The Gunners

After my last two postings here and here which arose from emotions felt – one of nostalgia and the other mixed – I thought enough was enough. But then how can you write about your favorite EPL team without feeling the passion. And so I got caught again in the “emotion” thing. We are mere mortals, all of us.

'We were on the ropes... but showed resilience’ said Monsieur Wenger after last night’s game.They (Liverpool) played better BUT we (Arsenal) won, 2-1. And that is all that matters. Winning is everything, if not anywhere else, at least in the English Premier League. So we are still at the top of the table.

But dark clouds are hovering though. With 6 first choice players being charged by the English FA for misconduct during the game with Manchester United a forthnight ago and injuries to a few, the team could be “down to bare bones” as a story in today’s Sunday Mail said. “Their cumulative bans could total 25 games”, the story added.

All, we Gooners, can do is hope that the injured will recover soon (Bergkamp and Ljungberg) and those charged will be let off with lesser punishment.

It can be said that the team brought all this unto themselves. They could have been more restrained, Captain Patrick Vieira particularly.

There are no doubts about Patrick’s passion and commitment to the team and the game. But showing these qualities without tempering them with level-headedness is not right. The number of “red card” he has earned bears testimony to this.

Perhaps, he should also realize the game is not everything. He can draw an example from Rugby’s Tana Umaga, the All Blacks (New Zealand) vice captain, who during a match with Wales, saw teammate….

[Jerey Collins flattened Colin Charvis with a thunderous tackle.

New Zealand swiftly launched a counter-attack, but Umaga totally ignored the play and rushed to the poleaxed Charvis’s side to place the Welshman in the recovery position.

“It tells you the sort of bloke Tana is,” said Welsh captain Martyn Williams later. “He could have followed the ball to score but he wanted to get Colin’s gumshield out. It shows there are things in life that are bigger than just a game,”]
(From the New Sunday Times, 5 Otober,2003 at Pg.16)

Well, it is early yet in the season and I hope that Arsenal gives me and the other fans continuing opportunities to enjoy our weekends.