If you come across any Gooners a.k.a Arsenal fans, please look at them with puppy eyes. They deserve all the empathy you can afford. The requirements for an Arsenal fan range from – incredible patience to a complete disregard of the league table standings. He/she is prone to hair loss and self-harm or could experience anxiety attacks watching Arsenal play.
Initially, supporting Arsenal was a fairytale ride. The swagger of Thierry Henry, brilliance of Dennis Bergkamp and the sheer grit of Patrick Veira was enough to baptise fans into ‘Gooners’. I had found my football club, the club that I would support and stand by for the rest of my life. It was the year 2003-04, the season of ‘The Invincibles’.
We were a force to reckon with in the Champions League and were arguably the best team in England. Arsenal football club was flying high. But all good things come to an end and so did the Arsenal era of dominance.
Currently, we are reduced to a disorganised team waiting for a Messiah to guide us to glory. Arsenal have appointed their former play Mikel Arteta as the new manager but the results continue to disappoint. To be fair to him we did win the F.A Cup and Community Shield in his tenure. However, the team looks confused and lacking a footballing philosophy. Our transfer policy revolves around overage Chelsea rejects who are way past their expiry dates.
On a good day, watching Arsenal play is like enjoying an orchestra play. They are in sync, playing the same tune and captivating in possession. But these days are few and far between. Arsenal fans belong to a different breed. An Arsenal fan is supposed to digest all the dismal transfers and the petty transfer spending’s. You are supposed to observe some world class players decay and lose out on their magic (No prices for guessing the players- Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez).
Being a Gooner has become tougher, but I guess that’s what being a true fan is. As Dennis Bergkamp puts it “When you start supporting a football club, you don’t support it because of the trophies, or a player, or history, you support it because you found yourself somewhere there; found a place where you belong.”
Gooners are fiercely loyal and will stick with their team through thick and thin. Arsenal gives us a feeling of belonging, an identity that is second to none. A tragic loss or a grand win, a true Gooner will always stand by his team in the blowing wind. Remember this when you watch the match tonight and try not break all your Tupperware.
