By Spy Uganda
Kigali: It is no secret that Rwanda President Paul Kagame is a die-hard fan of Arsenal Football Club, who has once been ‘disappointed’ due to club’s performance which had declined over the years.
Kagame couldn’t hide his excitement on Saturday, August 1 when Arsenal (The Gunners) beat arch-rivals Chelsea 2-1 at Wembley Stadium to claim the 2020 FA Cup Championship after a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang double sealed it for the North Londoners.
President Kagame took to Twitter to express his happiness for the long-awaited win which will ensure that Arsenal plays in Europe next season.
Bravo, Congrats ARSENAL for a well-deserved and needed win -FA CUP. We, FANS and supporters kept Faith in you…going forward let’s aim at much bigger things. WE CAN… !!!” President Kagame tweeted.
Bravo,Congrats ARSENAL for a well deserved and needed win -FA CUP. We,FANS and supporters kept Faith in you…going forward let's aim at much bigger things. WE CAN… !!!
— Paul Kagame (@PaulKagame) August 1, 2020
It is a double win for Rwanda, this being the first title won by the English club since the country entered a 3-year partnership with Arsenal to promote ‘Visit Rwanda’.
President Kagame has often commented on the team’s performance over the last few years saying that change was needed in all aspects.
In an interview with the local Magazine, the Head of State said that he was not impressed by the Gunners performance in recent years, whether it is in the English Premier League (EPL) and in Europe.
President Kagame said that he has often criticized the performance of the team especially when Unai Emery was the head coach of Arsenal and said that something needs to be changed.
“Arsenal used to be in the top three teams to qualify in the Premier League but its performance downgraded with time to a point it is ranked 10th now. Something needs to change,”
Following the sacking of the Spaniard Unai Emery last year, President Kagame seemed to have confidence in the new manager Mikel Arteta, saying that he expected an improvement given that the new manager knows the club and its values more than his predecessor.
He said Arteta needed support from the club, in terms of buy players and it appears the confidence has paid off with the FA Cup win.
“I still am a big fan of Arsenal and I am hoping they will win more championships in the future. As a fan, I have no say to how the players should perform but I can only watch with the hope they will win. I will keep supporting them regardless,” he said during the interview.
President Kagame has also been openly backing the ‘Visit Rwanda’ partnership with Arsenal, pointing out that it has already greatly boosted tourism and investment -stating that the deal proved to be value for money for the country.
President Kagame was not alone in celebrating the Arsenal win. Malawi’s new President Lazarus Chakwera also took to the micro-blogging site to congratulate the London club.
“It feels great to see the Arsenal winning, a sweet victory snatched from the jaws of defeat, my favorite kind,” the Malawian leader tweeted.
