Arsenal: Is Samir Nasri Right About Emirates Stadium Lacking Passion?

Having elected to treble his wages in Manchester, Samir Nasri’s popularity in the red half of North London has predictably plummeted.

Matters have not been helped by his subsequent assertion that the Emirates Stadium lacked “passion”.

This was originally misrepresented by the press, ever anxious to generate heat rather than light, as Nasri having said that Arsenal fans per se lacked “passion”. Nasri was keen to set the record straight: He said he had criticized the stadium, not the supporters seated within it.

One might join issue with this as a matter of principle: How can a sporting arena itself, comprising seats, a roof and some bits of concrete, metal and glass, have “passion”? Surely it can only be the people in it that could either have, or lack, this difficult to quantify intangible? Can it really be the case that the atmosphere within a sporting stadium is determined by the stadium itself rather than the people within it?

To test the proposition that a stadium, in itself, can be conducive to generating passion or “atmosphere”, let us consider the old Highbury stadium. In its latter years it was known as the “Highbury library”, a derogatory reference to its lack of noise from supporters. Yet in the 1970’s and early 80’s it was a loud and intimidating place.

What changed?

Well one might start by noting that the demolition of the original North Bank and Clock Ends fundamentally altered the feel of the place.  The same supporters who had generated so much noise and passion found themselves in a totally different and rather emasculated stadium. The old and intimidating “fortress Highbury” became a quieter and more subdued place. Of course one could point to other factors, such as the switch to seats from standing. However, were the fans any less passionate by reason of being required to be seated?

The answer is surely in the negative, however, the fact is that something in the stadium, rather than in the fans, changed at Highbury, and the place went from being loud and atmospheric to relatively quiet. It could be mere  coincidence, however, the more reasonable assumption is that fans behaviour is indeed affected by the physical characteristics of the arena in which they watch their team.

So let us consider this: is the Emirates a stadium that tends to generate a vibrant, passionate and intimidating atmosphere? 

In my opinion it does not, and the reasons are as follows:

THE EMIRATES PROBLEMS

1. The stadium design.

I believe that a critical mistake was made in the basic design of the Emirates Stadium in that (a) supporters are too far from the pitch and (b) far too much light is allowed in at the back behind the highest seats. The stadium thus lacks that closed in, intimidating feel that the best football stadiums have.

The Bernabeu in Madrid is an example of this at its best.

By comparison, the Emirates feels more like a suburban retail park on a dull Sunday afternoon than a fierce inner city football stadium. This is significant because the lack of atmosphere affects the team’s performance and can adversely affect refereeing decisions (how many dubious penalties are awarded to Liverpool and Man United in front of the Kop and Stretford ends respectively?).

By comparison, Tottenham’s plans for a new stadium (should it ever actually be built) appear to emphasise the importance of generating loud noise from supporters. A “home end” is designed in to the plan with a continuous  wall of seating going from close to the pitch all the way back to the very highest point in the stadium. One wonders why this, or something similar, was not implemented at the Emirates.

The cynic in me suspects that the focus was entirely on accommodating as many high revenue seats at “Club Level” and in corporate boxes than in bothering with making the place feel like an English football stadium.

2. The stadium stewarding.

While the days of supporters sitting on the North Bank roof (deaths /injuries ensuing: Zero) are obviously long gone in health and safety obsessed Britain, the antics of some of the orange-day-glow stewards at the Emirates beggars belief.

I can only speak for the areas of the ground that I have attended, however I have frequently seen them admonish supporters perceived to be too loud and tell people off for swearing. Given that these people are employed by Arsenal, the message being sent out is that “passion” has to be restricted to conduct acceptable to and regulated by the stewards, such that the crowd are almost expected to behave more like an audience at Wimbledon’s Centre Court than fans at a London Premier League football stadium.

3.The lack of any apparent plan for a "home end".

Several years after the Emirates became Arsenal’s home stadium, the club embarked upon what it remarkably described as the “Arsenalisation” of the Emirates Stadium.

That such a process was even required was an acknowledgment that something was not right (for which I would suggest see (1) above) and thus far we have seen a clock attached to a stand (to remind the supporters of Highbury) and some murals of past players outside the stadium.

Meanwhile, there does not appear to be any serious attempt to create a real home end (one is presumably left to deduce that it is the one opposite the clock, as at Highbury). Thus those fans who would form the core of a vocal support are dispersed willy-nilly around the stadium while families with young children are just as likely to be behind the “home“ goal.

This arose from the first distribution of season tickets by the club, one assumes in the days before any thoughts of atmosphere or “Arsenalisation” had even remotely occurred to the powers that be.

Thus, although the Emirates seats 60,000, those fans who would together make a lot of noise, generate atmosphere and lift the team (and lift the quieter supporters) are diluted and cancelled out in small pockets, frequently among disapproving milder-mannered supporters and zero tolerance stewards.

So, is there any solution to this? I believe there is and that things could be much improved:

THE EMIRATES SOLUTIONS 

1. Create and encourage a proper “home end”.

The club has very sizeable and vocal away support; These people should be encouraged to sit together behind the home end goal at the Emirates. Given that they all buy their away tickets from the club, it should not be difficult to work out who they are and actively encourage and reward them. The club acknowledged their virtues at the recent Man United debacle and more needs to be done to tap in to their passion at home games. For example, perhaps fans who regularly attend away games should receive discounts on seats in designated areas at home games.

2. Stop the nannying by the stewards.

It is time to reintroduce common sense into the way that “officials” treat paying customers. Football is about passion and excitement, and football supporters should not be treated as if they were naughty school children. While hooliganism and pitch invasions are obviously not wanted, supporters should be able to get on with enjoying a game without the big brother intrusion and feeling of petty over regulation and  “monitoring” that is so prevalent and ultimately suffocating in the stadium.

3. Do something to improve the visual drama at the stadium.

Employ some lighting consultants to do something to make the place feel more dramatic (like the Bernabeu) and less like Brent Cross Shopping Centre. Get some subtle acoustic enhancements done to amplify what sound there is. Noise and atmosphere feeds off itself (like a Mexican wave) so getting it going is critical. There are plenty of people out there who know how to make a venue exciting ( e.g. in the fields of live music and theatre) and Arsenal has the resources to employ them.

And now the $64 million question: Do Arsenal fans lack passion? No, they certainly do not. Are they are being let down by a badly designed and managed stadium? Yes they are, but the potential (as in the team) is there to be unlocked—with a will and a lead from the club.