In their run to the Champions League final, Arsenal has overcome opponents and controversy surrounding their identity.

Arsenal made English Premier League (EPL) history last February when they became the first club to dress an entire 16-man squad made up of non-British players. It’s a remarkable feat when you consider that during the opening of 1992-93 season there were only 11 foreign starting players in the entire EPL.

The controversy surrounding Arsenal this year was initiated when the club became the last remaining English squad in the Champions League tournament. Instantly Arsenal became branded as England’s team and immediately thereafter critics emerged and scoffed at the thought of adopting a team devoid of any British starters as the country’s flag bearer. Arsenal may be an English premier League team but in the eyes of some they are simply an international club no more in a position to call themselves English than Saturday Night Live’s Will Forte can call himself a George Bush impersonator.  A few weeks ago one of Arsenal’s players tried to resolve the club identity ambiguity. French international and Arsenal midfielder Robert Pires revealed in an interview with the UK paper “News of the World” that he and many teammates identify Arsenal as a French squad.

“We have had a great Champions League run but it is fair to say Arsenal is a French team. As soon as we reached the semi-finals it was like having a France side there. I know people say there are not enough English players on our team but that's of little importance to me. I can see some people worrying about it, but not me. “

"Arsenal has had a French identity for some time now. French is the language we speak in the changing-room, more so than English."

Aside from their French coach, Arsene Wenger, Arsenal’s squad is comprised of 14 French-speaking players and only three British players: Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole and Theo Walcott. Campbell and Cole have missed significant time this year due to injury and despite being named as a surprise addition to the English World Cup squad Walcott, the 17-year old phenom has yet to appear in a single game for Arsenal.

In response to the growing trend of English clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United’s increasing reliance on foreign players and subsequent loss of playing opportunities for English home-grown talent, UEFA has drawn up a new system that will force teams to nurture players within rather than always looking outward for talent.

The new UEFA home-grown rule will be in place for the 2006-2007 season. The rule dictates that clubs competing in Champions League or UEFA Cup matches must have at least four home-grown players on the squad. The home-grown number jumps to six for the 2007-2008 season and then plateaus to eight home-grown players per side for the 2008-2009 season.

An important thing to note with UEFA’s home-grown rule is that a player doesn’t necessarily have to be a native citizen of the league, they simply have to have gone through a team’s academy system (sort of a junior division) for three years between 15 and 21. So in the EPL’s case this doesn’t necessarily guarantee more opportunities for British players because teams like Arsenal may choose to start recruiting international stars at a younger age and working them through the academy system. 

Closer to home, the 2003-2004 Stanley Cup final between the Calgary Flames and Tampa Bay Lightning stirred up the last notable display of nationalistic pride and divide. With their successful run through the Western Conference the Flames became the first Canadian club since the 1994 Vancouver Canucks to reach the Stanley Cup final. Aside from the Red Mile pandemonium that engulfed Calgary, the Flames inspiring run engrossed the entire country who temporarily adopted the club as Canada’s own.  Although unlike the controversy that Arsenal’s branding as England’s team stirred, across the pond there was no fuss made about the Flames nationalistic identity despite the fact that Tampa Bay had more Canadian-born players in their line-up.

For Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals Calgary had only 9 Canadian-born players in the line-up to their "American" counterparts 13 Canadian-born players. Although the question of the 03-04 Flames true nationalistic identity pales in comparison to the current situation of Arsenal it does lead us to the same question.

How do you identify with a team: by their country of origin or by the team’s players? I think this is answered by what type of fan you are. Do you have an unwavering devotion to one team? Or are you a fan of the players, regardless of what team they play for?

For me I’ve always been a bigger supporter of the players. So watching the San Jose Sharks lift the Cup this year would be just as rewarding as watching Ottawa or Edmonton win it. In my opinion there’s no better story for Canadian hockey this year than the spectacular seasons of MVP candidate Joe Thornton and Rocket Richard winner Jonathon Cheechoo.  Is it wrong that I want to see them cap off their seasons with a Stanley Cup just because they ply their trade in California rather than Ontario?