From Diego Simeone to Arsenal: in praise of sport’s dark arts

ON SEPTEMBER 22ND Manchester City and Arsenal played the most engrossing match of the Premier League season so far. The clash of the two likeliest title contenders produced a spectacular, long-range goal; a sending-off just before half-time; and a strike in the 98th minute to level the scores. But after the 2-2 draw, fans and pundits overlooked the drama. Instead they fulminated over Arsenal’s second-half tactics, accusing the London side of deliberately wasting time and interrupting the flow of the game. City’s players joined in: one called Arsenal’s behaviour “dirty”; another accused them of employing the “dark arts”.