My history .....

I dont think writing about the history of the club in my blog would serve the purpose as there are sites which would give a better account of Arsenal's history than what I would be able to provide. What can be a better idea is to tell how I became part of the club, its history and its present and future as well.

It was the 17th of May, 2006. When I think back, I find it ironic that the quality that made me fall in love with them is not something which we associate with them these days. May be it was the fact that even when they were fighting against the wind, Arsenal (then, it wasnt 'we', it was 'Arsenal'. It was after this day that 'Arsenal' and 'we' became synonymous :)) continued to play the beautiful football that makes them a class apart. But it was their grit and determination, more than their flair and flamboyance, on that day, which glued me to them. It wasnt a victorious performance that led me become an Arsenal fan, rather it was a narrow 2-1 defeat against the mighty Barcelona in the Champions League final of 2006. Arsenal were down to 10 men in the 18th minute when their GK Jens Lehmann was red carded. Sub GK Almunia took his place and Pires had to leave the the field to make way for him. They took the lead by a goal from Sol Campbell in the 37th minute, and fought heroicly with a man short to hold on against Barca. But when the victory seemed near, the resolve gave way and with two streaky goals in the 75th and the 81st minute Barcelona went on to become the European leaders. 

While Barca rejoiced, Arsenal quitelyadded another fan to the burgeoning community, that was yours truly :). Arsenal have never  come that close to win a trophy since then, but true fans dont leave the side of their clubs, do they. They havent won trophies, but they have won numerous hearts. I doubt any other team (excepting may be Barca) in the world at present is so unanimously regarded as the best team to watch. Their beautiful game at times can be frustrating with no end product, but on most other occasions you would feel that the word mesmerizing was invented just to describe them :)

This was my account of how it all began. Will keep coming up with more. Till then, all the best to us :)

The First Post

Hi readers,

This is my first post on blogspot, or for that matter, any blog. First things first, I'm a sports freak, so dont expect any other mumbo jumbo in here. This is purely for the love of sports and for people who love sports. So what should my first post be about. Anyone's guess. Its got to be about us, The Gunners. Sorry if this disappointed anyone :)

We are going through a season of mixed emotions. We have been everything this season, except consistent. We have beaten the likes of ManU and Chelsea, but have also lost the likes of Hull and Stoke. We have shown great fighting spirit, as shown in the game against Pool when we fought with 10 men to hold on, but we have lost focus when playing against some lowly sides. Injuries to key players havent helped, but we were never lucky with injuries, were we? Last season it was the chronic injuries to van Persie (henceforth referred to as RVP), Rosicky and the horrific one to Eduardo aka Dudu. This season, while we are still waiting for the latter two to come back, we have injury to Theo Walcott, our faster than the fastest winger, and our captain and talisman, Cesc Fabregas. Both are out till at least the end of March, which is a big blow to our title challenges.

Having said that, we have some precocious talents, in the names of the 17 year old Jack Wilshere and the Welsh, Aaron Ramsey. But it is still time before they become finished products, ready to compete with the big guns of the EPL. As far as EPL is concerned, this season seems to be over for us, but if we can get our stars back before much damage is done, then you never know. Football is a funny game.

Hoping for the best for Arsenal.