WHAT MAKES ARSENAL SO SPECIAL...IT HAS CLASS IN ITS DNA Dear Gooners, yesterday Michael wrote an excellent article about how he came about to love the Arsenal. It is great to see that it is not just the club’s successful history and prestige still attracting fans during these trophyless years, but more so the impeccable and timeless ethic our club has displayed on and off the pitch since its establishment. Arsenal just have that something that other clubs do not have. Call it swagger if you will, the way which Arsenal have conducted itself on many different fronts is something we can all be proud of. The first thing that comes to mind is the way in which we have operated since the construction of the Emirates. I guess I would not be saying this had we not just secured the best CAM in the world, but it needs to be said that the board had a well devised plan thought out all those years ago, which we are starting to see come to fruition. It was very difficult to lose key players over the years, especially RvP. It made fans, including myself, very bitter and angry, questioning the board and Wenger at every turn. I still think perhaps some of those sales could have been avoided, but we will never know. Stan Kroenke and the board devised a very good strategy, being able to build a massive 60,300 seater stadium, negotiate some very lucrative sponsorship deals and also make sure investments like Highbury Square reap good profit right after its construction, pay off annual stadium debt, ALL whilst still keeping Arsenal a top 4 team (thanks to Wenger). Most importantly, we have achieved all these things without the need for oil money or a sugar daddy. We can be extremely proud and that in its own right is something to gloat about. We have beautiful stadium, 360m worth of endorsement deals to be taking off next season, a great squad and one hell of a signing – WITH MORE TO COME. Things are looking peachy. I will be man enough to admit that I genuinely thought Kroenke was taking us into the wrong direction, but this transfer window has proven me wrong and I think it is the start of something massive, like a renaissance. I hope the sales of all those Ozil shirts have made the board realize that signing big names is worth it. Just try for a second to imagine yourself a Man City, Chelsea or Man United fan. Feels cheap doesn’t it? It is a very shallow feeling indeed. Arsenal are just pure class on and off the pitch. We do not need refs to win us games, or behind the scenes bullying and blackmailing antics to get our way. We do not need thugs, dirty cheaters and general low life scum to win games. We do not need mercenaries for hire, out only for themselves with inflated egos, or a bunch of superstars with no heart or passion ostracized by a manager who thinks he is God. Arsenal stand tall and proud in a football age, governed by super rich people who just throw money around with no idea what the word consistency means. These types of owners and ‘come and go’ managers, have no clue about strategizing and forming a squad capable of complimenting the strengths and compensating for the weaknesses of its players. How can a manager really get to know the squad if he is only around for one season? Wenger has made mistakes, but the fact that he has built such a strong squad even without our new Wizard of Oz is testament to this. We beat a 100m reinforced Spurs and City team with a very very cheap squad formed over a season ago. If I were any other fan, I would be terrified of Arsenal right now. There is a hidden or underlying message in the acquisition of Ozil that I do not think many fans are aware of. Next to being such a fantastic player, his attitude is exactly everything that Arsenal stands for. I have read he is a humble guy, nothing is more important to him than staying focused on his football. He does so by staying out of the media limelight. We have seen that too much outside attention, money, fame etc can completely ruin many great sportsmen/ women. I guess some of them thrive on it, but it can become impossible to get them to heed authority and they think their way is the only and best way. Players like these just fall short of being legends. It is the sportsmen/women who conduct themselves with dignity and integrity on and off the fields that make them a true hero. (Pele, Bergkamp for example). Arsenal as a club has always endorsed this type of behaviour. I can think of many Arsenal players, then and now that are proudly carrying this banner. I think this is why many of us can only identify ourselves with this great club because, as many have said, Arsenal in your DNA. We are, and always will be class. Even the richest man in the world cannot buy that.
Posted on: Sat, 07 Sep 2013 08:37:07 +0000
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