Emirates Cup 2019 - lose lose

Hope springs eternal in the human breast:

Man never is, but always to be blest:

The soul, uneasy and confin’d from home,

Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

(Alexander Pope, 'An Essay on Man' 1733)

I'm writing this almost a year later in June 2020 just two days before the league resumes.  Of course no one knew it at the time of this pre-season back in August 2019, but this would be one of the most tumultuous seasons I have ever known in Arsenal's history - and that's without taking the pandemic into consideration.  Maybe it should not have been a surprise when your highest paid star almost gets carjacked by knife-wielding robbers in broad daylight in July.  Not a good omen.  As it turns out, some of the pictures I took on the day would be more significant than anyone would have thought possible at the time.

I had arrived in London in April 2019, just in time to see Arsenal end the season like a rapidly deflating balloon, finishing outside of the top 4 by a single point, and the inevitable anti-climax of losing the UEFA Cup Final.  Nevertheless, there were encouraging signs in Emery's first season and I was looking forward to seeing the action up close as much as I could. Every year, all fans look forward with great optimism to a fresh start, a clean slate (untill you concede the first goal heh).  

These are pictures from the Emirates Cup of 2019, that meaningless pre-season 'competition' where you get excited at your first glimpse of new signings and get all excited about what they're going to do, while dismissing any negative impressions created by losing games that no one else really cares about.  But as a fan, that's a lie.  You want your team to win, all the time!  And because I was going to be there for the entire season (or so I thought), this would be the perfect way to kick off the season.  Oh did I mention that I was 2-0 on my visits to watch Arsenal?  I watched them beat QPR 2-0 at Highbury back in 1991, and saw us beat Man U 2-0 at the Emirates in 2017.  Hmm...

This would also be the first time where I would get a good look at the stadium in the sunshine.  My first and only visit to the stadium before this was on a dark October evening two years ago. This time, I arrived early and walked around to soak in the atmosphere.

 

I love this motto.  Better than Victory through Parking the Bus!  Or Victory through Rotational Fouling.  Of course, sometimes I wish we would just find a way to win.  Little did I know that harmony would really be hard to come by this season, whether between the owner and manager, the manager and players, or players and fans.

 

First glimpse at close quarters of Arsenal Ladies.  Most of the first team aren't in this shot, including Vivienne Miedema, one of the most elegant and intelligent players I've ever seen.  But I would get to see a bit more of the team over the next few months and really become a fan.  Watching the Women's World Cup in the summer no doubt whetted the appetite.

Sead, Mesut and Shkodran.  They would get used this- sitting on the bench. It would not be an exaggeration to say these were the players who divided fans' opinions the most.  I think most pros have a lot of pride and wouldn't be happy not playing.  It must get demoralising and the manager has the difficult task of continuing to try and encourage and motivate these players because they may still be needed at some point.

Freddie!  He would have a bigger part to play in the season than he could imagine at this time.

Best mascot ever!!!

The future?  Well, one of them at least.  What an impact Martinelli (#35)would have!  And what a story.  He had been playing with a fourth-tier Brazilian team before signing for Arsenal.  Fourth-tier!!  Dreams do come true.

 Happier times before things imploded later in the season.  Well, sort of happier.  The ladies lost to Bayern Munich and the men lost to Lyon.  But it was a lovely day out and I sat next to Sam who came all the way from Nottingham ( and bought me a beer at half time).  He had decided against buying a season ticket because it would be too much of a commitment.  I decided against buying a season ticket because I was 150,000th on the waiting list.  It probably isn't a real reflection of the demand but I guess it serves a marketing purpose.