Do Liverpool really offer a better prospects of future silverware?
I have a friend who is a passionate Liverpool supporter. Or maybe he is no longer my friend after Sunday.
For the past 10-12 years we have each season had a standing bet. At the end of the season, we would go to our favourite local restaurant for “Today’s Special” and a decent bottle of wine. If Arsenal had finished the season above Liverpool in the table, he would have to pay, and if it was the other way around, I would pay.
Obviously this has cost me some money lately. But the money is not the biggest problem. The problem is all the stick I have had to accept. Not only a lot of stick at the end of the season, but also some before each new season, when he would ask; “Shouldn’t we cancel the bet? Do you really want to keep it up – you know how it will end?”
Although I had a faint hope we would actually be able to do it, I haven’t had any confidence in it for God knows how many years, and that lack of confidence has been proved correct unfortunately. The only sensible thing would have been to stop the bet, but I couldn’t make myself do it. It feels like it would almost be the ultimate betrayal of Arsenal. So I have kept up a false front each year, saying this would be the season where we would get above Liverpool again, and of course the bet is on.
I have to admit, after our win on Sunday, I really laid into him. Yes, gloating and repeating again and again, how we dominated them, and how many points they are behind us.
He has now come back, saying we actually didn’t renew the bet this season, so there is no bet!
I said, he is obviously supporting a club which is suitable for him. In the second half our dominance turned them into “Stoke-like” dirty thugs kicking our players all over the field.
As mentioned, we may not be friends anymore 😉.
However, in his behavior there lies a new situation. He obviously no longer has any confidence in Liverpool finishing above us. What a change!
Indeed, there is no guarantee we will finish above Liverpool. There is still a long way to go. But the grapevine is full of new signs.
Many pundits no longer doubt our project.
Other managers praise us to no end.
Our players seem more confident than I can remember.
Some of our fans seriously believe we can win the title.
Admittedly only a few believe we will, but I bet right now a serious number think we are at least the most likely challengers to City.
We have some of our “jewels” like Saka, Martinelli and Saliba entering the final stages of their current contract. In Saka’s case, Liverpool has been named as a club where he would have a bigger chance of winning titles in the future, and this might tempt him. But is that really the case now?
If you take a serious look at it, does Liverpool really seem like having a prospect of winning more than us for the next few years? I am not so sure. I might even bet on it being the other way around 😉.
In that respect our current success with a young team is also of huge importance. Many believe the best times lies ahead of us, but not so far away that we can’t see it happening.
Sure, we have “only” a few FA Cups to show for ourselves for many years, and in that period Liverpool do have more. But we are talking about the future here, and ours may be brighter.
While it is correct that we/Arteta haven’t won any big titles (no disrespect to the FA Cup intended), we/Arteta have created a whole new situation. One which for me seems more promising than any time during the past 10-12 years, and although we/he haven’t won anything, I as an Arsenal fan:
– Feel more pride in being an Arsenal fan than for xx years– Look more forward to the next game than for XX years– See Arsenal as possibly the most talented team in the league and close to being the most entertaining
We may not have CL football this year (again), but we do have the above, and it feels good.
Anders S
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