- Why Arsenal are going to have a really tough time of it this season
- The problem with counting the number of homegrown players in Europe
By Tony Attwood
Supporters can sometimes be very critical of the club they support – that’s obvious – although Arsenal supporters do on occasion seem to take it further than supporters of other clubs, even going so far as to organise a mass petition against the signing of a player. In the case of Noni Madueke for an initial £48.5million, with over 5,000 people signing an online petition.
And I wondered why. It seems inconceivable that Arsenal’s management would suddenly say, “oh sorry, thanks for letting us know, we’ve cancelled the transfer” so what was to be gained? Obviously it was not a move designed to make the incoming player feel good. He knows now that when he plays, there is a chance he is going to get booed by a section of the crowd. In the worst case, he could become one of those players who can only play in away games because of crowd reaction.
But this has been part of Arsenal support for as long as I can remember – and indeed I can remember at school being bemused by apparent Arsenal supporters really slagging off an Arsenal man, rather than supporting him.
So I was impressed by Declan Rice taking issue with the fans who had criticised Madueke’s signing. Maybe some others ought to come out and say that as well. Certainly Rice put himself on the line saying how much he didn’t like the criticism from Arsenal fans.
Now the answer to that of course is that this is still a democracy in which we can by and large, speak our minds, but that argument ignores the fact that as supporters, part of our role is not just to sit there and be entertained but also to give the team our backing. That surely is the point of the chanting and singing.
Or have we now moved on from that? Do we now chant and sing just to taunt the supporters of the opposition? Or because if we don’t, the journalists will find some new variant on the old Highbury Library phrase.
And here’s another point – if there is opposition to a signing from fans, will that discourage other players from coming to Arsenal? Of course if the option of an Arsenal transfer arises, they might well be interested as there is a chance of a trophy or two in the coming season… But they could also think, “I d sooner go to a club where they don’t boo their own players.”
Perhaps we should also remember that Arsenal has benefited from the home crowd booing a player in the past. The mosts obvious case surely was Bergcamp who we got at a discount price because of his treatment at Inter, where he only lasted two seasons, as opposed to 11 seasons at Arsenal.
Certainly, players from all over the world will willingly come to Arsenal because we have shown the world that there is no racial or nationalistic element in terms of supporting our players. But if that prejudice has been replaced by a prejudice against signing players from certain other clubs, then that is still going to harm the club, as well as being ludicrous.
Declan Rice seems to be taking on more ambassadorial roles but we should not have to rely on such coincidences to fight the negativity of certain supporters. So my point is that although Rice’s comments (“when he gets the ball, he just wants to beat his man. He’s so positive and direct. When you’re an attacking player and in your mind the first thought you have is to go past your defender, I think that’s an unbelievable trait.”) are really helpful, but should not be necessary.
It is also becoming clear that Declan Rice is becoming a commentator on behalf of Arsenal – and doing it very well, as where he recently said, “We played half the season, (2024/5) pretty much, with so many injuries, so to now be able to rotate and push in different competitions with different players is going to be really good. That’s key for us.”
He can also be brutally honest, which few players can as when it said, “At the start of the season last year, I was nowhere near the level that I require of myself. I put it down to a few things. Coming off the back of the Euros final (with England) was mentally tough. Having 16 days off, going straight back into a Premier League season — it was really hard.”
That is undoubtedly true, but the fact is that few players take the time to express such feelings, and his contribution is welcome. Including his reporting of his role in the new campaign, saying, “The manager sees me as a box-to-box player. At the back-end of last season, off the back of Christmas, I showed fully what I can do in that position and kicked on. There’s so much room for growth in that area for me.”
I suspect we all hope so too, and most certainly welcome Rice coming out and saying such things.
