LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 24: Fans react after Theo Walcott of Arsenal scores during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Aston Villal at Emirates Stadium on March 24, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
The transfer-window is now open and there is a familiar story brewing at the Emirates stadium. Yet another star is all set to leave the club for greener pastures and it has become a sense of deja vu for the Gooners.
However, I always wondered how the Arsenal fans may react if a season panned out successfully. Will they be ecstatic when Arsenal wins a trophy? Or will they still be blaming the board for not doing enough in the transfer market? So, I formulated a theory that describes various emotional states that Arsenal fans may experience if the club’s policies and/or results took a new turn for a change.
Theory: Impossible trinity of Arsenal
”Impossible trinity of Arsenal’ is a sports hypothesis which states that the three situations of this football club – Arsenal fans are unhappy, Arsenal spend huge transfer money or Arsenal wins silverware – cannot occur simultaneously. Irrespective of the season, it explains, at most only two of the three conditions can co-exist.
In other words, If Arsenal wins silverware and spends huge money during the season, then fans will never be unhappy. Similarly, If Arsenal wins silverware and yet fans are unhappy, then Arsenal would have won a FA Cup/a League Cup without the necessary funding from the management. If Arsenal invests huge money and fans are still unhappy, then it can only imply that the club has not won any trophies.
(Assumption: The theory presumes that Arsenal cannot win major silverware such as Champions League & EPL without change in their spending policy; the assumption which in reality is a bitter truth.)
Depending on the results of the club and policies of the management, and the fans view (either optimistic/ pessimistic) on those results and policies, the ‘Impossible-trinity’ triangle divides emotional reactions of the fans into six different states – three at the vertices and three on the sides. These six states encompass the emotional roller-coaster that Gooners may experience at the end of the season.
Various states of Arsenal fans:
Case I: Arsenal neither wins any silverware nor spends huge transfer money
Pessimistic view: Rage (At point ‘a’)
End of another football season and it is status quo for the fans. The club has neither invested any funds nor won any silverware. The fans are in the all-too-familiar state of rage.
Case II: Arsenal spends huge transfer money
Pessimistic View: Grief (On line ab)
This fan will be distraught to realise that money is not the solution to the silverware problem for his club. For, he cannot hide behind the club’s reluctance to spend money to debate with rival fans about his club’s failure. He will spend days introspecting deeply on what went wrong for the club.
Optimistic View: Patience (At point ‘b’)
Unlike the pessimist, the optimist looks at the positives from the trophy-less season. He thinks that a change in transfer policy will bode well for the future. He hopes that better things are in store for his club and all it takes is time.
Case III: Arsenal wins silverware
Pessimistic View: Ambitious (On line ac)
In this case, the fan will not be satisfied with the trophies. He demands the board to invest into transfer market to maintain the success that club has enjoyed by winning silverware. Otherwise, he believes, the joy will be short lived at the Emirates stadium.
Optimist View: Solace (At point ‘c’)
This fan will be content that Arsenal has finally ended the long-awaited trophy drought. He will find solace in the victory and hopes this is the beginning of a new chapter in the club’s history.
Case IV: Arsenal wins silverware and spends huge transfer money
Optimistic View: Bliss (On line bc)
In this case, Gooners will be living every fan’s dream. The club would have won silverware and the board would have emptied club’s coffers to bring world’s biggest talents to Emirates. The team would now be looking to challenge the best in Europe at the Champions League.
PS: You can read about the original ‘Impossible trinity’ theory here.
PPS: You can read about my other sports-theory article here.