Apathy has reigned for years at Arsenal.
It’s now time for a new owner, a different regime.
Fans have suffered more of the same for far too long.
Their disconnect has been a gradual process.
Diehard supporters grumbled and moaned, some got angry and talked to friends who were angry. And then, season by season since 2009, Arsenal fans have sunk into apathy.They are sullen, resigned, bored and silent.
They cannot fight the absentee owner from hell because he is 6,000 miles away in a meeting of billionaires in Los Angeles.
So many regulars have given up their season tickets. As London’s biggest club has stuttered and slipped down the table, Gooners often can’t even give their tickets away to friends because people have given up. They’ve stopped caring.
The place I notice this most is the gym.
Because nobody talks about Arsenal any more.
Guys who adored Dennis Bergkamp, who idolised Thierry Henry, who loved PV4 because he was a colossal warrior who fought their battles – most of those fans are silent now. But they haven’t forgotten Ashley Cole, the best left back in the world, who linked up so thrillingly with Robbie Pires, or the Invisible Wall from Brazil, or the brave goals of fiery Freddie at key moments in big games and finals.
Two weeks ago, as I was going into the cafe after a swim, I met one of the trainers, my best mate there. He was with his dad, a wise old boy with a twinkle in his eye. His dad suggested that the best thing that could happen at Arsenal was for the whole crowd to leave at half-time.
It’s a simple idea but a good one.
Absence is a statement……, but it’s a passive statement.
The crowd for Stoke might be only 35,000.
If everybody left at half-time, regardless of the score, it would be world news.