ARSENAL F.C. #BRINGBACKOURTROPHY CAMPAIGN: A PASSIONATE PLEA TO ARSENE WENGER!

It has been eight (8) years, eleven (11) months, twenty-four (24) days, twenty (20) hours, thirty (30) minutes, forty-eight (48) seconds (as at the time of writing this post) that Arsenal Football Club last won a trophy. That was 2005, when the club defeated Manchester United in the F.A. Cup final.

The club’s lack of silverware in such a long period has resulted in many believing that unless the club changes its coach and his philosophy, the club will not win anything. Also, many supporters of opposing clubs have come to disrespect the club and they make derisive comments whenever the club appears to be serious contenders for silverware. This has led them to tag the club title pretenders instead of title contenders. It is not uncommon to hear snide remarks predicting that the club will slip up in the league race even when they are topping the table.

The disrespectful attitude of others towards the club may not be without reasons. For example, during the 2007/2008 season the club led the table for two-thirds of the season only to finish in third position (It was a similar experience in the just concluded 2013/2014 season). In 2006, the club lost to Barcelona in the final of the Champions League. The club got to the final of the 2008/2009 F.A. Cup but lost to Chelsea. Arsenal also got to the final of the 2010/2011 Carling Club and unbelievably lost to Birmingham City when Obafemi Martins pounced on a calamitous Arsenal defensive mix-up two minutes from time.

But what most people have forgotten is that the Club are still one of the most successful clubs in England.

The club’s profile on Wikipedia says, the club are one of the most successful clubs in English football; they have won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups. Arsenal hold the record for the longest uninterrupted period in the English top flight and would be placed first in an aggregated league of the entire 20th century. They are the second side to complete an English top flight season unbeaten (in the 2003–04 season) and the only one to do so across 38 matches.

In order to silence those who have said the club will never win any trophy again under Arsene Wenger (who is one of the most successful football coaches in the world) and also restore the pride of the club, I plead with Coach ArseneWenger to please #BringBackOurTrophy. I also urge Arsenal Football Club to lend its voice to the ongoing #BringBackOurGirls campaign in Nigeria.