OMG!I cannot believe it has actually taken me 10 years to post something again. By now it should be pretty clear this writing thing is not really for me-right? My last post was on 10th Nov 2014.I'm writing this on 16th Mar 2024.10 years. The last time Arsenal won the premier league-2003/2004 season. Current season 2023/2024.20 years. So it will likely have taken Arsenal almost 20years if we win the PL this year. What a coincidence between my writing drought and our beloved team's trophy drought. What coincidence you ask?10 years is not the same as 20 years-clearly but it's double that right?I think this is a shit introduction to my piece but I need your full attention for the next part of the story.Buckle up and lets go on this journey together.
A lot has happened in my personal life in 10 years. In 2014,i was working in my 4th job after graduating from University, in which I ended up staying for the longest time compared to the 3 aforementioned places that were really much shorter employment stints. In football terms, I was on 6 month trials in these places before I finally secured a pro 4 year contract on a bumper salary at a mid-sized football club in the year 2012. My time there was great and I grew in stature, enhanced my experience and gained the much needed confidence to catapult me to the next level.
In 2016,after my contract was coming to an end and I was not offered a renewal, I found myself in the cold briefly before I got snapped up by one of the top 4 'clubs' in the country as a free agent.I was excited and I seized the opportunity, this time seeing my wages doubled and I got to 'play' in the much coveted 'Champions League'. It went well for 2 years but I wasn't getting the satisfaction in my craft that we all yearn for when we wake up everyday to 'go to work' so I terminated my contract with this massive 'club' in mid 2018 and found myself yet again in the cold.During this brief hiatus from the 'game', I took some time to focus on my young family(I had recently gotten married in 2017,and my 2nd born daughter had just been born)I remember flying to the coast and just enjoying spending time with my wife, my first born daughter,my second born daughter(who then was actually the last born)and we had a good time. Travel has a way to excite you until it actually comes to an end and you have to go back to your normal day to day lives.
And that's exactly how it did go, here we were back to reality and I was feeling the need to get back to the 'game' The next few months were spent on searching for a new 'club' but nothing was forthcoming until late that year in 2018 when through a former 'teammate' in my 'mid sized club' I was able to 'sign' with yet another 'giant' club and I was elated, once again earning a bumper raise on my last deal. Just like with the last club before, I would ply my trade here for exactly two more years before getting my contract terminated at the end of 2020 at the height of the Covid 19 pandemic.
Now what about what has happened to Arsenal in the last 20 years? Of course the invincibles left the club one by one and a total rebuild/overhaul of the team happened. There was massive disappointment season after season in the form of failed PL title pushes, lost cup finals, and continued loss of our star players to rival teams. In no particular order, we lost Hleb,Flamini,Nasri,RVP,Cesc,Adebayor,Song,Clichy and so many more at crucial stages of the various seasons.Arsene Wenger,the mighty undisputed GOAT coach in the world got fired from his job! That's right-the man who the whole Arsenal fraternity owe so much to was actually unceremoniously releived of his duties!
Who would've thought of Arsenal without Wenger?Arsene leaving the club was a big shock-at least to me(one of his most ardent supporters)particularly, the manner in which he left.For his replacement, we were introduced to the 'Good ebening' Spanish coach. His was a short stint as barely 8 months into the job, he also got the sack. Shortly after we began to see the structure of how the club is run changing after the departure of Ivan Gazidis.Initially,we had Sven running things alongside Raul Sanlehi in roles that the club had not experienced before. To replace Unai, another Spaniard -young Arsenal legend, perfect hair Pep Guardiola protégé-Mikel Arteta was hired to take over, initially as the first team coach. He would almost immediately answer his doubters(including me)by lifting silverware in his first season by beating Chelsea in an empty stadium to lift the FA Cup trophy. I guess this guy really proved how good he is to the board to see him eventually upgraded to Arsenal Manager.
The board this time was a young, new vibrant team headed by Stan Kroenke's son Josh alongside Invincible team member Edu and Chief Executive Vinai. The rebuild thus began. Emiliano Martinez, the goalkeeper who had been one of the longest serving members of this Arsenal team was sold to Aston Villa.Bernd Leno remained the undisputed number 1 and to provide the much needed squad depth/competition we signed Aaron Ramsdale from relegated Bournemouth. It wasn't long before we realised that Aaron was actually coming in as number 1 and Leno was eventually sold to Fulham. One by one, the likes of Aubameyang,Ozil,Pepe,Lacazette,Hector Bellerin, Granit Xhaka and other first team members were moved on. In their places, we saw the arrivals of William Saliba,Gabriel Maghales,Gabriel Jesus,Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Martinelli, Thomas Partey,Declan Rice,Kai Havertz, David Raya and other first team stars all in different seasons.
And my oh my, how unbelievably good have these new guys been? In the 2022/2023 season, we actually finished runners up to Manchester City after leading the majority of that campaign. Bar for William Saliba's injury in the last remaining games, a guy who had been an absolute rock in our defense all season long, some have suggested that we may have been in with a shout of lifting the title had he remained fit. Fast forward to 2023/2024 season.28 games in, top of the league.20 games won,4 losses and four draws, goal difference +46!Our record since the start of the year-played five won five! In all my years supporting the gunners,i have never seen anything like this. Just earlier this week, for the first time in 14 years, Arsenal qualified for the quarter finals of the champions league. This is all too good to be true. We have been in the abyss for so long, this feels surreal. Are we going to get over the line?Will we beat Bayern over 2 legs to qualify for the Champions league Semi-Final? Will we beat Mancity at the Etihad in our next league game to complete the double over them and get a massive psychological boost in the remaining 9 league fixtures as we look to lift the trophy for the first time in 20years?
What exciting times it is to be a gunner.Whatever happens this season, whether we win silverware or not,the belief is back. Then it's just a matter of when not if. We didn't really have this belief in a long time. But now, things are different. Thanks to the staff, the management, the players and the fans. My belief is back too and I shall keep writing again. I will not stop.All for the love of the game. And its my birthday today. To new beginnings!
