Football fans of all clubs need to stand together against the shambolic @FA_PGMOL and the complicit @premierleague. We need change of the officiating or at least, transparent performance management of officials.
Stand up for #OurGame
https://t.co/HwQaYLAPI7
Tony Adams, like Thierry Henry and every other Arsenal legend, has every right to speak his mind on anything Arsenal-related.
Fans, in turn, have the right to call them out—respectfully—when their opinion is rubbish.
For example, if you claim Arsenal haven’t won the Premier League because Ødegaard is captain, you’ll be called out—because that’s just a dumb take.
Being captain of a club like Arsenal is about far more than shouting at people on the pitch. First, your teammates have to respect you enough to be even considered for the role—and that matters a lot.
How you carry yourself is equally important. Ødegaard is one of the safest bets for captaincy because of his lifestyle and professionalism. You know he’s not the type to say something offensive or do anything that could damage the club’s image.
New signings often mention how he’s there to help them settle in. Arteta has also said Ødegaard is vocal in the dressing room, and, more importantly, he leads on the pitch.
Even in his poorest games, he never hides—he presses, works, and gives everything.
The best part? The club, the coaching staff, his teammates, and fans like me value and appreciate him.
The rest is just outside noise.
🚨 Long Read: I’ve had many debates today with fellow Arsenal fans. Everybody has their opinions on what’s gone wrong this season given we all had high expectations, set by two strong seasons prior and clear progress.
Some want to blame the manager, certain players and others hold the club itself responsible. Ultimately, we all want the same thing, Arsenal to win major trophies.
The truth is, there isn’t a single point of failure. There are so many variables in our sport - it’s what makes it the greatest game on earth.
I have to admit that while I love listening to different opinions and engaging in debates, I’ve found some of the discourse around Arsenal so draining during these past few weeks.
I think the anger among some fans comes from the fact that for a while now, we’ve generally had concerns about a lack of firepower. Add the injuries to the equation and we’ve found ourselves short.
The seven we scored out in Eindhoven feels like an anomaly more than something to draw encouragement from given we’ve scored just one goal in our last three Premier League games.
Make your arguments regarding the lack of attacking power, I’ve got no problem with that. In fact, I agree with the general premise of what most of you are saying.
But what’s the use in the regurgitation of the negative and toxic rhetoric that’s born out of the above frustrations?
People have short memories. We’ve had better times in recent seasons. We’ve witnessed the building of a squad that I and many others feel connected to, that give their all week in, week out, that represent Arsenal Football Club with pride.
What happened to Arsenal vs everybody else? I thought the days of in-fighting were over. The irony of it all is that during the back end of the Wenger days, those kicking up a stink now - claimed all they wanted was to see us compete. The goalposts are forever moving - but that only happens when there is progress.
It’s easy to get sucked up into the vacuum of negativity. We’ve had an off season, I get that. But zoom out for a minute…
We’ve got a fantastic group with a bright young coach, this story isn’t even close to being over yet. As supporters, we’ve a huge part to play. UTA!
There will be two binding themes for the gaslighters who will pretend they think it’s great that one of the biggest games of the season was turned into that for a minor technical infringement that precisely no one gives a fuck about. They will not mention that Doku was not booked for the same thing. They will not mention that we were told that the same ref didn’t give Kovacic a second yellow in the same fixture 11 months ago because the head of the PGMOL told us that ‘he didn’t want to change the game.’