Written by Arsenal was almost sinking and Mikel Arteta was appointed to take charge of the club. This is after Arsene Wenger left and Unai Emery tried his best but was not given the ample time to execute his new model and structure.
Mikel Arteta did not start well at all, but he was given the full backing and support by the Board of Arsenal. He kept on telling the fans to trust the process. The process has been seamless indeed and the transition is very visible.
He has managed to take Arsenal back to the top level and the club can now compete very well in all the Domestic Cups and the Champions League. The process has however been a thorn in the flesh of the rival fans and they have been criticizing Arsenal with the slightest opportunity that they get.
I have come to the conclusion that, the hatred of the rival fans is all not about football but it has everything to do with human nature.
Celebrating Arsenal’s Downfall
The rival fans always celebrate the downfall of Arsenal be it either a draw or a loss. Whenever Arsenal drops points, social media will be filled with all kinds of memes and banter against the team. Even if all the big teams lose their games, Arsenal will always remain as the focal point of the banter.
This clearly shows the human nature how they hate on someone who keeps on doing better than them.
Playing Beautiful and Entertaining Football
Whenever Arsenal displays some good football, there are people who poke their nose and look for any mistake in the way and style of play. They will always say that, even if Arsenal display some good and entertaining football, they know very well that, there is nowhere the team is going because they will eventually lose on the trophies.
Playing Boring Football
Whenever Arsenal try and change their game and start playing the boring football, the rival fans will also keep talking and say how Arsenal is not playing with the mentality of Champions and therefore, if they end up and win something like the English Premier League trophy, then the club will go down in history as the worst club ever to win the Premier League title.
Set-Pieces
When Arsenal play well and take advantage of their set pieces, the rival fans will still say that, Arsenal is killing the game by only scoring using set-pieces. The thing that they always forget is that, set-piece is part of the game and they were also invented so that anybody who uses his chances well can get something out of it.
Human beings will always criticize what others are doing yet it is not rocket science because they all have the time and the resources to also practice and implement the same set-piece tactics in their teams.
Leniency on other Teams
The rival fans are always very lenient on other teams, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City or even Liverpool can be having their worst times in the season but they will never talk about it at all. They will always find a way of blaming Arsenal in every situation even on things that do not concern them.
Topping the Premier League Table
Arsenal’s stay on the top of the Premier League table makes so many people uncomfortable and they keep on mocking Arsenal by even calling it names like the pace-setters or the Elephant on top of the tree. They always forget that, Arsenal is ahead of their team and therefore they have much work to do on how to help their teams to also go on top of the Premier League table.
Advancing well in the Champions League
Arsenal has been so consistent in the Champions League and the team has done so well in order to reach their back to back semi-finals. The rival fans are still bantering Arsenal yet some of them the teams that they support, never even made it to the Champions League.
This just show how human nature is, they will always mock you for being in great positions because they feel jealous and envy whatever you are doing. Let every fan focus on the teams that they are supporting and stop being bias with their banter.