NOW is the time for unconditional support « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News. Supporting the Lord Wenger; coach of the decade
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By Walter Broeckx
For all kinds of reason this will be a season to remember when all the dust will be settled in a few weeks time.
First of all Arsenal has had one of the craziest seasons that I can remember. We could have fallen apart at one stage. But the board kept their heads cool and did not listen to the negativity that was written by the media and some part of the fanbase.
When the media tried to make a fool of Wenger the board could have given in. They didn’t. They even made it public that the board was fully behind Wenger. Kroenke made it public that Wenger was the best manager to guide Arsenal in these days.
And they were right. After what happened last summer it was clear that the team was facing a difficult year. Losing two of the best midfielders in the EPL in the space of some 10 days was hard. Losing one of the best young midfielders at the same time in Jack Wilshere for the whole season, made it even more difficult.
The early fixture list was not very kind with the CL qualifiers sandwiched between a game against Liverpool and Manchester United. It was not the easiest start of the season. The unbalance at that time in the team was paid with two painful defeats. So we found ourselves at a place we hadn’t seen since Wenger was appointed all those years ago. 17th in the league.
“This is it,” they shouted. We are doomed. We will be fighting against the other relegation battlers this time. One AAA correspondent wrote that the “mid-table mediocrity” he had predicted before the season began was overly optimistic. All this because of stubborn Wenger and the money grabbing board.
And now with two games to play we are in third place. We have our destiny in our own hands. (As far as a team has something in their own hands these days, because you never know what the refs and PGMOL are up to. But if we do manage to win our games then third place is ours.
The fight from place 17 to place 3 was not an easy one. Along the road we had to suffer the fact that for about 2 months we had no fit right or left back. Sagna and Jenkinson on the right hand side and Gibbs and Santos on the left hand side: all injured at the same time. Our centre backs did what they could to fill in the gaps but it is a completely different game over there. And the backups of the backups like Coquelin then also got injured…
Our new players had to adapt and this also took a few weeks. But the ones that stayed fit and could play proved to be great signings. I cannot believe people criticising Mertesacker at times. I know he is not a fancy tip tap footballer, but haven’t we been crying out for years to have a big centre back who can throw himself in front of all what is thrown at us?
I also feel that the work he has done has gone under the radar a bit. When Vermaelen was injured he had to adapt to a new team and a new way of playing and a new partner. I think he has done a great job. I think we really can say that we have 3 great centre backs with Vermaelen, Koscielny and Mertesacker. And I think next season we will see that they will be played according the teams we have to play. Against a team that hoofs the ball up field Mertesacker will be used a lot and when we play a forward line of more small players the combination Vermaelen-Koscielny will deal with them.
Arteta in midfield was a revelation. I knew he was a decent player from what I had seen at Everton. But to see him play week in week out made me change my mind. He is not a decent player. No he is a great player. Again most of his work goes unnoticed at times. But by now we know how important he is for this team.
We have seen the return of a few players that had been declared dead by that part of the fans that know it better. Rosicky is back to what he was and that is a fine player with great skill and twisting and turning and running on the field as if he still is only 26 years old. I’m so happy that Wenger and the board did not gave in to the pressure to get rid of him. He has shown what he still is capable of.
I also would like to mention Ramsey. The way some part of our fans react to this player makes me want to vomit. That the brainless cnuts who support Stoke act like total tw*ts and boo him for having had the guts to break his leg by throwing it in front of a “friendly” foot is something that only people with an intelligence in the negative part of the IQ scale will understand. But the abuse he had to endure from a part of our own fans (or pretenders to be Arsenal fans) is unbelievable.
But Aaron is a fighter. He has proven this by returning from his terrible injury. And he will recover completely. And he will become the player he once promised to be. Just before he got his leg broken it was Cesc himself who said that Ramsey was much better and stronger than he was at the same age. So give this boy the chance to not only recover completely but also to develop. How many times Wenger has proven us all wrong by having faith in a player that we didn’t believe in anymore. Just the names of Robin Van Persie and Tomas Rosicky should be enough to silence the idiots – although sadly they just move on and pick another target.
This team and this manager have taken us from 17th place to third place with two games to go. We have it in our own hands. What once seemed unreal, qualifying for the CL is now very close.
What we don’t need now is moaning and groaning. The only thing we now need is supporters in the Emirates who are going to support the team from the first second in the next games till the last second. We must get behind the whole team. WE MUST!!!
And if you don’t want to do this, if you just want to come to sit there and wait for the first misplaced pass to start grumbling and moaning, then why don’t you just sell your ticket to a supporter who is willing to do what he can do to help this team in those last two games.
I’m a speaking with a soft voice these days to give my vocal chords a rest. So I can be sure that they will be ready for this Saturday so I will be able to shout my support to the players on the field. So that I will be able to sing and shout for 90 minutes. I’m sure the players will do their best to do what they can do to win those games. So why don’t we do what we can to celebrate the big turnaround of the season?
Why don’t we just get behind the team for those two games. The signing of Podolski is a first sign that the manager and the board are making important steps forward to reinforce the squad for next season. Let us add to that in the only way we can: by supporting the whole team and every single player on the field we have left.
Victory can only be achieved by working together. The board, the manager, the players and the supporters. We all must do all what we can to get that third place. So stop the moaning for the next 10 days and start the support. The unconditional support!