Tag Archives: Thierry Henry

The Arsenal and Me – Chad’s Story

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First, I am a middle-aged American, so I am always the little brother, I suppose. Never to be a Proper Gooner, at least by the old meaning of the term, never to stand on the North Bank. And despite being an avid sports fan and playing the game, that’s fine. As a result, this isn’t a story about my first trip to Highbury, or a lofty tale about away boys on the terraces in the 80s, or some distant memory of watching Pat Jennings or Charlie George from my Dad’s lap. This is, however, a story with the same net result, be it plastic or proper. It’s a story of love and passion for The Arsenal. And in the end, it’s a story about my sons watching Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott from my lap every weekend morning.

For me it started when I needed a pair of workout shorts sometime in the early 90s and found a pair of Arsenal shorts I thought were cool. I just liked the name, that’s it, pretty boring and silly, I’m aware. When you come from a place where it’s Braves and Falcons and Hawks, Arsenal sounds awesome. From there it was a random CL match aired on ESPN 2 long before the Premier League was on American TV. I’d look for Arsenal when I randomly saw the table because it was the only team I knew, or I’d remember the shorts when I heard the names of Thierry Henry or Dennis Bergkamp, who were big enough stars to cross the Atlantic. Then I grew up, got a job, and got married with ‘soccer’ always on the back burner to Super Bowls and World Series.

Then I had my first son and it started to change. Then I had to get up with said son on the weekends and was looking for something interesting on TV in the mornings. I decided English Premier League on Fox Soccer was better than any kid’s show. Then I remembered those stupid old pair of shorts and tried watching only Arsenal matches. For every sport I enjoy, I watch one team and one team only. I guess I just enjoy knowing a lot about one team and seeing their pursuit through a season.

Then I saw the since maligned Robin van Persie tally a hat trick against Blackburn—just two short seasons ago—with my son on my lap. That was that. That match was the turning point. I know a 7-1 drubbing of a side destined for relegation isn’t exactly winning the league at Old Trafford, but that was the tipping point for me. I remember my son, who was just learning to talk, singing ‘We Love You Arsenal’ at 8 in the morning. I remember him figuring out the cannon meant Arsenal on that cold winter morning. It will always be etched in my memory as one of the first sport-related things I shared with my son. Not the MLB Braves or NFL Falcons, who I have been watching since I was his age, a club thousands of miles away. The Arsenal.

1From there it was learning all I could about an incredibly rich history, connecting with Gooners—or just Arsenal fans if you prefer—from all over the world on Twitter, consuming blog after blog after blog every single day. Waking up early to watch matches, streaming weekday games at work on pop-up riddled sites, joining Arsenal Player, annoying my American friends and my wife with conversations they knew nothing about, ordering my first Arsenal shirts, singing 1-Nil To The Arsenal in the car on my morning commute, and following insane transfer talk all summer long. Funny stories, I discovered Piers Morgan through Arsenal, not CNN. My son saw an old Civil War cannon in Tennessee just last weekend and thought it had something to do with Arsenal.2

Then I had another son to begin sharing this with and it all starts again every Saturday or Sunday morning. Me and my two boys watching The Arsenal is what it’s about. The love.

I also found the get-the-fuck-out-of-my-club-boys, the Kroenke-doesn’t-care-boys, and the it-ended-when-we-left-Highbury-boys. The exclusive trying to exclude some fans instead of include, which is something that doesn’t really happen here. To me it makes no sense even having grown up right in the middle of a sports town. I would love to talk to a Braves fan from another part of the world, or an African or Asian that had even heard of the NHL Carolina Hurricanes. The Arsenal is a truly global brand and the 10th most valuable sports franchise in the world. Having a global network of fans and the added money they bring in is the reason Arsenal is able to compete at the top of the Premier League and in Europe. Why want us gone? Why assume we are plastic and ignorant? Why not try to share your experiences? Why lament changes to the periphery of the sport? Why not focus on the love of the game and the common experiences from other fans wherever they may be and whatever generation they were born into? I really feel sorry for the fans that don’t grasp this.

On Twitter, I follow Arsenal fans on five continents and feel the same passion from them as I do from the Travel Club Members I follow. Sure, I absolutely love hearing the away boys sing, and hearing the Highbury boys tell their stories, and appreciate the hell out of the pictures from grounds all over Europe, but the feeling is generally the same. Gooners in India, Nigeria, and right here in NC—shootout to Triangle Gooners, by the way—love The Arsenal. The love is what pulls me in deeper every day.

So yes, I admit it, I am American and have only been an Arsenal fan for a few years and am nearing 40. The thing is that I self-identify myself as a Gooner now, at least by the new meaning of the term, just like I self identify myself as a father, husband and Braves fan. I’m pretty much like you I think, this club is in my heart and is a part of me now. While I may never have the legacy or be a Gooner by the old meaning of the term, my sons will come up knowing about the club, and that makes me happy. My dream is to one day take both my boys to the Emirates and sing with them.

The funny thing is I never threw away those shorts even though they didn’t come close to fitting my current waist line, I am American, after all. Last season I found them at the bottom of an old drawer and had a tailor cut off the patch and sew it onto a plain cap I bought.3

I wear that hat every day.

Chad

If you would like to tell your Arsenal story, click here

 

The Arsenal and Me – Finchy’s Story

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My ‘The Arsenal and Me’ is quite an ironic one, my Dad’s side of the family were all born and raised around the Angel, Islington, most of them supported Arsenal, with a few supporting that lot from N17 – my Grandad was one of them! He would take my Dad with the rest of the family to Sp*rs one week, then Arsenal the next (I’m told that’s what most North London families used to do), anyway it was 1955 or so before my Dad stopped going to Sh*te Hart Lane, after an Arsenal win in the North London Derby (nothing’s changed!) and continue to go to Arsenal Stadium every week as oppose to every other week.

So my ‘Arsenal and Me’ began with my Dad and his family, I was born, and still live in Newcastle, where my Mum’s family are from, of course they all support ‘The Toon’ so it was a struggle for my Dad to get me in Red & White, but he did and I will never thank him enough for it, because supporting The Arsenal has brought me so many great memories (and some bad ones too). I didn’t get off to a great start, my first game was the FA Cup Final in 2001, which unfortunately we lost, but it was before the game when I was in tears. My Dad spotted John Barnes walking around Cardiff and asked him for photograph, I was about to take the photo when a plastic chair aimed at Barnes came flying from a pub full of Gooners and hit a 7 year old kid on the head – me, but it didn’t stop me from wanting to watch every match I could, and to the ‘Arsenal fan’ who threw that chair, I’ll get you back one day!

Nearly every week I would ask “Dad when are we going to Highbury?” he quickly drilled into me that it was “Arsenal Stadium” and not “Highbury”. I knew because of where we lived, it was difficult to take me, but he finally did in 2003 against Fulham, he organised with an old mate of his for me to have a look around the changing rooms before the match, I had a picture with both Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry’s boots and then went to watch my team, later I found out that his ‘old mate’ was only Bob Wilson! I went to a few games here and there, mostly ones local to me (Newcastle, Sunderland or Middlesbrough) as well as the 2005 FA Cup Final, but it wasn’t really until we moved to The Soulless Bowl that I followed them properly, we’d been on the Season Ticket waiting list since the start and finally got one 5 years ago. Now I travel from the North East to every Away game and every other Home game to watch The Arsenal, into Europe as well. There’s a word I’ve seen mentioned in a few of these stories that stands out for me, ‘family’ and that’s exactly what it is. There’s nothing like seeing your mates, having a few beers and supporting the boys in the famous red and white.

If anyone’s wondering, the ironic part of this whole story is, had Arsenal lost the NLD in 1955, I probably would be a T*ttenham fan…but they didn’t and I’m not!

Oh well…

The Arsenal.

Finchy

If you would like to tell your Arsenal story, click here

Could Julian Draxler be the man to finally replace Henry at Arsenal?

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Thierry Henry left Arsenal in 2007. Ever since that day, Arsenal have attempted, and failed, to replace what the legend bought the time. Pace, power, height, assists and goals. Whether it be by lack of ability, lack of desire, lack of physical attributes or lack of heart, Arsenal have not, in 6 years, got close to replacing the Frenchman.

First to attempt to replace him was Emmanuel Adebayor. He seemed to have it all. The pace, the power, and the technique. unfortunately, he is footballs answer to Audley Harrison. All the technique and physical ability to be one of the best, but none of the heart or desire.

Robin Van Persie was next up to attempt to replace the great man. He came closer to anyone else, with 59 goals in 2 seasons. However, leaving for Manchester United meant he became nothing in the eyes of Arsenal fans. And at the age of 29 when leaving, and with a history of injuries, it is unlikely he would ever become a true replacement for Henry. More like a short term option. He also did not have the dynamism of Henry.

Next up was Theo Walcott. He took Henry’s number 14 shirt. With pace to burn and a fantastic eye for goal. He could have had it all. Except the stature. 5 inches shorter than Henry, he does not have the ability to play up top on his own.

Finally, Olivier Giroud. The polar opposite to Theo Walcott. All the physical attributes, but none of the pace. Whilst he is important in the way we line up, there is a worry that he does not have the natural gifts to be a game winner. What he does is work well for the team, but when push comes to shove, he does not strike fear into a defenders heart the way Henry did. He is also not an individual game winner.

For 6 seasons, Arsenal have struggled with their forward line, with none of the attempted replacements being ideal, however, Arsene Wenger might be about to sign the man who could well replace him on a long term basis. Julian Draxler is top of his shopping list for summer 2014.

Julian Draxler is a 20 year old German player currently plying his trade for Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga. A midfielder by trade, he is comfortable playing anywhere behind the striker. Left wing, right wing or central. He is a talent. Arguably the most talented under 21 year old in Europe at the moment.

Looking at the German, he seems to have the ideal attributes for Arsene Wenger to turn him into a top young midfielder into one of the world deadliest strikers.

It is well known that Arsene Wenger likes having his strikers ‘learn’ how to play out wide. His theory is that wingers having less space and less time on the ball, whilst also receiving more of the ball then a striker. He is of the belief that playing on the wing when younger is a good learning curve to become a striker in the future. At 20, Draxler will be a year younger than when Henry signed from Juventus.

Looking at the two players, it is clear that Draxler ticks so many of the boxes which Henry also ticked (or tuck?).

At 6 foot 2, he is the same height as Henry, meaning that he has the frame to bulk up and bully defenders. In a world where 1 up top is the favoured formation, the main man has to have the physical capabilities to occupy 2 defenders. Draxler might be 10kg lighter than Henry, but at the age of 20, he has the time to bulk up – he is not a wirey frame – and be fully physically prepared to be the main man up top.

Draxler, like Henry, also has pace to burn. Whilst he might not have the raw pace of Thierry Henry, he is very similar to Gareth Bale, in that he has the ability to run away from players over the longer distances.

One of the most important factors in Henry’s game was his assists. It is something that no other striker has got near to matching. Being able to provide to others as many as you score. He originally broke through for Schalke back in 2011 where, at the age of 17, he became the 4th youngest Bundesliga player, and a week later, the second youngest to start a Bundesliga game, behind Nuri Sahin. Draxler originally started playing in behind the striker, but was often pushed wide left to accommodate other players.

This positioning has meant he has the eye for a pass. Whilst his vision is not Bergkamp or Ozil level, it is certainly better than any other striker in the Premier League at the moment. He has played much of his career on the left wing, similar of Henry at Monaco and Juventus.

On top of his vision, he is also technically brilliant. Whilst Henry had to work on his technique, Draxler is more naturally gifted. He also has fantastic dribbling skills, making him the double threat that only Ronaldo, Bale and Henry have had in recent games. Being able to run with the ball whilst maintaining a high pace.

The main question over Draxler is his finishing. Unlike Henry, he has not spent his entire childhood as a striker. Henry’s trademark finishing was learnt with hours of practise playing up top for CO Les Ulis, US Palaiseau, ES Viry-Chatillon and Monaco, as well as refined at the Clairefontaine academy. Henry was always destined to be a striker.

Draxler does not have the same history. Always a midfielder, he does not have the background of playing upfront. So whether he has the coolness that is ingrained with hours of training at a young age, the instinctiveness that playing upfront from the age of 7, that Henry has is questionable. With just 25 career goals it will be a question mark over his head.

However, comparing both of their early careers, Draxler has shown an equal ability to finding the back of the net:

When Henry was 20, he had played 122 games for Monaco, scoring 27 goals. Draxler, currently 20, has played 122 games for Schalke 04, and scored 25 goals.

Draxler ticks so many boxes that Henry also ticked. And at 20, he also has the time on his hands to become a legend at Arsenal, not become just another player.

Having failed to qualify for the Champions League last season, Schalke 04 are currently sitting 5th, 8 points behind joint leaders Borussia Dortmund & Bayern Munich, with Bayer Leverkusen sitting in 3rd, also on 22 points. Just last year, they had debts over £248m. Add in a rumoured €45 million release clause, Draxler is very gettable.

Yesterday he indicated that he turned down a Premier League move in the summer. Arsenal were the club rumoured to be looking at him, with an offer of £26m plus Lukas Podolski being on the table before he picked up his injury. What is for certain it is highly likely he will join a Premier League side next year after stating:

“I have my favourite team, but I am at Schalke and I don’t want to talk about other clubs.”

Mesut Ozil took Arsenal to another level. Julian Draxler would take us a step further, and would finally be the man who replaces Thierry Henry.

Keenos