Sanjay Sathya

Outrage as Arsenal Fans Mock Chelsea’s Darkest Hour with £1 Banner

Arsenal, Carabao Cup, Chelsea, Matchgoing Fans

The rivalry between Arsenal and Chelsea is long standing. Although many other clubs hail from London, nobody can reach the bar set by the two teams.

The fan wars between both the groups have always been over the top on who is the better team from London.

Every Derby game creates havoc in social media over the result, with both set of fans putting monumental efforts to defend their teams.

But the current situation favoured Arsenal, who had the edge over the Stamford Blues with a 3-2 win in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi finals.

Also, they have been the best team across Europe, topping both the Premier League and Champions League group stage tables. It was least expected of Chelsea, under their new manager, Liam Rosenior, to outperform an Arsenal of this calibre.

On their trip to Emirates, Chelsea had to overcome the goal deficit, but did not put up a worthy performance, losing the game 1-0 on the last kick of the game.

With an unbeaten streak against chelsea in their last 10 games and the joy of eliminating your rivals from the Competition, Arsenal fans went a little too far with their banter by provoking the Act of “Chelsea Pitch Owners” a non profit organization, holding the stadium and naming rights of chelsea.

Arsenal fans had brought a banner which read “Help Save the bridge” and a “£1” on the sides.

The £1 was a mockery of the club’s situation in 1982.

Ken Bates, then British business man and the saviour of Chelsea Football Club, bought the club for £1 in 1982 to free it from a debt of £1.5 million.

Further he ensured, the stadium is under the security of fans and club people by selling it to the Chelsea Pitch Owners organisation, which consists of shareholders from the Chelsea community.

This banner also teased the Help Save the Bridge campaign by Chelsea fans, which was a public funding act to generate money to buy the stakes of the stadium under CPO.

Although banter is common, this was considered to be offensive from the Blues side, as it was one of the respectful and dignified act in the history of the club.

Rory Jennings, the Chelsea YouTuber, had raised concerns over the issue, considering the campaign as a badge of honour in his gratitude as a fan.

Two days ago, a journalist of the Telegraph, George Charlton, called the Arsenal fanbase as Insufferable, being a Gunner himself. Chelsea fans had brought that narrative for their riposte.

Further retaliation from the Chelsea fans were about the European success, winning two UCLs, an Europa league and Conference League titles, and the only club in London to do so, while Arsenal do not have a footprint in European competitions.

A dig deep into their rival’s history, Chelsea fans ridiculed Arsenal for not standing up in a similar situation for them, when Arsenal had to move from Highbury stadium to Emirates, citing more revenue generation.

This new chapter in the London rivalry has sparked some controversy over drawing the line, while the assurance that this might not continue is an unanswerable question.

What would chelsea fans make fun of, if the tide flows towards their side, is yet to be explored and an anticipatory outcome, hoping to be seen in their next matchup in the premier league.

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