It was the tale of David and Goliath. On one side was a team struggling to make it to the top four for a coveted champions league spot, a team thrashed 3-1 at home, a team whose fans were baying for the manager’s blood, a team trophy-less for 8 seasons, a team whose defense was a joke. Clearly there was very little on their side. On the other hand was a German giant on the back of a bundesliga record, and who were not only on a winning streak but on a formidable clean sheet stat as well.
So with the odds stacked against you, what can you choose to do? Catapult to defeat and no one will hold anything against you because that was how the story was supposed to end? But that is not how some stories unfold. Sometimes, when you have your back against the wall, and have nothing to lose, you open up to possibilities that was hitherto thought impossible. You start to believe that you can’t win all the time, but that doesn’t mean that you will give up. And finally you show a heart that was hidden away in fear.
Arsenal is the classy case of such contrasting fortunes. Losing the first leg away(a humiliating 4-0 defeat) in the previous edition as well, they showed strength of character to bounce back in the second leg(3-0) up in the first half before falling short. However if last time they were like a castle who were suffering from a long siege, this time they were like a castle with their walls breached. Losing their talisman and midfield enforcer, frugal spending, unproven talent brought in- the odds were heavily stacked against us. The standard prediction was a humiliating defeat again. But then we are not called the Gunners for nothing. We tend to go out with a bang.
It wasn’t a classy display, nor was it a dominant one. We didn’t look like world champions. We didn’t look like a team that will challenge for titles. But what we did look like was having fire in the belly, the will to prove the detractors wrong, The Allianz arena is intimidating, but when you can hear the silence except for the 3000 odd fans singing, you know that you have witnessed something unique in its own little special way.
Maybe it wasn’t the fairy tale ending like that for ManU during the 1999 European Cup final, but being a Gunner who has to deal with all the negativity, this was a moment which was emotional and proud after a fairly long time.
So with the odds stacked against you, what can you choose to do? Catapult to defeat and no one will hold anything against you because that was how the story was supposed to end? But that is not how some stories unfold. Sometimes, when you have your back against the wall, and have nothing to lose, you open up to possibilities that was hitherto thought impossible. You start to believe that you can’t win all the time, but that doesn’t mean that you will give up. And finally you show a heart that was hidden away in fear.
Arsenal is the classy case of such contrasting fortunes. Losing the first leg away(a humiliating 4-0 defeat) in the previous edition as well, they showed strength of character to bounce back in the second leg(3-0) up in the first half before falling short. However if last time they were like a castle who were suffering from a long siege, this time they were like a castle with their walls breached. Losing their talisman and midfield enforcer, frugal spending, unproven talent brought in- the odds were heavily stacked against us. The standard prediction was a humiliating defeat again. But then we are not called the Gunners for nothing. We tend to go out with a bang.
It wasn’t a classy display, nor was it a dominant one. We didn’t look like world champions. We didn’t look like a team that will challenge for titles. But what we did look like was having fire in the belly, the will to prove the detractors wrong, The Allianz arena is intimidating, but when you can hear the silence except for the 3000 odd fans singing, you know that you have witnessed something unique in its own little special way.
Maybe it wasn’t the fairy tale ending like that for ManU during the 1999 European Cup final, but being a Gunner who has to deal with all the negativity, this was a moment which was emotional and proud after a fairly long time.