Guest Post: The Establishment’s Anti-Arsenal Bias Is A Blessing In Disguise

Darius from Stone Cold Arsenal has a thing or two to get off his chest:

The last week has been a revelation for Arsenal fans, the ugly side of football baring its teeth. Conventional wisdom suggests that you should never under-estimate the power of stupid people in large numbers. The media and the football establishment have succeeded in justifying this theory.

It’s easy to understand how quickly paranoia sets into our psyches. There is a misguided belief that not having won anything since 2005, the club is in turmoil. The detrimental fuel in all of this is the constant demand that the only measure of success is trophies. Equally foolish is the notion that if you don’t buy success, you have failed because galacticos on the team sheet is the only answer. The media is behind this paranoia. It has driven agendas from time immemorial, the last bastion of imperialism.

Hollow statements like “if they don’t buy, they won’t challenge” or “if they buy that club, is there money to invest in new players” are commonplace, sad indicators of how finance has infiltrated football to the point of sheer stupidity. It has a place in football but the tail started wagging this dog a long time ago.

The media attachment to big name players is more than a fashion statement in the current economic environment. Football doesn’t operate in a vacuum and it’s sad to see hacks and pundits relentlessly proclaiming they know what is best, fighting against commonsense. They wield unprecedented power, the media spinning into frenzy over their every misguided word.

Fans face difficult choices about spending their hard-earned money. Many can no longer afford tickets, subscriptions to Sky or merchandise. Yet this eludes pundits, continually peddling an unsustainable model based on huge debts and irresponsible management. Clubs are struggling with their financial demons; Arsenal are different to a certain extent. The decision to build a new stadium totally changed our options, needing difficult choices to be made about managing the club in the short to medium term.

Removing emotion quickly highlights a few facts. Paying for the stadium affects our ability to invest in the squad on the same scale as other clubs. This left Arsene with two options. Firstly, build a squad based on products of the Youth Academy that can challenge at the highest level. Secondly, it must be a unit that delivers scintillating football with panache, causing involuntarily shakes of the head in wonderment and admiration: Wengerball. This project is still fraught with significant challenges.

The key reason that the board and fans alike have confidence is Wenger, perhaps the only manager capable of delivering a sustainable club; a competitive and powerful team that can dominate world football for years to come, negating the need to go out and “buy” success. Even so, these things take time, testing the patience and sanity of every warm-blooded football fan.

These factors provided the media with enough ammunition to use against the club. It still doesn’t explain why there is such a continual negative sentiment. I don’t claim to have the answers but will indulge in speculation as to why this is so.

Throughout Wenger’s reign, Arsenal has been seen as “not English enough”, despite having more English players in our squad than Liverpool. We are the whipping boy for the Establishment and media, which manifests itself in contempt and arrogance. Pundits have an air of disdain so powerful that it is impossible to hide.

The media has ruthlessly exploited the lack of success by their definition. The saddest and most disappointing aspect of this is the fans who believe their hyperbole is gospel, taking on the mantle of beating their own team without a true understanding and appreciation of the journey being undertaken.

Commendably, most fans have kept faith in Wenger’s vision, being strong during barren times. Over the last 4 years, there have been moments where the team has not shrouded themselves in glory, an inevitable part of their growth that we should accept and embrace. We have all seen Arsenal games to forget. These are opportunities to highlight improvement, to make the team better.

I admit to frustration, anger and outright sadness at lost games. I’d be worried if I didn’t feel this way because of the passion and emotion I have for the team. When we eventually win something, I’ll still be an emotional wreck but the happiest kind.

I’ve always believed in perspective and in this project. I’ve had doubts about how much support Wenger has been getting from the board. He is one of the best managers in the world but cannot walk on water. At times, they could have done better in taking the heat off him. He has done a remarkable job fighting against the tide of adversity, fighting against the vision that you cannot manage your club within your means. And he is absolutely right.

Inevitably some fans are disillusioned. Measuring success only in terms of trophies has created the illusion of absolute failure at Arsenal. The blogs and media are full of “Wenger has lost the plot” brigades, proclaiming that it’s now or never. Such sweeping statements create unnecessary pressure whilst ignoring the reality facing Arsenal.

Nobody said it would be easy or that mistakes were not going to be made. The tactical ones were totally avoidable. Many times I’ve contemplated throwing the TV out of the window or storming the Emirates home dressing room because of what I’ve seen on the pitch. Expressing disappointment is OK. It’s a natural emotion because I love the club and I’m passionate about what we stand for.

More importantly, no disappointment has ever stopped me from wholeheartedly supporting the 11 players on the pitch. Human nature is such that we are often blinded by our struggles in life, making it hard for us to recognise what success looks like any more.

A case in point is this season. A section of Arsenal supporters are busy trying to justify and support the squad with its future. Others, significant in number and fed up with waiting for trophies, want success now even if it means throwing the baby, the bath water and the entire bathroom down Holloway Road. The rest hope in blind faith that things will work out soon, believing that “Arsene knows” yet frustrated at having to face friends and colleagues when Arsenal fail.

Despite this, the team is quietly going about its business, maturing, playing with the togetherness and determination you would expect from champions-elect. Unsurprisingly, it will take time for this to be noticed. No question that there is a significant change of character, determination and team spirit in the squad. Their quality and skill has never been in question. It was only a matter of time before they stood up to be counted.

UEFA’s kangaroo court and the raw deal at Old Trafford should act as a reminder to the players of what it will take to be champions. There is more to it than goodwill. They will have to wrestle and grab that mantle from the holders because no one is going to give up the title without a fight.

The odds are totally stacked against them. To prevail, they will have to do more than in previous seasons. Most affected by what is said about Arsenal, they know that this is their opportunity, their time has come. I’m confident simply through seeing the change in how we play as a team on and off the ball, seeing their self-belief. There is a grit and determination that was not been there before. This team is playing with a desire to be champions.

The last week or so can only give them more fire to continue doing so. Do we all realise what is developing in front of our eyes, realise that success is nigh? They are on the brink of sustained success. The least that they’ve earned is the right to be supported absolutely in finishing the job. It’s time for supporters to fall in line, do their part to make sure this team gets there.

The former CEO of a now infamous company was once asked by Wall Street analysts to clarify what he meant by proclaiming that his company will be the biggest and the most powerful in the world. His answer was as breathtaking as it was cynical. “It’s like pornography; you’ll know it when you see it.” I believe we’re seeing the arrival of this Arsenal team.