Clean football from Arsenal

Compared to clubs like Real Madrid or Barcelona, or, if we talk about England, Manchester United, Arsenal is not a rich team. And, perhaps, not even related to the top clubs— either in terms of results or budget. And yet, Arsenal is an amazing team. The most "non-English" of all English teams.

You can't root for Arsenal — in any case, rooting for them is a thankless task, they haven't won anything in England or Europe for a long time. You have to go to the Arsenal the way you go to the theater. Or to an art exhibition. To walk just to have fun. There is such a thing in art as "pure art". This is an art that is not biased, not politicized, and does not keep a "fig" in your pocket. Art that exists only for itself, for nothing else. Arsenal is such a "pure art" in football. "Pure football," if you will. Football for the audience is for nothing else. And certainly not for winning.

It's been like this for the last few years. "Professor" Wenger raised his staff at the Arsenal academy or bought young and, consequently, cheap boys, whom he gradually turned into "stars". After becoming "stars", they went to top clubs. By the way, Andrey Arshavin has become the most high-profile acquisition of the club. The 15 million pounds, or about $30 million, paid for the Russian star was a record amount for the team. Compare with the Spanish grandees — the amount is ridiculous.

Wenger patiently nurtured his young men and built a team game with them based on the principle of "making the suit fit." And the costume really fit, it was perfect, it was very expensive to look at. But here's the catch — the costumes exist in order to stand on a pedestal. And the path to the podium is a continuous off—road, it is more convenient to walk along it in overalls and waders... In general, the Hungarian boys were not ready to plow in the field. We weren't ready to go head—to-head, bone to bone. To do this, you need to be men, not boys. That's how everyone treated them. They play beautifully, individual matches are just performances. The "big four" were constantly included, but they are not ready to fight the top clubs yet.

And then the famous "boxing day" came — and suddenly everyone saw that the Wenger boys had grown up. The match against Chelsea, I am sure, will be a great day for Arsenal later. The Gunners once again played great, spectacular football, but they also showed that they are no longer boys.

There were several critical moments in the match when Wenger's team was tested for strength, for breaking, when it was required to show character and withstand the pressure of the opponent. And Arsenal showed up, withstood, and imposed their game on the Blues themselves. If in the first half there was a struggle for the initiative, in which the Gunners also succeeded, then in the second half everyone saw football, which can be called great without any stretch. And the great one in this football was, first of all, Arsenal.

The "moment of truth" came for Arsene Wenger's team in the 53rd minute, when Chelsea soaked up the score and rushed forward to put the squeeze on. And he probably would have put the squeeze on it if the same "Wenger boys" that everyone is so used to were on the field. But suddenly the whole stadium and the whole world (and the match was broadcast to many countries) saw that the boys had grown up and become men! They stood up — and, as announcer Levitan once said in the Sovinformburo reports, "having exhausted the enemy in defensive battles, they launched a counteroffensive"!

However, it's risky to draw conclusions based on just one match. Perhaps it was an instant epiphany, inspiration, sent down that very evening, and then everything will return "to normal." Wenger will continue to build his dream team and still promise that just wait a bit and these guys will become a great team. And the patient (perhaps the most patient in the world) Arsenal leadership will continue to believe and wait.

But for some reason I want to believe that this has already happened - seriously and for a long time. The team spirit and the ability to endure and at the same time continue to bend their line, to impose their will on the opponent, which Arsenal finally showed to everyone in this match, could not, after all, come from nowhere and cannot sink into nowhere! They shouldn't, at least according to the law on energy conservation. New players can get a welcome bonus of up to €1500 + 150 Free Spins at Enter our 1xbet promo code in the registration form to get a 100% first time deposit welcome bonus. 18+. Minimum deposit: €10 (or equivalent currency). All deposit bonuses must be redeemed by wagering the bonus amount х35 times within 7 days. Until the bonus has been redeemed, stakes cannot be higher than €5 (or equivalent currency).