The Fans Return…

 

Arsenal 4 Rapid Vienna 1

Europa League Matchday Five

Thursday 3rd December 2020, 8pm

You can’t argue with Arsenal’s consistency in this competition so far in a very unusual season. They have won their last four matches by a margin of three goals, either 3-0 or 4-1. The latter scoreline was the result the last time that the club entertained European opposition – Molde – at the Emirates. It’s good to get these wins under the belt, good to give a run out for non-first team starters, but a reflection of the huge gap in quality between the Premier League and the majority of other top flight divisions on the continent. 

Still, the big story of last night was obviously the return of the paying public to an Arsenal home match. There was a scramble for tickets for this one. Now if you’d told me a year ago that would be the case for a Thursday night Europa League group game in December, I’d have questioned your sanity. How times change. Still, think on this. If you think Arsenal fans were desperate to get one of the 2,000 tickets to see last night’s game, imagine what Spurs fans went through in their desire to secure a seat for Sunday’s derby game at the Lane. Of course, there will be no away fans present, but it is a move towards football as we used to know it. 

It wasn’t as easy as it should have been. I know people who bought more than one seat who were not emailed more than one e-ticket because the track and trace system did not allow for more than the lead member's details to be returned, so there is some fine tuning to be done there. One thing looks certain – as long as the current restrictions remain, touts will be having a lean time. So there is an upside to this. 

I tried to buy two tickets for this match, as my normal neighbour at home matches, the Highbury Spy, was desperate to go. I could only get one, so he used it. There will be other chances, and although the novelty of the occasion had some appeal, ultimately, the Spy’s keenness to attend made the decision easy. So watching it on TV as normal, it certainly looked a lot better with the bodies in the stands, even if they were all two empty seats apart. Many dutifully wore their face masks, which, given the gaps between the seats and their being in the open air was extremely cautious. A lot of people are afraid of catching the virus, and do not realise that masks only stop them spreading it. I imagine everyone was temperature tested going into the stadium, but I’ve not heard from the Spy on that one yet. 

The 2,000 present made a fair bit of noise and it felt more like a football match - there were even some early leavers! On the field, the big story was the return of Pablo Mari to competitive football, joined later from the bench by Calum Chambers. It was great to see and the Spaniard scored a nice header from Reiss Nelson’s corner to make it 2-0. Alex Lacazette, playing in the Mesut Ozil role as he had done in the previous Europa League game (even if the commentators seemed unaware of it) scored a cracker from long range to open the proceedings. Nketiah and in the second half Emile Smith Rowe netted the others, and Rapid pulled one back at three down, although it always felt academic.

Against the level of opposition, we cannot draw many conclusions. Lacazette played better than he has done for some time, but I am not convinced he will be as impactful in the hole behind the striker in the Premier League. Ainsley Maitland-Niles made a case to be tried in central midfield more often. However, one suspects the major thing Arteta will have taken out of this game is with a view to his options at centre back. Six fit players to choose from now, with the likelihood that ultimately Mari might be his usual choice to partner Gabriel, once fully match fit. That leaves Luiz, Holding, Mustafi and Chambers in reserve, with Sokratis on the payroll but unlikely to play for what remains of his contract. 

At least Arteta has domestic cup competitions and more Europa League matches to keep his second stringers involved. The visit to Ireland next week concludes the group stage though and we will have a couple of months before the first knockout round in Europe. And hopefully a few more Saturday games as a consequence after the turn of the year. Remember them? 

Now, all eyes turn to Sunday and the hope of an upset. Right now, most Gooners would settle for a draw simply to escape the ignominy of a derby defeat. The key, one suspects, will be the captain rediscovering his form in front of goal. It needs to happen. 

To be notified when there is fresh content on my blog (generally the day after matches), follow me on Twitter - https://twitter.com/KevinWhitcher01