Amidst an uninspiring and erratic season for Arsenal it is hardly surprising to read many stories praising the hated Sp*rs and their suave young manager, their youthful English talent, and their impressively economical ways. This is a recipe for media darling-ism on several fronts, and with reason.
To wit, Spurs
- are outplaying their local , historically superior (and wealthier) archrival. David up against Goliath narrative? Check.
- have an iconoclastic manager who seems willing to jettison the traditions of the English game* and the cup competitions, endearing himself to those who take a more continental view of the game. Young, charismatic, intellectual leader? Check.
- are owned by a frugal man whose team has seen an ascendancy despite a severely tilting economic playing field. Financial savvy and resourcefulness? Check.
The volume of praise for Spurs should not surprise any of us Arsenal supporters, nor should it really bother us. It’s quite predictable, and not without merit. What’s not to like, if you are looking from outside the rivalry? This Spurs team (a quality side, we freely admit) has ascended the table spending less money than their rivals, doing it (at least in a simplistic narrative structure) at the expense of their deeply hated rival, and under the leadership of a young, charismatic leader. It’s an unwinnable battle, this one set up between Arsenal supporters and the broader pundit class over which club is more modern, more of a model for competitive mettle than the other.
We need to be honest with ourselves. We would relish a similar narrative for Arsenal: playing in the Champions League, beating up our neighboring rivals with a team led by a forward-thinking manager full of tactical nous, all supported by an economic and personnel strategy that brings in exciting talent in the name of a longer-term project.
Sign us up. And even better: on top of all this we already have all the trophies.
* Count us among the skeptical about the sincerity of this attitude, let’s see what kind of lineups Pochettino puts out in these later stages of the FA Cup against better sides than Newport County..