Being an Arsenal fan: it's not easy, is it?
I'm not going to dwell on the well-documented heartache Arsenal have experienced over the last god knows how many seasons, nor the heavily publicised flight of some of our top players in their quest for silverware! What we need is to look to the future of the club, and as the summer transfer window draws to a close, the rumor mill has gone into overdrive; the latest bit of gossip being that Cesc Fabregas is set to return to the Emirates after just one full season at the Nou Camp!
As most other Arsenal fans, my heart skipped a beat when I looked on Twitter to see Cesc Fabregas trending. Part of me was hoping he would be out for the season - that would teach him for abandoning us - and the other half was eagerly expecting something exciting. But a return to Arsenal... surely not?
Players always come and go, and as soon as they do they inevitably fall foul to our cries of "Judas" and boos whenever they return to play at the Emirates. But, for some reason, Cesc seems to have avoided any such vitriol. He was our captain, one of our top players and yet, when he left the club, we didn't hate him for it (at least not as much as Nasri or 'He who shan't be named')! We always knew his heart was with Guardiola at Barcelona, and so when I first heard the rumors of a move back to the Emirates I immediately thought it had to be rubbish, BUT, a tiny piece of me was hopeful; even though reality told me it was never going to happen in a million years.
Then I started reading all the comments online, #ComeHomeCesc proving a popular trend for many fellow Arsenal fans, and I thought but, actually, do we want him back? I mean, yes, of course we would take him back in a second, but should we want to bring back someone who was so desperate to leave us, and what sort of confidence is that instilling in the young talent we've got coming through at the club at the moment?
Football is a fickle game, and the players who pledge their undying loyalty to a club 9 times out of ten will abandon you as soon as a more attractive offer comes along. It's a transaction; a game, and not always a beautiful one. Footballers are a commodity, but they are OUR commodity and we want the red blood that runs through their veins to be Arsenal through and through...well, perhaps with the exception of Squillaci, Bendtner, Chamakh and some of the other deadweight we're keeping on our books at the moment, but, I digress.
So, back to lovely little Cesc and welcoming him back with open arms. As great as it would be, surely we should be signing new players who want the opportunity to play at Arsenal, rather than desperately trying to win back those who have left us? We're all feeling pretty downtrodden right now, but there's still a few days left in the transfer window and, in this game, anything could happen.