The finger

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Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
12 Sep	3:00 PM	P	Manchester City (A)	2	4	Lost

Oh boy.

Lots to talk about today, so perhaps the AISA AGM will have to wait until I've had a chance to establish what can and can't be mentioned before AISA complete their members mailing. It struck me though, as I was arriving home late last night, I have had access to the club I would never have dreamed possible a year ago. And, okay, part of that is having a friend who happens to work for a company with a Club level season ticket, part of it is working in Islington and the contacts we have at work. But another part of it is that writing this blog has made me realise just how important this club is to me - family and friends will be surprised that after 21 years, it's taken a 364 days of writing a blog for me to accept this. So I have joined something like AISA because I want to be involved, I want to have a say at a time when the future of the club seems, to me, like it's on a knife edge.

I think it's safe to say that what came out of the meeting last night is that we have a Chief Executive who is genuinely interested in the support, indeed Ken Friar baldly stated that without the fans, there would be no club, and what we have to say about a club that belongs to us. Mr Gazidis will listen to us, will take ideas on board and has done so already. Are Arsenal fans really the kind of fans that are prepared to throw that dialogue away, that promise of progress the both the club and team are showing in the name of a "sugar daddy" who can promise us nothing except, I suppose, a pile of cash?

Annnnnnyway, talking about the club and its supporters leads me very nicely on to a footballer who has had plenty to say about Arsenal's support of late. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I give you one Emmanuel Sheyi Adebayor. He won't let it lie, like a wife beater who after years of abusing his spouse has seen his woman up and leave, it seems Mr Adebayor is still absolutely unable to comprehend why it is large sections of the Arsenal support took against him last year.

"If you boo your player every weekend, I am very sorry, you are not true fans... It hurt me a lot. That was the most difficult moment of my career."

This comment conjures up images of that wife beater, chucked out of the marital home and completely unable to understand why he is out in the cold, with the warmth of home just a door's width away. How did he get there? Well, Ade, after that one good season you had with us, spending all summer talking about thinking of your retirement, saying you were staying one second, telling us you were undecided the next, what did you honestly think would happen to you?

For me, Ade may have a point when he says, "Arsenal have a lot of fans who are not fans, Arsenal have fans from America and Jamaica. Today they are Arsenal fans, tomorrow they will be Liverpool fans, after tomorrow they will be Manchester United fans."

It is true that there are sections of the crowd at the Grove who are footballing daytrippers. But the flaw in whatever logic he applied to this statement is this. Does he honestly think those daytrippers would be able to find the motivation in themselves to boo a player? They aren't going to care enough to boo. They will just sit there in silence. Before I go any further, I'm not saying that it is fans from America and Jamaica who don't care. But I bet it wasn't them booing. In my opinion, it is those "true fans" who will have booed because they have spent upwards of £900 on a season ticket, or in my case £45 per game, to watch someone treat the badge treat the shirt like shit.

I booed him at the Chelsea game because of what I had seen in the home game against Middlesbrough and the two Champions League semi final matches. He palpably couldn't give a monkeys about the situation we found ourselves in. By way of contrast; Nick Bendtner, who also arrived as sub in that Chelsea match, set about trying to change that situation and actually managed to improve it a little.

Speaking of Bendtner, Ade had words for him too, something like this in fact, "Nicklas had a very easy route. He had the chance to be in the Arsenal academy, the chance to be an international for Denmark... Nicklas thinks he can make himself big."

Now, it may just be me, but I'm sure I detect a whiff of jealousy and bitterness at the way Nicklas has claimed a first team place at Arsenal. I don't doubt Adebayor had to fight hard to get to where he is, but this is just ridiculous. Whatever you might think of Nicklas, he didn't get into the Arsenal academy by accident, he did it through talent. He's still at the club now because he has worked hard to improve that talent. In fact in saying Nick thinks he "can make himself big", should Adebayor not be looking at himself there? Adebayor talks about the confrontation at Tottenham taking place because Bendtner showed him the finger. If someone came onto a football pitch I was playing on and said to me, "I'm only on because you're shit", I think I would show them more than just a finger.

Let's leave it there, I could go on.

For his part, the manager has reiterated his belief in the striking options left behind, Robin van Persie, Bendtner, Eduardo, Vela and Walcott. He has done so whilst, as is his custom, wishing the two players he chose to sell in the summer well, and saying that he is confident they will be successful. I think he's quite looking forward to this afternoon's game, I know I am.

I'm also looking forward to seeing Theo Walcott back within the ranks. Today comes to soon for him, but he sounds certain to be available for the midweek Champions League opener. Now, I know his footballing ability is still subject to some debate amongst us all, but it is certainly true that nobody within the squad provides the threat he does with his pace. This is borne out by the fact that Theo has apparently broken Thierry Henry's 40 metre sprint record of 4.82/4 with a time of 4.7 seconds. Now, if he could just put the rest of his game together like Thierry, we would have quite a player on our hands.

"If I'm called up by any England team I'm willing to go. I'm not going to pull out of any England team. Ask any young kid who wants to play for their national team and everyone's the same. We're all dying to do it. I wanted to go and I let Arsenal and England deal with everything else. I left that battle to them."

I guess the comments above pull into focus what I was saying about Andrey Arshavin earlier in the week. I understand why Arshavin played for Russia, as I understand why Theo spent the summer playing for England. It's everyone's dream to represent their country and I'm not so stupid to think that Theo, Andrey or anyone else in the squad - maybe Jack Wilshere did - grew up dreaming of playing for Arsenal. But surely, as an athlete, you must listen to your body, and Theo has proved quite susceptible to injuries thus far - for a smart young man, I don't think he made a smart decision- ah, the impetuousity of youth!

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