On the one hand, Proverb 18 goes something like “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Which is often translated as “pride cometh before the fall” and if I say it out loud, you’ll all nod your heads in agreement. On the other hand, as Arsenal fans, we rightly think our team showed a lack of pride in the collapse against Wigan last week. So, wait, which one is it? Is pride the destroyer or is pride the binder?
Both.
Pride in good works, pride in working hard at your craft, pride in what you do and what you stand for are good things. Pride in humiliating others, or what the Greeks called “Hubris,” is the type of pride that comes before the fall. That is the type of pride that Adebayor put on display when he ran back 90 yards at full sprint and slid on his knees in front of the traveling Arsenal fans, just like Thierry Henry had done to the Spurs fans years ago. In that game, Adebayor wanted to humiliate our players (and did so by raking van Persie’s face with his boot) he wanted to humiliate our fans (and did so with his goal celebration) and he wanted to humiliate our club for what he perceives as poor treatment. He feels like we mistreated him despite the fact that we are the ones who built him up when no one would have him. We were the ones who Mollycoddled him when he was serially profligate.
But the one thing about Hubris that is often missed is that Hubris both shames the victim and the perpetrator. Adebayor didn’t leave that game looking like a sane person, he left that game looking like a jilted lover. Not only that but the act of Hubris was so powerfully evil in Greek mythology that it can call forth Nemesis — the righteous embodiment of revenge.
So, while we can fuss over lineups (Song and Eduardo are both available, Almunia and Arshavin are not) the real key to this game is to hold our own Hubris in check — both fans and players — and simply play with pride. Of course I’d like to win, but I’d rather win with our dignity intact than come out and inflict shame on our club by acting the way Adebayor acted in the last leg. The boys from the It’s Up For Grabs Now Arsenal podcast mentioned in passing that the fans should turn their backs on Adebayor rather than shout abuse and for me that would be the perfect way to voice our disgust. We don’t need to sing that disgustingly racist elephant song, or even the Arshavin song (which does make me smile), we simply shun him. The players as well, just play our game. Ignore Adebayor’s antics — he is going to step on feet, he will probably be overly aggressive he will most certainly fly into at least one tackle studs up, knee high. Certainly complain to the referee but don’t rise to it, don’t let him pull a Dennis Rodman on you, stay calm. They play for the Arsenal, he doesn’t.
In short, our players and fans need to show pride in the club, work hard, and not get involved in any ugly scenes with Adebayor. He will be looking for any excuse to act out, he always has, because he is full of Hubris. We need to show that we are full of Pride.
Funny thing though, as the Fates would have it, Mike Dean is the referee tomorrow and I can’t think of a more perfect vessel for Nemesis to exact her revenge on Adebayor than Mike Dean sending Ade off and awarding Arsenal a penalty to win the game 3-2.
Thus securing our place in the top four, shaming Adebayor, and putting the field level again.
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Great words Tim! Nothing worse for a jilted lover than the indifference of the ex lover. (or so I’ve been told, not that I know that from experience, hehe.)
i cannot wait for tomorrow, and to wpie that fat smile off his smug face…………
I would rather see our players mess a little with the tall money whore. Who knows, he might just do something stupid and get sent-off! I think however, he will start on the bench with city playing three in the mid field with Johnson, Tevez and Bellamy playing on the counter.
I dont think we will win.
Yep – just shut Ade down and ignore him. He will go nuts. I’d love to see the look on his face if the entire stadium were to simply turn their backs on him. It won’t happen but I’d be willing to bet his head would explode.
Off topic – it looks like not only is Hull City being relegated this season but the may be going into administration next season. I’m astounded at the stupidity of some people (in this case, the business team running Hull City’s finances).
Well, I asked the question when the blog post was about our chances to win the league. I was concerned about losing third place and possibly fourth. These are mathematical possibilities, though the latter is truly remote. Losing to Man City, which can certainly happen given our recent play and our injury ridden back line, could really threaten our position. The potential ramification of losing even third to either pursuing teams have to be considered.
We wouldn’t be able to count on the group stage money of the CL since we would have to go through qualification like last year. That could mean a real reluctance to spend in the transfer market early in the summer. Later in the summer, the World Cup may inflate prices.
If Man City gets fourth, they will have a much improved chance of recruiting good players and not just greedy players because of the prestige of CL play. They could even recruit a really important manager. They have the money and would be very dangerous next year.
I don’t want to dwell on the negative, but I do hope that the team bounces back and plays with real commitment. I expect it to be a tough match–we have had difficulty with the top two and now have lost away to both Tottenham and Man City–let’s hope our home form holds.
Personally I am sure the team will bounce back;
but of course we must not lose silly goals.
I have placed a bet on the Arsenal.
Nice post once again Tim.
Informative & entertaining article Tim; Cheers.
Well, I was hoping for a draw with T’ham/Utd, but Redknapp did a poor job substituting, clearly overlooking the fact that Bale was spent. What happened? Bale let Nani in for his goal. Chelsea’s still barely in the driver’s seat. I know they have L’pool on the road, but I don’t think Sunderland away will be a cakewalk for United either.
The plus from this morning’s result? The closest anyone will be to us after 36 games will be 3 points behind. A little more breathing room going into today’s match. C’mon you Gunners, let’s finish strong.
Spurs were beaten by ManUtd today; so Arsenal’s place in the CL is more secured, whatever happens. Arsenal would not lose all the remaining 3 games, right?
Read what Toure says about his feud with Gallas. Sometimes I do wonder if letting him go instead of Gallas is a wise move.
Our defence’s lapse begins when we dont have Lehmann and Gallas coming in…
Remember the defence Wenger built with Lehman, Lauren(Sagna), Toure, Campbell and Cole(clichy)….Wenger knows what a good defence is like; it is still a mystery why after dismantling this defence, Arsenal becomes such a brittle team no matter they are playing 4-4-2 or 4-3-3…these two seasons…
April 24th, 2010 at 7:46 am
Kolo was the one that was asking for a transfer, though. Regardless, I don’t think there’s much difference between the two, and given that we got 15MM for him, I didn’t lose too much sleep over it. What could we have sold Gallas for? Probably not 10MM, but I could be wrong. Probably the right move, if we even had a choice, at the end of the day.