Kevin Whitcher
It was a win fashioned in Germany, with goals from Mustafi (from an Ozil free-kick), and former Dortmund players Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan. It was a peek into an Arsenal future, where the most significant influence on the squad will be that of Sven Mislintat, the new head of scouting, himself from Dortmund.
It was a good open game, quite enjoyable given there was no tension involved. Arsenal are not going to finish below 7th and are highly unlikely to climb up to fourth. So the Europa League next season it is, barring victory in said competition this May in Lyon. That there was nothing on this game was reflected in the physical attendance, which I’d put around the 36,000 mark. This in spite of the win on Thursday night in Milan lifting Arsenal spirits. There is an argument that Mother’s Day impacted on attendance, but if so, it’s the first time I have ever heard that argument. Were Arsenal challenging for the title, I suspect the stayaways would have served mum breakfast in bed and managed to make the game… or take her out for an evening meal.
The reality is that this is apathy, and it doesn’t do the Arsenal brand any favours, even if you could make out the white cannon in the seats of the East Lower, so sparse was the occupancy there. Stoke, Southampton and West Ham will see a similar amount of no-shows, people cannot even give their seats away. I think we’ll see a near to full house for the Burnley match because there is a belief it will be Arsene Wenger’s final home match as Arsenal manager. We can only hope.
Milan on Thursday should see a better attendance, given the game has some genuine meaning unlike what are effectively Premier League friendlies being played by the Gunners at the moment. The players are relaxed now and can play their football without any stress. There are not going to be any pitch invasions or protests at the board in the style of West Ham. Arsenal fans make their point by simply not giving the club the time of day and leaving their paid for empty seat to do the talking for them. It’s an irony that the crowds for the last three home matches (Ostersunds, Man City and yesterday) could have fitted into the old Highbury Stadium in 2006 with its 38,500 capacity. It’s the modern day version of the 1966 match against Leeds that saw a crowd of under 5,000 and a bonfire on the North Bank. People are staying away in droves.
There is a plan to turn this around though. A Fan’s Forum meeting was held before the game yesterday and Ivan Gazidis pointedly refused to back the manager as he has done so often in the past. He opened the meeting by stating, “It wouldn’t be right for me to talk about the manager today, it wouldn’t be respectful to Arsene Wenger. I hope you understand.” If he was going to back the manager, that would have been respectful, no? So his decision not to address the subject stating respectfulness spoke volumes. Or maybe not. You can take it as a coded message if you wish to. Looking for a chink of light, that is exactly what your writer is doing, and the appointments of the aforementioned Mislintat and Raul Sanllehi (who also attended the forum alongside the CEO) certainly point to a Wenger-free Arsenal future. Apparently the appointment of Per Mertesacker to the head of the youth department was not a Wenger decision either. Given that is an appointment looking to the future, why would it be? Although his best playing days are well behind him now, Mertesacker is a good club man who does seem to ‘get’ Arsenal. So personality-wise, it is a good appointment. The fruit of his labours will determine his ability as a developer of players.
So back to the match, and yes, German-developed efficiency going forward produced the three goals that secured the win, although Ozil should also have been on the scoresheet. However, with a nod to Thursday, the watching Milan scout would have been encouraged by the number of decent opportunities Watford enjoyed in the first half, as well as the missed penalty at 2-0. On that note, those that did attend will have felt like they witnessed a moment of history akin to John Jensen scoring for Arsenal. Petr Cech saved a penalty! I wonder how many were present at both the Jensen game and yesterday’s? It was after all something like 23 years ago.
Arsene Wenger rested a few players ahead of Thursday – Ramsey, Bellerin and Koscielny all sat the game out, and Jack Wilshere was on the bench. I wonder if we might see three at the back against Milan, to ensure against away goals? There’s no question that up front the team are a weaker proposition without Aubameyang. Danny Welbeck is a hard worker, but he doesn’t score enough. Only one of yesterday’s goals did not have significant input from the number 14, although the team managed just fine without him in the San Siro. Mkhitaryan is certainly beginning to resemble the player so highly rated when at Dortmund, although in fairness he did contribute significantly to Manchester United’s Europa League campaign last season.
Troy Deeney was the pantomime villain and played his part by failing to score from the spot, but in truth, this result could have gone the other way, and Watford have a pretty decent record against Arsenal in recent seasons. No matter, it’s points that count and that is where this season has gone badly wrong. We should be thankful that at least the team are picking three up after a horrendous sequence. Will it re-instil confidence? Maybe, but things still look very fragile. You feel the team are a conceded goal away from the next crisis at the moment.
A word on a couple of the players that came in. Mohammed Elneny looked very tidy and seems a decent link man, although I’d like to see him under a different coach to see if he can become more dominant in the midfield. Ainsley Maitland-Niles had a very good game and is really progressing well. The club may well consider selling Hector Bellerin if they do need to raise funds to buy scouted targets, and it’s not inconceivable that AMN could be his replacement in the starting eleven.
In the short term though, Bellerin will surely start on Thursday if fit for selection, and this season is now all about the Europa League. Premier League matches will simply be used to keep players fresh assuming Arsenal do make the last eight. Let’s hope for a decent crowd for the second leg against Milan.
In case you have missed it, the campaign to keep The Gooner going beyond the end of the current season was launched at the start of 2018. Please check it out if you did not see it then, or simply download this form for all the details.
The current issue of The Gooner went on sale recently and can be bought on your approach to the stadium at home matches. The issue can also be bought online here for £3.60 including postage. The price is higher if you are outside the UK due to the extra postage costs.
Alternatively, you can simply pay £3.60 (postage included) (or £6 for a two issue UK subscription which gets you all the remaining issues before we (possibly) cease publication at the end of the current season) via online bank transfer to –
Account name: The Gooner
Sort Code: 20-76-90
Account Number: 03004112
Please follow up the payment with an email to [email protected] stating your name and address, ideally with proof of payment such as a screen grab or pdf, or at least the reference that you used for payment (e.g. 270Smith). If the payment was made from an account with a different name, definitely inform us so we can match the received payment.
If you want to buy a two issue subscription to receive the current edition, you can subscribe through the Gooner’s online store here (or here for Europe and here for the Rest of the World)
Other subscription options are available including next season’s issues (if we do continue – we will refund any payments made for next season if we do not reach our target of 1000 subscribers). The list of all subscription options can be seen on this page
You also can bypass the online store by simply making a PayPal payment to the email address [email protected]. Pay either £3.60 or £6 for a two issue subscription. If doing this, please make your payment a 'friends and family' / personal gift payment – this helps keep our costs down. (Overseas buyers add £2 per individual issue for Europe or £3 per issue for the rest of the world. Two issue subscription costs are £10 for Europe and £12 for the rest of the world).
Finally, you can pay by cheque made payable to ‘The Gooner’ to the address below, for either an individual issue (UK £3.60) or a two issue subscription (UK £6) (see above for overseas prices)…
The Gooner
12 Buxton Court
Hanbury Drive
London
E11 1GB
DIGITAL ISSUES
The Gooner is also available in digital form, through The Gooner App on iPhones and iPads, the Exactly App for Android devices and now Kindle Fire owners can also get their fix by searching the Amazon App Store for The Gooner.
You can also subscribe at www.exacteditions.com and read it through your internet browser as well as receiving a code which will enable you to access issues on all the above devices.
