Ahhhh the ups and downs of supporting Arsenal. With three games to go, we led our fiercest rivals Spurs in the race for the top 4 by four points, with the top 4 in our hands. Now with the final day looming, we trail Spurs by 2 points. Needing them to lose to last placed and an already relegated Norwich, we have to win a tough game at home to Everton. 

I was born into supporting the Gunners. Dad was in England during the Thierry Henry days and managed to get to the odd game at Highbury. He still has old tickets from Champions League games from the very late 90’s and early 2000’s. One of my dreams is to go to an Arsenal game next time we’re in London. Dad had the experience of being crammed in through the turnstiles with no good food even at the ground and only crappy rolls outside the stadium. Nowadays at ‘The Emirates’, there isn’t a bad seat in the house. 

Arsenal last appeared in the Champions League in 2017 and ironically were beaten 8-2 by German giants Bayern Munich over two games. Since then, after Arsene Wenger’s run of 19 successive Champions League qualifications, we’ve only ever managed to finish no higher than 5th. Fifth gets teams into the secondary European competition, the Europa League. If we’d won that, we would have gained qualification into the Champions League irrespective of our finishing place in the domestic competition, The Premier League. However, last time we were in the final of the Europa League, we lost to London rivals Chelsea in a 4-1 humiliation and last season we crashed out in the semi finals. 

Football hasn’t been kind to Arsenal in recent years but we also haven’t been run properly for the most part since we moved to the Emirates in 2006. Owned by American Stan Kroenke, Arsenal fans have been calling for him to sell the club. His son Josh Kroenke runs the club and has been heavily criticised. Also criticised has been former Arsenal player and current Technical Director Edu Gaspar. Every year there is what’s called a ‘transfer window’ in January where teams can fill holes with players to help them towards the end of the season. Arsenal were in desperate need of some depth within their squad and Edu delivered zero signings and a fair few unnecessary outgoings. The criticism of Edu is warranted. Inevitably, despite all looking good with a few games to go, January has cost us Champions League football and whilst it’s still mathematically possible that we can make the top 4, it doesn’t look very likely. I wouldn’t have minded as much if we had given up 4th spot to a different club. But giving it up to our rivals Tottenham really makes it sting. 

I personally think the manager, former Arsenal player Mikel Arteta is out of his depth. However, the criticism he often gets is unwarranted. Arsenal have the youngest average age of any first team in the Premier League which makes where we sit a fantastic achievement. However, this is Arsenal Football Club, one of the biggest clubs in the world, and Champions League football should be the bare minimum. A young manager and a young squad unfortunately doesn’t mix. It’s one or the other. I think Arteta has done all he can with the squad he has. One criticism I have of him, which shows his lack of experience, is that it takes him a run of three or four games to fix things on the pitch that aren’t working. A manager with more experience could fix those broken things in a single half of football with some masterful substitutions. 

The direction Arsenal are taking is all about rebuilding from the bottom. I have to say I admire Arteta for the way he has changed the atmosphere amongst the players and the club in general. You get the sense that the team wants to go places but I think Arteta has set the foundation and he should move the project onto someone else. Arsenal support him fully and he has just penned a new deal which means that he probably won’t be leaving anytime soon. I’m split on whether I want him to go and gain some experience elsewhere, or whether I want him to stay and lead this team to great things. With the money in football now, you basically need to have an owner made of money to go anywhere. Stan Kroenke is one of the richest owners in football but he doesn’t care enough to make more of a difference. 

Who knows, maybe all will be forgiven and forgotten if Spurs go all ‘Spursy’ and bottle it against Norwich. As much as my heart hopes so, my brain tells me that it’s incredibly unlikely. I’m not sure what the future holds for the Gunners. I sure hope that it won’t be much longer before the Champions League returns to The Emirates. 

Photography credit: Marc Atkins