We are the Arsenal

Yesterday, as Theo Walcott scored a goal with his left foot (which will never be better than his right one), he made a choice to simply turn and walk away from the scene. No celebration. It was his first goal of the season and he's been a bit on the outs so far. I thought that a bit odd but then again I can never quite tell what the young man is thinking so that's all well enough.

But then after the match, I saw it--Theo and the Ox made a point to go salute the visiting support, the supporters who had saluted them in their younger days.

Two young players who had grown up at the Southampton Academy took the time to go thank their old fans, to say "We remember you."

That is the Arsenal way, my friends. That is why we are the greatest club on earth and always will be.

People hate us because of the way we conduct ourselves. They make sport of "the marble halls" and all that. I understand. But that is who we are, and that is why we are who we are. We are the Arsenal. Victoria Concordia Crescit.

It is why we do not tap up players. It is why we conduct our business privately until it is done. It is why we are respectful. There is a word that people use to describe the Spuds that I've never used and will never use, and I know that all my friends do not use. I know some people do use that word, but I do not know any person among my circle of friends who use it.

It is why, when Birmingham City defeated us in the Carling Cup, at my pub in New Orleans, our supporters, every one of them, took note of an old geezer in a City shirt who broke down in tears and said, "I've never seen my club win a trophy, ever!" and congratulated him and bought him pints and patted him on the back. It's because we are the Arsenal, and that is the Arsenal way.

It is why, in the "Up for grabs now" match, the Arsenal players all brought out flowers and presented them to the Liverpool fans before the match. I was reminded of this because of the Hillsborough report--thinking about that match, why it happened when it did, and how our players, our club, conducted themselves. It is because we are the Arsenal, and that is the Arsenal way.

I love this club more than anything in the world and much of the reason is because Arsenal are a different club. Compare the way we, and our players, and our management conduct ourselves to cretins like John Terry or Luis Suarez or the nonsense from Kenny Dalglish last season, or the behaviour of Mark Hughes or Alan Pardew.

We are the Arsenal, and this is the Arsenal way. And those of you who don't like it--well, I pity you. Perhaps someday you'll learn the meaning of the word "class."

Can we be honest?

Here is a lovely quote from 1978's "Heaven Can Wait."  Thought you might like it.

"Look I'm sorry to bother you so late, but I don't love you, and you don't love me, so let's get a divorce, alright?"

That's yer man Warren Beatty talking to the lovely and unfaithful (and somewhat murderous) Dyan Cannon. 

She was at the peak of her powers then--a physically perfect specimen who, while not the youngest piece of arse on the block, was definitely one that you could see a wealthy bloke splashing his cash on because, let's face it, if you could have that riding John Thomas you would probably be willing to put up with most of her less-than-obvious flaws. 

But ol' Warren, at the moment still a rich n' handsome type himself, though not quite the strapping buck he was in his "Splendour in the Grass" days, wanted something else. He wanted Julie Christie, our dove from Dr. Zhivago. 

Now, I love Julie Christie. I always have, and I always will. When she's walking away in the snow in Zhivago I think she's one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. But let me be honest, as lovely as she is, she's no Dyan Cannon--not at that point. She looks pretty, she has a lovely voice, but if you're a rich bloke looking for a rumble in the hay she's just a skinny bint.

So why does ol' Warren decide to deliver that ultimatum to Dyan?  Why would he cut himself off from the top totty to be with the somewhat less than exciting yet still lovely Julie?

Granted, this is just a film and not real life so it might've been highly unlikely that a real "Farnsworth" would've thrown over his lovely and unfaithful (and murderous) spouse for the pleasingly pleasant Julie Christie. But let's assume for a moment there's something metaphorical going on here. 

I think that he just gets sick of the much more lovely yet much more unfaithful Dyan. Sick of it. Lies, deception, pretense--at some point, he just gets sick of the whole thing. 

"I don't love you, and you don't love me, so let's get a divorce."  THAT'S HONEST.

That is what the Arsenal Football Club did with Robin van Persie.

I hate, hate, hate that he went where he went. But he did it. HE did it. We didn't do it.  We didn't send him there--you might think so, but you're wrong. 

I have to be honest, I actually love this move. It's very mafia. It's very Goodfellas. It's a move that says "You're dead to me." He certainly may win some tin with the Rags, but he's dead to our family. And we took them for a load of cash that in hindsight looks hilarious. I would've swapped him for Berbatov and I am not joking about that. Yes, you know how people say things like that after the fact, but I wouldn't call it retrospective dislike. 

Nobody goes against the family. And it's not personal--it's business. 

I distinctly remember Sky interviewing Patty Vieira "back in the day" and they asked him, could he see himself playing for MUFC. "Well, NO, of course not!" he said. (Obviously he didn't rule out the petroBlues.) They asked him why, and his case (as I remember it) was simply that playing for that lot was untenable, and more than anything, playing for Ol' Red Nose was not an option. NOT AN OPTION, 

PV4 was our captain, and yes, he was almost always one foot out the door. But at the very least, he didn't disgrace the shirt like this. He was a made guy. I don't like what he's doing now but I have to believe that if we had offered him something before they did, he'd be on our side. Well, we didn't, and he isn't, so what?

I have nothing to say about Robin. He's a dick, and I hope he enjoys himself.