Things I learnt being an Arsenal Supporter

Since I started supporting Arsenal, I have seen many things pass me by. Be it a happy occasion or a sad moment. I lost my grand mother and some of my cats. But also I completed graduation and got a job. And I also learn few things. And its safe to say that Arsenal played a part in some of them.

1. Patience:
You don't need Arsene Wenger to knock your door and say "Have patience" do you? You just feel that. It maybe frustrating not to win any silverware from 8 years. And we see gooners venting their anger through social media. But so did other clubs. Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool all had trophy less seasons. After the elite crop left in 2005-06, We need to wait for few years until the current generation of players to mature and soon, we will rule England and Europe.


2. Spend Wisely:
I don't think anyone would disagree with me on this one. Since 1996, Arsenal's net spending is 4.5 million (can you believe that?), compared to 250 million of Man Utd and 504 million of Chelsea. And yet, we have been finishing in top 4. Like someone said, "It doesn't matter how much you spend, but was it really worth it?"


3. Be Quick on the Uptake:
Arsene Wenger amazes us with his transfer policies, he brings out rare talent which nobody can discover and make them a better player. From a financial point of view, he is exceptionally brilliant!
He brought certain Anelka for £500,000 and after 2 years, sold him to Real Madrid for £22.3 million. That is some deal. He's been criticized for this. But still, he hardly fails.


4. Never forget the one's who helped you:
Arsenal is a model club. Every player will be loved here. And players who leave us for better opportunities (except for the ones with inner child screams and DNA issues) will have a special place in their hearts. I don't have to give out the names. Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires, Eduardo.. list goes on. And Arsenal club doesn't forget it's players as well. Thierry Henry had his sculpture built outside Emirates Stadium. Robert Pires and Sylvestre trained with Arsenal Team, when they were free agents.


5. Hardwork and Class Matters:
When you think of Arsenal, you think about a hard working coach, with a decent team trying to win things. You don't think about sugar daddies with pocketful of money spending on overrated players and buy the league. Compared to Chelsea and Man City, I feel happy that I'm not supporting them. They can buy expensive players win the title too. But the way they win, will tell the value they believe. Is it winning the league by unbalancing the nature of the game or is it winning the league because you deserve it?


Supporting Arsenal brought out a lot of changes in me. And all of them are positive (so far)
To be honest, I'm glad I support this club.

Until next time,

The Gunner Red Herrings

It is human nature to blame other people for our failures or the failures of those we love. For the gunners that has become routine. With every match there is someone to blame. Occasionally, the referee is blamed (especially when all time favorite...Howy the spider on the web is on the pitch). Le Professeur gets his beating and fair share of insults and blame too (the best memory I have of this is that awful substitution during the home game against Manchester United when he brought on the little Russian for the Ox). Talking of the little Russian, he has been blamed and insulted way too much for his tiny stature. If you play for The Arsenal, I suppose you can expect a bashing every so often... I say this because even with a win someone is always blamed for missing a shot here,misplacing a pass there etc. However, there are two players constantly blamed for every lose or draw...

I will start with the Welshman...Aaron Ramsey. Ramsey has been blamed for misplacing passes, shooting awfully, shooting instead of passing and vice versa and of course the mystical death of famous people when he scores. So I beg the question, what's a man to do? I will not try to defend Ramsey but I will let you know that I rate him very highly.
Ramsey Skills:


A look at the above video explains why I rate him so highly. Ramsey is gifted with accurate passing, an eye for goal, he is obstinate especially when he loses possession of the ball and he is always willing to track back. Why don't we see this, you ask. The simple response is that you don't want to. I go back to human nature, you don't see the magic he has because of the need to point a finger at someone, or just because it is characteristic of humans to make mountains out of mole hills. I know that what happened to Ramsey on that fateful 27th February 2010 kept him away from football for one year, it also slowed his development into the world class player that he is meant to be by at least two years. I would also like to remind you of the partnership that he had formed with Jack Wilshere. They play so beautifully together, so clearly that might be what Aaron needs to prove himself to you. At the moment he is like Rooney without Antonio Valencia. I am not asking you to give Ramsey time, just your confidence. When Wenger describes a player as "An offence-minded Roy Keane" and "an all-round player,with fantastic ability to cover distances" then that player is special. Remember he is only 21.

I bet you know who is next....yes, you guessed right... Gervais Lombe Yao Kouassi or simply Gervinho. Gervinho is often praised for his ability to take on defenders. The man never fears to try a dribble or two or three. However, this often praised trait is also the one used to slaughter him. He is blamed for staying on the ball too long instead of passing or shooting. This is mostly blamed on his forehead (I don't see the relationship, but that is football for you). It may be true that Gervinho loses possession sometimes too easily, but you got to admit he is world class and plays with all his heart (and pace). His quick runs on the wings trouble defenders, his ability to cut into the box is amazing. He uses his size and pace very well. All that Gervinho needs is to be a bit quicker in his decision making. This does not mean that he is slow, I am not flawing the man. He came from the French league and if anyone has watched a French league match you will notice the game is highly defensive and rather slow. Gervinho was used to that. I believe with time, he will be indispensable to Arsenal. So yes, I am asking for patience from you.
Gervinho Skills:


Lastly, the same way winning is a team effort losing is also a team failure. We are one team so support all your players through every win and every lose. Supporting any football team is like taking marriage vows... "for better, for worse".

Verminator: Explained

Hi there,
Now that "he who must not be named" has left Arsenal for goodness' sake, making the captain was unanimous. Thomas Vermaelen wore the captain armband for the gunners campaign this season.
Also known as “Verminator” among the gooners, Thomas is known for his powerful presence on the pitch. Although a defender, you can see him running towards the goal during the game hungry for goals.
How does he do that?
It’s a no-brainer really. Being a Verminator comes with lots of benefits. The Verminator is a formidable robotic assassin and soldier with an ultimate goal of exterminating players of Tottenham Hotspur. He can defense like a defender. Attack like a striker and even play very good Table tennis.

Interesting thing about Verminator is his vision. He does not have the vision we earthlings have. It is far more superior to that. With his patented Verminator vision, he can easily get details about attendance in stadium, bio-data of opponent players, weather, wind, pitch condition in one glance.

All in fairness, I’ve got to say that Vermaelen deserves to be captain. Its high time since we had someone aggressive as our captain. If that is what it takes to make the team strong, let it be. Eh?
Until next time.

Why Arsenal?

I often get the question, "why do you support Arsenal?" I am sometimes tempted to just be curt and respond "because I can" or the more expected answer(due to the fact that I am female) "because it has the best looking players year in year out", but I usually just take my time to explain.

I will let you in on a little history...the history of me and football... I started watching football when I was about 7 years old. I watched the Kenyan Premier League with my dad(thank you Dad) first. Then came my introduction to international football during the 1998 world cup in France. I watched in amazement the passing skills of Zidane, Ronaldo's goal scoring abilities and the top scorer with the funny name: Davor Suker from a country I had never heard of. After the world cup, I was left wonderind, where do all these people go for the next four years? I guess I couldn't wait four years to see them again. It was then I discovered the EPL and consequently, ARSENAL.

I was first attracted to Arsenal's style of play...the neat passes, creative goals, attacking game in two words...Beautiful football. There was a young Ljungberg, Kanu, Nicholas Anelka and of course Thierry Henry..among other wonderful players. And thus my bitter sweet journey with the Gunners began.

I watched Arsenal till about 2004 without knowing about the club policies(shame on me). I then found out about the Arsenal Ladies team. I read about the team in the Arsenal magazine. I was so amazed... The team is the most successful club in English Women football.

The youth system at Arsenal also impressed me. The team has some of the best youth products. I am talking about the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Jack Wilshere, Ashley Cole, Seb Larsson etc. The manager Arsene Wenger also impressed me (and still does) with his ability to turn players rejected by other teams or not thought of as good into world class players. The likes of Patrick Vieira, Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas, Thierry Henry, Alex Song, and of course Robin Van Persie owe Wenger there world class status as footballers and as men. I guess that and the name Arsene duped me into believing he owns Arsenal. I was very shocked to find out the club is not his.

Of course the spending at Arsenal also impresses me. A look at the spending from 1996 -2012  for the top four teams:

Net spends since 1996/97…
Arsenal:
Overall Spend: £314.75m
Overall Received: £310.514m
Net Spend: £4.236m
Manchester United:
Overall Spend: £534.05m
Overall Received: £283.975m
Net Spend: £250.075m
Manchester City:
Overall Spend: £628.1m
Overall Received: £155.543m
Net Spend: £472.557m
Chelsea:
Overall Spend: £720.83m
Overall Received: £216.185m
Net Spend: £504.645m
Liverpool:
Overall Spend: £523.33m
Overall Received: £318.87m
Net Spend: £204.46m
Tottenham:
Overall Spend: £392.55m
Overall Received: £217.93m
Net Spend: £174.62m

Look at Manchester City and Chelsea...(Spending link).
I appreciate that Arsenal has been successful despite spending so little.

Furthermore, Arsenal has always had an African player. As an African I am proud to see an African donning the red and white and playing football so beautifully. The likes of Kanu, Lauren, Song, Chamakh, Eboue, Gervinho have all put Africa on the map, this is compared to only four in Manchester United's history (for curiosity sake...Fortune, Diouf, Manucho and Djemba-Djemba).

That all but summarizes the beauty of my team. The team may lack a trophy for the last eight years but it does give more satisfaction than expected. Therefore, fellow gooners and haters, Arsenal is here to stay and I am staying glued to it.

it all began when.....

Hi,

I was scribbling through the internet to find a suitable picture for the blog and I found this.
Cute isn't it ?
Definitely makes your day better. Provided you like cats :P

Here's to the beginning of Feline Gunner.
Cheers!