“Outside the Tollington Arms, Steve Chandler is in full flow. On the back of his replica shirt is the number 26 and a single word, “Champions” and, on the front of his head, lips are flapping overtime. Pint in hand, Steve is telling anyone who will listen that the first word he spoke as a kid was ‘Gooner’ (a slang term for an Arsenal fan). … After a brutal summer, London is parched, but the Tollington specialises in quenching and the mood is just as it should be: loose and liquid. Over the opening weekend of the Premier League season, versions of this conversation are ubiquitous across the country — in pubs, queues at burger vans, stadiums, online, at home. We are hopeful and fearful and excited precisely because, in this moment of not knowing, you can invest in possibility. …”
NYT/ATH