The protest backfired – By DS.
Yesterday was supposed to be an awkward day for Arsene Wenger. A day where there was a backlash from fans who were supposedly going to make it clear they were not happy, something he has always maintained is the one factor in his decision in how long he stays at the Emirates.
Yet somehow on a potentially embarrassing day for the club Wenger ended up getting the last laugh and a potential confidence boost going forwards.
Journalists had shown up ready to further kick the Frenchmen when he was down, ready to write about the toxic atmosphere around the stadium. The truth is though, 12 minutes into and before the end of the game, when banners were held up, they were met with jeers from the majority of the crowd, including chants of ‘There’s only one Arsene Wenger’. This is despite his players doing very little to help ease the pressure off his shoulders. We were poor against Norwich as we continue to limp towards the finish line. That though didn’t change the fact that this was a good day for Arsene, going far deeper than the three points.
There were a lot of things he said in his pre match press conference that were controversial, no more so then blaming fans for the failed title push (although protests during a game is never going to help players confidence).
What he did say that yesterday’s events gave weight to some of the more vocal ‘Wenger Out’ mob having their own agenda. He stopped short of naming names, refusing to point out ironies like Jamie Redknapp calling his team bottlers, yet his career is most famous for playing in a Liverpool side who…. Um….. bottled the title. He could of compared his league winning record as a manager to Grame Souness, who’s trying to make a punditry career out of tearing into Arsenal.
But where the agenda remark seemed to run true was the reaction of fans on social media, outraged that the supporters dare sing for Wenger on their 15 minutes of fame.. In 2016 there are so many ways to share your views with the world within seconds. From radio phone ins to YouTube channels, supporters, normally emotional after a defeat have a platform to say whatever they want. Some of them thanks to tacky radio shows like Talk Sport have tried to make mini celebrities out of them. Arsenal fan TV for example used to be watchable, now apart from a couple of exceptions it consists of angry old men swearing at anyone who dares disagree with them. What happens is they believe their own hype. They believe because they get interviewed on a site with thousands of subscribers and asked to go on national radio that they represent what most Gooners think.
They have days like yesterday where they realise how in the minority they are. Worse they then swear, shout and mock those fans for having the same right of opinion which allows them to express theirs. As much as they have right to verbally abuse a man in his sixties, others have the same freedom to have some perspective and respect the greatest manager in our history.
On outlets such as the one I am writing on here readers have the right to disagree and want change. Me myself have long held the view that as long as we have owners who do not have the ambition to win the Premiership we are stuck anyway.
Whatever your views, Arsene Wenger deserves respect and perhaps the reason people’s protests backfired yesterday was fans not standing for a man who’s done so much for us being spat in the face.
Dan
Do you agree with Dan’s views?