Col_M
Pointing out the Obvious
- Feb 28, 2012
- 22,780
- 45,881
From the Guardian.
Times are changing in north London. In years gone by Tottenham Hotspur were the also-rans, forced to watch on enviously as Arsenal savoured countless famous Big Cup nights. There are so many wonderful memories, it’s hard to pick a stand-out moment. There was the time they lost 5-1 away to Bayern Munich. And also the time they lost 5-1 at home to Bayern Munich. There were so many battling, brave performances. The 4-0 defeat to Robinho’s Milan. Robin van Persie’s red card against Barcelona. Olivier Giroud’s finishing masterclass against Monaco. So many priceless contributions. Arsenal sure were missed from this week’s opening round of Big Cup matches. At least the Queen’s Celtic paid tribute to them by losing 5-0 to Paris Saint-Germain; a real classy touch from Brendan’s lot.
Tottenham didn’t seem too fussed about Arsenal’s absence, though. For years they were forced to pretend they cared about Euro Vase. Then last season they failed to make it out of a Big Cup group containing Bayer Leverkusen, currently second bottom in the Bundesliga. But last night they got their campaign off to a flyer against the best team in the Bundesliga, banishing their Wembley hoodoo thanks to a 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund, who at least got to know how Spain felt after having two goals disallowed in their Euro 96 quarter-final against England at the same stadium. Arsène Wenger, meanwhile, was sat in front of the television at home, watching all the action, definitely not getting upset and changing the channel, no doubt loving watching every minute of Mauricio Pochettino’s side maturely grinding out the win. “We played like adults,” Toby Alderweireld said, a sentence rarely uttered by any Arsenal player after a big match.
At least Wenger gets to leave the house tonight, though, as Arsenal ready themselves for their first Euro Vase adventure since the 1999-00 season, when a really good team containing English, European and world champions got to the final and, er, proceeded to Arsenal it up, losing to Galatasaray on penalties. If only Patrick Vieira hadn’t selected power drive, Wenger might have won a European trophy by now. Instead the quest goes on, starting with a visit from Cologne/Köln, who are even worse than Leverkusen, having adopted the Crystal Palace approach to their opening three league matches. Arsenal can probably afford to take this one easy before heading to Chelsea on Sunday, which is why Wenger is planning to hand starts to stars of the future like Reiss Nelson, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Theo Walcott. There could even be a return for Union Jack Wilshere, who once had a good game against Barcelona in 2011, coincidentally the last time Arsenal looked like achieving anything of note in Europe. If that thought doesn’t cheer up all three Arsenal fans watching at the Emirates this evening, nothing will.
Times are changing in north London. In years gone by Tottenham Hotspur were the also-rans, forced to watch on enviously as Arsenal savoured countless famous Big Cup nights. There are so many wonderful memories, it’s hard to pick a stand-out moment. There was the time they lost 5-1 away to Bayern Munich. And also the time they lost 5-1 at home to Bayern Munich. There were so many battling, brave performances. The 4-0 defeat to Robinho’s Milan. Robin van Persie’s red card against Barcelona. Olivier Giroud’s finishing masterclass against Monaco. So many priceless contributions. Arsenal sure were missed from this week’s opening round of Big Cup matches. At least the Queen’s Celtic paid tribute to them by losing 5-0 to Paris Saint-Germain; a real classy touch from Brendan’s lot.
Tottenham didn’t seem too fussed about Arsenal’s absence, though. For years they were forced to pretend they cared about Euro Vase. Then last season they failed to make it out of a Big Cup group containing Bayer Leverkusen, currently second bottom in the Bundesliga. But last night they got their campaign off to a flyer against the best team in the Bundesliga, banishing their Wembley hoodoo thanks to a 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund, who at least got to know how Spain felt after having two goals disallowed in their Euro 96 quarter-final against England at the same stadium. Arsène Wenger, meanwhile, was sat in front of the television at home, watching all the action, definitely not getting upset and changing the channel, no doubt loving watching every minute of Mauricio Pochettino’s side maturely grinding out the win. “We played like adults,” Toby Alderweireld said, a sentence rarely uttered by any Arsenal player after a big match.
At least Wenger gets to leave the house tonight, though, as Arsenal ready themselves for their first Euro Vase adventure since the 1999-00 season, when a really good team containing English, European and world champions got to the final and, er, proceeded to Arsenal it up, losing to Galatasaray on penalties. If only Patrick Vieira hadn’t selected power drive, Wenger might have won a European trophy by now. Instead the quest goes on, starting with a visit from Cologne/Köln, who are even worse than Leverkusen, having adopted the Crystal Palace approach to their opening three league matches. Arsenal can probably afford to take this one easy before heading to Chelsea on Sunday, which is why Wenger is planning to hand starts to stars of the future like Reiss Nelson, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Theo Walcott. There could even be a return for Union Jack Wilshere, who once had a good game against Barcelona in 2011, coincidentally the last time Arsenal looked like achieving anything of note in Europe. If that thought doesn’t cheer up all three Arsenal fans watching at the Emirates this evening, nothing will.
