@weevilcatch @Oldmanastro
I've got no idea. So here's my story:
When I first joined this board back in the Jurassic Era, I would have rather watched yachting than soccer. However, upon my return to the Lone Star State 4 years ago, it slowly dawned on me that soccer had gained considerable traction among sports enthusiasts here. Still I tried to hold out. I was amused by the exchanges on this board between the believers such as yourself, and the non-believer heathen like our humble board admin.
Anyways, this deficiency on my part was easy to cover at first. I could talk football with my students, both male and female and we all spoke a common language. Over time though, as I attended school games, it was becoming more and more difficult to excuse my absence from soccer games. In many classes I noted students excitedly discussing Premier League or Bundesliga games and I had no frame of reference. Most of my students I noted, were fans of Man U.
So anyways, I decided to lend my support and attend a soccer game, which led to students begging me to attend more. I did, then they started asking me about what teams I liked and besides Chiva, which my mother had rooted for when I was younger, I had no frame of reference. Knowing that my students were Man U fans, I decided on an oppositional approach, did some checking and saw that Chelsea was a rival, so overnight I became a Chelsea fan. It was January-February, a time of desolation in sports viewing. I found myself watching soccer and cricket on TV.....and enjoying Premier League matches. This was short-lived. Russia invaded Ukraine and Chelsea was owned by a Russki. I had to dump them sooooo....
Then I decided to really research Premier League teams. I needed a new squad to root for and there they were. Intimidating name, proud history but not so much that they were a pop-culture phenom. Classic imperial colors and a logo with a freaking cannon. What was not to like? Especially for an unrepentant imperialist and certified Anglophile such as myself? I adopted Arsenal and have been watching them ever since last March and yes, I agonized over their late season collapse. Been driving my Man-U students crazy this year by displaying standings and opppsss....playing highlights on YouTube.
To answer your question though, I have no idea if this is the real deal. I know even less about soccer than I do about football. So far, it looks like Arteta is making all the right moves and the team chemistry is working. Let's see what happens when they hit a rough patch......