Happy New Year everyone!
2026… It already feels like a special year, right?
Arsenal have never looked so strong. We have the best defense in Europe, our attacking performances are among the best, and the whole club finally seems ready to take on the mental load required to win it all.
Even though it may not feel like it now, the journey is much more exciting than the destination. So take some time to enjoy the second half of the season and really enjoy it. We’ve been in the wilderness for a long time, so long that every game becomes unbearable. I’ve had to reprogram myself lately to absorb what’s happening… part of that process has been really digging into the data to prove that my eyes are not, in fact, lying.
I spent a lot of time yesterday correcting people who were making salty comments about what Arsenal are doing this season. We are not boring to watch. I just can’t imagine people complaining about style when we are top and play nice football. This season we have had the second most shots in the league. We have scored the second most goals. We created the most xG in the league. We are six goals behind City, who have the deadliest striker in the world, and they have played easier games so far this season. Arsenal are boring in one place: defense. We’ve missed half the big chances that City have (City are second among the stingiest players). We’ve conceded five fewer goals than them, with the best defense in the league. We are top of the Premier League. Top of the Champions League. In the Champions League we have conceded one goal in six games.
Now layer that on top of making eight signings in the summer, and then a huge injury crisis in attack, then in defence… and we kept the form?
Our crisis that made people lose confidence this season was… 11 wins in block 5 of the season, with one draw and one loss (against the top four teams).
When you take all that in… do you think crying about Arsenal on WhatsApp is appropriate? Okay, maybe it’s good. Victim shaming is not an issue, even in this day and age. We have been signed by Arsenal over the years, we carry baggage, we are wrecks.
But 2026 is the pinnacle of group therapy. We will be at an Arsenal victory parade in May, and we can shake off those demons and start acting like fans who know what prestige is.
I can’t wait.
As I say goodbye to 2025, I want to take a moment to thank you all for supporting what I do here. I’m on Substack, a writer’s platform, and I see all these very talented writers posting their numbers and complaining about their readership and how hard it is. In the meantime, I’m here posting about eating plain soufflé, and you guys show up for it every day. I am blessed; Not many people can muster a steady readership, and I have such an incredible group of intelligent, empathetic weirdos who read the site, comment, DM, email, and come to events.
One of my goals last January was to start writing well again and get back to the numbers I used to be. Bad year to try, considering the newborn was born on December 28 last year, but once you commit, you’ve got to get to work… and this year’s birth was 300 blogs. Not bad, considering this isn’t my actual job. If you’re a podcast listener, you received 283 podcasts this year. What the fuck? So if you’re wondering if you’re getting your money’s worth here, that’s a lot of hours of work for the price of a very cheap London pint.
That said, effort doesn’t mean people care… and I know you could be anywhere else but here. There are many great Arsenal spaces and I am incredibly grateful that you are spending time here.
The highlight of the trip this year was the live show. Performing a show to a sold out theater was something I never thought we would do. The tickets went out within 48 hours and almost everyone showed up. It was a special evening. Especially afterward when I got to talk to so many people who read the blog on the toilet or listened to The AOP while jogging, while feeding babies or falling asleep.
The privilege of this space is that it doesn’t matter where in the world I am; I am never alone, there is always someone to communicate IRL or online. It was so nice to meet people who spend time here working and to hear that it means something… even if it is about something that is trivial when compared to death. But honestly, who would blog about death? Not me.
Also a huge thank you to Matt, Johnny and Jacob. Three guys that I have so much time for because they are great to be around both on and off screen. We’ll be back next year for ANOTHER big AOP Christmas party. So make sure you address that.
Anyway, enough emotions. It was a beautiful year. Thank you for staying with us. We’re going to have a hell of a great year in 2026.
Big love, happy new year, see you in the comments with the sickos xxx
PS If you want to sign up for a membership, now is a GOOD time.
#HAPPY #YEAR #BIG #YEAR