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I’m A Believer

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It’s months like this that have to make you proud to be a Gooner. With the one blip on the record of a home draw to Bolton in the FA cup our form, and results accordingly, have been perfect. And apart from one bad result (horrible really) to Sheffield United the busy period over Christmas wasn’t as bad as a lot of the experts would have had us believe – we took 9 from a possible 12 points, being beaten only by Man U who took 10 (Chelsea only took 6). The confidence and belief in each other with which this team plays at the moment is incredible to watch and you literally feel as if you are watching the players grow into a formidable team, with improvements to almost every player involved being noticed with every passing match. I for one think that witnessing this group of players develop is a special experience, one that we don’t get the pleasure to be a part of very often in modern football with large percentages of squads being sold and new players replacing them every season in search for the right formula for success.

I know some Arsenal fans have grown so accustomed to the unrivalled success we have been blessed with during Le Boss’s reign as Arsenal manager that one or two baron seasons may seem an unbearable prospect and the dreaded word ‘transition’ being thrown about again scares some and seems like merely a poor excuse to others. But remember the great Man U side of the 90’s, that team didn’t win anything major for 2 years while developing into the side that one everything there is to be won. Also, sorry to use the phrase again but if moving into a new home isn’t considered a transition then I don’t know what qualifies anymore. If we are honest with ourselves i think we all new the second Lehmann left the field that last years CL final may really have been to much to ask against Barcelona, and as much as we all would love to have that one trothy that has elluded us in the cabinet i think we can all agree that the team left us with many great memories and performances along the road to Paris. At the start of this season we struggled, but if it were not for a few poor draws at home and an unlucky loss to West Ham we would be right up there with Man U and Chelsea. I now agree that ‘transition’ is a word we should avoid as the form we have shown since the Sheffield game is absolutely amazing. The title is beyond us this season but next season, that is what we should expect as this team is clearly capable of challenging Chelsea and Manchester United at the top of the table and has proven recently that even the smallest of them wont be bullied by the likes of Blackburn and Bolton anymore.

Everytime i see this team play, and observe the growth, i know I’m watching a special team be born, one capable of conquering the world of soccer for years to come. The people who were saying ‘sack Wenger’ and ‘sign British’ at the start of this campaign are small minded and ignorant, and also unlucky, that they don’t have the patience to for now just enjoy watching this remarkable group of youngsters and the ‘Total’, if not some times extravagant football this team play. You know what the say, ‘Patience is a virtue’, and I have all the patience in the world for these players and for Wenger. I cant remember which Brazilian it was (if anyone can tell me that would be appreciated) who said this but the quote is a powerful statement of this teams quality anywayz, ‘This Arsenal side play football the way people romanticise about the ’62’ and ’70’ world cup winning sides played.’, that says something when the average age of our outfield players is only 24.8!

I have loved the experience of seeing the conception of Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal Mark III and hope that now the team is starting to bare some fruit my optimism (along with many of the others on this forum) can be passed on to some of the pessimists I’m sure still are out there some where. Bring on Chelsea in the Carling Cup – which our kids have single handedly revived – bring on Bolton and PSV and Bring on next season. And to any doubters that remain, remember in those dark moments for the rest of the season when the frustration builds again, as I’m sure at some stage it will, ‘WENGER KNOWS!

Article submitted by Ozi Gooner

Articles submitted by Vital Arsenal members are based on the opinion of the member and not necessarily the view’s of the network itself.

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