Opinion
My first Arsenal game that I saw was a classic. Champions League Round of 16 at the Emirates.
A young Jack Wilshere ran rings in midfield as Russian superstar Andre Arshavin slotted a late winner to give Arsenal a 2-1 lead heading into the second leg at Camp Nou.
With a fascination for the colour red, I was immediately hooked onto the Gunners and became one of many international Gooners. I thought to myself “These lot play good football. Titles will be coming soon”.
The nine year old me was extremely naive. The lows came in the forms of an 8-2 battering at Old Trafford and Arsenal Wenger’s 1000th game as Arsenal manager leading to a 6-0 loss.
But the lowest was definitely the last six months of the Unai Emery era.
Battling the HSC was hard enough. Having to deal with a European final loss to London rivals Chelsea, seeing Emery deploy a defensive midfielder as a second striker only for Emery to get sacked on my birthday was a lot to handle alongside HSC stress.
That’s not to say there have been no highs. I mean, finishing between second to eighth over a decade while winning a few FA Cup trophies is much better than being in a relegation dogfight every season.
But there was one thing that I was craving for – a title race for Arsenal to be involved in. Sure, 2013/14 and 2015/16 seasons spring to my mind, but those title races fizzled out by the end of February in those seasons. The way the 2022/23 EPL season has panned out, perhaps my dream of seeing Arsenal being involved in a title race has finally come true.
When Manchester City dropped points in matchday three, Arsenal went top of the league. I jokingly boasted about Arsenal being top of the league and for the league to be suspended for the rest of the season on my social media accounts.
While my friends took it as a joke, a part of me was being dead serious about the Gunners possibly being in a title race, especially with the winning mentality of Oleksander Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus joining from Manchester City.
As each matchday went on, I slowly became more and more obsessed with the possibility of a title charge. Arsenal kept on winning and winning and despite the odd blip, the Gunners entered the 2022 FIFA World Cup break on top.
While many predicted the Gunners to slip once the EPL restarted, it actually gave Mikel Arteta and his players a break at the right time. The Gunners have become mentality monsters, coming from behind four times since December 2022 to win matches in the Premier League.
The win against Manchester United was special. However, I don’t think anything can match Arsenal’s late comeback against Bournemouth, with Hale End graduate Reiss Nelson scoring at the last kick of the game.
Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith Rowe. (Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)
Arsenal are currently five points clear of Manchester City, enjoying being top of the league. So far, my heart rate has gone up and down an infinite amount of times.
I’ve sworn at the TV for referees not giving dubious penalties to Arsenal and I’ve been biting my fingernails in the hope of other teams ensuring City drop points.
I don’t know who will emerge as the Premier League winners for this season, but I have definitely enjoyed seeing the team I’ve sacrificed sleep for over a decade is finally in a title race.
The key for Arsenal is to sustain this for as many seasons as they can, alongside emerging victorious as many times as possible.
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