The rollercoaster that is being a Gooner

I have been an Arsenal fan for about 13 years now. Now, let’s understand that such a long time has given me the chance to see the team grow, especially after the ‘youth’ system brought in by our very own Mr. Arsene Wenger. I saw them reach their pinnacle with the sublime ‘Invincibles’ and endured them when they hit rock bottom in this season’s match against Manchester United. That does cover the entire spectrum, in more ways than one.

Supporting Arsenal was a choice I made illogically; I may have loved the camera angle that died with the Highbury. No one can forget the small stadium, with nothing but a little patch of strip separating the fans from the action. Countless players have had momentum carry them over into the sea of supporters, and quite a few have a story or two with the beloved Highbury.

Backing up to the time of Mr. George Graham, Arsenal were called boring. That is when the chant ‘One nil to the Arsenal’ actually came from. But a certain Frenchman came along, bought a couple of spectacular Frenchmen with him, and that lit the fireworks. By the way, Henry and Anelka have since moved on to, what is typically referred to as, greener pasture.

As I was saying, the unbeaten season took my breath away. And who can forget the yellow jerseys pouring over a pale Nistelrooy running for his life after he missed a penalty in the dying moments of the clash. So it was decided, a Gooner I shall be. But how many people actually deliberate over whom they’ll support. Not most Manchester United fans for sure, but who can blame them. A winning team is the team to put your money on, be it on skybet or your nearest Nike outlet.

Now being an Arsenal fans brings with it a lot of baggage. Growing up, I was part of a football team that was built purely on the basis of the apartment block we lived in. And I was the only one out of the sixteen people who liked the Gunners. So flak was thrown fast and hard, and every loss or draw saw an evening filled with ridicule. I stuck by, they didn’t know what they were talking about I said.

I and my friends play quite a lot of FIFA. I always end up choosing other teams like Inter Milan or Manchester City, mainly because I don’t want to risk a loss to Manchester United, even virtually. Now isn’t that a true fan! Or maybe I just suck at playing FIFA.

Coming back, Arsenal have forever been a part of my prayers, more so recently. The rigid Wenger has shooed off any talks of buying, even after losing the crux of his team in Nasri and Fabregas. The 8-2 loss helped him get some perspective and loosened the strings of his bulging purse.

Now we have players that can and should fill the boots of the class gone by. And by class, I mean the team we finished the last season with; the ‘Invincibles’ are sadly also the irreplaceables. We bought some decent footballers, but the season was still a question mark. We did finish at third place, but for me, that is two places too low. Podolski is now coming in, but that doesn’t wipe off the talk of RVP leaving. We want an additional striker please, not a replacement.

I will forever hang on to the memory of that one season which saw us go unbeaten, right until our arch nemesis brought it to a grinding halt at 49 matches. It was sad, yes, but 49 is just 51 short of a hundred.

Only an optimist can be a Gooner, or someday, somewhere, a padded cell awaits you.