30 Years A Gooner

by Ahmed Sule, CFA

suleaos@gmail.com
http://www.scribd.com/Alatenumo/documents
30 Years A Gooner
by Ahmed Sule, CFA
As he got up from his seat, he looked towards me and placed the magazine in my hands, and
then he stepped out of the train. As I looked as the door closed, the man continued walking
without turning back and then the train continued to moe again. Still astonished, I looked at
the front page of the magazine and saw the image of a man in white shorts and red shirt
kicking a football.

!his was the genesis of my loe affair with the Arsenal Football club. In the summer of "#$%, I
along with my brother and sister came to &ngland from 'igeria on holidays. (n that fateful
day, I boarded a train somewhere around )ondon and I sat opposite a man who was reading
a magazine that had a colourful front page. !he man was so engrossed in the magazine that
he appeared not to see me almost falling to the floor straining my neck as I tried look at the
front coer of the magazine. )ittle did I know that the man saw me struggling to look at the
magazine. Fortunately, he gae me the magazine as he left the train.

I took the magazine with me back to 'igeria and read it from coer to coer. !he magazine in
*uestion was an official Arsenal match programme, which I presume the man on the train
bought when he went to watch an Arsenal match. After studying the magazine, I got to know
the names of a number of Arsenal players such as Charlie 'icholas, who happened to be the
player on the coer of the magazine, +i Anderson the ,-lack. Arsenal player, !ony Adams,
/raham 0i1, 2at 3ennings and 4enny Sansom. I made it a point of duty to memorise the
names eery arsenal player by studying the team photos. 5hen I took the magazine to my
school, I was the eny of my colleagues as I proudly showed off my prized possession.

Included in the magazine was a 3unior /unners segment in the magazine for young Arsenal
supporters and after reading this section, I applied to Arsenal to become a 3unior /unners. A
couple of months later, I was registered and Arsenal linked me up with a pen pal called 2enny
Smith who was a 3unior /unner based in &ngland. Since this period was before the adent of
the Internet and Cable !+, it was difficult keeping up to date with what was happening at the
Arsenal. Fortunately for me, 2enny Smith kept me updated een though the information
reached me a few months later due to delays in the postal system. In her first letter to me,
2enny sent me pictures of the current Arsenal s*uad and a picture of !ony 5oodcock who
was the main Arsenal points man at the time. !ony 5oodcock then became my faorite
Arsenal player.

(er the ne1t couple of years, it was difficult to get real time news about the Arsenal. I would
follow Arsenal by checking the sports pages of the local newspaper to see how they fared in
their matches, in addition to watching some 6atch of the 7ay programmes which were shown
on !+ a couple of months in arrears.

From the nineties, !+ stations in 'igeria started to relay more &nglish league matches so I
got to watch a number of Arsenal matches on !+. 5hen the aptly named 6r. Arsene 5enger
became Arsenal 6anager in "##8 my loe for the Arsenal increased the more as he changed
the playing style of the club to a more entertaining form. It was an e1citing time for me when
Arsenal won the double in "##$.

In "###, the Arsenal signed 'igeria9s 4anu 'wankwo from Inter 6ilan and from that time
moment, Arsenal became the most supported 2remiership club in 'igeria. I remember
watching in awe when 4anu established himself as an Arsenal legend when he single:
handedly redeemed Arsenal from the ;aws of defeat by scoring three goals to oerturn
Chelsea9s earlier two goals. Also in "###, Arsenal signed one 6r. !hierry 7aniel <enry.
<aing watched him play for France at the "##$ 5orld Cup, I was e1cited at the prospect of
haing him in Arsenal. <oweer, after a couple of games for Arsenal I started to hae doubts
about whether he would be an effectie replacement for 'icholas Anelka. <ow wrong was I
=more on this later>.

-y the end of the year ?@@@, supporting Arsenal had its high and low moments ranging from
the highs of us winning the "#$# league at the last minute and the doing the doubles in the
"##AB#$ season to the lows of a number of barren years and watching 6anchester Cnited9s
0yan /iggs run past fie defenders to smash the ball into the net, thereby knocking Arsenal
out of the F.A Cup.

In ?@@" I left 'igeria and relocated to the Cnited 4ingdom. After about si1 months in )ondon I
moed to /uernsey in the Channel Island and it was there that I was baptised as an Arsenal
supporter. (nce I got there, I looked for a place where I could watch Arsenal play along with
fellow gooners and I found a home at a pub called the Ship and Crown, which showed eery
single Arsenal match. 6ost Saturdays at Dpm I would go to the Ship and Crown and watch
the Arsenal on !+. As one entered the ,Ship. on any particular match day, one would obsere
a sea of people wearing Arsenal 3ersey shouting, singing or talking all at the same time. !ime
and time again oer my two years stay in /uernsey, we would see !hierry <enry stream past
defenders and slot the ball into the net. In response, the pub would shake as we all ;umped
up for ;oy and screamed in e1citement. I also got to meet a number of Arsenal supporters at
the Ship and Crown. I am still in touch with a number of them such as A;ibade Eusuff who was
the most passionate fan in the pub. Fuite often, we would all turn to his direction as he would
scream, swear, shout or moan at a missed scoring opportunity or a careless defensie error.
!here was the softly spoken Segun -ewa;i, one of the most loyal Arsenal supporters I hae
eer met. !here was )ee and 6artin who regularly helped me get match tickets from the
/uernsey Arsenal supporters club. And there was Andy 6arstone, the 7ennis -ergkamp look
alike who found an ingenious way of ensuring that he was financially rewarded to offset his
sorrow wheneer Arsenal lost a match.

I didn9t get to watch a lie Arsenal match until eighteen years after I first fell in loe with the
club. 6y opportunity came during an F.A. Cup semi final match against 6iddleborough, which
took place at (ld !rafford in 6anchester on the "%
th
of April ?@@?. A couple of days after
getting my ticket from 6artin at the Ship and Crown, I traelled to 6anchester. (n the
morning of the match I was at my friend9s place and as we were talking, Amaka looked out to
the window and she screamed, ,Who are these giants walkingG I went towards the window
and saw about twenty men in blue tracksuits walking together. !he penny dropped. It was the
entire Arsenal team going for a walk.

I ran out of Amaka9s flat forgetting my shoes and went towards the players who were guarded
by two policemen. I asked the policemen if I could follow them and he obliged. I was fortunate
because there were no other fans following the team. 5hen I got to the players, my mouth
was wide open as I saw 2atrick +ieira standing in front of me. I screamed ,2atrick +ieira. and
took a picture of him along with 7ennis -ergkamp. After taking his picture I saw !hierry <enry,
5enger, 0ay 2arlour, 6artin 4eown, Sol Campbell, )auren, Sylain 5iltord and took their
pictures. 5hen I turned around, I saw 4anu 'wankwo and said ,My country man. Kedu Kodi
=<ow are youG>. in response he said ,O di ma =I am fine>.. Although I took pictures of all the
players, in my e1citement, I forgot to hae a picture taken with them =this was before the era
of selfies>. It wasn9t until I left the players that I that I realized that I was not wearing my
shoes. )ater in the eening I saw my beloed Arsenal defeat 6iddleborough by a lone goal to
*ualify for the F.A. Cup final.

A couple of days later, I was back to my localH !he Ship and Crown with other Arsenal
supporters to watch the 2remiership title decider. Arsenal was away to 6anchester and we
needed to win away to clinch the title. 5e watched the match with confidence as we had won
our last "? consecutie matches. As per e1pectation, the Arsenal won through a 5iltord goal.
As the referee blew the final whistle, we ;umped for ;oy as we sangH

We won the league in Manchester
We won the league in Manchester
We won the league at the sh@&*hole
We won the league in Manchester
6y first trip to <ighbury was in 6arch ?@@D when I went to watch Arsenal play 0oma in the
Champions )eague. 2atrick +ieira bossed the midfield and scored our only goal. For most
part of the match the crowd sangH

Vieira oh oh oh oh
Vieira oh oh oh oh
He comes from Senegal he !lays for "rsenal
Vieira oh oh oh oh


6y highpoint as a gooner was between ?@@D and ?@@% when we were unbeaten in the %#
domestic matches. 5eek after week I would go to the Ship and Crown and watch the Arsenal
slay team after team. It was not ;ust the ictories that were a ;oy to behold, but the way we
played. <enry was in his prime as he terrified defenders throughout the country. Arsenal was
at the peak of its power. 'o matter how far we fell behind in any match, there was always this
assurance that we would oercome the deficit. And true to form, the Arsenal neer
disappointed. !he matches against 6iddleborough where we oercame a D:" deficit to win I:
D and against )ierpool when !hierry <enry scored a hat trick would neer be forgotten. 5e
crowned the ?@@DB?@@% season by winning the league undefeated. !his was a great time for
Arsenal supporters around the world. )ittle did we know that we would go through a ery long
dry spell.

I hae shed tears for my beloed Arsenal on two occasions :: once publicly and once
priately. !he first incident took place when Arsenal played +alencia in the 0ound of "8 of the
Champions )eague. 5e needed a draw to *ualify for the *uarterfinal. As 3ohn Carew headed
the ball into the net to gie +alencia a ?:" lead a large lump started to deelop in my throat. I
left the Ship and Crown after the final whistle and went to a dark corner ;ust off the high street
of St 2eter 2ort and began to cry. !he second incident occurred after a Champions )eague
*uarterfinal match between Chelsea and Arsenal. After work, I went to the Sports CafJ at
2iccadilly Circus to watch the match. I was confident that we would win, as Chelsea neer
posed us any problems. !o my horror, Chelsea beat us at <ighbury and we were out. As I
walked towards 2iccadilly Station, the thought of the defeat oerwhelmed. 5hen I got to the
platform, I couldn9t take it any longer so I ;ust sat on the floor =with my suit and tie on> and put
my hands on my head and began to wail.

If I was asked the *uestion, ,How many !layers has "rsene Wenger signed since he #ecame
manager$, 5ith no disrespect to all the players that hae come on board during the 5enger
years, I would say he has signed only two players namely Thierry Henry and the rest. It has
not only been a pleasure, but it has also been an honour to see !hierry <enry play in the
flesh. 7uring the <enry years, wheneer I went to the &mirates or <ighbury to watch the
Arsenal, I was always amused at how the fans stood up wheneer <enry got the ball and
charged towards the opposition9s goal. Eou could hear the chairs s*ueak as people stood up
in anticipation of a <enry magical trick.
In ?@@8 when Arsenal *ualified for the Champions )eague final, <enry was the best player in
the unierse. 6ost of the top clubs in &urope wanted to sign him. 2rior to traeling to 2aris for
the match against -arcelona in Champions )eague final, I designed a large banner with the
inscriptionH

0onaldinhoH K"$ million
-eckhamH K?%.I million
0onaldoH K?# million
)uis FigoH KDA.@ million
LidaneH M88 million
!hierry <enryH 20IC&)&SS
As I boldly carried my banner throughout the streets of 2aris, the -arcelona fans teased me
by saying that <enry would soon play for -arcelona, which later proed to be prophetic.

6y interest in Arsenal has not only been limited to the male football teamN it also e1tends to
the Arsenal )adies. I happened to watch two of the Arsenal )adies FA Cup ictories in ?@@%
and ?@@A against Charlton Athletic.

In conclusion, thirty years ago, I set out on a ;ourney. I didn9t go looking for Arsenal, but by the
time I completed the ;ourney, I discoered Arsenal. 6y thirty:year loe affair with Arsenal has
had its moments. It has been full of many ups and many downs. Arsenal has made me cry
and made me smile. It has been frustrating and e1hilarating following Arsenal. I hae traelled
near and far to watch my beloed Arsenal. 5e are currently going through a dry spell, but out
of the ashes, we shall rise again. I remain eternally grateful to the C'4'(5' /(('&0 on
the train who linked me up with the greatest club in the world.

In ictory or defeatN in good times or bad timesN at home or awayN it will always be ARSENA
F!R "#E.

+ia Arsenal

Ahmed Sule, CFA
(ctober ?@"%