Tifo’s don’t win games as Arsenal score own goal with organised pre-match display 

Scarlet Katz Roberts reflects on a disappointing night for Arsenal on and off the field 

Tifo’s don’t win games

But if they did, Arsenal scored an own goal before kick-off. 

When the Ashburton Army announced they were raising money for another one I was pleased.

The image of Thierry Henry arms spread wide to welcome Real Madrid in the first leg of the quarter final was organic, calibrated and inspiring, for fans and players.

It’s what happens when nostalgia meets excitement, something only witnessing the dizzy heights of early Wenger, plumbing the depths of his later years, lockdown Arsenal etc etc, can provide.

There was also the club banner that read ‘Make it happen’, which was fine, sure we wanted to make it happen. But we’ll get to that.

About a week ago, the Ashburton Army informed fans they would be refunding everyone who raised money for the tifo because the club had blocked it. They also circulated some of the proposed images including Casa del Mikel.

Look, it’s not Picasso, Mikel playing chess in his casa, a callback to the Madrid ultras tifo at the Bernabeu.

But I’m sure if we’d won there would be calls to ‘hang it in the Louvre’. It was reported that the club couldn’t make the logistics happen but don’t worry, they said, because a never before attempted floor to ceiling tifo was in the works. Fine.

Fast forward to about five to eight last night and a wonky canon struggles to stretch across the North Bank faltering at about three quarters of the way, as Mikel broadcasts a message looking straight down the camera along the lines of… make it happen.

Oh and don’t forget the ‘make it happen’ message in the East Stand in case we’d forgotten that we were supposed to make it happen. It wasn’t fun.

Arsenal fans watch on in stunned silence while the PSG fans have the best party ever in the corner. (Don’t even get me started on ‘bring your noise.’)

I know it used to be called the Highbury Library but are we really that bad? Do we as a fanbase need to be spoonfed our atmosphere for a Champions League semi-final?

Tifos are traditionally fan-generated for a reason. Fans are the repositories of football culture, modern football clubs are not. Who thought this was a good idea?

By taking the means of production into their own hands, Arsenal took away the emotion, sanitised the occasion with a corporate gun.

Were they worried we wouldn’t know what to do when the big moment arrived? I would say that applied far less to the fanbase and far more to a club hierarchy that prides itself on its history of success (and sadly a little bit to the team).

That was a Champions League semi-final on a gorgeous warm evening in London against a top quality European team. All the ingredients were already there for another remarkable game and I’m left feeling stifled, frustrated and a little bit embarrassed.

As much as we don’t want these off-field trivialities to affect the main event, I think they played their part in a mismanaged evening. It didn’t help that Dembele shinned in an early goal off the post. Everything was going wrong.

Despite that, there was genuine determination in the Arsenal ranks not to roll over. MLS, as is his custom, rose to the occasion. Declan Rice was doing his best further back. Mikel Merino continues to dazzle with his ball retention. I thought Bukayo Saka gave it a good go as well.

Others were not at the level required. I don’t want to take potshots at the captain but once again he was muted, frustrating and not winning any of his duels! Regarding Arsenal’s new dad, please Martin Odegaard for the love of God, get some sleep. 

Whereas in the Madrid game, we both played the game we wanted and reached our top levels, in this encounter, we did neither.

We had to settle for long periods of PSG ball retention, we struggled to win duels against a midfield that was dubbed the ‘technical’ to our ‘physical’, Vitinha, wow. There was a passivity to our approach, certainly for the first half hour. Were the players distracted by the damp squib of the pregame atmosphere?

And yet the chances were there when we ran at them.

MLS and Rice both created opportunities when carrying the ball from deep. Not that that stopped them causing us problems. I think we’re lucky they didn’t take more of their own chances or this tie would be already out of sight. As it is, we’re still in it.

A lot is being made of Thomas Partey’s return for the second leg, and while I think that will be helpful, it’s not just him, but the whole club that needs to step up.

Declan Rice’s words in the  tunnel at the Bernabeu were “nothing to fear,” and last night we played like we had stage fright.

I believe we’re worthy of being here, we just need to act like it.