Arsene Wenger has come under strong pressure from sections of Arsenal’s fanbase in recent months, following their fall out of the title race.
The protestations have been snowballing as their run of form has continued to frustrate, and a plane was even flown over the Emirates Stadium against West Brom to call for him to leave.
Yesterday’s game appeared to be going the same route, with chants heard at the start of the game to urge him to quit the club, but after the 90 minutes, a number of fans remained to chant Arsene Wenger’s name, which may have outshined the protests.
Wenger recalled the signing, and admitted how happy he was to be hearing the happy fans after a tough few months in charge.
“I’m happy when people are happy,” Wenger said.
“And when you’re at the club for such a long time and you really care about people who care about the club, you know how sad they are when it doesn’t go well.
“So I can take care of myself because I am used to dealing with difficult periods but you want people who love the club to be happy, so I’m happy.”
Last night’s win was very important to our campaign, with it boosting us up back into fifth place in the division, as well as gaining points on both Manchester City and Liverpool who failed to win their games.
The Citizens were unable to take any points from their trip to league leaders Chelsea, while the Reds failed to beat a resolute Bournemouth side at Anfield.
Our club certainly needs to rally around and get behind the team in order to help our side battle their way into the top four, and Crystal Palace on Monday needs to be the start of that.
I know a large number of fans still want the Frenchman to give up his role, but the team is supposed to be the most important thing right now, and it remains clear that we are divided on the subject.
Last night’s chants may have outstaged the protests of late, but he may still decide to step down this summer, and our club will need to qualify for the Champions League whether he does stay on next term or not.
Did last night’s positivity outweigh the protests? Are the protests hurting our season?
Pat J