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?