Cosmo
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April 10, 2008
Matthew Syed
Why Arsene Wenger should be proud rather than cowed
It is a tragedy of apocalyptic dimensions, a human catastrophe comparable to the melting of the ice-caps and the devastation of the rainforests rolled into one. Arsenal have been knocked out of the Champions League and have all but run out of steam in the race for the Barclays Premier League title. Anyone not inclined to lament, mourn and bewail this fact is not in possession of a soul.
You may say that I am exaggerating, but this is about more than mere football. It is about music and poetry, aesthetics and artistry, hope and audacity. Arsène Wenger could have instructed his team to play with the dispiriting pragmatism so beloved of his rival managers, but the mercurial Frenchman was not prepared to betray his nobler ideals, even when it might have improved his club’s chances of success.
Arsenal’s relentless and unadulterated pursuit of beauty has itself been a thing of beauty: a daring, epic and ultimately doomed journey that has taken the English game, against all expectation, into the territory of the artistic. Wenger has done more for neutral supporters in one season — talking spiritually now, talking of our moral fabric — than an eternity of watching the spirit-sapping utilitarianism of men such as José Mourinho and Rafael Benítez.
Wenger’s posse of swashbuckling and tragic youngsters embraced the vision of their leader with the naive enthusiasm of foot soldiers and now they look around themselves at the ruins. But they should not despair. Liverpool, their conquerors on Tuesday night, may go on to lift the European Cup next month, yet what are trophies except meaningless baubles that moth and rust destroy? What Arsenal have achieved this season will endure far longer, if only in the hearts of those of us who have watched them.
Who has been inspired by Benítez’s Liverpool or Avram Grant’s Chelsea beyond the core constituencies of Merseyside and West London, who cheer out of filial loyalty and never from aesthetic appreciation? Who in their right mind could watch a Liverpool or Chelsea performance and find a wide and happy smile arriving on their surprised lips?
This is not an argument that is pro-Arsenal any more than it is anti-Liverpool: Arsenal under George Graham were as dull and draining as Liverpool under Bob Paisley were thrilling. No, it is about celebrating something in Wenger’s team that goes far beyond success and failure; it is about saluting a philosophy that owes as much to Sartre as it does to Rinus Michels. Wenger understands that, in this curious journey called life, there are things that matter beyond the merely functional.
The Frenchman and his players will be feeling something close to desolation. They woke yesterday with their hopes and dreams, which were within grasping distance a few weeks ago, in tatters. But rather than despair, they should celebrate that they have imbued football with an aesthetic meaning that it has not enjoyed since the retirement of Pelé, Carlos Alberto and Co. They are glorious, even though they have been vanquished. They are glorious, perhaps, because they have been vanquished.
There was a time when it looked as if the English game was doomed to be strangled by route-one football. It is visionaries such as Wenger and the evergreen Sir Alex Ferguson who have resisted this calamity. Manchester United’s attacking luminosity and Arsenal’s intricate creativity have offered an alternative vision of the sport that, it must be hoped, will be embraced by a new generation of managers and coaches.
Football is becoming the beautiful game again. And, for that, we must thank, above all, the incomparable Wenger.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/arsenal/article3717226.ece
* Yes that was sarcasm.
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JonnyJ
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Bollocks 
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Cosmo
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The funny thing is, in all its shite, that for me sums up how 95% of Arsenal fans actually think
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JonnyJ
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I never remember how a team plays in a competition, i remember the team that actually wins something.
Like Liverpool vs AC Milan. Does anyone remember how arsenal/anyone else played in that tournament other than Liverpool and their last minute, amazing comebacks?
[Edited on 11-04-2008 by JonnyJ]
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Cosmo
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quote:
Originally posted by JonnyJ
Does anyone remember how arsenal played?
Hmmm...I seem to remember it was a tragedy of apocalyptic dimensions, a human catastrophe comparable to the melting of the ice-caps and the devastation of the rainforests rolled into one......blah blah blah fuck off.
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Jules
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At least Arsenal will finish higher in the EPL than Liverpool (again) therefore cementing their place as the better team of the two
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Cosmo
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quote:
Originally posted by Jules
At least Arsenal will finish higher in the EPL than Liverpool (again) therefore cementing their place as the better team of the two
Change of bait required.
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Danny P
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Arsenal do play some fantastic football, they remind me of Holland in the 74 World Cup, pass and move, the way football should be played IMO.
However, they only seem to be able to play this way, everytime i've seen Arsenal need to play a bit "doged" they have failed. Also, they miss so many chances.
Maybe they should start shooting practice instead of all that passing about.
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Jules
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quote:
Originally posted by Cosmo
quote:
Originally posted by Jules
At least Arsenal will finish higher in the EPL than Liverpool (again) therefore cementing their place as the better team of the two
Change of bait required.
I don't see why, I've chosen to use "fact" as my bait.
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Cosmo
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It is not fact that Arsenal will finish higher than us 
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Jules
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quote:
Originally posted by Cosmo
It is not fact that Arsenal will finish higher than us
Yet.....
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Cosmo
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quote:
Originally posted by Jules
quote:
Originally posted by Cosmo
It is not fact that Arsenal will finish higher than us
Yet.....
So you havent chosen to bait with fact then
And when was your (again) referring to? I mean if you are going to go back 3yrs to find that bit of info then we may aswell go back over the last 50yrs and count up who finished higher.
Although I do agree they will probably finish higher than us, but I'll accept EVERYONE telling me Arsenal are better for us to finish 4th and get into the semi finals (with the chance of winning it) rather than go out in the 1/4ers and finish 3rd.
Nice to see we both proved how poor Italian football is too on the way.
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Jules
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Ooooh got a whooper here
*get's out the landing net*
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Cosmo
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Actually no, although I know it seems that. Im more pointing out the stupidity of the bait, rather than getting wound up by what you are implying by it 
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Cosmo
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Oh...and can you guess I knew you were going to reply with that
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Jules
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You're probably as bored as me?
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Cosmo
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quote:
Originally posted by Jules
You're probably as bored as me?
Yes 
My eyes are killing me from playing Mario Kart most of the day, so getting some work I should of done today done so I dont have to tomorrow
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Jules
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So you can play more Mario Kart tomorrow?
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Cosmo
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quote:
Originally posted by Jules
So you can play more Mario Kart tomorrow?
No, got a hell of a lot more work for tomorrow Just didnt want to add todays to it!
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