Why this season meant a lot to me as an Arsenal fan

I started supporting Arsenal when I was six. I’ve been an Arsenal fan for twenty years. Growing up in Mumbai, I never imagined I’d ever watch a game in the Emirates. It felt too far. For twenty years, I dreamt about visiting our home. Along with it, I dreamt of the Premier League. Now I am twenty-six, and I live in Dublin with my girlfriend. We went for our first-ever game at the Emirates this season. As the sun shone on the Arsenal red in the stadium, it was already an unforgettable season for me.

Three second-place finishes come with a lot of noise from rival fans and Arsenal fans alike. It was especially loud after the draw with Wolves, and the losses to Bournemouth and City. I am religious, and I’ve learnt not to ask for what I want. So instead, I ask for signs. The week before the Carabao Cup final, I had a dream we lost to City 2-1. This manifested as a 2-1 loss in the PL. But believe me, I dreamt Everton drew 3-3 with City. When City went 1-0 up, I laughed about it. When Everton went 3-1 instead, I couldn’t believe it. So don’t ask me how much disbelief I was in at full-time. Why is this relevant? The night before Bournemouth vs City, I had a dream Bournemouth won 6-2. 6-2! Are you mad!? I knew that wouldn’t happen. But a key detail in that dream was that as soon as I watched the match (in my dream), City scored. So what did I do in real life? I avoided the game like the plague. I went for a 6-a-side game before THE game. And on my way home, I knew Bournemouth scored because of my Arsenal group chat. I couldn’t deal with it. I chucked my phone aside and sat down to play Stardew Valley with my girlfriend. I still had 30% of my mind on the football game, and as time passed, some quick maths told me that the game was coming to an end soon. The silence on the group chat was killing me.

Then, it happened. The group chat buzzes with “Congratulations” and “We are champions”. I get emotional and hug my girlfriend, telling her we did it. I got her into Arsenal when we first started dating, and we both went to our first-ever game at the Emirates this season. One of the many reasons why this season will be so special to me. I got calls from my Arsenal friends, but the texts from my parents made me emotional. They’re back home in Mumbai, where the final whistle was blown at 1:30 am. My dad (who is a Manchester United fan) had supposedly slept with one eye on his phone, and when the game was over, he woke my mum up, who messaged me. I had a quick phone call with them as well, reliving our shared experiences (and pain) growing up. My girlfriend jokingly remarked that I’ve received more calls for Arsenal winning the league than for my birthday! It felt like my entire world came together in celebration. The scenes at the Emirates, and from places all over, only fermented that belief. It was a beautiful night.

My girlfriend and I flew to London for the Champions League final and the parade. I don’t know what I was expecting, but there was an incredible sense of community and belonging. We nodded and fist-bumped strangers in the tube, made friends over our shared appreciation for Havertz, and had conversations with veterans who had experienced the parade of 2004. Arsenal may be a football club, but our memories were made by its people.