The New 'Invincibles'

13 games, no defeats and the ball is rolling all over again. We have plundered in 55 goals so far and are averaging 3 goals per game. Last year, around the same time, we had lost 5 of our first 14 games and were already out of the title race. This time though, we are second with a game in hand. A stalemate in the game between United and Chelsea can do us no harm. The DREAM is ON Gooners..

11Gunners celebrates Wenger’s new ‘Invincibles‘..

Like every season, this too began the usual way. Loads of gossip about the new recruits filling in gaps vacated up Toure and ‘Mad-e-Bye-Whore‘, but surprise ‘o surprise, Lord Wenger buying just Vermaelen and boy what a signing has he been! You don’t get nicknamed ‘The Verminator‘ within the first month of joining your new club just like that. Our old brethren i.e. injuries, have again been trying to play spoilsport. Nasri got injured the very training session and likes of Rosicky, Walcott, Vela, Eduardo have been ‘Hop-In-Hop-Out’ types all along. Despite the above, this is what ‘The Professor‘ felt after another convincing victory last evening and why he considers this as the beginning of another era in the proud history of our proud club:

“The desire to win the Premier League is there and we want to strengthen our belief. The most important thing is that we play for each other and our focus is on our performances. “We also want to continue to develop our style of play. We did not have a chance to challenge last season. Two years ago we were very close and we would like to experience that again. But we want to keep out humility.”

“We were out of contention very early last year because we lost so many games early and it was too much for us to make up. It is different this time because all the teams at the top have lost games already.”

“So the difference is not that much to make up. It is just nice to be second in the table for a while. We are in a strong position, but we need to keep our belief and enjoy what we do. And a draw between Manchester United and Chelsea would be fantastic for us.”

So very true. I reiterate:

“The DREAM is ON Gooners, Keep Gunning..”

TH14 Is G.O.D.

“It’s Thierry Henryyyyyyyyyyyyyy.. It is the talisman yet again.. In this gripping match between two of England’s Championship Contenders, it is Arsenal who strike first and they strike early. Henry has done it again and how..”

32 years back, on 17th Aug, a kyd was born. A kyd like no other. This is his Legend.

Happy Birthday King Henry!

Remember all those times – when the magical aura of Henry used to push the Highbury faithful into the euphoria of unbridled joy, when the sheer class of the man made even the United fans bow their heads in unison, when monster defenders were left overwhelmed with the electric prowess of the young striker, when managers of competing teams were left clueless about potential strategies to control the demolition forced on them by the Frenchman, when even the magical creatures found ecstasy in witnessing something sublime, times when the phoenix rose from dead ashes, times when Thierry Daniel Henry was here.

Years back, the walls of Highbury reverberated with utter disbelief when the Professor brought an anonymous footballer to North London from the Old Lady, a lad who had hit the back of the net only three times during his eight-month stay in the Renaissance country, and a striker when he came to England, was unable to score even once in his first eight games for the Gunners. People fretted and sweated, swooned and crooned, but were incapable to see what was in store. And there it was – slowly and beautifully, the phoenix was born, the lights were lit, the wizard had started growing to his fullest stature, and we, Gunners, scented the dawning of a new era – the Thierry Henry era.

The following decade beheld something so gracious, so captivating that the genius of Henry was believed to be blessed by the seraphim – he ruled the rules, and he ruled the ruins; a new talent stepped onto the football pitch, and roared havoc to defences. What was in store – Invincibility – aye, there was no one who could quite match the dexterity of the Frenchman, he broke records like pillars of sand, and  won accolades that professional football players dream of, he led us to mystical paths where genius bloomed, and glory magnified – Arsenal marched on the illustrious path like fearless Gladiators.

What’s more, he won everything with France, and became their all time leading goal-scorer. Though the King offers his services to the Catalans now (he helped them with the Treble), he resides in our hearts like a blissful dream. Kudos!

His words swell to the grandeur of divinity :

‘I may be French, but I’m a Gunner at the same time, a Gunner for Life.’

He is a Legend. Ah.. Don’t patronize him.. He is no Legend..

“He is GOD.. Worship Him.”

Gooner For Life

Loyalty, Passion, Ardour, Devotion, Gusto, blah blah blah! Alright, this is why we are the Gunners. Or is it??

But then, every Football Fanatic swims in the same river of Supreme Devotion. You ask a Camp Nou faithful, or you go quiz the Rossoneri, they all will give you completely justified reasons. Then what makes us special? What are, in short, Our Reasons?

The reasons may vary. For a Premiership viewer who watches every game from another Continent, it may be the finesse with which the boys pass the ball, and for the Old Granny who lives alone in a one-room dingy in Holloway, it may be the fervour created in the Herbert Chapman Era which still refuses to die. The Invincible team, Michael Thomas’ last gasp goal at Anfield ‘89, the touch of class by the Iceman, or Cliff Bastin’s screamer, they may all be reasons. On a personal note, I worship the ground where Arsene Wenger walks, I rejoiced when Thierry Henry ran through the defences in Santiago Bernabeau, my eyes went moist when Belleti ended our hopes of ruling Europe. Oh, and we were talking reasons, were we not?

The history drives us on, the smell of air in Ashburton Grove is magical – almost to mythical dimensions, the Emirates stands like the colosseum of North London, and we know how to play football – the Beautiful Game. Pass and pass and pass – ‘We Pass Life‘ into Football! I remember watching a United game on TV against a lower rung side, and they scored a beautifully fabricated goal after quite a bit of passing. The voice of the commentator still floats in my ears like a sweet symphony -

“Oh, what a goal! Who says only Arsenal can play good football in the country?”

You see, that is how we play. That is how we are taught to play. We know one Professor, and he knows one way of teaching. Period. Remember what King Henry said before leaving -

“Arsenal will be in my blood as well as my Heart. I will always, always, always Remember you guys. I said I was going to be a Gunner for life and I did not lie because when you are a Gunner you will always be a Gunner.”

Proud to be a Gooner, forever & ever..