The rules of Camp Nou had been redrafted prior to the most anticipated game of 2011 and it seemed Arsenal were the only ones who hadn’t been informed. Translated into English the latest amendment roughly stated that visitors could no longer shoot at the Barcelona goal and any perpetrators would be reminded with a yellow card. You can imagine Catalonia’s rule-makers desperately altering things again having overlooked the possibility of an own goal: La modificación dos; anybody shooting at the Barcelona goal (or forcing the event of an own goal) will receive a yellow card.
No doubt the red card prevented any possibility of Arsenal qualifying to the next stage despite how many pass completions, shots on goal or percentage of possession Barcelona had. Arsenal are heckled on a weekly basis for dominating the game and having nothing to show for it. This time it just so happened to be the other way around. Wenger is a man who cares about the quality of football above all else. His uncharacteristic lack of dignity at the final whistle was because he and the viewing world would look back on two legs of high tempo football between a pair of clubs who celebrate it artistically having been divided by the villainous Massimo Busacca, Shakespeare’s Twenty-First Century Iago, the man intent of leaving Pep Guardiola and Arsene Wenger in a bubble of bitterness.
It was Ironic that Arsenal’s only attempt at goal led to a sending off. Ultimately it was something as trivial as kicking a ball (the definitive idea of the game) which led to the worst punishment of all. Too many rules often result in football’s embarrassment, preventing referees from controlling the game as it should be. If the people overseeing football were any good and the FA had any faith in the robots they employ, then at the bottom of the list of laws would be one saying: Above all else the referee has full power to use his or her own common sense when the moment arises. It’s the Champions League second leg decider against Barcelona. The scores are even on the night and an overall victory is just 30 minutes away, but with relentless pressure from the Catalan giants another goal is vital.
A through ball and you’re in on goal, a chance to mark the tournament with one of its greatest ever upsets. From the heavens over 90,000 Spaniards launch whistles to unsettle your nerve. Was that the collective sound of the home support? Was that the referee blowing up? It might have been the ref but you can’t be sure. Rather than stop to find out it wasn’t the referees little tool of supremacy and forever regret your decision, of course, you carry on. Like feigning injury, protesting not to have heard the whistle is the same. Neither can be disproved. And just so it’s clear, the rules go something like this: Fictional pictures posted on Twitter of referees wearing Manchester United kits will result in a £10,000 fine. Wear a Manchester United kit and elbow somebody in the face and expect no punishment. Tackle a pitch invader in a mankini because the stewards hired to do so are too fat and this will be classed at ‘violent conduct’.
Barcelona outplayed Arsenal. I thought their brilliance was being able to play with the same appetite whoever they stand toe to toe with, but I was wrong. Their thirst for the high-profile games is much bigger and unquestionably makes them the most formidable club team in modern history. The saddest part of all though, was listening to Wenger say that Arsenal would stay faithful to their game knowing that they hadn’t. In the Carling Cup Final Arsenal were guilty of the same thing although not without reason. Wenger’s men had returned to the final and to an old world once familiar only to find out it was bloodcurdling, strange, and not as they remembered. They had been away too long and the old world had forgotten them.
As mere humans we cannot control the future, yet the beauty of a jam-packed season like this is how the losses of the past can affect it. Look no further than Blackpool for a team who fearlessly go about their business and never once feel sorry for themselves. Now there is a team who seriously stay faithful to their football and proudly refuse to listen to the drones thinking it would be better if The Tangerines attacked less and defended more. Play any differently and they might be rock bottom, instead there is a real chance of survival. It’s the model approach for a modern Premier League and if Arsenal can remember to stay faithful to their own game just like the seasiders then the old world will begin to look as homely as it once did.
Unlike Alex Ferguson who shunned the public after losing to Liverpool, Wenger is brave to address the media and his denial of improper conduct by UEFA is venturesome, also a call to his players to be the same heading into the FA Cup game at Old Trafford. One reason why football is adored by so many is down to its power to teach self-expression which people like Wenger cling too. The enemy of those advertising such worthwhile qualities are illusionary fat-cats unanswerable because nobody knows who they are or where they come from. They run the game from upstairs and teach lessons in how its right to shut up and put up. They employ useless referees, make-up the rules as they go along, allow their favourites an easy ride and penalize the polite.
Maybe the time has come to appreciate football icons who go ballistic. I watched ‘Finding Eric’ last night and realised Cantona’s drop kick on a Crystal Palace fan all those years ago hasn’t done him any harm, if anything turned him into a cheesy philosopher quite endearing. So bravo Neil Lennon, Genaro Gattuso, Samir Nasri, Arsene Wenger and Ashley Vickers because it’s a better example to the kids watching on to have a voice rather than roll over, be quiet and take it from the imaginary powers that be. They might run football, but the fans and clubs own it.
The last couple of weeks might have left Arsenal with some regrets, like the fury of watching on as they won a free-kick on the halfway line during injury time against Barcelona and opted to play it short rather than send everybody up into the box and launch one last gung-ho aerial bombardment. Could Arsenal have played any different? It’s tough to say. In one instant Arsenal did drive forward before surrendering possession and as Barcelona bore down on goal the pitch had somehow doubled in size. Playing like this might have seen Arsenal’s hopes of progressing dashed by half-time. The only thing that is for sure is how exciting the whole affair with Barcelona has been.
Already Ferguson is talking about a ‘resurgent’ Arsenal and if not mistaken his tone reeks of excuses ripe for a planned loss. With so many disappointments in a close space of time it might feel like Arsenal’s season is over but the fact remains there is a massive possibility of coming away from the wreckage with a domestic double. Even the sceptics must realise how laughable the competition surrounding Arsenal is although maybe not as laughable as the standing ovation Wednesday night for Peter Crouch’s hideous deployment of grabbing and pulling. For now Arsenal must bite their lip knowing in the long-term their season could yet throw up its own la modificacións, altering the domestic tide of the future, even if the Champions League continues to be beyond them.
THE ARSENAL
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