Köln:The untold game, food and parking report; How to say goodbye to a hero « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News, supporting the club, the players and the manager
By Walter Broeckx
As promised, Untold reports from the first and last real preparation game of Arsenal in Europe.
Let me start with the parking report first. It is unbelievable maybe but there is an amazing lot of parking lots in the very near neighbourhood of the stadium of 1.Fc Köln. There are 2 parking lots almost in touching distance of the stadium. I think there are even more but you can drive with your car to the parking lots and walk 5 minutes and you are inside the stadium. And that just for the price of 3,25 euro. That is very car friendly but I must add that the stadium is not in the town centre but in a nice green environment just outside the city.
Over to the food report. Can you visit Germany, seeing a football game without eating a Bratwurst? Well you could but then my food report would be very short. But it really wasn’t a big task to eat a bratwurst you know. And the bratwurst was exquisite. It had the perfect baking time, it was round and most of all it was looooooong. But now I must be critical. Even though I like Germany and the German people are all very friendly, I must point at something I cannot understand about the German Bratwurst tradition.
Why on earth do they put such a long bratwurst in such a small sandwich? The result is that 2/3 of the bratwurst is hanging outside the sandwich. And then you have to put some mustard or ketchup on the bratwurst. But that is so difficult to do as the bratwurst is hanging outside and you must have some skill to put it on and not spill it on the floor. And then you have to eat it without spilling the mustard or ketchup on your cloths. And most of it could be made so much simpler if they would put their Bratwurst in a longer sandwich.
Where is the German efficiency in this!!!??!?!??!!!!? Ok Rant over as this is the only negative thing I can say about my visits to Germany in the last year.
Over to the match report. A little bit fewer supporters in the stadium than I would have liked, but then again the 1.FC Köln is a club in a bit of a slump. The Gooner section was nicely filled and a special mention to the Gooners from Brno who had travelled with 2 buses and in good spirits. In both senses was my impression.
The sun was shining, it was a hot summer day in Cologne as both teams took to the field.
Arsenal with their new players in the starting line up. Yennaris at right back was maybe a bit of a surprise. Cazorla in midfield with Cocquelin and Oxlade-Chamberlain. But they did an excellent job. But please Francis a bit more careful with some passed in dangerous positions. Mertesacker together with Vermaelen and they paired up rather well I thought and not just in defence.
Walcott, Giroud and Podolski up front. And they carved up some chances. The first Arsenal goal was a well worked corner and a new routine where they are using Per Mertesacker as a target or a decoy. After some 5 minutes Per used his head to divert a corner from Carzorla in to the path of Vermaelen who headed home. When Arsenal had a corner they were rather dangerous. Per Mertesacker being very influential in this.
Another corner from Cazorla was the introduction to the second goal. Oxlade-Chamberlain got the ball was almost tripped but stayed on his feet, then was tripped again and my eye of knowledge immediately saw that the assistant on the far side waved his flag to give a penalty. He listened to the assistant (good teamwork) and Podolski of all people stepped up to open his Arsenal account. He converted it faultless and then he didn’t celebrate his goal. A nice gesture to “his” home town fans. No need to say the Gooners in the stands did celebrate.
The attack was very fluent at times and we got another handful of chances to score a few goals but the keeper was determined to not let us score too many. Well that is why they pay him. But there was nothing he could when we scored our third goal. Vermaelen intercepted a ball, played it to Podolski in the middle. Podolski saw Gibbs running his flank and delivered the ball and then followed up on the attack. When Gibbs cut it back it was Lukas who was on hand to hammer it in goal.
The first chants of ‘he scores when he wants, he scores when he wants, Lukas Podolski, he score when he wants’ came out of the Gooner corner. At half time we discovered that Arsène Wenger was amongst the Arsenal supporters incognito. Much to the amusement of the travelling Gooners.
A new team on in the second half and but not much changed on the playing field. Arsenal well in control and Podolski looking sharp and eager to score a few more goals. But it was Gervinho who made the 4th goal. He worked his way passed a few defenders and then pretended to cross the ball and when the keeper made a step he shot it in the short corner. In das kurze ecke as the Germans would say. Good finish.
The German side came close with a shot from distance that came off the cross bar. Arsenal came close on a few occasions but the real drive to go forward was not there anymore. Podolski then left the field and received a standing ovation from the whole stadium. Van Persie entered. A few cows were heard in the stands. Stupid cows I would say. There will be one person in Manchester very happy with the noise those stupid cows made… It will have sounded like music in his ears. Do you really want to boo him to Manchester? But some others sang his name but it never is a pleasant sound to hear fans booing their own players. And certainly when some stupid cows booed when he missed a control and a pass. Yeah that sure does help the team, doesn’t it?
It somehow threw a shadow over a good afternoon. I have seen very promising things from our new signings, all of them. Carzorla looks a great player (not in height) with great vision and control and he was everywhere on the field. Giroud was a bit unlucky and could and will score a few goals this season. Being in the right position is just the first step for any central striker at Arsenal. Once the first goes in the rest will follow. And the home town boy Podolski did what I knew he would do: work his socks off and score a few goals.
If you want to know how fans react when a player leaves the club and goes to another country this was a great example. Lots of home fans had shirts on saying: “Do blievs in uns’rem Hätz: Danke Lukas!” And I will translate this as it is written in the local dialect from Cologne: “You will stay in our hearts, Danke Lukas”. A real classy goodbye from his home fans for their local hero. And when he came out for a final salute at the end of the game, he went to where the diehard home fans stand in the stadium and like a maestro he orchestrated their movements. A warm farewell from his home supporters. And that while Van Persie (and Chamakh) where watching and doing some extra runs as their game time was rather short.
Did you see that Robin? That is what happens to real legends at a club. Will you end up like Lukas or… The choice is yours.