Being an Arsenal fan can be exhilarating at times, however, it can also result in feelings of dejection, misery and absolute frustration.
The team put in a great performance this past weekend in dispatching Everton 2-5 at Goodison Park. It was therefore unnerving to follow Arsenal's home fixture versus Championship side Norwich City in the Carabao Cup just two days later.
It was expected that Arsene Wenger would field a team of fringe players and youngsters, but with veterans such as Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere nothing but victory was expected.
I was unable to see the match on television but listened and followed along on radio and the Internet.
After 85 minutes it looked as if the "good" Arsenal from the weekend had been replaced by the "bad" Arsenal side of recent years. Here are just a few of these forgettable and embarrassing performances:
- 4-0 losers in August to Liverpool
- Losing on penalties to Bradford in the League Cup 2012
- Getting blown away by Bayern Munich
- Losing to Birmingham in the 2011 League Cup final
- Another Anfield debacle in 2014
- Losing to Olympiakos at home in the Champions League
- 8-2 loss to Manchester United
The commentators of the match were already sharpening their journalistic knives proclaiming how awful a loss this was going to be for Arsenal.
Wenger looked to the substitutes bench for a possible last gasp roll of the dice. Unfortunately, there was no Sanchez, Ozil or Lacazette ready to come in and save the day. So when it was announced that 18-year-old Edward Nketiah was coming in to replace 17-year-old Reiss Nelson it didn't make the fans super confident. In fact, most supporters had no idea who he was.
His only other first team appearance occurred last month when he came on as an 89th minute substitute in Arsenal's Europa League victory over BATE Borisov.
15 seconds later...he scored the equalizer which saved the club from complete humiliation. Yes, it took this unknown kid 15 seconds to change the entire mood of the stadium and the match. (Sadly some of the less supportive Gunners fans had already left so they missed this amazing moment).
The goal sent the match to extra time and as if scripted the kid did it again. In the 86th minute Nketiah headed home the ball and sent the Emirates in to bedlam. The final was 2-1 to Arsenal.
Five minutes from misery turned around by an unknown youth team player. It's special moments like these that make the game so amazing. Yes it can be tough being an Arsenal fan, but it can also be fantastic.
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