And so to Germany, to Cologne, where I and many of those lucky enough to get tickets for the game based themselves. Formerly the capital of the Roman province of Germania Inferior, or Lower Germania, it was originally an “Oppidum” – a relatively small garrison town – and represented a visible Roman military presence on the northern border of the Empire, formed by the Rhine. The Germanic tribes north of the Rhine largely refused to accept the benefits of Roman rule and this would have been a tough posting. It is easy to imagine legionaries standing on duty, looking out over the walls and the Rhine with a considerable sense of foreboding at what would then have been dense forests. It was not too far north east of here that the three legions commanded by Emperor Augustus’ general, Varus, were cut to pieces in 9 A.D. by the treacherous Arminius and his Teuton alliance, causing Augustus, we are told, to exclaim: “Publius Quinctilius Varus, give me back my legions!”. You can see where I am going with this – Leverkusen is a short distance across the Rhine. Would Arteta become a modern-day Varus or would he, like Maximus Decimus Meridius slay the Teutonic hordes?
I arrived on Monday morning. A result, quite honestly, of taking a punt on the location of the game when it looked like Leverkusen or Dortmund would go through. Fortuna iuvat fortes. Ah well, as I was taught at school; to be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late and lateness is unforgivable. Such a well-mannered boy. My only prior exposure to Germany had been Munich, including several most enjoyable visits to Oktoberfest. I was keen to experience a different German city.
Cologne is a compact city with everything you want is in walking distance. The train from the airport takes 20 minutes and drops you off at the central station, right next to the stunning cathedral. The journey is cheap, the trains clean and efficient. British Rail, in any if its incarnations past or present, it is not. There weren’t many fans around in town which made for an opportunity to do some sightseeing. The cathedral is not to be missed. Then down to the old town for a couple of pre-dinner Kölsches. The square is lovely, especially as it was shirt-sleeves weather, as opposed to the thick fog we had left behind at Stansted. Then to Leverkusen to pick up the ticket and back to Cologne for some schnitzel, beer in an F.C. Köln bar and a good laugh at them lot on the box. A day well spent.
We were provided with free return travel from Cologne to Leverkusen with the ticket. The police presence was significant but light touch. Into the ground early and the opportunity not only to buy beer but to take it into the stands. It was almost as though we were being treated like grown ups. The team came out and was pretty much as expected. The game started and we pressed forward. It was clear though, that Leverkusen were not here to be simply bystanders and they sought to break quickly and brightly. We were equally bright but, playing away from home, had little real penetration. And then in the 20th minute an excellent move, patiently built, resulted in a clever dummy from Eze enabling Gyokeres to feed Martinelli in the 6 yard line, who leathered a shot past the keeper but into the bar and away. By far the best chance of the first half. It was evident from my seat in the gods that Leverkusen were using a very clever triple mark on both Saka and Martinelli whenever they got the ball. This neutralised both wingers’ effectiveness. It was, however, aided by the fact that we got the ball out to them so slowly that my neighbour likened the speed with which we moved it to that at which 90 year-olds do rude things. Not an inaccurate observation. From my knowledge of the speed at which we moved the ball, you understand. The first half ticked down and that was that.
Oranges.
The second half started with Leverkusen kicking off. They wasted no time in taking the game to us, creating an effort on targeting the first minute, probably going over but saved by Raya anyway, leading to a corner. From the resulting finer, Eze weakly allowed himself to be baulked and Andrich – who might already have been sent off for multiple fouls in the first half – rose unchecked at the back post and headed home. We had been Arsenalled.
Arsenal reacted. And continued to press. Unfortunately as noted above, largely with the urgency of nonagenarian naughties. The ineffective Saka was replaced on 60 with Madueke. Immediately we began to get to the byline and get crosses and cutbacks in. Not necessarily because of the substitution so much as that we were now getting the ball forward and wide far quicker. On 84, Timber met a cross from Martinelli, who having received the ball early, skinned his full back and put a cross in, only for the right back to get under it. Time was runnning out and, while having more possession, we ghastly done very little with it, with the horseshoe of ennui much the theme of the day.
A couple of minutes later, and with the ball being pushed out to Madueke quickly so that he only had two opponents to deal with, he jinked inside and apparently was fouled by the careless full back. Inside the ground it was an obvious penalty, deserving of a red card. Tv replays showed the contact to be of match 50 Rooneyesque levels. Havertz, on from 74 for Gyokeres, who did some good stuff while yet again being deprived of early service, stepped forward to take the pen. Despite the stuttering run up, he managed to put it past their keeper. The away crowd, who had been noisy all night, went wild.
Full time. Really hard work. Ameliorated by the fact that Chelsea lost at PSG and C130y were battered away at Real. All’s well that ends well. But it workdays be nice if we entertained a bit more. This season feels like a real grind.
A couple of words for the box office at the club. Inspired by C100, I have been trying to get to as many away games as possible over the last couple of years. Of course, everyone else has had the same idea so away tickets are very much like hen’s teeth. This one went down to my level of credits and I managed to secure a ticket. That I did was down to the top efforts of the box office staff after I was let down by the ticketing system online. The ticketing system is much maligned, and for good reason. The box office though sorted out my issue and went beyond the call of duty to ensure I managed to get a ticket. Credit where it’s due. I’m very grateful. Also the ticket collection in Leverkusen on Tuesday was very easy, well staffed and quick. Nice work, guys.
