In Awe of Arsenal Football Club

Year 2002

A decade back, in India, watching football was not considered a normal thing. The nation lived, breath and celebrated cricket. The Natwest trophy won by us making a record chase against England at the home of cricket, Lord’s was something that I can never forget. The cricket fever was at its peak. Fireworks were on and dhols became a norm that night. I was one of them. Dancing on the streets, chatting about the match in school for the entire next day, analyzing what would have happened if Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh had not struck that partnership and then incorporating the style in my daily matches. Cricket was the love, cricket was the passion and cricket was the life.

In those days, claiming you are becoming a football fan was something to be laughed off at from, almost, everyone- friends, family and acquaintances. That too, it is not a national team like Brazil but an English club. I could not help it. I was getting hooked to a certain Arsenal Football Club.

Let me admit, football was not a complete unknown game to me. My brother and I, while shuffling channels, often stopped at football highlights where goals were scored. We had no knowledge of the teams and the choice depended on color of shirts. Even the slightest red, the team is mine; if it’s blue- then he gets it. What mattered were the numbers on the top right corner of the TV screen.

So, while one more round of shuffling was on, I randomly stopped at this match Arsenal was playing against Aston Villa because of the color Red. And the game turned out to be a thriller. Trailing 0-2 at half time, a motivated Arsenal side fired all cylinders in second half and won 3-2. The score sheet showed two goals against Thierry Henry; I cared least; little I knew that time that he was a legend.

Internet wasn’t leisure that time and Hindi papers never covered Indian football, forget about the league games in England. Also, my 20-channel TV was at the cable operator’s mercy. On match day, he would replace ESPN with some stupid movie channel and I could do nothing about it. So, it was tough to follow and find out what was really happening. But I felt some connection with this club. And I tried my best to get timely updates about how Arsenal was doing.

Year 2012

10 years forward and very strangely, cricket is losing its charm, if not existence, in India. I was amazed to see that at major sports websites, the average reads for the articles on Cricket are lesser than the football articles. May be this is the sign of things to come.

On a personal front, I never realized when Arsenal kicked Team India to become the passion of my life. I returned to home from college in 2009 and Arsenal started getting more and more of me. From Saturday to Saturday, it became a wait of 7 days. And the three months of non action was the ultimate torture. I started skipping cricket matches to watch English Premier League; incurring the wrath of my brother constantly. Why this happened, I never had an answer.

With every match, Arsenal bought some parts of me. The team I played EA Sports Fifa with was Arsenal. Although, I never watched much of the Arsenal players playing in first half of this decade; I satiated my desire by making them play in my virtual world. The seasons passed, the trophy-less Arsenal always showed promises and sniffed it many-a-times but could not get hands on any. This made me hungrier for this club, where the players are taught to play the football in the way it was designed for- beautifully and not diving and kicking. 7 years without a trophy and I am waiting for the day when we will win it. It will be happening this season, I believe and there will be one of the biggest celebrations of my life.

In between, hardships were also faced (the love for Arsenal never reduced although for a moment, I started hating Wenger). The Carling Cup defeat from eventually-relegated Birmingham and then the ouster from four competitions in a small span in the 2010-11 season was heart-breaking. And then probably, the worst summer where we let go two creative midfielders at very crucial stages. And then the panic buying spree after an unforgettable defeat at ManUtd’s Old Trafford- what have they done- just make Arsenal fans more resolute and stronger.

What makes me more proud of this club is its finances- now a neglected part thanks to Man City and Chelsea. Building a magnificently new stadium from nothing and still able to generate profits, season after season, is commendable. And when you hear the League Winners and European Champions making huge losses; it makes my chest broader. And then we nurture young players, very few of the big clubs that are doing this. Instead of spending insane cash on 19 year old youngsters (the Lucas Moura-PSG connection); we make him a footballer whom fans won’t mind paying for and watch. Without breaking the bank and compromising on values, 15 consecutive Champions League qualifications is a hugely impressive statistic.

And it is not about the players and team only; one of the biggest surprises for me personally has been the lack of Arsenal supporters In India. Man Utd fans are available everywhere. They ask friends which is the best club to follow. Not from the heart, but because a friend discussed in last night’s party and it sounded trendy, cool and Western. Somebody shouts- its Manchester United and the fan-count increases by 1. The FB cover picture, the DP in a Man Utd tee makes their way the second day they become a fan and they don’t even know that Old Trafford is not in London! Maybe, some football fans still need to be told the true definition of beautiful football.

I sometimes regret that I could never watch Arsenal playing in their Golden Era- the class of Invincibles. So many champions in the same team, playing under the same manager for that very piece of silverware; that was legendary when Henry, Vieira, Bergkamp, Pires, Ljunberg, Wiltord, Lehmann played together. The fluid one-touch passing game that always caught the rivals off-guard. Before the opposition knows, the ball was in their box from the opposition’s final third. Thanks to YouTube, I do catch those moments.

I can sense we are onto something this season. Ooh and Aah from the red and blue half of the Manchester will be a norm when the Gunners will play. The smart acquisition of three world class players for a combined price of Eden Hazard is a sign of things to come for next 9 months.

For Arsenal has become my life. This club has taught me what passion is all about. The rush of blood, the adrenaline pumping, the goosebumps, the Cannon on my heart; I feel it every single time. Least concerned who is playing against us- Chelsea or QPR; until there is Arsenal; I live. No matter, how much I see them play; it will always be far less than enough. In this duration, I have seen a lot happening at Arsenal Football Club. It is time to see silverware here in the hands of our new captain (probably Vermaelen now that RVP has gone to the least expected destination by the Arsenal fans). And surely, the Emirates deserves a new year engraved in the stadium. It has to be 2013.

Hail Arsenal.