Kevin Whitcher
So Fenerbahce have been banned from Europe, the morning after the night before. Hopefully, someone could enlighten me as to what would have happened if they had won the tie against Arsenal? Would Arsenal have taken their place in the group stage? Would another Turkish side?
I received an email earlier today from season ticket holder Steve Andrews, who wrote - Do you feel we should protest to Arsenal to stop us forfeiting one of our 7 cup game credits and for others to be refunded following Fenerbahce being chucked out of the Champions League. The club then chase up the money off of UEFA for allowing this to be sorted after we have all given up time and money to watch a game that would not of counted if we had lost..
I get a lot of emails from people using the verb to of. I was never taught it in school, but Steve emails from a public school email address, where they charge £13k a year to non-boarders. I have no idea whether he is teaching English grammar or not, but the English language has certainly changed since my flirtation with the education system. But I digress. The game would have counted if a Turkish side replaced Fenerbahce in the group stage, although there would certainly be protests from Arsenal then. However, they are simply going to count the money and deduct one cup credit on the grounds that the game was meaningful when it was played. It’s all in the timing.
Many season ticket holders decided against actually taking up their seats for this one. The game was live on free to air TV, most regarded it as a formality, and a few are doubtless still on holiday. So no great surprise to see many an empty seat. However, what was more interesting was the announcement of an attendance of 59,000. Granted, we know this figure is based on tickets sold, but to these eyes there seemed a hell of a lot more than 1,500 empty seats in the south upper – all seats sold on a match by match basis. I am happy for the club to announce numbers of seats sold, but would welcome an actual attendance figure. However, such honesty is viewed as bad PR at the club – the idea that people will pay for a seat but not be sufficiently motivated to actually use it does not reflect well on the product on offer. Of course, fans that cannot make the game can sell their seat through the ticket exchange system, but that does not kick in until the club have sold all of their seats. The bottom line is that they could not find 12,000 silver or red members who were interested in attending, and I assume police restrictions prohibited the game going on general sale.
As for the football, no huge upset. Things might have become interesting if the visitors had gone ahead in the game at any point, and they were certainly a far better prospect to do that than in the first leg. The keeper and the woodwork were both tested, and fair play to Fenerbahce for making a fist of it, and indeed their fans for backing their team in spite of the circumstances.
However, Arsenal were more clinical, and Aaron Ramsey is having a decent season so far with the exception of that opening Premier League game, where no-one in an Arsenal shirt really did themselves any credit. Although the game lacked real tension, there was some good football, and a reminder that in defence, greater focus is required. Better attacks will make more of the opportunities enjoyed against the Gunners last night.
The talk in the transfer market now is of Real Madrid buying Bale and Suarez, followed by the offloading of Ozil, Di Maria and Benzema. Di Maria the most likely to come to Arsenal. Behind the scenes, one hopes that the confirmation of Mathieu Flamini is not all that is going on with regard to the defensive needs of the squad. Given that Podolski and The Ox are both out for the time being, Di Maria would make sense and undoubtedly strengthen the attacking options. However, I am not sure what the plan is if Olivier Giroud gets injured, suspended or runs out of steam. Is it Yaya Sanogo? Benzema would be a solution of sorts, but I have never been 100% convinced by him. Ozil is a great player, but in terms of creative midfielders, Cazorla, Wilshere and Rosicky are the existing options, so we are not crying out in that department. Still, if Wenger signed all three of the Real rejects, it would safely account for the vast majority of the transfer budget. And ensure plenty of goals at both ends of the park. Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle circa 1996 anyone? That would certainly put bums back on seats…
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