With the debate surrounding the recent postponements in the Premier League, all the focus has been on the clubs’ ability to stage the match. Is the pitch playable? Are the terraces safe? Are the roads around the stadium passable? And so on. Virtually every ‘expert’ and pundit I have heard voice an opinion on the matter has strongly questioned why the games are being postponed, when all clubs possess some form of undersoil heating or similar.

Many have also used the ‘nanny state’ argument, suggesting that responsible adults should be free to choose whether or not they wish to brave the elements, and attend the match. On the surface it is hard to disagree with this point of view, but I feel that many factors relevant to the modern game have been overlooked.

The freedom of choice argument appears to be based on a time before the Premier League was in existence, and supporters used to turn up and pay at the turnstile. For Arsenal, and I suspect all the other Premiership clubs, admission to the games is by advance ticket only. In Arsenal’s case this means buying your ticket up to two months before the match. With your hard earned cash already in the bank, the decision to play the match is far easier as there will be no financial loss at the turnstile.

The other key factor is where the supporters live. I travel up from the south coast for every game, and I am far from alone. The trains are packed with supporters from many clubs, suggesting that a significant proportion of the crowd do not live within walking distance of their team’s ground. I also commute to London for work, and I knew the state of the transport system on Wednesday was shocking. I could not get to work, and had already decided not to attend the Bolton match. I suspect I was not alone. There was almost no possibility of getting to London, and even less chance of getting home afterwards.

As anyone who lives in Kent, Sussex and Hampshire will confirm, the snowfall was significantly higher in these counties than in the capital. I’m sure people who live north of London will have a similar story. I don’t want to ignite the ‘real fans live close to the ground’ debate, but if you look back through history, you will find some of Arsenal’s walk up attendances to be less than spectacular, especially when the team were on a bad run, or the weather was bad. The difference today is a 30,000 crowd at the match, and 60,000 ticket sales money in the bank.

The desire to play the Bolton game at almost any cost is a smack in the face for people who have paid their money, and bought tickets for the match. It shows that the desire to avoid a fixture pile up is greater than the desire to respect the fans, who are, after all, only the lifeblood of the club. With everyone being a member of one colour or another, the club could have easily seen how many had no chance of making the game. I wonder if the people who didn’t make the game – had it had gone ahead - would have been offered refunds for their wasted ticket?

Like it or not the Premiership is a global brand, and teams like Arsenal will attract fans from far and wide. They are no longer a club for the Islington community alone. If anyone at the club thought that 60,000 ticketholders could have attended the Bolton game, given the travel disruption reported on every news bulletin, they were severely deluded.

This way of thinking also extended to the Everton game. After much deliberation and checking of weather forecasts and travel updates, I decided to go. I managed to get there, albeit 10 minutes after kick off. I was fortunate to get there at all, and my journey time was significantly longer in both directions. It was obvious from the empty seats that many people chose not to risk it. If I did not already have a ticket, and had the option to pay at the turnstile, I would have joined them in staying at home, with my £50 still in my pocket.

To win the Premiership will be a great achievement, but let’s not do it at the expense of the very people whose unstinting support has made it possible.