Do not let Twitter define you as a Gunner

Does Twitter change your priorities?

I can’t remember when I joined Twitter, maybe a couple of years ago now and I was skeptical about doing so. I quickly got used to it and found it far better than Facebook. I didn’t expect it to be purely about Arsenal but, as with everything else in my life, Arsenal took over.

It soon became apparent there was a divide in the fan base, it was quite fragmented, which was a new concept to me. Twitter is an excellent tool when used in the correct way but some Arsenal fans seem intent on showing up its negatives. Those of you that follow me will know I’m not usually that serious and this summer is the only one I have had doubts over the manager.

I was also being dragged into the divide, I was frustrated, and I was losing sight of why I became an Arsenal fan, why it was always so exciting every time I went, does not matter if they won, lose or draw.

After attending the Aston Villa game, my first back as a season ticket holder for four years, I was down, incredibly frustrated and wondering if Arsene could take us any further. I was tweeting seriously and getting into the ins and outs of the club from the board to Arsene, to Stan, trying to find answers as to where they had gone wrong, not realising that maybe I had lost perspective as to why I support my great club.

I still feel I was right to ask questions, I didn’t insult and it was always with a heavy heart. It came to a head over a Twitter discussion which left me wondering how I’d been sucked into such a debate. Why am I questioning some things I know nothing about and where am I going to go for a break from real life if I’m now worrying about Arsenal as well.

Supporting Arsenal shouldn’t be such hard work, why is it feeling that way? It never did before. I then realised how Twitter was skewing my opinion and feelings as to my support of the club. Dragging me into areas I know nothing about.

I’ll be honest, I don’t know about tactics, who should play where or what formation we should have. I don’t need to know to enjoy it. I took a step back and tweeted away with a load of garbled, nostalgic nonsense that will mean as much to you as the mad ramblings above, if you’ve indeed made it this far, but they mean the world to me.

So my point in all this? Twitter is fantastic, it has given me the opportunity to make new friends, meet some fantastic, genuine, like-minded people and hear new, fresh ideas and opinions, but don’t lose sight as to what it is that made you support our great club.

Bear in mind, it is a simple game, one which we can’t always win and life is too short to be so serious about it. It’s not all about statistics, tactics, pivots, double-pivots, triple-pivots, whatever; it’s about the whole experience. We’re all fans; we all have the same objectives and aims. We have different opinions so have debates but keep perspective and don’t insult. We are not acronyms, we are not on opposite sides, we are the Arsenal and we are better than that.

A certain prick who headed north had a little boy in him who told him to up sticks. When I start my walk from Finsbury Park to the stadium I revert back to the child on that bitterly cold day in 1987-88 and I’m sorry Robin, but he’s every bit as excited about seeing Arsenal as he ever was and always will be.

I love the whole experience of going to Arsenal, everything. It is just that, an experience, every time, the whole day. Every fan has their pre-match traditions, rituals and superstitions they repeat week after week whether you’re watching live, on TV or in another country and that is why I love Arsenal.

Are we perfect? Absolutely not, but we’re as close to it as you’re likely to get. It is a fantastic club to support, it is the only club to support for me and it is our club. We should feel privileged about that.

One last thing to finish on, after that Charlton game and breaking that news to my dad, we played Tottenham the week after and defeated them 2-1. If that wasn’t a sign, I don’t know what is.