OUTING NINE: ARSENAL VS. BRENTFORD
Another Saturday in North London spent serenading men I will never meet
As most people who know me well will attest, Arsenal has achieved dominance in many areas of my life. However, the club’s stranglehold on my emotions over the past week has been particularly pronounced. This will be the first of two posts summarizing a duet of football matches that proved to be draining, stressful, and ultimately unforgettable. The first one is the subject of this post- Arsenal vs. Brentford. I do feel a particular weight when I write about Arsenal- less because I want to do right by a thing that matters to me and more because I want to do right by you all reading this. I want you to sit there and think “ooh, that sounds really enjoyable, actually.” For something that derives its value and magic from the lived experience of the atmosphere, there is something daunting about the challenge of capturing it in words. I like that challenge, but I am also wary of it. On Saturday, at the end of what proved to be a not-so-simple affair (despite a collective belief that the opposite would be true), the thought sprung to mind immediately: “how on Earth do I put that into words?” In this essay, I will.
The Context for Saturday Night
Arsenal and Brentford are in two very different places in the Premier League Table, and there is not much history between the two clubs before 2021. Even still, so much has happened in the league matchups between them over the last few years that this London derby has some serious tension. Let’s dive into some fun drama before we discuss the match’s practical consequences. When Brentford was promoted to the Premier League for the 2021/22 season, they opened their account with a 2-0 win against Arsenal at home. Following the result, Brentford’s star striker Ivan Toney posted a now-infamous Tweet that read “Nice kick about with the boys.” As the British like to say, he was taking the piss out of Arsenal. Later that year, Arsenal’s manager Mikel Arteta used the tweet as part of his team talk to motivate the players. Arsenal won the rematch 2-1 during that season, but the drama did not end there.
Last year, as Arsenal were pushing to win a league title for the first time in nearly two decades, they dropped two points at home to Brentford in a match mired in controversy. One of the officials had missed a clear offsides call in the buildup for Brentford’s second goal, which was incorrectly allowed to stand. The match ended 2-2. Most recently, Ivan Toney (with whom you are now all very familiar) has gone quite public with his desire to play for Arsenal. It’s not often that a team in 3rd and a team in 15th have so much animosity between them, but Arsenal and Brentford do. As for the practical implications of the match, my summary is much simpler. An Arsenal win would put them at the top of the Premier League table, one point ahead of Liverpool and two points ahead of Man City. Tantalizing! It gets better- Liverpool and Man City played on Sunday and Arsenal fans knew that a draw in that match would mean we went into an extended break from league play as leaders of the pack. For Brentford, relegation is not looming but mid-table mediocrity is not an ideal place to be, so Saturday was as good a time as any to annoy your neighbor by taking points away from them.
The Guest of Honor
Saturday presented a new fold in my Guest of Honor section thanks to a technicality. On paper, I went to the match with Francesca, Zane, and Mikey (more on them in a second) but in practice, I was sat next to an old man named Mac. So while I prepared for the match and concluded the evening with fellow Arsenal fans who were also at the match, did I really go with them? Please let me know in the comments. Mac has been a season ticket holder with Arsenal since 1976- first at Highbury (until 2006) and at the Emirates since. He lives near Sheffield and though he used to trek down to North London regularly to watch his beloved Arsenal, a recent leg injury has disrupted his previously unwavering commitment to attendance. Despite being disabled and less spry than he used to be (in his own words), Mac spent the entire match standing and displayed serious energy throughout. I may sound condescending but all of these adjectives are sincere. I was legitimately blown away that this octogenarian drove hours to watch his team play a not-particularly-high-stakes match and then stood the entire time. Now for the other “guests”: though Zane is a repeat feature on Covering Ground, Francesca and Mikey are debutants here. Francesca is Alex’s (best known from my trips to Reading and AFC Wimbledon) younger sister but much more importantly she is a lifelong friend, a fellow gourmet-salad-shop-on-Steele’s-Road enjoyer, my one-time temporary roommate, and a wonderful human being. I met Mikey through Alex and he is the man responsible for taking me to the last Arsenal match I attended with my Mom back in 2019. Mikey and I have argued, commiserated, and occasionally agreed about all things Arsenal over WhatsApp since then and it is a pleasure to spend time with him now that I am in London.
The Match, and The Match Ending
Arsenal won 2-1. As I alluded to earlier in the blog, it was not straightforward. In fact, it was anything but. Declan Rice (pictured looking quite nice on a massive screen above) opened the scoring early in the match but Arsenal’s goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale made a shocking error just before half-time that gifted Brentford’s attacker Yoane Wissa a goal. It was incredibly unsurprising. Aaron Ramsdale has made an unfortunate name for himself as distractable and prone to moments of impressive boneheadedness. It is for those reasons that Ramsdale is no longer the first-choice goalkeeper at the club, but he had to play on Saturday due to transfer rules. The legal specifics aren’t that entertaining but they are far more palatable than what Ramsdale did to allow the equalizer. Then came the second half. At times, Arsenal was able to sustain momentum, stringing together elaborate offensive sequences that would result in a corner kick or a decent shooting opportunity. The crowd got behind the team for long spells of possession and it felt like we were turning the screw. But then…nothing. For what felt like an eternity, Brentford were given carte blanche to waste time, milk their injuries and keep the ball out of play. Arsenal had lost their foothold and the game had become too scrappy. The 70th minute ticked by. The 75th. The 80th. The opportunity to go top of the league was seemingly slipping away and despite the few substitutions Arteta made to change the match, nothing had shifted. And then Ben White floated his second inch-perfect pass of the game to the center of the box and it met the head of a very tall German man named Kai Havertz. Kai scored, Mac almost fell over and the ground erupted. 86 minutes on the clock and Arsenal had just taken the lead and put themselves at the top of the league. In the end, we won. But after the match and after the post-match festivities, the question came back to me: “how on Earth do I put that into words?” If you are an Arsenal fan, this part is easy! You get it!
For those of you who are not Arsenal fans, here goes nothing! If you celebrate Christmas, imagine waking up to snow gracing the world with its presence after a week of warm rain. If you like McFlurries from McDonald’s, try and think of how it feels when the cashier tells you the ice cream machine is working. If you like thrifting, imagine you find [fill in the blank über cool clothing item] at a particularly low price. You come home from college for the holidays and your parents have already ordered your favorite takeout. Your library crush approaches you (this would be terrifying, by the way). It is surprise, bliss, exhalation, and jubilee all rolled up into one nearly-tangible emotion that you wish you could bottle up and give to someone else. There is nothing like it. It is a feeling worth chasing all over the world, and I chase it year-round by serenading strangers I will never meet who kick a ball around. Anyway, all of those words mean that Arsenal won, they went top of the league. The dream was given additional life on Sunday when Manchester City and Liverpool tied. Arsenal’s next Premier League match is away at Manchester City at the end of March. There is every reason to believe it is a kingmaker of a fixture, and that the winner will eventually be crowned Premier League Champion later this year. Having already beat Manchester City this year late in the game, Arsenal would do well to consider my cardiac health this time around.
The Evening’s Details
Things We Discussed
Away Day Memories
Mac spent the dullest moments of the second half regaling me with stories of the rowdiest and most memorable away days he has had during his Arsenal-supporting life. For the sake of his privacy, I will not disclose further details but he made it abundantly clear that I need to get tickets to an away game and bask in the glory of that experience.
Technique vs Tactics
This is a continuation of my post on the Newcastle match as I have further thoughts that distill the difference in seats. I have distilled the difference between high and low into tactics (high) and technique (low). The higher up and further back you sit, the easier it is to notice and subsequently appreciates tactics: team shape, fluidity/rigidity in/out of possession, pressing, etc… The closer you are to the pitch, the easier it is to notice and subsequently appreciate technique: first touch, body feints, control, ball-striking, passing, ball manipulation, etc… On Sunday I sat very close and was in awe of the technical ability of the players.
Things We Drank
Four bottles of water during the match
Six glasses of soda water (with fresh lime) during pre- and post-match festivities
About thirty pints during pre- and post-match festivities
Things We Ate
Two egg whites when I got home after a long day of caring a lot about Arsenal
Things We Sang
Introducing hyperlinks!!!!
To the tune of “Twist and Shout”
When He’s On the Ball, He’s Fucking Magical Martin Ødegaard
To the tune of “Chase the Sun”
The video that I linked is from a very unfortunate day, and if you know…sadly, you know
Things Arsenal Fans Screamed
“He’s not fit for fucking purpose”
So many variations of this were shouted in the direction of the match official, who was admittedly not very good at his job on Saturday.
“He’s spent more time on the fackin ground than standing, ref”
Just a general sentiment. Not sure which Brentford player was on the grass taking a breather when I wrote this down but I assure you it could’ve been any of them.
“You’ll never play for Arsenal”
“Go stick a tenner on an Arsenal win you fucking div”
“You’ve been begging for us, get off your knees man”
The above niceties were hurled in Ivan Toney’s direction along with countless others. He spent most of the match attempting to draw fouls, then milking the ones he did get called and left Arsenal fans with a sour taste in their mouths. If the latest rumors are to be believed, Arteta lost interest in signing him due to his questionable character. Go figure.
Thank you, Arsenal…
…I only had to wait two days to see you again (more coming soon)