Memes and Finalities

By: Abby | April 13th, 2008

Well, that’s it, then.

I’m not really in a mood to due a true post-mortem. There will be plenty of days and weeks for that. But I have a few immediate reactions before I go attempt to be cheery for several many hours.

The meme of Arsenal is that we need experience- yet it was the two most experienced of our outfield players that let us down today. Gallas with an absolutely pointless penalty giveaway, Gilberto with the free kick. Not that it’ll change in the way both friends, foes, and supposed neutrals write about us. Football commentary does not bend to reason very often. It is about what is felt, not what is. Impressions of things.

Eduardo’s loss is more than just the shock it made the team feel- it was also that we lost a truly great finisher who was coming to terms with the league. He was in great form before Birmingham and who’s to say he couldn’t have made an actual difference? Anyone remember that bizarre game against Everton where we somehow won 4-1?

Also, today Jens Lehmann showed why, despite his and everyone else’s best efforts to dissuade me from it, I’m still his fan(girl). He is an exciting goalkeeper with a flair for the spectacular, with these lovely little saves just from flicks of his feet. He and Gilberto make an interesting comparison- Lehmann shoots his mouth off, looks embarrassing, cranky, sets himself up to ridicule, and yet when he comes in he’s still trying as hard as he ever did, he’s still mostly sharp. It’s why he hasn’t really lost his place for Germany- he can come in at a moment and perform. Gilberto, on the other hand, has been mostly a model professional in public, just occasionally admitting to frustration and saying that maybe, he could leave. Yet when he comes in there’s no sign that he’s bothered anymore. I still wish Lehmann had gone to Dortmund when he had the chance, as a fan of his. (I would have been over the moon had he gone to my Hertha, whose interest I’ve always dismissed as pure fantasy but wa actually quite serious.) But there’s a long-term strain of self-destruction in Jens Lehmann. It would have to end this way.

Oh well. So it goes, sometimes, despite our best efforts.

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