Let us start from the beginning: This was the first game I’d
been to by myself. I left my dad’s house in south London, got on a train to
Highbury & Islington (north London) and didn’t see or hear a single Wolves
fan. I walked along the famous, brilliant and long Holloway Road; I
still couldn’t see or hear any Wolves fans. I hung around outside for a bit
when I got to the Emirates, went inside, found my seat in the lower tier of the
Clock End, and there they were, Wolves fans!
The game kicked off. I still couldn’t hear any Wolves fans.
The game started as any home game does when Arsenal kick
off, the fans started singing and our players each got a few touches of the
ball before moving forward. Standard. The chants roared on and The Gunners quickly
got into their flow.
I still heard nothing from the Wolves fans.
Eight minutes in and Wolves were on the attack, only to be
stopped in their tracks, the ball was worked to Yossi Benayoun who spotted Gervinho’s
well-timed run and put him clean through. Here is when I panicked; I’ve always
seen Gervinho as someone who does TOO MUCH when he has the ball. For instance:
run, run, run, run, clean through, run, run, run, pass, attack over. So at this
point when the big headed Ivorian was one-on-one with Iker Casillas
Wayne Hennessey I thought to myself “shit, he’s going to pass or run backward,
or something.” I was wrong; he gave me even more of a reason to panic when he
decided to go take the ball away from Buffon Hennessey. That’s when I
thought “He’s gonna mess it up.” But no, he scored! One nil to The Arsenal, we
were all cheering, jumping around, chanting unnecessarily harsh taunts at the
opposition fans such as “we pay your benefits!!!” etc.
Silence from the
Wolves fans, still.
And that’s when The Emirates turned into complacency
central. We created a few half-chances and Van Persie even proved that he
didn’t need to pull his leg back cannon a shot towards goal from the edge of
the box – which Peter Schmeichel Wayne Hennessey tipped past the post.
Another half-chance came when Van Persie was brought down on the edge of the
Wanderer’ box, but Arteta decided it would be a good idea to dink the ball into
the arms of Hennessey. The Wolves fans were still silent, and that’s when me
and the rest of the fans in my section started chanting “WE FORGOT, WE FORGOT,
WE FORGOT THAT YOU WERE HERE! WE FORGOT THAT YOU WERE HEEEEEEERE!!!”
Ten seconds later we concede a corner and eventually, a goal
(good header from Fletcher, though).
Now I can hear the Wolves fans, and for
the last six or seven minutes Wolves pushed and pushed, and their fans sang and
sang. I wouldn’t say the game was turned on its head as the half drew to a close,
but it had changed in Wolves’ favour, until about a minute towards the end we
seemed to be hurrying the ball forwards, as if there were seconds of the second
half. Half time, Wolves fans fell silent again.
The second half kicked off and we looked the stronger side
throughout the half, apparently Tommy V got booked in the midst of all the
havoc we were causing their defence – must have missed it. My excuse for
missing the booking is as follows: There was a fat ginger Wolves fan looking at
me, had to double check he wasn’t cursed or something. We had a couple of
penalty shouts, both of which I participated in, neither of which I saw.
Throughout the game I noticed several things:
1)
Van Persie snatched at a lot of his chances, a
bad day at the office is bound to occur, even to the best striker in Europe, but
can we really allow that with cabbages like Chamakh and Park in reserve? No.
Spend some money.
2)
Yossi Benayoun is a fighter, I like that. We
need more players like him, just younger and more talented (not saying he lacks
talent, but we can afford better). Spend some money, and buy Yossi before his
loan runs out.
3)
Arshavin and Chamakh’s introduction had about as
much effect on the game as I did singing (and swearing in frustration) from the
other end of the stadium. Replace them, to do that, you need to spend some
money.
4)
Wolves’ players and fans lack etiquette. Not as
bad as Stoke Rugby Club, but still.
5)
Arsenal fans are hilarious but very cruel,
singing “WE PAY YOUR BENEFITS” to the Wolves fans. I get EMA, so everyone
contributes to my benefits. I’ll bare that in mind next time I chant that at a
poor person.
6)
Djourou thinks he can take it past whoever he
likes, when he really can’t. He is no adequate replacement for Sagna and to be
fair, neither is Jenkinson. Spend some money.
7)
Vermaelen was brilliant at left-back, but he’s
sensational at centre-back. We need cover for Santos. Spend some money, and
sell injury-prone Gibbs whilst you’re at it, Arsene.
8)
Wayne Hennessey decided to emulate some of the
greatest ever goalkeepers.
This is slowly becoming tedious so I’ll cut a long story
short. We drew a game we needed to win, we waste more chances than we create, our
fans are better than Wolves’ fans. Arshavin is shit. Chamakh is worse. Djourou is
cocky and has silly hair. So what next for The Gunners, with Robin in need of a
rest, but three goals away from breaking a record, what’s Arsene gonna do? But
more importantly, how will the team perform against QPR on Saturday?
Oh and on the journey home I saw a man wearing boots with
ski-socks poking out, his trousers were tucked into his ski-socks. He was not
wearing an Arsenal shirt, thankfully.
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