Guest Post by @GBVishJourno
Have you sat down to watch the Africa Cup of Nations this year? No, not just sit in front of a computer and spool through YouTube clips but actually turn on the television and watch ninety minutes of African football.
Well I have, but you don’t need to watch the tournament to know that Gervinho has scored two magnificent goals for Cote d’Ivoire in the Group Stages: one a late winner to seal three points in his side’s opener against Togo, the other a lovely give-and-go between himself and Lacina Traore to open the scoring against Tunisia.
Both goals were expertly taken, beautifully crafted and probably the most important goals of the two games the Ivorians have so far played at the time of writing. A late, late winner always bursts the bubble of pressure that encapsulates players and an opening goal gives a team both comfort on and off the ball.
But why has he scored such magnificent goals for his national team? Wearing an orange shirt is no indication to that. Representing your country does not guarantee you a better performance. It is because the fans are behind him. The nation as a whole wants him to play and therefore support him unconditionally.
But what about those at Arsenal? Can we honestly say we are always one hundred percent behind Gervais Yao Kouassi when he is in the scarlet and white of the Gunners? No. We can’t.
Or at least some of us can’t.
But it is not just Gervinho but a raft of other players who have been booed by some of the most fickle fans in the world of football – in my opinion – if not the most fickle. I can understand if a player doesn’t give it his all in a game and then receives stick for it, such as Andrei Arshavin failing to track back for the Gunners.
I happened to witness one such incident at the City of Manchester Stadium (it was still called that back then) when we spanked Roberto Mancini’s men 3-0. Dedryck Boyata had been sent off inside five minutes and Nasri, Song and Bendtner scored our goals.
Lukas Fabianski was in goal and I was in the first row behind the goalmouth. Throughout the game, the away fans continued to cheer him on. In front of me was not Lukas ‘Flappyhandski’, but an international goalkeeper who pulled off world-class saves time and time again.
My point is, certain sections of fans need to get behind players when they fail to deliver. They don’t just need our roaring adulation and rapturous applause when they are banging in the goals week in week out or effortlessly breaking up play at the other end of the pitch.
They need our support and our backing even more when they fail to deliver. When they are unable to find the back of the net or hold our rearguard successfully.
Unfortunately, the human mind tends to focus more on the negative than the positive side of things. Over time, this can take its toll on even the most resilient of individuals.
Marouane Chamakh was being praised to high heaven when he was leading the line for Arsenal, scoring at will and assisting freely. Much was made about how he offered us a Plan B and was an absolute steal since he had joined us for free. His name echoed throughout the Emirates when he scored those ten goals in the first half of 2010.
But less than six months later, the same group of fans called him horrible! How conveniently they forgot that he had barely played in those six months (or in the next season either). Suddenly, the striker who had earned us a Champions League place and a berth in the Carling Cup final was being derided.
Awful, they called the Moroccan. He was dead-wood, a useless player who didn’t deserve to pull on the Arsenal shirt. How many times had he played since the return of Robin van Persie? He’s scored four goals in that time, a decent return given the rarity of his appearances.
And what of little Andrei, who owned Anfield with those four goals and orchestrated some of the most crucial strikes for Arsenal Football Club. What about the equaliser against Everton, the opener against Aston Villa, the winner against Liverpool on his return to Anfield. The assists he so unselfishly contributed time and time again. He was lazy, they said. He refused to track back, they said.
He was played out of position, they never said. He was no longer the fulcrum of a team, they never said. The meerkat was ageing, they never said. He offered to play alone up front when no one else was available, they never said.
Arshavin dragged us to the Champions League places during the 2008-09 season, after we had lost Alexander Hleb, Mathieu Flamini and Gilberto Silva the previous season. Tomas Rosicky had been on the sidelines for more than a year then.
Sebastien Squillaci has also been barracked in the past. Answer me this, if you will. How many of the mistakes he actually made were actually his fault? Was the one against West Bromwich Albion where Manuel Almunia came galumphing forward his fault? Was the header which he directed away from his goal which unfortunately fell to Steven Sidwell his fault?
Yes, he did get sent off against Huddersfield Town and put through his own net at Wigan, but that can happen to any defender. He might not have adapted to the best of his ability to the premiership and reproduced the displays in La Liga and Ligue 1 that put him on our radar in the first place, but does that warrant the jeers and abuse?
And why, for the love of God why, was Aaron Ramsey booed? Are you actually booing the player who returned to the Arsenal fold after suffering a double leg break? In that case, why not boo Eduardo as well? Are you booing a player who lost his life-long mentor? Who was stripped of his nation’s captaincy? Who was played out of position at Arsenal? Who was within an inch of joining Manchester United after his parents had gone to Old Trafford first, only to find out that Sir Alex had gone on holiday?
Arsene left him and his parents flight tickets to Switzerland to meet him at the Emirates, and a deal was thrashed out over dinner that night.
Or are you booing Ramsey because he’s actually trying his damndest unlike Eduardo who sadly was left psychologically scarred by that incident at St. Andrews? In that case, you do not deserve to support Arsenal.
And that brings me to Arsene Wenger. He’s tried his best to manage the club with what resources he has, which are limited because of the move to the Emirates. Yet he has managed to deliver us Champions League football season after season after season. We accuse him of not buying, but has he not bought when was absolutely necessary? Has he not stuck with the club despite knowing the constraints moving to the Emirates would bring?
Then why is he barracked so much?
It’s easy to say ‘we want our Arsenal back’. It’s even easier to forget that it is Arsene who has built today’s Arsenal.
As Bill Shankly said,
“If you can’t support us when we lose or draw, don’t support us when we win.”
It is the players who convert draws and losses to wins. Remember that they are also human. They also need to feel reassured, loved and happy.
So get behind them so that they can make us feel the same way.
Positively Arsenal 
Utterly brilliant. The Shankly quote says it all.
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Wow, a really good article! The quote at the end sums it up perfectly. Thanks for the read.
I just found this blog after a link posted in North London is Red – http://northlondonisred.co.uk/monreal-renewed-positivity/
I have to say this is a really positive blog and its a pleasure reading the articles (have not read all of them yet though!) and the comments. I noticed that alot of the posters in the comments section also contribute on ACLF. I have often read the comments section of ACLF for the last 2 years or so and I learnt alot from the various knowledgeable posters, but what struck me as…I don’t know…eery perhaps – is that the posters on this blog – positivelyarsenal – are the ones I enjoyed reading and learning from most on the ACLF blog. I am not sure what the backstory is in regards to the creation of this blog, but I for one am really happy you guys have created this great forum for discussing Arsenal related topics in a positive environment.
I will probably not drop too many comments unless I have something to contribute, but I will definitely be reading all the articles and posts in the comments section. Keep up the good work and the good fight and all the best from Sydney.
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In all the recent hullabaloo ,I forgot to mention that Andrei is still with us.
Does anyone know the thinking behind the timing of substitutions.?
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Top stuff. Sad that we need someone to constantly remind our fans about the past.
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very good. i heard yesterday on the fox soccer commentary that there were quite a few empty seats, i was hoping for a big win. just to show it to those people- what a show you are missing out on because you don’t have the guts to be there week in week out. just to teach them a lesson on supporting.
in the end, the 3 pts was most impt. especially when chelsea lost, and everton drew. now just for wba to get their season back on track today 🙂
i am sure there will be many more times when we will destroy opponents when our fans are sulking over god-knows-what.
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george, i think 60th or 70th minute makes sense. i think you want to give the players a chance to make things right. wenger has always been about protecting the players’ confidence.
another logic is that the subs can prob up their intensity when they play for only 20minutes… although the common complaint is that there is too little time…
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As Robert Duvall might have said, I love the smell of burning orc in the morning.
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I’m guessing that it was the physio’s stopwatch that made the call on the substitutions?
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excellent! i admire the structure and patience in writting that…i usually go the other way…i dont feel it as necessary to explain the self-explanatory to fickle idiots, so i mock them for their mental weakness and general ingratitude.
a level headed healthy-minded arsenal who knows what we are trying to do and what we are up against, cant have any complaints.
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Vish – With the exception of Ramsey, all the players you mention happen to be non-British. It is the big elephant in the room which many bloggers refuse to acknowledge. I suspect the impatience and often poisonous attitude towards foreign players who are struggling has contributed to Wenger’s emphasis on a British core. I have often said Ramsey is lucky he isn’t Brazillian. Despite the boos and jeers they were muted when compared to a certain other midfielder now on loan. The player himself kept working and persevering with Wenger nursing him back into the team. Now Ramsey is a vital back up to Arteta.
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I wish I’d written that – excellent
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I like Gervais and don’t understand the hostility/apathy towards him. I posted about him on another blog when he scored in last year’s AFCON, but people weren’t interested. His compatriots call him ‘The Jaguar’ (despite the fact that it’s not an African animal – *shrugs*). But it’s clear that missing that penalty was bad for his confidence. I really hope he pulls one out of the hat tonight (Sydney time) and, whether they make the final or not, comes back “redeemed” (his own term).
As for the more general point, there are some people who’d be better off changing their club every season to ensure they win everything all the time.
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Shotta. Are you saying some Arsenal fans are racist? I’ve often wondered about that.
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The Arsenal forever in our heart
Through Harmony our Victories will last
Cause ever since a kid,
ive only known one thing
support our guns in any way i can
Whether its home or whether its away
Following the Arse just makes my day
With bus or train or car
and i dont care how far
Forever i will sing for Arsenal
We thank you for our stadium Arsene
Forever we’ll be gratetful to your name
And when we win the league
or even champions league
Ill faint and cry and fall down on my knees
Respect the Wenger and his work for us
Dont be a cunt and slag him like an arse
Remember who we are,
and where we came from
Now stop this nonsense come down to support
my veins are pumping always red and white
and i will be a gunner till i die
Our football is sublime
worth every fucking dime
AND JACK WILL BRING US TROPHIES IN HIS PRIME
* this could either be too ridiculous a chant or it could change everything… 🙂
all we need is rhtythm and tempo now….stew on the mix!
i have based the lyrics (lol) on the following melody, from 00:38 onwards:
ok they are a bit brutal and swear a lot….but you get the point….
its about the message….not the messenger… 🙂
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You listened to the stick Eboue took and you wondered
Unfortunate thing is the new breed of “fan” who loves to boo. Whose contorted spit speckled gob is writhing with abuse at some opposition player one moment, then the next directing their pinpoint laser hatred at a man with a red shirt and white sleeves.
They love to hate, it defines them – especially on a Saturday afternoon- they regard players as cartoon characters – targets to vent the frustration and hatred no doubt built up in the course of a highly productive and rewarding working week
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Over the years, sadly, racism or conversely English bigotry has been one factor, amongst many, at Arsenal and no less other clubs. It has improved immmensely in the last decade or a little more, shrivelling in substance and importance. It is often left to the non-English supporters to remind the club that it has not disappeared, and retains a subliminal quality in the later years, but easily enough spotted, lurking, sulking.
The spoilt brat consumer entitlement culture is something else in my opinion, although at times it rears itself as a latent racism. I will never understand the booing of any player, totally outside my cultural experience, we tend rather to “show our back”. Booing is reserved for only the most outrageous action or behaviour.
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Absolutly brilliant article mate! Quote on the end says it all, think I’ll have to pinch it!
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red kangaroo at 11:02 am
No I am not saying they are racist. The evidence shows they are equal opportunity in their “impatience” when it comes to foreigners. See Squillaci, Fabianski and Arshavin.
BTW, Red, whenever I observe the virulent booing and jeering reserved for non-Brits, the middle-of-the-roaders, not you, always throw the racism card in my face. Yet the evidence is abundantly clear, despite the long-history of opening doors to non-British players, supporters still have a long way to go in overcoming their biases and prejudices towards foreigners.
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Another great write up, a special mention for our stewards at the stadium in a time where arsenal fans are accused of being too quiet and not getting behind the team, there were 2 incidents yesterday, I won’t bore you with the first one(just a young kid being a jobs worth) but the second one?-just as things were getting steamy in the 2nd half and there was much singing and support for the team, the stewards kept telling us to sit down, the irony of this is we were sat in front of the press and radio who correct me if I’m wrong along with the dreadful tv commentators are always having a pop about how quiet arsenal fans are,the attitude of the stewards was typical but you know what they say; you can put a pig in a suit but you can’t stop him grunting.
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great post 100% agree time support and not to grumble many young fans have been trained to moan by their elders and dont realise theres a different way unfortunatley it has been ingrained in them
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Anicoll at 11:10 am and ZimP at 11:31 am
I was first drawn to this blogging business 6-7 years ago when, on many of the Arsenal blogs, I read the overt but most often coded racist language aimed at Eboue and Song who were struggling to find their feet. Both were victims of the most awful booing and jeering by their own fans. ZimP observes attitudes have improved but given the rabid sense of entitlement (Anicoll) and the attitude that players are just like slaves in the Coliseum, simply their for entertainment, and not human beings, supporters at the Emirates and on blogs have a very long way to go.
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I hope I am not being preachy when it comes to supporters. Ultimately it is incumbent on the players and the management team to win over the fans. But as Adi said on Friday, their is a vital role for the 12th man, Vocalis Fultus.
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george as regards the subs yesterday theo was hit off the ball and was basically kicked off the pitch he obviously had some knock and could not run at speed effectively ramsey was the right choice there as wilkinson was kicking everything that moved and aaron was the strongest choice.the ox was tireing and pol was the correct choice there.the other sub was the only dubious one carzola was not strong enough against these henchmen and so i think was just on to get free kicks(and so it proved)this was a gamble as foy was not blowing often.
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“They love to hate, it defines them – especially on a Saturday afternoon- they regard players as cartoon characters – targets to vent the frustration and hatred no doubt built up in the course of a highly productive and rewarding working week
That’s probably the nub of it Anicoll. It’s a circus, they have paid their hard-earned and are “entitled” to shout and boo if they jolly well please. Shame.
Nice post btw.
We banished the evil from the kingdom for another season yesterday. Now we can have a shower and clean ourselves of and forget their existence…..until next time. The horror.
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Truly superb post, thanks Vish, and on a subject very close to my heart.
This is an issue that has become more and more of a problem for me, especially in the last year or so.
The motives that lie behind the assassination of our own players by keyboard bashers and match day harrassers purporting to follow our club – and who justify their activities as the actions of a ‘true supporter’ – are betrayed by the evident delight that accompanies them as they ply their vile trade. I’ve come to the conclusion that for all too many of them it’s not even about the club.
It’s simply an expression of their own state of mind, a foul response to all the shit in their own lives which finds its outlet through poorly thought through – and largely speculative opinions – masquerading as ‘fact’.
Whereas once upon a time this astonishing behaviour would have been reserved for our opponents or even the odd hapless referee, these people have now turned in on themselves and it’s hard to see where this will take them.
Hopefully out of football – or at least away from Arsenal.
There are plenty of others who would willingly have their now unloved season ticket, to take their place on match days with only pride, excitement and happiness in their hearts, thrilling in the knowledge that they are simply there, at last, to support this incredible football club.
I have always wondered to what extent the barrage of criticism the club is obliged to absorb affects the players and the staff.
Well, this is what Arsene Wenger had to say on the matter, as reported by D King in Saturday’s Sun newspaper:
In response to a question querying the slow starts in some recent games where the second-half Arsenal has been a different beast from the first –
“Somebody told me about the statistics. That can only be psychological because you do not become a good player in the second half and you are bad in the first half.
“The team has certainly been DEEPLY AFFECTED BY ALL THE NEGATIVITY [my caps].
“They want to do well but sometimes that can be a bit inhibitive (sic).
“I think it’s mainly down to that. Mertsacker has nearly 90 caps for Germany. He is a highly dedicated player who wants to do well.
“EVERYONE OF US IS AFFECTED BY CRITICISM. I haven’t met one person who loves to be slaughtered. All of us prefer people to say, ‘Yes, you’re great, you’re good’.
“YOU CAN NEVER SAY YOU ARE COMPLETELY UNAFFECTED, you can know it affects you and put that aside and focus on what you have done.
“BUT YOU CANNOT SAY YOU DON’T CARE WHAT PEOPLE THINK ABOUT YOU.”
So there you have it, from the horse’s mouth; a rare confession that what we say and how we support DOES have an effect on the players and, by extension, the results they achieve.
Frankly, it’s not a surprise to me, but maybe if you are prone to the occasional negative rant against Ramsey, Walcott, Kos, Vermalaen, Santos – whoever it is who happens to be non-flavour of the day – and you happen to be reading this, perhaps you might do better to think again?
And this is why I think this blog, Positively Arsenal, is important.
It’s a place not only for like-minded supporters to flock – and anyone can post here of that ilk – but somewhere that, if you did happen to bump into a player or the manager himself online or elsewhere – would be somewhere you could direct them for the alternative take on how long-standing supporters – and many new ones – see the club, how we value the the staff and players and how much we appreciate their efforts.
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andrew what if these bashers are supporters of other teams trying to cause division amongst us? what if they serve usmanov;s agenda of wanting to create turmoil and exploit fans feelings? what if the collective xenophobic bigotry of anti-arsenal commentators has also contributed ? i believe that the mind of the gunner has been polluted for many years by media and rivals taunting…
is chelsea fulfilling their potential? city? not really, but they all like to have a go at arsenal that operates on 1/10 of their budget…
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aa this is something everyone on this blog has known for a while and has probably helped many players leave
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Andrew, I saw those quotes yesterday and was amazed at their frankness, like I’ve said before, booing and nervous anxiety doesn’t work,singing,cheering and SUPPORTING does,it doesn’t take Doctor Spock to work that out, he’d come in handy with those stewards telling people to sit down,didn’t he have a special Vulcan grip that knocked people out,he could use it on the Booey Mcboo brigade as well.
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i honestly dont think we should be having a go at the stoke supporters they support their poor mind numbingly boring team very well and at home better than we do.the blame must lie with pulis and the players.these players have been to other clubs and played football they know what they are doing is very wrong and could ruin other players carreers.as far as we are concerned should we forget about stoke for another season or should we bang on about them at every oppertunety to banish their evil and any copycats forever………i might write to the players union
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I am a Nigerian and I’ve been fortunate enough to have been following Arsenal since 1996. I am from a family of three boys and we all support arsenal though my dad supports the red mancs.
In recent times, I’ve bn the only one around my neighbourhood who think ARSENE knows what he is doing. All the so called Arsenal supporter around me are always abusing and some even go to the extent of cursing ARSENE because he hasn’t bought the player(s) they think his right for the club. At the start of it all, I always try to explain and make them see reasons why we can’t spend like the other billionaire backed club bt it doesn’t make sense to them because they already made up there mind. Of late, I found out that I now engage them in a more aggressive way because I can’t stand them abusing my belove team Manager and players at every little blip.
Most recently precisely during the Liverpool game last week when we went 2 goals down, they were spouting lots of rubbish to d extent that one of them actually called ARSENE a fool for not buying a DM. I got angry and told him to shut up and get behind the team or join some other ex-Arsenal fans who now support cheski. It almost turned into a brawl if not for the intervention of some ppl around. When TW14 buried the equaliser, I told him sarcastically that it was all Wengers fault because he shd have sold Walcott as demanded by most of them. We need real fans that will stand up to this deluded monkeys who think they are fans. It’s a simple thing, “get behind the team or get the f**k off”
Arsenal till I die!!!
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Well done Lorde, but stay safe! I think more than a few of us have had our patience taxed beyond endurance in recent months. This blog is largely one expression of that.
Arse or Brain – to be honest, I’ve never KNOWN to what extent the negativity affected the club; the interview with Arsene was the first time I’ve seen confirmation from someone directly affected by it all.
Mel – you are unlucky with your particular steward; we normally stand up for much of the game although I’m near the back of the lower dip in Clock End, adjacent to the away fan’s pen. Too cold yesterday to sit down for long …
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To be fair Andrew I was in your bit for the Chelsea game and they were as good as gold in there,maybe it’s the journos behind us moaning about not being able to see.
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Arse or brain .I am not questioning the substitutions or indeed the timing of them .I am simply interested to know if anyone understands why they always seem to be at about 67 minutes?
There is likely a good reason ,I just want to know what that reasons !
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Hasib Usmab
February 3, 2013 at 11:32 am
Someone already has .They tried to attribute it to Tony Adams on twitter this morning
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aa remember when theiry and the whole team were suprised by the portsmouth support and thats when we were winning since around that sort of time the support has been getting more and more negative if anyone believes the booing of eboue or other players only effects that player is very naive.when players are booed or the crowd grumbles when the names are read out before the game do people really think that cant hear that in the changing rooms.it has long been recognized that anxiety of the crowd effects teams therefore any negativity is obviously felt the same.it makes you think if we has support like portsmouth or dare i say stoke we could have won several things in the last six years. in the champions league final in 2006 the longer the game went on when our team was on their last legs after playing for so long with ten men most of the ARSENAL crowd sat scared stiff of what might and what eventually happened,while i stood banging on the boards upstairs screaming even though my voice had long gone i looked around to see most of the support sat in their seat pale and motionless like a scene from a battlefield after a particularly bloody battle, it is easy to say how much you love ARSENAL but sometimes we all need to stand up and be counted.
im pretty sure that these are not critisisms that can be levelled at posters on this sight but it does fit our support in general
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a or b – Is it the demographics of the typical fan in the stadium which leads to this reluctance to be vocal and demonstrative? Why are Pool fans seemingly more passionate.
I remember in my day, the teams with working class support were to be feared, literally.
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Come on Baggies! That was a gilt edged chance. Come on! Make my day!
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I was very happy to hear that the idiots who had the anti-Wenger sign at Brighton were assaulted. The incident shows that those who oppose our manager are a very vocal minority of assholes on the Internet.
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ah demographics and migration of labour…. takes me back to my economics days
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g69 – I missed your passion. Idiots indeed. LOL.
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Shotta – well, your working class support theory could well have legs. Say what you like about the clubs but Stoke and Liverpool are still two teams who’s support is unquestioningly working class in the main (Stoke’s probably exclusively so).
Arse or Brain – agree, I think my point is that too many of the out and out Doomers have no idea of the impact of their actions even if the rest of us do suspect it to be the case.
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I just watched my recording of yesterday’s game at the Emirates and have to say – that debut from Nacho ranks up there as one of the all time great first games!
Given that he was likely still in Spain on Thursday, the guy was immense. Positioning, anticipation, interceptions – all superb with few errors (I only saw one in fact when he passed close to the byline to someone who took off as he was playing the pass and it fell short).
With him on the left, the incoming Hector Bellerin, our World Class youngster at right back and we could be absolutely fucking lethal going forward in the next few season. With Jenkinson and Gibbs sharing those two slots the strength in depth on those two key positions is extremely significant in my view.
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George – Contact me by email pls. Want to share a couple of ideas.
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AA @ 2:35pm – Excellent debut, I concur. But I am saving the superlatives for Nacho until we play teams with more ambition especially those with excellent right sided players. Nonetheless I have no doubt he is top, top quality. Thanks AW.
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Sure thin Shotta .DM me with your Email address on twitter
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If it wasn’t for Popov, Spuds would’ve dropped points.
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Great article!
I’m and Indian GOONER and follow arsenal on tv and online whenever possible. I’d like to add something to your opinions:
Listening to espn commentary and news reporters of bbc and sky makes you think arsenal is a sad, clumsy team filled with deadwood and lacking spine. They brainwash the masses into hating Arsenal players and encourage booing. (
(“Arsene stubbornly ignores fans”, “the crowd forced Arsene to substitute xyz”, etc)
Also few of my friends switched away to Chelsea and ManUre (plastic) over the last few years as the agenda of arsenal as an also ran is pushed aggressively by the media. Listening to them you’d think Liverpool and Spuds are better managed and outperform their budgets compared to us. I don’t get why the media hate us…
Do we have racists, cheaters, are we buying trophies and referees, tapping up or breaking legs? Why are we hated so much?
The media (sky, talksport, bbc, ESPN, I could go on forever) are part of this phenomenon, methinks!
GOONER FOR LIFE
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Yeah, frustrating because Sp*rs played with about as much ambition as Stoke yesterday. Had one shot on target before Popov decided to do his llama impression.
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Nice one Elvis; good to have you in the building.
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I see we have posters from Sydney and Indua today
And no one has a good word to say about Talksport
Jamie Redknapp comparing the Tottenham monkey with Leo Messi ?
Man’s a tool
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