Brentford’s win over Arsenal brought tears of happiness to one happy Bee, while Gooners were left sobbing at what could be a long season ahead.
The 2-0 defeat to the Premier League new boys even had Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, apparently crying!
Many rivals delighted in referring to Arsenal by their unofficial nickname of ‘banter club’ and Paul Kagame voicing his displeasure on Twitter, Lucas Torreira rubbing shoulders with Bugs Bunny and Ben White being labelled ‘Rob Holding with hair’ only provided them with more ammunition.
“What?? It’s football, it’s a loss for Arsenal against Brentford,” President Kagame wrote to his followers, which total more than two million on Twitter in what can only be described as a presidential seal of disapproval.
“Brentford deserved to win and they did.
“The game itself aside, Arsenal and the fans don’t deserve to kind of get used to this….NO!!! I say this as one of the big fans of Arsenal.
“The change has taken too long to come!”
He then questioned the decision makers at the club’s nous when it comes to signing players.
“It’s been a struggle of about decade(s) – ups and downs – more downs until this point. Can’t we have a plan that really works?
“One part to look at is how we deal in the market – players we buy to execute the plan. The touch and go mentality does not bring change.”
Kagame then added that fans should not accept mediocrity.
“A team has to be built with a purpose to win win-win. So that when we lose…it was not to be expected!
“I am sure we all know on whose shoulders the heaviest burden rests. I hope they know too or even accept it.”
As well as Twitter, after the game, talkSPORT’s Sports Bar was another place many supporters vented their frustrations at.
Steven was one of those, who was asked how he thought White played on his Premier League debut for Arsenal.
He wasn’t messing about in his response. “Shocking,” he began. “I thought he was Rob Holding with hair,” before also lambasting the hierarchy’s transfer business.
“If they don’t want to spend the money on a player like [Raphael] Varane then go down to the lower leagues and get a centre-back,” he said, adding that players like the new Manchester United defender won’t want to go to a club like Arsenal unless it was for money.
“For trophies? Nah.
“The recruitment for the last ten years has been so bad, they’ve thrown money at everyone – how are you going to give [Pierre Emerick Aubameyang] £300,000-a-week?
“Should have got rid of him, same with [Alexandre] Lacazette. [Granit] Xhaka is no good – he had three good games at the Euros, so does that make him a good player?
“He’s been at Arsenal for five years. Tell me one good game he’s played in. I’ll wait.”
Some say Steven is still waiting…
But then what about Torreira?
The midfielder, who is out of manager Mikel Arteta’s plans for the season, posted a picture of a family outing at a theme park in Madrid as the Gunners were losing.
“Enjoying the Parque Warner with family and friends! Thank you very much for the great attention,” he wrote on Twitter.
Torreira spent last season on loan at Atletico Madrid and despite the loss, Arteta believed he had a squad he thought was capable of winning.
“We had a team that we put out there that are good enough to play the way we want to play and capable of achieving a different result.”
Arsenal now face Champions League winners Chelsea and reigning Premier League champions Manchester City in their next two league fixtures.