AFCAnfield89

Highbury was my church. Ex Canon Club (1987-91), North Bank Season ticket until the seats went in. Clock End season ticket- Block 19 till the end.

[AFCAnfield89 @jonnyr90]

@rodbishop15 Sounds like it will boost the economy in that region. Economic activity keeps & creates jobs. Just because his policies are helping a different group of people there is no need to get sad & criticise them.

[Owen Jones @owenjonesjourno]

Least surprising news ever.

There’s your patriots!

[AFCAnfield89 @jonnyr90]

@themagic_tophat What’s with all the board room changes? Is this effecting our transfers?
I think it’s a bit embarrassing that Chelsea got Rodgers if he was our target. They are corrupt & broke so how come they bought him for so much? Tiny stadium, shit fans & no Europe. Make it make sense?

[🇳🇴 kimmoFC @kimmoFC]

Have you noticed Spurs only sign players no one else is competing for? Spurs can only sign players if a big club lets them. This is what happens to 'little old Tottenham' when a bigger club knocks:

[Tim Stillman ⭐️⭐️ @timstillman_]

Lovely video and good to have the actual explanation out there (again) cos, again, too much space is taken up by rage baiters and people only half paying attention.

[The Different Knock 🏆 @DiffKnock]

This is why I'm proud. 🏆 #arsenal #premierleague #trophy

[GB News @GBNEWS]

ANALYSIS: The anti-Arsenal obsession has become more embarrassing than Gunners fans themselves

https://t.co/aJUJGMgx7V

[AFCAnfield89 @jonnyr90]

@mcfcIeo_ Keep chocking mate, it’s going to get so much worse for you. We only just begun to win trophies 🏆

[A Bergkamp Wonderland *An Arsenal Podcast @TheAFCPodcast]

I genuinely teared up watching this 😢😢

[AFCAnfield89 @jonnyr90]

@erling Fook off.

[Magic hat 🎩 @themagic_tophat]

Because he knows the Championship

[AFCAnfield89 @jonnyr90]

@westhamtransfer Sad lad. What a sorry life. What are you going to say next year when the pressure is off & this team improves again & we stuff every one 3-0? Watch out coz we will be buying your best player again. You sad loser.

[Magic hat 🎩 @themagic_tophat]

𝗠𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 - 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗱? 🪦

It’s not about the cheating.

Sure, they smuggled hundreds upon hundreds of millions of owner funding into the club, disguised as sponsor revenue (as well as paying staff and overheads off-book) gaining a huge illicit advantage that meant they could outspend all competition. Yes, it’s what enabled them to cheat their way to all that tainted silverware and fully corrupt the integrity of the league. But you know what? If the League earnestly believed they could rein in Man City with regular sanctions, I think they would do.

Hell, if Man City had plead out at the start, they might have got away with a mere relegation.

But it’s about how they responded to getting caught that means these owners won’t be permitted to remain in the League.

After the initial Der Speigel leak, Uefa went for them, at pace. Man City refused to cooperate or share evidence. Uefa sanctioned them. At CAS, Uefa shat the bed and Man City were let off. But shortly after that, Der Speigel leaked more emails which demonstrated Club officials and senior business leaders had lied - committed perjury - to get Man City off. They were caught with their pants down; their shame out there for everyone to see. No ambiguity. No missing context. Clear as day. They cheated and lied about it.

Yet when the Premier League sought to investigate, again, Man City refused to comply. So the League took them to arbitration to force them. Man City lost and yet they still refused to comply. Instead, they took the matter to the High Court and Court of Appeal… and lost twice again. Only then did they comply (whether they’d tried to sabotage the original evidence by then, who knows - I’d put nothing past them).

Throughout, Man City have demonstrated a total preparedness to corrupt the integrity of the competitions they are in and a refusal to
accept the authority of the leagues to protect that integrity. Instead, they sought to conduct highly expensive lawfare to evade justice.

You cannot allow such a powerful, malign actor to be part of your collective. They’re simply too dangerous. You just have to expel them.

That’s why I have suspected the Independent Commission will recommend expulsion and sufficient clubs would vote for it.

What could save them? A sacrifice. A fall guy. Someone that can take all the blame and walk away. The thing is, there are very few people who this could credibly be. Based on the leaked emails, it would have to be the entire executive for sure as well as Simon Pearce. But also, one of Khaldoon or Mansour.

Given Khaldoon’s been put front and centre with the media for dealings with world leaders lately… and Mansour has basically been hidden away, with hit pieces out connecting him to the genocide in Sudan… I don’t think it’s a stretch to believe Mansour would be the one taking the bullet.

Take the fines, compensation claims, stripped titles, and relegation on the chin and agree to sell the club to prevent expulsion.

One or the other it must be. And hopefully, this summer, not next.

[AFCAnfield89 @jonnyr90]

@TrollTouchline We are held to a different level, because of the class & history of our club. Only Liverpool & Man U come close, but with them being from up north & working class, the criticism is different.

[Troll Touchline @TrollTouchline]

🚨🚨🗣️ | Chelsea Legend Didier Drogba BLASTS Arsenal critics and questions VAR Decision on potential penalty against Manchester city vs Crystal Palace: 💣🤯

“I have watched the footage from the Manchester City vs Crystal Palace game again and again, especially that handball incident, and honestly, I am shocked. How is that not a penalty? The contact with the hand looks clear to me. So my question is simple: why was there no proper VAR review, and why is everybody suddenly silent about it?

Because let me tell you something, I am not the biggest Arsenal advocate but if that was Arsenal, the whole football world would be on fire right now. Every fan page, every football account, every ex-player and every rival fanbase would be screaming corruption and calling Arsenal cheats.

After the Arsenal vs West Ham game, social media was complete chaos. I could not scroll for two seconds on Twitter, TikTok, Instagram or Facebook without seeing people attacking Arsenal over the Raya incident. Everybody was on Arsenal’s neck. The outrage was everywhere.

But now? Silence.

I am scrolling through social media after this Manchester City game and I genuinely cannot find the same energy. Not one massive outrage. Not one endless debate. Not one campaign from rival fans demanding answers. Why?

Honestly, I am starting to understand why Arsenal fans keep saying they are refereed differently. Because the criticism is never balanced. Arsenal are judged with a completely different level of anger and scrutiny compared to other clubs.

I watched that replay over and over again, and for me, Crystal Palace should have had a penalty. Simple. And if an Arsenal player made that exact same handball, we would still be hearing about it for the next two weeks.

Football always talks about consistency, but consistency disappears depending on which badge is involved. The double standards have to stop.”

[LE GROVE @LeGrove]

‘Everyone hates Arsenal because they push boundaries’ just doesn’t rub.

The reason there’s so much hatred is the over focus on every facet of what people supposedly don’t like by a willing media, even if the focus is objectively petty and small minded (too much arm waving, use of the word ‘project’, standing on the edge of the technical box, over celebration, too good at set pieces)

Relentless. It trickles down. Even our own fans start getting down about it.

How can I be seeing ‘are Arsenal worthy champions’ from serious people in a record breaking year for wins? From a club with the 5th highest wage bill going up against nation states and unlimited private credit tethered to nothing. A team unbeaten in UCL and in a final. The best defensive record in the league. How are we here?

Because it’s Arsenal.

No one would dare say it about any other team.

It’s part of our history. That we might have done it the hard way shines a light on everyone else’s failings . Lap it up. We don’t care. 🔴⚪️

[Alastair Brookshaw @albrookshawAFC]

This is why they're angry. They liked this version of Arsenal where we got robbed in broad daylight and no pundits clutched any pearls about how bad it was for the game or how unfair it all was...

[AFCAnfield89 @jonnyr90]

@henrywinter More worthy than this prick!

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

Will Arsenal be worthy champions if they get over the line? There is plenty of criticism of Arsenal's football, the set-piece arts/dark arts, the antics of Arteta in the technical area, and triumphalism of some fans such as the one with that presumptuous “champions” shirt. Throw in the usual club tribalism and that season-defining VAR decision (correct call but officials inconsistent in punishing grappling this season) and there’s plenty of antipathy towards Arsenal.

But it is a truism universally acknowledged that the team that finish top first are worthy champions. It’s a marathon of 38 sprints and Arsenal have demonstrated the required ability, character and stamina. They have had their mentality questioned all season (and before). From Raya to Rice, Gabriel to Gyokeres, all of the squad have shown resilience. Battlers, not bottlers. Rice in particular embodies their will to win.

It’s good to see a club keeping faith in a talented manager during the near-misses; keeping financial balance (top with fourth largest wage bill); and building a squad so that hugely capable players can come off the bench and make a big difference as Odegaard did against West Ham. And isn’t it more refreshing to see a range of champions (if they do hold on)? Five different clubs have been champions since Arsenal in 2004.

It’s also important to see a club committed to their academy, creating a pathway for Saka, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman and others, and giving them a chance to shine; it’s good for sustainability, culture and connection with fans. It’s encouraging to see a club working with fans to improve atmosphere (tifos, coach greets). 

Off-field, too. All clubs have vital community departments; Arsenal in the Community is widely acknowledged as the oldest and one of the most impactful at home and abroad with around 100 full-time and part-time staff. There is much good about Arsenal. If they do hold on, Arsenal will be worthy champions on and off the pitch. #AFC

[AFCAnfield89 @jonnyr90]

How’s this dickhead feeling now? #Arsenal