I caught the tail end of the Man City draw to Crystal Palace with a rabid Liverpool supporter yesterday and to say the least, he was in a good mood. He was Klopp fist-pumping, yelling, and taking selfies of himself with the scoreline in the background. And I have to say that I realize now that I have made a grave error and that this is all my fault.
I work in a library and we are transitioning over to a Learning Commons model. During the remodel, we got access to a very large screen TV – I mean leviathan – and it’s on a cart so it can be moved around. Well, I had to test the stupid thing and figure out how all the different components work (Apple TV, etc.) and so I had this bright idea to play a football match on it. Which I did and since I’m the sharing type, I put it out in public so everyone could see it. It was another City match (can’t remember which one) and it attracted this Liverpool supporter because he wanted to hate watch the game.
After that game, there were a few Arsenal matches that I could have watched at home but I decided to watch them at work and of course that was fun at first – because I was watching games with people who didn’t support any team. But now that I have put the TV out with the football on, he asks me to put the football on all the time. And I can’t really stop because that would be a privation and as we know from our bible studies a privation is evil*.
His request to put the football on is a totally reasonable request but it’s not fun for me because I’m the guy who hates watching football with other supporters. You know, because of “the banta”.
I’ve been watching football in American bars for over 20 years and in all that time I’ve been subjected to plenty of banta, in fact I’ve had my fill. And this kid LOVES THE BANTA. It didn’t start out that way but after a few weeks of football he’s started to show me his real self. He brags about all the memes he sends his friends and likes to show me the stuff on his phone. He’s like a walking real life Twitter account, one which I would normally soft block, then mute, and probably eventually fully block.
Bantz just means “being a dick”. And look, I’m not above doing it myself. I’ve been pretty much non-stop bantering Chelsea since Roman Abramovich got sanctioned. But like I said, it gets tiring quick. And maybe this is the gods’ way of teaching me a lesson. Maybe it’s a dozen different lessons.
But the point of all this is that on Wednesday, I’m very likely going to have to watch the Arsenal-Liverpool game with the Banta king and I am dreading it.
This was already going to be a big game for both clubs but the hype around the match was heightened by Man City’s draw against Palace. That let Liverpool back into the title race.
It’s not like Liverpool were going to play this game to get a draw no matter what. The best teams face every opponent with the same game plan: impose their style on the opposition and try to win every game. So I don’t know what I was hoping for from this match, maybe that Liverpool would have a lapse of concentration. But that’s not going to happen now and I’m convinced that they are going to smell blood in the water (not ours, City’s) and are going for the kill.
So that leaves it up to Arsenal. In his pre-match presser, Arteta said that Liverpool are one of the best teams in the Premier League (I would say Europe) and that in order for us to get a result against them we will need to be perfect in every way. I agree with that assessment, though I would add that they have shown some weaknesses this season and we could possibly get away with a 99% perfect game rather than 100% perfect. But regardless, it’s going to take quite a top performance from Arsenal to get a result.
It’s not the end of the world (not yet, not until NATO gets involved in Ukraine) if Arsenal don’t get any points tomorrow. We don’t need three points against the best team in Europe to get 4th place. It would be nice. It would set down a marker for Arsenal as an up-and-coming side. But it’s not a requirement.
I just want us to play well and give them a good go.
And please for the gods’ sake, let’s not do anything to give this guy something to meme about because frankly I don’t want to hear about it for the next 6 months.
*The absence of good theory. If we assume that the creator is all good, then everything they created is good, and by definition evil is only the absence of good – or a privation. This theory also holds that evil cannot even exist, it is only a negative. We can also think of the condition of sin, and by extension “going to hell”, to be the privation of god’s grace. Of course all of this is taking the dualism of good/evil to its extreme and many – more serious – philosophers find the concept to be laughable because it’s very obvious that evil exists as a force in the universe. Cruelty very much exists, as does pain and hatred. They aren’t mere absences of love or care or whatever. Cruelty is not just the opposite of love, it’s not indifference (though indifference can be cruel), it is often an active force, one which a human being must act out on another with clear intent. You can’t tell me that the torture of people at Abu Garaib prison was an “absence” or a mere privation of good. It was active malice. It’s that latter, dismissive, way that I’m using it here because obviously me depriving people free TV is not evil.
I think if we stick with the 11 v 11 formation, home advantage should do it for us. Hope that didn’t qualify as ‘bantz’!
I often watch the matches against Liverpool with a good friend who is from there and who has supported them since he was a kid. Since the match tomorrow is during working hours, I won’t be able to go to our usual bar to watch with him, which perhaps saves me from what has been a long streak of us getting mauled by them. He’s not one of the bantz crowd, but it’s still been painful.
As far as results go, I’d be more than pleased by a tie, or even a close loss in which we play well.
In fact according to the theory, if everything was good already then you must have been evil when you took away the absence of free TV.
I hate watching games with fans of other teams, especially the deliberately annoying ones, so you have my deepest sympathies. I will watch in our local pub a couple of miles from the stadium, nursing a couple of pints quietly in the corner, and sharing the mood with a roomful of other gooners.
I hate banter. It’s why I stopped watching at non-Arsenal bars, with non-Arsenal friends. It was fun as a kid, and when Arsenal were good. But really, what’s the point? It’s about who can be biggest sore winner. It’s just not me, and it if it’s you then I don’t want to be friends with you (the general you, not you, Tim. I very much want to be friends with you).
Banter upsets people, and for no good reason. It hurts, and for what? Football is stupid. It is entertainment, but it can also be community. Banter draws battle lines.
I had a couple of decent friends I used to watch games with. One was a Chelsea fan, and while he was generally a dick, he wasn’t banterful. The other was a Man Utd fan. We openly admitted hating each other’s teams – we were honest – but we commiserated on a personal level when the other’s team lost. We understand the pain and disappointment at a human level. We could watch games together. We’re not really in touch now, but those are the types of souls I want to watch games with. Alas, banter. Screw that.
On our chances tomorrow, I don’t think it makes a difference. Either it galvanizes them, or it makes them nervous (“wow, we could actually win this”). I think this Liverpool team are too professional and too storied for it to have much of an effect either way – 5% at best. I would’ve loved to be the team that “killed” their title hopes, but now that narrative is out the window.
We’re in good form, they’re in good form. They’re a better team, so they’ll likely win. We’ve done well enough of late that we can take that hit. A draw doesn’t do much for us statistically (based on 538’s expected points, we are expected to get 0.89 points from this), but I would be overjoyed with it. A win – and it won’t happen – would be really good for our chances of 4th, according to the models!
Pretty sure a win all but seals 4th place (statistically).
On a side and only slightly Arsenal connected note, there’s an article in the Athletic by Daniel Taylor on Fabrice Muamba, as this week is the 10th anniversary of his cardiac arrest and resuscitation. Pretty sure it’s subscription-only, but if you can get access to it, well-worth it as it’s an excellent piece of writing.
I sent the link in the last post. Agree – it’s worth the time. Daniel Taylor deserves the plaudits he gets as a sports journalist. Frightening, emotional, interesting but most of all inspiring. Muamba is one very lucky fellow and it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
Yesterday’s Citeh result is going to add extra motivation to LFC’s title chase and that is likely to be manifested at The Emirates tomorrow. Sigh..
We can absolutely still get fourth and I think we should target third place. It’s far from impossible. That is, if the world doesn’t end/ There is nothing in the least bit funny about what is happening right now, but Western sanctions seem toothless right now, like Dean Wormer’s Double Secret Probation.
It is so Tim to write a blog post with a glossary on a philosophical concept in a footnote. (Thoughprior to the recent upturn in form the international break was hardly a privation.). Please keep them coming.
Tim, thank you as always for the post.
Rather frustratingly I am going to miss the game tonight as I have a work event I can’t get out of. Will be checking my phone as often as I can, and looking forward to the intelligent analysis of the game on this forum tomorrow, no matter what the result.
Arseblog and others on this blog have talked in the last few days about eg Odegaard, Arteta etc and humble pie-eating. I have to admit I have been eating a couple of large slices of that – namely Arteta and Ben White [it’s true, it’s impossible to just write “White”] shaped slices. And they’ve been delicious. Plus a sliver of Lacazette-shaped pie too – maybe not quite as delicious but certainly tasty nonetheless.
I don’t have expectations for a result tonight. But I do have expectations for us to give it a good shot. And to come back ‘sparkling’ against Villa irrespective of the result.
That is testament to the job that Arteta has done overall; that White has put in in partnership with Gabriel and Ramsdale in defence and transition to attack etc. And of course that’s not even touching on our young and effervescent attack.
As I say, I am thoroughly enjoying my humble pie. And thoroughly enjoying watching Arsenal. Kudos to the manager, to the players, to Edu and even to Enos. Maybe he really does know what he’s doing and there’s a reason he’s a billionaire and I’m not.
I will say about Ben White that the folks who said his passing and ball carrying were excellent were correct.
I will also say that the people who said that he’s weak in the air and that he’s still prone to errors in stressful situations are also correct.
Here’s hoping he improves aerially and that he doesn’t make too many mistakes in those tight situations.
The last time we met the pool, I wrote a note to one of their supporters: ” Arsenal is the reason liverpool wont win the championship.” I stand by this. Today is there Waterloo.
i’m looking forward to the match today. liverpool are a good chance for arsenal to show they’re an elite team. arsenal have already played liverpool twice this year so there should be no surprises.
i think the best avenue for penetration is martinelli getting at alexander-arnold. everyone raves about how good trent is but i don’t see it from a defensive standpoint. my instruction to martinelli would be clear; run at him every chance you get and do 1-2s when you can’t go at him directly. in fact, i’d like to see how liverpool copes tactically with fullbacks that get forward; will salah and mane drop all the way back or will help be moved from the midfield? if help comes from midfield, will that free up space for odegaard? i’m excited.
I’m going to be watching the flanks really carefully – Liverpool generally pin your fullbacks and let theirs get forward to often devastating effect – what’s Arteta’s plan for dealing with that and will it work?
(This is one of the problems with watching on TV and not getting a view of the full field, you don’t always see who’s taking up which positions)
We generally don’t play overlapping fullbacks at the moment, the width comes from Saka and Martinelli hugging the touchlines, only in the second or third phases does the fullback then go wide to support, and the opposite flank usually tucks in. I can see chances for Odegaard and Partey in this game. Midfield is going to be interesting. Are Liverpool going to play Keita or Thiago?
I’m also interested to see how we press, and how we deal with their press.
Everyone suddenly talking Arsenal up, including Manchester Evening News (I wonder why), it’s weird and I don’t like it
Agree. Setting us up for a massive fall.
when you win 5 straight and 9 of 11, people notice.
Correct. Plus the team is playing really fluid football. A spade is a spade.
In the modern media age, opposing managers always pay respect to the opposition (whether its the league leaders or the table propper uppers), so you can look at Klopp’s comments in particular through those lenses.
But the good things he had to say about Arsenal happen to be true. On current form, folks correctly regard us as a threat. On current form, we`re a really good football team. One of our best performances of the season was a game that we didn’t win… the nil-nil against Liverpool in the cup tie, when we had a man sent off. Klopp knows.
Claude.
The problem with current form tends to cause recency bias which almost always over rates or under rates a team depending on a short sample size. We have conceded 17 and only scored 1 goal in 7 games against the top 3 teams and even with the excellent form we are currently on pace to barely score 60 goals in 38 games. The lack of firepower is probably going to be reason if we miss the top 4.
I dont understand what youre saying here, Bill. Whether our recent good play was something we all imagined; or whether other teams were giving us too much credit.
One pass from Thiago took out our entire right side defensively… Saka, Partey and Cedric. They all switched off (Saka and Partey ball watching), White was caught on his heels playing a high-ish line and reacted late to the run of Jota, and Jota took that shot early. Ramsdale should have saved. Im sick of the sight of Jota, but he’s a player I’ll never stop raving about. He’s one of the cleverest strikers in the league. And he likes playing us, unfortunately. I like/hate him.
Their second goal was sheer attacking doggedness. I’d give props to them rather than criticisms to us, although I will say that Gabriel trying to dribble out of a crowded box in the face of their ferocious swarm and press was a bad decision.
To what Tim said of Ben White earlier… I like him, and he had a really good game at the weekend. The thing I dont like so much is the reactive nature of his defending. He relies on his superb athleticism to get blocks, etc. I wish he read the gathering danger better.
That said, the Liverpool forward line and full backs are going to bamboozle the best teams in the world. There is no shame in losing to this Liverpool side. We shouldnt get too downhearted, and dismiss the obvious progress we’ve made of late. We are still a team to respect.
while thiago’s pass was good, it was made significantly easier by the short diagonal run of sadio mane. that run had ben white spinning like a top; he didn’t know what to do. his headless reaction to the mane run opened up the passing lane for thiago. as a defender, you can’t react to situations, you should dictate the situation. for the most part, attacking players can only do what you allow. like you alluded to, he relies on his athleticism instead of reading the game. a ben white who can read the game is significantly closer to virgil’s level. for the record, if i had to pick an all-time eleven, virgil is on that team.
i was taken aback by the demeanor of ramsdale before kickoff. he didn’t look himself. he looked anxious; like the moment was heavy for him. with that, he’s young. i’d get him a performance coach.
predictably, the best way forward was martinelli on alexander arnold. i know you like that trent kid but, defensively, he’s not that special. in fact, you could see that liverpool had a strategy to minimize the martinelli threat and help trent. however, there were times that the game didn’t allow pool to help him and marti roasted that kid. if lacazette were more kinetic in the critical moments, there could have been fruit from the martinelli work. likewise, the distribution from ramsdale was unusually poor on the day. oh well, arteta’s got work to do.
White also got done by Mane with a very similar run that was only just offside earlier in the half. For the goal he had his hands full, with 2 attackers to cover. Soares should have been tighter.
It was a good run from Mane, a great pass from Thiago, but if Soares, Partey and Saka had all been more compact it would have been harder – and then you have to say Ramsdale still should have saved it.
The second goal was loose from both Gabriel and Saka, and had me pretty annoyed. I think Saka was trying to hit it off the Liverpool player to win a throw – way too cute.
Overall, 2 goals we should have really stopped, and we failed (again) to put the ball in their net. They had the better chances but I can’t say that Liverpool outplayed us. If we want to get close to their level, we have to be much more ruthless and switched on at all times. We were always going to struggle to score so we had to have a clean sheet. Frustrating.
Agreed on Ramsdale, he looked anxious.
I guess we are short of ‘firepower’
Can’t replace Lacazette soon enough.
Claude.
We have been playing good football in the last couple months. Average players like Flamini, Denilson or Lacazette Xhaka look great when the whole team is in good form. However, we have plenty of runs of unsustainable good form almost every season over the years. My point is we tend to go overboard with optimism during runs of good form. Suddenly all of our players are great, the sky is the limit and we are on the cusp of being elite. Then when we hit the inevitable run of bad form and we get shut out and lose 2-3 games and we tend to go overboard the opposite way. The manager somehow forgets how to do all of the things he was doing right when the team was playing well. To me the reality has always been somewhere between the 2 extremes.
PRVHC
Arteta said the biggest difference between us and Liverpool is their quality in the boxes. That is just another way to say they outgun us in terms of firepower.
Last season everyone thought we played terrible football and we scored 55 goals. This season everyone thinks we have been playing great football but we are currently on pace to score only 60 goals. We can play good football and still not score enough because we just don’t have the the necessary level of firepower in the attacking box