Tommee O’Hara – managing director, Bridge Flooring, a flooring contractor and a lifelong Arsenal supporter
FOOTBALL, at the moment – that really grinds my gears. I’m an Arsenal fan and, even when things are going well, they still find ways to test your patience. Football is one of the few things I properly take to heart, so when you’re winning it feels brilliant, almost like everything’s aligned in life, and for the past six or seven months it genuinely felt like that.
We were flying. You get a bit carried away with it, start thinking this could actually be our season, then suddenly a couple of performances or results make you question everything again. You end up emotionally investing half a year into it and riding every twist and turn like it actually affects your daily mood.
My dad was an Arsenal fan, so it’s very much family bred. I’ve supported them since I first understood what football actually was, so it’s always been part of growing up.
Some of my earliest memories are going to Highbury Stadium with my granddad, who sadly isn’t with us anymore. He used to take me and two of my cousins when we were probably about six. At that age it was just overwhelming in the best way – the noise, the crowds, the scale of it all. It just stuck with me.
I didn’t really understand the tactics or anything like that, but I do remember the feeling of being in that environment.
We also used to hang around the training ground quite a bit, trying to catch players coming in and out. We’d see lads such as Tony Adams, and I think I’ve still got a Paul Merson signed shirt tucked away somewhere at home. Looking back, we were probably just kids hanging around a workplace, but at the time it felt massive, like we were part of something.
But Arsenal still have this habit of putting supporters through the wringer. We were genuinely challenging on every front – everything looked like it was coming together, like we were the team nobody wanted to play against. There was real belief we could win it all. Then a few frustrating results suddenly changed the mood and everyone started questioning whether we’d let it slip again. That emotional swing is the frustrating bit more than anything – one minute you feel unstoppable, the next you’re convinced it’s all falling apart.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Not long after CFJ’s interview with Tommee, Arsenal FC was crowned Premier League champions for the 2025-26 season, ending a 22-year wait for the title. The title was effectively secured when Manchester City FC dropped points in a 1-1 draw with AFC Bournemouth, making it mathematically impossible for them to catch Arsenal.
I messaged Tommee to see if he wanted to change his tune. ‘The weekend just gone was a good one,’ he agreed. ‘I certainly feel better about them today.’ But he was content to leave his original view intact: ‘Things can change again lol.’
