ARSENAL VS LIVERPOOL
Sunday 4th Februrary, 4:30pm
Arsenal @ 13/10
Draw @ 13/5
Palace @ 2/1
view odds
In a 1965 interview Robert J. Oppenheimer – the ‘father of the atomic bomb’ – famously stated that when he witnessed the test explosion of the original device in New Mexico, his thoughts turned to a phrase from Hindu scripture: ‘Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’
In Christopher Nolan’s multi-Oscar-nominated epic biopic, Oppenheimer, however, the protagonist first utters the phrase when confronted by a different though equally awesome power that would go on to make his life difficult.
And, in recent weeks, the same phrase has wormed its way into my mind when watching the mercurial displays of Liverpool’s Uruguayan forward, Darwin Núñez. He is fascinating: somehow both outstanding and terrible at the same. Even his own fans have begun to refer to him, with characteristic affection, as an agent of chaos; not as a reliable source of goals.
On Wednesday night, irresponsibly egged-on by his grinning, gleeful, and reckless manager; Darwin’s evolution into an even more dangerous form of existence took place: he became Núñez, The Striker Of Woodwork.
In hitting the frame of the goal four times in one match, Núñez set a new Premier League record. A record no-one had ever even contemplated before.
It is now clear that he is operating on a different plane to his peers; possibly playing a different game. Seeing things others will never see. And I can’t help but shake the feeling that, to some extent, Núñez is teasing us too.
He knows he can do extraordinary things. But why do them now? On a midweek night against an inchoate Chelsea side? Wouldn’t it be better to unveil the next stage of his on-going transformation when it really matters? Such as clinching another Premier League title for Liverpool and a dearly departing Jürgen Klopp?
So be warned. At some point in the near future I feel everything is going to come together for Darwin Núñez. And in the most perfect and most destructive way. Klopp knows this too. Which is why his teeth are becoming more and more exposed, and his post-whistle celebrations are becoming more and more expansive. I wonder which words will enter his mind when he sees this awesome, ultimate atomic force finally unleashed upon the world?
To paraphrase another great mind from movie history: Núñez could be on the brink of becoming more powerful than one can possibly imagine. And wouldn’t it be something if we got to see a glimpse, a tiny sneak preview this very weekend?
Liverpool face Arsenal in a 4:30pm kick-off on Sunday. The Merseyside outfit are five points clear at the top of the table and have the dual warheads of momentum and menace at their disposal.
But what is the collective state of mind over at The Emirates? What would they give right now to have their very own agent of destruction leading the line?
Arsenal registered another Premier League three points against Nottingham Forest in midweek to keep themselves, on paper at least, still firmly in the title hunt. But they were nervy and indecisive at the death. And they will be further haunted by the profligate performance they displayed when Liverpool left their stadium with a 2-0 win in the FA Cup on January 7th.
There will be 15 more rounds of Premier League fixtures after this one, so there will be time re-discover form, forward motion, and a reliable source of goals. But another Liverpool victory, in their own back yard, and in such a short space of time, would be psychologically very damaging to Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal charges.
Will Liverpool drop a destructive bomb on the title race this Sunday? Or will Arsenal find a way to detonate an explosive revival of their own, and generate the radiance of a thousand suns?
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