Arsenal: by mystical appointment

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Many Kabbalists believe that The Zohar, the main book of Jewish mysticism, has unique magical powers. Even by just holding or owning a copy of the book, they say, you allow its powerful energy and light to enter your life.

I love this story of how The Zohar helped Arsenal FC build their new stadium.

After earmarking the site of the new ground, just 500 yards from Highbury, Arsenal’s first job was to convince the owners of the site’s 254 existing businesses to sell-up or relocate.

Antony Spencer, an Arsenal supporter and Kabbalah enthusiast who first proposed the site, was given the task of meeting with each business owner in turn, and negotiating with them.

He managed to convince them all to move. Except one.

Garage owner Jimmy Damianos had built his business from scratch and was deeply proud of it. Having once been forced to leave his native Cyprus, he was determined not to relinquish his site, whatever price Arsenal offered him.

Even when Spencer visited the garage and offered Damianos £2.75m for a site worth a few hundred thousand at most, the owner refused to budge.

But unless he sold up, the entire stadium project was dead. After Spencer left that seemingly-fateful meeting, he decided to have one last go. So he returned to the garage, clutching a copy of The Zohar.

He waved it in the air and asked once more for Damianos to reconsider. This time, the Cypriot agreed. When asked later what made him finally concede, he said: “The signs were right, I could sense the energy between us.”

This story can be found in Alex Fynn and Kevin Whitcher’s magnificent book Arsenal: The Making of a Modern Superclub.

Read my previous post about Arsenal’s new stadium here.

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