The Elephant in the Boardroom
Last week's news cannot be swept under the rug, Arsenal owe answers to everyone
Arsenal are continuing with business as usual. But there is no business as usual.
After the news that Thomas Partey was charged by the Met Police last week, I can’t just go on talking about on-field matters, so I’d like to direct you towards these responses from fellow fans and, in some cases, dear friends of mine:
An Open Letter to Arsenal Football Club by Fever Bitch
Three Years of Dismay, Disgust and Paralysis by Michael Keshani
A Dark Day for Arsenal Football Club by Andrew over on Arseblog
I found all three of those pieces extremely valuable. They spoke to me and how I’ve been feeling, and I’m grateful to all three of the authors for responding to last week’s news so well, which is far from an easy thing to do when things are so emotionally-charged.
There’s so much to say on that topic but I don’t feel the need to add my voice to it when those three have already nailed it.
I do want to add links to The Survivors’ Trust, who provide support to survivors of sexual abuse as this charity, which works to end sexual violence.
It feels jarring to go back to talking about Arsenal as if none of the above ever happened, and that’s something I absolutely would not have felt comfortable with doing.
I don’t even know how I feel about talking about Arsenal in a footballing sense right now anyway, but a new season is around the corner and there are transfers and reports and rumours, and I can’t turn my brain off: I do also have lots of thoughts about all of those things, so there will be something on that side of things in your inboxes very soon.
Before I work on that, I will be writing to the club to tell them how the subject of this particular newsletter has made me feel over the past three years, how I feel right now, and the impact it’s had on my relationship with the club. If you wish to do the same, you can find the details on who to contact here.
Thanks everyone, look after yourselves and look out for each other.