It’s been an interesting few months to be a Lincoln City fan, but for right winger Nathan Arnold it has perhaps been a little more eventful than most.
Nathan had a storming campaign for City, one of the highlights came as he rounded the keeper in the famous FA Cup 3rd round win over Ipswich. Right up until the end of the season he was still in the thick of the action, but as the challenge of winning the title was realised, Nathan faced a challenge of his own. Fresh from scoring that vital last-minute winner against Gateshead he publicly opened up about his struggle with anxiety.
His voice encouraged many others to confront their own issues, and a recent workshop attended by 60 people was a great success. Anxiety sufferers from all walks of life came together to listen to his experiences, and share their own with a view to getting over their issues.
“When I first suffered with what I believed to have been anxiety, I was uneducated on how our thoughts control our feelings. I let my mind wander and that’s what caused me to feel the way I did.” said Nathan as we chatted about his summer experiences.
“I let things build up, my emotions and feelings just spilled over and out of control. It all stemmed from the grieving process of losing my mum. However, I had the mental toughness to leave my problems at home and carry on playing football which was my release mechanism. Through help and support I was able to deal with my issues, and I remember waking up one morning thinking ‘I’ve got to help other people with this’. It seemed the right thing to do, I had received so many messages from people in a similar situation.”
Nathan isn’t just a front man for the campaign though, he ran the first session himself. He presented it, directed it and despite occasionally falling out with technology, he conducted it perfectly. It was a fearless move from a man whom had showed one side of his bravery on the pitch, and an entirely different side off it.
That event is being followed up this Sunday with a session by renowned NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) practitioner Philip Underwood. It was Philip who helped Nathan understand that rather than being an illness, anxiety is simply a thought process that, with the right training, you can learn to control.
“I don’t believe that what I suffered was an ‘illness’, and I don’t think anxiety sufferers should feel that way either. It’s an ineffective way of thinking. I had a response to certain triggers that I didn’t challenge and it led me to feel a certain way. Philip has been brilliant in helping me understand and deal with it, and I want to do the same for other people.”
Whilst the work with anxiety sufferers will go on, Nathan now feels he is in a position to truly concentrate on his football as well.
“We’ve started down a pathway of helping a lot of anxiety sufferers and we’ll continue to do that. I’m also a footballer though, and I’m committed to helping push on with Lincoln City. Last season we achieved great things, and the goal I scored against Gateshead felt like a big thank you to fans for their support. They really made me feel welcome, despite being a former Grimsby player! I’m only 30-years old and I’m in the best condition I’ve ever been in”
Nathan certainly seems to be improving every season. His haul of 13 goals in our Championship season was his best tally of his career, and added to his 14 assists it was arguably his best-ever season as a professional footballer. He’s now focused and prepared for the new season. He’s acutely aware that the next generation are coming through, but he is far from done.
“I’m 30 years old this month and in football people’s perception is that once you reach this age your legs are going or you are less valuable in the market. They’re right to some degree because nobody wants to sign a player of this age. It’s like buying a Rolls Royce that’s done 200,000 miles, you don’t know what you’re going to get from it, you could get another 6 years out of the car along with another 80,000 miles or it could break down and be worth nothing. One thing I can guarantee is that my lifestyle allows me to remain fit and healthy. I give myself every chance of playing right through my thirties because I don’t drink and I don’t party. I’m always working out, eating the right foods and looking for ways to get better as a player and a person.”
With a goal against Lincoln United a fortnight ago already opening his account, it looks like being a big season for the likeable wide man. He does look in incredible shape as well, and a solid outing against Peterborough on Saturday only served to highlight his determination to carry on his scintillating form from the last campaign. He has competition though with three new wingers joining the squad, but Nathan revealed in pre-season he isn’t letting anyone get the better of him.
“I scored the highest in the Yo-Yo test and scored the highest in ‘who can do the most pull ups’ as well! I’m at a really good place in my life with my mind, body, and spirit. I just can’t wait to get this season started and pick up where I left off.”
If there’s more moments like the perfectly executed turn and volley against Gateshead then we’re going to be in for a special season. Whilst the pre-season saw lots of comings and goings, Nathan had nothing to be concerned about. He has this season to run on his current contract and so he could relax this summer. He concentrated on helping anxiety sufferers, doing coaching badges and he even found time for a holiday in Jamaica! While he filled his summer wisely, Danny got on with shaping the new-look squad. There’s a lot of new faces at the club, but Nathan revealed the feeling in the camp is just as good as ever.
“Any new player that steps foot in the building at Lincoln City this summer will instantly feel and smell the ambition of this football club. Winning has become a habit, it doesn’t matter what level of football you play, you’re a product of your environment and Lincoln under the Cowleys don’t know anything but how to win games of football.”
It is an incredibly exciting time to be an Imp, and amongst all the promising young talent we’re nurturing you must always have experienced senior professionals in the playing squad for others to look up to and learn from. In Nathan Arnold we have a player to be admired on the pitch, and a man to be admired off it.
I’ve got to know Nathan relatively well after working with him on the anxiety event, and I got a different vibe off him chatting this weekend as I did at the end of last season. This has been a cathartic summer for him, a summer which he has used to focus after a tough time personally. One thing that always strikes me though is his determination and his mental focus, but there is even more of that evident than ever before. Whilst he was suffering last season he was still able to turn on that brilliance, the turn of pace or unpredictable run that created so many issues for the opposition. There is so much more to Nathan though, he is a man who faces adversity differently, and a man who is eager to use his experiences for the better, not only for others but for himself as well.
“I’m in familiar territory right now where people may write me off, but I thrive on the odds being stacked against me because I’ve had it my whole life. I am determined to prove I still have plenty more miles on the clock and an awful lot to offer. I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been, especially now that I have an understanding of biology through the NLP masters degree I’m currently doing and I’m understanding how our mind and body work congruently. Knowledge is power and I have that in abundance now so I go into the new season set free and raring to go. Along the way I feel it’s my duty to serve others who have suffered similar to myself, there’s no point me having all this knowledge and take it to the grave with me. I believe I was chosen to help others, God puts us in the most isolated positions ever to get our attention. My hardships are for a reason, I know it serves a purpose and that there’s something way greater attached to it. Please don’t feel sorry for me or see this whole process as a sign of weakness. It’s me, regardless of egos or pride I’m just a player that’s wired a little differently to other footballers and I have no shame in being perceived to being different or strange. I’m unique.”
Chatting with him this weekend there was an incredible resilience and strength to him that I hadn’t seen before. He’s opened himself up to the world and clearly become a much stronger person for it. He clearly takes a great amount of personal pride in helping those who have been brave enough to hold their hands up and confess to experiencing anxiety, and he recognises he is intrinsically different to other players. Amidst all of the new faces you would still expect him to be one of the first names on the team sheet, and with this fresh perspective he could surprise people and be even better this season than last.
Over and above all else Nathan is an athlete, he is a man in the best shape of his career, a man thriving under the Cowley regime and loving life in red and white. Whilst all the talk recently has been of Michael Bostwick and Harry Anderson, we still have a man in our squad who was integral to everything we achieved last season. A man who scored crucial goals, provided many assists, and worked tirelessly on the training pitch, not only with younger players but also to improve himself. Maybe two decades ago a man hitting 30 would be nearing the end of his career, but these days it is still a players peak. Fitness, diet, recovery and sport science reign supreme and he embraces all of that to ensure he is still playing the very best football he can well into his thirties, and maybe beyond.
Nathan captured the hearts of fans last season with some gutsy displays, and the two headline goals might be the most memorable but he was consistent in everything he did. For a former Grimsby player to win fans approval so quickly was a testament to his ability. Last season he was our marquee signing, the big name that got people wondering what we might achieve, and he’s still on the Lincoln Loco looking to have the same input and effect. His song starts ‘Nathan Arnold was a cod’, but now even Nathan Arnold himself admits he’s fallen in love with our football club.
“I believe I’m part of Lincoln’s DNA now. I carry myself with pride, I know who and what I represent and that’s my driving force.”
I can’t think of a better quote to end the interview on. Here’s to many more years of him representing our club on the pitch and in the community.
Phillip Underwood is Premier league when it comes to helping others move forward.