Let’s Get Whiny!

By: Abby | August 23rd, 2008

Because that’s what inevitably happens whenever Arsenal lose.

And let’s not mess around- that was an awful performance today. Last week’s game against West Brom was better, even if just for the goal (I actually thought it wasn’t a terrible performance last week, just one lacking some sharpness). Gallas is still making people wonder and we miss Cesc’s confidence and skill.

So a poor game, against a team we definitely should have beat. That stings. Stings like those killer bees I’ve heard about. I’m glad I got to watch it at home, because it’s fairly embarrassing, and I would have been very upset had I been around other people for it. My Mug of Doom- an Arsenal mug that I have a cup of tea out of whenever things are looking poor- didn’t even save us. I hate when that happens.

What I’m sick of, though, is how many Arsenal fans act whiny and entitled whenever anything is less than perfect. The manager immediately becomes clueless (and cursed-at), the players the worst ever, and every armchair manager with access to the Sun’s website thinks that they can do a better job running the club. How everything will be better if we’d just signed a player that, probably, they haven’t actually watched in action, and certainly not regularly. Not that I’m expecting people to- I follow two leagues closely, and that takes up huge amounts of time, and I certainly don’t have the expertise on players.

Then these fans have to compare our state to the states of Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool. We tend to be a very insecure lot, I suppose, but it’s driving me crazy right now. For one- why on Earth are we looking up to Liverpool as an example of how to do things? If any team is a vindication of the Arsenal approach, it’s Liverpool. They have done a bit better in Europe, but have been, for the most part, a good way behind us in the league. And they’ve done that by throwing large amounts of money at certain players. I’m not saying this to Liverpool-bash. I’ve got nothing against Liverpool. It’s just for comparison’s sake.

As far as Man U and Chelsea, that is a different situation. They have ridiculous resources, we know that. And they spend them ridiculously, we know that. Should we be spending with that kind of abandon? Can we? Those are questions I can’t answer- the first ethical, the second involving knowledge that I have no access to. But it’s not like they never falter, either, or never have failures. Arsenal fans of a certain nature seem to think that the other clubs around us are absolutely perfect and would never stand for what’s going on with us.

I do know that despite everything, I like Arsenal the way it is. Not the losing-to-Fulham sense, of course. But in that there’s still a bit of idealism, of dignity, of difference in being Arsenal. I’ve touched on this before, and commenters didn’t like it- I know, I know. All teams are unique and have their own philosophy and feeling, and I shouldn’t think that Arsenal are the only ones. But despite that knowing that, I still do. I still look at Arsenal and see less cynicism than with other clubs. I see us as at least attempting to stand for something- some kind of responsibility or restraint or even respect for other teams. My fandom of Arsenal was a quirk of geography, certainly, but it’s something that I identify with, and am proud of, now. Everything in my life and the world I inhabit is about compromise. I like a little idealism in my escapism.

Somehow, I’m even more adamant about it when we lose. Even if it’s as bad as it was today. Once I’m done being upset/depressed/angry (today accomplished with a few rounds of Age of Empires III and a new Italo-disco compilation), I’m more fiercely dedicated than ever. I suppose I believe in the cause. I’m stubborn. I don’t want to be Manchester United- there’s something boring about it.

Maybe I am just making excuses. I’ve thought about that. Say what you will. But I don’t think anything will change the way I feel, right now.