Kevin Whitcher
I’d estimate you could have fitted the actual physical attendance at Arsenal’s match against Sunderland last night into the old all-seater Highbury (that’s 38,500) with some empty seats still remaining. The numbers were even lower than the game against Leicester three weeks before. Fans were voting with their feet. They want to see something different.
Arsene Wenger’s view on the empty seats was that, “It is Tuesday night.” I wonder what his thinking will be on Sunday, when my guess is that there will be at least 10,000 stayaways. More to the point, if Arsenal were playing Real Madrid in the second leg of a Champions League semi-final, or even playing Sunderland with the chance to overhaul Chelsea for top spot in the Premier League, does he think people would not be able to make it to the stadium for a game on a Tuesday evening?
Apparently, it didn't look good on television. And last night will have weakened Wenger’s bargaining power when it comes to the negotiations on an extension. One of four things will happen.
1. Wenger will be forced to accept changes as Ivan Gazidis is trying to move the club forward into the modern era, and remain.
2. The board will decide enough’s enough and tell the manager his time is up.
3. Wenger will refuse to accept changes and Kroenke will back him, with Gazidis departing elsewhere, giving up on any hope of the club making the necessary progress in its footballing organization and personnel.
4. Wenger will refuse to accept changes and Kroenke will back Gazidis, meaning a new manager.
The smart money is on option 3, but no-one knows. One thing that has not happened as yet is any signing of a contract that the club are too timid to announce in advance of season ticket renewals. Still, at least they are preparing for life in the Europa League, with a suggested drop in season ticket prices to reflect the lower standard of opposition the club will be facing in Europe, and a proliferation of Thursday night – Sunday afternoon/Monday night matches. I bet you just can’t wait. Empty season ticket seats will become far more common, reflecting that people have enough cash not to relinquish their place in the stadium, but simply aren’t interested in watching Arsenal under Wenger. It’s become too predictable, with only the odd domestic knockout trophy to savour.
The game last night was actually fairly entertaining in terms of goalmouth action. Jordan Pickford gave good reason to be picked up if the club are in pursuit of a new keeper, kept busy throughout. Petr Cech was also called into action more often than he’d have liked. Gibbs and Ramsey returned to the starting eleven in place of the injured Koscielny and Coquelin, to give the line-up a more attacking feel than at Stoke. No goals before the interval, and symbolically, John Hawley, a terrible striker from the early 1980s, was the half-time guest.
News that Manchester City were disappearing over the horizon in terms of goal difference filtered through as they broke West Brom’s resistance, although a late goal for Tony Pulis’ team might prove significant if City lose at Watford and Arsenal beat Everton by a few goals. Alexis Sanchez certainly has reason to get amongst the goals on Sunday. The two he scored in the second half which gave his side the win puts him one behind Romelu Lukaku in the race for the Golden Boot. Shame he is likely to be away in the summer, but there you go – the guy is a winner and wants to play in a team that has more chance of competing.
His first goal in the 72nd minute was a thing of beauty. Granit Xhaka’s distribution was one of the highlights of the evening, and he picked out Ozil with a measured chip, the German centering from wide to give Sanchez a tap in. The second followed as the game entered its final ten minutes, the Chilean converting a Giroud volley across the face of the goal.
It was an interesting atmosphere, the crowd that did attend making more noise than we often hear at more populated matches. Which kind of symbolizes the divide. Having said that, there were plenty there that were uncommitted. People given free tickets by workmates and the like. The heavens opened in the second half at 0-0 and the goals followed, before full time and calm after the storm. It kind of reflects the apathy after the anger of recent weeks. People have got used to the idea of another failed season and have kind of given up even being bothered about it. The FA Cup Final is a rainbow after being metaphorically p***ed on by Bayern Munich and various Premier League opposition.
Over 20,000 season ticket holders chose not to come because they presumably want to watch something different. The Tuesday evening scheduling is not a reason. People will turn up if there is something they want to watch. The challenge facing the directors is to do something that will bring back the buzz and excitement about the club. It’s more important they retain Alexis Sanchez (and add further players of that quality) than Arsene Wenger in that respect, but one fears that come August, the wrong one will have departed. Enjoy the Chilean while you can…
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