My second
year as an Arsenal Season Ticket Holder draws to a close over the next few
weeks, and tomorrow I will take my seat for Arsenal v Manchester United. It is a fixture which is so rich in history
and drama from unbelievable joys to paralysing heartache. A couple of years ago I was celebrating my
birthday early as Aaron Ramsey slotted home to give us victory with the only
goal of the game.
Two decades earlier and a couple of days before my eleventh birthday Alan Smith scored a
hat trick hours after we had clinched the league thanks to Nottingham Forest
defeating Liverpool earlier that day.
Manchester United were simply blown away as the newly crowned European
Cup Winners Cup victors fell
to a 3-1 defeat at Highbury. The night
was also notable for Manchester United performing a “guard of honour” as our
players stepped out onto the pitch.
Their
manager that night was a certain Sir Alex Ferguson, who was merely five years
into a reign that continues to this very day.
I will not be a hypocrite and pretend to be Fergie’s biggest fan, but
let it never be said that he does not get occasions like this right. It was an act which was repeated when Chelsea
were to visit Old Trafford as newly crowned Champions fourteen years later.
It is a
custom which I fully agree with. The
Premier League is one of the most fiercely contested competitions in the world
and during the season tempers will fray and emotions inevitably spill
over. But when the curtain falls and the
honours are awarded, it is a time to reflect and to show a little dignity in
defeat.
For Arsenal
fans it is also time to enjoy the now annual
feast of St Totteringham Day which as any respectable Gooner will tell you is
the day which is marked by fans of Arsenal as the moment when Tottenham can no
longer catch Arsenal due to the number of games and remaining points
available. The last time the national
holiday was postponed was 1995.
It’s a
tradition, and as such they should be honoured and respected. Much like the act of the “guard of honour”
performed for visiting champions once a title is secured. For all my personal irritation of the club,
something further exasperated by their manager, I would have no personal issue
following and respecting that act. As a
club we pride ourselves on doing things the right way something which has given
rise to the phrase the “Arsenal
Way.”
However
something can stop me from doing that.
The potential selection of a certain player, an individual who once
graced our club and who we in turn supported through some turbulent times as he
struggled with repeated injuries. A
former employee who enjoyed the best period of his career in the 18 months
directly leading to his departure when for the first time in his career he
managed to stay injury free for longer than a few months. Who having discovered the absolute peak of
his ability after all of our years of support and faith (not to mention those
pesky BUPA medical bills!) decided to leave us rather than to reward our belief
in him with a commitment to stay.
Having
supported Arsenal for just under three decades, I am not naïve enough to not
realise that players do move on. It’s a
natural cycle of transition. Once upon a
time I didn’t know how Arsenal would go on without Ian Wright. The same could be said for Thierry Henry,
Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira, Cesc Fabregas or Robert Pires.
Players can
return and be appreciated, as has been shown when Thierry returned with his Red
Bulls, or Patrick with Juventus. The
norm is not to subject them to ninety minutes of the kind of venom which Ashley
Cole, Emmanuel Adebayor or Samir Nasri can relate to. In each of those examples the players
concerned have secured notoriety for their conduct in the period leading up to
their departure.
Personally,
I don’t even see why the issue is even being discussed. Manchester United are the champions of
England and have no logical reason to bring Robin Van Persie to London
tomorrow.
Some may
argue that Arsenal or their fans have no right to make any demands regarding
the team selection of another side, and to a certain extent there is a valid
point to be made. But when the nature of
the anger amongst Arsenal fans is so tangible and so obvious to be revealed in
an ugly display of contempt for the arriving champions, it cannot simply be
ignored.
On Monday
Fergie will assert his position in the media and condemn Arsenal as a club
without class, without humility and without dignity due to the reception which
will be afforded to Robin Van Persie should he be included in the squad. However I will counter that Fergie has
deliberately orchestrated a stand off and placed dignified Arsenal fans like
myself in an impossible position. I do
not want to be known as one of the 56,000+ Arsenal fans who will welcome the
newly crowned winners of the Premier League with boos and jeers. But equally I will not ignore the elephant in
the room that will be the case should Robin Van Persie be anywhere near North
London tomorrow.
The choice
is clear: Manchester United can have their guard of honour with respect or they
can have Robin Van Persie in their squad.
They cannot have both. The line
in the sand has been drawn and should Fergie wish to use this match as some
kind of machismo demonstration of authority, then he will only have himself to
blame when the guard of honour descends into a tunnel of shame.
We can
behave ourselves tomorrow and we can observe the traditions of English football
and extend further the aura of the “Arsenal Way.” Tomorrow can be about everything that is
wonderful about English football, or it can be a classic example of why Sir
Alex Ferguson will never be respected or adored in the same style as Shankly or
Clough.
Tomorrow is
more than just a fixture between two old rivals. It can go a long way towards formulating the
lasting legacy of a manager who is in the twilight of his career. Or it can remind everyone why he is the first
to demand respect, despite showing so little himself to anyone else throughout
his career.
