HE WAS THE GREATEST MANAGER Arsenal EVER HAD

For all the people questioning whether Arsenal should have sacked Arsene...

In the early 2000s, the Arsenal board decided to shift to the Emirates so that they could put Arsenal in the BIG league.. They knew that money would be tight (not till 2014, but for atleast a few years).. Wenger knew this too...

Wenger could have left Arsenal in 2006 after we moved from Highbury. ANY CLUB IN THE WORLD would have had him there (I guess they still would).. But he chose to work with the club, accepting that what he was going to perform was a the tight rope walk.. So instead of further enhancing his managerial legacy at Real, Barca or Bayern, he chose to build Arsenal's legacy..

I admit that he has made mistakes over the course of the past few years. The injury problems we have is squarely on his plate. But you have to admit that he has kept the squad competitive.

Champions League football is the one reason we were able to become less debt-ful in this period. It is the reason why our commercial partners are interested in pumping MILLIONS OF POUNDS INTO A TEAM WHICH HAS WON NOTHING IN NINE YEARS.

They can see that this is beginning of a new Arsenal. A team which in the proper hands can lay siege to the PL and CL for years to come. A financially secure, super mammoth in football.. Like United was in the past 20 years..

But unlike United, Wenger isn't going to leave behind an aging squad with lot of work to be done. He's leaving a team with Ozil, Ramsey, Walcott, Wilshere, Kos and many more players tied down to long term contracts (no Rooney like saga for the incoming manager)

He's leaving behind a buttload of cash for the new manager to spend to his liking - so that he can make the team he wants. He's leaving behind a legacy that ANYONE can further.

I hope Wenger quits after this season - not because I won't like to him to continue, but because I can't bear to see this great man, who put the club before himself, to be belittled by people like you. He deserves far more respect. In the years to come, when we are winning title after title, you'll look back at this man and say "HE WAS THE GREATEST MANAGER Arsenal EVER HAD"

A letter to Theo

Dear Theo,

I woke up this morning to your bad news. As someone who loved you for both your footballing prowess as well as your off field demeanor, to say that I'm crushed would be an understatement. I know that you have it in you to come back from this stronger. And I pray to the almighty that he helps you in doing so.

I started actively following Arsenal after the 2010 World Cup. Your controversial omission from the England team was something I chanced upon as the team headed into the season. There were many articles on the net, both advocating your presence in the squad and opposing the same. But there was one article which caught my eye then. Sadly, I can't find a link to it now. The content of that article was that you were using the time you got to hone your skills - to prove to the then  England manager that opting to omit you was a mistake.

And over the past three and a half years, I've been witness to just that. You've had your share of poor form, glaring misses, unfortunate injuries and quiet games. But after each and every one of them, you came back strongly. As a personal hero of mine, I celebrated every success of yours as if it were my own. And now, I am here to offer my support to you in this seemingly dark, trying period in your life.

I would like to remind you that I'm just one of the millions of your fans. Each and every one of us are waiting to see you back on the field, waiting for you to jump the offside trap, race into the box, go one on one with the keeper, and then, chip the ball over him into the net. We are waiting for you to then proceed to do your trademark wing celebration. And I assure you that every one of us will shed a tear at that moment, because we would know how much that meant to you.

We are praying for you Theo. We hope to see you back on the pitch as soon as possible. We wish you a speedy recovery.

And on a personal note, I read that you are expecting your first born soon. Think of this injury as a chance to be with your child when he/she is born. And when you come back from this injury, make every footballing second you missed count.

We'll be waiting for that Theo. We'll be waiting for you to come back.

Yours lovingly,
A fan.

This season so far..

I wrote this same time last year.. After that drubbing we got at the San Siro - the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 last year.. Reading this has been deja-vu for me, but I guess being an Arsenal fan these days means that you have deja-vu about deja-vu's.. Being my first blog on Arsenal, I thought this should be up here first as I venture into writing exclusively about Arsenal.


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I'll tell you the truth.

I fell in love with Arsenal through FIFA 2004..

I had no prior experience of watching them play, but two "Enter" keys after installing my brand new game, I fell in love with my first and only football club.. But to tell you the truth, I started following them only for the last 3 years.. And have been a die-hard fan of Arsenal for the past year or so.. So much so that Arsenal is the only thing I search more about on net than, well.. you know.. ;)

So, after this 4-0 at San Siro, I felt I should discuss my views on this season.. In case you only watched last night's match this season, go through the main points of our season in this brief summary..

The Begining..

We buy Gervinho & OX.. AW is criticized for bringing OX..
We lose 2 matches in 4.. Sell Fab, Nasri..We get "humiliated" 8-2 at OT, playing a second string team (not for any reason of ours) against the League champions & CL finalists..
Media, and subsequently, inspired fans want Wenger's head..
He brings in last second signings - "panic buys"...

**Nobody seems to remember us beating Udenise in a critical tie, getting into CL for this year..

Next 3 matches

We still lose two.. Panic buys are blamed, so is AW..
"Relegation Battle for Arsenal" reads the papers..

From Oct to Dec 31st

Nobody notices the march of the Gunners from 17th in the table to 4th..
AW said somewhere in between this crisis, "Lets' see where we are at the end of the year.. Then judge our season.."
And his loyal cadres made his words come true..

January

We lose all the games except the crucial FA Cup tie, which we win, courtesy TH14 (more like TH12).. Everybody questioned AW for bringing him back.. But the King erased all doubts with his first shot..

** Nobody questioned Sir Alex for bringning in Scholes..

And at the end of January, we were in a battle for 4th with Chelsea, Newcastle, and Liverpool..
Again, Media, and subsequently, inspired fans want Wenger's head..

** The OX doesnt seem to be such a bad idea now for both media & fans..

February

We win 7-1.. AW and players are praised by the Media, and the fans..
We win 2-1 on a pitch, which seemingly was dug up, a day before.. Again, praise..

We lose 4-0 on a similar clay court, miles away from home 3 days later.. Its all AW's fault all over again..

Now, Next game.. the FA Cup tie with Sunderland..

We win.. Praise is lavished on the team..
We lose.. Crisis strikes Arsenal again..

My thoughts..

I have always felt, and this claim will be supported by many fellow gooners, that Arsenal is at the end of a media rebuff.. Anything we do is looked under a microscope; we can never be without a crisis..

eg : When we won 7-1, the best win of the season, with goals shared all round; Marca comes & says RvP said he wants to go to Real.. Even though RvP denied it on twitter, it was enough to ruin the week for us..

Fans believe whatever media throws at them.. When the next bit of "news" is a tweet button away, I want you to believe in this team, not the media.. It might be technically less efficient than the teams before, but they want to win, and win at Arsenal..

And I want you to support AW.. Of the panic buys, Arteta is in the top 5 passers in the game in Europe, Mert is a slow genius, Santos is Clichy 2.0, Gervinho is Nasri 2.0 and Ox is Walcott 2.0.. If that aint enough, there's Campbell who people say are Henry 2.0..

IF you still say AW is poor, its only cos you cant see the big picture.. AW started a journey with us Gooners.. A dream to take Arsenal to the top of the footballing elites.. He cut down on his spending, built a stadium, developed talents, but kept his hope on a boy, who grew home sick.. And when that boy went home, his dreams were crushed, for no fault of his own..

I agree that he has made mistakes.. Park, for eg.. But AW is a Gooner like us, and wants only the best for this club.. Only thing is he's thinking long term, and we are seeing short term..

Pep is seen as the man who changed Barca into this world class team.. But it was the foresight of many before him, which left him with this talented pool of players, playing with a similar philosophy.. Please don't underestimate Wenger's foresight..

In short, all I want to tell you people is never lose hope in Arsenal or Arsene, cos of what media says.. When AW says its over, it's over.. Until then, be a true Gooner and support your team..

IN ARSENE WE TRUST