Arsenal Fans Apologise

By Daniel Cowan
In Arsenal
Feb 16th, 2014
7 Comments

When you stood so fervently behind opinions you formed whilst angry and continued to espouse as the anger lingered for longer than it usually would, as a result of surrounding yourself with other angry people riling one another with obstreperous discord and irate agreement, it is understandable that apologising would be an almost impossible thing for your pride to allow.

Arsenal are through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup after a professional performance from the home side and whilst elation, and possibly relief, should be the dominating emotional response there are some who should maybe make a little room in their souls for a modicum of remorse and a simulacrum of shame.

It’s not my place to tell people how they should behave, think or feel but I believe that as a member of this Arsenal society I should be as vocal as the next person in expounding moral virtues such as “don’t judge a player before you see them play”. I should make it clear that not judging a player like Sanogo is not tantamount to declaring Wenger as the second coming whose mere gaze will turn Sanogo into a Drogba/Messi hybrid rendering the need for a world-class signing up front redundant. They are not mutually exclusive.

I do not disagree Arsenal require a “something from nothing” presence up front, much like Suarez who, were it not for Fabianski, might have score a few goals from such positions of seeming empty attack today. However, it is extremely obtuse to declare a match lost before a ball has been kicked because a young free signing who few have actually seen play and is coming back from injury is starting the match. Ironically, I am certain, that some of these narrow people will be screaming for him to start ahead of Giroud until the summer comes around. They might even be refreshingly original enough to proclaim his philandering is the true reason for them wanting him dropped; it’s a moral standpoint you see.

But on to the meat and bones of this post. I am a generous soul and I have taken some time away from my evening of jubilation to construct a letter of apology that can be used by those whose pride may not allow them to say what deep down they might feel they should. Only they can decide if this prefabricated missive is relevant to them.

Dear Arsenal,

I would like to apologise to you (the club, the players, the staff and the manager) for declaring your FA Cup journey over before a ball was kicked against Liverpool. I was wrong to believe that the league result last week was anything other than a freak result and doubting Wenger’s tactical ability was a fool’s errand that became apparent shortly into the match when I saw the defence sitting deeper and not exposing themselves against a pacey Liverpool side as they did the previous week by pushing up too high.

Contrition will be my side dish as I tuck into my nourishing supper of humble pie tonight having seen first-hand the raw potential the club saw in Sanogo and how impressive he was against experienced defenders in what was probably our most crucial game of the season so far. Watching a second-string Arsenal compete so thoroughly with a strengthened Liverpool side compared to last week was heartening and the belief I have so flippantly discarded every time we have had a set-back this season is something I promise I will try to cherish until May.

I cannot guarantee that I will not be disappointed or angry if we lose points or drop out of competitions and I know you accept that is part and parcel of football but I can assure you I will give my entire support in every game and afford you the patience your improved performances this season have certainly earned.

I shall also endeavour to appreciate that Wenger knows what he is doing when Arteta and Flamini play together despite me knowing it is not our best partnership but I now appreciate that not best doesn’t mean bad.

What seemed like prioritising the Champions League over our best chance for a trophy I now understand was a calculated risk that paid dividends. I shall not extenuate the squad before a ball has been kicked again and I shall endeavour to watch a few games before judging a player who doesn’t have a big price tag and look like a fool as I furiously back-pedal and pretend I always rated them like Morgan.

Thank you for today and best of luck in the rest of the cup.

COYG

Regards,

INSERT NAME

EDIT:

Whilst I believe you shouldn’t judge a player before he has played or definitively declare a game lost before a ball has been kicked I respect the right of others to think however they bloody well please. I also reserve the right to disagree with them and snort as derisively at their views as they some of mine. If you have read this post and feel annoyed or reviled then I could say to you that I made the point of saying you choose how this post relates to you but I won’t, sort of. What I will say is, check the batteries in your humour radar, I think they are running low.

EDIT 2:

Just to be clear. I am not asking you to apologise. My “letter” was tongue-in-cheek. Do I think it is foolish to think some of the things I put in the letter? Of course, that’s why I thought it was funny. Do I think you should apologise? No, I do not. I am fully aware of the concept of evolving opinions.

Thanks for reading! Please comment on this post, subscribe by email, share with friends and follow me on twitter (@thedanielcowan). Please check out the official NLIR Facebook page http://facebook.com/northlondonisredblog for news, views, freebies and more. 

Don’t forget to tune into the funniest Arsenal podcast around “Goonersphere Podcast

Advertise your business here! Click here for details .

About "" - 509 Posts

I am a South London born Gooner now living in Leigh-On-Sea, Essex. I'm a husband, daddy, podcaster, trainer enthusiast and aspiring author. My work is my passion and for that I will always be grateful. Here is where I write my thoughts and views on Arsenal Football Club, the greatest team the world has ever seen.

7 Responses to “Arsenal Fans Apologise”

  1. SY4 says:

    Nice touch – a bit of class just like the Arsenal we love and cherish

    Now bring on the Germans – lets hops our Germans are ready for them.

  2. RealG says:

    Just fickle fans who lap up every negative comment about arsenal from pundits and the media and even piers morgan!! lol says a lot about someone if they agree with that mug!! We got spanked in a freak game last week and those idiots were saying arsenals season over, wenger out AGAIN! but today as we won..those same people will be saying arsenal are the best team in the world and will win everything and wenger is a genius!! its just narrow-mindedness and glory supporting attitudes!
    only the intelligent, rational arsenal fans have the ability to take a step back, look at the bigger picture and form good opinions about the situation…our season has been amazing so far! 2 freak results AWAY at rampant citeh and liverpool! and a mugging by chelski in the league cup and united in the league games…that is the only bad things about our season so far!!! apart from that we ARE competing for the prem title!! not 4th place like previous seasons, we have just beaten a team in the fa cup who spanked last week to get a home tie in the quarters!! and we have bayern in the champs league who know we can beat them!! so still going strong in 3 competitions!!! GREAT season so far and keep proving those doubters and glory supporters wrong!! will make it sooo much better when we win things! love proving stupid people wrong! just a shame those stupid people will be apart of our glory!! as they dont deserve to be ‘fans’ of this special football club!!!

  3. Enock Silungwe says:

    That’s good now Jose morinho he’s not in the possition

  4. realarsenalfan says:

    As a fan as well I appreciate your apology and hope that we all can give the manager who is in a better position than us to do the job he is paid to do. As a former player myself(not in the uk)i know the pressure the players are under, especially the younger ones and so we can temper our criticism a lot on them until we actually see them perform and even then let us not berate them as they are playing for our beloved club

  5. Thepositivedan says:

    Extremely nice piece written in which every thing you said is spot on. Too many Arsenal fans tend to take the negative route when a game is drawn or lost. They forget that a game does not define a season, it is only part of a long long season.

    To be honest, I really enjoyed this piece although I have to admit that I googled to know the meaning of the words ESPOUSE, CONTRITION, OBSTREPEROUS, MODICUM, SIMULACRUM etc. 😀

  6. K Mayers says:

    Well written again Daniel. Hit the spot perfectly I’d say.
    I did say last week was a fluke, initiated by a refereeing/linesman error in the 1st minute thus putting us immediately on the back foot. We learned from it. Not surprising really considering the ability of our manager.
    I had no reservations about Sanogo starting yesterday, was quite looking forward to it tbh & telling others to welcome the sight of a world cup winner in our ranks. I said he could cause them problems as they wouldn’t know what to expect – and really, he did.
    I knew the MF pair don’t usually play well together but 1) I was glad to have Flamini back, we’d missed him & 2) I thought it had to be Arteta with him as this was the best pair to combat their midfield & try to stop any long through balls. It worked. It was better than having Jack there running upfield, losing possession & lying/sitting on the floor moaning about it.
    My only real reservations were at full back. I was concerned for Nacho & Jenks with the pace coming at them but both played well, Jenkinson in particular. It probably helped as you say by the fact the backs didn’t push up.
    I enjoyed reading this mate – onto the next 😉

Leave a Reply to SY4 Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

facebook comments: