Tuesday, December 11th, 2012 « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News, supporting the club, the players and the manager

By Fute Uristick

Following Walter’s innovative notion of posting a preview of the WBA match after the match was actually played, Untold continues where its name has always led, by now bringing the review of tonight’s match, before kick off.

And today is a special day – for it is the 126th anniversary of the first match by the team that was shortly to become Royal Arsenal FC (then Woolwich Arsenal, then The Arsenal, then Arsenal).    We have a special commemorative article on the Arsenal History Site.

First, a word or six about Bradford City.

There are in fact five things you should know about Bradford City FC.

First is their link with Chelsea in that both clubs were given league places without having a team, and without playing a match; the kind of arrangement that many fans might appreciate today.   Bradford were formed in 1903, two years before Chelsea, and there’s little doubt that Chelsea, having been refused entry into the Southern League (because of Tottenham’s objections) used the Bradford model to get into the Football League (where Arsenal had played since 1893).

The fix was arranged by the local newspaper, the FA and an unsuccessful local rugby club, and the idea was to bring football into rugby territory.  Doncaster Rovers were thrown out of the league and Bradford came in, and the local rugby team changed games and became a football team.  (There is also another Bradford team – Bradford Park Avenue who play in the Conference North.  I saw them earlier this season in a match against Corby Town, where the score was something like 4-5, but I must admit I lost count near the end).

Second is their innovative ticketing policy.   Bradford must be praised and praised again for their idea in 2007 in cutting the price of watching football in order to boost crowds.  Season tickets went on sale for £138, and they sold over 12,000 such tickets, giving them by far the highest average league attendance for the fourth division.

In 2008/9 they offered a free season ticket to anyone buying a season ticket as long as 9,000 people bought tickets, but they missed the target by just under 1000.  Then in December they offered season tickets for the rest of the season for from £99.  For this season they went on sale pre-season at £199.

Third, we must remember the most awful fire of 11 May 1985 in which 56 people died.  The fire was enhanced by masses of paper stuffed for years under wooden benches in the stand, and there is a reference to this a book about football grounds published around 1980 (very sorry I just can’t find it at the moment, but I have the book in the house somewhere), which actually warns that this is a serious fire hazard.

Fourth, Roger, Ian and I went to what I think was the last league game at Bradford between the clubs.  I recall us parking on empty ground of the type you would never find in north London, in the city, and admiring the Victorian architecture, but not the ground itself, which reminded me of Luton when they were in the first division.

There is no point five.

Anyway, on to the team. Mr Wenger decided to leave out Sagna who was still recovering from an ankle injury, and Giroud who got a kick in the back in the WBA game.  But the rest of the team was fairly familiar – not least because the next game is not until Monday.

Wojciech Szczesny Jenkinson, Per Mertesacker, Thomas Vermaelen, Kieran Gibbs Jack Wilshere, Coquelin Tomas Rosicky

Ramsey, Podolski, Arshavin

4000 Arsenal fans attended and made  lots of jolly noise and whatnot.

At the start it looked as if Bradford might make something of a breakthrough and take Arsenal by surprise, but Wilshere quickly improved even on the amazing form he showed on Saturday, wherein he played both as a defensive midfielder and a classic number 10 at the same time.

Two goals in each half saw the game done and dusted.  Rosicky got the first from a cross by Arshavin (who must have felt very much at home in the freezing conditions), Ramsey the second hammering home a rebound.  Podolski worked out once again that it is sometimes easier to score than miss (rather than the reverse) with the third and Jack Wilshere rounded off the night with a thundering shot in the closing seconds.

The result left Bradford contemplating their future battles in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy and their appeal against expulsion from the FA Cup.   They can take solace from being the first fourth division club to reach the quarter-finals since Wycombe in 2006 and the first time they have gone beyond the second round in 11 years.

Arsenal have qualified for the last eight of the League Cup for the 10 seasons in a row, and this win gives Arsenal the record of 15 League Cup semi finals.   We scored 13 goals in the last two rounds, and this of course makes it 17.   It is our ninth tie against a fourth division club in this competition, and none of them has knocked us out.

On the beach at Bradford were

• Chamakh
• Mannone
• Djourou
• Miquel
• Gnabry
• Eisfeld
• Chamakh

Chamakh, Miquel and Gnabry all made it on later in the second half.

Anyone who missed the match can revisit it as it is being played all over again tonight.