supporting arsenal
i have been supporting arsenal since 1996. more than half my life. probably for the rest of my life.
i have been thinking.
for a season where we are supposed to drop out of the top 4, we have started well. we go into international week 5 points behind chelsea with a game in hand, level on points with manchester united, ahead on goal difference and with a game in hand.
we have scored freely, but have gifted away soft goals. the latter must change.
nick hornby said recently that arsenal fans are spoilt, because of the kind of football they watch week in, week out. indeed, if you watch arsenal play, and you watch other games, you start wondering why do you even bother.
nick hornby wrote fever pitch, an autobiography based on his relationship with arsenal. it is a book i would like to read, but i fear it is a book i may not identify with, because the arsenal hornby grew up with, and the arsenal i grew up with are essentially different teams.
i have been watching old arsenal clips. the previous teams of arsene wenger. past players like tony adams, patrick vieira, marc overmars, dennis bergkamp, thierry henry, gilberto silva, robert pires, freddy ljungberg.
it brings back so many memories.
football has changed alot. football will continue to change. whether for better or worse.
i think people tend to look back on the football they saw when they were young, and talk about the good old days. and the teams of arsene wenger will be teams i talk about when i grow old.
you know, arsene wenger won't be around forever. he will leave a legacy behind. a legacy that i pray will withstand the test of time.
because if i have kids, there is only one team they will support, and that is arsenal football club. and i hope the arsenal they will be watching will be the team that plays football, like the team today.
have you ever watched arsenal play?
i think people who write off, who belittle arsenal don't understand what arsenal is about.
go watch arsenal play.
it is a joy, a love, a belief, a philosophy, a way of life.
as nick hornby said: people who don't enjoy arsenal's football can't really like football very much.
my top 5 arsenal moments
october 23, 1999
nwankwo kanu's last minute winner from a tight angle, completing his 15-minute hattrick and the 3-2 comeback victory over chelsea at stamford bridge.
march 2,2002
newcastle 0-2 arsenal
pires pass, bergkamp's flick, goal. voted by arsenal fans as the greatest goal.
april 9, 2004
a thierry henry-inspired comeback against liverpool in 2004. we were watching the game at wei ming's place. arsenal were down 2-1 at half-time. henry got his second with a solo goal, then completed his hattrick as arsenal won 4-2.
april 1, 2006
arsenal 5-0 aston villa.
it was the season of contrast. we would reach the champs league final in paris, but on the domestic front, it was a disaster. although we recorded big wins like this. our inconsistency had cost us.
van persie's goal was wicked. it seemed as though he had taken the ball too far, but a defender slipped, and somehow he left the keeper flapping at thin air as he toyed with the keeper before blasting the ball home.
january 22, 2007
arsenal 2-1 manchester united 1
83rd minute, cross sent in, henry flicked the ball under his foot to the back post, van persie arrived and slammed the ball in.
thierry henry would rise to head home a cross in the last minute to seal the victory.
i have been thinking.
for a season where we are supposed to drop out of the top 4, we have started well. we go into international week 5 points behind chelsea with a game in hand, level on points with manchester united, ahead on goal difference and with a game in hand.
we have scored freely, but have gifted away soft goals. the latter must change.
nick hornby said recently that arsenal fans are spoilt, because of the kind of football they watch week in, week out. indeed, if you watch arsenal play, and you watch other games, you start wondering why do you even bother.
nick hornby wrote fever pitch, an autobiography based on his relationship with arsenal. it is a book i would like to read, but i fear it is a book i may not identify with, because the arsenal hornby grew up with, and the arsenal i grew up with are essentially different teams.
i have been watching old arsenal clips. the previous teams of arsene wenger. past players like tony adams, patrick vieira, marc overmars, dennis bergkamp, thierry henry, gilberto silva, robert pires, freddy ljungberg.
it brings back so many memories.
football has changed alot. football will continue to change. whether for better or worse.
i think people tend to look back on the football they saw when they were young, and talk about the good old days. and the teams of arsene wenger will be teams i talk about when i grow old.
you know, arsene wenger won't be around forever. he will leave a legacy behind. a legacy that i pray will withstand the test of time.
because if i have kids, there is only one team they will support, and that is arsenal football club. and i hope the arsenal they will be watching will be the team that plays football, like the team today.
have you ever watched arsenal play?
i think people who write off, who belittle arsenal don't understand what arsenal is about.
go watch arsenal play.
it is a joy, a love, a belief, a philosophy, a way of life.
as nick hornby said: people who don't enjoy arsenal's football can't really like football very much.
my top 5 arsenal moments
october 23, 1999
nwankwo kanu's last minute winner from a tight angle, completing his 15-minute hattrick and the 3-2 comeback victory over chelsea at stamford bridge.
march 2,2002
newcastle 0-2 arsenal
pires pass, bergkamp's flick, goal. voted by arsenal fans as the greatest goal.
april 9, 2004
a thierry henry-inspired comeback against liverpool in 2004. we were watching the game at wei ming's place. arsenal were down 2-1 at half-time. henry got his second with a solo goal, then completed his hattrick as arsenal won 4-2.
april 1, 2006
arsenal 5-0 aston villa.
it was the season of contrast. we would reach the champs league final in paris, but on the domestic front, it was a disaster. although we recorded big wins like this. our inconsistency had cost us.
van persie's goal was wicked. it seemed as though he had taken the ball too far, but a defender slipped, and somehow he left the keeper flapping at thin air as he toyed with the keeper before blasting the ball home.
january 22, 2007
arsenal 2-1 manchester united 1
83rd minute, cross sent in, henry flicked the ball under his foot to the back post, van persie arrived and slammed the ball in.
thierry henry would rise to head home a cross in the last minute to seal the victory.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home