Belief.
We live in a world where every aspect of our lives is controlled by belief.
This most intriguing of psychological states is perhaps responsible for the shaping of our world more than anything else. The romantics may argue love and the cynics may argue greed is equally responsible, yet nothing is more dangerous than a man with either a lack of or an abundance of faith. From the dawn of civilisation, belief has elevated men to the heavens and dragged them to the depths of hell. Alexander The Great conquered the known world not because of his troops or unprecedented strategic mind but because he believed he could. Yet the excessive nature of his beliefs led to his downfall as his men mutinied against an invasion of India after years at war. Gaius Juluis Caesar’s belief in his abilities led him to conquer France with his faith in his political nous helped him dispatch his rivals in Rome. Yet his convictions that he should introduce reform and that he should be held accountable to no man lead to his rather bloody end.
While remarkable individuals such as these exuded faith in themselves others have displayed trust in existential beliefs. In 1095 Pope Urban II decreed that the Holy Land should be liberated from those of other religious faiths that held it due to his beliefs. Thus began almost 200 years of unabridged violence and hatred in the Middle East, the aftermath of which can still be felt today. Countless wars have been fought due to beliefs about war, land, rights and the belief in the sanctity of freedom. It has enabled our species to take to the skies, touch the highest peak on our world and even walk on the moon. It has also caused the extermination of 6 million Jews, ingrained prejudice and terrorist attacks. A sombre and most probably inappropriate time for me to finally start talking about Arsenal then you may think.
The Gunners are at yet another pivotal moment in our season and it’s safe to say that the fans have gone well and truly mental this season. I would suggest that the increased expectation this season due to our first truly world class signing in years has altered the chemical balance of several Gooner’s brains. It’s certainly more polite than hypothesising that they may in fact, just be idiots. This article is being penned on the night of our victory over Liverpool and the idea of a blog on belief occurred to me during the build-up to the game. Various degrees of belief were on show, from the belief that “Arsene has went mental” spiel from renowned doom-monger LeGrove to the belief that “We should support the team” from neutrals to the belief that” Everything will be absolutely fantastic” from the almost nauseatingly optimistic Blackburn George. I of course retained my belief that James ‘Raul’ Stokes is a filthy harlot with such perverted desires even Giroud’s mistress couldn’t fulfil them. While observers of the Arsenal online community will no doubt find that these individuals expressing said opinions hardly ground-breaking, it did intrigue me.
We are all perfectly aware that LeGrove and his cluster of likeminded individuals will spew forth negativity and general discontent until the club succumbs to their poisonous bile and eventually relents, allowing them places as Manager, Fitness Coach and CEO of our beloved club. Equally certain is that Blackburn George shall beam forth positivity, mowing down those that dare question the will of his God on his motorcycle of delusion. If one said the sky was blue the other would say green. We know they will never convince each other that their beliefs are correct.
Yet the notion that our chances should be dismissed so readily before the game is even played is incomprehensible and it shows a fundamental lack of understanding of how football is actually played. Using such warped logic surely Fulham fans shouldn’t bother existing as on paper, they are the worst team in the league and must therefore be destined to lose every game? Such fervent belief that our team do not have the capability to win is laughable, never mind that they may not even be able to compete. As a side note, what alarms me more than that belief though, is the outpouring of bile that seems to accompany it. If an opinion is posted it will typically be followed with several people posting insults to Wenger, the players, the board or anyone that crosses their path. It is shameful to see and lets all our fanbase down.
It seems strange to me that even during the good times, when we have beat Liverpool twice, Spurs twice, topped the league and progressed from the Champions League Group of Death that certain individuals have displayed a complete lack of faith in our team. To examine our players, the conviction and abilities they possess and yet still determine that they are unable to compete shows, for me, someone who struggles to comprehend that we have progressed from the team of pretty passers to a team worthy of the club. A desire to see Arsenal fail so that changes are implemented is equally as disgusting.
Our manager and players have spoken several times of their trust in each other and belief that they can end our wait for a trophy. I retain the belief that Arsenal can win the league this year. More than that, I have faith that we can win the double of the League and FA cup. Whilst others will disagree, as is their right, I shall remain convinced of our team’s qualities, although perhaps not to the radical degree of Blackburn George and his ilk.
Since I have harped on about belief so much I thought I’d leave you with a 2500 year old quote that remains relevant that we can all appreciate:
“Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is.”
Thanks for reading and to George for hosting this on his wonderful site. I’ve been Dyllan Munro and feel free to drop a comment and let me know what you think of the article. You can also reach me on twitter @goonerdyllan. Thanks everyone.
Positively Arsenal 
@ GP
I know, I can’t believe some of the stuff I am reading.
LikeLike
AAAAAAAAAAARGH.
LikeLike
Eleven v eleven and that would not have happened. I think we could have won. That was not the formidable Bayern the media described.
LikeLike
Exactly. That was all about the sending off. I’m so frustrated. It was shaping up to be an amazing game.
LikeLike
2nd goal was a bummer.
Proud of our effort tonight.
LikeLike
If we play like that in the EPL we can win it….
LikeLike
Well done, boys. I FEEL CHEATED.
“Tired legs on Saturday”, someone said, but there are eight players who will be fresh and can be rotated in. Squad depth.
LikeLike
The first 30 minutes were incredible. We were dominating Bayern, especially at the start of the game and who knows what would have happened if the penalty had gone in. Unortunately after the miss the fans in the stadium let up and it looked like that translated to the team a bit but still, Bayern didn’t look threatening apart from Kroos’ 3rd minute atempt. Then the red card happend and the fans flared up again, helping the team to defend really, really well until another brilliant shot by Kroos changed everything. A bit unfortunate that we couldn’t keep it down to one goal until the end because scoring 3 at the Allianz Arena will be very difficult. Nevertheless, from what we have seen today, it’s far from impossible.
Last year against Bayern the gulf in class was apparent. This year, we were equals. That’s the difference and that’s the kind of difference the team can take a lot of confidence and belief from.
LikeLike
Well said, Evil
LikeLike
Sorry, everyone. I clearly did jinx us.
LikeLike
Exactly Mr. Evil…..but your words are not evil….they are good….
LikeLike
We’ve dug ourselves out of deeper holes.
I love this fucking team.
LikeLike
On a positive note, what about that Yaya Sonogo? And what about the Boss showing faith in the young lad playing him first against Liverpool and now Munich!
LikeLike
The way I see it, you have to take the positives. Do well and beat Bayern and go through to the next round..excellent. Loss but play well with good spirit…less matches and can focus on league and fa cup. This young team is only going to get better over the next years. I feel privileged to have seen them grow.
LikeLike
Literally speaking 4th place is not a trophy. Literally speaking we lost the game today. Metaphor makes the abstract concrete, so if people can’t grasp the notion that inch by inch we are getting stronger and more competitive then I pity them.
Sanogo was terrific, but whoever was responsible for getting rid of that orange thing that hung around on the pitch in the first half had a shocker.
LikeLike
Well who is doing the write up?
LikeLike
Damn fine game – two very good footballing sides – the away side nicked it and full credit to them for sticking at it to get two goals against a very solid defence
By no means is this tie over – we showed enough even with ten men and 0-1 down to have got the draw tonight and fully armed we will pose the Bavarians a lot of problems
LikeLike
Sav, was that orange thing Goetze? He was pretty shit, I must say.
LikeLike
its always better to be a goal down with 11 men than with 10… I also recall that Jens challenge… I think WS had to get that ball much like Fab on Sturridge the other day…
LikeLike
Oh, and thank god we didn’t go down to ten men in Munich. By 12:30, the boys will have eaten and gone to sleep in their own beds. Some of them, even with their wives.
LikeLike
TS, I think keepers should avoid challenges in those situations. Robben had it all to do when he took that ball down. Being down one-nil is better than playing with ten men an entire half.
LikeLike
@ gains.. exactly… especially with the likes of Robben and Suarez who will make the most of these challenges or mere touches….
LikeLike
Giroud chalks up brace in Munich. KosPer defiant. Extra-time cagey. Penalties. 3-3 after 4.. Fabianski saves. Robben distraught. Ozil dinks it. We’re by far the greatest team..
Oh my life…..
LikeLike
I am so proud of the boys, they really played well. Never looked second best 11 v 11. It really is a shame that you have a sending off and a one. I do agree that is better to let the player score. I dare say that if Wojo came out and made himself big that Robben Would not have score…such is life, I guess.
Anyways, I am picking us to pull this thing off in Germany.
LikeLike
…the way we started ..this was the fucking night…..and we all knew it…..crowd was extremely keen and supportive ..and The Arsenal were tearing the european champions apart…hats off to Wenger…so why did you do this to us mesut? any reasons?….
LikeLike
Passenal has been pinched for Tomorrows post.
LikeLike
I thought I’d done something wrong and been binned George!
LikeLike
Never Passenal-never.
LikeLike
The despicable robben spits on Sagna.
I’ve also just seen the disgraceful headline on the mirror. I’m glad that I haven’t bought that rag for years and it will never be bought by me again.
LikeLike
i cant believe some of us are blaming szczesny for the pen. he has saved arsenal many times this season coming out of his line the same way. but this time roben was quicker. are we saying keepers should never come out of their lines in such situation? every goalkeeper has his style of play, while some will prefare to stay on the line all the time, others anticipate dangers and try to deal with them. personally, i love keepers who anticipate. that is why i love jens despite him madness.
if we want to stay positive and not blame our players, the rule has to apply to all not just a few. szcz has been the best this season and was great last night. if i will put any blame, it will be the defenders who could have stopped roben outside the box by any means and get a yellow.
LikeLike