Over the last decade, the fan base appears to have divided, firstly in small sections, but now it appears to have been divided further, in even smaller sections. We have a fan base that is so large and diverse; it really is bound to bring in lots of discussion and divisive opinions.

Sometimes I don’t even see Arsenal supporters anymore,  I just see groups of people, justifying within their groups and to each other about the things that go on at Arsenal, like their version of the truth is the correct one, or the truth at all.

The groups often get smaller and smaller, purely because people have grown more confident in their opinion on a certain subject, especially on Twitter.

People with a small number of followers tend to have very little to say, people with many, tend to have a lot, and with them, often strong opinions, that often get increase with time. People with a low amount of followers, often have strong opinions too, but are under-followed and perhaps are not as confident on their opinion on a particular subject at Arsenal, especially in comparison to someone who has gained a few thousand followers and believes that with them following him or her, it in turn, means they agree with his or her mind-set, therefore, they must be correct.

This is the one of the problems in social networking: an incredibly negative person, could attract negative people, because they might be like-minded, and therefore seemingly attacking positive people together for their way of thinking.  They could also seemingly attack those who are not as positive for not being negative enough, and attack each other for the sheer *joy of negativity*.

Of course, this can also happen to people who are incredibly positive, they often attract positive people, which is great, and also people who are in the middle, who often look for little bundles of positivity, but they also attract negative people, either looking for what little hope is left, or hoping to destroy the hope you have.

Many of our supporters have become more individual and have a much more personal Arsenal thanks to Social Networking, each believing their opinion for logic and truth, or they follow the opinion of someone with a lot of followers, sometimes without really breaking it down in deductible logic, which is quite worrying.

I’m not so sure everyone thinks the same on all things Arsenal, though many are divided into two groups, we’re very individual and we react to what suits our agenda, sometimes truth or logic suits our agenda and that’s the best kind of agenda to have.

This list is very long but the average Arsenal supporter has an opinion on everything (me included, I’m a bastard).  And I think compared to most football supporters. Many of the things we have an opinion on, is almost always divided into so many different ways, based on so many different stories, rumours and experiences.

These are some of the things our fans worry and argue about, yearly (some fans worry about these daily):

Arsene’s substitutions.

Arsene’s way of coaching.

Arsene’s way buying.

Arsene’s way of selling.

Arsene’s way of developing youth.

Arsene’s coat.

Arsene’s control, or lack of.

Arsene’s ability prior to Dein, after Dein.

Arsene’s ability before oil money, after oil money.

Arsene’s ways of lying to media, sometimes fans, to protect financial future of club.

Arsene’s ways of using his poker face, exceptionally.

Arsene’s negotiation skills.

Arsene’s way of ruining a player, by playing him out of position and Arsene’s ways of making a player world class, by playing him out of position.

That’s just Arsene, I’m sure there are lots more.

Gazidis’s job description, where he should be, what he should be doing, when he should be doing it, when he should go on holiday, when he shouldn’t.

The same goes for Dick Law.

Gazidis’s way of *failing* to get us player X, or selling a player that wanted out and more than we could offer him.

Those that feel Gazidis & Dick Law’s ways of helping us secure Koscielny, Arteta, Mertesacker, Monreal, Cazorla, Giroud, Podolski and also securing the long term contracts of Ramsey, Gibbs, Jenkinson, Wilshere, Chamberlain, Walcott, our British Core, has been ignored by those critical of Gazidis and Law.

Transfer Window: Cesc lovers, Cesc haters, RvP was right to leave, RvP as wrong to leave, RvP is a cunt , you name it, list is endless. The casual *we shouldn’t have let Flamini go in 2008*, or the usual *Sigh, they’re not like The Invincibles* & the ones that follow with no shit Sherlock.

The board’s lack of willingness to spend.

The board’s willingness to help us spend when we could, prior to stadium move (and decades before that), which helped set the stage for the, then to become The Invincibles.

The board’s sustainability concept being wrong or disappointing.

The sustainability concept being right, or great.

The values of the board and their vision.

Stan Kroenke is so silent that I’m sure some Gooners would sign him up for The Voice or X Factor, Usmanov is so loud that some would prefer they swapped P.R. groups.

The white lies the board have said in stating year after year that they would financially back Arsene, from 2006 to now ( what else are they supposed to say).

You can also find a huge difference in opinion on things not even concerned with football, but within the fan base itself.

People get angry over terminology, over acronyms, being part of a gooner family, being called a goonerette, a person’s attitude to values you hold dear.

Unreasonable demanding supporters &, reasonable demanding supporters arguing who is right and who is reasonable and who is unreasonable.

Supporters that don’t wish to abuse players, supporters that think it’s okay to abuse players, even if it’s their first season.

Foreign versus Home Support.

How quiet the Emirates can be.

Booing a player.

Not Booing a player.

And that is just within our club.

Twitter is just a huge giant mess of angry and often lovely Arsenal supporters at best.

Then you have the complainers, then the ones who complain about the complainers, and another group who complains about the complaints of the complainers.

Then you have wankers like me, who feels compelled to write this stuff like this and people like you who read this stuff, it’s all very tiring.

This summer has felt incredibly long even though it is the first summer in a long time where any player we buy effectively means we’re actually strengthening and not selling any key players. It’s not helped by people who are frustrated with all things Arsenal, just sat at a computer, with a readied negative response to anything.

It can get tiring. It is tiring.

Did I mention it was tiring?

It really is. Not just on Twitter, but in real life too.

Our fan base worries about so much so often, that I feel we forget what it’s like to support this club. We forget how easy it is to just enjoy *or stress in an orgasmic way* to a 90 minute football match.

There’s over a 100 things people disagree about in the club, based on who they know, what they’ve done and what they’ve been told. 90% of it might all be bullshit and they follow with conclusions to suit their emotions and yet they believe it to all be true, that’s what you’re dealing with all the time in our fan base.

Some of us, we all know each other too well, we’re all too busy picking arguments or trying to be right that we’ve all perhaps become a bit predictable and many have become grumpier and grumpier and are mocked for it, whilst others still hold on to the positive thoughts they have regarding the club and are mocked for that.

That list is very long, and it could get longer, debates are fun and they are a great way of communicating within a fan base, but ours seem to distract from the beauty of the game sometimes and focus on the blaming side of it. You don’t need to be waking up every day with someone to blame. Like you are a victim of being a supporter of Arsenal, waking up every day feeling entitled, like they owe you something.

We may need to stop worrying so much and get behind the team.  Actually, we definitely need to stop worrying so much collectively and get behind the team, all the time.

Confidence is a huge factor in performance; you can see that with Ramsey and many of our players.

I am sure no matter what our line-up is come August or September; they’re going to need our support. And in the end, that’s what we are, supporters, right?

We’re all fallible in so many ways and we don’t have the answer to everything, both in life and with Arsenal and that is completely ok.

I will leave you guys with a quote I attribute from my good friend Travis @Zitov2

 “People need your support at their worst, not at their best.”

 And although I believe Arsenal to be far from their worst, it still applies to many.

Have a great day!

 If you want to abuse me or love me after reading this, you can find me @ The_Beck_

It could just be me but I’m struggling to recall a time when there was more than merely the ability of players to be considered when thinking about the possibility of new signings.

Whilst the prospect of Higuain appears relatively free of controversy, only Fellaini and to a lesser extent Gareth Barry have enjoyed the more ‘conventional’ outcomes of debated good enough/not good enough verdicts being cast upon their vaunted moves south.

The ethical and moral dilemmas many fans of Arsenal find themselves in when wrestling with the Rooney/Suarez demons could likely only be surpassed by news that we might be about to sign Chelsea’s John Terry.

For different reasons, both Suarez and Rooney have been the rotton apple in the eyes of many neutral’s. For some Arsenal fans, the return of Cesc Fabregas to these footballing shores is also not without its difficulties, but for very different reasons.

Suarez is difficult.

For his antics at the World Cup, his unfortunate tendency to use his teeth in attack and the use of language that may or may not be technically racist but to most appears to be sat firmly in that particular corner of the room; he presents problems to supporters simply not used to their club’s reputation being potentially sullied by a player with his kind of baggage.

And Rooney is also tricky for many of us for, well, being Rooney, mainly.

That, but also for his regrettable tendency to play really, really well against us over many years; the absence of any kind of shyness when it comes to cheating (again, awkwardly for today’s consciences, something he has also done to us, with devastating effect), a largely regrettable history of personal PR disasters off the field that have at times made him something of a figure of fun and distaste in largely equal measure in the eyes of many (well, most of us, let’s be honest).

Yet, as I write, both these apparent undesirables seem to have a fighting, biting, diving chance of joining our beloved club. Which means, as supporters of Arsenal we may be shortly in the invidious position of, by extension, supporting one or even both of THEM.

On the upside, at least both are winners.

But for some of us, it’s not just winning that matters – it’s HOW we win. By this criterion, Cesc’s hypothetical return causes us the fewest problems; regardless of his occasional back-heeled lapses on the pitch and a somewhat ‘relaxed’ attitude towards contracts, he was never really known as a cheat; he was always more likely to throw the pizza rather than try to eat it – or his opponents.

One of the luxuries of being an Arsenal supporter is that we were never Leeds.

Or Wimbledon.

We never will be Stoke.

We’ll almost certainly never be managed by Sam Allardyce. Or Tony Pulis.

The closest we came, at least in recent memory, to cringe-making tawdriness is the alleged bungs of George Graham. But then we went and spoilt that by immediately sacking him. We have had the odd player behaving, well, oddly – few will forget the loss of Tony Adams to prison for excessive drinking and Paul Merson was clearly sailing close to all manner of windy excess. All hugely regrettable but rarely the cause of genuine, hand-wringing condemnation, at least at the time. At the time, George (Graham, not Blackburn) shouldn’t have got caught, and drink-driving wasn’t taken as seriously as it is today. Gambling, well, odds are it’s a mugs game, innit?

In some ways, this goes to the heart of our distaste when looking at the possibility of signing either Suarez or Rooney. We have never previously been desperate enough – or ambitiously mercenary – to win at all costs.

We have never previously needed to be.

Sure, we’ve been fortunate enough not to have to fight for our league status on a regular – or even occasional – basis. And we have never required our players to sacrifice their reputations in order to win games, to win the league or at the very least, prevent our opponents from doing so.

But one of the less commented upon downsides to the outstanding success of Manure’s mighty commercial arm is that these huge contracts facilitating their financial riches – which only now are Arsenal beginning to replicate – is that Manchester United HAVE to win. Their marketability depends upon it; their future survival as a top club now relies upon it. This is the price they pay for the scale of their sponsorship dealings. When Rooney dived to win the penalty that enabled his club to end our unbeaten run at game number 49, it wasn’t just to piss us all off mightily. It was cheating with one eye on winning a game and the other on helping to protect and promote United’s commercial interests.

They simply could not afford to have us running away with anything.

And, to some extent, this is the place Arsenal FC now start to find themselves.

As every season goes by, we are seemingly blessed by the opening up of new sponsorship channels. But none of these deals have been struck on the basis of the club resting in mid-table, or, even, doing a Liverpool or Spurs and merely threatening to break into the elite (and, whisper it, never quite managing to do so).

We are – or shortly will be – in the position where we, like Man U, HAVE to be winners on the pitch in order to justify our existing commercial relationships and facilitate the generation of new ones. Not just coming 4th or even 2nd but actually dusting down the trophy cabinet on periodic and timely basis.

The supreme irony of this is that, in future, we will need players of the calibre of Suarez and Rooney, prepared and capable of doing anything and everything on the menu to win for our club. It’s a shockingly distasteful truth but leaving aside these two, it’s worth taking a moment to consider that even The World’s Greatest Player (Messi, not Bale), routinely dives to gain advantage for his side. Yes, he does. And as for the Player of the Year, I’ve actually lost count of how many times Bale has been booked for diving and other simian simulation in the last season alone. (Okay, maybe he’s not been booked for his appearance). None of these players have been cast adrift by their clubs, at least, not up until now.

There will be many Arsenal supporters for whom this will be of very little consequence – many will be happy to adopt a ‘win at all costs’ mentality. Their anguished howling in the columns of Twitter are evidence they are already amongst us. And looking at clubs like Manure, Chelsea and City, it would seem that whilst you are winning, exactly HOW you are doing it is unlikely to be at the top of most fan’s discussion agenda. Even if the rest of the football world views things a little differently …

For those of us who DO struggle with the idea of Wayne or Luis coming to the club, the future could prove almost as challenging as, say, the last eight years or so of sticking by the club come what may, defending it against its own fans as much as the media and our opponents.

Up to now, our club’s quest has been a noble one, based on paying our way, self-sufficiency, ethical behaviour and any number of other white horses of virtuosity that have ridden our way.

But we may look back in a few years and smile at the summer our consciences’ spent so much time wrestling with the prospect of players like Suarez and Rooney.

For many neutrals, Patrick Viera and Roy Keane were brutes of players, always being booked and sent off for cutting loose with the rules and paying scant regard for the health and safety of their opponents. For the fans of both those clubs, they were simply probably the best midfielders in their club’s respective histories. HOW they came to be so effective was rarely criticised by their own fans and today is hardly even mentioned.

If you are a player who courts controversy, for as long as you are a winner, your licence to perform is unlikely to be rescinded. Our tolerance for those living on the edge of what is deemed acceptable will always be greater if they end up on the winning side. And whilst I’m not comparing Viera or Keane to Rooney or Suarez, there is surely some truth in the point that had they not been winners, their playing styles would have caused them to be labelled liabilities and their reputations would have ended up being very different.

And it’s worth remembering that Michael Owen was condemned by few for his World Cup dive against the Argentines – he won a penalty. Beckham was once castigated by all for his soft World Cup sending off – HE was blamed for that loss. No-one said a word about Gascoigne’s tearful semi-final booking as, in the end, it didn’t matter anyway, we never made the final. All three, one way or another, broke the rules, but our subsequent treatment of them all was very different.

If either Rooney or Suarez do indeed join us, some suggest that Arsene can be relied upon to rein in their worst excesses. Which, of course, he could well do.

But who will rein US in, with our expectations of success and tolerance for the behaviour of those who deliver it, wayward or otherwise?

Exactly how much are we prepared to pay for success?

ArsenalAndrew@luckietwit

A lot has been said this summer, when you consider how little has happened. The transfer window is a time for liars and their prey to come to the fore. While it is largely irrelevant what is said by would-be “ITKs”, it does create anticipation among fans. Anticipating something which may not happen usually only brings disappointment. When we talk about football fans, we can safely assume that the disappointment will be promptly followed by anger and petulance. Some of these swill merchants have been kind enough to identify themselves with ridiculous handles like Agent1324 or JohnTheAgent, but there are others. Others who believe things they are told and pass it on as fact. The recipient, mindful of just how confidential this “information” is, instantly passes it on to his pal – In the strictest of confidence. Before you know it, everyone is certain that something is happening, except it’s probably not. Knowing just how fragile fans are, I feel a little more responsibility is needed.

I don’t really have much more to say on that issue, so here’s this…

A moral dilemma has befallen the club and it is causing a lot of debate among the Arsenal faithful. Three players who have been linked with the club have caused outrage among certain sections and it is hard to blame any of them. Luis Suarez, Wayne Rooney and Cesc Fabregas are all top names in football and two of the three, I believe, play the game to the highest standard. But it is not their ability to play which has caused such a kerfuffle. Suarez’s various offences are well known, Cesc, allegedly, went on strike in his last season with Arsenal and almost certainly left the club under a cloud of acrimony, while Wayne Rooney is widely known as one of English football’s knobheads. So should a club of Arsenal’s standing be entertaining the idea of signing such divisive players?

I believe that most people who object to our former skipper rejoining could be appeased by a carefully put together statement from the player and manager. Fans pour their hearts into the club and expect the players to do the same. Fabregas could reiterate his never-ending love for the club and, I believe, most objectors would come around pretty quickly. Of course, some will feel that you should never go back and “once a cheater always a cheater” but they will be the minority who will only be swayed by a lengthy display of loyalty – A completely understandable position to take. There will also be some who seem to believe that any error of judgement should be punished and never forgiven. Theirs is the position I can relate to the least. These are people who have never made a mistake and, therefore, don’t know what it feels like to need forgiveness.

Rooney is a notorious cheat, ref-abuser and, most heinously of all, unbeaten-run-ender. To go along with all of this, Rooney presents another problem. No matter how good you believe him to be, one cannot deny the deterioration of his form. He hasn’t become the player that I personally expected to see by now – Instead he is a temperamental sort who, on his day, can cause serious problems for opponents, but is often found to be frustrated and angry during games. For these reasons, for me anyway, the Rooney dilemma isn’t one at all. I would rather we didn’t sign him.

The Suarez situation is far more complex than that of Rooney. His football is better and his offences are worse. Diving is unwelcome in the sport, let alone our club, but it is forgivable to most people, I suspect. A few of our players have done it and I haven’t seen calls for them to be sold. All a diver needs to do to be forgiven is stop diving. The biting incidents show an angry and dangerous side to the player but this is not something for which, I believe, a guy should be very heavily punished. Angry people need help, for their own sake’s as well as those around them.

Then there’s the big one. RACISM! Discrimination is, sadly, a daily occurrence for many people. In all its forms, discrimination is disgusting. Be it a casual comment or the systematic oppression of a group, discrimination is affecting the lives of billions. So how could anybody be OK with what Suarez has done? The truth is, very few people are OK with it. However, we must also recognise that people are products of their environment. I’m not going to suggest that what he said is a term of endearment in South America or any such rubbish, but it is clear that Luis Suarez has somehow come to the belief that he is entitled to speak to people like that. That makes him wrong, not evil. From a moralistic point of view, it’s his apparent lack of remorse which causes me the most concern. ‘Footballistically’, £40,000,000 is a lot of money for a guy who spends chunks of time suspended.

An enquiry concluded that Luis Suarez had used racist language to abuse Patrice Evra but that Suarez was not a racist. Anyone citing either of these findings to support their U-turn is, in my view, disingenuous. If you believe every ruling from the courts, you’re a fool. If you know that justice is handed out to those who can afford it, or fit the correct ethnic profile, and you still use the findings of the enquiry to support your flip-flop, you’re a joke. What won’t you say to better yourself?

It is nothing new in such debates to have extreme views on either side, with the majority lying somewhere in between. I believe that most Arsenal fans enjoy the fact that our players are not inclined to be in trouble with the authorities, and generally don’t bring the game into disrepute. I also believe that every Arsenal fan would like to see us compete for the two big trophies. So, is there a compromise to be made? Can we find it in our hearts to forgive? If one of these players arrives, will the fans support them and allow a fresh start? I do hope so.

Of course, we could always sign Higuain and please everyone.

Thanks for reading,

Up the Arsenal!

By @Bradyesque7

Today’s post comes from everyone’s favourite Lahndan Cabbie, and he doesn’t care where you’re from.
Take it away Mel…

Amongst all the recent shenanigans between George and his twitter chums the one remark that struck me more than any other was this. When asking about his credentials as a fan (appearances, length of service, location) this guy told George his opinion was not valid. Bearing in mind that this was in the middle of a highly entertaining debate between a Yorkshireman and a Lancastrian (neither of whom will be sending each other Christmas cards soon!) the irony was clearly lost on this poor unfortunate who had butted in.

Now I’m from London. Yes bow bells & all that, born and bred, started going in 78 and still going. From Alan Sunderland’s winner in 79 to Alan Sugar’s equaliser a few weeks ago! I bloody love em. My mother still tells a story about when just after the above photo was taken I ran away from home taking just my Arsenal kit and some library books in a carrier bag. I made it to the top of the street and came back

“Why’d you come back?’

she asked,

“I forgot the socks”

came the reply (like I was gonna get a game). There’s nothing quite like The Arsenal is there?

On my non-football travels I’ll seek out places where I can watch a game if we’re playing and if a local turns up cheering us on or wearing an Arsenal shirt they’re  in danger of being bored and or drunk to death by me telling them about my night at Anfield in 89. My point is I appear to tick all the boxes, well bully for me. But here’s the thing: Does that make me a better supporter? Does it entitle me to more of an opinion than anybody else?

The answer is simple. Of course it doesn’t, if you’re Arsenal, you’re Arsenal. From New Delhi to New Zealand, from Angel to Alabama you’ll do for me. As long as you behave the Arsenal way I don’t care where you’re from, how long you’ve been supporting or if you’ve never seen a game live. In fact I’ll let you into a little secret – you probably know more than me! (I never did read those library books).

Now let’s face those cannons outwards a ltogether now! We all follow the Arsenal…over land and sea!…….

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.
***

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

***

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

Today Jayfree (@LordGunnerJefri) from our friends from OTBAG provide us with a view on one of our promising young talents.

Eisfeld was born on 18th January 1993 at Finsterwalde, Germany. He began his footballing career at SV Quitt Ankum then joined VFL Osnabruck before heading to Borussia Dortmund in 2005. In 2009 he suffered a cruciate ligament injury that set his youth career back. After his return he scored 6 goals in 12 games for the Dortmund U19 youth team in 2011.

During the winter of 2012 on January 31st he joined Arsenal as the only winter signing which led to a heavy criticism of the Arsenal manager from the armchair know it alls. The fee is thought to be in the region of £500,000. From his exploits with the nextgen squad and the reserve team he could turn out to be another shrewd buy and Arsene gem. His contract was coming to an end in summer of 2012 and we could have got him for free, but with Dortmund preparing to offer him a bumper contract to stay in Germany, Arsenal had to move with speed in January to secure his services. He joined Arsenal on a long term contract following in the footsteps of Tomas Rosicky and Jens Lehmann. On completing the signing Thomas is quoted as saying he was proud to have signed for a great club with great players like Arsenal. He grew up watching Rosicky at Dortmund although he is the first to admit their playing styles are different. He thanked Dortmund for a fruitful 7 years and the coaches who had made him the player he is today.

He describes his move as a dream come true, a great club that nurtures and gives young talent a chance. He was mightily impressed with the training centre and enjoys the atmosphere. According to Arsene they had watched and liked him for sometime, the scouts were particularly impressed with his prolific return from injury which hastened the bid. On signing him Le Prof said he had all the right ingredients that would allow him to integrate into our quality team.

In the summer of 2012 he was selected for the 24man Asian tour squad. He went on to score the 1st goal after replacing Theo in a 2-1 comeback win over Malaysia xi. In the final game of the tour he again came on as a substitute to score the equalizing goal in a 2-2 draw with Kitchee SC. He made his professional début on 30th October in the Capital One cup, helping as the team overturned a 4-0 deficit to win 7-5 against Reading. He has featured regularly at youth levels for German youth teams as well captaining the U15, showing leadership and pedigree. He made 3 appearances for reserves last season and scored once. He made his début as Arsenal reserves beat Swansea away 2-0 in February. He impressed in the midfield despite not getting on the score sheet.

After his début, like many a Gunner before him he suffered a long term injury that ruled him out until April. On his return from injury in the penultimate game of the season in April he scored the winner in a 1-0 win over Newcastle reserves.

At the start of the 2012 revamped U21 reserve league Eisfeld scored again in a 3-0 win over Blackburn reserves at the Emirates. With Arsenal joining the Nextgen series Eisfeld was named in the squad and has since helped Arsenal qualify to the knock-out phase. Jack returned from injury in a reserve game against Everton and gave us a glimpse of the future with Eisfeld scoring an impressive double in a 2-1 away win. The second after a clipped assist from our future captain. On Guy Fawkes night in early November Arsenal got an explosive start in a 2-1 win over Bolton as Eisfeld got on the score sheet. After beating Norwich 4-2 with the mercurial German at the end of a fantastic double Arsenal qualified to the Elite group stage. This win guaranteed Arsenal at least third place in group 1. In the final game against Reading he struck a fine effort but an injury time leveller from Keown’s son Niall earned Reading a 2-2 draw which saw both teams through.

Eisfeld played well in the 1-1 home draw against West Brom U21. This game saw the return of Diaby from a long term injury. Frimpong, Jenkinson, Coquelin and Chamberlain also got much needed game time. Eisfeld played his last game in early February before being out for over a month, against Manchester United U21 at Moss lane. During this time he missed key games such as the 4-2 away loss to Tottenham U21 and the 1-0 second round nextgen away win against Inter. Eisfeld made his return after this injury lay off on 15th March against West Ham at Upton Park. He had a superb assist for Henderson in a 1-1 draw. On 20th March he was part of the U21 side that beat Manchester United U21 2-1, Bellerin with a late gasp winner.

March 25th saw Eisfeld come on as a sub against CSKA Moscow in the nextgen quarter final. The game was won 1-0 courtesy of a Gnabry goal while Eisfeld had further chances to extend our lead with a couple of well taken shots. Eisfeld was part of the scintillating semi final at Lake Como which tilted 4-3 AET in favour of Chelsea. To be frank he didn’t have a game to smile about by his lofty standards. In the 3rd and 4th place play off against Sporting Lisbon he showed great poachers instinct to pounce on a loose backpass and finish well. However couldn’t prevent a 3-1 loss and we settled for fourth. Eisfeld was not included in Steve Gatting’s U21 side that lost 2-1 away to Southampton U21 in early April. On 8th April he had a good game away to Liverpool U21 but could do nothing as we lost 3-2. Still in early April he missed the away 3-2 away win to Wolverhampton U21 and the 1-0 home loss to Tottenham U21 with an injury. April 30th saw him named on the bench against Wolves U21 which we won 2-1. He scored a cracker in his final season game at Underhill against Liverpool U21. The hard fought match ended 2-2.

A diminutive, intelligent and technically gifted playmaker who is also a clinical finisher, Eisfeld is a rare gem. He is not the most physical at 5ft 10inches slight frame but his movement makes him quite a weapon. He is an attacking midfielder who can operate on either flank or as a second striker. He is predominantly right footed. From those who oversaw his development at the Dortmund academy he was rated higher than his team mate Gotze before that ill-fated injury. His exploits on the right wing have seen comparisons with Ljungberg made. To a lesser extent he has traits of both Freddie and Cesc as wellas his own.

Arsene has described him as having a good attitude and technical ability to add value to the squad. In November in his match day programme notes the boss stated Eisfeld should make the first team before end of season. Terry Burton has described Thomas as a very intelligent footballer who plays better with better players . He notes Eisfeld gets in good positions, has excellent technique and can finish things off.

Eisfeld hails his team mates who have helped him settle down well especially Mertesacker and now joined by compatriot Podolski. He says he has always scored a lot of goals and made a lot of assists. In an interview with the official Arsenal Magazine he says it is important a player in his position has to do that. He reckons his best position is number 10 and he can play well on either flank too. However he casts a doubt on his ability to play as the target man or central striker due to his slight physique. He adds he has learnt a lot at Arsenal like playing the ball quicker while passing and moving with more effectiveness. He has also become stronger with us. Going to the Asia tour he was confident as he believes in his own ability although he did not expect to have that much impact. It gave him a real confidence boost.

VERDICT: Has the potential to be a future first team regular and can slot into the role of a free scoring midfielder or a second striker

I recently read an article on Positively Arsenal, it written by George. I always get the intense feeling that whenever you write a blog, conveying intelligent ideas or concepts, you will always get those who will struggle to understand, and with that, intense criticism and unwarranted abuse sometimes.

George put forward the idealism of morality in a sport like football. In order to find out where people’s boundaries are, you often have to take them to the extremes in terms of ideas, that is what philosophers, lawyers, doctors, mathematicians do.

Football is a thinking game and sometimes a simple game, it is not determined by simpleton fans, nor by the utmost intelligent, the love for it, is something we all share. I’ve always said “I’m Arsenal till I die” yet after reading a few articles, I think I’ve turned a little corner.

The extreme examples set, are to showcase a vulnerability in the statement that you support a club unconditionally. Even though we are shown by society and by history, that when conditions change, not everyone still clings on to the unconditional factor. People often change, evolve around it or seek to move on from it or get over it.

 I don’t see the reasoning behind mocking extreme examples, especially for the purpose of thought. You see, because for example, using the extreme, ludicrous example that the Nazi’s had won WWII in 1942, took over Arsenal, fired George Allison, put Joseph Goebbels in charge of the team, bought Nazi players, who were made to do Nazi salutes pre match and post match, would you still support Arsenal today?  I somehow doubt it for many of you, although I’m sure there are some EDL Gooners out there that would love to surprise me.  I also think in this crazy scenario, many may love the Arsenal of the past and just keep wishing Goebbels would go away (don’t worry, he does).

The same could be said of today, if a Neo-Nazi billionaire group (or Piers Morgan), somehow managed to take over Arsenal, the whole point of this is to make you think about what kind of person you are and where your allegiances may be if the rationale, class, behaviour, ethics of your club changes.

Everyone is different and many may want their moral philosophies in life to transcend into the football area. I don’t see the problem with that. Often people quote Rocky’s “Remember who you are, what you are and who you represent” it is important we don’t forget that, especially in acknowledging all the good we have stood for before, and all the good things we stand for under Arsene and all the good we may stand for with a new manager in charge.

We all saw Matthew Syed *hitting out* at Roman Abramovich’s reign at Chelsea, although I thought he was being far too kind, the reaction from Murdoch’s Sky was predictable and laughable.

Here’s a link if you didn’t see it: “http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmCtci6cen8”

But I think these things matter to me, not because I want to be a better fan than someone else, or set conditions of which I recognize what kind of Arsenal I want to support. But to recognize that the values Arsenal have had over the years, are important to all of us.

A lot of fans would *sell the soul of the club they support* for a better striker or a better midfielder, I don’t see it like that, I don’t work like that. People point to Chelsea’s trophies and say they are a success, but they never will be to me. No matter how many trophies they win under Abramovich, as long as he’s there, the reality is, they have benefitted hugely from prostituting themselves to a billionaire, who scammed and thieved the Russian government, changing the behaviour of the club, from board to players and staff. They might shine bright and yes, history doesn’t care if you are evil or good, but they are empty trophies to me.

I also found a great irony in seeing those who usually berate the club, state unconditional love for it, it’s literally like seeing a man abuse his wife, then tell her he’ll always love her.

Now this may not matter to everyone, many want to separate football from real life, they say “leave morality at home” but is that really a great role model to set children, or your family or anyone really.  I don’t feel that it is for me, I feel that they are inter-connected.

Because I feel that they are inter-connected, I wish UEFA and FIFA would spend more time investigating these owners (Kroenke, Usmanov included), but I do get the sense they’d have to shut down the investigation because of internal corruption anyway.

And recently, we have seen many supporters, who say stuff like “I will not support the club under Wenger”, “I hope we finish 5^th so that he gets sacked”, often more ridiculous than that even. Have they stopped supporting Arsenal and fallen out of love? They might have, but the reasoning and logic behind this is not the ethics and the way of the club, more so that the club hasn’t won anything in the last 8 years and they are as impatient as the next Neo-Man City fan might be. Their condition behind support relies solely on trophies.

I don’t want to be that kind of supporter; I don’t see long term progress or the logic in becoming that type of supporter. It falls outside of the romantic relationship I’ve attained with the club since I was young.

We write blogs so that other people can have a little look at how we think and how we process information and convey thought and feelings. This is just my opinion, I doubt it’s very special, I just enjoy sharing my thoughts with people & learning from them.

But the focus of this blog is to shed light on the concept that, as an individual, you have special reserved feelings toward a club, trophies/success may not, and probably will not have been the reason you support the club, you may support the club solely due to ethos. If that is the case, and the ethos of Arsenal changes drastically one day, you may find yourself falling out of love with what you fell in love with and trapped in an empty relationship, an empty relationship that we probably can’t understand now, but maybe some Chelsea supporters do, especially after reading articles like these (http://makinbacon.hubpages.com/hub/billionairerussianromanabramovich).

Therefore, every time I say “Arsenal till I die” It’s now changed to “Unless the Nazi’s, Fascist’s or the Harmfully Corrupt take-over”. But please, let’s hope that never ever happens. The likelihood is that it probably won’t. I love the Arsenal and I hope the relationship can go on until the day I no longer have a pulse.

Have an amazing, beautiful Friday afternoon, I hope it’s a memorable one for all.

I was asked a simple and fair question on twitter some time ago by Andy Wood ‏@yorkshiregunner .

“Tell me George, will you still support Arsenal when Arsene leaves?”

(As people continue to misquote my reply here again  is the blog I wrote about it)

Now I understand that it was a snide question, a loaded question, designed to suggest that Arsene was more important to me than the club. I knew that before I answered with this:

 Not for 100% sure.  It would be hard to think I won’t.  But I could stop. It’s like a marriage for me, not a family. If you follow?”

This of course was immediately interpreted to mean: “I will stop supporting if Arsene leaves.”  Just as I had anticipated!

People then started screaming that one’s support for the club should be unconditional.  “ARSENAL TILL I DIE!!”

And all the other soundbites people use.

Then they saw fit to state the obvious with gems like:

 “No one is bigger than the club.” 

No shit Sherlock, I had missed that.

As the Twitter exchange continued, I tried to explain that I could not guarantee always supporting the club, because if it changed into something different to that I was in love with, it would no longer be my club.

This concept seemed beyond the comprehension of a few, and some claimed that NOTHING could make them withdraw their support.  Ever.

There’s an irony here, in case you hadn’t already spotted it …

So I came up with the most outrageous scenario I could think of, just to test their ‘position’ and asked if they would still support the club if the following occurred:

The club is bought by the English Defence League and all our players are sold, only white heterosexuals are allowed to play for the club. Do you still support?

Almost every right thinking person would say:

“No, it’s a stupid scenario, but no.”

My point being that ALL support is conditional. It’s just the conditions that are required to be met are different, and they vary from person to person.

What some people fail to understand is that “the club” means different things to different people.

My definition of “the club” includes the playing style, its class, history and integrity.  The manager, board and players are a large part of that. The whole ethos of the club is what I regard “the club” to be.

Someone told me that “the club” to him was the badge, and that is what he supported. He didn’t mention whether the badge in question was cotton or man-made, so I reserved my judgement on him.

But, nonetheless, for him, the definition of the club was different.

My main point in all of this is that regardless of your personal definition of what the club – or anything you have fallen in love with – is, if that thing you fell in love with, changes to the degree where they or it becomes something or someone you would never have originally fallen for, then it is ENTIRELY possible to fall back out of love.

And this patently includes, even, one’s own chosen football club.

Now, if you are happy to support a club, fuelled by petro-dollars, managed by a hoof-ball specialist or filled with players like Barton, Suarez, Terry, Savage, Cole and Rooney – then great. But I would find it hard to continue that support, ultimately, even if that club was my beloved Arsenal.

It would be a gradual deterioration of the relationship between me and the club, but given the perfect (and frankly unlikely) storm, I COULD stop supporting.

There has been a lot of  “I want my Arsenal back” going around in recent times.

Well, I personally want to keep THIS one.

These people that claim to ‘want their Arsenal back’ are effectively saying this current Arsenal is not “their” club.

Effectively, they’ve withdrawn their support already.

This is evidenced by their relentless attacks on the club and it’s staff – on Twitter, in blogs, on radio phone-ins etc.  Those individuals who have given up their season ticket have clearly withdrawn their support.  They are, as a result, no longer proper pucka Gooners are they?

The anger evident in their remarks is quite possibly driven by the pain they are feeling from losing their love for the club.

Well, maybe they ARE still Gooners.But they have simply come to a point where their support has been withdrawn. Do they watch on TV instead? Or has that been given up too?  Have they stopped reading the papers? Do they no longer talk about Arsenal?

If they are still Gooners, it’s clear that bit-by-bit they are losing – or have lost – their love for the club as the conditions that led them to support in the first place are no longer seemingly evident.

For THEM, at least.

Now people can say that they are better fans than me because they have supported longer, spent more money, attended more games, live in the area of the ground or because nothing could stop them supporting.  I won’t argue.

I certainly won’t care what they think either.Because they can claim all day long that they are the ‘real’ supporters of the club. But the reality, actually, is that they are drifting away from the club with every attack they launch.

***

Finally someone said:

“Morals in football are bollocks.”

To which I replied:

“Morals are only ever bollocks to those without them.”

I however ,am the last person to judge people on their morals.That does not mean they are any less important.

Below is an article I wrote for A Cultured Left Foot that was published almost one year ago. I want to revisit it because it seems that following Gary Neville’s observations, more people are accepting that the last 8 years have indeed been a success.

The blog was published on the same day Judas chose to publish his now infamous  letter to you Guys which rather stifled the debate on my article. That saw me having terrible fall-outs with people who I hold in the highest regard. But that’s another story

It also followed a few days after a landmark piece that marked “what felt like the end of an era” as we were told by our former allies on that site.

Well it looks like they were right.  We were coming to the end of an era, just not the one they began to hope for. They wanted Arsene gone. Instead it appears he is to enter a third stage of his glorious career with us, armed with the weapons he has forged over the past decade .

Here it is then:

I Am An AKB.

Although people intend it as an insult, it’s a badge I am happy to wear with pride. It will come as no surprise to most that I believe Arsène Wenger is the best football manager in the world. My opinion is based mainly on his achievements at Arsenal but by no means solely on these.

In his first full season at Arsenal, Arsène took us to a League and FA cup double. For the next 7 seasons we never finished below second place. We were on a par with Manchester United, the biggest football club in the world, a club with vast financial clout compared to Arsenal.

Not only did we compete on equal terms, we did it with style and flair never before seen in England, the pinnacle being an unbeaten season. Something many people – expert pundits, former players and managers – thought to be a foolish pipe dream when Arsène suggested it may be achievable, some two years earlier.

In this 8 year spell he changed the game in this country forever. United had to spend hugely in order to keep pace, other clubs followed; diet and fitness improved. For this period alone he has claim to being the greatest.

With the planned move to the new stadium things changed. Arsène had to work within severe financial restrictions. Big players were sold and the fees helped relieve the pressure of the move, in what turned out to be an unexpected recession. The reduction in the wage bill must have done no harm either. History had shown that a new stadium usually led to a rapid downturn on the field; relegation beckoned.

I would have thought that our aim would have been to stay in the league in the early years of the move. However, Arsène kept us in the top four, guaranteeing Champions League football and further reducing the financial burden with the revenues generated.

He has only recently let it be known (as if we didn’t know already) that he could have left and been paid much more money elsewhere. He gave up that financial gain and personal glory for the good of the club. I think that this period is a greater achievement than his first 8 years of on field success. It is a staggering achievement. And also could give him a claim to be the greatest.

All of the above is nothing new; it is said time and again, written about by better people than me. What I want to add comes now. The other day on Twitter I asked people to briefly write what words they felt best described Arsène Wenger. I am listing some of them below. It should be noted that I did not get even one negative word in reply.

Genius; unique; visionary; a dolphin in a sea of sharks; a genuine ‘special one’; loyal; dignified; progressive; passionate; winner; hero; devotion; intelligent; inspirational; revolutionary; absolute magician; he lives and breathes the club.

In January 2011, the International Federation of Football History & Statistics v0ted Wenger ‘World Coach of the Decade’. The organisation aggregated the results from each year of the decade, and Wenger had narrowly beaten Alex Ferguson and José Mourinho for the honour.

Now here is my point. If those two are his modern-day rivals for the accolade – and they likely are – how many of the descriptions of Arsène could equally be applied to them? Not many I suggest.

For me it’s Arsène’s standing as a human being that sets him apart from his rivals. Of all the people I have ever seen in football, he is in a class of his own. I respect him more than any person that I don’t actually know personally.

If I had to choose one person to run the country it would be Arsène. One dinner guest? Arsène.

Now I accept that him being human he makes mistakes. How many and how bad they have been we have speculated on endlessly on this very blog, and we will never be well enough informed about the club’s business to know the extent of his errors. What we do know is that he has gotten a lot of things very right, against a few that seem a little wrong.

To conclude my words to best describe the great man is “honourable and trustworthy”.

I truly love the man.

***

I feel recent developments and commentary has helped my case.

FunGunner said this the other day:

“The bit I meant was what you said earlier about the board tying Arsene’s hands, I really can’t see why you think that. Although he has been frustrated about other clubs blowing us out of the water with money they have not generated themselves, he has never complained about the board not matching the petro-dollars available to Man City or Chelsea. He knows the funds have not been available – they have not been withheld, which is what you seemed to be saying. The strategy of the club has been short-term pain for long-term gain – they chose to pay off a lot of the debt quickly, make infrastructure improvements, create a commercial department etc etc and build up capital reserves rather than spend more money on transfers and salaries, but AW is totally on board with that strategy for long-term success.”

***

I can’t think of a better way to put it than that.

On Sunday, Johnny Greenwood (@Johnny_G86) wrote a tremendous article for PA, describing how his views on Arsenal have changed over the last year.   I thought it was quite a brave article as it always takes guts to ‘fess up to this kind of sea-change in one’s outlook.

I went through something similar in the first year or so at the Emirates as we, despite being told by the club that we had funds available, were seemingly unable to replace the likes of Patrick Viera, in particular, and in reality, the bulk of not just one of the best team’s Arsenal had assembled, but, as history may yet judge, one of the best teams ANY club has put together.  Ever.

For my own part, I’d finally got my first season ticket when the Emirates opened, having been in a 7 year long queue prior to that.  What rotten, miserable timing that the squad appeared to start its relative decline at that exact point!  2006-07 was, of course, pre-Twitter, so my main source of information back then was chat amongst other fans and articles in newspapers and other media.

Strangely, the global credit crunch towards the end of the decade helped me to better appreciate the club’s predicament though by this time I was routinely reading A Cultured Left Foot (though not commenting until later).  But ACLF had two great strengths when it came to challenging my own temporary frustrations with the club.  Yogi’s extraordinary, well-informed and brilliantly crafted, daily posts were supplemented by comments from a really knowledgeable ‘crew’ who’s passion for the club was matched by the quality of their written insights.  Many of those ‘greats’ are, happily, still today posting here on PA and ACLF.

The impact on waverers such as myself – and more recently Johnny – are one reason I still read blogs and follow Twitter.  My own use of Twitter is highly selective – I don’t follow many and I’m not followed by many but the quality of those I do interact with makes it a worthwhile ‘exercise’, both entertaining and generally just good fun.  I don’t have a huge amount of spare time to contribute to PA or other blogs – but, deep down, I think there are plenty around who do a better job than I could, in any case.  Actually, not that deep down!

Social Media is often cited as being the platform for much negativity and ignorance towards the club which, of course, it is.  But it doesn’t HAVE to be.  When stalwarts like George fight the good fight on Twitter, set up their own blog sites and provide an alternative perspective – a challenge, even – to people like myself and Jonny then the activities of all us looking to support the club in this way can be seen to be anything but a lost cause.

Time and again I hear of new fans being drawn to the club in the last 8 years despite the absence of silverware.  Quelle surprise! What’s that all about?!  It’s happening because they are being exposed to an alternative to the shameful negative media narrative and ignorance of some fans and coming to their own conclusions.

On Twitter I deliberately follow a couple of out-and-out ‘doomer’ accounts just to read what’s going through the minds of such people.  Of course, not all those critical of the club are foul-mouthed half-wits and whilst I can’t say, definitively, such people are always ‘wrong’ in what they write, it’s interesting how often their views – often, their bile – is finding expression through the regurgitation of half-truths and myths.  When challenged, some are surprisingly fragile and choose to ‘block’ or ‘unfollow’ you.  Others punctuate their exchanges with the use of appalling language and surprising levels of aggression which make one wonder if there is something else affecting them in their lives which is finding expression in their anti-Arsenal commentary.

They are universally claiming to be ‘real’ fans but they sound anything but.

What’s THAT all about?!!  I have no idea for sure, I suspect it could be several things. I wonder if there is a degree of disenfranchisement amongst some who are now priced out of the game and were never able to replicate that sense of belonging to the club which they enjoyed during the Highbury years.  Others, doubtless are simply shallow glory-hunters.  Some, I suspect, are very angry indeed that despite their very best and noisiest predictions, the club has simply failed to collapse and, in fact, appears if anything  alarmingly close to actually thriving, once again.

The ultimate bad decade at the office, for such followers.

I think the majority of these now dwindling bands of critical fans will fade away and ultimately rediscover the faith now the club is finally better able to compete with the biggest clubs on the world stage.  As the evidence reveals itself as to the reasons behind the club’s actions over the last ten years or so, more and more observers  are beginning to recognise the scale of the achievement of the club and this is very much a chapter in our history that is finally drawing to a close.

The reconciliation of the fan base is just one very welcome aspect of the next chapter that awaits us over the coming months and years.

I for one look forward to the day when my footballing ‘arguments’ are once again with fans of other clubs rather than with those occupying the polar opposites of my own.  Sure, they’ll always be debate about football and different blogs will cater for those different ways of following the club.

But the almost ‘existential’ nature of the debate surrounding Arsenal will, eventually, be a thing of the past and, for this observer and lifelong fan, can’t come a day too soon.