Pause and Reflect

Apologies for no post yesterday, but I was honestly struggling to find anything new or interesting to say that hasn’t already been said a thousand times before. It’s been a hard few weeks, even months for Arsenal fans. I think we all needed some time to cool down. It didn’t really work too well for me as I usually go on twitter, get riled up, tweet something, and then drive myself crazy and probably drive a few others crazy with the responses I give. Luckily, I’ve calmed down and will try to rustle up a few thoughts to share with you all today.

There has been a lot of talk about “Civil War” amongst gooners lately. I think much of this stemmed from news that some fans got into a scuffle in the stadium after the last game at the Emirates. On top of that, twitter and the blogosphere has exploded with criticism of the team and Wenger with people calling for drastic changes. There’s been a lot of emotion, let’s say. I understand. Six years, no trophy and all that. Not spending money we seem to have. The endless injuries. The lack of confidence and crumbling under pressure. I see all of it and I don’t deny any of it. I just don’t particularly feel the need to get swept up in the “outrage” that has begun to spread throughout the fanbase. Does this make me a blinkered “AKB” type who is delusional and should not be listened to? Perhaps. That’s your choice if you want to listen to me or not and I don’t see the point in calling others names or telling them to support another club if they disagree. I do think though that we can have a reasonable discussion about the club without using massive hyperbole pertaining to our weaknesses. I just listened to the latest Online Gooner podcast. It features Amy Lawrence, Philip Auclair, and Tim Payton. They discuss the various trials and tribulations of our beloved Arsenal Football Club in a very reasonable manner and I would recommend people to listen to it. I don’t agree with all of it, but they do make a lot of good points on the whole and pretty much sum up the state that the club finds itself in now. Here are the links for Part One and Part Two.

There are changes to be made in this team, whether we win the league or not (at this point, the odds would be miniscule). I think we will see changes, though not the massive overhaul people want or expect. That will come later, in the summer. There are no deals to be made currently, regardless of the transfer rumours you hear. All we can do right now is see out the rest of the season. This is the team we have. This is the team we will be watching for the rest of the season. Eight games. That’s all we have now is eight games. We need to be able to stick it out as fans and hope for the best, maybe even try to encourage the team, who I’m sure are feeling pretty low. If you don’t want to cheer them on, that’s fine. Sit back and see how the season’s end unfolds because there isn’t much else we can do for the moment. As for the team, they need to do some introspection. Even if the chase for the league title is futile, they still need to find a way to look deep in themselves and find that motivation that will get us through until May without completely imploding as we have in the past. Wenger must do his part and give them some sort of reason to keep fighting. I think he is feeling very let down by many of the players he has kept so much faith in over the years. At the same time, he needs to show the mettle he has as a manager and squeeze every ounce out of these players and then make the necessary decisions regarding their future when the time comes. Can they all do it? I honestly don’t know. Of course I hope that they go on and continue the unbeaten streak we are on, but I know it could all go sour in a heartbeat. It will be extra difficult considering we won’t be playing on Saturday anymore, but we will have to wait and see.

I’d like to end by saying that I know there are many, many readers out there who do not comment or tweet to us, and I just want to say that we really appreciate the fact that you read the blog and our tweets. Lately, there has been a lot of shouting from angry and negative voices and I think it makes a lot of the less pessimistic gooners more reluctant to speak out and share their optimism and passion for the club. I just wanted to acknowledge that there is a silent majority out there and that it’s ok to still feel positive about the club, even if we are in a very difficult and trying period. When I get frustrated or sad about the team, I always try to stop and think about why I love the club in the first place and what drew me to Arsenal. I have never seen Arsenal win a trophy. I hope that I can. I would wait another six years for it. I truly enjoy watching our players when they click, like they did against Chelsea and Barcelona and when Theo van Nasregas led us on our best run not too long ago. We are still a big club and one with pride. Wenger is still one of the most successful Premier League managers in history. Previous managers in Arsenal history have been able to leave something behind; something that can be carried on to the next manager/era that may go unnoticed at first, but then is appreciated for years to come. Herbert Chapman gave us symbols and an identity and so much more that are engrained within the fabric of our football club. George Allison took up where he left off and continued winning while bringing in players that remain legendary. More recently, we’ve seen the resolute success of George Graham’s famous back four continue on and become a cornerstone within the Wenger era. Even Bruce Rioch in his brief spell, left a mark on our club by signing one of Arsenal’s greatest players of all time: Dennis Bergkamp. I believe that when Arsene Wenger leaves, we will see that he will also have left a mark on this club that will be evident in our successes in the future. While many have pointed out Wenger’s various errors during his time at the club (and that’s fair enough), sometimes we lose sight that with every mistake, there are many things that went right. At the end of the day, I still believe we have a great football club, not one that has been disgraced due to a lack of silverware. This is a tough moment for the club and I don’t know what will happen in the coming months. What I do know is that we still will be Arsenal. We always have been and we always will be.

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Category: Arsenal News, Arsene Wenger, Randoms