Guns N’ Roses

Navigating the hopes and frustrations as an Arsenal fan

I have been a Gunner for almost thirty years now. My maternal grandmother gifted me a radio in the mid 90’s after I did well in an examination. Those were the days of no computer or mobiles- it became a ritual to tune into BBC Sports Roundup on Saturday evenings and listen to the live EPL commentary. Wenger was just starting to create his charm then and the ‘Invincibles’ season soon followed- it was easy to fall in love with the Arsenal team.

I have been a Gunner right through and experienced the downs after those heady days- with Henry making way for Van Persie, Fabregas, Sanchez, Ozil, Aubameyang over the years to now Saka and Odegaard. Arteta came and gave us hope but there’s still more frustration than hope as a club fan.

I do think that it’s not all gloom and doom- coming second in the current EPL table and third in the Champions League revamped first round format is not a bad starting point.

Arsenal has a young squad- they surely have the DNA around which they can rule England and Europe for the next ten years. The team age average is amongst the lowest in EPL. Also, the way that the team was fully resurrected by Arteta when he came in was praiseworthy- all the deadwoods were driven out with agility- Aubameyang, Lacazette, Ozil and the shambolic defence. We brought in youth to revitalize the team. We also possibly have the best defence in Europe- the Gabriel and Saliba partnership is easily the most solid going around. You win a match with a good attack, but good defence wins you titles! The defence very often does not just get us clean sheets but they have also made Arsenal ‘set piece monsters’- with Arsenal scoring the most goals from set pieces so far this season. Watching Gabriel score from corners has become a common sight in Arsenal matches– so much so that the set piece coach Nicolas Jover has a mural in Emirates already to recognize this new found prowess. The ‘Next Gen’ are also coming through so well- not just the Sakas but this season has seen the emergence of Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly- truly showing the possibilities for the future. Our performance with the other biggies in the EPL- the so called Top 6- has also been super! We have won or drawn against the Top 6 for 15+ matches now- gone are the days when we folded under pressure in big matches!

But it has also been 5+ seasons of lot of hope under Arteta but a lack of final results- Arsenal fans are becoming impatient and not ready to wait anymore. Arteta became the Gunners head coach in December 2019 and we won the FA Cup that year but it has been all expectations and no end result after that. The second place in 2022-23 was surprising but after leading the league for 90% of the time, we should have sealed it. The 2023-24 performance was gritty- we kept chasing Manchester City till the end but dropping points against lower teams hurt us. With City dropping their level this year, this could and should have been the year of the Gunners- but it has been a repeat of all too familiar story again. So, what ails us?

The biggest one to me is the ‘cost avoidance’ mindset vs. an ‘investment’ mindset- we have strengthened the team but still don’t have a squad that can win big titles. The EPL is unforgiving- even the 20^th team can surprise the table toppers- you need a deep squad to seal the deal. The biggest gap in the team is obvious- we do not have a no.9. Arsenal has been rumoured to be in talks for a transfer with many a name- Gyokeres, Sesko, Isak, even a Cunha! Till the time we have a good no.9 who can score 20+ goals in a season, we can forget becoming champions. Last week was so illustrative- when Liverpool was chasing the game vs Brentford, they brought in Nunez from the bench. When Arsenal were chasing the game vs Villa- they brought in Sterling as a sub! I rest my case. Man City have already got Haaland to sign a new ten year deal and have brought in Omar Marmoush to replace Alvarez- but Arsenal are still contemplating. Arteta needs support from the board to spend on a good finisher. Having said that, our transfer strategy in general, has not been up to the mark. We kept buying defenders and midfielders without strengthening our forward line. Arsenal also does not have decent back-ups in key positions- with a good team of around fourteen players but with gaping holes in the second team- Saka played week in and week out and it was almost a case of ‘when the next injury will happen, not whether’- and now we are without our most influential player for three months. This also explains how we do so well against the big teams (when the adrenaline gets you over the line) but consistently drop points against weaker oppositions (when the tired legs give way)- we have become the ‘Robinhood’ of EPL.

Under Arteta, Arsenal seems to have also developed a ‘complaining’ mindset vs a ‘winning’ mindset- always bickering about the VAR decisions and the ‘could be’s’ as opposed to focusing on their circle of influence and closing down games. The style of play has also evolved- from the free-flowing style we so loved (check out this special goal by Wilshere– one of my most favourite ones in the Wenger era) to a boring style overly dependent on set plays. Getting a good no.9 now will help us move back to the attacking style we Gunners fans so adore!

So, quite a few good things are happening for the Arsenal team, but equally a lot of quick and big fixes needed to move from a good team to a great team that wins big titles again.

Arsenal is the rose that we Gunners fans love- but it comes with the thorns which prick us. But all said and done- Love it, or hate it- we are Gunners for life!