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

She Wore

Football clubs have become an easy target for criticism during the COVID-19 crisis.

Whilst many column inches have been written about clubs furloughing non-playing staff and players turning down pay cuts, not much has been written about the good clubs are doing within their community.

We sat down with Arsenal’s Supporters Liaison Officer Mark Brindle to discuss what the club are doing for Islington and beyond during the pandemic.

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Q) Hi Mark, thank you for taking the time to take part in this, hope the families well. How has your daily working life changed?

No problem, the family is all well thankfully and hope that all The Gooners out there are staying well and safe as well.

Highbury House is shut which means I am currently working from home.

Unfortunately the working from home regime has meant that personally I have not been able to get as ‘hands on’ with our community programme being run out of the hub, but I have been trying to keep in touch personally with as many supporters as possible both individually and through various blogs and podcasts etc.

The club are in regular contact with us all; including daily calls on Microsoft Teams which have been very re-assuring for all.

One thing I am not particularly missing is the daily commute that takes nearly 2 hrs each way on a good day, although I am missing my colleagues at Highbury House and being in and around the stadium on a daily basis.

Q) With all of Highbury House closed down how have you found the communications between staff at the club?

Really good. We have daily calls where all our team get together and there are regular newsletters from the club 3 or 4 times a week plus we have a Monday conference with Vinai, Raul and Mikel.

This is really great as no questions are off the agenda and the executive team have been very clear and concise with there answers. Obviously we all read the same rumours that everyone does on social media and what I would say is that fans should take most if not all of them with a pinch of salt.

Q) How have you found your role of Supporters Liaison Officer (SLO) changing over the last month?

In a ‘normal’ season a lot of the work I do revolves around match days and planning for them be it home or away.

The suspension of the season has reduced the day to day tasks but it has enabled me to get on with some longer term projects revolving around not only match day but also looking to further develop our international and domestic supporters clubs and working with Box office on a few plans with regard to ticketing.

Alongside the longer term plans I now have more time to connect with supporters both individually and collectively.

Q) You are a regular face on the away day coaches. These are often used by senior fans who you see every other week. How are you staying in touch with them?

Basically calling them and trying to help with any issues. We have a great bunch of fans who travel to every away game on the coaches,

I don’t think they will mind me saying that many of them are of a senior nature (including myself) but they are there every single game and therefore I think there is a large chance that they will be missing their trips a great deal and I hope by staying in contact the club are helping if only in a small way.

Q) How have the club redeployed staff to help with The Arsenal Foundation and Arsenal in the Community?

The Community Team have been magnificent in this crisis and the Foundation have been massively supporting their efforts.

We have all been tasked with helping as much as we can and my main focus has been to use the contact base within supporters organisations to help solve any individual problems. Yesterday I was dealing with a request for a cab driver to help one of our regulars on the away coaches get to her workplace where she helps produce hand-sanitiser.

The club will be rolling out more initiatives in the coming weeks and the plan is for other departments to get further involved to help.

Q) Football clubs have had a lot of bad press during the COVID-19 crisis. A lot of what clubs are doing to help their local communities has not been reported. What have Arsenal been doing for Islington residents?

I do think that football clubs are something of an easy target. Discussing the matter with my opposite numbers at various clubs it is clear that all clubs are making a huge effort to help their local communities and further afield as well.

At the Arsenal we have lots of initiatives going on which include:

• 100k for local charities
• 50k to Islington Givings Crisis Fund
• Club Cars to help frontline NHS staff
• Staff volunteers to drive NHS staff
• Local School and pupil referral unit support
• Digital resources for primary schools
• BTEC tutors giving classes remotely
• Regular contact for vulnerable youngsters
• Remote coaching for life in Jordan and Indonesia

I think most people would have read about the more headline grabbing delivery of meals to the community over the last few days as well and I know that yesterday some of the community guys were running bottles of water up to the Whittington Hospital for the NHS workers up there, a small gesture in the big scheme of things but one that was welcomed.

Q) Theres always been a strong link with Whittington Hospital and Arsenal. What is the club doing to help the NHS?

I’m getting in a habit of answering one question in advance here!

Q) You have been the driving force in the very successful Food bank days at home games, how are they doing? And is the club assisting there too right now?

Firstly let me say that it is very much a team effort with regard to Foodbanks but it is an initiative I really love.

Sadly we were due to have another drive for the Easter holiday at a game so that had to be cancelled. However once we are back we will be working with Islington Foodbank once again and hopefully making it even bigger and better.

You guys have been great in promoting and supporting the Foodbank idea and my impression is that it was gaining momentum with more supporters hearing about it, etc and if we keep spreading the word it can only get stronger.

If we can get just half of the crowd to bring one item to the designated match then we would have 30,000 items to distribute, it’s a target but not an impossible one I believe.

Q) It sounds like Arsenal and Islington Council are working well together to support the community. Is it frustrating that this good work takes second place to the negative headlines in the media?

It can be, but hopefully if we keep getting the word out through people like yourselves then we can counteract what the mis-informed have to say.

Maybe I am a bit naïve but I truly think that Gooners around the world know that when it comes down to it our club will always support its local community in every way it can.

The club is a lot bigger these days but the core principles set down way back in the mists of time in the Woolwich days still hold true. I think at this time the old motto of ‘victory through harmony’ is even more appropriate than ever, if we work together (and we will) through this worrying time then we can come back even stronger in the months and years to come.

Q) Is there anything else positive that the club is doing that you can share with us?

There will be more to come in the next few weeks.

Please stay safe and well and I look forward to the day when we are all back at the Emirates and cheering the lads on once again. Come to think of it maybe we should have a big party to celebrate when the time comes!

She Wore