What did Arsenal winning the Premier League title teach me about applied AI?
Nothing.
Nothing except that 22 years is a long time. That two decades of frustration, near misses, and grim results can dissipate in a giddy moment.
When the Invincibles won the league in 2004, I was about to start my first job. Thierry Henry reigned supreme, and London awaited as I looked to start a new chapter of my life.
Time compresses as I lean into middle age. Some players who will lift the trophy at Crystal Palace on Sunday were not born when Henry, Gilberto Silva, and Sol Campbell lifted the trophy at White Hart Lane last time around.
The years since have seen the curtain coming down on the Wenger era, and the painful launch of the Arteta era. They have seen the world consumed by mobile phones, social media, and now AI. They have seen the nature of being a sports fan transform into mean-spirited online banter (a marginal improvement over mean-spirited real-world violence I suppose), the sport itself plastered with gambling and crypto ads.
And yet, the nature of fandom remains the same.
Frustration as the team grinds out another 1-0 result.
Superstition when a friend calls Arsenal champions 3 minutes before the end of the Man City game. Only for Haaland to score. Because of course he would.
Relief and a stream of emojis sent out to relatives and friends in different time zones at the final whistle.
I don’t have much to say. Sometimes it’s good to let the frivolity of being a sports fan consume you. Sometimes it’s good to be reminded that some things take 22 years.
I’ll leave you all with a panel from one of my favorite Arsenal-related cartoons from David Squires at The Guardian – “The North Bank Redemption” (link in comments). This strip was published when Wenger left Arsenal.
“hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things.”
COYG!
