by Angelito » Wed Oct 04, 2017 11:21 am
To be frank, and I'm sure members like Starman, Zedie, and PG can vouch for this, Arsenal have largely been a thorn in the eyes of FA, English media, and/or pundits.
We're the villain that arrived and rivaled ManU after Wenger joined, thereby, ending ManU's monopoly in the Premier League. We're the club that played with style and substance as was never seen before in English football.
Even if ManU won more titles than us, we were the international attraction of the Prem. Even after the move to Emirates, when everyone was busy predicting Arsenal to fall out of the top-4, we played some breathtaking football whilst hanging in there with the money boys. It wasn't until a decade later that the so called prediction of finishing out of the top-4 was realized and even then, we won a record FA Cup title.
We're always predicted to undergo a disastrous season like Chelsea, Liverpool, and ManU have over the years, yet, we always seem to even it out—even if it's mighty frustrating for the fans. 11/12 and last season are perfect examples.
The fact that we have rattled Prem winning manager, Conte, so much that he parked the bus at SB, which eventually resulted in a loss against City at home. Or, how Pep knows we're the only side that can play and still beat his side. Or, how Jose has been obsessed with a manager/club that has barely won as much as he has in the past decade, or how the media-declared Arsenal's worst run under Wenger is still resulting in more success than Spurs and Liverpool combined this decade..
We're miles away from where we were in 2006 when we reached the CL Final, but hey—listening to these critics, one'd presume that we were a top-10 side competing with the likes of West Brom, Southampton, etc.