not at all sure AW can fathom being less than the highest paid employee at the club, which surely means a certain lower quality of player is our lot.)

Football SHOULD be about romance, and it is very sweet to stay true to players through horrifying and lengthy injuries (Diaby, Ramsey, Wilshere, Rosicky, Gibbs, AND RVP, etc) or just to believe that goofballs can find perspective, work a little harder, and realize their talents (Eboue, Santos, Kolo Toure, Adebayor, Gervinho, Arshavin, etc.). Some come a little bit good and get talked into cashing in (Clichy, Nasri, Theo, RVP) while others with even more prodigious talents just feel the clock ticking and cannot see the project out (Fabregas and RVP again). Now we’ve got a new group of misfits. Tiny Santi, Giant Giroud, Aged Arteta. Add in other must-play guys like TV5, LK6, PM4, LP9 and BS3, and it’s a fun group of veterans who seem to want to repay the managers faith in picking them. Marry some promising youngsters (some for whom we overpaid) to a few more likewise goofy, cheaper prospects—Jenks and Sneezy come to mind—and there’s a bit of promise. Unfortunately, they ALL have to get over their injuries, come good and gel as a unit, right away, and all the time, or at least without too many hiccups, whilst simultaneously playing more games than the (other, selling) teams lurking below us. If those clubs can avoid relegation, getting by for a season or two, AND their young managers can cash in on THEIR lottery tickets (see for example Andy Carroll….), THEY can buy numerous good bodies (and minds) to have a go at low-hanging old bullies like the “old” big 4. The names of “small” clubs who in just 15 rounds have beaten United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal is simply too big to list. Silly money IS trickling down. It won’t last, and things must change, but that’s another discussion….

Our current worries are in the mirror…. I actually think (ever the optimist…) that the players AND the fans will rally around AW, and we’ll get up for 4th or even 3rd, while the two Manchester clubs stumble as badly a year ago in claiming the domestic cups (and maybe a CL semi or final in the case of United). If we hold our noses and send a league cup squad to Greece (please, please take Martinez not Don Vito, who still must have nightmares about kicking at balls he might’ve grabbed….), it becomes a “learning experience.” And if then the regulars can get up on faltering West Brom, we’ll be right back on the heels of Spurs and Chelsea, who most certainly have issues of their own. Bow out against Swansea (surely to be favored over our kids) in the FA cup in January and then Barca or Dortmund (or another group winner) in the CL in February, and then we just focus on the run in (and the ever looming “future”)…. Regardless, it’s Drama City, Baby, with each match either a lifeline or a noose. Navigate these dark days of December and January gets downright Kid-in-a-Candy-Store, maybe with a big headed Nutcracker (Thierry Henry) thrown in for further romance and reminiscing…. Or, like kiwi suggests, and I shudder to think about, it could get a lot worse….

So, for me, at my best moments (when I’m in “observation mode”), it’s all (kind of) OK. Arsene is at the heart of what the club means to me so I’d like to see him move on with at least a shred of dignity, and I agree that there is a chance that we won’t necessarily have to go through the pain of (a series of) lesser managers taking us even lower. In fact, my optimism would even include Arsene as new COO (or board chairman) with David Dein by his side bringing in Usmanov and his promises of money or at least a bit of pressure on Kroenke to get just a hair looser with his. It would be scary for those who see the emperor as completely naked, but I think his commitment to the club will probably need to be honored in one way or another, esp. if he can, once again, pull the rabbit out of the hat (avoid CL relegation). The natives, however, are too restless, the pressure is too great, and it’s too much for one human being, no matter the size of his ego. This MUST be his final season….To rework Kiwi’s greatest metaphor, Moses did NOT get to the promised land….(but Joshua did)…..

I could be wrong, but like many, I feel we’ve arrived at a moment when it’s all about mitigating the downside of the hubris and the depth of the fall. I like the man and his vision but the forces in play are too strong for his hopeful (sentimental), sometimes decisive (often rigidly so), but often misguided (half-baked?) ideas. For me (again) it is fascinating to watch and I don’t fault myself (nor others) for “wanting” it to all work out or having a soft side for Arsene. Life itself is a losing game (or at least you’re buried alone and with nothing except maybe a decent suit, unless you decide to go all King Tut….), so why shouldn’t it at least be lived with a measure of personality?….