What exactly is the issue with Arsenal? Here in France, we just assume that everyone in England is enamored with the storied team of Arsène Wenger, Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira…and all the other greats all the way to the team’s present French defender William Saliba. Ahead of the Champions League final between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, our panel delves into the not-always-rational, always-impassionate world of football fandom. So regarding the side that has just won its first Premier League title in 22 years, what is it? The way they play? Their attitude? Anti-London sentiment? Anti-north London sentiment? Contrast that with the love the Gunners get here in France and across much of Africa.
Likewise, donning a PSG jersey will earn you compliments on several continents. But our panellists may advise against it in Marseille and a host of other cities across France. Old domestic grudges are hard to overcome – even when one side is the defending European champion, and even though PSG’s Qatari owners booted out hooligans a decade ago and streamlined the club’s big egos in favour of an exciting brand of more fast-paced, team-oriented style of play.
Perhaps what lovers and haters of both Arsenal and PSG can agree on is that Saturday’s final could serve up that key ingredient that may be lacking when the FIFA World Cup kicks off in North America: authenticity. Is the beautiful game bigger than the toxic build-up to any one tournament – or will this bloated 48-team, price-surged, travel ban-threatened World Cup be a game-changer for football?
Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Riham Mahir, Charles Went
