There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the home supporters are a proud bunch, who hold their football clubs close to their hearts.
And there is nothing wrong with it, these fans have possibly been through emotions throughtout their lives, from when they were born along. Most are proud to have witnessed great football firsthand, within their own country. The older your affiliation with the club is, the more proud you feel, that is how it works and always will. Local fans go to great lengths to form their relationship with the club which includes travelling long distances, planning their weekend with football on their mind. Season-tickets are not just a print on a paper, it is for most, a thing of pride and an exhibition of affection.
There is no denying that English football especially Premier league is one of the most popular league in the world. That comes a lot of publicity, which results in having global fanbases all around the world. Clubs such as Arsenal pride themselves on their worldwide fanbase. Premier League over time had to change the timings to appeal to their foreign fanbase and help them grow in terms of popularity with the newer crop of fans.
Fans outside England share the feeling of being excluded and disregarded as proper fans, most of the time. There is a big time difference in Asia and the American Continents. While many of the countries in mentioned continents are not proper footballing nations, some fans support their teams to the best of their abilities, so much so that they have grown accustomed to unfavourable timings and haven’t missed a game in years. Calling them names such as casual/ plastic fans and/or bandwagoners is really doing these guys a disservice.
I have with me 6 fans who are from Asia and North America who will talk about their experience with regards to waking up at odd hours, their struggles, being called names on social media because they aren’t local fans and will be discussing their views about Arsenal, the players, about rival clubs and of course Arteta.
The twitter handle is linked to the names, so please feel free to shout them out.
Q1) When did you start supporting and what made you start supporting Arsenal?
Seeman:- While I’ve loved playing football since I was little, I wasn’t much acquainted with European football, probably like any other Asian kid. It was the PC games that ignited my love for Arsenal. Yes, we do not have parents who grew up supporting football clubs. The 2010 World Cup got into my head and I borrowed the EURO 08 from a person who is also an Arsenal fan. After playing FIFA at my friend’s a couple of times, I went on to buy my first FIFA game – FIFA 12. It may sound a bit funny but Arsenal was the first team that popped up when I signed in and I chose them. Soon, I started talking with my school friends about my adventures in the manager mode which in turn grew my interest in club football. The more I watched Arsenal and learned about their style of play, I became more passionate about Arsenal there on.
San:- I have been supporting Arsenal since 2004 when I was barely 6 years old. My father is a big football fan and used to, still watches all Premier League matches. I got fond of Arsenal while watching them play really fluid football. The style of play, slick one touch passing caught my eye. I loved Arsene and will always. Him and players like Henry, Bergkamp, Vieira and Pires played a huge part in me becoming a Gooner.
Ash:- My first memory of Arsenal was from hearing my cousins talk about the club. I’d listen to them discuss about Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie, and it really got me interested. One could argue that if it weren’t for my family, I’d have never been introduced to this club; and they would be right. Arsenal fans are extremely rare where I’m from.
But although I thought Arsenal were a really amazing club, it was only around the age of 8 that I had started to label myself as an Arsenal fan. It was around the same time that I received my first ever Arsenal kit — 07/08 home kit with Fabregas on the back.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I was an Arsenal fan purely due to Fabregas. Ultimately, I grew out of that fanboy phase and now I can say supporting the club means more to me than supporting specific players.
Suyash:- Back when I was 9 years old, we used to get holiday homework where we had to write five sports news, five international news and five national news daily, and back then, there was only one football team who was on the backpages of all the newspapers and that was Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal. That’s how I came to know about arsenal and have been supporting the gunners for about 15 years now. Red being my favourite colour just made me fall in love more with the team. I’ve seen the highs (very few) and seen the lows(way too much for a lifetime) and if I had to relive it all over again, I’d do it all in a heartbeat.
Sahil:- Since 2006. I was a casual football fan back then because I wasn’t acquainted with any Premier League team but then I saw United’s game vs Arsenal at Old Trafford which we won 1-0 and I was in awe. Then I started watching more Arsenal games, learnt about our rich history and then I felt connected with the club. Since then I have been a gooner.
Marco:- I had never been a fan of football or any sports for that matter, but all of my friends were obsessed with it at school so I decided to give it a watch. in late 2009, I started out watching random matches with zero knowledge of how the game worked. After about 2 months of this I started to hear certain names over and over again, such as; Wenger, Rooney, Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, Van Persie etc, but the one name that nobody would stop talking about was Wenger. Eventually I decided to do my own research online about Arsene Wenger & the rest is history. At this point the 2009/10 season is nearly over, but this was when I was actively seeking out Arsenal matches instead of just watching them randomly. From 2010-2012 I spent almost all of my time watching Arsenal highlights & learning about all the trophies we’d won in the past. I’ve been just as obsessed ever since.
Q2) How has being in different time zones affected you in terms of following the club and watching matches? Have you ruined your sleep cycle watching Arsenal?
Seeman:- Sometimes, watching late-night matches may also involve an uncalled argument with our Indian parents who are evidently nosy. Also, we cannot rule out the fact that stay up late certainly strikes the health in one or the other way but it hasn’t been able to lessen the addiction to date.
I have spent a lot of nights watching Arsenal play but saying that it ruined my sleep cycle is a tad bit too harsh. It’s just a decision we make driven by our passion to watch them play no matter how the match may end up like.
San:- Yes, time zones are entirely different as Early kickoff in UK is late night and late kickoff in UK is early morning in Asia. Luckily for me there are lot of Arsenal fans in Asia especially Singapore. We used watch matches together, we had sleepovers for big games and discussed about the match next day at school.
Ash:- The thing about living in Asia as a Premier League viewer is not the timing own its own, but rather the nature of Asian parents. I found out that it was more difficult to convince my father to let me stay up to watch a Champions League match than the process of actually staying up past 3:30 in the morning. That being said, Arsenal have absolutely devastated my sleep cycle over the years. I have stayed up past three in the morning only to watch us lose to the likes of AS Monaco and more recently, Olympiakos. I have no qualms about losing sleep to watch this club play, but over the years heading back to bed with a dreaded sense of disappointment has definitely been something I’m still learning to deal with.
Suyash:- The night when Auba scored that hat trick at Mestella against Valencia in Europa league, I slept at 4:30AM while being completely aware that I had to reach office a little early to attend a client meeting at 8 AM the very next morning. So you can just imagine how Arsenal affects my life personally and professionally (if you may). When I used to live with my parents, I had to plead them every other CL night to let me watch Arsenal play. So yeah, I’ve ruined my sleep cycle, semester exams in college and early morning client meetings to watch Arsenal.
Sahil:- Living in different time zone has been a challenge for us since years especially during our UCL and UEL nights. Also the disappointment that follows after our terrible nights is an added challenge. Although we don’t want sympathy for living in different time zone. We ruin our sleep cycles because for the love of the club. It only hurts when some local fans don’t consider us “real fans” just because we haven’t watched a game at Emirates.
Marco:- Being a Canadian Arsenal fan isn’t too bad honestly. The UK is 5 hours ahead of where I live in Toronto so most matches on weekends air at anywhere from 7:00am-2:00pm. I realize that I’m very lucky to have this luxury because I’ve heard of people in Asia having to wake up at ungodly hours of the morning. In fact, the most annoying thing about the time zone difference only exists because we’re in the Europa League. I hate watching Arsenal at 3:30pm on a Thursday. It just doesn’t feel normal.
Q3) What are your thoughts on xenophobia against foreign Arsenal fans by a small section of local fans?
Seeman:- Twitter has given me a chance to interact with a lot of people from around the world and that’s when I came across some people who weren’t exactly content with the involvement of a remotely located fan like me. It didn’t have a drastic impact on me, personally but I do register it as a major issue. While I respect the fact that such fans may have their reasons for such alien behaviour, its dodgy in an era wherein the world is extremely interconnected. I generally go about such situations by letting such folks know about how Arsenal is an international institution and the values our club stands for. Football being a globally celebrated sport shouldn’t be limited to the boundaries of some countries or continents. Hopefully, a better mindset would prevail.
San:- First of all I would like to start with “Arsenal is a global club based in London”. We have fans all over the world and the reason why it’s global is because of us. If only going to stadium makes you an Arsenal fan then there will be only 60,000 Arsenal fans. Going to stadium is good, we all wish to be at Emirates every match but we can’t so we watch the games on TV, live stream and stuff. Being in London makes you lucky that’s all. I know an Arsenal fan who’s family are season ticket holders who relocated to Singapore and called me plastic, I never reacted. Karma works in it’s own ways, Arsenal came to Singapore. I was in the second row during match whereas he didn’t get ticket to see our club play.
Ash:- My first interaction with English fans was most definitely over Twitter. It’s a great platform for a community to interact within itself and with big names of said community. Majority of the fans I’ve come across are very respectful and appreciate the support their clubs receive from across the world. I have experienced xenophobic attacks as an Indian. There used to be a time on Twitter when all of my tweets would be received with replies that said “p*ki” or “curry muncher”. I couldn’t count the number of times I’ve been told to support the clubs of my “slum country”.It was extremely difficult dealing with such remarks and responses and what it made me realise is that once you’ve taken them seriously, they’ve already won. It’s best to ignore them rather than engaging them.
Suyash:- when I get into some kind of debate under an Arsenal tweet, not long goes by when some person comes up with the term “foreign fan” and the phrase “support your local”. They have this belief that my views and opinions don’t count because I’m from India. Why this entitlement? Why do people who are privileged to go to the “Emirates stadium” (named on a foreign company), support the greatest manager the club ever had (a foreigner) and have the name of the greatest striker in the PL era (again, a foreigner) on the back of their home kit feel entitled to call others out who aren’t born in the UK? All fans are equal in my opinion. I simply reply saying if you have so much problem with “foreign fans” then please don’t celebrate the “foreign” goals scored by Auba, the “foreign” tackles made by Guendouzi, cheer the “foreign” long balls of Xhaka and an incredible one on one “foreign” save by Leno. Show some respect to the values and ethics which Arsene has instilled in the club for 22 long years. Be a better human being and a more inclusive person if you call yourself a fan of the beautiful game.
Sahil:- As I said in the above point that it hurts when they dont consider us as Arsenal fans because we havent watched a game at emirates. Also we cant deny the existence of Xenophobia and racism it does exists. We have been called curry munchers and pakis so many times. Although it doesnt hurt that much but it really shows how it is ingrained in some of the local fans to think they are superior than other fans because they are season ticket holders.
Marco:- If you’re someone who thinks a foreign fan can’t support an English football club because they don’t live next to the stadium, just know you haven’t managed to stop me in 10 years, so you’re not doing a great job. This xenophobic attitude used to be everywhere on twitter back when I first started using twitter for football news in 2013. People used to say that because I’m Canadian, I don’t understand football, don’t actually care about Arsenal, don’t watch Arsenal & I’m not a real fan because I haven’t been to the Emirates. I used to go out of my way to throw obscure stats at people about Arsenal just to prove that I was a real fan but people would never accept me. Since then, I’ve realized that I don’t have to prove anything to strangers on the internet & that the people who were saying “support ya local” have no authority over anything. In 2020, people have gotten a lot better about it though, you won’t run into it very often. That’s my advice for dealing with people who try to tell you that you’re not a fan, just tell them that their opinion is meaningless. Trust me, they really don’t like that one 😉 Or if you just can’t be bothered, just don’t tell people where you’re from, there are many ways around it.
Q4) What do you think Arsenal can do better to involve foreign fans more?
Seeman:- From seasonal tours to promoting football in the weaker sections of the society, Arsenal is already doing a great job when it comes to interacting with the fans, globally. One feature that I strongly suggest even though it may not be as feasible is the arrangement of regular and official screenings for games specifically in the metropolitan cities. A country like the one I live in has evolved quite fast in terms of footballing eco-system, recently and there’s an evident surge in the number of people who follow Arsenal.
San:- Arsenal should visit our countries often, not the players but someone from Arsenal should visit us regularly, there should be a connection between Arsenal fan club in our country to theirs. Maybe they can offer us a chance to visit Emirates, not to everyone but to two or three people every season. That will do wonders to both the club and fans.
Ash:- A place where they could start is social media. It could be everything from increasing Twitter interactions to sending short emails to fans registered on Arsenal.com from players and the manager from time-to-time. Foreign fans almost always spend their lives not being able to afford seeing the players and home grounds of the clubs they support, so small gestures like this could go a long way.
Although this may sound far-fetched, there could be a monthly random winner from outside the UK who gets invited to the Emirates for a stadium tour or match. We know Arsenal are not a club in a financial cesspool, so affordability of one fan/family per month shouldn’t be a problem.
Suyash:- Arsenal have acknowledged their fans and interacted with various fan clubs all over the world. They are one of the most interactive clubs in the world who keep in touch with their fans and give so many chances for foreign fans to interact with the players and participate in some lucky draws as well as meet and greets. They have even organised few grassroots sessions as well as touched upon various social topics through football which is just heartwarming. What I feel the next step is to organise a pre season tour in different countries every year and not stick to the same venues over and over again. This would give the fans a chance (who don’t have the financial means to travel to UK and watch them play at home) to watch their beloved club in their country. This would be a huge boost to the morale of the club supporters and their dream of watching Arsenal right in front of their eyes, in a stadium, in their country, will come true.
Sahil:- Player Interactions with fans all around the world. Fans connect with the clubs for its values and football. Players are the face of the club. More they interact with fans,more will be the exposure of club. Dying to watch arsenal play in Mumbai someday.
Marco:- If they can get players to interact with foreign fans more it would be great. Some of us would probably never get a chance to watch them live so a video call or a message would be really good.
Q5) What are your thoughts on Özil. Do you think he is unfairly criticized?
Seeman:- Özil can be seen from three different perspectives in my opinion. The first one in which we count in everything that he has achieved so far in his career, the second one which is biased i.e. a fanboy’s point of view and the last one which only includes his recent staging. I believe that his performances haven’t justified his wages of late. The managerial alterations and the overall team performance haven’t helped his case much either. However, like for several other players, I’m a bit optimistic about him ever since Arteta arrived and I’m thrilled to see him play as we gradually move towards his career’s end at Arsenal. I condemn the abuse he often receives from some fans. No player deserves something like that.
San:- I am an Ozil fan like all of us. Everyone is an Ozil fan who has been impressed by him in the past some accept it, some deny it. Ozil is the scapegoat of our club, he may be past his prime but he’s the best and the face of our club. Everyone says he’s overpaid, yes but he does so much philanthropy which doesn’t get talked about.You won’t believe me, the whole stadium gave a standing ovation when Ozil stepped on the pitch here in Singapore. That tells about him, he’s a brand.
Ash:- Talking specifically about Mesut Özil, there’s no doubt that he’s faced unfair criticism. In his case, we’ve seen instances where former players and pundits have said things about him that are borderline slanderous. Özil in his prime was the biggest catalyst to the end of Arsenal’s trophy draught and gave us 4 world-class seasons unlike many who claim he was only good during 15/16. There’s no doubt that Özil has declined poorly compared to most players. There have been games where he genuinely looked bored or lazy and given us poor performances. But that’s every player in the history of the game. It’s time we replace him with a young playmaker suited for the modern game. With his retirement, we’ll witness the death of the No. 10 role but Ozil will go down as the greatest to play that role without a doubt.
Suyash:- Its no secret that there has been a slump in Özil’s form in the last few years. 4 assists in the last 2 years are just not good enough for someone of his caliber. That sharpness and that cutting edge has taken a hit but that spark is still there. He is still a generational playmaker and we may not see a player of his vision anytime soon. He still makes the team tick. Looking at his last few games under Arteta, there have been signs of revival. I’m a huge Özil fan and The day we signed Özil was probably one of the happiest day of an Arsenal supporter. But I feel he is at times unfairly criticised by fans and the media outlets. He is a global brand and therefore more susceptible to criticism and I harsh treatments. Be it for Germany NT or Arsenal, he is the first one on whom the vultures attack. The club has had a bad season, no question about it, but putting the entire blame on someone is plain wrong. He has not performed at the level we know he has set for himself and is capable of for a few years but so has the entire club. He stayed with us when it all seemed like we were in a sinking ship and gave his prime years to us. Being pragmatic, I believe we should let him go after this season and look for someone young with similar profile to fill in the boots (hopefully).
Sahil:- Ozil’s arsenal career can be categorised into two parts. Pre-Alexis’s departure and Post-Alexis’s departure. He had a magical partnership with Alexis and club got benefitted by it. Workhorse in Sanchez complemented the lazy elegance of Ozil. But since Alexis left Ozil hasn’t been the same mentally. I don’t see him as committed as before. His drive to play for this club hasn’t been the same. Our fans defend his run of bad period, which has been going on so long, on managerial changes. But that’s not actually the case. He has been simply ineffective. I like him as a player but he is no longer the old Ozil. If a club comes in for him in the summer, I will sell him with my eyes closed.
Marco:- I have the utmost respect for Mesut Ozil’s past as a footballer. He’s easily the best CAM of modern football & one of the most talented players we have at Arsenal. I also believe that he did perfectly fine at the club up until he signed that infamous 350k a week contract in January of 2018. Since then however, he hasn’t been anywhere near good enough. The simple facts are that he’s contributed 4 assists since signing that contract which is unacceptable for a supposedly top class attacking midfielder. The debate around Mesut has been beaten to death at this point & in all honesty I don’t see the point in discussing it anymore. Regardless of what you think about Ozil’s past, he IS NOT good enough presently nor will he be good enough next season.
Q6) What are your thoughts on Luiz. Do we keep or sell him ?
Seeman:- Luiz was brought in at a moment when we lost an established talisman in Koscielny. He does have a mistake in him but he brings in a winning mindset that our management often talks about. We also have very good depth in terms of defenders in the squad currently with Saliba coming in very soon and having good squad depth is an essential part of modern football as I see it. With all due respect to him, Luiz’s Greek counterpart is more vulnerable to an exit this summer. We should definitely keep David given his commendable partnership with Mustafi under Arteta.
San:- We should keep him as he’s got loads of experience and he’s the best CB we have. He would be such a good mentor to Saliba.
Ash:- I was very skeptical when I heard news of David Luiz being close to joining Arsenal.But when he signed for us, I decided to give him a chance and support him. And to my surprise, he actually impressed me and easily became our best centre-back. I would personally keep Luiz purely due to the fact that we have defenders who are more disposable in Sokratis and a couple of others. And although age is a big factor, he has shown he can offer his services for another season. Moreover, he’s one of the few leaders at the Emirates right now. That being said, the Brazilian is not indispensable himself.
Suyash:- I’ve been a huge Luiz fan . I’ve always loved Luiz’s personality, his leadership attributes, experience and his rocket of a right foot. But do I really want to see an ageing David Luiz start for Arsenal every week? The answer is sadly, a huge NO. If we are planning to challenge for the top 4 next season, I don’t believe making him a first choice CB is the right way forward. He is definitely a great squad player who brings a lot to the table but sadly, he is way past his prime. He has been one of the players who has consistently been error prone and his mistakes have lead us to concede some insensible goals. His reading of the game is still great but leaking silly goals and committing errors has been his shortfall in the game.
Sahil:- Keep him. We haven’t bought another cb yet and there are reports of sokratis leaving. Will be a really disastrous decision at the moment if we sell him unless we are buy another CB. Luiz clearly past his best but still is the best defender we have at the moment. Plus if he stays, he will help Saliba grow. We should keep him for another year atleast according to me.
Marco:- While I accept that he can pass a ball very well & is useful for launching counter attacks, Luiz is very poor defensively.David Luiz has always been that type of player, especially in his latter years, to lose concentration when it matters most. We should look at moving him on without a doubt.
Q7) A player we should go for and who would cost us under £20mil
Seeman:- Lorenzo Pellegrini. He’s reportedly valued at around €32.00m but if included in the swap deal with Mkhitaryan, he’d easily fit the bill. He’s got age on his side and I firmly believe that we need to address Özil’s position as soon as possible considering he would be on his way out within a season or two. The 23-year-old has been able to bag in 8 assists in the Serie A this season and sits third in the table of leaders with comparatively lesser games than the ones above him. He also has a history of scoring goals. Still, the player wants to leave Italy or not is a story for another day.
San:- Loan back Aaron Ramsey and pay him 20mn as salary. On a serious note, Dominik Szoboszlai who would be available for same price. and he is the one we should be looking for.
Ash:- Saint Etienne’s Wesley Fofana. He’s a young and versatile player we should definitely be looking at. Fofana can comfortably play as a centre-back and in midfield at the age of just 19. His only real weakness (although not a by a great deal) seems to be his long balls and progressive passing, which can only be improved when his age is considered. He looks to be a smart buy for around 20mil.
Suyash:- I don’t know why but I’m willing to gamble on Mario Götze. He is just 27 and has a lot more years left in him. He is also a free agent after this season and he would be such an incredible asset to the team. He still has a long career to go and his talent in undeniably second to none at some level. He has everything going for him if we look from a career point of view. He has a chance to become even a club legend if he sticks with us for a long time. I really believe he would be an incredible addition to the team.
Sahil:- Sandro Tonali or Marc Roca.
Marco:- Dominik Szoboszlai for me. He would fit our system.
Q8) What formation do you see us playing next season ?
Seeman:- 4-3-3 is very apt reckoning the kind of midfielders we presently have in our squad and we may see Arteta using it in full swing. Torreira was very successful when played at the base for Sampdoria and his national side. Tierney, who’d imminently make his way back in the team, might as well allow Xhaka more freedom centrally if sided with an industrial partner. This would not only enhance our midfield in terms of physicality but could also create more room for creativity through the midfield which we’ve often lacked in, lately where our strikers get isolated from the run of play leaving them with no support whatsoever.
San:- I can see Arteta shifting to 4-3-3 formation given with the players we have been linked are CM and DMs. I know we have Ozil and his best position is AM but Ozil might be used like David Silva in 4-3-3 formation. Post Ozil, it’s 4-3-3 for sure.
Ash:- Seeing Mikel Arteta is slowly integrating Pep Guardiola’s tactics into his own philosophy, I would say 4-3-3 whenever Özil is not starting. I really hope Arsenal sign a progressive No. 8 like Lorenzo Pellegrini so that we can finally ditch the No. 10 role which is no longer 100% effective in modern football. However, seeing that Arteta seems to have given the German a clean slate since his arrival, I would stay he will stick to 4-2-3-1 should Özil remain as a starter next season.
Suyash:- First things first, Auba is not a winger and Lacazette hasn’t delivered what was expected of him in all these years at Arsenal. I’ll be going with a formation involving only current players in the squad. My idea would be to play with a 4-2-3-1 formation with an attacking mindset. I would want the wingers to run the channels, wingbacks to support the runs and put crosses in the box.
Sahil:- Arteta effectively used 4-2-3-1 formation when he arrived with atleast one full back running on flanks predominantly saka on left and it worked like a charm. Will he go back to 4-3-3 next season is a matter up for debate and would be clear after acquisition of our transfer targets.
Marco:- I would like to see Arsenal line up with a 4-3-3 with a flat midfield. I don’t rate Ozil & he won’t be fit for 38 games next season, should we build the team around him, we will end up struggling even more so without him. I’d like to see Partey & Szoboszlai come into the club to play in a 3 alongside Xhaka. Our midfield is a weak point in our squad, so a well balanced 3 man midfield should theoretically do wonders for us. I think Saka, Aubameyang/Martinelli & Pepe should start up front as they are our best forward options by far. In terms of defense, should we sign Upamecano as reports are suggesting, I’d love to see a back 4 of Tierny, Saliba, Upamecano & Bellerin.
Q9) Unbiased thoughts on Arteta.
Seeman:- Arteta’s proposition is very debatable. His past of being an Arsenal player offers passion but a little to no managerial experience is what makes some ponder. He has brought in new energy in the team which was somewhat missing at the end of his predecessor’s reign at our club. Moreover, he has improved our team in terms of defending and that is one of the things that makes me very optimistic about him. He may lose some games in the coming time but we’ll need to be patient with him and with the right backing, I can see him succeeding at the club. I would say, be excited.
San:- I wanted Arteta post Arsene Wenger that doesn’t mean I didn’t want Unai Emery, Unai was good but sadly things didn’t turn out the way we planned. Arteta knows the club in an out, worked under Pep who is one of the best and our footballing philosophies are similar as well. He is my only hope at Arsenal and I am sure he will take this club to glory but he must be backed by the board to achieve if not we are setting him for a failure which we don’t want.
Ash:- There’s no doubt that Mikel is still a rookie as a head coach, but he represents everything Arsenal are about and everything Arsene Wenger stood for. There was an identity struggle at Arsenal under Unai Emery’s reign. Emery left the club in a bigger mess than it was during the final days under Arsene. Mikel came in and has offered all the players a clean slate and has shown genuine and significant improvement. If I were to be honest, it’s not much but it’s definitely a step in the right direction. I think all supporters including me share the feeling that Arteta could be successful at this club
Suyash:- The victory against United and that 4-0 drubbing of Newcastle have made me believe in Arteta. No doubt he is at the helm of such a demanding club, I believe at the moment, he is the right man to take us forward. He has been Pep’s apprentice for quite some time, who is a legendary figure in football management and has also played under several managers including our very own Le Prof. If he is able to apply his His varied and vast knowledge and philosophy of the game which he has got from such geniuses to Arsenal’s gameplay, I believe we have struck gold. We can see from his initial games what he wants from the players and the team. His philosophy is visible and his ideas need time to be implemented. That loss against Chelsea at home was painful for initial few hours but when I started to look at the positives from it, I feel we were headed in the right direction.
Sahil:- I was skeptical when we decided to appoint him as a manager over a seasoned and experience one but he has changed my mind with various tweaks that he has applied to the squad and the results are their to see. We have been simply better defensively. The organisation of the team has improved compared to what we had under Emery. The morale is boosted,the passing is slick and most importantly we have got rid of constant negativity around the club.
Marco:- I love Arteta & I hope he succeeds but I can’t see him lasting past 2022. There are a few reasons but it mainly comes down to; he might not be properly backed in the window, he’s very inexperienced & our competition just keeps getting stronger. We saw what happened to Unai Emery & granted they are completely different scenarios, but Unai wasn’t backed in the summer of 2019. He wasn’t able to get Zaha or any of the other players he wanted, which was a factor to our collapse earlier this season. Should Arteta have the same problem, it could go even farther south for us.
Q10) What is the one thing a rival club(Any PL club) is doing and you would love to see it being implemented at Arsenal.
Seeman:- Leicester City’s success often baffles me and it’s admirable the way they’ve been able to establish themselves as one of the stronger sides in the Premier League. They lost several players after their title-winning campaign but they gained a lot monetarily from those departures which they were able to use in constructing another team with some smart business in the market. Arsenal’s recent history of letting players run down their contracts doesn’t go down well with anyone who thinks well for the club and this is an aspect where we, as a club, can take a lesson from Leicester.
San:- I would like us to spend, I would want us to be more aggressive in everything we do to go back on the top. United, Chelsea are making sure they back their manager, give him everything, want us to win everything and to be that we need to be aggressive
Ash:- I can’t seem to choose between Liverpool’s wage structure and how Manchester City handle transfers.
I’ve always hated how Arsenal have historically sold its stars to generate funds — funds that never matched the players’ true value. If you look at City, ever since they rose to success, they’ve never been a selling club nor have they been bullied into an unfavourable deal. That’s something I’m very envious about.
On the other hand, Arsenal have struggled with overpaying players. Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Özil, Sead Kolasinac, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, David Luiz etc. are all on wage bills that can be considered over the limit of what they deserve. If you look at Liverpool’s highest paid players, probably only Mohamad Salah makes it into top 3 highest paid on Arsenal’s bill.
Suyash:- On top of my mind, I can’t think of anything what other clubs are doing that should be implemented at Arsenal right now. Would just say the manager needs to be backed by the board in the transfer market like some of our rivals back their managers.
Sahil:- I just want our owners to spend some money on the club out of their pocket like our rival clubs for example City, Chelsea and Machester United do, to get back at the top and buy premium talents out there.
Marco:- I think Arsenal should take a page out of Chelsea’s book when it comes to our transfer policy. We are way too slow to get transfers completed & we’ve missed out on countless players over the years because we were dithering. Chelsea are quick & ruthless with the signings they make. In fairness we have gotten a little better at this since Raul’s introduction to the club’s hierarchy.
Football is a sport watched all over the world. It captures people’s emotions and doesn’t let it go easily. The truth is, global sport is here to stay and foreign fans have contributed a lot towards its progress. Sure not all fans look down upon foreign fans but one rotten apple spoils the entire basket. It is time to change the mentality towards foreign fans and hope it happens sooner than later.
Thanks a lot for your time.
