Declan Rice admitted to having a William McKenzie experience of The Inbetweeners with Arteta deciding Rice should be spending his first day at the club going around the canteen and his new dressing room wearing a name tag, “This is a new person.”
It is certainly an innovative idea and well probably a bit weird and a bit unnecessary as William McKenzie would tell you, and safe to say, given his comments Rice did not enjoy roaming around his new club wearing the name tag as well.
For all their good displays on the field in the last campaign, there is a prevailing sentiment the once-always-classy Arsenal under Arsene Wenger has now turned into a club full of cringe-fest.
The barometer of the weirdness level has gone so high fans of rival clubs have started making a list of all that is cringeworthy at the North London club.
The list can be rather long if all incidences are considered.
1 – Arteta told Havertz, that the initial phases in any pursuit of life are always difficult, talking about the need to improve his game.
The Spaniard then somehow managed to proceed mentioning how difficult it was for him to conquer his wife, and he had to go, go, go. Arteta’s inspiring talk did not go down the manner he would have hoped.
2 – There is a new club anthem doing the rounds at Emirates called, The Angel (North London Forever).
It is supposed to be Arsenal’s version of You Will Never Walk Alone.
North London Forever is making fans of visiting clubs at the Emirates squirm in their seats. The lyrics are too soapy to be a football song.
3 – AFTV should always be mentioned in any list that is bad about Arsenal.
Well said. The new pre game anthem. The fact that ultimately the hierarchy probably think AFTV is a good thing commercially in the long run but they’re not aware of the kind of young fan they’ve been taking on for years because of it. They’re a really self sabotaging club
— Daniel Lawrance (@DanielLawrance0) September 11, 2023
4 – Club mascots are an identity of the club, one only needs to ask fans of Crystal Palace about their perspectives on the matter.
The Eagle mascot of Palace has become synonymous with the club. Unfortunately, that has failed to transpire on the other side of London at the Emirates.
Gunnersaurus, the dinosaur mascot masquerading around the pitch at Emirates does nothing to signify the club’s symbol.
Let alone symbolism, it is not even funny for the younger section of the fans, being vaguely similar to McDonald’s and other similar fast food chain mascots.
5 – Arteta himself has a long list of all the things he has done weirdly in his time at Arsenal.
Few can forget the time he decided to light up a bulb on Amazon Prime All or Nothing Arsenal doc. The moment felt like a bad scene in a poorly made ghost film to deliver his team talk channeling his inner Thomas Edison spirit.
Assistant: “Think we’re in massive danger of bottling the league gaffer”.
— Caldo Sperone (@anxietyhealer) September 11, 2023
Arteta: “Go get the lightbulb”. pic.twitter.com/jkF8ZZn9hx
6 – “11 games 2 to go” clock was simply a historical blunder done last campaign by the entire Gunners squad when they envisioned the league was all but wrapped up.