after our loss to Bournemouth<\/a>, anything can happen even though these are words you don\u2019t want to say. I\u2019m not confident.<\/p>\nI\u2019ve always had faith in Arteta. He is the most suitable person for Arsenal and I believe the board has confidence in him as well. But anything can happen in football. Perhaps Mikel is a good coach who builds teams, but to become a champion-level manager, he might need more experience.<\/p>\n
About the City game, I feel panic, anxiety, everything. This game is a true make-or-break moment. If we lose we will repeat the same pattern. If we win, I\u2019m confident we will become Premier League champions and deserve it.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t care about criticism of our playing style. If we\u2019re in as good physical condition as we were at the start of the season, we can play any style of game. This season might be frustrating for fans because we\u2019re focusing more on results, but this is the right way if you want to be champions.<\/p>\n
I will be disappointed if we fail, but I was born to be an Arsenal fan. As long as I\u2019m still alive I\u2019ll keep cheering no matter where the team is.<\/p>\n
Jeremy Docteur, France<\/p>\n
As with many French football fans in their late 20s to late 30s, supporting Arsenal was the obvious choice because of the number of French players and Ars\u00e8ne Wenger. Henry was my absolute favourite player.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know what London-based Arsenal fans think of French supporters, but the passion and the intensity is similar. So many regularly make huge sacrifices to go to some games and it is extremely expensive. Most of them support Arsenal stronger than their French team and many don\u2019t even have a French team.<\/p>\n
Winning the Premier League is massive because so many fans of the younger generations have never seen Arsenal win it and for people like me the memories are starting to become a little blurry.<\/p>\n
I believe it would be an incredible liberation and massive relief for everyone. For the fans, but also for the club overall, the players and definitely for Mikel Arteta.<\/p>\n
French Arsenal supporters during a Champions League game in Marseille in 2011. Photograph: Stuart MacFarlane\/Arsenal FC\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
I have never been sold on the idea that the title race was done and dusted this season. After recent performances I am extremely nervous. It\u2019s not just about the results, it\u2019s about the style of play, the lack of ambition, how tired the entire squad seems to be, the individual errors, the uncharacteristic lack of defensive composure, the indifferent performances some players have put in \u2026<\/p>\n
Since January, the matches have been nothing but boring and I suppose as long as you\u2019re winning you don\u2019t really need to worry about it too much. But lately, the results haven\u2019t been coming and that\u2019s a big worry. Especially growing up with Wenger, what we\u2019re seeing from the current team is so, so far from the football played back then.<\/p>\n
This season, so many times I felt worried watching games and thinking to myself: \u201cI\u2019m not sure Arsenal will score one goal, but if they concede I have no idea how on earth they\u2019re going to score two.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Arsenal don\u2019t win the league, it could have terrible repercussions. I don\u2019t even want to imagine the meltdown and chaos it will create, especially because I\u2019m not sure another golden opportunity like this season will arise any time soon again, with so many teams being inconsistent and City far from being at their best.<\/p>\n
Laurie Laker, US<\/p>\n
Arsenal are one of \u2013 if not the \u2013 most popular teams in terms of supporter numbers in the US. Depending on how you source your data, it is mostly between us and Liverpool.<\/p>\n
On the title race, I\u2019m confident but terrified. Scared. Scarred. Hopeful. All of those things, simultaneously, and more. I won\u2019t lie, it feels era-defining or redefining, potentially. That\u2019s why the nerves are so raw, so real and so all-consuming \u2013 because we know what\u2019s at stake and what we could win. It\u2019s potentially so, so brilliant, but it could also be so, so brutal.<\/p>\n
A young Arsenal fan during a pre-season friendly between Arsenal and Everton in Baltimore in 2022. Photograph: Stuart MacFarlane\/Arsenal FC\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
We\u2019re well known for being \u201cbite happy\u201d when interacting with clickbait content. We\u2019re a little sensitive, perhaps, but that stems from wanting real, big success so badly. There\u2019s a real collectivism in that sensitivity, though, and I view it as a strength rather than something to be mocked or incited. What this indicates to me is that when we finally win one of the big things \u2013 which, I know in my bones, we will \u2013 the collective release will be unlike anything seen before. The party will be truly generational. I can\u2019t wait.<\/p>\n
I strongly believe there\u2019s every chance we\u2019ll succeed. To me, it\u2019s about the squad seizing the moment with a positive mindset. Operating from fear never brings joy, so let\u2019s go and do it. It\u2019s there if we want it.<\/p>\n
If we go to City with courage we can at a minimum earn a point. City have flattered to deceive until very, very recently this season and we\u2019ve been the best team in the league until recent weeks. I think we\u2019ll get at least a draw, if not a win.<\/p>\n
I watch matches with fellow Gooners and friends at our home pub, The Local, in downtown Minneapolis. As a group, we\u2019ve grown significantly in recent years, averaging 80 fans per match. Larger matches average more than 250. It\u2019s a beautiful pub and the atmosphere is unique to our community. Songs are sung, pints are consumed and collective joy, grief, and togetherness are held so, so dearly.<\/p>\n
Watching matches with friends and other fans makes every outcome more tolerable, especially the gut-wrenching defeats. You have someone to hang on to afterwards, to unpick what went wrong, to vent your spleen or to wail and gnash your teeth alongside. That joy of a big win, a late smash and grab, a moment that will live on \u2013 it\u2019s heightened to the nth degree. I\u2019ve been lucky to have a lot of footballing joy in my life in Arsenal pubs and bars down the years. Those moments may be the closest I\u2019ve come to existing on another plane of joy, euphoria and absolute bedlam. I leave my body, we all do, for those moments. Sharing those together \u2026 it\u2019s the best.<\/p>\n
Aniefiok Essien, Nigeria<\/p>\n
Arsenal is very popular in Nigeria. Most of my friends are Arsenal fans and sometimes more than 50 of us watch games together. I would say we are No 2, with Chelsea No 1, for now, and Manchester United third. There are not many City fans even if they win everything.<\/p>\n
I started supporting Arsenal when I was five and I am 29 now. I used to love Thierry Henry and the way the team played. I love the history, how they had financial issues and struggled a long time ago and moved to north London.<\/p>\n
Arsenal supporters attending a fan event in Lagos in 2012. Photograph: David Price\/Arsenal FC\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Arsenal will surely win the league. I am very confident, even though we lost to Bournemouth. Bournemouth are playing well, some of our players have been injured and have played many games. In the past, we have come back well after losing.<\/p>\n
Against City, I would say Arsenal should be mindful as City are playing well right now, but we should go and win. If we win or even draw, then we get the league.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t care about the way Arsenal play. Before, we played fancy football, but what did that get us? Nothing. There is nothing wrong with playing to win, just get the three points. I love it when people criticise us as it means we are doing well, they have hated us from the time we moved to north London. We have endured a lot as fans. I tell this to other fans: \u2018Here we are, we can withstand anything and keep trying.\u2019 We don\u2019t know what will happen, but we have to try. I can\u2019t imagine what will happen if we don\u2019t win the title now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Phuthipong Saengchot, Thailand My father is a Liverpool fan. When he was watching a game I saw an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":612113,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-612112","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=612112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/612113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=612112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=612112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=612112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}