Cormac was discussing the match yesterday. He and my daughter’s boyfriend were very dismissive of the team. We may have enjoyed some early dominance they agreed, but somehow we always manage to flatter to deceive, to pull an ignominious defeat out of the hat when ostensibly playing well. I reclined into the unseasonal October sunshine, warm and relaxed, nodding sagely to myself, and fully in accord with the two young men.
As a cloud passes the sun so a shadow of a thought distracted me in my reverie. A frown pleated the otherwise untroubled forehead and it gradually dawned upon me. Neither my son nor my daughter’s boyfriend have the least knowledge of nor interest in football, never mind Arsenal. This is of course a stain on my character.
As a parent we know we will not be able to predict nor overly influence the significant attitudes our offspring will assume as they pass from awkward adolescence into adulthood. They will vote with their consciences, specialise in subjects of their own choosing, dress how they like and make their own friends regardless of what we think. We can make only one guarantee. There is a solitary area of their lives we know we can affect. In fact it is a solemn and traditional duty. To this end I told all of my children, as soon as they were old enough to understand me, there was nothing they could do in their lives to disappoint me. I would be the one to visit them in prison no matter how heinous their crimes, I would always stand by them, always be there for them. Unconditional love meant just that.
Except. Except for just one thing. If they ever, for even one fleeting moment considered supporting any team other than Arsenal then they knew where the door was and any dreams they may have been harbouring about inheriting my debts they could forget then and there.
I need not have bothered, they don’t even like football. None of them. So what were the lads discussing? Enquiries produced the surprising answer. E Sports. Video games, to you and I. It transpires there is a whole world of computer gamers, organised into national and international leagues, with their own hierarchies, supporter groups, sponsors, rivalries, high profile transfers, the lot. These guys take the thing every bit as seriously as we do football and with only a couple of significant differences – the commentators (or shout casters as they are rather splendidly known) are widely respected and play an important role in spectators’ enjoyment, also fans choose which country they support, their own nationality is irrelevant – they follow their sports with just as much fervour as we do ours.
The comment which rang the loudest bell with me came when I asked who had the strongest team. Cormac and George exchanged rueful glances, pursed their lips and muttered “The Koreans”. I detected a certain asperity in their tone and when I asked why my son informed me “They are the best, there’s no doubt about that, the play the best game. But the best team winning all the time just gets boring no matter how good they are.”
I returned to my seat to mull. You’ll find you mull a lot more the older you get. It burns few calories and doesn’t require any complicated equipment. The main thrust of my mulling was today’s encounter with Manchester United. For a very long time I disliked the red Mancunians above all other teams. Before that I can recall not warming to the red half of Liverpool over much and when my interest in football was first kindled it was Leeds United that made my normally benign features sour to a grimace. Nowadays? Chelsea. Without question.
The only poisonous rivalry that never changes is, it seems, that involving local teams. If either daughter brought home a Bristol City fan they had just as well turn in their latch keys without further ado. I suppose this is why the North London contingent of our fan-base still holds Spurs in the lowest esteem and probably always has done. So what lessons can I draw from Cormac’s observation? Did I really detest Man United for all those years simply because they kept winning? Was there nothing in all those hours you and I have spent discussing the refereeing bias, Fergie time, the Old Trafford penalty phenomenon and the rest? Is there a pan sports truth that people will rebel against whoever is successful then find reasons after the fact to support their position?
My antipathy towards United certainly abated during the Moyes era, and even now that they are resurgent under Van Gaal I don’t have the same depth of loathing for them as I used to do. Rooney excepted of course. Perhaps I shouldn’t gaze too closely towards my navel on this one. It wouldn’t do to suggest that my bitterest footballing rivalries are all born of petty jealousy. Hard to maintain the moral high ground under such conditions isn’t it?
So what of our opponents today? This current incarnation of Man United sits at the top of the current form table. We are one place below them. In fact the form table looks a bit like the league table used to look in the good old days. A perusal of the six most recent results tells us both sides have won four, drawn one and lost one. The subtle difference being we have lost one of our last two whilst they are on a three game winning streak. Which neatly sums up the two sides. Both doing well but our recent results suggests a tendency towards the unpredictable.
The form table, while unable to lie, does mask a certain truth. The defeat which we suffered had as much to do with Mike Dean as with our footballing performance. The Champions League may have started in a forgettable way for us but in the league we have been, if not rampant, then steadily improving. This should be a humdinger of a game. Chelsea’s collapse combined with City’s unpredictability has left the door to the top tantalisingly ajar and the sleeping giants of the Premier League must be sniffing the air, scenting weakness in the bloated cash rich beasts who so rudely trampled all over their one time dominance of the landscape.
Today is a test for both sides, the chance for our players to shuck off the disappointment of their midweek Greek théâtre de l’absurde and for United to prove their recent form has not been a flash in the pan. One might assume with the stakes so high and both teams in reasonably good nick that a draw would be the favourite result. I believe this season is shaping up to be the least predictable, most open contest in a long time and the team that can string a run of victories together could well establish a very important lead over the other pretenders to the throne. To that end I’ll be amazed if both sides don’t go for it. LVG may be taken in by the silly idea that we have a suspect defence (says so in the papers ergo it must be true) and if so our lightning counter attacking game will be well suited to capitalise on any misplaced bravado.
We have much to be positive about right now. Theo keeps scoring, Alexis is back to his best and the two of them combined superbly in their last match together. Aaron Ramsey was head and shoulders above every other player when he came on as a second half substitute on Tuesday and with him and Mesut supplying our fast and in form goal scorers United will need to defend very well to stop us.
I don’t watch teams unless they play against us (I confess I’ve made an exception where Chelsea are concerned – that’s a gift that just keeps giving) so I’ve had to dig around to find out who is currently doing the business for our visitors. Juan Mata, so says the Manchester Evening News, has been involved in forty four percent of United’s goals so far and as such has been ‘pivotal’ to their start to 2015/16. Metro thinks Martial is the signing of the season. Which in the first week of October is an hilarious assertion even for a newspaper to make. The moment he was injured, Luke Shaw was immediately promoted by pundits far and wide to Man United’s best player, which smells of cant to me. As reprehensible as he may appear, Rooney has an irritating habit of doing well against us, so we need to hope his goal scoring problems continue for at least another game. What he does in an England shirt is, for me, a matter of complete indifference.
So there you have it. My prediction is for another fast, exciting game much like that between ourselves and Leicester. Plenty of goals and a feast of fun for those fortunate enough to be in attendance. If you’re one of those who shakes a weary head and says ‘Pah’ and confidently anticipates a dour struggle settled by a dubious penalty then perhaps you are following the wrong sport. Optimism and excited expectancy costs precisely the same as pessimism you know. Although come to think of it, given what I discovered yesterday about the hitherto unknown world of Electronic Sports it probably doesn’t matter what game you choose. It isn’t the team, the style or even the format which dictates your response to the roller coaster ride, it’s you.
Positively Arsenal 
Form is temporary, class – a la Stew – is permanent. I keep checking if my thesaurus – I got it’s tab open – haven’t updated a pic of Stew next the word: “magnificent”. Your eloquent manner of forming such beautiful mental images of some of everyday life, trips down memory lane and especially when it comes to the game ahead has not only done wonders for the calm that is within me before, during and after games, but also on my use of the english language. I’ve become quite a show-off thanks to you. You know us Gooners are such a sophisticated bunch.
To the game, I doubt our boys need any encouraging words from Wenger to know what they need to do today. After all, they’ve said all week how they need right the wrongs to reward the faith entrusted upon them by the entire Gooniverse. They don’t need to convince us they’re class, and legitimate PL title challengers. And so are a Manutd team that’s riding high at the moment. All indicators that today’s match will be a joy for the neutral, more bum-on-the-edge-of-the-seat for us Gooners.
That said, I do fancy us for a win today. After all if I don’t, I have no business calling myself an Arsenal supporter.
We ride together, we die together… COYG
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That’s the spirit Labo – good to be alongside you for the ride!
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I dunno, I hate United and love the Koreans, watching the best in the world is always great, that’s why I hate Barcelona but love watching them play. The one thing that links the two (normal sports and e-sports) is the simple desire for competition, you get to see skill and team synergy put to the test, different tactics clashing, people bottling and legends being born, a crucible.
That’s something that is forgotten far too much in football, these days. It isn’t about winning, it’s about everything that comes before it, and not the bullshit narratives used to sell content, but the simple state of both teams wanting to win and neither wanting to lose.
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Steww, your ramblings create an image of a wise old sage, who dwells in a dusty library, at the very top of a circular tower. There is a globe of the Earth on a desk. The young huddle at your feet eager for pearls of wisdom….
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Nice mellow blog, steww.
1-0 to the Arsenal.
I think LvG will park the bus. Let’s hope he reverses into his own goal.
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A match day staple these days, Stew, though how you resist giving us a starting line-up and the magical ‘must win game’ exhortation is beyond me.
Marvellous stuff, the magic of the prose made all the more marvellouser by the revelation we have been ‘hating on’ exactly the same teams these last four decades or so.
Who says parallel universes are so last paradigm?
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Nice one Stew,Gabriel will have to careful today,I fully expect Rooney to be up to his old tricks,but if can hold it together at the back,I think we’ll win. 2-1 to the Arsenal.
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Another masterpiece Steww.
I try and let my mind wander having been enthused by such an excellent teacher, however on days like today im just to nervous.
Both my boys have been Junior Gooners since birth as the forms were already nearly compleated before there due date arrived. This ensured they had been JG’s one extra season than their age and I too have always told them they could choose any path and even bring boyfriends home but never a spud. This is slightly strange as my Mums side of the family are from wood green and so are all ardent spurs fans. As it turned out they have both found their own way in all aspects of life except football and are both just as biased as me towards the Gunners.
Like I said I’m nervous before games and usually need Steww’s words to calm me and give me confidence going in to games, he never dissapoints. I dont hate city at the moment so maybe that means they havn’t one enough or maybe because if Arsenal are not topping the table then if city are there at least it means chelski and manure have been beaten.
Todays worry for me is Kos. Whichever pairing you choose I always want him in it and his omission is a big loss if ever there was a day for Gabriel to redeam himself and annouce himself to the outside world (we already know he is good) then todays the day. In all other aspects we match them or were better so as usual we play to our best and then, baring any riduclas refereeing decisions, we know we can win. COYG
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Splendid stuff, Stew.
The Koreans eh? Blimey
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Morning Stew,
The Arsenal v Manchester United has always been one of the highlights of the football season in my book. When the fixtures come out it is always them and Spuds i look for, even in the seasons when objectively we have all been mid table fodder.
What a prospect today though ! A good win for us and we can slide into second, and with the Manchester derby imminent that could be the perfect spot to be.
It is not a day to obsess about results though, it is a day to enjoy two of the best footballing teams in the country, managed by probably the best two managers in the country, at the best ground in the country
Why would that not put a smile on my face ?
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Superb, Steww.
I’ve been so full of G Neville, A Taylor, Moano (inc. photo of “semi-bap red carpet display”), and the history of this fixture, I’d forgotten it could be lovely to actually look forward to this match.
Great stuff. COYG.
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CARMONN YOUUUUUU GUNNNNNNEEERRRSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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LVG’s record in Football demands respect but it’s MP and AW for me as the top two!
However that didn’t stop me from attempting to show some respect for LVG earlier in the he season (ignoring the transfers, the three overpriced LBs last summer, the press conferences!).
Smallings reaching the age of maturity for a CB, looking forward to his tussles with Sanchez and Walcott, or Giroud depending on who gets the nod.
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Thanks for the supportive comments, I’m glad my writing gives people a little pleasure. I understand that a proper preview should be choc full of insight and specialist knowledge but I can’t bring myself to pretend to know that which I don’t.
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By the way, talking of other sports, if like me you enjoy nothing more than watching Dutchmen racing sailing barges then check this out
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Stew, I’m trying hard to take a leaf out of your book and just enjoy the game, win, lose or draw. Just hoping the players don’t shoot themselves in the foot in the process. If we are beaten by the better side on the day, fair enough, but no more suicidal defending and gung ho attacking. The players are better than that and need to show it more consistently. That’s all I want to see.
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Steww for me, top blogger. All of you guys have said all that needs to be said, especially Labo_Goon:
“We ride together, we die together… COYG”
PS: Last night I finally put the disappointment of Tuesday behind me and watched my recording of the 2nd half of the Olympiacos game. Contrary to the over the top criticism here, there and everywhere, in my opinion we played very well except for that kamikaze defending for their 3rd goal. If we can take the positives from that half we should be ok.
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No surprises there, then.
Scouse derby ended as all neutrals will have hoped – 2 dropped points each.
Have a feeling the PL could be a lot more open this year.
By the way, steww, North or South Koreans?
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ha ha ha ha
MailOnline Sport @MailSport 5m5 minutes ago
Lamela is finally living up to the childhood comparisons with Messi http://dailym.ai/1OfgvTI
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How the hell do people continue to spew the propaganda that Schneiderlin was such a failed signing by Wenger yet he can’t start for United?
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Great preview, as always, Stew. Thanks.
I have to miss the game today due to family obligations, but I’ll be listening. Come on boys! We’re behind you!
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dkg – South Korea. The top teams are Samsung White and Samsung Blue.
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dominant opening from Arsenal, and 5 minutes in Alexis makes it 1-0
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Coquelin massive in the build up again but little Hector did well too.
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Ozil makes it 2-0 after 7 minutes, great work by theo, and calm finish by Mesut
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Told you this would be exciting didn’t I?
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swansea 1-0 spurs
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Shotta at 3:05pm:
“Contrary to the over the top criticism here, there and everywhere, in my opinion we played very well except for that kamikaze defending for their 3rd goal. If we can take the positives from that half we should be ok.”
Are we ok?
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19 minutes Alexis with a thunder strike from edge of the area, 3-0
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I’m over the moooooooooon!
Maybe I should bridle my optimism. Or not! Banned smiley thing
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Lee Dixon on my NBC feed is completely clueless. From the start he wanted us to be more conservative. Fact is we are an attacking team that creates chances. Our problem so far is our below avg conversion.Since Leicester our conversion is going back to historical levels. Today is following the pattern.
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swansea 2-1 spurs
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Ramsey misses a great chance for number 4, gets his volley all wrong
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1-0 to the Arsenal?
Shut my mouth.
Great performance – just what was required.
By the way, eddy – I thought you said Smalling was a good player?
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Just sat down for the first time since kick off
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dkg he is,
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great closing down by Walcott
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game has got scrappy with 20 minutes to go, Arsenal seem to be not sure if they should stick or twist
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Ozil shoots straight at de gea
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Giroud and Oxlade-chamberlain on for Walcott and Ozil, 15 minutes left
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80 minutes, Alexis off injured, gibbs on.
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2 minutes of stoppage time to be played
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ox hits the bar
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FT: Arsenal 3-0 Man Utd
Outstanding opening quarter of attacking football put us 3-0 up, then it was smart football, with us still have the better of the chances. Great performance, and to think Utd were top of the table yesterday.
Arsenal now 2 pts off Man city in top, and 8 ahead of Chelsea.
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AFC has 5 pts more than after 8 games last season
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Magnificent performance today by the boys but biggest shout out to the man who set this team up to completely shred United. #ArseneKnows
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Bad news: Alexis was feeling his groin when coming off.
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