Arsenal’s chief, Ivan Gazidis, recently spoke about the future of gay footballers.

Arsenal is one of the only Premier League clubs to truly embrace the LGBT+ community.

Gazidis believes that there will be openly gay footballers within the next five years. Speaking to Pride and Prejudice, an LGBT forum, the chief said he’s “absolutely convinced that in five years time we will have openly gay players.”

He continued, “Sport’s such an interesting space. It’s a tremendously competitive environment, and if you close yourself off to any section of society, you’re not being competitive.

“We as a club have a responsibility to make a public statement about what our values are.”

While I admire Gazidis’ optimism and would love to believe him, I still think there’s a long, long way to go before gay footballers will feel comfortable enough to come out. In the Premier League, at least. Cruel jibes from the crowd would be the least of their worries. Violence against gay people is still a massive issue and getting attacked is a very real possibility.

168025347 arsenals greek south african chief executive gettyimages
Arsenal’s Greek – South African Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis looks on before the English Premier League football match between Queens Park Rangers and Arsenal at Loftus Road in London on May 4, 2013. (GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images)

His wording about remaining competitive also grates a little as that shouldn’t be the main reason why people should come out.

One day, I hope that we can live in a world where any sportsperson can come out and feel totally comfortable. However, I don’t think we’ll see that for a long time. Certainly not in five years.