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It’s a hard one.
It’s hard for fans of rival clubs to feel sorry for us Arsenal fans.
Why should they?
We’ve never finished outside the top four of the Premier League during Arsene Wenger’s reign – and even the year before Le Professeur took away, we finished fifth.
We’ve seen our team go a whole season and a little bit more unbeaten, we’ve suffered narrow heartbreak in the final of the Champions League final, we’ve won FA Cups and Premier Leagues.
The last, almost, two decades Arsenal have been consistent, they’ve been successful and we’ve seen some of the world’s greatest players grace the colours of our great club.
So, why should our rivals feel sorry for us Gooners when we see our team throw away a three-goal at home to Anderlecht? Or play appalling against Swansea City? Or narrowly salvage a point against Hull City?
Well, the truth is, they shouldn’t because that’s how football works. We all laugh and enjoy our rivals struggles – I’d say watching Tottenham is one of the few joys Arsenal fans get at the moment.
I’ll be honest, I started this article because a West Ham-supporting friend had irked me by saying he has no sympathy for me due to Arsenal’s successes in his lifetime. However, that annoyed me, because Arsenal really are specialists in their own (spectacular) downfalls and no fan should have to experience the embarrassment, the frustrations and absolute devastation us Gooners have to go through on such a regular basis.
Growing up in a time where I expected my beloved Arsenal to win, every single game, has spoilt me. I’m hit harder by a defeat than the elation I should feel during a victory. That’s wrong.
I’ve been spoilt and I’m now struggling to enjoy every Arsenal goal, moment or game because I’m waiting for the expected capitulation.
Apologies if this didn’t make sense, I’m not really sure the point I’m trying to make. I wrote this moments after the game and I wrote this from a mindset that has me lower than the Anderlecht result – I thought the only way was up after that!
I’m just as confused as anyone else.
And of course it is never Wenger’s fault.
Eight million a year and he blames the referees, the schedule and the players but never himself.
I find it practically impossible to say a good word about him, it all about ego and power and little about whats best for Arsenal.
The sooner he is gone the better.
It’s all so frustrating. Last season we spent the most time atop the PL table, got the 8-year old ‘no trophy’ monkey finally off our backs. Every fan genuinely thought: Ok, this season we should be up there after putting the final pieces in place during the summer. After all, the money, they said, was there. But no. A combination of irrational gambling on defensive players and misuse of available players has resulted in a promising season crumbling even before it started. And our manager seems to be too happy to let go. What a farce!
Somewhere, somehow Arsene Wenger has lost his way, we have been treading water for far too long, and its all been accepted because of the constant qualification of Champions league football, a competition we have realistically no chance of winning with the current squad.
Defensively we are a shambles, when I saw the team for the Swansea game, and that Monreal was playing at centre back my heart sank & the realisation that there was a strong possibility of defeat to a very average team like Swansea loomed large, and was vindicated after 90 minutes.
Can someone please explain to me the sense of not getting Cesc back when apparently we had the buy back option, just look at the difference he makes at Chelsea, that decision is just non sensical, and tells me that Wengers time is up, he has been a true giant for Arsenal but there has been little or no progression for far to many years now, winning the FA cup will prove to be a false dawn, the sad reality is while he maintains qualification in the CL the board will not replace him based simply on finance and not progression. Move Wenger upstairs and let him take on a role similar to David Dein and go all out to get Pep Guardiolla. The time has come for a change.