The dressing room vibes play a big part towards success!
Theo Walcott may have been out of the squad yesterday due to an injury according to Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger. However some believe that the boss may have left Walcott out of the squad due to his honest interview about a lack of presence and fighting spirit in the dressing room.
Walcott’s statement embarrassed the club’s efforts in the dressing room during last week’s defeat, in their attempt to raise the bar and create a atmosphere that we could turn this bad spell of performances around. It became clear that not much is said in the Arsenal dressing room if things aren’t in favour of the Gunners and it thus seems like a fair few players are responding strongly to the criticism from the fans and those on social media.
Arsene Wenger revealed just how much of a difference a positive spirit in the dressing room can make before, during or after a game. He said: “Every player responds individually to criticism from the crowd or on social media. Some are more affected than others. But what is most important is the strength you find within yourself to respond, and that strength is something you can find inside a united dressing room.”
It’s not uncommon for many Arsenal fans to sway their opinion following on from a poor match result, and in some cases rightly so. However the fans have been accused of being a little too ‘fickle’ in the past, with Wenger In / Wenger Out almost swaying week in week out for some Arsenal fans. For the success of the team, it’s down to the performance on the pitch and if the players aren’t performing to the standard we expect as fans, then you can be sure that many will be ready to kick up a fuss. But getting on the back of the players and the manager isn’t always the best reaction in hindsight, especially as it can often cause a problem to drag out perhaps longer than it would if the support remained constant.
As already mentioned there are instances in which a social media reaction could be considered as a fair response this season, especially following on from two successive defeats. But do the fans play more of a part in the players performances that we might realise?
By AH