What has made this year so special – and in fact, the era of Mikel Arteta as our manager – is that sense of always wanting to compete at the highest level.
After years where we were chasing the coat-tails of top four, it really does feel like we have our Arsenal back, as some used to chant.
I must admit I was surprised, when Arteta finished playing, quite how emotional he was about his retirement and how deeply his connection with Arsenal had become in a relatively short period of time.
I was delighted when he returned and loved his initial interviews talking about the “non-negotiables” and that steely determination that reminded us that second best was no longer acceptable.
Lee Dixon told Arsenal Vision the story of Arteta’s ‘Arsenalisation’ of the training ground, a reminder of our greatness, in stark contrast to his predecessor Unai Emery who removed all reminders of our proud history.
It was hardly a surprise and feels obvious to celebrate our stature, but it’s so fundamental to who we are (and what we represent).
As the season drew to a close, Arteta spoke of the need to improve, both in the squad and in individual players – the lessons to always strive to get better, to grow, to never to rest on our laurels, part of the fundamentals of life as much as of sport.
Leading the Premier League table for so long this season is further confirmation that ‘the process’ is working and while it didn’t the as we all hoped, there is so much to be excited about.
But that last weekend and the victory over Wolves has had a lasting impact on me – and something I wanted to share.
When my son was born, I was determined not to force him to become as obsessive a Gooner as I am.
Perhaps it was a foolish aspiration, given that I started my working life as a journalist, for a while I ended up running the Arsenal official website in the days when the media team was just three people – and then I became a season ticket holder once I’d moved from journalism to communications.
I knew of parents who let their kids choose who they could support – with Chelsea and Man City shirts the unfortunate consequence. I was never going to let THAT happen.
So baby kits were bought, Arseblog books shared (before he could read!) and games watched even when he was too young to understand. I took him to his first game when he was not yet three years old (a home defeat against West Ham!).
Then something happened – and I don’t know quite what prompted it.
Out of nowhere, he asked me a question about a game from a few weeks previously, reeling off names and scorers in a way I’ve long since been unable to recall. And that was that.
There’s an education required for young fans who started following us over the past decade or so, a time when we struggled in a way we had not done in recent memory.
Even in relative famine, we are incredibly privileged to have seen the team lift the FA Cup four times over the past decade.
But the days of qualifying for the Champions League season after season, signing players who other giants coveted, had long since past.
It was my duty to explain to him quite what a massive, historically successful club we are and what it means to be an Arsenal fan (thanks Rocky!).
Given the dominance of Tottenham fans around us or at his school, I’m immensely proud that he stood his ground in the face of criticism and mockery. There was never a hint of wavering, even in his youngest years.
So my second season ticket, the one I bought years ago in the hope that some day he may want to accompany me, became his completely.
And going to The Arsenal with my son has been and is everything I imagined it would be.
Shared memories, shared dramas, shared celebrations. His obsession runs deep.
“Who was better Ian Wright or Thierry Henry?” he will ask randomly in the middle of a movie at the cinema. “If you could sign three Invincibles for the current team, who would they be and why?” And more recently “Who do you want more, Rice or Caicedo?”
The questions about new signings, historical, impossible player comparisons, hopes and expectations, never end.
This is my son, who watches every video, consumes every clip and yet relies on my nostalgic appreciation for another assessment of all things Arsenal.
This is my son, who, without request or expectation, sent me text commentary updates when Arsenal played Newcastle away late in the season while I was running a weekend work function abroad.
The final weekend of the 2022-23 season had no such jeopardy, but will remain a precious memory, and for that I am extremely grateful.
It started when I made the decision that I’d like to take my son to the Arseblog/Arsenal Vision Live event at Union Chapel.
I tweeted to see if anyone had a spare. Within minutes I had pointers to tickets now available, including from the legend that is Clive Palmer, and a note from Andrew, Arseblog himself, offering to add him to the guest list.
I cannot tell you how much that meant.
So we went up early and decided to walk around the stadium, to see the ground without fans, and look at the final fan mural. He had asked me about it before, wondering if I was going to be on it in the way, perhaps, any young child may think their parents should be.
Something of a chatterbox, his stunned silence when he saw that he was part of Arsenal’s supporter mural is the sort of thing you cannot measure (huge thanks to Andrew Allen and Andy Exley for helping out).
He knew the magnitude of it and how much of an honour it is and I could see him walking as if he was ten feet tall. Whatever else happens in life, he will always have had this moment, and so will I.
On to the Union Chapel, where Ian Wright himself turned up and I saw even greater excited shock on my son’s face, desperate to go and hug someone he knows is the epitome of Arsenal support and greatness.
Despite limits to the bar which prevented my son from meeting the podcasters and bloggers he listens to passionately, some of them came to say hello, including Andrew Mangan and ‘The Arsenal Eminem’ as my son calls Elliot Smith from the AV Podcast.
His night was made, his heart bursting and again I’d like to thank Andrew Allen for his help in introducing some of the speakers while I was off looking for others.
All we needed the next day was a good win to end against Wolves to end the season on a high.
Arsenal won at a canter in the end, but that wasn’t why the day meant so much.
The memories of kindness from the previous day were still fresh, but there was more.
The way our treasured steward Sarah, who always chats to my son to discuss score predictions and the line-up, welcomed him with warmth and kindness.
The way David, our seating neighbour, joked with him and made good on a long-standing bet, sharing sweets and laughter as he has done since his first game nearly eight years ago.
Friends came up at half-time to hug my son, the steward at the stairwell welcomed us, familiar faces that we are. And that’s what it’s all about.
People we know, people we barely know, a common bond of The Arsenal coupled with affection, respect and friendship.
Being a football fan is about so much more than the team, although how we love them all.It’s about the moments, the bonds, the memories and the magic shared in person and through various digital platforms that bring us together in joy and that comfort us in difficult moments both on and away from the pitch.
I shed a tear as I sat there for that final game, yearning for the season to continue and days later I am still moved by the occasion of it all.
I’m not the only one to mention that it has been one of our favourite seasons of all time.
It will last in our hearts forever – just like The Arsenal.