How I became an Arsenal fan

arsenal badgeI have been an Arsenal fan for ten years now. But it was not so before. When I was in Swiss Cottage Secondary School, I was a Derby County fan and then a Nottingham Forest fan. I liked manager Brian Clough and followed wherever he went except for his Leeds blip.  He brought the best out of his teams on a tight budget and that could only mean he was a genius.

Arsene Wenger  joined Arsenal in 1996 (when Arsenal was known as “boring Arsenal, 1-nil to Arsenal”) and was of a similar stature though of opposite temperament from Clough. He is more professorial, understated, detached, left-brained and philosophical.  Like Clough, he pieced together teams on a reasonable budget but got arsene wengerthem to play together like a premier orchestra. He transformed boring Arsenal into exciting Arsenal. That converted me into a fan. This is the only British team that plays with a Brazilian attacking flair. They are entertaining, and I hate it so it when they play against leg-kicking, anti-football teams. Yesterday, Arsene Wenger became the longest serving manager in Arsenal’s history and I hope he continues with the club till death do them part. This is unrealistic. Succession would be a real problem. They have to find someone with the same philosophy of football. It could be someone from the “Invincibles” team like  Henri Thierry. Or Tony Adams. As long as the baton exchange takes place without incident. I really wish Arsenal well in the post-Arsene era.

I am perhaps more a follower of managers. I sometimes ask myself, “Would I continue as a fan of Arsenal, if Arsene Wenger, Arsenal’s heart and soul moved on? What if the players  and style of play changed, and it was no longer recognizable?” I probably would not remain a fan. Many fans are admirably or masochistically loyal to their clubs even when the club has been relegated numerous levels. I don’t think I can endure that kind of humiliation and pain. This makes me a fair-weather and happy fan! 🙂

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  • I became an arsenal fan due to a rivalry with my older brother. He chose liverpool so I went for arsenal. lol. But through that, i grew to be a serious fan of arsenal during their boring arsenal days under george graham. (ian wright was exciting though). My patience with arsene has grown thinner through the years but well, i hope he’ll prove himself one day on the ability to win (silverware) with youngsters. for now, i just hope Song can grow to be an effective vieira and help stop arsenal leaking goals. (and we need a solid keeper in the calibre of cech and given!)

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