In 2007 I watched Arsenal drew away to Liverpool at Anfield and it felt as though we had won the match. Arsenal went down by a goal scored from a free kick by Steven Gerrard on the ninth minute. Arsenal put pressure on Liverpool for the rest of the game, playing some of the best football I have watched as a soccer fan. It was like a siege, which Liverpool had to finally succumb to.
That display was one of the reasons why we always looked forward to watching when Arsenal was playing. Then you also have the 2-1 win over United in 2008 when Nasri scored that memorable brace in the rain.
In those times you knew you would be treated to beautiful football even if the results didn’t turn out favourably. I know all Arsenal fans felt proud to be associated with that beautiful football and would even brag about it. We weren’t winning trophies, but the beauty in our football kept us a little content and hopeful. The beautiful football we played won us a lot admirers and following around the globe.
Fast forward to 2017 a decade later and Arsenal are playing the complete opposite of the beautiful football that we were known for.
A slow and lethargic kind of football, characterized by sideways passes and frequent loss of possession in dangerous areas on the field. It is almost as if we are living in an inverse world to the one we experienced a decade ago. The football we now see Arsenal play these days can best be referred to as a killjoy to the one we witnessed. There is no joy whatsoever in watching Arsenal play again. You don’t look forward to being treated to wonderful football again when it is match day for Arsenal. At least if we are not winning matches , is only fair that we expect to see some desire and nice football, not this spoilsport.
Lots and lots of fans are fed up with the mediocre performance by the team and couldn’t care less what happens again on a match day. There are a growing number of fans who are not ready to renew their season tickets, or will stop going to games if the current manager continues. It is clear to see that a lot of Arsenal fans around the globe would not watch games again or will hibernate if Wenger continues as Arsenal manager beyond this season.
Frankly , who can blame them? I mean we love Arsenal and we cannot take any joy out of watching any other team play. We cannot support any team apart from Arsenal, it is part of who we are and we cannot change it. We can only stop watching football all together , at least for the time being, ‘cos the torture from watching our team these days is getting excruciatingly unbearable.
Make no mistake, what we are seeing isn’t just something that happened overnight. It is a culmination of bad performances and poor displays from Arsene Wenger’s teams for the past 3 or 4 seasons. It’s been going on season after season with no sign of amendment either from Wenger or the board.
In fact “this will continue to play out and quite possibly, each time we think we have reached rock bottom, they’ll manage to grab another shovel” – @mzk90.
What we saw from the Away fans at Selhurst Park on Monday night was supporters who were tired and had run out of patience with a stale team and manager for a long time. You could feel/share their frustrations and anxiety.
A friend told me that, he weeps inside nowadays when Arsenal is in the news or being discussed on the media. I realized after what happened on Monday night, that he was not the only the one to feel that way. I believe every Arsenal fan feels this way. Wenger and his team are gradually draining and sucking out the joy in watching Arsenal play, if at all there is any of it left.
Personally I think Arsenal have the most loyal and faithful fan base in world football. Half the sh*t we take here as Arsenal fans cannot happen in any top club in European and World football. The most painful part is that, you see Wenger come out of his presser to talk about how we fought throughout games, after defeats, when what we actually did was fold up and get beaten convincingly. It is as though he’s run out of excuses and ideas on how to turn this around. He has struggled over the past 3 to 4 seasons to reinvent our football with different sets of players. It is clear that his ideas have outlived their impact on the game. The game has moved on. The best for him and Arsenal is to part ways.
Truly, how many of us are ready to witness another year or two of what is currently happening? It will be very difficult to see any Arsenal fan who isn’t ready for change unless you are @GeoffArsenal. << at least it happened in Ghana, America, Gambia etc.>> lol.
On a more serious note, look at what happened to Chelsea (or if you want, Real Madrid or even Leicester City) and you would feel that a change of manager couldn’t be far worse than what we are currently seeing at Arsenal.
If you an Arsenal fan who wants to see our team play great football again, then I think you should not be rooting for Wenger staying again, because, we will never truly play and compete with the best again under him. Even the players no longer trust in his ability at least that is what their performances are telling us.
We cannot and should not even countenance the idea of Wenger staying for two more years. We should do our bit (protesting).
For all you know, “we show passion to save passion”.
Arsenal enthusiast and writer from Ghana. Love all things Arsenal and football. Sharing is caring. This is an opportunity to share my opinion about the game with the rest of the world. Please would you spare some time and read what I have written and also feel free to comment what you think about it. Thanks!
Spot on. I have been watching and supporting Arsenal since 1958. Wenger has made so many mistakes in the last few years it is almost sad to see him humiliated. But the great club comes first. He is not Mr. Arsenal, he is now burnt out and lost. It would be sad to see Arsenal wasting another 2 years if he is given a contract
Excellent Article Sulemana.
Wenger did bad :p
Wenger is gradually killing his legacy and the spirit of our club. He has to go