Below a post by our very own ZimPaul that I think brilliantly describes the way fans from outside London have different reasons for starting – and continuing – to support Arsenal. It’s better than anything I could write; simply because people never had, or never will have, the opportunity to attend games does not mean they love the club any less than those who do.
Anyway, here it is. George.
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I am certain people support a club because of its culture/identity or location/community.
The second has been less ambiguous in history, built around community and family traditions but is torn asunder by a fast-changing “sense of belonging” that is being rapidly deconstructed by the impact of the digital/TV brave new world and corporate power (Shotta’s excellent insights into the Manchester United issues being a good example of the contradictions and tensions arising). Both are obviously and essentially collective, not individualistic, formulations (although our minds tell us the latter, it is usually not, we are “part of”). The first is more interesting for me for many reasons, I am not London born, linked, based nor does it reflect, for me, much sense of community except in its diversity that includes many Africans, but that is all pretty tenuous.
Why do 2 million Africans support Arsenal? It’s a good question. Why do I see Arsenal shirts every single day in Harare? (pirated, not sold under license). There are few if any commercial links driving a support base (as in Asian and American markets for club knick-knacks and other revenue fueled by modern day football branding). There are no obvious short term advantages to supporting Arsenal (as with ManU and Chelsea support, and latterly City), that is the likelihood of perennial entitlement, good fortune and dripping, drooling media coverage which also reaches our distant foggy ears.
In my personal experience, most Africans Arsenal fans support Arsenal for FOOTBALL. The underlying assumption is Arsenal play football, have done, always do, will continue to do, all things being equal, and nobody and nothing can take that away. 95% or more of African support came with the Wenger era, with Kanu, with Henry, with Bergkamp. When an African says Arsenal “play football” it means “the dream of what football is supposed to be, and can be, ah, the beautiful artistry and spontaneity of life, the memories, the fun, the laughter, the inspiration, the skill and possibility of it all”. So, it’s about cultural identity. When Arsenal fail to achieve these lofty intangible (cultural) aspirations, fans are deeply critical, often technically specific about it but it is “about” the dream. Our sense of entitlement is not trophy-based, although we wouldn’t mind a few because we are the best team and our time will come, we know. We are patient.
If Arsenal “became” a Chelsea, generally regarded as spoilt brat team in these parts, 50% of the African support would whither in a year or two, 75% in five years. They have so little sense of culture or cultural identity. They don’t make us smile at all.
What Arsenal under Wenger has built will last a very, very long time, like the stadium, if Arsenal keep their side of the social contract with its fans, that this emerging culture of how football is played remains the Arsenal-way. Play football and all the abundance in the world keeps flowing like a river; play celebrity football, Stoke kick-person, tap-in ball, head-ball, buy-a-trophy ball, shit-ball, or any other kind of game, and the game is over.
It’s about Tomas receiving so fast in the middle after an excellent interception (probably Ramsey), wonderful counter attack, turning, beating, acceleration, three steps, feint that way by Giroud, and then the most extraordinarily weighted outside-footed through-ball that Theo, starting far behind his marker, takes perfectly at a fantastic gallop running 25 metres, he turns slightly inside, the angle opens, desperate lunge by the defender, keeper bristling, arms akimbo, ready to spring, 25 metre diagonal front foot shot, low, hard, on the ground, far post, keeper’s fingers caress the ball, slightest deflection, not enough, inside the far post, by an inch, Theo flying now, arms outstretched, Tomas has that smile, and way over on left corner flag the team drown Theo in team happiness. Back in a music bar in Harare a week later Ish walks past and says “Man, did you see that pass”. And without even knowing which game, I know he means “that pass.”
ZimPaul
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And here is something that Finsbury said that is worth a special mention:
“‘Loves Arsene, hates Arsenal. Is such a transparent bullshit meme, and worthy of those who repeat it. Some of us have been discussing people being priced out of football for years now, there are records of those threads. I suppose we are fake fans too?
So, we know people are losing interest in the game. We know people are going to watch football in Germany, or down the leagues. Is George wrong to consider such things happening in the game in our time?”
Right, I am off back to Twitter to be called a Jonny-Come-Lately and a Plastic.
George
Positively Arsenal 
I have stumbled on a good way to keep the blog going during quiet periods.Publish a post,then publish a comments as the next article.
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brilliant post ZP, this is why people should support a club a uniqueness, something that will align you to YOUR club and something you can boast about above all others.
just being able to buy players is not a reason and im sure chelski and man city will always be judged as plastic clubs and their real supporters know and hate this about their clubs.
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Yaeh ZIMPAUL. just what I was hoping for.
Great idea GEORGE. now get him to do a write-up once every month. Fantastic.
You heard about FRANCIS going out on loan.?? Hope it ain’t true.
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It is true Kam
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I think it will help le coqs game
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That’s briiliant ZimPaul.
We are associated with a certain type of football now, a certain way of doing things, a definite identity, and we have Arsene to thank for that. The club has long had that air of “class”, with the iconic strip etc, however it is Arsene who has guided the club into the modern era, made Arsenal attractive to that vital global support. And how.
One of those delicious ironies, and one that never fails to raise a wry smile, you’ll often see folks viciously slagging him to the heavens on blogs and twitter and such like, and as their gravatar they proudly display a pic of the Emirates. Or a pic of Henry on their twatter page. It seems to escape them entirely that it’s largely due to Arsene’s foresight and vision that we enjoy such a magnificent stadium. And it’s almost entirely due to Arsene’s skill as a coach and manager that a talent like Henry’s was allowed to blossom and find expression. If only people would stop and think. Hey-ho.
I’ll shut-up. Oh yeah, lest i forget, Dukey says hello btw George.
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Great read Zim and I hear exactly the same about Arsenal in East Africa, the club is revered for its quality on and off the pitch. It came from a chap who I was able to donate a ticket to a couple of seasons ago when he came to London. Thank Gawd we won.
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I thought this year would be the one when MIGUEL AND FRANCIS really step up to the challenge and fill a couple of spots for us. I have been waiting for it and I really believe they are ready for it. They have done well every time I have seen them given a chance. Damn this fr••••Ng landscape and the clubs responsible for bringing to the EPL.
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I know I mentioned it a couple weeks ago but do you guys Think we really made a 30 million offer for Suarez. Heck , if he thinks he was getting a bad deal from the media while with pool wait till he becomes an ARSENAL player. They will tar and feather him on daily bases.
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ZimP – As a fully paid up “plastic” supporter from abroad, who has never been to the Emirates, thanks for expressing so well the way I feel about Arsenal. “It is the football, stupid.”
PS: Thanks for the mention. Can’t even remember what and when I wrote but if you say so. Now I got to run.
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I’m not sure what the Suarez bid was all about, though it appears we did table an initial bid, he’s an Arsene type of player I feel, for sure. You are right though, he has way too much baggage and if he failed to behave himself in an Arsenal shirt, then many would take great great pleasure in crucifying us, and Arsene for taking the risk in the first place. You can just imagine the media furore if he decided he fancied a nibble again. The scrutiny of his every move would be intense, to say the least. Then he might well declare England hates him and bugger off.
Nah, no way.
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Brilliant ZP, i think there’s something magical about Arsenal fans in a far away place drooling over our football and behaving much more Arsenal-like compared to some that are much much closer to London N5,you’ve pretty much covered (much more eloquently) the point I was trying to make in an upcoming piece I’ve done for PA,being a Londoner or going to lots of games doesn’t make me any more ‘proper Arsenal’ than a gooner in the far reaches of Africa or entitled to more of an opinion it’s just makes luckier in that department.
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You are right Mel. “Proper Arsenal” types do my head in, it’s usually the last refuge of those who have no argument, when they start banging about their supporting credentials. Zzzzz. I couldn’t give a tinkers tit where anyone is from. I love it that there are folks from as far afield as Africa and the American South on here who have caught the bug. Shows we must be doing something very right in my eyes!
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Yaeh HARRY. Suarez would be great footbalisticly but a bit of a gamble media wise. 30 mill would be our transfer record.
By and by MEL, this year when at the NEW HIGHBURY keep an eye on our crazy passionate Greek hunter13. I fear he might get Into it with some black shawls wearers and get ejected in the first game. I can really see it happen. Wouldn’t wanna be that bin bag holder. Oh no….he would take on the whole lot of them.. No fear that boy…
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Haha! Kam I won’t have to keep an eye out for him- I reckon I’ll hear him!
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So true…
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Like your new identity HARRY. SWISS ARMY KNIFE HARRY FLOWERS ready for action..
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Nice one ZimPaul!
Yes, concur very much with Mel & SH – there IS something wonderful – almost magical – about having ‘friends’ from afar and wide. To be chatting Arsenal with someone from Australia or the USA or somewhere in Africa is still a novelty to me and one I never tire of as the perspectives offered by so many of our overseas chums are sometimes a little different from our own, and ‘they’ are often more appreciative of the club’s achievements and aspirations than those of us who live closer to the Emirates.
As a side point, I’m of an age where I can recall very few women having an interest in football. It always amuses me that these days the female fans I know have at least as good – but usually better – grip on the game than many males (and I include myself in that, though there’s no shame in saying so).
Long may all our diversity continue.
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Very thoughtfully put together. Why do we love ARESNAL? Well, therz a sense of ‘belonging’ here. The God Bergkamp once said, you love the club because you see yourself somewhere in there………..how true.
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More people went through the turnstiles at the lower leagues than they did in the prem.
I think 16.5 million as opposed to 15million, something like that anyway. I don’t think there’s a great deal of difference between the bottom half of the prem and the championship, quality wise.
Just so people know we are at the halfway point in terms of teams appearing in the premiership, 46 of the 92 professional teams have appeared in the premiership.
The Championship is the 4th highest attended league in Europe behind the Premiership, La Liga and the Bundesliga.
Over 30 million people attended live football matches in England last year, half the population.
Some useless information for you all.
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Great post ZP!
I agree with you totally. Living in Nigeria, I only followed EPL football because our national team captain played in Bolton. I wouldn’t say I “supported” Bolton, more like I was a “Jay Jay fan”. I moved to England in 2006 and made a friend (also Nigerian) who was crazy about arsenal…..I mean crazy about arsenal. Anyways, one night at a staff-do I watched Arsenal for the first time on TV……it was the night of our Champions League defeat against FCB. I remember rooting for arsenal only because there was this arse hole coleague at work who supported Barca and he was being cunty about it. We lost that game, including the cup but I was hooked.
I may never have witnessed Arsenal lift a trophy but i love the club because of how it’s run and how it plays football. I’ve heard people (doomer fans especially) say that we no longer play attractive football and I wonder which arsenal they’ve been watching. These same “fans” were the ones crying out for the types of samba, cahil and Scott “hard man” Parker to be signed. Now imagine those three in match-day starting eleven……………………….I can’t! It looks like Arsene does indeed know best!
Ps: ZP i think I know the game in which that move you described happened and if it is, then it was the “lil’ magician” (not Tommy) who played the pass to Walcott. It was the game away against Reading and it was our fifth goal.
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Great comment Emmanuel!
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https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BOvXR0OCAAINf4D.jpg:large
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https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BOvYVw8CYAARTCT.jpg:large
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I know we’d all seen it but seeing the players in it just makes it even better a lovely kit.
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Very nice kit. All time classic.
Another 13?? Oh boy ,that makes 26 with the Hunter.
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The pre season tour is fast approaching.
ANDREW
where women not allowed to attend live matches in the early 1900 or was there no interest on their part??
I ask because in some Muslim countries even in 2013 women are not allowed inside the stadiums.
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Who is watching the U20 World Cup? My player of the tournament so far is Iraq left back Ali Adnan. If you guys have a chance to catch the Iraq v Uruguay game tomorrow do so just to watch that kid play. Oh, and his team mates aren’t horrible either. Their entire back line are awesome.
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Emmanuel, Jay Jay Okocha was one of my all time favorite players.
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Bloody hell Gains ,I thought you were dead.
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Darius just tweeted,
I miss him,
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Jay jay broke Freddie’s ankle and put him out for seven months. He never got back back to the levels he played at before that tackle.
What streaming service do you use for u20 tournament games.??
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I like the socks – very hoopy
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Too hoopy. They should have kept them all blue or all yellow socks.
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Swiss Harry,say hello back to Dukey.
I liked Duke a lot.I actually like JJ as well.We could call each offer all manner of names and it was all forgotten the next day .
These people who preach that we should not abuse”fellow Arsenal supporters” are full of shit.Particularly the ones who did it for years then when their turn came they did not like it up e’m.Fucking appeasers ,they make me sick.
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Card carrying member of the “plastic fan” club here. Literally. I carry my membership card in my wallet. Proudly.
Thanks, ZP, for a great description of why so many of us choose to love the Arsenal. When I first started following, people would ask me “why Arsenal?” My response was “I just like the way they play”. I didn’t even really know what I meant by that, then. But I knew it when I saw it. And now here I am, insanely in love, like the rest of you.
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Great post Zimpaul. Great stats from Adam too.
Not sure about the editing at the end there. But if you all don’t mind i’ll just add this link to a protest by a load of fake fans http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/jun/19/premier-league-protest-ticket-prices
Couldn’t be arsed to find any vids The Grunt will have to do.
Before any readers blow a gasket please try to remember that AFC do not have the highest season tickets in the land and that even QPR who were relegated last season had a higher wage bill* then Dortmund. With a collective of unelected sociopaths running the asylum I can’t see ‘safe’ standing making a return anytime soon. Alas. Hopefully I am wrong there.
I’d like to try and write a post about how the amazing enthusiasm in blighty for the game did compensate for the lack of facilities and coaches (investment) for a bit, but now the ‘gap’ with those countries (two guesses only, it is not hard!) that each have over twenty thousand more qualified coaches for the kiddies then England does is proving to be too great a distance. I’d blame Arsene, but it is Hunter who gets all the blame (IBSF).
*A quick Samba over here, step back after getting relegated, a little shuffle over there, slap slap bosh bosh loadsoftransfers! Easy.
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suarez …thats all. statement of intent. luis and jack. jack and luis.
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Lovely stuff Zim Paul, you have a wonderful way of writing. Almost like reading poetry. Whenever you write I find myself flowing through your words. You should do it more often.
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Finsbury, Good luck with your project and something I would like to highlight, if I may. People make the connection between UEFA/FIFA/FA trained coaches and how good a nation is at producing talented footballers with more coaches. Yet we are quite quick to hammer the governing bodies in other areas. So It would be nice for someone to highlight an area where governing bodies are actually improving the sport and which ones are mostly responsible for that. I find it a bit of a conundrum that people hate the ruling bodies but want more trained coaches from them?
I actually like UEFA, but am aware of some areas where they need to improve, FIFA I cannot stand, our FA confuse me.
One last bit of info according to Swiss Rambler FIFA have stashed away £1.4billion, as a reserve for what I aint got the foggiest? But could you imagine how that could improve the sport?
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Right on the money there ZP.
Style of play, business model & values on & off the field + the classiest gaffer on the planet…a good chunk of our opponents are closet gooners, minus the red & white.
30m for the biter was to reming the Scousers not to let him go under present circumstances. I’m sure they can work out a deal with Ivanovic for a bi-weekly vial of grade -A serbian ichor.
random Q:
anyone care for James McCarthy?
Me likes..
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corr: remind NOT reming
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I like McCarthy and he will move on from Wigan – perhaps even this window – to play at a better club. He is certainly a better acquisition than Barry who is today’s flavor
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Kam, I’m watching the games live on a ESPN affiliate called ESPN U.
George, not dead. I’m on hiatus.
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McCarthy wouldn’t be a bad signing at all. A Britisht footballer who knows how to play it on the ground is a rarity nowadays.
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One more thing, Le prof must have a smile as big as a cow’s arse plastered all over his face given how Bernard Tapie had all of his assets seized today.
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Aman
James McCarthy is quality, but I’m biased.
We have Rambo, who is developing nicely, after his near career ending injury.
And we have Eisfield, our midfield is very strong and has a lot of depth.
we need to keep a place for Diaby of course, the only type of player I think we are missing is a sort of Gilberto Silva or Edu player.
Please God, I hope these Garreth Barry stories are some sort of sick joke.
What next, Joey Barton?
Well said Zim, AFC is supported across the world for what we are, what we do and how we play. If someone like Suarez joined, a bit of that would die.
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Gains,
Wee jimmy may have been born a ‘weegie but he is a Republic of Ireland International Midfielder and he’s not playing for Stoke.
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Sorry, I might have to explain:
‘Weegie = Glaswegian.
The Irish football manager Giovanni Trappatoni seems to always pick Stoke midfielders. Not good.
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Gains
Thanks man. Unfortunately I don’t have that channel. Enjoy.
Regarding Suarez, I think he would add to the teams quality if gotten for a right price. I still say he is getting a bad rap by the media and if we can get the going down ‘ easy’ out of his system he can become a dream player.
Aman
Like the MAC but like DC says we have good quality players in his position. Now that FRANCIS IS gone on loan a good backup in DM is probably needed and since JOHANN also on loan to Hamburg we will probably see more of MIGUEL this year as backup. If TOMMY is moved up to help in midfield then another CB to fill in for him.
Thank god the SAGNA front is quiet and the only other position of concern for me is backup for our right attacking forward THEO.
I admit though that I have been wrong regarding BIG JOHANN & FRANCIS allready this summer. As I was regarding rvp last year . & song.
Ok ok. I’ll get my damn coat…
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