Another reply to Old Trafford from the Emirates

Dear Devils,

First of all, I still am scratching my head over why you would want an alliance.

Yes, the Citizens are our common enemies, but how does that make us allies? Especially after last season’s thrashing and the luring of our so called “one-man” team to Old Trafford this time around.

So regarding your previous letter, I dont recall us singing “we score when we want”. If you’d heard clearly, it was “he scores when he wants” referring to our ex-striker. And now I guess he’s doing the job single-handedly for you guys, so that can’t really be a taunt to us, as the joke would be on you.

As for relying on own goals, you should know that own goals aren’t scored by a player who runs back from the half line and puts the ball into his own net. Its offensive play that forces a player to accidentally put the ball in between the wrong posts. Also, the own goals that we “relied on” were part of six goals that were scored against an opposition that you and your Manchester foes struggled to beat. And must I say that the goals scored were by the same “He scores when he wants” man.

As for previous meetings, I’m not one to come out saying we didn’t have players at that time, or give you any other excuses. Simply put, it was a massive defeat.

Referees: A topic we could discuss at no length. Many claim about the partiality you receive, right or not, who knows. But for instance, let’s just take your last two matches into consideration.

Galatasaray: Everyone expected an easy win for you, though it was nowhere near that. The Turkish giants were denied two penalties, by the posts twice and ultimately, you were booed by your own fans for a shaky win.

Liverpool: I don’t think there would be any debate on who the better team was on that day. However, that’s not the debate. The red card incident indicated that either Shelvey should have stayed on or both players should have been sent off, because Evans went in two-footed too. Even RVP went in late two-footed, but was deemed worthy of only a yellow. Then Valencia goes for a sweet little dive to which the referee points to the spot. Maybe you deserved the win? Who knows.

About feeding off our home-grown players, you are always welcome to do so. Because out here, we only develop loyal players. The name Arsenal is symbiotic with loyalty. If a player wants to leave, we may act outraged at times, but we prefer the decision. As you can see, currently each player of ours is committed to the club and is showing no signs of disinterest. Maybe that’s why we are doing so well.

We don’t really single out one or two “main” players as each man on the field is as important as the other in our famous passing style of football. So if you’re keen on looking into our youth system, trust me, we’re honoured.

The name on the front of the shirt has always been more important than the name at the back.

Would never be in your face,A Gunner

PS – Not a United-hater. Don’t take this too negatively. But just enough to contradict your points.

DISCLAIMER: This piece is a work of fiction, and should not be taken seriously.