So UEFA have apparently informed leagues that “null and void” is off the table. That a final league table must be produced to satisfy European placing.

What are the options?

Completing the season

The Premier League are pushing to complete the season behind closed doors. This is the best way to keep the integrity of the game.

Premier League rules are clear on what a season is:

C.1. Each Club shall play two League Matches against each other Club each Season, being the Home Club in respect of one such League Match and the Visiting Club in respect of the other.

C.4. The position of Clubs in the table shall be determined by the number of points scored in that Season, the Club having scored the highest number of points being at the top of the table and the Club having scored the lowest number of points being at the bottom.

Any other way of completing the season goes directly against the Premier League’s own rules. Rules which every club agrees to before each season begins.

The problem the Premier League faces is if they finish the season without every team playing every other team home and away, they will face legal challenges.

But completing the season will not be easy.

For a start, it must be completed by the 30^th of June.

June 30^th is important as this is when players contracts expire; and on July 1st^, players that have agreed to join a new club become official players.

So games played beyond June 30^th will exclude players whose contracts have expired. The likes of Willian, Jan Vertonghen, David Silva, Ryan Fraser, Adam Lallana, Olivier Giroud and Pedro.

A resolution would not be simple. These players have contracts. UEFA (or the Premier League) could not simply say “we are extending every players contract by 1 month”.

For a contract to be valid their must be an offer and an agreement. A player would be in their right to turn down the contract.

There is also a problem for those players who have agreed to join a new club.

They would have signed contracts with that new club beginning of 1^st July. So after 30^th June, their contract with their current club would not be valid.

Why would a player agree to a temporary contract to remain at his current club if his new contract is at double the salary?

Then you have incoming players. Hakim Ziyech for Example.

Ziyech has agreed to join Chelsea from 1^st July. If the season goes beyond July, would he be eligible to play?

The answer is yes (at the moment).

From 1^st July, the player will be contracted with Chelsea, and the club would have submitted a valid registration to UEFA (or FIFA?).

The only rule that would stop him playing would be if he has already played for 2 different clubs in the same season. Ziyech would fall outside of this as he has only have played for Ajax. Chelsea would be his second club.

Any move by UEFA to bloke him from playing would see a legal challenge similar to that of the Bosman ruling. It would be a restriction of trade.

So we could be in a scenario where games played beyond June  involve sides that have different squads to what we have now.

Imagine the scenario where Arsenal complete a deal for Thomas Partey and he drives the club forward into the Champions League. Would that be fair?

Health is also a major issue.

Government on self-isolation will remain for some time.

Players and staff will be tested daily. This will mean positive tests for COVD19 even when there are no symptoms. In turn this will result in the individual player, and those who they have been in close contact with being self-isolated.

Remember Arsenal’s game against Manchester City was postponed due to Arsenal players being in self-isolation.

So let’s say Arsenal play Watford on a Saturday. On Sunday Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tests positive for Covid19. That would mean most Arsenal players would have to self-isolate for 7 days.

With the Premier League hoping to play 3 games a week, that would be 3 games Arsenal would be without key players for.

Do the Premier League suspend the game (the match v Man City set a precedent), or do they treat the virus like any other illness and instruct Arsenal fulfil the fixture with players who are not self-isolating.

Watford players would also likely have to self-isolate for 7 days, as they all would have been in close contact with Aubameyang.

And we have not even begun players having to return to training to get fit for the remaining games – the earliest this could be is the 11^th May.

Players will need a couple of weeks to get fully fit. So it is likely all games would have to be played in June to complete the season. A logistical nightmare.

Completing all games is the only way fair way to get final league table. But there are so many factors to be taken into account.

From players contracts through to how the league reacts to an outbreak in a club. Can they really fit 9 games into June?

Points per game

If the season can not be completed, the Premier League ‘s 2^nd choice is points per game.

This would see Arsenal move above Tottenham into 8^th, Sheffield United move above Wolves into 5^th.

If they also used it for relegation, it would see no change in the bottom 3.

But is this fair?

You could have a scenario at the top where Chelsea, in 4^th, have a tough last 9 games of the season, whilst Arsenal in 10^th have a relatively easy run in.

Arsenal finishing 4^th is not impossible.

Likewise at the bottom Aston Villa have a game in hand on those teams above them. Win that and they would be 16^th.

Arsenal also have a game in hand on many of those above them. A 3-0 win could see Arsenal move up into 6^th place.

How can you have a league table based on current average points when 1 win either way could have big changes in the final league?

Points per game would go completely against the integrity of the competition.

Play-Offs

UEFA’s preferred option is to have play-offs for European places.

You could take the league table as it is now and take the bottom 6 and have them play off for relegation.

Brighton in 15^th are only 2 points ahead o Bournemouth in 18^th, whilst they are 5 points behind Southampton in 14^th.

It would be fair to assume that those from Brighton down are in the relegation battle.

Brighton (15^th) v Norwich (20^th); West Ham (16^th) v Aston Villa (19^th) and so on.

Have one off games – no home and away – with the team higher playing at home. Whoever wins stays up. Whoever loses go down.

That leaves the top 14 in the league. There are 7 European places (4 Champions League, 3 Europa League).

You repeat the process with Liverpool (1^st) at home to Southampton (14^th), Manchester City (2^nd) at home to Newcastle (13^th) and so on with Sheffield United (7^th) at home to Tottenham the final fixture).

A one off fixture then establishes who is in Europe next season.

At this point you will know the 7 teams that will be in Europe next season.

The best way to then work out who should be in the Champions League and who in the Europa League would be a 2^nd round of play-off games.

The highest ranked team in the league that has won their play off gets a bye into the Champions League – with the remaining 6 teams playing a one-off game to decide the other 3 Champions League teams.

The remaining 6 teams would play each other in the same way the original play-offs where scheduled. The highest ranking team left would play the lowest, with the highest playing at home.

The winners would be in the Champions League, the losers in the Europa League.

This is probably the fairest way to assign European positions as

• Higher ranked teams get the advantage of playing lower ranked teams and;
• Higher ranked teams have home advantage

It would also mean that clubs would only need to full fill 2 fixtures to complete the season.

The Football League could also follow a similar format to decide promotion and relegation down to League 2.

The problem with a play off is it could result with Liverpool, who have already qualified for the Champions League, not making Europe.

Imagine the scenario where Liverpool are beaten at home by Southampton. Would it be fair for them to not be in Europe? Likewise Manchester City and Leicester City are 12 and 8 points ahead of Manchester United in 5^th place.

Manchester City would face Newcastle and Leicester City face Everton. Everton beating Leicester City would not be a huge shock.

Burnley (10^th) are not in a race for a Champions League place. But then Arsenal (9^th) up are.

Is it really fair that teams who do not even have a hope of a Europa League spot with 9 games to go then enter a play off where 2 victories would see them in the Champions League?

If Southampton won their next 2 games, they would be 10^th at best, not 4^th.

Reducing a 38 game season to 2 games does not feel right, especially for the likes of Leicester City, Sheffield United and Wolves who have battled so well this season to be 3^rd, 6^th and 7^th.

Play-offs would not give a “final league table” but would resolve, promotion, relegation and who is in Europe

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UEFA and domestic leagues face head aches. No matter how they decide to finish the season, someone will lose out, and there will be legal challenges = and that includes even if the season is made null and void.

Keenos

It was always going to be Mesut Ozil wasn’t it?

If one player was to go against the grain and reject Arsenal’s request of a 12.% pay cut, it was going to be the German. He was always going to be the one who would give the media the headlines, and the fans something extra to attack him with.

But perhaps we need to spend a little bit of time understanding Ozil’s position.

For a start, Ozil is a huge donator to charity:

• Last year that the Arsenal playmaker paid for 1,000 vital operations for children across the world
• Paid £240,000 to fund operations for sick children in Brazil
• Fed 100,000 homeless people at 16 refugee camps in Turkey and Syria
• Works with UK charity Ray of Sunshine who grant wishes to seriously ill children

On top of the headline stuff, he also often takes the time to meet and greet disabled fans at the stadium and recently sent a lot of kit and boots to a village in Kenya.

For Ozil, he has not needed a global pandemic to do something charitable. He has given throughout his career.

To great headlines, Premier League players made their first contribution to NHS Charities Together last week. They raised £4million.

Footballers have been widely praised for this initiative. But with the Premier League yearly wage bill being north of £1.5bn, their donation amounts to 0.26% of the total annual salaries players receive. Not even an average days pay.

I fully understand why many players were not willing to get involved in the drive to raise funds for the NHS when many of them already donate millions a year to causes across the globe.

The situation at Arsenal is not about players raising money for the NHS. It is players taking a pay cut to ensure the club does not run into financial hardship.

In the past, I have been critical of players seemingly being happy to hide. To take their full wages regardless of what damage it might do to the employer. That it almost felt like they would be happy if their employer could not longer pay them so that they could seek a move elsewhere – for free due to breach of contract.

I went as far as saying that Arsenal players that refuse to take a wage cut to save the club should never play for the club again. And I still believe that.

But I also understand when a player, whether that be Mesut Ozil or someone else, wants further clarification as to why they need to take a pay cut.

Players want to ensure that any pay cut is to ensure the future of their employer. Not just to save their employer a few quid.

Another key question they are asking is “what is the owner doing?”

Stan Kroenke has reportedly guaranteed to pump a significant amount, which will run into millions, into Arsenal to soften the blow of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now if I was a player, I would be questioning what the form of this cash injection is.

If it is a loan, which is the most likely, I would be asking why the owner gets his money back (probably with interest) whilst the loss the players make will be permanent.

A player (or his agent) should be demanding Kroenke “inject cash” under the same terms that players are taking a pay cut. That if Arsenal do get Champions League football, he gets the money back. If Arsenal get no Champions League football, he writes off the debt.

At the moment, it seems like players are expected to take a hit. A pay cut which they may never receive the funds back from, whilst the owner will inject money into the club, but over time that money will be repaid to him.

Ozil is perfectly in his right to hold off agreeing to the pay cut whilst awaiting clarification for any concerns he has.

What should not happen is players take the burden of the financial loss. Their wage reduction should not relieve Kroenke of his obligation to the club. Kroenke should be injecting money into the club alongside the players taking a hit.

The players taking a pay cut ensures Arsenal continues to operate. That in turns ensures that the value of the club remains high, and therefore Kroenke’s investment does not drop. He will benefit hugely from Arsenal players taking a pay cut. And that is why he should also contribute, and importantly on the same terms.

It is very easy to jump on the Ozil bashing bandwagon, but think about your own job.

Would you be happy your employer asking you to take a pay cut to save your job, whilst the millionaire (or in Kroenke’s case billionaire) owner of the company does nothing?

If Kroenke injects money into the club, and Ozil still refuses to take a pay cut, he should never play for Arsenal again. But for now, lets not paint Ozil as a greedy Premier League footballer.

Ozil has not needed a pandemic to be charitable. He just wants clarification as to how exactly a wage cut will help the club.

Keenos

Questions

History

1) What was Arsenal tube station originally called?
2) What area of London did Dial Square played their first match on 11 December 1886 against Eastern Wanderers?
3) What season did we 1st play a European game?
4) What year was the East Stand officially opened?
5) We won the title in 1952/53 by goal adv, what was the winning margin?
6) The Busby babes last game in England was Vs us, what was the score?
7) After 53yrs the club changed its crest to the new cartoon one, what season did they start using it?
8) On November 14, 1934 Arsenal provide seven of England’s starting XI for a friendly Vs who?
9) Which Scottish team, until fairly recently held shares in The Arsenal?
10) Whose bust used to stand in the West Stand?

Transfers

1) Who joined Arsenal from Corinthians in 2001?
2) Who joined Arsenal from AC Milan in 1996?
3) Which 2 players joined Arsenal from Newcastle in 1976?
4) Which 2 players joined Arsenal from Stoke in 1988?
5) Who joined Arsenal from Celtic in 1983? 
6) Who joined Arsenal from Southampton in 1984?
7) Who joined Arsenal from Everton in 2001?
8) Who joined Arsenal from Chelsea in 1966?
9) Who joined Arsenal from Southampton in 1934?
10)Who joined Arsenal from Valencia in 2016?

Debuts

1) Which centre back scored on his Arsenal debut in the first game of the 2009-10 season?
2) Which player made his Arsenal debut in the 8-2 debacle against Manchester United in August 2011?
3) Patrick Vieira made his debut in September 1996 against Sheffield Wednesday, but who scored a hat-trick for Arsenal that day? 
4) In 1976, Bristol City’s Paul Cheesly scored the only goal of the game, upstaging which Arsenal strikers debut? 
5) In 2013 Arsenal scholar Alfred Mugabo made his full International debut despite not having played a first team game for Arsenal or any other team. Which country did he play for?
6) Aged 35 years and 7 days in December 1946, who is the oldest player to make his Arsenal debut?
7) Which player made his first team debut for Arsenal 15 years after playing his first game for Arsenal’s reserve team?
8) Graham Stack, Gael Clichy, Cesc Fabregas, Jerome Thomas, Ryan Smith, Quincy Owusu-Abeyie and John Spicer all made their debut in a League Cup game in 2003 against Rotherham that was decided on penalties. What was the score of the penalty shoot-out? 
9) What was special about the day 5 players made their Arsenal debut in an FA Cup game against Leyton in 1896?
10) In his first game in charge as Arsenal’s caretaker-manager, which player did Don Howe give his debut to? 

Goal Keepers

1) Who has the record for most clean sheets in a season?
2) Which keeper won titles for Arsenal in 3 different decades?
3) What two goal keepers have won the Premier League golden glove?
4) Jens Lehmann is Arsenal’s oldest Premier League player. How old was he is his final game?
5) Which keeper conceded the most goals in a single season? 
6) What was Petr Cech’s shirt number when he first joined Arsenal?
7) 3 goal keepers played 10 league games in the 2001/02 season. Which keeper played the least?
8) John Lukic had 2 spells at Arsenal, but who did he play for from 1990 – 1996?
9) What is Bob Wilson’s middle name?
10) What did Jack Kelsey rub on his gloves before every match to help the ball stick?

Scottish / Irish / Welsh players

1) Where was David O’leary born? 
2) who was born in Dublin on 13 February 1956?
3) Which Welsh man was born 26 December 1990 in Caerphilly?
4) which NI international player then coach was born in Belfast on 17 March 1949?
5) Which NI International once Mooned the North Bank? 
6) Which Ireland International scored 75 goals before moving to Manchester United?
7) Which Welsh keeper ran the club shop after retirement?
8) English born Bob Wilson won 2 caps for which nation?
9) What 6ft 3 defender was born on 25 November 1951 in Edinburgh?
10) what Glaswegian defender was born28 December 1939? 

I also played for…

1) Ajax, Inter Milan, West Bromwich Albion, Portsmouth –
2) Cannes, Manchester City, Istanbul Basksehir –
3) Atlético Mineiro, Panathinikos, Gremio –
4) Bolton Wanderers, Bournemouth, West Ham United – 
5) Pescara, Sampdoria –
6) Zenit Saint Petersburg, Kuban Krasnodar, Kairat – 
7) Fulham, Luton Town, Newcastle United, Djurgårdens IF –
8) Lorient, Freiburg, Charlton Athletic, Valencia –
9) Brondby, Hamburg, Herfølge Boldklub –
10) Auxerre, Marseille –

Invincibles

1) We only failed to beat 2 teams in the league that season- Man Utd was one team. Who was the other?
2) What position did Spurs finish that season?
3) Who was the only player to start all 38 league games? 
4) How many league goals did Thierry Henry score that season?
5) Martin Keown famously scraped his 10 league appearances to get his medal. How many league games did he start?
6) Which ex-Arsenal player scored against us in the last game of the season?  
7) Who scored in both league games vs Spurs that season?
8) How many league goals did we score vs Leeds that season?
9) Shirt numbers – add up the total shirt numbers of Kolo Toure, Edu and Patrick Vieira?
10) How many league points did we end up with?

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Answers

History

1) What was Arsenal tube station originally called? Gillespie Road
2) What area of London did Dial Square played their first match on 11 December 1886 against Eastern Wanderers? Isle of Dogs
3) What season did we 1st play a European game? 1963–64 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
4) What year was the East Stand officially opened? 1936 (24th October)
5) We won the title in 1952/53 by goal adv, what was the winning margin? 0.099
6) The Busby Babes last game in England was Vs us, what was the score? We lost 5-4
7) After 53yrs the club changed its crest to the new cartoon one, what season did they start using it? 2002/03
8) On November 14, 1934 Arsenal provide seven of England’s starting XI for a friendly Vs who? Italy
9) Which Scottish team, until fairly recently held shares in The Arsenal? Glasgow Rangers
10) Whose bust used to stand in the west stand? Claude Waterlow Ferrier (was a Scottish architect who designed East and West stands, who sadly died before they were completed)

Transfers

1) Who joined Arsenal from Corinthians in 2001? Edu
2) Who joined Arsenal from AC Milan in 1996? Patrick Vieira
3) Which 2 players joined Arsenal from Newcastle in 1976? Malcolm Macdonald and Pat Howard
4) Which 2 players joined Arsenal from Stoke in 1988? Lee Dixon and Steve Bould
5) Who joined Arsenal from Celtic in 1983? Charlie Nicholas
6) Who joined Arsenal from Southampton in 1984? Steve Williams
7) Who joined Arsenal from Everton in 2001? Francis Jeffers
8) Who joined Arsenal from Chelsea in 1966? George Graham
9) Who joined Arsenal from Southampton in 1934? Ted Drake
10)Who joined Arsenal from Valencia in 2016? Shokdran Mustafi

Debuts

1) Which centre back scored on his Arsenal debut in the first game of the 2009-10 season? Thomas Vermaelen
2) Which player made his Arsenal debut in the 8-2 debacle against Manchester United in August 2011? Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
3) Patrick Vieira made his debut in September 1996 against Sheffield Wednesday, but who scored a hat-trick for Arsenal that day? Ian Wright
4) In 1976, Bristol City’s Paul Cheesly scored the only goal of the game, upstaging which Arsenal strikers debut? Malcolm Macdonald
5) In 2013 Arsenal scholar Alfred Mugabo made his full International debut despite not having played a first team game for Arsenal or any other team. Which country did he play for? Rwanda
6) Aged 35 years and 7 days in December 1946, who is the oldest player to make his Arsenal debut? Ronnie Rooke
7) Which player made his first team debut for Arsenal 15 years after playing his first game for Arsenal’s reserve team? Charlie Buchan – He played four games for Arsenal’s reserves in 1909-10 but didn’t make his first team debut until signing from Sunderland in 1925.
8) Graham Stack, Gael Clichy, Cesc Fabregas, Jerome Thomas, Ryan Smith, Quincy Owusu-Abeyie and John Spicer all made their debut in a League Cup game in 2003 against Rotherham that was decided on penalties. What was the score of the penalty shoot-out? 9-8 to Arsenal.
9) What was special about the day 5 players made their Arsenal debut in an FA Cup game against Leyton in 1896? Arsenal played two first team games on the same day (the reserves beat Leyton 5-0 while the first team were hammered 0-8 at Loughborough)
10) In his first game in charge as Arsenal’s caretaker-manager, which player did Don Howe give his debut to? David Cork

Goal Keepers

1) Who has the record for most clean sheets in a season? David Seaman (26 – 93/94)
2) Which keeper won titles for Arsenal in 3 different decades? George Swinton (1937/38, 1947/48, 1952/53)
3) What two goal keepers have won the Premier League golden glove? Wojciech Szczęsny & Petr Cech
4) Jens Lehmann is Arsenal’s oldest Premier League player. How old was he is his final game? 41-years-old
5) Which keeper conceded the most goals in a single season? Wojciech Szczęsny (57 – 11/12)
6) What was Petr Cech’s shirt number when he first joined Arsenal? 33
7) 3 goal keepers played 10 league games in the 2001/02 season. Which keeper played the least? Stuart Taylor (10)
8) John Lukic had 2 spells at Arsenal, but who did he play for from 1990 – 1996? Leeds United
9) What is Bob Wilson’s middle name? Primrose
10) What did Jack Kelsey rub on his gloves before every match to help the ball stick? Chewing gum

Scottish / Irish / Welsh players

1) Where was David O’leary born? Stoke Newington
2) who was born in Dublin on 13 February 1956? Liam Brady
3) Which Welsh man was born 26 December 1990 in Caerphilly? Aaron Ramsey
4) which NI international player then coach was born in Belfast on 17 March 1949? Pat Rice
5) Which NI International once Mooned the North Bank? Samuel Nelson
6) Which Ireland International scored 75 goals before moving to Manchester United? Frank Stapleton
7) Which Welsh keeper ran the club shop after retirement? Jack Kelsey
8) English born Bob Wilson won 2 caps for which nation? Scotland
9) What 6ft 3 defender was born on 25 November 1951 in Edinburgh? Willie Young
10) what Glaswegian defender was born28 December 1939? Frank Mclintock

I also played for…

1) Ajax, Inter Milan, West Bromwich Albion, Portsmouth – Kanu
2) Cannes, Manchester City, Istanbul Basksehir – Gael Clichy
3) Atlético Mineiro, Panathinikos, Gremio – Gilberto Silva
4) Bolton Wanderers, Bournemouth, West Ham United – Jack Wilshere
5) Pescara, Sampdoria – Lucas Torreira
6) Zenit Saint Petersburg, Kuban Krasnodar, Kairat – Andrey Arshavin
7) Fulham, Luton Town, Newcastle United, Djurgårdens IF – Malcolm Macdonald
8) Lorient, Freiburg, Charlton Athletic, Valencia – Francis Coquelin
9) Brondby, Hamburg, Herfølge Boldklub – John Jenson
10) Auxerre, Marseille – Abou Diaby

Invincibles

1) We only failed to beat 2 teams in the league that season- Man Utd was one team. Who was the other? Portsmouth
2) What position did Spurs finish that season? 14th
3) Who was the only player to start all 38 league games? Jens Lehmann
4) How many league goals did Thierry Henry score that season? 30
5) Martin Keown famously scraped his 10 league appearances to get his medal. How many league games did he start? 3
6) Which ex-Arsenal player scored against us in the last game of the season? Paul Dickov
7) Who scored in both league games vs Spurs that season? Robert Pires
8) How many league goals did we score vs Leeds that season? 9
9) Shirt numbers – add up the total shirt numbers of Kolo Toure, Edu and Patrick Vieira? = 28 + 17 + 4 = 49.
10) How many league points did we end up with? 90

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