|
|
 |
| |
Samir Nasri - scorer of Arsenal's first goal in the Champions League win over Belgians, Standard Liege |
Arsenal don't shirt their responsibilities
Gunners find winning easy...and it seems, raising money for charity too!
THERE is much shameless money-grabbing at the super corporate Emirates.
A quick flick through Tuesday night’s programme reveals all kinds of opportunities for fans to part with their hard earned cash.
There are high priced DVDs, subscriptions paid-for websites, Arsenal
ringtones, the fairly average “Christmas collection” of menswear and
even a chance to “celebrate your love for the Gunners with a personalised granite stone at Armoury Square”.
Compare that with the “Arsenal in the Community” section of the programme. It was, this week, rather lacking in content – rehashing an old picture of Dennis Bergkamp opening an astro turf pitch in Elthorne Park, Islington.
Now I know this club is treating fans to some of the most breathtaking football ever seen in this country. Denilson's wonder goal and Samir Nasri's deft finish should rightly sell a few shirts.
But there’s more than a few things wrong with this rampant commercialisation – and about over-exploiting fans’ loyalty to fund what is, at times, a nauseatingly gaudy lifestyle of Premiership footballers.
It was good to see Wigan ordering their players to refund their fans that travelled to the 9-1 by Spurs.
And it seems they’re not the only Premiership team prepared to give something back once in a while.
Arsenal players will be donating a day’s wages to Great Ormond Street Hospital and the match against Chelsea will be dedicated to the famous children’s hospital in Bloomsbury.
It is Gunners charity of choice this season and the club is aiming to raise £500,000 by the end of the season to pay to open the Arsenal Lung Function Unit.
This came to my attention when I took my seat in the press box
alongside four journalists who had been persuaded to don giant animal costumes as part of the fund-raising promotion – not such a contemptuous crowd after all.
Some more established Arsenal players will be parting with more than £10,000 each as part of the deal.
Even for these gadget-clutching multi-millionaire superstars that’s quite a hit. Has Nasri already begun to save the pennies?
With all his team mates merrily piling into their blacked out super cars in the stadium car park after the match, the Frenchman took his seat in the back of a common old black cab. |
 |
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
