I very much doubt whether the attempt by Arsene Wenger to curtail the planned protest from Arsenal fans today will have any effect, unless his ill advised decision to suggest that the Gunners’ failures at home were down to the atmosphere created by the fans rather than their lack of grit, ability, spirit or tactics actually make the protest bigger and louder than it would have been.
But has the manager got a point about the negativity in the ground being the last thing the players need right now with a fight on their hands to secure a top three or at the very least a top four finish. The Frenchman has received some backing from the former Arsenal and England international midfield star Ray Parlour, who has been reported in the Evening Standard suggesting that it would be best if any protest today was made after the must win match with Norwich City is over.
Parlour said, “Is there pressure on Wenger? Of course there is. There is always going to be pressure on managers who are expected to challenge for the title. Now Arsenal obviously got that draw last week against Sunderland and the supporters are getting a little bit frustrated with the team.
“There is supposed to be a demonstration after the game. I am hoping they do it after the game and not during it because it is still a big game for Arsenal, as they still have to try and stay in that top four.
“It has been a frustrating season for Arsenal. They are looking above them and seeing Spurs and Leicester doing so well and they really wanted to go for the title this season.
“It is going to be interesting to see, but I am expecting Arsenal at the Emirates to get all three points.
“But it is going to be tricky as Norwich are fighting for their lives at the bottom alongside Newcastle and Sunderland. With the quality they have and with it being at the Emirates, that will be the difference, so it’s an Arsenal win for me.”
It certainly needs to be with Man United only five points behind and with a game in hand on Arsenal. Would it really make any less of a statement to Wenger or to Stan Kroenke and the Arsenal board if the fans were to protest at the final whistle instead of during the game?
I certainly do not agree with the theory that it might be better if Arsenal do fail to make the top four in order to force Wenger out, because for one thing I don’t think it would, and for another I want us to be in the Champions League and not being in could have negative consequences.
Wenger and Parlour clearly want what is best for the club from the game today, so might they be right about this protest?
Predict the Norwich Score and win an official Arsenal Home Shirt!
Thumbs up if you’re not watching today’s game
Thumbs down if you’ll be watching anyway
Iv heard a couple of fans in the last few weeks say that they went off watching Arsenal, for a while now, but still came on here complaining and moaning about what they want to see done. One or two of them really surprised me because they seemed like they had strong opinions, I remember them from years back so I believed they were your proper Gooner supporter. How can a fan of football just stop watching because he doesn’t feel like it right now, better things to do. I’m sick I spent any time replying to these people in a difference of opinion, because if I had of known this at the time, I would have just went ..meh he’s not even proper supporter. Muff brought up something similar to one of them a while back, when he replied how even if relegation, I would still have to follow and watch my club because it is in my blood, have no other choice.
Beating the mighty Norwich
to save the 4th place trophy.
Aiming for top 4 instead
of actually winning the title
is exactly what this protest is all about Ray.
The Owner, Board, CEO,
Manager and players live in a “4th place is good enough comfort zone”
and pay themselves vast salaries for their often insipid performances.
They have justified the “4th place” trophy for more
than a decade with a welter of propaganda excuses.
Money, injuries, bad luck, referees, defensive opponents FIFA
just missing out on all the world’s best players the media
and most recently unsupportive fans at home games.
Any opponents of the 4th place mantra are described as a tiny minority
with private agendas and big egos. Funnily enough that is the perfect description
of Stan, Board, Gazidis, Arsene and the vastly over paid under performing players.
The role of the “true” Arsenal fan then is to cheer the team to beat Norwich
so 4th place can be achieved thus igniting wild celebration and the beginning
of 10 days of prostration and paying homage to our 4th place heroes.
Ray Parlour you got a spare pair of knee pads Bruv 🙁
lol-Twigg is calling every body to abandon ship. ‘Wait, I still need to take my swimming leasons!’ Back on the subject, me thinks Wenger is tying to water down the effects of the demo, whilst Parlour just have to say something as a soccer pundit trainee.
Of course he’s trying to dissuade fans from protesting during the game. He’s a proud man, who loves this club. You can’t expect him to sit on his hands while all this is going on (no pun intended)
He did a really good job of that too, didn’t he Trev!? 🙂
Really helped his cause..
Yea….. He’d do well not to fold his arms and watch fans go on protest
but when the fans come out calmly stating we need a WC striker et al….. He turned a blind eye
but would awake on the brink of a protest…. Amazing!
Let the protest go on!
#IronSharpenethIron#
#HeatMeltSteel#
The 12th and 78th minutes as well as at the end of the game v Norwich is the perfect time for fans to collectively show their dissatisfaction with the Arsenal hierarchy and manager and to bring attention to their feelings via a televised match that will be seen globally.
Down with Stan and Wenger.
Why? (admins new rules of qualification).
Wenger for being an ineffective football manager who has brought no PL or UCL success in 12 years and Stan for being a disinterested owner of a football club that is underachieving and is stuck in a cycle and environment of mediocrity and failure.
The future of Arsenal could be made today..
Enjoy!
Of course he has a point, this ground issue wouldn’t be spoken so often each season if it wasn’t a problem for a club. Players need to feel that the crowd is there to back our players, and curse the other team off the pitch. They need to feel that once the players are trying to win well then the crowd will be with them all the way. If the opposite begins to happen well then it will be like you are playing away from home, actually even worse than playing away from home because your own fans turning on you is worse than away fans, who are expected to. We have a great away form, then a brutal home form even though we have nearly 60.000 fans inside the ground?
why it’s only the fans obligation to support the team come what may whereas the manager is not obligated to strengthen the team and the players are not obligated to give their all game after game??
The year is 2028. Arsene Wenger sits on the
bench at The Emirates. His last trophy was the
2015 FA CUP, Although he did reach the 2027
league cup final, but was beaten by a resurgent
Ipswich Town side managed by their new boss
Tomas Rosicky. The recently deceased Stan
Kroenke, whose passing was greeted with mixed
emotions among the club’s fans after his 100%
share takeover in 2022, still taunts supporters
from his grave, he bequeathed the whole club to
his son Joshua, who promised Silent Stan on his
deathbed to ‘carry on the traditional values of
Arsenal’ for the next 50 years. Meanwhile Arsene
Wenger struggles through another press
conference and insists that ‘next season we will
see”, although Arsenal were relegated twice and
now languish at the bottom of league one. Fans
were seen at the stadium with banners claiming
“14th place is not a trophy”. But that will not be
funny enough as hundreds and thousands of fans
rioted inside the stadium as Arsenal was about
to take a league one March against MK Dons
and they raised banners that says “wenger must
go this year”. The referee stopped the game and
it was postponed. Oliver giroud who’s now 42 is
still in the starting XI but have not hit the back
of the net since the last game against Yeovil of
the 2021/2022 season. And seriously we are not
surprised that there are about 221 ticket sold for
today’s match and its quite much today.
# in_wenger_there_is_failure
# in_kroenke_there_is_failure
# in_Usmanov_there_is_hope
# in_Arsenalfans_there_is_success
I update this before and the replies shows that
the fans are begining to know that the board
does not care for the fans…this’s realisation.
Thanks
and there would still be akbs who would be skeptical about bringing in a new coach for fear of losing the 14th place trophy
Hahahahahaha!!
The best thing I’ve read all week.
I agree with you point that fans protesting at a home will be have a very negative effect on the players and manager and could even result in defeat because of it. However I believe this is the very reason why it is a great idea. Arsenal is more than Wenger , and now finally more and more people see him for what he is , basically a has been.
But in spite of this , there is absolutely no recognition from the manager, the board or the club of this total fan dissatisfaction. The frustration level is at fever pitch.
I believe many Arsenal fans no longer care if we make top 4 as we all know that unless Wenger is replaced we will just end up getting knocked out in the last 16 anyway. What’s the point ? It’s simply a money making exercise.
I know I can be accused ( quite rightly ) of being disloyal , but as an Arsenal fan of over 45 years , I just am totally convinced that Arsenal will be far better without Wenger.
I am also totally , beyond frustration , as to what it will take for club to recognise and act on this.
Yes , I would take outside top four and frankly even relegation if that’s what takes to get rid of him.
I am of the opinion it is time for Wenger to go.
Not because he is a crap manager and never was. He got us to a record number of FA Cup wins, 3 Prem titles, a double and a Champs League final. But, all good things come to an end, he has become stale and whilst he brought the best football ever seen in the league, other teams have caught on and playing better. It’s time he stepped aside and I believe he would have if we had won it this year. He will still be here next season.
I do not agree with the planned protests during the game though and as has just been said by pundits on the radio this morning, these protests are not only a waste of time but extremely childish. Do it before or after but not during. I hope we score in the twelfth minute to drown out the protest, if it happens that is. Our proud club is being drawn into disrepute by these actions and there will be fights between the ins and outs in the stadium today, which is sad, very sad.
Wenger out, but not like this.
My last and only words on the subject, cheers!
Well said but I still keep wenger lol
We lost the league for one reason. Not injuries not us fans nor the refs. We didn’t take our chances. Blame what you like. Luck, the squad, the owner, Wenger, Giroud…
The list goes on. Our conversion rate is on par with Aston villa. If every shot that hit the woodwork went in, we’d be top. We’ve hit the woodwork twice as much as Leicester. The fact still remains: In every game we’ve played this season, we have missed at least one chance that my Sunday league team would have scored. We should have bought a striker and if we don’t this summer, I may as well copy this post, and get ready to press paste this time next season.