Why do I care for a football team thousands of miles away? Why do I do a fist pump when we score, especially after giving everything? Why do I say “we”?
I just do. It is not just the characteristics of the club that has me in love with the club. There are other clubs like us, Dortmund being a prime a example. While I admire and respect Dortmund, there is something special about Arsenal that I cannot describe. Having said that, the character of a club is the identity of a club. If tomorrow, our club were to become Chelsea-3, I would love the new Arsenal no more. Damn! That sounds like the story with my ex-girlfriend.
In this post, I want to talk about how at Arsenal, we do fair play (generally).
On the pitch, I have seen opponents not playing fair and within the spirit of the game. I have seen referees pouncing on chances to give us a disadvantage. This list is big and I wont say more. If the opponent plays clean and beat us well, I could possibly, maybe, begrudgingly accept that they just played better. However, when they shove and kick us out of the game, it is a shame for fair play in sport. Different styles of play are needed in football, but you cannot call rugby a style of playing football. What happened to Diaby, Eduardo and Ramsey was horrific beyond words. That is not football. Teams like Stoke are needed though, to play the part of thugs. To be the guys Arsenal run rings around. Even such thugs should be limited though. They should not have been allowed to hurt Ramsey like that and get away with it. After the wobbles against stoke and the media glee that their “no-nonsense” style of play was spoiling our triangles, we have come to own their asses in the past couple of seasons. I hear that Cardiff city are joining the ranks of the football-dead. Bring it on bitches!
When our players are roughly tackled, given the short end of the stick, it is nice to see them rise above it while also not accepting being bullied. It is especially heartening to see players fighting for each other. That is one reason I really liked Fabregas. If a team-mate was being harassed, he would get stuck into the opponent and then ask what the problem was. I would like to reuse the Rocky quote used by Mel here: “At Arsenal we never started fights-we just finished them”.
The reason I hate Barcelona is the amount of cheating they do to win games and the amount that goes unpunished. You are one of the best teams in the world for God’s sake! You dont have to resort to diving and the assistance of the referees to make sure you win at all costs. That is why their records dont mean that much to me, which does belittle them, considering the incredible amount of hardwork they put in behind the scenes, but that is what a negative view can do. People, including me would respect Barcelona if they lost a few more games but fought valiantly and with honour.
I am proud in seeing our players not resorting to such tactics. There have been times when our players have dived to win matches, hugged a guy to death (yeah, you Koscielny) or shouted at the official. It spoils the experience of the game and I feel sorry if the opponent is a lower ranked team (minus Tottenham, Stoke, etc. obviously) and did not deserve to lose. Credit to Arsenal for making such incidents few and far in between. Special mention should go to Walcott who has only dived once, as far as i remember and duly apologised for it. What the hell? When was the last time a player apologised for diving? We are being told that it is ok for Suarez to dive and be racist because that is how they roll in Uruguay. Ah Suarez! Eventhough he is in the mould of a creative centre forward and even if he was offered for a tenner, I wouldnt want him anywhere near London Colney. I would like to think that Arsene would agree.
Off the pitch, the club has always conducted itself with dignity and fair play. Any transfer or even enquiry is done discreetly and by following the rules. True, the players we get seem like steals, but it more to do with us spotting potential rather than actually fleecing a club. I am sure that if we enquire about a player and if the other club says that the player is not for sale or they value the player quite a bit over our estimation, we move on. Eventhough Arsene these days answers questions about transfers more openly, he never says shit like “The boy wanted to come, but the club are being complete tossers and not letting him go. I dont get why they wont let him go. He wants to come, we want him, what else matters? It is not like he has a contract with them or something!”
We stay quiet until a particular player has signed for Arsenal. We do not tap up. Thank god we dont talk about DNA and force a shirt on a player. Hang on….maybe Fabregas has actually gone undercover, feeding Messi stories of glorious Arsenal and after we sign Higuain, he will force the Arsenal shirt on him at next year’s world cup. So by my calculations, Messi will sign in 2014 and Fabregas will re-join in 2015 (so as to not raise suspicion). To the rest of the world, it will look like sweet revenge, but the whole thing would have been Arsene’s master plan all along. We dont do evil, but if we do, even that will be classy.
Stay classy Arsenal!
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Editors note-Arsnal won the Fair Play thingamabob last year,despite being bottom after 2 months
Positively Arsenal 
Nice one George.
I like to think Arsenal stand for something, especially in the moral vacuum of the cash rich Premier League. “Class” will do, for want of a better word. And Arsene, god bless him, personifies this, and not just at Arsenal, much more than any manager in my lifetime.
It’s why I would have great difficulty learning to, erm, love (#shudders#) the likes of a Rooney or a Suarez. They carry too much unpleasant baggage (and I don’t mean Wazza’s spare tyre). The whiff of racism will never leave Suarez, and we don’t ever want that kind of controversy here. And Rooney…where do you start? They just could never “belong” in an Arsenal shirt. There’s still something special and romantic about wearing that shirt. Of course, many would disagree with me, and would be glad to see two players of that calibre at our club.
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Spot on, George.
We don’t want divers and we don’t want cheats. The player who head-butts Stoke thugs is welcome at a stretch but even that will have to go from his game. I couldn’t ever see Suarez learning The Arsenal Way.
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The article was written by “Sensational Arsenal” It says so in the title.
I don’t know how I could make it more plain.
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Great stuff SA-when Freddie started diving in his early days at Arsenal,Big Tone had a word-that’s how we roll(or not if you catch my drift) and Freddie packed it in,yet Bale (booked on numerous occasions for cheating) wins the players & journos player of the year,lets face it we’re on our own in so many respects as a club and unlike some of our weaker fans (who would see us cheat in the board room as well as the pitch to win stuff) that’s exactly how I like it,Rooney? I wouldn’t touch him with a barge pole!
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You couldn’t George. Some of us are just a bit thick. I didn’t have my reading goggles on anyway, that’s my excuse. Ahem.
Please accept my humblest apologies Sensational Arsenal. Good post the way..
I’m going to stand in the corner now, with my dunces hat on. Feel free to throw rotten fruit. Not too hard though. And mind the face.
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i believe that this class is something brought in by wenger. The professional ideals that surround the philosophy of the club and how it operates and conducts itself on and off the pitch are more of an international influence rather than typical brittish or english approach. It is this universality that i define as class. what wenger does for arsenal and the manner of it is the right thing to do in whichever club in the world irrespective of cultural differences. what we do is highly commendable any way you look at it. High level at every level. With respect and humility. Professionalism of the highest order, preparation procedures more appropriate for heart surgeons yet.
the whole thing of taking young players in, teaching them football and other stuff too, developing them and training them in continental methods…the ajax way…. then the pr and marketing and brand name expansion…the united way… the ideal of wanting to create a culture/heart/soul through players/fans coming through the club ..the barcelona way..the financial organisation and discipline to fund and build an “allianz arena” and pay for it on your OWN….i dont think arsenal would ever come anywhere close to what we see today without the manager;s meticulous planning and knowledge forthisght and authority on all football matters …that why old pete was happy like silvio berlusconi …pete could relax..had nothing to worry about..
lets put it this way….i love football..i watch a lot of football in many countries many leagues…cant wait for summers with world cups and euros BUT ….there is a limit….after a while i get sick of it..i go to the beach..go out do other things…yet this guy goes home and wathes more games and scouts more players…on and on non stop….psychotic conditions… the man goes home and his wife normally wanting to talk with her husband about their family their lives etc and he is there talking about 4231 and how cazorla can cut from the left and become 2nd playmaker ….. special brains and tons of balls to pull it off.. we are miniscule when it comes to devotion compared to this guy… 24/7/365 his mind is not only arsenal but constantly working and thinking of ways to improve or change something…nothing is perfect you keep working and improving…. inspirational …and then he has to tolerate clowns with 12 horses telling him what professional sports is all about…..the man who brought professional football to a whole new level needs lessons from pensioners on how to do his job you see….. ahahahahahah the tables will turn and lets see where these mugs hide then……
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Apologies, Sensational Arsenal. Nobody wants to be confused with George! Fine work,SA.
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Hunter’s had his weetabix.
Unlike me.
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as for suarez i have a lot to say about that…smells a bit like vieira to me…too hypocritical and way too strict for the sake of being strict….i did not like it when they targeted vieira and likewise out of principle i dont like what they have done to luis too.
i consider ferdinand and terry and all those bastards who have kicked our players and the people who insult wenger and arsenal a lot worse ( morally speaking) than suarez taunting a hopeless evra who was getting owned on the pitch and started the trash talking to psych the uruguaian out of the game..it was a staged performance by evra to get one back against an opponent who was ridiculing him on the pitch and using his club’s profile and image he made a case where suarez would never win. very sly…very pussy-like..coward behaviour….evra and united used to their advantage the hypocritical pseudomoral sensitivities of the “political correctness” that must appear in entertainment or any high profile show biz.
i prefer the zidanne way..you insult me? i take care of things right there and then..on the spot…thats what men do….. musicians do other things…they sing to the press…
the idiots will remember the headbutt..i remember his penalty …chip , crossbar and in…thats buffon. and thats the world cup final…and he does THAT? …thats balls
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for you harry
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I’m not sure I agree with you at all re: Suarez. There was an enormous amount of false moral outrage from the usual suspects when he was feeling peckish that afternoon on the pitch (I recall no such righteous indignation at those English “loves his mum” type players who targeted our lads, just a myriad excuses about mis-timed tackles and physicality being part of “our” game).I suspect him being a dirty johnny foreigner had a lot to do with all that.
However, he did repeatedly use a racial slur against Evra (whatever you may think of him, and I don’t think much of him personally. Sneaky sonofabitch), and that is no way shape or form acceptable. And the way Liverpool handled it was a hideously embarrassing and ill-judged. No excuse for that. I’m happy to forgive and forget, but not at Arsenal. Don’t want any repeat of that.
No thanks.
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Not this again!
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Ta Hunter.
Having said that about lil’ Luis, he is a fine fine player. If you could keep his under control. Looks like he’s sodding orf this summer as well. Way to repay those who stuck by ya Luis.
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Nah it was my initial error that started it SA. Being blind, old and a bit thick, I didn’t read George’s headline properly, even though it was in BOLD NEON (doh).
My humblest apologies.
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Well bold B&W.
Colour blind as well it would seem.
Coat.
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No problem at all Harry. I was not serious.
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Top post Today. There is most definitely something about Arsenal that sets us apart from other clubs. I feel that’s why there’s alot of jealousy from other clubs and the media wanting us to fail every season.
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Top post SA. I’m in total agreement. I for instance have never seen Arsenal lift a trophy but my passion for the club, manager and players is only rivalled by that for my wife and even she had to get on board or get left behind. To her, Arsenal is ‘good people’s club’……(she also thinks Arsene would make a good pastor).
Hunter @11:11am
What’s in that wheatabix buddy? I want some.
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…….oh, and I’ll still be passionately supporting Arsenal for another 10 barren years. Bring it on bitches!
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You all wear rose tinted glasses. Things are so bad you lot just cannot see. Yesterday, MP wrote that Arsenal play boring football today he posted the following from one of his obsequious, sycophants:
“From Augie: finishing 4th
I understand the calls for building a solid foundation before we step up and win trophies again but maybe Bob can explain to me what exactly those foundation walls that we built actually are ?
If he is talking about piling cash into the bank then yes we have build a nice little treasure chest but apart from that what have we done ? We are weaker in every aspect of our team than we were the first time wenger walked through those doors into the marble halls all those years ago.
We are now a lightweight team with no backbone to step up when the big teams come to town and to crown that all off our manager sends them out with no tactical game-plan whatsoever.
For all the hype surrounding our youth set up, how many actually make the very top level ? Chesney has it all to prove imo whilst Gibbs doesn’t stay fit enough for long enough for anybody to make a definitive conclusion.
All the rest of the young “stars” have been poached from other academies (wally, ox, cesc, rvp etc) so it isn’t as if we can claim to have a solid youth foundation within the club.
I’ve seen sandcastles with better foundations than what we have built”.
So there you have it. We have moved from criticizing Wenger for the last 8 trophyless years to him destroying our ‘glorious’ past……This guy (MP) seems to be getting rather desperate in his hatred of Wenger. He is indulging in revisionism of his own position…
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Harry
Is that a picture of you watching time pass you by?
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I think that there are websites dedicated to satirising MP.
http://anr.arseblog.com/is-there-anybody-out-there/
Please stop posting what that narcissist and WUM has to say, we don’t want to give him any oxygen. He is not a fan of Arsenal Football Club (Chelsea).
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GP, It’s actually a picture of Brian Wilson watching time pass by (possibly on drugs). Though it’s pertinent to the endless tedium of the summer transfer shenanigans.
Are those pearls of “wisdom” from Piles Palmer’s site then? Oh dear. You shouldn’t give ’em “hits” Georgaki!
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Sorry chaps but I just cannot fathom how different some perspectives can be. I always want hear alternative points of view, I think it is healthy and necessary. I am convinced that MP has an agenda that is not about constructive criticism but downright manipulation of his weak minded sycophants. I am still of the opinion that he is behaving like the ‘charismatic’ leader of ‘sect’, much like Koresh and his Branch Davidians…..
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big clubs protect their players..hence i cant fault liverpool. dont get me wrong what i mean to say is that the principle to protect their player is correct in my book its just that you need special directors to pull it off…comolli and daglish against the united supremos? no chance.. its the system that is crap and the values it supposedly represents…two children swearing and fighting on a football pitch became a national and international drama for the word “negrito”..? and we later discovered that luis father was of dark colour too…haha the irony…so in my book if evra;s pride was really really hurt he would have acted like a man. others have had their pride hurt so much they stopped games because of it and refused to continue. evra didnt do that..he played along, enjoyed the show and then went and ratted to the headmasters…later when the silly courts and media gave evra his “victory” he was provoking luis with attitudes of the ” come shake my hand,bow to me, kiss my feet,” variety….whats that all about? his great countryman also an immigrant, practically from the same continent probably felt that mothers are more sacred than colours and rightly so…evra was riotting and callign his national manager a clown…who ? evra …..france has produced and given us thuram dessaily blanc lizarazu samuel, even gallas in his early chelsea years massive player,….who is evra?….i dont understand…its probably the united bug there..the horses..the arrogance..the labour man from glascow docks selling stalions to arabs…. benefitting from kleberson djemba deals…ronaldo rooney tearing teams apart 80games per season square jaws, 3 day injuries with twisted ankles giggs playing till he is 40 in the premier league…rio like a crackhead being denied his dose veins pumping swearing ……logical stuff etc…the stuff of champions and pro sports…….
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To be fair Hunter, I didn’t much like the way Evra went out about the whole business either. Then again I don’t think either individual emerged out if the whole sorry saga with any glory. Though lil’ Luis did admit he repeatedly used the slur. There is no place for that kind of thang, whatever the provocation (and yes we all know the delightful Mr Terry got off lightly). And Slerguson’s fanning of the flames was all too predictable. That’s how he operated. One of the many reasons I’m not sorry to see the back of the latter (no slight on his monumental managerial achievements).
I didn’t give a flying one about the ensuing handshake drama either. I’d get rid of that nonsense altogether. AW has been pilloried a few times in the past for refusing to shake hands. Usually after the opposing manager has behaved like a total asshole for 90 mins plus (the Mark Hughes episode springs to mind). Then of course Arsene is painted as the bad guy for not playing along with “protocol”. if someone had been abusing me for over an hour the last thing I would do is shake their hand.
Anyway. Suarez ain’t coming to Arsenal, so it’s not something we have to worry about.
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No worries GP but if I wanted to read deluded jibberisms from someone on a football blog who described Walcott, Van Judas and Henry as rubbish footballers then I would waste my time and some nano joules reading their blog. Or the blog set up to satirise it.
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Good article again.. If we did by any chance signed Rooney,forget FairPlay next season.classless yob…
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handshakes? ha .. what a joke..agree totally..daglish wasnt it.. telling wenger to piss off and fuck off and then talking about tradition and respect and shaking hands…theatre of absurdity
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Sensational ARSENAL
great post and subject matter. Agree with just about everything, except the line where you say teams like stoke and Blackburn etc. Are also needed. In my opinion dirty tactics and vicious tackling should be outlawed as they have no place in football or any sporting field of honour. Least we forget this is how some earn a living and put food on the table for their families. What happened to Aaron, edvardo ,diaby and Sanga is inexcusable and I say again , it should be OUTLAWED. a three to six game ban is nothing and won’t stop this behaviour from happening again.
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And I agree with HUNTER 13 regarding Suarez. Evra is an ass and could not keep up with Luis so guess what. He starts with his mouth and tried to get under his skin. Fair enough Luis should have kept his cool and played him of the field.
I have a lovable Plummer here in LA. guess what his nickname is .LITTLE NEGRO. everyone calls him that and they don’t mean it in any deragotory way. The media just want to destroy Luis. Of that I have no doubts…
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>- “if someone had been abusing me for over an hour the last thing I would do is shake their hand.”
Maybe their neck
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oohhh wait kam…thats occupational hazard….nothing wrong with broken legs , just part of football…pro sports and all…its ok…if it doesnt work out you buy another one…thats what football clubs do…
this is funny …… the club that probably is the most efficient in terms of what it makes what it spends and what placings it achieves domestically and abroad considering the rosters experience is accused by its own fans as not having optimal seasons…….
some strange times we live in….
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that eduardo business was so nasty…so cruel……..we had found THE fox and they ruined him because they knew we would run away with it..they all focused on gallas and found the angle to piss on arsenal …
we won that game and had it stolen from us….. i will never forget….
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Thanks for this, SA. You have described exactly why I love Arsenal. I have never seen us lift a trophy – trophies had nothing to do with why I came to love this club. Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want to see us win one. On the contrary, I want that reward for Arsene and the players and staff who have shepherded the club along this extremely narrow pathway.
I had a twitter exchange a week or so ago with someone who had expressed incredulity that any fan would not want Rooney at Arsenal. (It was quite a respectful exchange, I will say, so that’s good). Don’t you see how much he could improve the squad, he’s world class, this person said. Of course I do, was my response. I’m not an idiot. But the price is too high, in my opinion. And not the monetary price. The price is the essence of the club – the class that makes us different. That said, I trust Arsene, and if he were to think Rooney is right for the team I’ll support him. But keep him away from our boys, please. I worry now about his contact with Theo, Jack, Ox, Kieran, Carl, when they play for England. I read a comment from Theo where he said Rooney had given him some wedding advice when they were all in Brazil. Horrors! Here’s my advice, Theo. Whatever he said, do the opposite.
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Rooney grew up in everton, which is no London I presume.
He has shown remarkable improvement in his behaviour, poise, control over the years, this I have always felt.
I have always admired his fighting spirit, vision with the ball, passing and finishing. Infact I always thought he could do everything but run with the ball.
If he would divide the dressing room or that if his wages do not warrant the quality he brings or that if his signing fee would be too high, I do not know but I trust the men who do the business at Arsenal are more than capable of evaluating all this.
So if he comes he comes and I’ll support him. I would rather he joins Arsenal though.
but if Higuain is a done deal why do we need Rooney?
Higuain over Rooney for me. Giroud is already here and will be twice (or thrice or more!) the player he was last season next season.
One striker is all I am hoping for..rest is upto the management at Arsenal.
Arsene knows best.
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Hahaha. Precisely. Whatever he said do exactly the opposite. Golden words.
By and by, congratulations to THEO on the nuptials. Congratulations indeed.
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Thanks guys.
I have never seen us lift a trophy either, but it will come.
AlabamaGooner, I agree with what you said and your rooney wedding comment was funny.
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Rooney? Let’s not forget the swearing at the referees, the diving, cheating and general boorish behaviour. He got away with that when he had slurgus to support him, if he were to put on an Arsenal shirt it would be a different matter. AW better prepare the team for playing with 10 men most of the time, or even 9 with that thug Fellaini on the pitch as well. Another one who got away with murder when he had golum to protect him.
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I have seen us lift a few trophies and win titles.
The feeling is exquisite and amazing. You walk on air for months afterwards with pride. Specially when its a double. I hope you guys feel it very soon for the first time.
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Henry and Cole after 2003 2004 celebrations still lingers on vividly in my memory…
beating Man Utd for the FA cup was also a wonderful moment.
When Arsenal won, Everybody knew we were simply better than everybody else.
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Nice post SA – especially agree with your comments re the loathsome Barcelona.
There is a massive irony associated with Spanish football, a style of play synonymous with never going to ground by way of a sliding tackle etc. Yet all those who wax lyrically about one half a of two-team league, always seem to ignore their propensity for diving their way out of trouble, clutching unstruck faces, rubbing unbruised legs like method actors on speed. For me, too, they are largely unwatchable though I’d be interested to see the likes of Messi tested in a more competitive environment, regardless of certain of the skills he so clearly has; to what extent would he get the chance to practice them?
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Andrew
I agree about some Barfa players being cheat divers but MESSI isn’t one of them and he gets kicked and brutalized often enough. But I agree with you again, he has never been through what JOSE REYES went through in the EPL. the brutes kicked him right out of the league because they couldn’t play against him at all, and the incompetent officials let them do it.
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Sorry goonerkam, but I disagree re Messi – he’s not as bad as some, but he’s no angel when it comes to the ‘gamesmanship’ for which barca are notorious. Take an early tumble off an innocuous challenge, get your opponent booked and then your path is eased as they can’t risk another booking – that’s the camp nou special.
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‘Kam
Messi seems to have saved his cheating for the Spanish tax man.
the money he is on, and still dodging taxes? In a county where 40% of under 30’s are unemployed. That’s lowlife.
If he was in the USA he would be looking at a 4 or 5 stretch, but in cuntelonia, no chance of a fair result.
The only manc player who isn’t an uber turd bucket is probably Herandez, I’m surprised we haven’t been linked to an offer. Rooney would fail any impartial medical, and he is a nasty piece of work. Evra has been a fully loaded turd bucket for many a year. He’s not too popular back in France either.
and so is Feallani, he simply will not get away with his normal game if he wore our shirt, so buying him would make no sense. Suarez is a skanger, as we would say in Dublin.
….and Hunter, only one Quibble. AFC have had class all the way back to Norris and Chapman’s time, it’s not an Arsene Wenger phenomenon. He did certainly re-establish the Arsenal Way back to its propper course. And for sure we have had a few naughty boys too: Hillier and the gun thing, a few drinks too many for some, and GG’s little brown envelope. But nobody that I can think of that is at the JT, Ribery or Suarez level.
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DC
HAHAHA. Regarding Messi. Toshea.
Also regarding ARSENAL CLASS.
Good points all around. But remember, innocent till proven guilty on those taxes and as far as manure players RG I respect. As a player and up until last year as a man too.
But he done went and messed it all up.
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Goonerkam,
remind me, did any of the “gentleman”who broke an arsenal players legs in the recent past get sent off? Or even recieve yellow cards? Hmm, no conspiracy here, nothing to complain about, we’re just soft southern Wendy ball players. ( this is from our own WOB supporters!).
Or more vastly statistically likely, the rest of the teams (all northerners) hate us and the bunch of northern refs seem to be oblivious to it. And yet we get fair play awards most years.
Can anyone think of another football club anywhere that have had as many leg breaker tackles inflicted on it?
just Imageine it was Manure or Fuckelonia?
o tempora o mores!
The media outrage, UEFA, Maldini & Blatter would have got involved.
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Agree with Passenal (9.11 pm) – spot on, as usual.
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All so TRUE DC.
we might be down but not OUT.
We shall rope them all another one, THE GUNNERS WAY. THE AW WAY. THE CHAPMAN WAY. THE BERTTIE MAY WAY.
you just wait and see mate…. We will overcome it all. All that jazz. The NEW HIGHBURY shall rock and rock the establishment. Like the days of old….
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Maybe you guys are right about Messi. I only get to watch four or five Barfa games a year and he has always tried to stay on his feet even when they try to overpower him. Maybe in other games he is just as bad as the other actors….
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