This past week has defined today's football. It has not exactly defined the sport , but everything that is wrong with today's football. Starting off with Arsenal's FA cup match against Aston Villa at the Emirates. At Half time the scoreline read Arsenal 0 - Aston Villa 2. Shocking ? yes.! But to me and also to a few other people more shocking was the boo's with which the Arsenal team was greeted when they were leaving the field. The Emirates Stadium , One of the best stadiums in the world, home to One of the Greatest team in the world (some faithfuls would tell - By far the Greatest team in the whole wide world) has become a not so happy place because of all the boo's.
It is understandable that things are not going right , we are not used to this , but there is a time and place for everything. In spite of all odds and boo's Arsenal came out and won the game 3-2. Fantastic job by the team. What happened in the dressing room might be a secret forever but what happened on the pitch was there for all to see. Big win and a Big leap to the next round of the FA cup. But this match reminds me of Arsenal's game against Newcastle last season. At 4-0 we were cruising at Half Time, the final score read 4-4. It was very bad for Arsenal and also for the refereeing standards, but it was great for football, what made that possible.? It was the fans. The Newcastle supporters on that day defined what supporting a team means. Something to learn for us Gooners. Such a moment with Arsenal came after the 8-2 defeat against Manchester United, where the away fans showed real love for the team. What they did , made me feel a proud, proud Gooner. I wasn't scared of my friends anymore who would jeer me about the scoreline. It was the fans that gave me enough strength and reason to feel proud to support Arsenal Football Club and forget the score.
Roll on to the next fixture. Bolton vs Arsenal . We played well, good enough to get 3 points but for our finishing standards on that night. The chances we created were awesome , we could've scored atleast 3 goals. Somehow we managed to finish the game at 0-0. The reaction after the match from the fans was not good, just to remind you "yet again". I agree that the team hasn't been doing enough to get a comfortable finish in the top 4, but there are 15 more games to play for. I'm more than confident of a top 4 finish. The problems have been accumulating for quite a few seasons now, but i dont see any reason to panic. We have such a strong foundation now that we are on the brink of success. Jack Wilshere, Walcott, Ramsey, Ox, Miyachi, Coquelin, Frimpong, Szczseny, Jenkinson, Gibbs, etc., all still very young have shown us enough quality to be enthusiastic. Its only a matter of time till they start firing on all cylinders with consistency. They are all going to become Superstars. Which other top team can boast such high class up-coming talent.? that's not all, Which team with such talent can also boast that they are financially stable and strong.?
All in all , ask yourself this question which an Arsenal Legend, Dennis Bergkamp rightly stated “I really like Arsenal. But you, do you really like Arsenal? Or just with trophies?”
The team may not finish in the top 4 this season , may not even win any trophy this season , but none of this is going to stop me from supporting Arsenal. I love Arsenal because of the way they play, the way they advertise the sport called Football (for me its the best , better than Barcelona, claimed to be the best team in the world , because we do not deceive the referees) , we play the sport with the spirit it requires, we have rather been punished several times for being honest. I am sad when we are not playing well, and not the times when we are not wining anything. I would love to see our team coming back to winning ways but definitely not at the cost of the scintillating stuff on the field. I'm angry when we are betrayed of a deserved victory only because of a foolish mistake by the referee who is unbelievably consistent in his job and not when the team is struggling.
We have been struggling , but it is not due to the methods implied by Mr.Arsene Wenger , neither is it due to the lack of transfer activity. We have been killed by the injuries and players who have opted to leave Arsenal when they started to achieve stardom(there are a lot of names in this list). For all that is on Earth we cannot do anything to just get away from this Injury Curse.We have not won a trophy for so and so years, but its not that we have not been competing for top honours. Arsenal have definitely suffered from all the boardroom politics, and have still been performing very well. With all that's going wrong at the top level management , we could've miserably finished outside the top 4 before a few years. Thanks to Arsene, we have still been in the top 4 , competing in the top competitions and unfortunate for missing out on them by a close margin. The sad part is that the fans dont even know where we could've ended but for Arsene Wenger.
Its not the time to boo your team when it is going through a tough phase, its not the time to fight among ourselves, its the time to make ourselves count, its the time to cheer for them and play the role of motivator, the role which the team played in our lives. Hats off to the Away Fans you make us proud, as for the home fans - now its your turn to make us proud and show your love. keep it classy people, cause when Arsenal wins, it wins with style.!
Come on you Gooners.!
It is understandable that things are not going right , we are not used to this , but there is a time and place for everything. In spite of all odds and boo's Arsenal came out and won the game 3-2. Fantastic job by the team. What happened in the dressing room might be a secret forever but what happened on the pitch was there for all to see. Big win and a Big leap to the next round of the FA cup. But this match reminds me of Arsenal's game against Newcastle last season. At 4-0 we were cruising at Half Time, the final score read 4-4. It was very bad for Arsenal and also for the refereeing standards, but it was great for football, what made that possible.? It was the fans. The Newcastle supporters on that day defined what supporting a team means. Something to learn for us Gooners. Such a moment with Arsenal came after the 8-2 defeat against Manchester United, where the away fans showed real love for the team. What they did , made me feel a proud, proud Gooner. I wasn't scared of my friends anymore who would jeer me about the scoreline. It was the fans that gave me enough strength and reason to feel proud to support Arsenal Football Club and forget the score.
Roll on to the next fixture. Bolton vs Arsenal . We played well, good enough to get 3 points but for our finishing standards on that night. The chances we created were awesome , we could've scored atleast 3 goals. Somehow we managed to finish the game at 0-0. The reaction after the match from the fans was not good, just to remind you "yet again". I agree that the team hasn't been doing enough to get a comfortable finish in the top 4, but there are 15 more games to play for. I'm more than confident of a top 4 finish. The problems have been accumulating for quite a few seasons now, but i dont see any reason to panic. We have such a strong foundation now that we are on the brink of success. Jack Wilshere, Walcott, Ramsey, Ox, Miyachi, Coquelin, Frimpong, Szczseny, Jenkinson, Gibbs, etc., all still very young have shown us enough quality to be enthusiastic. Its only a matter of time till they start firing on all cylinders with consistency. They are all going to become Superstars. Which other top team can boast such high class up-coming talent.? that's not all, Which team with such talent can also boast that they are financially stable and strong.?
All in all , ask yourself this question which an Arsenal Legend, Dennis Bergkamp rightly stated “I really like Arsenal. But you, do you really like Arsenal? Or just with trophies?”
The team may not finish in the top 4 this season , may not even win any trophy this season , but none of this is going to stop me from supporting Arsenal. I love Arsenal because of the way they play, the way they advertise the sport called Football (for me its the best , better than Barcelona, claimed to be the best team in the world , because we do not deceive the referees) , we play the sport with the spirit it requires, we have rather been punished several times for being honest. I am sad when we are not playing well, and not the times when we are not wining anything. I would love to see our team coming back to winning ways but definitely not at the cost of the scintillating stuff on the field. I'm angry when we are betrayed of a deserved victory only because of a foolish mistake by the referee who is unbelievably consistent in his job and not when the team is struggling.
We have been struggling , but it is not due to the methods implied by Mr.Arsene Wenger , neither is it due to the lack of transfer activity. We have been killed by the injuries and players who have opted to leave Arsenal when they started to achieve stardom(there are a lot of names in this list). For all that is on Earth we cannot do anything to just get away from this Injury Curse.We have not won a trophy for so and so years, but its not that we have not been competing for top honours. Arsenal have definitely suffered from all the boardroom politics, and have still been performing very well. With all that's going wrong at the top level management , we could've miserably finished outside the top 4 before a few years. Thanks to Arsene, we have still been in the top 4 , competing in the top competitions and unfortunate for missing out on them by a close margin. The sad part is that the fans dont even know where we could've ended but for Arsene Wenger.
Its not the time to boo your team when it is going through a tough phase, its not the time to fight among ourselves, its the time to make ourselves count, its the time to cheer for them and play the role of motivator, the role which the team played in our lives. Hats off to the Away Fans you make us proud, as for the home fans - now its your turn to make us proud and show your love. keep it classy people, cause when Arsenal wins, it wins with style.!
Come on you Gooners.!
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