What makes us football fans goes far beyond what happens between 22 men kicking a ball on a strip of grass. If that were not the case, football won't be the global cynosure that it is today and certainly footballers won't command the awe and star status they enjoy everywhere they go. The key word is "Emotion". I don't know any other sport that evokes such heart & emotion like football does. Its almost like we fans choose to surrender rationality and all that amounts to common sense whenever matters regarding the clubs we support are on the front burner. Many say if you take the heart out of the game, all you are left with is an empty shell not worth the time...but then you also have to think about the flip-side. I remember my dad once said, he wouldn't be surprised if Football triggers the next World war. Now, i wouldn't go as far as that, but his comments were borne out of what he felt was an over-excessive sentimental attachment to what should be just mere sport.
I am as guilty as many of you reading this with respect to how much drama i associate with the game, especially to matters relating to Arsenal. And sometimes i know its wrong when i do that,but other times i just couldn't be bothered. Last Week the news broke out that Cesc Fabregas the one time 16 year old youngest ever gooner to dorn an Arsenal Jersey had completed a move to Chelsea. Now ordinarily i won't make a fuss about this because i'v come to realize over time that to footballers this whole thing is nothing more than a Job. But i then remembered I wrote a piece early in the days of this Blog last year when rumours were rife that Cesc could sign for Man utd and frankly most of it is still very relevant in this scenario. Suddenly i couldn't help but feel hurt Fabregas chose Chelsea. Yes we declined the chance to re-sign him and yes the big money at Chelsea is hard to say No to..but still, Its Chelsea! They are our bloody rivals, and we freaking hate their guts..Then my emotional side kicked in fully and i became utterly disgusted by this transfer..Some may say we equally broke his heart as much as he did ours by not opening our arms to embrace him back to the club. But two wrongs don't...............(you know the rest). Time though will still have to prove if we were ''footballistically'' wrong to pass-up on him but from a sentimental or emotional angle this hurts. Having said that though, did we lose out on a quality player? ''yes'', but does it mark the end of the world? the answer is ''No''. Any close watcher of Arsenal will tell you that we have well and truly moved on from 2011 when Cesc departed. More so our playing style has changed too. Back then the attacking contributions of Fabregas and (in part) Nasri meant we moved the ball through midfield with a manner of guile and skill far different from the way we do now. Fabregas was an excellent creative hub in the middle, but the problem? he also was the ONLY hub..Nasri was never consistent in creating anything and it was common to see us struggle in games when Cesc wasn't at his best. Nowadays we are more different in approach. Our creative responsibilities have been shared, and with our purchase of Mesut Ozil last summer we took a step to add to a little gold dust to that creativity department.
I really cant bring myself to make this blog post a cry fest over Cesc. He may have been our captain once upon a time and played for us with heart and passion but the truth is: as of now, he has crossed to the other side and my heart will treat him accordingly. The Van persie episode truly numbed my senses and much as it would be just horrible to watch Fabregas possibly score against us, i'll just refer to him now like a loved-one who has been bitten by a zombie in that World WAR Z movie...it'll be hard, it'll be painful, heck.. it'll probably bring tears to my eyes but the moment he lunges towards me i'll pull out the glock 45 and aim for his head....with a cacophony of BOOOOS!
