Plots. Sinister dealings. These words may come to mind when you think conspiracy theories. In our everyday lives we are surrounded by conspiracy claims, from the Moon landing, to Religion, to Government laws. Anywhere you look, a conspiracy could arise.
In Football there are many conspiracies at play, from a simple ‘’they cheated’’ or ‘’everyone is against us’’ to more major theories. Here are some of the most outlandish Arsenal related conspiracy theories.
Arsene Wenger has been receiving guidance from Aliens.
A Bromley woman in 2013 revealed that “The Grays offer guidance to Mr Wenger.” The Grays or Greys are extraterrestrial beings also commonly known as aliens. Could they have been the secret behind Arsene Wenger’s Invincibles?
“At the moment they are telling him he needs to get rid of a whole lot of people and bring in a stronger squad – especially in the defence.” How long have the Greys been in contact with Arsene Wenger? Does Arsene Wenger possess some hidden, perhaps ancient forbidden knowledge?
How do aliens know so much about Football and why do they have such a great interest in it? I have so many questions. Further revelations include, “He also needs to let assistant manager Steve Bould do his job. “Mr Wenger likes to do everything but he is not good at everything.”
I’m not discounting the possibility of Alien existence, but really? What next, Arsene Wenger’s a reptilian?
Arsene Wenger’s a reptilian.
Yes, you read that correctly. There’s a YouTube video titled ‘’reptilian Arsene Wenger hologram failure’’. In the mentioned video the theory is put forward that Arsene Wenger is in fact a reptilian living amongst us. Blurry closeups of Arsene Wenger’s face, black lines and paused moments of Arsene Wenger in a press conference, trying to showcase Le Professeur’s ‘’reptilian eye’’.
Personally, I find this extremely unlikely and hard to believe. But hey, one ability believed about reptilians or lizard people is that they can feed off of our emotions. Could Arsene Wenger have been a shapeshifting reptilian feeding off the Highbury and Emirates Stadium crowd’s emotions? Joy, sadness, despair, desperation and even fear could have been used to ‘’power’’ Arsene Wenger for his 22-year reign. Food for thought?
It’s very unlikely Arsene Wenger is a reptilian. But my, my, that is a sinister smile.
Manchester United paid off the referee to break Arsenal’s 49 match unbeaten run.
Now this is a popular one. It’s no secret that the ‘’’Battle of the Buffet’’ had controversial refereeing take place in the infamous match which ended Arsenal’s 49 match unbeaten record.
A very controversial penalty was awarded in the game, numerous bad fouls, talk over whether Rio Ferdinand should have been sent off, Van Nistelrooy’s foul on Ashley Cole and of course José Antonio Reyes (rest in peace) being ‘’kicked off the pitch’’.
A few Arsene Wenger quotes I would like to highlight are, “We got the usual penalty when we come to Manchester United and they are in difficulty,”. “Then, out of nowhere, Riley decided the game – like he can do at Manchester United”. Followed up by “There was no contact at all for the penalty,” and ultimately, “So we feel we were robbed; the referee made the difference.”
While many Arsenal fans would agree that the match was badly referred, some have gone further arguing that it had been decided, pre-determined that Arsenal would lose, accusations of match fixing, the FA and referees all working together to break Arsenal’s unbeaten run at all costs.
Lasagna-Gate.
Allow me to set the scene. Before the final day of the 2005-06 Premier League Campaign, Tottenham were sitting above rivals Arsenal, occupying the fourth place Champions League spot. It was a tense race for the Champions League between both sides, with only 90 minutes in the season to go.
All Tottenham had to do to finish above Arsenal, and qualify for the Champions League ahead of their rivals was to win their final match, or at least match Arsenal’s result. What happened next was astonishing.
Having stayed and eaten at the Marriott Hotel in Canary Wharf, ahead of their final Premier League match, the Tottenham players fell sick after eating Lasagne. It was rumoured food poisoning had occurred. At the worst possible time.
Jermaine Jenas when speaking on the occurrence, ‘Lasagne and spaghetti Bolognese were on the menu, we ate, and then in the middle of the night we started dropping like flies.’ ‘Even while the gaffer Martin Jol was giving his team talk before the game, players were being sick in the toilets. Once the game started players were literally running off the pitch. It was carnage.’
Tottenham lost 2-1 to West Ham while Arsenal beat Wigan 4-2. Yet again the Gunners had pipped Tottenham to Champions League football.
Outrage and conspiracies arose concerning the incident. There were rumours the Head Chef was an Arsenal fan and season ticket holder, Arsenal (or West Ham) had deliberately sabotaged Tottenham’s food and Spurs even tried to request a rematch, suspecting foul play.
Ultimately, investigations were undertaken and it was found out that food poisoning hadn’t occurred. “None of the results or findings indicated that food poisoning was the cause. The likely cause of illness suffered by the Tottenham Hotspur FC staff and players was from a viral source.”
Petr Čech was a Chelsea agent
Often jokingly referred to as ‘agent Cech’, during his time at Arsenal, the former Chelsea & Arsenal man had experienced ludicrous double agent claims. Petr Čech was a true professional, yet there was a section of fans who saw him as an outsider.
(Photo by Alex Morton/Getty Images)
You might recall before the 2019 Europa League Final, how there were loud calls to not play Čech against his former side. Ignoring the fact that he had played a vast majority of the Europa League games for Arsenal that season, such as against Napoli and Valencia.
Things weren’t helped that before his final game for Arsenal, Čech was linked with a backroom staff role at Chelsea. But you’ll still find believers in the ‘’Petr Čech was a Chelsea agent’’ theory.
The ‘’Arsenal lost to Aston Villa and relegated Watford on purpose’’ conspiracy theory.
Emerging recently, after Arsenal had beaten both Liverpool and Manchester City in a week, the Gunners headed to Villa Park. With Arsenal’s last two Premier League fixtures of the 2019/20 season against Aston Villa and Watford, both in a tense relegation battle, Arsenal’s performances against both clubs would decide who would avoid relegation.
Arsenal lost 1-0 to Aston Villa, which put the conspiracy theories in motion. As we know, Troy Deeney and Watford have an interesting history with Arsenal. After Troy Deeney’s now infamous ‘cojones’ comment about Arsenal, the Watford vs Arsenal games since have had an extra edge to them.
The Watford vs Arsenal clashes of the last few years have had an edge to them.
The argument was put forward that Arsenal were happy to lose to Aston Villa, as that meant that the Watford players and fans, who were always up for a game against Arsenal would no longer be around to cause Arsenal problems. Following this up with a 3-2 home win on the final day against Watford, Arsenal sentenced Watford and Troy Deeney to the Championship.
Only the most suspicious of Watford, Aston Villa and Arsenal fans would buy into Arsenal losing a game on purpose, just to relegate The Hornets but this theory does have its followers.
Andrey Arshavin Was A Russian Spy
I dug deep and found a Digital Spy forum post from 2013 on Andrey Arshavin being a Russian Spy. If you didn’t know, Digital Spy is a British-based entertainment, television and film website. They also have forums, anyway the proposed conspiracy goes as follows:
”Leaked NSA documents have revealed that former Arsenal player, Andrey Arshavin, was actually a Russian Spy.
Arshavin, code-name ‘Red Fox’, was the brainchild of Kremlin chief Sergei Rachmaninoff, who funded his agent’s training as a footballer, and pulled strings to include him in the Zenit St. Petersburg team. As a result of these revelations, the Russian International has now retreated back to his homeland, and is reportedly worried about his safety.”
Which is all of course very bizarre. If you would like to view the forum post, and former Arsenal striker and cult hero Nicklas Bendtner being compared to a Danish pastry in the comments, I’ve included a link here.
A lethal Danish pastry in action
UEFA is conspiring against Arsenal
Perhaps the biggest conspiracy of them all, this one involves UEFA as a whole opposing Arsenal when it comes to European football. Here’s an interesting fact, starting from the 2012/13 season to the 2016/17 season, in five possible seasons Arsenal have drawn Bayern Munich four times. Three times in the round of 16, including back to back round of 16 draws, and once in the group stages.
I feel that this conspiracy has some partial weight to it, take for example Arsenal’s suspicious tendency to constantly be drawn with Barcelona or Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Just taking a look at Arsenal’s 2016/17 Champions League group stage, by finishing first in the group Arsenal were drawn with Bayern Munich and the second place side in the group (PSG) were drawn against Barcelona. Either way, whether they finished 1st or 2nd Arsenal would have ended up playing one of Barcelona or Bayern Munich. What are the odds of that?
Looking back at the 2006 Champions League final, aside from Jens Lehmann’s controversial sending off, a few comments from Thierry Henry stand out, “I don’t know if the referee was wearing a Barcelona shirt. If he didn’t want us to win he should have said so from the off. Some of the calls were very strange. I believe the referee did not do his job. I would have liked a proper referee.” As per The Guardian.
Don’t forget Robin Van Persie’s red card against Barcelona in 2011, one of the most ridiculous referring decisions. In Robin Van Persie’s words themselves “In my opinion it was a total joke, the sending‑off. How can I hear his whistle with 95,000 people jumping up. How can I hear that, for God’s sake? Please explain me that.”
UEFA may be conspiring against Arsenal but there’s a good chance the Gunners can win the UEFA Europa League this season.
Those were the most bizarre Arsenal conspiracies. What are your thoughts on them? Which were your favourite?
I am a young writer, focused on producing high quality content. With a love for both journalism and writing, I have a growth mindset, where I strive for continuous improvement. I am also an: Occasional freelancer. Unai Emery Enthusiast. A person of many plans.
Also interested in the psyche, mentality and mental health of players – their motivation, the harmful effects of social media, and how the football world affects them.
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