Wemberley, Wemberley, we’re the famous Arsenal and we’re going Wemberley.
Except we are not really.
The tram might be playing there, but there will be no fans. And without fans football is nothing.
Instead I will be in my garden, few lads round, BBQ & beers watching the game the tele.
Right now I would probably be heading to a cafe to eat my only meal of the day. RODI’s near Blackhorse Road station tends to be the pre-Wembley stop. Full tank.
Although I’ve just seen it is now under new ownership and has gone from old school greasy spoon to new, trendy cafe that serves croissants and oat porridge instead of bacon, sausage, egg and beans.
Then it would be on to the White Swan on Highbury corner. Good old Wetherspoons. Cheap booze. Quick service. Can’t beat it.
London Overground to West Hampstead. Piss down Billy Fury Way. Off licence for a can before jumping on the Jubilee line to Wembley.
Watch Arsenal win then off to the Blue Check for some post games beers, before getting back down to Highbury for a few more in the Famous Cock.
12 hours of drinking with some of the best people on earth. And today we are missing it.
Will require a big effort tonight to win the game. But we have done it before.
In 2017 we beat Manchester City in the semi-final 2-1.
City lead following a goal from Sergio Aguero, before Nacho Monreal got the equaliser. Alexis Sanchez won the game in extra-time.
We then beat Chelsea in the final.
Wherever you watch it tonight, however with, enjoy yourself. Don’t be gripped by the fear of Covid19 or defeat.
For over 2 decades we start the season with a chance to win 4 trophies.
The Premier League, the FA Cup, the League Cup and a European trophy. Not being in Europe drops our chance of winning a trophy by 25%.
There is also talk about not having the League Cup next year. Suddenly without Europe and the League Cup we only have 2 shots at a trophy.
Taking into account we are a long way from being competitive in the League, we could be left with just one realistic shot at a trophy next season – The FA Cup. And that does not start until January.
No European tour
There is little better in football than away trips to Europe.
Rocking up to some random city, a few hundred of you, taking over a pub and getting on the beer for two days. The football is actually secondary.
Whether it is Cologne or Liege, Munich or Milan, Paris or Baku, the memories created abroad following The Arsenal are untouchable.
When you go away following your club, you understand why England has such a huge away following amongst lower league teams.
Following their country is their equivalent of European football.
Not having a European away day to look forward to as winter draws in will be a huge miss.
Squad
Teams in Europe build a squad based on playing 50+ games a season.
They can afford to have 2 top players I every position, knowing that there will be more than enough games to go around for everyone.
The problem you get is when you have no European football, there are then less games to go around.
Arsenal could play as few as 39 games next season if the League Cup is cancelled.
You are not going to keep a squad of 25 engaged if you only have 39 games to spread between them. It will result in players not playing, which in itself leads to unhappiness.
In 2018/19, 15 players played over 30 games, 18 played over 20 games.
The Europa League has also been a fantastic breeding ground for young players.
It has given a chance to the likes of Gabriel Martinelli Bukayo Saka, Joe Willock, Eddie Nketiah and Riess Nelson.
We might lost Florian Balogun this summer as the youngster is concerned about lack of first team opportunities. No European football takes away a competition that he would have got some game time in.
Financial
Whilst the Europa League might not have the riches of the Champions League, Arsenal still received £34million in broadcasting review in 2018/19 from playing in Europe.
That same year we played 8 home games in Europe. Match day revenue was £96million – with 31 home games.
On average Arsenal make £3million per home game. With 8 less games, that would potentially by £24million in lost match day revenue.
Europa League tickets tend to be at a reduced price and not sold out – so the real revenue for Europe League games would be closer to £1.5million a game. In 2018/19, the Europa League would have generated Arsenal around £12million in gate receipts.
So that is £34million in broadcasting money, £12million in match day revenue.
Missing out on European football will cost the club around £46million in revenue.
(3-4-3) Emiliano Martínez; Rob Holding, David Luiz, Kieran Tierney; Cédric Soares; Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka, Reiss Nelson; Bukayo Saka, Nicolas Pépé, Alexandre Lacazette.
Substitutes: Hector Bellerin, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Dani Ceballos, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Shkodran Mustafi, Joe Willock, Sead Kolašinac, Matt Macey.
Scorers: Alexandre Lacazette (32 mins), Reiss Nelson (43 mins)
Yellow Cards: Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka, Dani Ceballos
Arsenal Possession Percentage: 31%
Referee: Paul Tierney
Attendance: A maximum of 300 attendees due to UK government coronavirus restructions
Is there ever a good time to play the Premiership champions elect? No, Not really. Hang on! Is there ever a good time to play Liverpool? No, not really. After the disastrous defensive display last Sunday in the North London derby, assertiveness and concentration will be the order of the day today. Any which way you look at it, this will be a difficult contest tonight, make no mistake about it.
The most exciting thing to happen in the first five minutes was the sound of fireworks from outside of the stadium; other than that it was a rather sluggish start to an end-of-season Premiership game. Our midfield started to look more solid with Lucas Torreira committing himself to important tackles on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane, but soon the visitors started to assert themselves with Roberto Firmino hitting the post with a clearance from Emiliano Martínez that rebounded off his leg. The visitors started to push the ball around in our half more confidently, with our chaps struggling to break out; although we were doing well in holding Liverpool, the inevitable came in the nineteenth minute when Sadio Mane ran in between Rob Holding and David Luiz to score from just outside the six-yard box after a pinpoint cross from Andy Robertson. After the drinks break, the visitors merely continued where they left off with closing down our midfield and using their full-backs to get behind our defence to fire crosses in to their strikers at will. After half an hour, Alexandre Lacazette capitalised on a poor pass from Virgil van Dijk, went round the Liverpool goalie and equalised with a superb close finish. Now we have a contest! The visitors were knocked off their stride with our goal, and we started to play with purpose. Cédric Soares was being first to the tackle now, and Kieran Tierney was playing with confidence winning balls and spraying passes up the pitch. With two minutes to go before the break, young Reiss Nelson received a cross from Alexandre Lacazette (who picked up the ball after a schoolboy error from Andy Robertson) and slotted the ball into the corner to put us into the lead for half-time.
Within a minute of the restart, Lucas Torreira received a yellow card for a late challenge on Trent Alexander-Arnold, and he himself got the same punishment from referee Paul Tierney when he felled Bukayo Saka a minute or so later. Now it was Liverpool’s turn to apply pressure, with one or two chances that tested our defenders, but despite some troubled moments, the defence held firm. Emiliano Martínez tipped a Mo Salah attempt ovr the bar, whilst Lucas Torreira, Alexandre Lacazette and Reiss Nelson were replaced by Dani Ceballos, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Joe Willock to sharpen things up after fifty-eight minutes. The visitors started to apply pressure down the middle of the pitch, and although scoring chances were created, the Arsenal defence held firm. With the amount of pressure that Liverpool were putting us under, it is a case of all hands to the pumps, and the best that we can hope for now is a “smash’n’grab” raid. Cédric Soares was replaced by Ainsley Maitland-Niles with fifteen minutes of the match remaining, and Granit Xhaka was booked for an unfortunate slide tackle that was worse than it actually looked. With five minutes left, Bukayo Saka was replaced by Sead Kolašinac, and Emiliano Martínez was absolutely heroic in our goal, keeping out some intensive Liverpool shots; with a minute left, Joe Willock was unlucky not to score when he blasted a shot over the visitors’ bar from fairly close range. An excellent Emiliano Martínez save kept us in the driving seat, but the sands of time were running out for the visitors, as we ended up the winners tonight by two goals to one.
Absolutely no two ways about it, there’s nothing like a win (especially against the Premiership champions) to put a smile back on our faces, especially after Sunday’sresult. And with thirty-one percent possession too. The confidence these three points will give us going into Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City is incalculable, and it shows us that when the chips are down, this squad of players can deliver. Wembley here we come! Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as this season is going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. Our next match: Manchester City at Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London HA9 0WS on Saturday 18th July at 7.45pm (FA Cup). Victoria Concordia Crescit.
Steve
Too Dearly Loved To Be Forgotten: Arsenal v Racing Club de Paris 1930-1962 by Steve Ingless (Rangemore Publications, ISBN 978-1-5272-0135-4) is now available on Amazon.
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 