“It’s impossible to talk about Arsenal without talking about the je ne sais quoi of Arsenal, its ineffable Arsenal-ness, that special mélange of esprit and souffrance that sets Arsenal willfully and gloriously and somewhat ludicrously apart from every other soccer team in England. Arsenal plays the most stylish soccer, an intricate passing game of overlapping runs and constant movement. Arsenal suffers the most agonizing collapses: five years and counting without a trophy.” Slate – Brian Phillips
This balance of brilliance and failure in equal measure is something I talk about in my post here:
http://robdodds.wordpress.com/2011/07/17/cycles-of-optimism-and-depression/
Have a look!