that was easy

i bought a button from staples that has the word EASY on it and speaks "THAT WAS EASY" when you push the button because i thought i was a stupid thing to buy and buying something stupid sounded like a good idea at the time.

it was stupid, and now i need to throw that button as far away into the pacific ocean as possible. watching it stupidly sit there doing nothing makes me want to push it but everytime i push it the noise that comes out if it drives me nuts. the process itself is almost perpetual, it deals with a heightened emotional state rather than motion.

trudy reminded me about posting about liverpool vs arsenal, so thank you, even though i have actually forgotten what i wanted to write about at that moment.

watching arsenal play this season has been a sad experience. i have never been an arsenal fan, because they used to screw manchester united over with their direct, speed-passing game, but now i couldn't help but feeling sad that they are struggling so hard to find that direct, fast-paced form which they used to be famous for. and back in those days, no matter how much hatred i have for arsenal and arsene "the professor" wenger, i couldn't help but to acknowledge that they were definitely one of the main football force in europe.

not anymore.

playing against liverpool on tuesday, they had at most four attempts on goal, and all of them were very much non-threatening. of course liverpool themselves weren't very enjoyable to watch either, but at least they were more driven to score a goal. teamwork is also another thing that arsenal seem to be lacking these days. back in late 99 - early 2000, arsenal players were like ghosts. whenever they were playing it seemed like they would have at least two or three unmarked players everywhere on the field. they did not pass and run, they pass run with no time delay in between. the flow of game was beautiful and exciting, and even caused manchester united to suffer 3-0 defeats for three seasons in a row, home and away. united was ruling the premier league and europe at this time, but they seemed like a bunch of newbies when it came to playing arsenal. but that was then. now is different.

arsenal have always been known as a team who can cope with the departure of a vital player. tony adams, ian wright, david seaman, ray parlour, emmanuelle petit all left arsenal and they were fine, but it seems that it isn't the case with patrick vieira. unlike those five players, vieira isn't replacable. throughout his many years at arsenal, the entire team seems to have been dependent of him that none of the soldiers know what to do anymore after the general is gone. in a way, vieira is like keane, only keane was smarter and more loyal than vieira.

let me back up that last statement.

when vieira left, what was the message? probably something along the lines of "thank you for all the great years at arsenal, but it's time for me to move on." when keane left, what was the message? "fuck you all, you're not good enough to be a manchester united player because you don't have the playing spirit i have." the first message was nice, but the second one was effective. assuming that this was what keane intended on doing, he gave an incentive for his teammates to get over his absence. his role in manchester united's midfield is as significant as vieira's that his departure might screw manchester united over big time, but he was smart in playing his cards; he left under a bad impression, and thus making it easier for his teammates to develop an ah-fuck-it-who-needs-that-bloody-idiot-anyway attitude. keane was a hard person, vieira was not, although when the two clash it's almost as intense as the world war.

listen up, arsenal dudes. i still don't like you because i'm a manchester united fan, but despite all of the personal hatred, you have provided entertainment to english football, and one of the few reasons why english football is interesting to watch. pull yourself together and rediscover the style with which you used to play. who needs that french dude anyway?