On the face of it, this week’s score-line reads Arsenal 1 Chelsea 0. And this result will echo through the corridors of football for the next 15 years.
Yup, Arsenal have nipped in and grabbed Chelsea’s outgoing sponsor, Emirates Airlines, and secured a deal worth £100-million starting from 2006/07. Now, at last, they might be able to afford a couple of galacticos.
The last two years have seen the arrival of Jens Lehmann, Robin van Persie and Jose Reyes while rivals Chelsea and Manchester United have signed dozens of superstars.
But there will be rumbles from the traditionalists once the dust settles over this skirmish between the Premiership’s two leading clubs.
Okay, replacing cellphone makers 02 on the shirts is no great problem. Over the past 20 years, Arsenal have had fewer shirt sponsors than most.
But the problem isn’t the shirt. It’s the ground. Arsenal’s new 60 000- capacity stadium at Ashburton Grove is taking shape. The old 39 000-seat Highbury will soon be history, the 1920s art deco Avenell Road frontage will be retained, luxury flats will be built and a small section of the pitch will be retained to honour those who have had their ashes scattered on their favourite team’s ground.
Thing is, the new ground, rising fast from an old rubbish dump, will now be called the Emirates stadium for the next 15 years. Gunners fans who might have hoped for something meaningful, like New Highbury, will be sadly disappointed. Even a simple Ashburton Grove might have sufficed.
Emirates Airlines chairperson Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum was slick: ‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sponsor such a major new stadium and club, and represents a win-win partnership for both Emirates and Arsenal.â€
Both parties may be surprised at the backlash from this deal. I suspect fans will eventually accept the name, if only because the £100-million might give them a chance to spend as much as Roman Abramovich at Chelsea. But there will be a lot of shaking heads and ‘things ain’t what they used to be†around north London this week.
I suggest calm. The players aren’t getting any younger. New blood will soon be needed. And in football, nothing comes cheap.