Nervous fans harming Arsenal’s Premier League challenge?

With no midweek game for the Gunners to have to deal with this week, the inquest goes on among the Arsenal faithful about the recent run of disappointing results. Per Mertesacker has of course taken a big share of the stick, as has the decision by Arsene Wenger to take off Olivier Giroud, the headless chicken act of Mathieu Flamini, bad luck, an unhelpful ref, a cheating Chelsea striker and the team’s all round failure to fashion enough clear cut chances to score.

A couple of articles in the football media, however, have brought up another possible problem, the Arsenal fans themselves. A Daily Mail report that picked up various things from the game pointed out that the atmosphere at the Emirates on Sunday was hardly conducive to a free flowing game from the Arsenal players or clear thinking from the manager. Their reporter suggested that in the growing pressure of a very tight race for the EPL title the Gunners could really do with some whole hearted and vocal support rather than the jeering and groaning of the home fans.

And a report in The Mirror accused us of overreacting to the defeat by Chelsea, explaining that things do go against you at times and that we are still in a very good position to push on. He also pointed out many positives like the return of Alexis Sanchez, the form of Giroud, Ozil and Cech and the ability to bounce back that the team have shown already this season.

Are they right about us fans being a bit too nervous and too ready to focus on the negative. And with Southampton coming to the Emirates next week, will it cause further damage to our title challenge?

Tags Chelsea Southampton Wenger

20 Comments

    1. Exactly, nervous fans aren’t harming the team’s title challenge, the team’s inability to remain consistent is what’s making us nervous. The Southampton and Stoke games are good examples of why we’re always nervous, the team’s mentality is so predictable opposition don’t even worry playing against us which is why we’re never feeling comfortable after a win. I’ll only feel confident when we’re winning games 4-0 on a consistent basis like title winning teams are supposed to do.

        1. i’ve come to realize that wenger’s primary value is trust in his existing squad of players. even if it means not buying and losing the PL (because from my eyes, buying WC players would solve the problem, but from wenger’s point of view, it would not necessarily solve the problem).

          when a club buys a big new player like sanchez, it breathes life into the fans. but wenger’s stoic belief in existing squad means we hardly ever buy real big ones. plus he has that annoying value-for-money thing: all in all, it means we often come up short – there there is no room for argument: just look at our record last 10 years.

          i had hoped numerous times over the last few years that he would “go for it” and buy some big guns and shoot us to the top. thats just not going to happen. if we do get to the top, it will be with our existing squad (including those players that are past their sell date).

          altho in public he cannot blame mertesacker, i hope in private he does do a honest tally. gabriel has shown some fissures too so we dont really have a WC counterpart to kos. wenger’s faith in his players causes him to overlook their faults – which leads to even less buying and to the a squad that has flam and arteta in it.

    2. Correction : average players harming our title challenge.
      We are missing just 2 players and everything is collapsing left and right.
      Just 2.
      Coqueliin and Cazorla.
      The rest on our injury list are just make weight.Nice to have fit but inconsequential.
      All the blame goes to wenger ,who is assisting Kroenke to screw the fans,who keeps giving massive contracts to injury prone underachiever/ pensioners and who refuses to upgrade.
      Szczecny who cannot get into the Polish first team is still on the books, Right?

  1. Of course the fans are nervous, but harming the players ?? Come on, if the players can’t deal with that pressure, then why even play the game. The fans are only harming their own health 🙂 The players have to dig deep, show they will do everything for this, there are huge games coming up and they will have to earn this title. As for the “true” fans, they will keep the faith and of course the nervousness as well.

  2. the Author of this Article is totally un-serious

    Yes! BLAME IT ON THE FANS…..

    We make the Team selection on matchdays
    We decide what tactics we want
    We want the trophy so much

    go ahead List em crimes…

    1. The Emirates isn’t called the library for Nothing ?
      So…. Ssshhh… ?? Wenger is Sleeping! ???

      At the end of the day, The Fan’s will always respond to the Teams performance and it’s down to the manager and the players to give them something to shout about!

      How about giving the home fan’s a share of wengers wages if you won’t them to do his job, by motivating the team ?
      The Emirates faithful get stung with the biggest entrance fee’s for their patients and loyalty and you expect them to do a Mexican wave, whilst Wenger spends most of his time sitting in the dugout, with his face buried in his hands!
      ???

      I wouldn’t be surprised if Wenger paid a few journalist to put this “blame the fan’s” malarkey out!
      ???

      1. Probably a bit late to comment on this fatbpy, but Highbury was the library. The Emirates has lacked atmosphere from day one. We’ve had exceptions like bergies testimonial when it was an event and everyone was upbeat but on the whole we lack the grit of the northern clubs and those with rousing anthems like the scouters.

        Tbh it’s a shame we can’t bottle the passion of the travelling gooners cos they put everyone, home or away, to shame.

        Perhaps the apathy that surrounds many blog sites extends to some of the fans. People everywhere need to get behind the team and stop effing moaning all the time. Perhaps then we’d see that attitude extend to the ground. Unadulterated passion and belief go a long way.

        When we were the invincibles we had many great anthems about our stars Vieira, Henry etc and now the best we manage is Arsenal….repeat, or Girouds Beatles ditty. Doesn’t compare with other clubs.

        I’ve often thought that some clubs lift their teams and the fans seconds in advance of the game with adopted rousing upbeat musical classics, city, Stoke, Liverpool etc etc and AFC should do the same.

  3. this squad sheet gave me goosebumps.
    They look as if they are on a mission.
    To ensure first place as it comes.

    cech ospina martinez macey

    bellerin kos gabriel gibbs monreal

    coquelin chambers flamini bielik

    Wilshere rambo cazorla

    Ox walcott campbell iwobi

    ozil rosicky

    Sanchez welbeck giroud

    1. Counting Debuchy, Arteta and Mert out already? 😉 Also where’s Elneny!

      I think we will be in for a busy transfer period next summer. Surely Arteta, Mertesacker, Flamini, Rosicky and Debuchy won’t be around much longer!

          1. Hahaha ???

            I can actually imagine all those Crow’s sitting in a Row, along his arms, Whilst one is picking at his straw like hair,
            Whilst saying to the other Crow’s!
            “Hey!.. Is this xxxx for real?” ?

  4. Years of disappointment
    mean when the team falters
    all the old doubts and fears
    quickly resurface. But this year it
    is different because old nemeses
    Chelsea and Utd are not contenders.
    Focusing on the negative is counter productive
    and is laying the groundwork for accepting defeat again.
    Lets focus only on our strengths.
    We are right there with key players returning.
    City has too many games and have a
    dodgy defense while Leicester is beatable.
    Everything will come right, we will start scoring for fun,
    keep clean sheets and surge to victory.
    Up the Arsenal 2015-2016 EPL Champions 🙂

    1. Kompany is back in two weeks!
      I heard that he used to be a Plumber,
      So, no more leaks for City.

  5. hi guys am new here I just join last nit am a big fan of d gunners since 2003 b coz of d greatest playing in d EPL history am talking of king Hendry. I believe this year will b year of d gunners Mark my words

  6. Note to the club. My negativity will disappear if you do the following:
    Sack Szczesny, BFG, Ramsey(he is an excellent player, but I think he’d fit Barca’s style bette, plus we can really cash in on him properly), Arteta, Rosicky, Flamini, Theo and if proven shit, Welbz, Sanogo, Gnabry. Loan the Ox to prove his worth, if nothing happens bye,bye Ox.
    Pay whatever amount for John Stones and replace the rest of the squad with quality players that have won a league title in their lives at least once, to balance out the loser mentality that is currently running strong in this team.
    I think many Arsenal fans would feel the soft breeze of positivity if this request was fulfilled.

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