Aaron Ramsdale

I have never seen someone get so much stick from Arsenal fans prior to joining. Well maybe Willian.

There were some fans who just did not understand why we were signing a young English keeper from recently relegated Sheffield United.

But those in the know – the Sheffield United fans – told us what to expect.

Most were expecting Ramsdale to play second fiddle to Bernd Leno this season and take the number 1 jersey from him next. But he has quickly established himself as first choice.

Commanding in the air and great with the ball at his feet. Two things Leno is poor at. His shot stopping is also excellent.

We may well have found our number 1 for the next decade.

Ben White

Coming with a huge price tag, and a name that rhymes with a naughty word which means “not very good”, Ben White was always going to be in for some criticism.

He started poorly against Brentford and was then ruled out of the Manchester City and Chelsea hammerings due to Covid.

Missing those games probably worked in his favour as White would have taken the brunt of the criticism had he played – even if he had not done much wrong.

He returned against Norwich and then performed brilliantly under the high ball against Burnley.

Against Spurs he raised his game another level.

Alongside Gabriel you can see a real partnership beginning to flourish

It will take a while for people to stop talking about his price tag; but the more top performances he puts in the less frequent those snide comments will become.

Takehiro Tomiyasu

Man of the match against Tottenham.

The Japanese right backs performances have been key to Arsenal looking a lot more solid in recent weeks.

He has yet to be dribbled past this season, is strong in the air and is a fantastic reader of the game.

We have gone from the right hand side being a weakness to it becoming impenetrable.

The scary thing is at 22, Tomiyasu is still young enough to get even better.

Martin Odegaard

Having been on loan last season, we know the sort of player we were getting in Odegaard.

He really knits the front 4 together with his versatility and movement. Always ready to receive the ball across the 3 behind the striker.

What he also brings is a tremendous work rate which is key for Arteta’s pressing plan.

Pierre Emerick Aubameyang can chase down defenders and the keeper knowing Odegaard will be behind him backing up. Filling the space.

He does need to add more goals and assists to his game; but that will hopefully happen as Arsenal pick up momentum.

A good signing.

Albert Sambi Lokonga

The young central midfielder has certainly been impressive in his fleeting displays this season.

One of the few shining lights during those first 3 games of the season without a win – starting against both Brentford and Chelsea.

He was very impressive against AFC Wimbledon in the League Cup and it will be good to see him get another run out against Leeds United.

Lokonga has been a good option to come of the bench in games adding power in the middle of the park as well as extra height when defending corners.

Still just 21-years-old; he will become a top player.

Nuno Tavares

We have not seen much of the young left back – 2 starts in the League Cup and a couple late of substitute appearances in the Premier League. But what we have seen has shown he is an able deputy to Kieran Tierney.

Bringing him on against Tottenham to play in front of Tierney was a good managerial move by Arteta; and one we will probably see more times this season.

No complaints.

Keenos

Integrity of the league

The biggest argument against a 39^th game or having matches abroad is it damages the integrity of the league.

A league concept is simple. 19 home games. 19 away games. Fair and simple for all.

Now once you start taking one of those games abroad, you create a league where everything is not equal.

Lets look at Brighton v Arsenal as an example.

Since returning to the Premier League, Brighton’s record at home to Arsenal reads: P 4 W 2 D 1 L 1. It is a decent record.

Now let’s say that game is taken abroad to New York.

Suddenly it goes from a home game that Brighton have a very good record in, to an away game where 95% of fans in the stadium will be supporting Arsenal. This is clearly unfair.

It would also mean that Brighton end up playing 20 away games and 18 home games in their season.

If they get relegated by a single point, with the team finishing 17^th playing 19 home and 19 away (as they were supposed to be away for their game abroad), how is this fair?

Fans abroad deserve a chance to see proper games

No one is stopping them “seeing proper games”.

They can get a membership, buy a ticket, book a hotel, jump on a flight and visit London.

“But they might not be able to afford that”.

Well life is not fair. There are mans fans that live in Islington, on the Cally or Packington Estates, that can not afford to go to games.

No one has a good given right to something.

Whether it is owning your own home, having a nice car, going abroad on holidays. Life is littered with examples of those that can afford to do certain things and those that can not.

It is their choice to have started to support a club hundreds or thousands of miles away. They decided to support Arsenal, Liverpool or Manchester United over a local team.

And ultimately, overseas fans can go to see proper games. They could rock up at their local club. Pay their Bhat, Dollar or Lira and watch a proper game.

Do overseas fans want it?

The Premier League is hugely popular across the globe. But it is a global fan base.

Just because they introduce games abroad, does not mean games will go to your country or even region.

So a fan in Delhi might still never get to see an Arsenal game if Arsenal are never scheduled to play in the city.

Even if the Arsenal game is scheduled in Mumbai – that is 1415km away. They are still unlikely to go.

It is going to have to have so many stars align for the club you support to be playing in your region.

And what games do they want?

Manchester United v Arsenal sells out no matter what city it is in.

But does Burnley v Norwich City?

Because if games are going abroad, it can not just be 1 or 2 games, it will have to be a whole round of games.

Would there really be a demand for 2 smaller clubs playing each other?

On Monday it was the A23 Derby as Crystal Palace faced Brighton. It is the biggest game of the season for both teams. But there would be zero interest from fans abroad.

Neither club has a particularly big global fan base. The game would barely sell out a small stadium abroad.

So you end up having to split up the “big 6” and ensuring that they are perhaps playing the 6 smallest clubs in the league to ensure games sell out.

But then that does not really have the huge draw does it?

If having games abroad is to generate income, then you would want the biggest teams playing each other in the biggest stadiums.

You want Manchester United v Arsenal, not Arsenal v Burnley.

In conclusion

Overseas games is not a new concept. It has been floated around for the last 30 years. There are reasons why they have not happened. The majority of which are detailed here.

If clubs want to continue growing their overseas fan base, they do so through working with overseas supporters clubs.

So many oversees supporters clubs already do a great job bringing fans together. Creating their own experience.

Clubs need to promote and support these groups to ensure they keep doing it. Advertising what they are doing to reach more fans. Set up similar initatives in regions where it is not currently happen.

Help local supporters clubs create a unique experience for fans in New York, Lagos or Sydney. One they can experience every single game rather than take a “roadshow” to their city once every 10 years or so…

A lot can be done to ensure clubs build links with overseas fans and continue to spread the message. Taking “proper games” abroad will only do more damage to the relationships with local fans. And does not really solve anything.

Keenos

Safe Standing

It has always baffled me why safe standing has not existed for decades.

I appreciate the incident at Hillsborough – and other grounds – where over crowding caused a huge catastrophe and numerous more near misses. But standing was never really the problem.

The issue was always more than just fans standing.

It was too uncontrolled standing which led to too many fans being in a single area. And it was those fences. Caging fans in like animals. Add in poor ground organisation and police herding fans into grounds like cattle.

Football is a very different place now to the 80s. And has been for a long time.

Grounds are now “ticket only” with only the lower leagues offering pay-on-the-gate.

Fans have their allocated seat, capacities are capped, and there are no fences between fans and the pitch.

I have been standing in away ends for over a decade and it has never felt unsafe or over crowded.

It is actually safer to have safe standing sections, with the specific rail seats rather than having fans stand in front of regular seats.

A number of clubs have been pushing for safe standing for numerous years. Sadly Arsenal have not been one of them.

When Tottenham built their new ground, they specifically designated a safe standing area.

Wolves were the first to install the rail seating and have been followed by other clubs including the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool.

It is sad that Arsenal seem to show no interest in safe standing. They could easily make the entire North Bank end safe to stand in.

They could have a one year of moving seats where anyone in the area who did not want to stand would be moved elsewhere in the stadium, and those elsewhere who want to stand being able to replace them.

For example I sit in block 3. I would be interested in standing so would apply to move to that area. My seat would then be swapped with someone in that area who does not want to stand.

Same price. No issues.

Safe standing actually slightly reduces capacities, and there is a cost associated with installing the new seats. And this is probably why Arsenal are reluctant to implement the changes.

We know our club does not really care about match going fans, and the main focus is on maximising revenue.

From their point of view, spending money on something that generates less money than the existing set up makes zero sense. And from a business point of view they are right.

But football clubs need to be more then a business.

Owners should be custodians of the club doing what benefits the most important group of fans – the match going fans. And if that means spending a couple of million installing safe standing which loses the club a couple of million a year. Well it is not really a big deal.

It is brilliant that standing at football is returning. But I fear Arsenal will never implement it.

Arsenal beer mats still available #Arsenal #ArsenalFC #afc https://t.co/zn8hEh76Df pic.twitter.com/gleJK6GuJ3

— Kick Off Merchants (@KOMerchants) August 19, 2021

Drinking in the stand

Like with the lack of standing, not being able to drink in the view of the pitch has always been a bit silly.

Again, it all comes from the fall-out of Hillsborough.

Fans were labelled as drunken louts and it led to a lot of restrictions post-the disaster.

But numerous investigations and reports have highlighted bigger issues in football grounds at the time beyond just fan behaviour.

It is too easy for the press to label football fans in a poor light. That fans like me who like a beer are booze-fuelled thugs. This is simply not the case.

At rugby, at cricket, you can drink.

I drink more at cricket than I do at football. At England India at the Oval the other week I do not remember the final sessions play.

Bottle of vodka, bottle of gin and a lot of beer was consumed over the days play.

90 minutes of football limits how much a supporter will drink in the ground.

If they are going to end up drunk and disorderly, it will be due to how much they have consumed before entering the ground – not what they have drunk inside.

By drinking in view of the pitch, you are having one, maybe 2 more beers. If that. It really is not a big issue.

What I would do if drinking in your seat was re-introduced is still have the bars shut between 5 minutes before kick off and 35 minutes.

That then limits people getting up and down throughout the game to get another beer.

So you grab your beer before kick off. That does the job for the first half and you are not interrupting the flow of the crowd 20 minutes in to grab yourself and your mate a second one.

Twickenham has a huge problem with what they label a “flowing crowd” where people are constantly in and our grabbing a beer. For me this is not helpful to the atmosphere and will damage peoples enjoyment of the game.

Let us drink in the stands, but ensure that people going backwards and forwards during the 90 minutes is limited.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments…

Keenos