Over the past couple of years, Twitter has become one of the biggest websites in the world. It is a great way to follow celebrities and of course footballers, and especially Arsenal players. Many of Arsenal's players are on the social networking site and it is a great way for the players to communicate with the fans. Jack Wilshere and Wojciech Szczesny are the two Arsenal players who use Twitter the most, but other plays such as the captain Fabregas and Robin Van Persie are also on the social networking site. Despite all the good aspects of Twitter, there are disadvantages to it as the former Liverpool forward Ryan Babel found out recentely. He used the site to criticise Howard Webb and posted a picture of Webb in a Man United shirt. The FA didn't find this at all funny and he was fined as a result. This is the main danger of the site as when players feel decisions go against them they can be on twitter within minutes of the match when emotions are still running high.
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| Cesc and Denilson deny the newspaper stories. |
This season has seen many Arsenal players join Twitter, with the older players such as Van Persie being encouraged to join by the younger players like Wilshere. It has proved to be a great insight into the players life's and some of the banter between the players is brilliant. It also enables the players to get news out to the fans as quick as possible and let's them let the fans know the truth behind some stories that appear in the papers. A good example of this is when Denilson's comments were translated incorrectly by the English tabloids, saying that he didn't think Fabregas was a good enough captain. The players soon denied this with messages on their twitter pages and then a photo of the pair was posted as well, to prove there hadn't been a falling out between the duo.
Twitter is also great for players updating the fans on whether they're injured and how long they will be out for. When a quote comes directly from the player not a newspaper it's more believable and more than likely the truth. Many of the players also let slip whether they're playing or not before matches. Johan Djourou does this quite a bit letting the fans know if he is starting before anyone else finds out. There are also many funny tweets and pictures uploaded by the players. This is normally done by Fabregas with this picture of Andrey being a prime example. |
The main thing Twitter enables the Arsenal players to do is to give their opinions to the fans and their views on the games they've played in. This can be a great thing but it has it's downsides as well. Players can be on Twitter within minutes of the match finishing on their mobile phones. Straight after the game, emotions will obviously be running high and players don't really think of the consequences when tweeting about a poor refereeing decision or another controversial aspect of the game. The prime example of this is Ryan Babel who criticised Howard Webb and got fined as a result. However in recent weeks some of the Arsenal's players tweets have been under scrutiny with many newspapers picking up on the controversial tweets, especially by Jack Wilshere and Wojciech Szczesny. One of Wojciech's 'controversial' tweets was after a Manchester United game, " How can you not get frustrated with decisions like that going ALWAYS Man Utds way?! Its a clear pen and sending off". The press got hold of this and the young keeper responded by tweeting, "I don't understand why some of you get frustrated with me for saying this. The decition was shocking! FACT! What a goal for WBA btw!", and then the day after, "If someone doesn't want to know what I think about football then go and follow Katie Price. I write to true Arsenal supporters :)". This was Wojciech simply saying his opinion which I believe all footballers should be entitled to. It is different to the Babel situation as it is his opinion and he didn't directly abuse the referee.
Jack Wilshere was clearly frustated after the poor showing at Newcastle yesterday and his tweet soon after the game confirmed this. "Inconsistent refereing needs to stop.its killing the game.if Diaby goes..whats the difference between that and Nolan on our keeper!?? #joke". This was later removed by the Arsenal star as I guess he believed he was going to get into trouble over it. He may still get fined by the FA but it will be stupid if the young Englishman is. He is simply expressing his opinion which everyone should be entitled to.
In my opinion Twitter is a good thing for the game and especially for the fans. It is a brilliant way for the players to communicate directly with the fans. It is also proving to be extremely popular with over 200,000 people following Wilshere's tweets. It allows the fans to keep up with what the players are up to and is far easier for the players than having interviews with newspapers to share their opinions on the game. However the players do need to be careful with what they tweet especially over refereeing decisions. I also hope players aren't banned from the site as if they are the fans are losing a great method of communication with the players. Arsene Wenger also backs the idea of his players being on Twitter as long as they don't get themselves into trouble.
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