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.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment