In response to suggestions put forward by supporters, Arsenal are today launching the club’s first Ukraine Supporters’ Club and are asking the global fanbase to sign up in solidarity.
Alongside the initiative, the club have made a donation to Save the Children’s DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal and are encouraging supporters to follow suit.
According to the charity, a partner of the club since 2011, more than 7.5 million children are now in danger as a result of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of the country.
Donations are helping to deliver life-saving aid to children and families fleeing the conflict by distributing essential supplies and winter clothing.
The charity is also providing cash and vouchers assistance to help refugees meet basic needs like food, rent and medicines and setting up reception centres and safe spaces for children.
In a statement released this morning, Arsenal CEO Vinai Venkatesham said:
“Everyone at Arsenal stands in solidarity with the people affected by the crisis in Ukraine.
“We believe that in times of immense difficulty, there is strength in unity. That’s why, after a suggestion from fans, we’re launching the Arsenal Ukraine Supporters’ Club and encouraging our fans from around the world to join in solidarity.
“We’ve also been in discussions with our global charity partner, Save the Children, to better understand the heart-breaking situation and where support is most needed.
“We’ve all learnt that the conflict in Ukraine is forcing children and families into basements and bomb shelters to escape explosions. Many families are being forced to flee their homes and cross into nearby countries with minimal possessions. They need help with shelter, food, and the most basic human necessities.”
The Arsenal Foundation has forged very strong ties with Save the Children over the last decade raising money and providing support via various initiatives to help vulnerable kids affected by everything from Covid-19, Ebola outbreaks and natural disasters in the Philippines, Japan and Nepal to the wars in Syria and Iraq.
To date, more than £4.5 million has been raised.
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I’ver got a buddy over in Australia who was as die hard a fan of Arsenal as anyone I’ve ever met. He would wake at 3am to watch games and when I took him to the Emirates when he came to the UK, he actually wept as we walked through the turnstiles. Anyway, we’ve been in correspondence recently and he’s decided he can no longer live with the double standards of being a football fan and has tried his absolute best to quit his football addiction and find other interests, which I totally accept. But I did write a retort.… Read more »
Excellent comment, completely agree
Well said J4H.
👏
Out of curiosity – what other interests has he been pursuing? I’m assuming hunting is out…
He’s gardening, hiking and masterbating a lot.
We’ve always been a good local community club. Outside that we do a token amount. Many clubs are the same very few are any better. We did used to stand out within the actual game, in the football world as a club with solid values and thats specifically something I fear we’ve been losing since the old directors then Arsene Wenger left. I hope it comes back, I’d like to see us become a good global citizen too but I don’t think this is it. Still support the initiative
Solidarity. Empathy.
Everyone is affected to some extent.
Writing from Hungary, we have no time for passivity atm. Serious humanitarian issues are escalating at the border. But we stand together and offering shelter to as many in need as we are capable of, sending hundreds of trucks full of basic necessities to the border.
People are good. Only those in power try to make them look like evils.
Anyway, life will never be the same as it was and we all, as civilians have to make better decisions.
Lots of love
There’s no “crisis” or “conflict” in Ukraine, Vinai. It is a full blown invasion with a smidge of terror and genocide on top. There is another more fitting term for that. By not using it, you are assisting the agressor’s efforts.
Yours truly, Gooner from Kyiv.
Good Luck to you, Gooner. God bless you and your countrymen. And to put it bluntly, Fuck Putin.
Thank you, wholeheartedly. Just got out of the shelter. Another air raid warning.
To my fellow brethren who downvoted my comment: though it is very difficult to see from the safety you’re in at the moment, we are for your freedom to express yourselves as well. Downvote all you like and may you safety continue indefinitely. Cheers.
Keep safe my friend ❤️
Thank you! My growing desire to survive and finally see one game live at the Emirates boosts resolve as well.
Stay strong it’s gut wrenching to see what’s going on there and still the west watches on as your city’s get encircled ready for the inevitable. The bravery shown by you and your fellow countrymen/women is commendable 🙏
So Arsenal can do this, but distanced themselves from Ozil when he talked about Isreal and Palestine.
Hypocritical
The difference here is that it has hit on the continent. It’s not the usual stuff you see on news channels in passing, this is closer to home and for the first time football and politics have to mix. Had it been in say Gambia or Cambodia, Abramovich would still be allowed to own Chelsea.
Sadly that’s how the world works
So it’s ok if it happens in Cambodia or Gambia? The racism is rife in this one
Here’s some honest views in the media, to help answer your question.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bRgs8MyG9bU
Difficult to explain by just how far you’ve missed his point above, mate…
So true
Speaking of hypocritical, Ozil is the worst amongst them all for his close ties with Erdogan.
If you disagree, you’re a huge idiot
And so the hate continues…
Yawn. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz😴
What did Ozil say about Israel and Palestine? I missed that…
And the a Uighurs
Funny how they choose this political issue to get involved in, but when ozil was highlighting ugyhurs in China arsenal explicitly stated they don’t want to get involved in politics. Let’s all ignore that though.
Well said.
There have wake up calls a plenty in the past – it’s a shame that it has taken the atrocities that are occurring now – and the repercussions that are affecting Abramovich and Chelsea – for everyone to finally wake the fuck up.
Excellent Guardian article last week on how Abramovich’s smooth slide into English Football started the rot throughout Europe (and let’s not forget he tried to buy Spuds first!).
Worth the read – it’s still on their online site, I think.
AFC not getting involved in every political opinion that a player/staff has (correct or not) is equivalent to them linking up charitable donations and showing solidarity with Ukrainian fanbase/people due to an invasion? Since you (and others here) feel strongly about what Ozil had to share and felt AFC ignored those important issues, I assume you are no longer a fan of AFC. It’s great you still come to Arseblog to share your opinions though you no longer pander to the evil that is AFC. My snark aside, geopolitical issues are way too complicated for me to link up to… Read more »
You do realise that the word “perceived” is every bit as applicable to YOU as it is to anyone else….?
I do, or I wouldn’t have used it. I do not see the point in criticising AFC for the steps they took or the comments they have made, based on the article and the specific issue at hand. The Ozil issue is a separate issue and one I feel many will be upset about, but have done very little to change based on their own real life choices. But I guess using a major war to remind others of the Ozil’s political statements is important to some. Like me, everyone now has the internet to voice their concerns over whatever… Read more »
Congratulations on a solid display of stupidity.
Calling me stupid is pointless as stupid people usually don’t know they are being stupid. But, I’ll take the bait since I have some time. It seems I have underestimated our fan base and am glad everyone is out there changing the world in such positive way. I don’t do that in any meaningful way – which might make me lazy, selfish or callous (maybe all 3), but I do not think I am stupid. Then again, who knows. Fans deeply upset that AFC have been completely wrong about non-football related issues, yet continue to support the club, seems odd.… Read more »
We are full of double standards and hypocrisy.
Off topic, but a thought nonetheless. With Xhaka’s days clearly numbered and Chelsea’s hilarious predicament meaning their on-loan playing staff will be having a serious re-think about their futures, I think we could do an awful lot worse than put in a cheeky bid for Conor Gallagher He strikes me as a lad who would not only fit the bill as a box-to-box midfielder – which he maintains is his favoured position – but also as a hard working youngster who would slip effortlessly into this group of highly talented crop of kids that we already have. And the icing… Read more »
Why are Xhaka’s days numbered? Why on earth would we want to replace him with an inferior player?
Yeah, he’s so inferior, he’s an International and on the books of one of our biggest rivals.
Grow up.
“Why are Xhaka’s days numbered?”
Listen to yourself….
🤪 😜
We should be going in for Neves
After what he said about The Arsenal….?!!
Do you think he’d allow the other lads to celebrate….?
Honestly, some of you on here….😂
Hahahaha
Renato Sanches or Declan Rice
Probably not the sort of topic that is ideal for going off topic to be fair…
How about a £5 million bid for Mason Mount which they can put towards the wages of Timo Werner?
Was thinking the same about Ngolo the other evening…
*Forgot to say, that obviously the said ‘cheeky bid’ for Conor Gallagher could only materialise once Chelsea are allowed to conduct transfer dealings again.
I don’t intend to hurt anyone’s feelings but all the same I think I should point this out so people can see it from a wider perspective. I hate wars and honestly it’s the innocent people who suffer the consequences of other people’s stupid decisions. This Ukrainian invasion is bad, very bad especially on the innocent civilians and only a person with a cold soul can’t see it. But politicians and their media tend to make one evil look less or somehow look good. What’s happening in Ukraine isn’t new and has been happening elsewhere in the world but with… Read more »
Well said
Great post. I’m so tired of the ‘we are the great liberators and guardians of democracy’ narrative. There is no excuse for Putin’s invasion but the U.S. was the driving force behind the 2014 governmental coup in the Ukraine by trying, as ever, to open up economic opportunities in Eastern Europe. The Ukraine (and unfortunately, it’s people) are a pawn in a wider game of power being played out by the world’s super powers where resource acquisition and the future-proofing of the capitalist, western paradigm or an opposing system of governance are the real driving factors.
You claim there is no excuse for Putin’s invasion BUT then go on to give an excuse.
“The capitalist, western paradigm” for all it’s flaws is leap years ahead of dictatorships and theocracies that many other countries adhere to. This war is on Putin alone.
By the way, everything about the premier league is a capitalistic, western paradigm. The irony. .
Nice way to pigeonhole OP’s argument. How fickle and narrowminded you must be.
Well said. May be because black people and middle eastern ppl dont have blonde hair and they dont have blue eyes. It’s so disappointing. Arsenal is not for blondes and Europeans only. It’s a world wide brand.
I’ve met quite a few blonde haired blue eyed middle easterners. Are they allowed to support AFC? Also, the majority of humanity identify more easily with their ‘own kind’ (sorry to use such a loaded term). There is no harm in that if it doesn’t involve a superiority complex that leads some to think they are better based on genetic traits. It seems the cure for racism, is reverse-racism. This whole thread is now about how we should be kumbaya WHILE pointing out the evils of ‘western white man’ thinking. Human nature, we normally ignore issues within our own subset…religion,… Read more »
Not often I agree with you, but this is a top drawer post.
👍🍺
One key point which you make, almost as an aside, deserves restating, I believe:
being against racism does not mean pretending we are not different from one another. We are. And we always will be, but overt political correctness often tries to obscure or eradicate this simple, physiolgical fact.
What is vital, rather, is that in accepting that those differences exist, we do NOT, ever, equate them with superiority, or inferiority.
👊💪👍👏🙏🏻
👊💪👍👏👏👏🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Thank you, these were my thoughts when I first saw this article, but you put it much more eloquently than my pissed-off brain would have allowed!
Sad to see our club expose ourselves as hypocrites.
I do believe sporting institutions have an obligation to speak out against evil such as this.
But we should let our propensity to speak out be influenced by $$$$$.
Distancing ourselves from Ozil’ s comments now seems even more morally responsible than before.