Are you an Arsenal supporter? by Pa Sait
‘What’s the meaning of being a supporter?’ that is the question Arsenal fans should ask themselves before abusing a player.A fan should support their team and the players representing the team through good times and hardship.
The abuse Eddie Nketiah is getting is embarrassing and ridiculous at the same time.No one should feel hate from their own fanbase, that’s not a real fan.You can be angry at the club, you can disagree with a decision and put out constructive criticism towards players.That’s where it has to end for a fan. Going further than that is just wrong and ugly and it can have a major impact on players performance.If we continue to be a loud and negative fanbase that can lead to players not wanting to stay at Arsenal, and prevent future players to join Arsenal as well.Let’s back and support the club. We love Eddie being brave and backing himself to wear the number 14 shirt shows that he has the right mentality to be successful, and this comes from a fan that is still very unsure about him.
Pa Sait
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Just Arsenal Show – Dan Smith – Am I Mr Negative Or Do Some Gooners Not Like Any Criticism?
I”ve been supporting the clubs for many years now and there have always been players the crowd have knocked Going back to Jeff Blockley John Matthews David Price Paul Vaessen John Hawley and many more Some players dont have the flambuoyance of other bigger names but often get the stick for a teams performance and managers have bowed to the fans For example in Liam Bradys last season at, Arsenal he had some very poor games but escaped crowd abuse as so did Charlie Nicholas and the much over rated Paul Merson The one thing to bear in mind is that every club is the same and fans need to appreciate the work horses of the team and not just the big names
There is no single definition of what a football fan should or should not be. Short of physically or verbally assaulting another fan the field is as vast as the universe.
Merse was not overrated at all. He was my favourite player and I was gutted when he left but I knew he wasn’t at the level of some of the guys who replaced him. He was still a great player and recognised as such by winning a few England caps along the way. He had end product.
Let’s think about what Nketiah could do for the team next season:
– Homegrown quota
– Constant high press
– Finishing skills
– Pace
– Connection with other Hale End products
Hmm true talk…
A sensible, though extremely brief piece. I always maintain the silly and incorrect use of the word “hate” and “haters” lets down any post or article.
I have seen no actual hate -in its proper meaning- at all, from any fan and discourage all from diluting the true meaning of such an EVIL word, esp at this time of what a true HATER, in Putin and his ghastly and duped(non military) countrymen are doing in Ukraine.
I have seen, and use myself, forceful and to the point criticism but criticism is NOT hate.
Please grow up, those who misuse language so easily and realise the harm you are doing.
When our rich language is so blithely misused, it is no wonder that arguments occur, as different fans have different, though often wrongPERSONAL meanings, for words written on here.
But PRECISE LANGUAGE IS HELPFUL AND AVOIDS MANY VERBAL DISAGREEMENTS.
I applaud. Well said JF
Jon well said 👏 👍
Well said Mr. Fox, you are clever with words, which might be overwhelming for individuals lacking the same gift.
As Stuart says above, there has always been scapegoats.
The real problem is how modern technology has allowed the abuse to go unfettered.
Can you imagine a fan, back in the 90’s, calling other fans “dullards” for instance?
The old North Bank would have had them for breakfast!!
The abuse ended after the game and fans went home to watch MOTD, with no VAT, incessant replays and failed managers acting as pundits.
Even referees were afforded respite after a game, with no winding and rewinding of their decisions.
Being a supporter of the club, doesn’t mean one can’t make observations, both positive and negative, but too many keyboard warriors are turning our fanbase toxic.
I was questioned about why I never visited other club sites recently – there’s enough negativity using our own, supposedly, sites… so why go and read more BS.
My philosophy is to support the club at games 100% and then discuss it on JA (for example) but always remembering that we are all Gooners.
Well said Ken.
A great read Ken 💯
THOSE are supporters of Rival team’s bent on discouraging our new no 14; making him to get disillusioned and not perform well next season
If being a supporter means we have to sacrifice honesty and the truth then we are all in the KGB world of truth. I have supported and watched Arsenal for 65 years and am a lot older than that. The most valuable commodity in the world is the ‘Truth’ otherwise we would live in a thought controlled world such as Putin is attempting to create. Don’t be scared to think outside the ‘tribal’ box. There are some great thinkers, who are free and eloquent, on this site, and it’s for them I come and visit this site that represents freedom of spirit.
Brilliantly said Sean – to follow one’s instincts and beliefs is a prerequisite of being a free spirit.
Don’t let others put you down, but be prepared to listen and debate in a civilised way.
Well said Ken. I’m in the same space as you.
Agree 100%.
That was beautiful… I want to cry.😭
Nice saying Sean 🫶
Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between one’s feelings
I admit that in the end I was sick to the back teeth with Ozil. The only player that I can recall who has ever had that effect on me. Perhaps it was as a result of abuse that I received at times from within JA that fuelled it. One or two were particularly horrible but have since moved on. It became horribly personal and I do my best to keep away from that
So supporting has many different elements and I do support the players trying to do their best. It’s the least they can do to show the supporters that they are giving of their best and care
I once said that Luiz should never wear the shirt again after a shocker but that was said out of our frustration and lasted all of 30 minutes.
It’s impossible for every supporter to see the same attributes in any one player but but name calling is unpleasant and so are the unpleasant names that Arteta gets called in the same way as Emery got before him.
💯🫶 I had the same feeling about Özil tremendous player one day and frustrating the next. Almost got the same feeling about Auba.
Haven’t read any “hate” displayed toward Nketiah. Not like people hoped bad things happened to him and his family.
Have to go back and read the author’s article on the treatment of Xhaka.
If feathers got ruffled over Nketiah, I’m sure it will be an interesting read about the hate towards Xhaka.
Exactly Durand, the “I can say and do what I want” brigade are always the ones who get upset when they are challenged.
One rule for them, one rule for the rest.
If you believe in something / somebody say it loud and clearly and never believe that you have the vast majority behind you – rgat shouldn’t matter.
Treat Others the Way You Want to Be Treated, should never be forgotten.
what a ridiculous childlike attempt to disparage those whom have spoken their particular truths about the club they love…of course, no one should express their displeasure in an illegal and/or immoral manner, but to even suggest that we should functionally just shut up and watch is pure nonsense…if you look at the clubs who matter most in the footballing world, you will find some very “honest to a fault” fanbases, who wouldn’t have accepted what has been on offer here ever since our move to the Emirates, under false pretenses
I’ve been going home and away since 1984. I’ve been to the most far fetched lands through Europe and pre season friendlies so accusing people like us as not “Supporters” makes me question what the article really means?
I have never belittled or abused our players and left that to the wallies on AFTV. Yes, I don’t always agree with some posters on this platform, but I always appreciate an opinion without trying not to scream the bleedin’ obvious.
Eddie has not been abused here (not to my knowledge) and we all want him to do well, It is to our personal interests that he does do well, but there is no harm in dreaming that one day we may sign a Haaland, Levendowski or Harry Kane (maybe not the last one)
So before you throw the “Be supporters” and “hate” tag around… be mindful as if you read the majority of our posts and not the snippets you will see all we do is “support this club.” And definitely not “Hate”!!
What I like about this platform is that not one person is a like. We have different opinions on how the game should be played and who should play it. There are days where I agree with JF and days where I disagree with DK. (Usually vice versa). But I will never agree with FF. 😜
So Pa, as much as you have been caught up as a modern day Arsenal Fan and believing the alleged ‘non supporting’. I think you will find that their is quite a majority of us that have done nothing but support this club through thick and thin and their is definitely no hate from me and I think you may find NOT from a lot on this platform.
IJS
Hi Nickerless Bender
the criticism in the article is not aimed at one or this forum nor is it written to just defend Eddie.
I am just trying to say that fans can and should critique players but it should never turn to abuse or hate.
I have seen him be abused on other platforms and that makes no sense to me. I am not Eddie biggest fan but I would never go to his social media platform and abuse him.
Criticism is part of football and I hope I was clear on that point. But it is always great to hear others opionion
I really dislike the word “fan” (short for “fanatic”) because it gives the impression that people supporting a club are rabid mutts.
And to be frank, many of them are, which is one of the reasons I rarely bother with football forums (also the standard of English, thinking and common sense on display is usually fairly depressing).
This forum is better – it has a number of people well above that low bar.
I’d be the first to admit that I’m no expert on football, so when I express a view here, it’s just my opinion, I’m not trying to tell anyone how it is and I’m as interested in their views as I am in voicing my own.
That said, I do have a lot of experience of other aspects of life, including business, so looking at the game through that prism might offer a useful insight into the thinking of the powers that be in modern football – and the flaws in its structure.
The author has a point that in an online world, too much negativity could cause problems for some personality types – not everyone who’s ok at football is born with a thick skin (although clearly it helps!).
The players are probably best advised to steer clear of anything like this anyway, so Eddie would do well to quietly get his head down, focus and do his best to prove the doubters wrong. I’m sure we’d all be happy if he did that.