Rain & Sunshine (a Premier League write up)

It's hard to say for sure whether my understanding of the game is developing, or if I'm just getting really good at consuming the right things. Last weekend, when I discovered that the North London derby would be taking place the following weekend, I made a note to myself to read up on this storied rivalry. Up to this point, I've spent a lot of time dwelling on the kits of Arsenal and Tottenham but considerably less time on the other aspects of these clubs. Having watched both clubs play a few times each so far this season, I was pretty aware that Spurs were coming in on the heels of back to back 3-0 defeats after starting with three straight victories right out the game and that Arsenal had opened the season with a string of losses but seemed to be crawling forward. Simply put, these teams were meeting one another at a pretty interesting time. 

On Friday of last week, the Athletic put up a video breaking down the derby. They had their Arsenal writer and their Spurs writer on to discuss how each club got to the point where they are. The Arsenal writer acknowledged the the mammoth amounts of money that went into their new stadium, the departure of Arsene Wenger and the search for an identity since but still finished by saying "there seems to be a plan." For his part, the Spurs writer highlighted Tottenham's own wildly expensive stadium and the fact that the pandemic prevented fans from attending matches which in turn really fucked with Tottenham's cash flow. He talked about the coaching carousel of the last few years and how now Nuno Espirito Santo's preferred style of play doesn't work with the personnel that he's been assigned. Harry Kane was mentioned once or twice. Perhaps, most crucially, the Spurs writer from the Athletic kinda sorta said that Tottenham does not seem to have much of a plan. 

The match itself on Sunday was just a lot of fun. As it went on, one of the television announcers kept saying that this was the scene of the rebirth of Arsenal, the renaissance of Arsenal, and at one point I think he called them Arsenal 2.0; it was all a blur, really. After not scoring in play all season, Arsenal hammered home three goals in the first half. The young roster looked positively electric. They reminded me of some of my favorite imperfect NBA teams from years past like the Darius Miles-led Clippers; squads that were on high on potential but that couldn't always get it together. The last time that I wrote I said that I felt bad for Ryan from Stadio for being a Pacers fan since he's also an Arsenal fan. All that I meant by that was these last two seasons finishing eight must have been hard since Arsenal usually compete for top four finishes. Setting those two eighth place finishes aside, there's a lot to really admire about Arsenal. For starters, according to Wikipedia, they have the most diverse fanbase of any football club on the planet. They have also had some really great kits like the bruised banana shirt (which I recently saw listed on Depop for $550) and this year's alternate (which I still maintain will look fire when paired with navy blue socks.) 

It must just be weird to think about a club like Arsenal rebuilding in the first place. Are roster rebuilds common in the Premier League? Do teams blow it up? My suspicion is that this not the case. It seems like the unfathomably wealthy clubs stock talent so that they are prepared for any and all tournaments and then everyone else is left hanging on to whatever they can find while hoping that the youth can develop. My NBA-addled mind looks at the work that Arsenal has put in so far and their recent transfer activity and says "there seems to be a plan."

While the derby got a bunch of graphs here, I also enjoyed the matches on Saturday! Manchester City versus Chelsea already sounded like an awesome matchup, and that was before I discovered that City's schedule for the week was Chelsea, PSG and Liverpool or that one time Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel got together for some hanging out that was so intense it intimidated everyone else in the bar. The match itself did not disappoint. I feel that I finally saw the City that everyone is always talking about. They were a joy to watch at times. 

Speaking of joyous occasions, Manchester United lost to Aston Villa. As with in recent weeks, I found myself actively rooting for a Man U defeat. At around the 80th minute or so with the score still even, I sighed a little bit because recent weeks were fresh in my mind. "Time for the dumb, fucking smash and grab," I thought to myself. It was such a pleasant surprise to see that not take place. It was almost as nice as the Villa kits (which, not sure if this is a hot take or not but I think these away kits are even sharper than the claret and blue. The subtle pinstriping on the shirt really puts it over the top for me.) 

Stepping into this week, I'm most curious to find out whether or not I'll see the City team that I saw take on Chelsea again. I'm also curious to see what shakes out on Attack on Titan but this isn't the blog for that. 

Two Worlds Become One (or how the search for a Premier League club is going)

They did a mailbag episode on Stadio today, and one of the questions submitted struck a chord with me. Someone wrote in to say that they lived in the United States and had just begun watching Premier League and that they were looking for advice on which team to throw their support behind. I did not submit this query, but I recognized the line of thinking. 

"Think about what you love, your values or whatever and then try to find a team that aligns with that," is what Musa said and those words have been rattling around in my head all day. He went on to provide an NBA example, which helped me immeasurably. Now that I can follow, and his words on the Brandon Roy-era Portland Trail Blazers made me smile. If Musa weren't a Manchester United fan, I think I'd just take his words as gospel and follow him to Old Trafford. However, I can assure myself that won't happen. 

Ryan, the other Stadio host, also provided an NBA example. He said that he was an Indiana Pacers fan but that it took that one playoff series against the Heat in 2013 to realize it. He actually referred to them as "my Pacers" which made feel a slight twinge of sadness since he's also an Arsenal fan. These last two years or so must have felt just incredibly long. At the same time, that yin yang balance of Arsenal and the Pacers doesn't sound so bad. In a lot of ways, that's where I would like to land with this. I wonder who the Washington Wizards of the Premier League are? 

A quick online search tells me that, ha, The Athletic ran a piece that tackles this very subject. Unfortunately, it was written in June 2020 and somehow feels a little dated in parts. (Also, while holding myself back from a rant, a lot of what they say about the Wizards is tied to the John Wall era which is now very much over.) All that being said, there's a lot of good anecdotal and contextual information about Premier League clubs that I probably wouldn't be able to find elsewhere and the whole NBA comparison model provides something basic enough for me to follow along. (Without dwelling on the comps too much, I must admit I was a little saddened to see that Aston Villa and their great kits were assigned the Philadelphia 76ers as their counterpart. Without getting into it, I may live in Philadelphia but I carry a real disdain for the Sixers. It's a long story. Maybe some other day.) 

Anyway, I wanted to share a few words on how my search for a club was going. Ryan really stressed that you can't get caught up in present day results. After all, this is partnership for life. His anecdote about realizing that the Pacers were his team made me realize that it's going to take me all season. We're only a few weeks into the season so far, and this campaign runs until next summer. There are so many ebbs and flows that have yet to take place. Put simply, there's just so much more to experience. So, for as much as I may admire the Aston Villa or Wolves kit and despite the fact that I seemingly only read about the Big Six or Seven, I still understand that this isn't something I can rush into and that right now is a time for absorbing. (Ryan also suggested watching more football than just Premier League and seeing what grabs you. Bundesliga, here I come.)

This weekend has cool matchups on the schedule, but my mind keeps gravitating toward the North London derby. I don't know if it's because I live in North Philadelphia (and apologies if I've mentioned this before) but there is part of me that wonders if I should throw my support behind either Arsenal or Tottenham. It wouldn't be a popular choice since all American soccer fans only root for Manchester United, Liverpool or City but that's part of the appeal, baby. Both clubs carry a lot of history with them, which is cool, and while each have seen some success here and there, neither have ever been the unquestioned best on the planet, which is the lane that I know best. Both have strong kits too. Oh no, is this what I love? Is this what my values revolve around? Kits?