With everyone away at the moment Arsenal news is thin on the ground. I don’t really want to go over the stuff that was on Arsenal.com yesterday.
It’s almost like someone gauges the mood of the fans then puts up some articles which take the piss a bit. We’re the angry wasp trapped in the glass which is given a good shake every now and again. Every Arsenal fan wanted us to sign a midfielder, they publish a story about how Eboue is a pass master and has done well in midfield. We bemoan our lack of experience, they publish stories about how great our 16 year olds are. I swear they’re doing it on purpose.
I’m still absolutely baffled by our failure to bring in a midfielder but at this point I don’t see what talking about it any more will achieve. What’s struck me in the last couple of days is how inward looking we all are at the moment. By that I mean it’s Arsenal fans v Arsenal fans. Online arguments and debates are raging, insults are being hurled and our ire is directed at each other. Of course none of us are going to agree all the time but to me it’s just a bit sad that the squabbling is going on between Arsenal fans.
I miss when our collective spite and disdain is focussed on somebody or something truly horrible. Like Sp*rs – who seem to be getting away with being complete pussies over the Berbatov thing. It’s all well and good for Levy to say the Premier League needs to review the transfer/contract system but twice this summer they’ve had players illegally approached yet have taken a few extra quid not to bring charges against those clubs. Pathetic.
What about Man United who have acted appallingly over the Berbatov transfer? I had some sympathy for them over Real Madrid’s media led pursuit of Ronaldo but then Demento collects Berbacunt from the airport when they had not been given permission to even speak to the player. Seriously, can you imagine how angry and red faced and bleating like an old fucking Scottish fishwife he’d have been if Calderon had picked up Ronaldo from Barajas? What a pack of hypocritical cuntmashers.
Or even referees, bad decisions, FA intervention or lack of it, contentious decisions, red cards, bad behaviour or countless other things that will, if not unite us, let us at least stand shoulder to shoulder against the rest, because let’s never forget that the rest of them are fucking poxy cunts.
The strange thing is that to a man, woman and child, no matter what age, we’re all disappointed by the failure to sign anyone, yet this is what’s sparking the arguments. We all agree, mostly, but still we’re fighting. Some of the stuff I’ve flicked through on other blogs and forums (mostly in the comments, I have to say) has been truly awful to read. People saying they hate the manager, they’re giving up their season tickets and such. There was just so much expectation, fueled by the online community which is, I believe, healthy for the most part, but when that expectation isn’t met it produces a collective anger which is hard to dampen. And when people are angry and there are dozens of other people sharing that anger I think it allows them to go a bit over the top in their criticism.
Maybe I’m not making my point very well here. With the international break it’s going to be a long 10 days or so. No football Arsenal to take our minds off the non-signing Arsenal. All I’m trying to say is that like it not there’s nothing we can do about the state of the squad now. The proof of what’s happened will be in the pudding and the pudding will be on the pitch. If results are good then the vast majority of Arsenal fans will be happy (although I honestly believe there are some people now who want us to fail no matter what). If results aren’t so good then the criticism levelled at the manager will be justified and I’m sure Arsene knows that. But there’s a team that’s needs to be supported at the end of the day.
Maybe I’m being a bit too idealistic but look at what’s out there. United, Chelsea, Sp*rs, Bolton, Joey Barton, Didier Drogba, John Terry, Ashley Cole, David Bentley, Rafa’s goatee, Mike Riley, Richard Keys and cronies at Sky, Alex Ferguson, Alan Hansen, Mark Lawrenson, Usmanov, money grabbers like Robinho and Berbacunt, football agents, WAGs, Sepp Blatter and so much more. That’s where the hate should be, not on each other.
It should be possible to argue, debate, disagree and offer opinions without it turning into a slagging match but at the moment we seem to have forgotten that. At the end of the day we’re all Arsenal fans, we want Arsenal to be successful. Yes, we appear to have made it much more difficult for ourselves than we should have, and I think it’s absolutely right to question some of the decisions the manager has made this summer. It doesn’t mean we have to turn into snarling beasts snapping at each other all day long though.
Till tomorrow.
