There were two stars of the show at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night; Robin van Persie and the Borussia Dortmund fans. As is becoming all too predictable, van Persie scored twice for Arsenal, enough to see off a disappointing Dortmund side. Jurgen Klopp’s wunderkinds may have not lived up to their pre-match billing, yet the travelling fans certainly rose to the occasion. Whenever the tight game lagged, the attention of many was always drawn to the impressively large German support who were continually jumping, clapping and singing. From 30 minutes before kick-off to many minutes after, the Dortmund fans smothered The Emirates in noise. The home fans were conspicuous in their non-response.

Van Persie’s importance to Arsenal has been much discussed in recent weeks with his goals guiding a resurgent side up the league. Gary Linton highlighted the teams reliance on his goals, pointing to the fact that without them Arsenal would be sitting just two points above the relegation zone.

Yet at a time when Arsenal have recently been forced to sell two of their other “star” players in Nasri and Fabregas, van Persie’s value to the club must surely extend beyond his performance on the field.

From my vantage point hundreds of metres away I could spot sweat patches on the shirts of the Dortmund ultras who lead their fellow fans in song. Looking around at the faces close to me, I saw blank expressions, hushed talking, and unanimated figures in colorless suits.

There were still those who occasionally rose to their feet, yet their cheers and songs seemed to only fall on uninterested and ignorant ears. These were the supporters of the winning team. When the stadium did eventually sweep into song, following van Persie’s opener, the Dortmund fans reposted wonderfully, switching to a second language, with a rendition of “You only sing when you’re winning.”

In some respects however, these fans share similar concerns. Dortmund also failed to hold onto a key player last summer when Nuri Şahin was prized away by Real Madrid and it is unfortunately only a matter of time until an offer finally comes in for Mario Götze that the club can’t refuse. What could be seen in Dortmund that was absent from Arsenal on Wednesday night however, was an asset arguably far more valuable than one key player; a universally recognizable fan culture.

It is no revelation that the Emirates has struggled for atmosphere and it would be wrong to argue that all Arsenal fans are similar to the lifeless figures sitting around on Wednesday. Yet most Arsenal fans would surely agree that the Emirates lacks the tremendous character and atmosphere of Highbury. This is painfully apparent in the club’s novel placement of a clock at one end of the ground and in their placement of their own banners – such as, “Who needs Batman when you’ve got Robin?” – around the stadium.

It is a sorry fabrication and invention of fan culture that just does not exist at the Emirates; as transparent as some of the official “attendances”, announcing figures of 60,000 to a half-empty stadium. In their attempts to create such a culture however, Arsenal highlight the incredible value they can give to a club.

Dortmund may not continually win the Bundesliga title, Klopp’s madcap tactics may not always pay-off and Kagawa, Gotze and Hummels may play in yellow forever. One thing we can be sure of, however, is that the Südtribüne will always be packed and will always be rocking. The ultras will not dissapear and the songs will not die down.

Not only does this add a culture to be proud of, it offers marketability and financial gain. Dortmund got very close to dissolution in 2005, yet they may well have not stayed on the right side of that edge if not for the continual crowds of over 70,000. Liverpool can also be seen as a perfect example of how a fan culture can be marketed worldwide.

The club has struggled to compete in the Premier League with Chelsea, Man United or Arsenal. Yet they still attract large numbers of new fans throughout the world. One reason for this could be the attractive and identifiable fan culture – images of the Kop united in song, scarves in the air – will make just as much of an impression as an image of Gerrard scoring a goal. This is evident in the copycat display of this culture by Liverpool fans in Asia, Africa and wherever else the club chooses for a pre-season tour.

If Arsenal do sell van Persie and continue to lose touch with the Manchester clubs, they do not currently have such a culture to fall back on. It would be crazy to suggest fans would disappear, the infinite waiting list for tickets at Arsenal is a testament to that, yet it could become quickly harder to attract new fans.

People will always be attracted to star players like van Persie or Gerrard, yet clubs like Dortmund offer people something else. A match-day experience at the Signal Iduna Park, with the crowd literally jumping and the noise deafening, is an exciting and addictive one. Not only this but as demonstrated by emotional Malaysians singing “You’ll never walk alone”, it provides a sense of belonging.

With no star players and a quiet Emirates, what can Arsenal offer to prospective fans? A burger or a hot-dog?

Photo courtesy of bundesligafootball.