Reflection

It took Pires' penalty mess-up to open my eyes. I've lambasted Pires and Henry in my previous posts and I think I need to apologize.
I've forgotten what it means to enjoy football.
We've been so competitive in the last 9 years that all I could think of was how we could reach higher ground.
But I am only a fan who at best could only follow the Arsenal's matches on TV, whose biggest sacrifice to date has only been some sleepless nights to watch our midweek games.
I couldn't change a thing by pointing out all the weaknesses we have. If those fans who have been season ticket holders for 20 or 30 years could do nothing to change things, what makes me thing that getting mad over my beloved club's board, manager, and players could do wonder?

So I might as well take everything in moderation. There's no need to be frustated when I witness another suicide substitution move by Wenger. There's no need to be amused when I read the name 'Cygan' on the line-up list the next season. There's no need to pull my hair when I see no one coming during the January or end-season transfer window.

That's the board's job. The frustation and hair-pulling part belong to the board and the shareholders and the manager and the players. And if they couldn't give a damn, why should I?
I should savour my part as a fan. Enjoy it when we win. Forget it when we lose.
Yes those Man Utd and Chelsea supporters would mock at us for probably one or two days. So what?
And I can be grateful that Spurs don't even have enough supporters in Asia to claim their existence.
Yes those press will have their fun in attacking us. So what? I would just avoid reading football news for a week.

Talking about press- I believe they're the reason why we have so many bitter fans nowadays. The papers always blame it on the manager or players. They do their best to twist every word a player says. And football players, to be honest, are not among the most intellingent folks in the planet. They could easily be trapped into saying something they don't really mean.
And we, the Sky generation fans, would buy those craps.
We would discuss and argue like mad in the forums or blogs nowadays.
That's wasting time. We've been manipulated.

The truth is that football, and especially the Premiership, has turned into an unthinkably huge business. There's so many hidden agenda within the whole structure that not even the players themselves may know what's going on. What makes us think the press would have a single clue? And us? We are just speculator at best.

It's nice to analyze what went wrong or right in the last match. It's fun to speculate on who we should buy the next summer. It's interesting to come up with all those fantasy team ideas but that's it. In the end it's up to those who run the club to decide.

Our part, as fans, is just to support and enjoy the football our Arsenal are playing. If we come to the point where we really couldn't take it anymore, well, just switch to other team. Those Man Utd fans who couldn't stand the sight of Glazers just walked away from Old Trafford and made their own club. They are Red Devils to the bone but there is no point in forcing yourself in supporting a club that has gone so far from the day you began to identify yourself with the club.

After all, becoming a club's supporter isn't anything like getting engaged with a woman. No one has the right to say anything to you if you decide to support West Ham from today on. That's your choice. Football is, as Henry put it, just a game.
Anyone who tell you that football is his religion is a sad creature.

As for this moment, as far as I am concerned, I am still a gooner.