As Arsenal finally lifted the Premier League trophy after years of scrutiny, one Inter fan was reminded of football’s greatest lesson: the process, patience, and perfect timing can turn doubt into glory, a truth that echoed far beyond the pitch this 2025-26 season.
As Arsenal finally lifted the Premier League trophy after years of scrutiny, one Inter fan was reminded of football’s greatest lesson: the process, patience, and perfect timing can turn doubt into glory, a truth that echoed far beyond the pitch this 2025-26 season.
Lately, I’ve caught myself looking for evidence that confirms my beliefs, especially in football. Whether it’s a player, a coach, a club project, or even a tactical idea, it’s easy to become attached to a narrative and then focus only on the moments that support it. , I reflected on a difficult year personally and professionally. I spoke about the doubts, the lessons, and the perspective shifts that came with them.
Looking back now, I think I’ve made progress, even if not all of it is visible from the outside. This isn’t another personal reflection. Not much has changed on the surface. I’ve found some opportunities and taken a few steps forward, but the biggest changes have been internal.
What surprised me this season was how often football reinforced some of the ideas I had been wrestling with. Watching teams, coaches, players, and entire projects unfold over the course of a season reminded me of lessons about patience, timing, belief, and process. In some cases, it confirmed what I already thought. In others, it challenged me completely.
So before attention turns fully to the World Cup, I wanted to look back at the club season and reflect on a few things football taught me along the way. Not in football, but in life too. I would find myself having conversations about progress, growth, and how meaningful things take time. I believed it intellectually, but deep down I was often waiting for a sign that I wasn’t wasting my time.
Some proof that patience would eventually be rewarded. Part of it was football. As an Inter fan, I’ve been fortunate enough to witness a remarkable period for the club. Three Scudetti, two Coppa Italia titles, three Supercoppa wins, and two Champions League finals in six years is something many supporters would dream of.
Inter’s rise wasn’t immediate. There was the rebuilding work under Spalletti, followed by Conte laying foundations for what came next. It felt like a process unfolding exactly as it should. But the two Champions League final defeats, especially the most recent one, hurt.
Watching Paris Saint-Germain, under Luis Enrique, dismantle us so convincingly made me question whether patience and process were enough. Maybe football was simpler than that. Maybe success belonged to those who arrived first rather than those who built best. At the same time, away from football, I found myself becoming increasingly aware of other people’s achievements.
Promotions, financial success, milestones. The kind of things that make you wonder whether you’re moving too slowly. I know it sounds strange that another club’s success would affect my thinking, but passionate football supporters often see parts of themselves in the teams they follow and the stories they admire. For years, Arteta and Arsenal were criticised.
Every setback was used as evidence that the project wasn’t working. Every near miss became proof that they lacked something essential. Yet they kept building.
“Years before Arsenal would become champions again, the club’s decision-makers identified what they believed could be a rare opportunity in the Premier League’s competitive cycle. ” The article explained how Arsenal analysed rival squads, age profiles, contract situations, and managerial timelines before identifying a potential window between 2023 and 2027 where Manchester City’s and Liverpool’s dominance might loosen. Not predicting the future with certainty, but understanding cycles, preparing for opportunities, and being ready when the moment arrives.
Of course Arsenal needed luck. Every champion does. Injuries, form, transfers, and countless small moments all influence outcomes. What resonated with me wasn’t the trophy itself.
It was the reminder that timing matters. Sometimes progress is happening long before the results appear. Sometimes the foundations are being built while everyone else is focused on the scoreboard. This season reminded me that trusting the process doesn’t mean believing everything will work out exactly as planned.
It means accepting that meaningful things often take longer than we would like. One thing I struggled with over the last few years was my relationship with football itself. I was watching more football than ever, analysing more football than ever, and learning more about the game than ever. Yet somehow I felt more disconnected from it.
Pressing structures. Build-up patterns. Rest defence. Set pieces.
Passing networks. The way Inter lost the Champions League final only amplified that feeling. Football started to feel like a problem to solve rather than something to experience. The Premier League wasn’t necessarily at its highest level in terms of overall quality, but I felt something returning to the game that I had missed: individual expression.
When pressing reached new heights and collective structures became more sophisticated, risk-taking naturally became harder. The game rewarded organisation, control, and efficiency. That era gave us some incredible football. Conte’s Inter, for example, produced some beautiful build-up sequences during the 2020-21 Scudetto season.
De Zerbi’s Brighton pushed positional play and build-up patterns to fascinating levels. Watching Lamine Yamal, Rayan Cherki, Cole Palmer, Pedri, Jude Bellingham, Raphinha, Vinícius Júnior, and Nico Paz reminded me why I fell in love with football in the first place. But sometimes the most memorable moment is still a player doing something that nobody else on the pitch can imagine. In the end, it arrived through the players who made me feel something again.
My love for the game today is probably stronger than it has ever been. Not because I analyse less, but because I’ve learned to balance analysis with appreciation. A few years ago, after reading some books, analysing matches, and seeing a few of my opinions prove correct, I started to think I had football figured out. The more I learn, however, the more I realise how little I truly know.
The ability to appreciate just how difficult football is for the people making decisions every day. Managers, sporting directors, scouts, analysts, recruitment teams. The deeper I looked into their world through books, podcasts, interviews, and articles, the more I realised how much work happens behind the scenes and how many variables exist that supporters never see. This season made me much more hesitant to declare that a manager should be sacked.
Of course, there are situations where it becomes obvious that a project isn’t going to work. Some appointments never fit. Some ideas never take hold. His spell at Manchester United became a source of ridicule.
Every poor result was treated as proof that he wasn’t good enough. Every decision was scrutinised. Every setback became evidence that the project had failed. But looking deeper, there were also signs of progress.
The underlying numbers improved. Certain structural issues started to be addressed. The team became stronger in areas such as set pieces. It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t the disaster many portrayed it as either.
We often talk about wanting long-term projects, but many supporters only support the idea of a process when the results arrive immediately. Arteta’s journey shouldn’t be used as an argument for keeping every manager forever. Most projects fail. That’s the reality.
What Arsenal does remind us, however, is that when a coach fits the club’s vision, when the players believe in the message, and when progress exists beneath the surface, patience can sometimes be rewarded. One thing I’ve learned is that football decisions should not be driven by envy. The success of rivals often creates pressure to act quickly, even when patience might be the better option. Sometimes supporters panic because somebody else is progressing faster.
As an Inter supporter, I saw many fans calling for Chivu’s dismissal early in the season. Months later, those same fans were celebrating one of the most enjoyable campaigns in recent memory. Sometimes it’s simply part of the process. Teams seem unbeatable before their cycle ends.
And supporters, analysts, and pundits spend most of that time trying to convince themselves they know what comes next. This season challenged some of my beliefs and reinforced others. It reminded me that process matters, but so does timing. That structure matters, but so does individual brilliance.
That criticism is easy, but understanding is much harder. Not because football always rewards the smartest people. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, a player, a coach, or a team comes along and shows you something new. Because the longer I follow this game, the more I realise that understanding football isn’t about reaching a final answer.
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