Arsenal’s spine, bottle and ability to perform at the business end of the season have all come into question season after season, and deservedly so. But one thing to the club’s credit is that the top authorities have always tried to take the fans point of view into account, and have made many attempts to connect to the masses. A perfect example of this would be the exclusive question and answer session that took place between Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis and the members of the Arsenal Supporter’s Trust. While it would be false to say that the meeting was entirely good-natured, the closure gained from it was necessary for the club’s improvement.
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The Arsenal Supporter’s Trust brings together shareholders and supporters of Arsenal Football Club. According to its website-
The Trust works with its members, Arsenal executives, the club’s Board, major shareholders and other Arsenal supporter groups to help build Arsenal into a world class sporting institution.
In the current meeting, disgruntlement was evident in the supporters and members of the trust right from the outset. There were queries as to whether Wenger could be absolved of the responsibility to sign players and David Dein could be brought back. An elderly fan read out a letter that said, in no uncertain terms, that ‘this was the team with the worst work ethic he had seen’ (tumultuous applause broke out at this moment).
There were many questions regarding what players Arsenal are planning to bring in the summer, and the futures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. There was also disapproval aimed at the ridiculous attendance figures quoted after every match at the Emirates, which refers to the number of seats sold and not seats occupied. In a nutshell, the crowd present were far from happy.
However, Gunners CEO Ivan Gazidis handled the barrage of vitriol thrown his way with admirable grace and dexterity. He tried his best to placate the masses while at the same time taking care not to let slip any important inner workings of the club. Regarding whether Arsene Wenger had the Board’s support after a sixth consecutive season without silverware and an alarming post-February collapse, he said-
“We 100% support Arsene. He’s done a remarkable job in competing with clubs with greater revenues”
The American also confirmed that Arsenal were actively looking to add to their squad in the summer and assured the public that there would be a palpable ‘turnover’ of players. However, he refused to name any individuals involved lest it result in media fish-mongering and potential increase in the price of the player concerned. He only revealed that the club would be ‘busy’.
Another important point raised in the meeting was whether Arsenal would be open to having a terrace area where supporters can stand and add to the atmosphere of the ground. Gazidis was more than open to the idea but stressed the need to make sure that the safety of the fans not be compromised.
He said-
“It is something that I have always been open to,”
“The more I learn about it, the more complex an issue it is, but viscerally it is something that I find attractive because it gives fans, a certain group of fans who like to stand who create the atmosphere, another way to be in our stadium.”
“Why would you be against that, if you can do it safely?”
He added that certain technicalities and issues meant that it would be a relatively expensive endeavour, than it would have been had the terraces been built into the stadium right from the time of its inception.
“There are some issues, some very practical issues around safe standing; the rake of the stands and so on, that may make it cost prohibitive if it is not designed into the stadium at the beginning, but it is not something I am close minded to and I am prepared to explore it.”
Open terraces were banned from all levels of football after the Hillsborough Disaster in 1989 and all-seater stadiums became mandatory from 1994 for all top flight clubs. Nonetheless, there have been multiple calls to bring back terraces with a view to improve atmosphere and reduce ticket prices for the fans.
The meeting surely opened up some old wounds that needed opening and brought forth some necessary but difficult-to-digest topics. But a healthy dialogue between the people who run the club and the people who support it is massively important, and Arsenal are doing that right at the very least.
If you want to see the video of Gazidis answering questions posed by the supporters, click here.
