Zohran Mamdani
Zohran Mamdani
Some reactions to a guilty verdict run for thousands of words. Some are one figure on a phone. The second kind travels faster when the person posting it runs a city and supports the champions.
Football and politics both argue about money. That is why a mayor quoting a winger does not sound as strange as it should.
The number he chose was the one The Athletic put on the case.
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Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York and an Arsenal supporter, posted “114” on social media hours after Manchester City were reported guilty on 114 of 115 Premier League financial charges.
The Independent says the former champions were found to have broken the league’s rules across 2009 to 2018. Sanctions have not been decided. City are expected to appeal.
Mamdani has worn an Arsenal-themed kurta at Eid prayers in the Bronx. He has said he followed the club from the age of nine because of his uncle, and looked up to Tony Adams and Nwankwo Kanu. He told the New York Times that Kanu “had been born in Africa but now lived somewhere else, just like me.”
On the last two seasons he said: “Over these past two years, no matter how chaotic life became, Arsenal remained the constant.
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“And throughout every moment, when a Manchester City resurgence felt inevitable, when the socialist project felt fragile, when both football and politics appeared determined to reward only wealth and cynicism, I have returned to the words of a man with no enemies: Bukayo Saka. “It’s a process.” And we should trust it.”
Arsenal would not be handed old Premier League titles if any were stripped from that nine-year window. They were not the runners-up in those league seasons. City did beat Arsene Wenger’s side in the 2018 Carabao Cup final.
What could change is this season. City are top after five wins, three points ahead of the defending champions. Points deductions, if they come and if they apply now, would alter that gap. That is still an if.
Leeds at home on 10 October is Arsenal’s next league game. City play Liverpool the following day. Mamdani’s post does not move either fixture.
It does show how far the verdict reached in a few hours: from a confidential commission to a mayor’s timeline. One hundred and fourteen charges found proven. One post. The punishment, and whether it helps anyone in the table, is the part that has not arrived.
Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta
Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta