Reuters Soccer Blog
World Soccer views and news
Arsenal need to bulk up to avoid blowout
It used to be said that rugby was a sport for all shapes and sizes yet the modern professional game is so dominated by massive, athletic gym monkeys that diminutive wingers such as Shane Williams are as rare as England tries.
And, if Sunday’s game at the Emirates, where Chelsea completely bullied Arsenal into submission is anything to go by, soccer could be following a similar path.
Impact and collision will always play less of a role in the round-ball game and as long as referees help out smaller players by awarding cheap free kicks, being knocked over will not always be bad.
Yet the over-riding impression on Sunday was of men against boys.
With Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Eduardo, Andrei Arshavin, Carlos Vela, Theo Walcott and Tomas Rosicky scuttling around the pitch, Arsene Wenger’s place on the touchline could have been taken by Snow White.
