It isn’t a North London Derby win without both joy and schadenfreude. It’s the Red Sox beating the Yankees (for me), or the Yankees beating the Red Sox (for you sociopaths, if that’s your thing). Today was a supplier of both, in healthy fashion.
Let’s start with the joy:
ESR and Martin Odegaard. Winning in style. There were the proverbial “green shoots” the past couple of weeks, but today illustrated that we can play up a level, beyond that of our opponents. And these two guys were central to that elevation. I sensed a touch of “playing down” these past two weeks, though there was evidence of better things to come. Today it coalesced. And nobody better then Emile Smith Rowe and Martin Odegaard, oozing class.
Auba. Running everywhere. And smiling. Especially after the game. NBC covered a fair bit of the post-game celebration, players making the lap around the stadium, Bukayo Saka handing his shirt to a kid, and – late in that section of the broadcast – Mikel Arteta and Auba embracing in sincerely ebullient fashion. There was some catharsis there, after last season’s punitive benching.
Aaron Ramsdale. I am not one who thinks there is much value in reading anything into how players interact, since the interactions tend to be based on the events that have just transpired. Goalies and defenders who embrace and look happy after a key block are like that because the shot was blocked. Goalies and defenders who look shakily at each other after a defender failed to block a shot and cost the team look shaken because, well, someone f*cked up. Body language isn’t much of a language, in my mind. But – it’s still fun to watch a goalie cheer on his defenders, thank them, let them know they did something good. It’s fun because, well, it means they did something good! And boy does our keeper like to let his players know they did good. He’s like a puppy dog. And his name sounds like one too. Is there a breed called a “Ramsdale”? Because if there isn’t there should be.
The supporters at the Emirates. I have been to four games there – all wonderful experiences. One win and three somewhat tepid draws. The win was in a cacophonous – though familiar for a sports fan – environment. The tepid draws were fun, but the stadium tepid. I can only imagine what it must have been like there this afternoon. The players deserved the fantastic result, and the supporters deserved to watch and enjoy such a result.
And the schadenfreude:
Sergio Reguilon. Getting a hand on his chest and grabbing his face to try to draw a card. This is something taught – it has to be. Because if you get pushed in the chest and your first reaction is to grab your face that takes consideration. It’s not a reflex. Because of this I now dislike Sergio Reguilon – and anyone who has coached him. And it was fantastic seeing him go down like he’d been hunting with Dick Cheney, only to be summarily ignored by Craig Pawson and the linesman.
Harry Kane. Fluffing his lines, in front of his own goal (leading to Saka’s at the other end) and in front of ours. Also, not getting the calls. Interesting what happens to a player’s morale and attitude when nothing goes their way. Thank you, Daniel Levy!
The supporters at the Emirates. Is there anything more enjoyable than the camera pan to the away fans’ section and everyone is stone faced, every fourth seat empty, with three people walking up the stairs because going to the urinal at the Emirates is actually more entertaining than the football on show from their team? Today was bad for them. And tomorrow is…Monday. Glad we could start their week off so nicely.
Erik Lamela. Nowhere near the Emirates, but he gets on the list because f*ck that guy. I hope that, out of sentimentality, he checked the scores today and doing so ruined his afternoon.
Next week: (Potentially) top of the table Brighton, if they can pull it off tomorrow.
Until then let’s enjoy a week of what this feels like.
NOTE: It’s been over a year since I posted here. It feels good to write a bit more long form, rather than the reflexive, hyper-emotional and unfiltered messages of a place like Twitter. It’s good to think a bit before hitting “post”. I probably should do this more often.