Arsenal: The Strange Case of Dr Jenko and Mr Highbury

Article by e-Arsenal Correspondent Timothy Nolan

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Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde…I don’t need to tell the story. Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella is one of the most famous pieces of literature from the 19th century, and is a total embodiment of Victorian culture. In just about every secondary school in the United States, it’s mandatory reading. To my surprise, I quite enjoyed it.

To those who’s memories escape them, here’s a quick recap:

It’s the story of a rare mental condition, colloquially referred to as “split personality.” Dr Henry Jekyll is the ‘large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty with something of a stylish cast. He’s a Jay Gatsby figure, slightly posh, and very well mannered.

But Jekyll has demons. He is constantly fighting a battle with his inner evils. He makes a serum to ward off said evils, but when consumed, the serum turns him into his alter ego, Mr Hyde. Though most of the time tranquil, every so often Jekyll would indulge in consuming the serum, transforming into Mr Hyde. It is in this state where he kills a man and mauls a girl, problems which Dr Jekyll eventually has to face.

Hyde consolidates power, and come the end of the novella, he has completely taken over the body that the two share, and Dr Jekyll is no more.

Like Jekyll and Hyde, Arsenal is situated right in the heart of London. Both were created during the Victorian era of British history. The similarities don’t stop there, of course: let’s refer to them as Dr Jenko and Mr Highbury.

This Arsenal side is capable of some seriously scintillating football. Just this season: Fenerbaçhe home and away, Sunderland away (Özil’s vision ten minutes into his Arsenal career!), Norwich home (Jack’s wondergoal!), Liverpool at the Emirates (Ramsey again!), Napoli there as well, and the list goes on...

That’s the Dr Jenko side of Arsenal. You can tell when Jenko is in the room, the team is exuding confidence, it’s as if every single pass will go off. Days I watch Arsenal and Dr Jenko is on the pitch (note: not solely our lanky fullback, Carl) are the ones that cheer me up, that boost my happiness for three days, and make me crave that next fixture. Dr Jenko makes me proud to be a Gooner, reaffirms my strange addiction.

Eleven players, acting as a total enigma; you never know what they’ll throw at you. At one moment it’s the fullbacks charging up the flanks, calling for the overlap, at others it’s the quick feet of the magician Cazorla, or the high-paced pressing of little-Mozart Tomáš Rosický. Gooners across the globe are well aware that our team strikes fear in the eyes of just about every club in Europe. That’s certainly the consensus of Liverpool and Bayern men, who mirrored that sentiment after drawing Arsenal in the 5th round of the F.A. Cup and Round of 16 Champions’ League respectively.

Arsène was once quoted saying, ‘A football team is like a beautiful woman. When you do not tell her, she forgets she is beautiful.’ This year, there is no need whatsoever to remind Arsenal that she is beautiful (or rather, he, it is Dr Jenko, after all).

But like Henry Jekyll, Jenko also has a “Mr Hyde” side, in the form of Mr Highbury. This isn’t Highbury of the Premier League we’re speaking about, but the Mr Highbury associated with “boring, boring Arsenal.” Just once in a blue moon, Dr Jenko can morph into that Mr Highbury side, and become so complacent, so lacklustre. That’s the opening-day defeat to Villa, the loss to United and the draw to Chelsea. That’s the side that makes you pull the hairs out of your head, leaving you wondering, ‘but why?’

The majority of the time, we get the good ol’ Dr Jenko Arsenal play, the confident 2-0 victories. Yet, for some reason, just as Hyde in Stevenson’s work, Highbury manages to rear his ugly head, and it seems it’s always just at the wrong times. It’s like the relapse after stopping an addiction; just one hit and all that hard work seems like it’s gone to waste.

Dr Jenko can’t let Mr Highbury control his life, something Jekyll failed to do in the novella. If he does indeed let said Highbury control his life, he’ll end up missing out on all the potential fame and glory that awaits him. Jekyll let Hyde run the show, and he paid the ultimate price, being forever swallowed by the evil second persona of Mr Hyde, unable to continually enjoy his high status in Victorian society.

Perhaps what the wary Dr Jenko needs to do is splash a bit of that cash that everyone knows he possesses. Ten pounds of gold plus a cheque of £90 may suffice for the indiscretions of Mr Highbury…at least that worked for Dr Jekyll in Victorian London.

Dr Jenko needs to fight the temptation to completely transform into Mr Highbury, to become complacent and indifferent. The time period of February and March is simply too important for Jenko to perform in such a poor manner with frequency. Of course, I am confident that Le Prof will knock the majority of those poor results from the side, and by the end of the season, Jenko may just be able to add another piece of fine silverware to that regal, storied cabinet.

The novella ends with one final melodramatic line, written by Jekyll to his lawyer, Utterson: ‘I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end.’ It doesn’t have to be that way for Dr Jenko, he holds the keys to his own success, and he’s fully aware of that.