Kevin Whitcher
It was a shambles reminiscent of an Arsene Wenger coached defence in recent north London derbies. Emmanuel Eboue may not have been on Arsenal’s pre-season tour of the far east, but was there any need to give him the keys to the Arsenal TV production suite?
As PR own goals go, Arsenal are the market leaders. A manager who dismisses the opinions of those who pay his wages because they haven’t worked half a day in football. A chairman who brands the club’s shareholding supporters as “silly people making stupid comments” when they have the temerity to express disappointment at the way the 2010-11 season turned out. Making thousands of members wait 45 minutes to access the stadium on ‘Members’ Day’. And now the brave new world of Arsenal player. To soften the blow of the 6.5% ticket price rises, members were told they would have free access to what is effectively Arsenal TV Online under a different name.
So, many thousands would have settled down to watch the first pre-season friendly yesterday afternoon at 1.45, loudly trailed as exclusive to Arsenal Player. And guess what… that’s right. A blank screen. Nada. Zilch. A black void bigger than even the space between a Squillaci/Koscielny central defensive partnership. Not even a tantalizing glimpse of whatever colour Alex Song’s beard is these days.
It sent fans scrambling for a pirate feed, and I was fortunate enough to find one from an Asian TV station, although I can’t say which country in that part of the world it was from. However, the commentator’s excitability provided a drama of its own. There is little point in assessing performances in this game. The opposition would have been spanked by Arsenal’s traditional first friendly of the season opponents Barnet (apparently there has been some fall out between the clubs, and Barnet will now be playing Tottenham!). It wasn’t exactly testing, although it was nice to see some goals. Two things to point out. If Denilson wasn’t injured, his removal from the fray after only 20 minutes of football instead of the younger Emmanuel Frimpong spoke volumes. Having said what he said during the close season, one can’t imagine he is in the manager’s good books, so hopefully we won’t see anything of him when the real thing starts. He did manage to put his defence in trouble in the short time he was on the pitch.
And Carlos Vela showed why it’s better to wait until a player is 21 (Javier Hernandez anyone?) to sign him and just pay a bit more money than think you’ve snapped up a bargain at 16 years old. Good goal, sure, but the number 11 should have scored a hat-trick without needing to try.
The Arsenal player feed finally kicked into life with the game over half an hour old. The better picture quality than the pirate feed demonstrated that Arsenal are not Manchester United in terms of appeal in this part of the world. And having ignored it for over a decade at a time when the team was actually packed with winning superstars, no wonder. Chances are when Liverpool play here on Saturday the stadium will be far more populated, because the Anfield club have made more positive efforts to address this part of the world. Ultimately, though, aside from the pre-season tours that have finally been foisted on a stubborn manager, what garners fans abroad is consistent success. And that is the challenge that lies ahead.
As for the transfer market, having seen the way the club have operated in summers past, fans are understandably concerned. I know a few season ticket holders who were waiting for a statement of intent in the market, a big signing, before renewing. They have decided to watch next season’s matches in the pub instead. If Fabregas is going to be let go, I would have liked to see the club bidding for someone of the stature of Wesley Sneijder. Replace world class with world class. The Nasri situation is interesting. The manager will look foolish after this week’s proclamations if he does sell the player, but realistically, he has no choice. There is no way he is going to renew his contract unless Arsenal rip up their wage structure, and is he likely to perform to the maximum of his capabilities as the clock winds down on his time at the club next season? It’s a no brainer. If he is allowed to walk away for nothing next summer, where is the ‘efficiency of spend’ that Ivan Gazidis goes on about? Take the money now. Accept £20 million. Hopefully Wenger’s words are just bluster.
Fabregas is going (as if he still has a hamstring strain after all this time) and Nasri has to be sold as he sure ain’t signing up for more. What the club need to do is replace them with players of equivalent stature. And I am not talking about Gervinho. You could make an argument that the progression of Jack Wilshere partly compensates for the loss of Fabregas, but at least one proven top notch signing is required. I could live with the idea of Van Persie taking on the Fabregas’ role if someone of the ilk of Benzema arrived, although with the Dutchman’s injury record, I’d prefer not to rely on him. And that doesn’t even touch on a defence that is badly in need of bolstering.
Still, all this stuff is bloody obvious. The CEO promised us it would be a very busy summer of ins and outs. That would be Carl Jenkinson, Gervinho and Gael Clichy. Gazidis’ Q&A with AISA members at their AGM on August 8th could prove interesting. I certainly expect changes in the staff who administer the Arsenal player service, but I’d be even keener to see some in the Arsenal players’ pool. It goes without saying that extending this idea to the coaching set up at the club is pie in the sky. It hasn’t even started, but this could turn out to be a very long season…
Last season’s final issue of The Gooner can be bought online here.
