» The Gooner World

By Sajit

Of all Premier League fans around the world, gooners were probably the worst off during the summer of 07. The club that meant everything to them was falling apart – brick by brick. Everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong. Two hugely disappointing seasons, miles behind the leaders, no big names to shout about, a manager who was frustratingly frugal and uncertainty in the board room and in Wenger’s own future – the list of woes were endless. It looked like the beginning of the end.


The jury was out. The knives were drawn. This was the season that would spell the end of Arsenal. Their big teams were progressing and the smaller teams were catching up. In fact, their north London neighbours were supposed to herald a new era of dominance in English football. I could go on and on about what was being written and said about the club. The repetitive and vicious nature of the attacks became exhausting. Perhaps the most frustrating part of it was that I had nothing to offer in defence. Yes, we were laughably poor last season. We had done nothing notable to change it. It was basically the same set of players, who couldn’t hit a barn door last season, that were going to line up week in and week out. How was this team, which had struggled against mid-table opposition, going to manage without the only superstar we ever had? Were we going to see empty stands that greet visiting teams at places like Boro? These were the questions that were asked. And there were no answers.


This may sound clichéd, but the truth was that I actually couldn’t wait for the season to start. Why? Last year, with every painful defeat and after every point dropped, Wenger had bravely stood up for his wards. He had consistently talked about “potential” and “growth” and “mental strength”. These words were dropped with such alarming regularity, that there were times even the ardent die-hard gunner fans couldn’t stomach it. That included yours truly. At the beginning of this season, one thing struck me. What if Arsene was telling the truth? What if he had actually seen what the outside world missed? Then this was the moment of reckoning. They had no one to fall back on. There wasn’t any inspiration upfront to pass the ball to. They would have to work for one other. If they actually had all the qualities Wenger had proclaimed, the world would see it now. We were going to see Team Arsenal again – and that was an exciting thought.

I wouldn’t want to dwell too much on Arsenal’s season so far. Their record and position are a testimonial of how well they have played. Questions of having easy home games, lack of squad depth etc have been answered one at a time. Their matches in December showed that they could cope without the creative brilliance of Hleb, Cesc and Robin. There is still a long way to go and many things that can go awry. We lost our way in the space of 10 days last season. It could very well happen again. It would be amateur to think about titles and glory just yet, but what has delighted the Arsenal faithful is the strong message they have sent out –“We won’t go down without a fight.”