Arsenal fans need to show support after Saka gets disgusting racial abuse again

Admin Pat

3 years ago

I’m old enough to remember all three of Arsenal’s Premiership wins.

Because of that, I understand how hard it is to get over the line and deal with the pressure that comes in April and May.

It’s why I preach about mentality all the time.

In elite sport talent only takes you so far. What then separates the good to the great is your mental strength.

Having lived it, I can honestly say that some Gooners don’t deserve the honour of seeing the Gunners Champions.

Some need humbling.

Some need to respect the standards that Pep Guardiola has set.

Those who arrogantly said it was a case of when and not if?

Those who thought winning at Anfield would be easy?

Those who mocked Garry Neville for his balanced opinion?

Those who verbally abused me for suggesting if the same players who couldn’t handle the race for top 4 could suddenly handle the pressure of a title race.

Those who compared this squad with the Invincibles!

All of the above can be debated.

What can’t be debated is any supporter who responded to Saka’s penalty miss on Sunday by racially abusing him.

The fact this no longer makes headline news on the Sports pages is a sad inditement of the UK. It means that racism in football is accepted, it no longer shocks us.

It’s no longer worth wasting our breath asking the likes of Facebook and Twitter to have zero tolerance towards racism.

It’s why the likes of myself have the responsibility to spread the message that this is what the 21 year has to deal with daily.

Of course, not every tweet or post would have been sent by an Arsenal fan.

Just like not every vile message after Euro 2020 was sent by an English person.

Either way, it’s proof that we continue to have a major issue in Britain, grown adults who think in the confines of the world of football, they can say or act how they want.

It’s why I always defended Xhaka when he threw the armband down. That was someone in his twenties no longer able to tolerate the scale of abuse he and his family dealt with daily.

For the same trolls to then try and take the moral high ground over an armband was irony lost on themselves.

I could point out how many times Saka has delivered for us this season?

I could say how counterproductive it is to abuse your own player for failure from a spot kick.

Does that help him or the team the next time he’s in that position?

To do that would make this a conversation about on the pitch. Yet that’s trivial compared to the human element.

I admire the courage of a young man who knows the consequence of taking a penalty. Everytime, he steps up he knows he’s racially abused if he doesn’t convert.

What a crazy yet sad sentence to write.

Any Arsenal fan who responded to our draw with West Ham by racially abusing someone doesn’t deserve to see their team get an ounce of success. That’s the only way they might see karma.

I can’t include important things such as families or job,s because I like to think anyone who had fulfilment in those areas wouldn’t take football so seriously that they feel the need to abuse someone.

That or they are just not that educated.

True supporters will do what Ian Wright suggests and give Saka a standing ovation on Friday, letting him know the vocal minority don’t reflect the majority.

Mr Wenger warned in his final year as our manager that we were in danger of having a small portion of our fanbase sacrifice the principles he helped maintain.

So, against Southampton, let’s drown out these cowards and support the team.

Football is a beautiful game but it’s just that …. a game.

Dan

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