Is Wenger right to call out moaning Arsenal fans?

It sounds to me as if Arsene Wenger is not just complaining about the way that Arsenal fans have been behaving of late, he is actually suggesting that the home crowd at the Emirates and the negative atmosphere they produced was a big factor in the Gunners being knocked out of the FA cup by Watford.

The weekend before had seen us battle back well to rescue a point with a man down in the north London derby away to Spurs and then we battered Hull City in the FA cup replay, so the boss feels that it was a strange time for the home fans to be moaning and putting extra pressure on the players in a game that could have seen us on the way to an amazing FA cup record.

As reported by Metro the Frenchman feels that this crucial part of the season is when the team needs the fans the most. So he is struggling to understand what is going on at the moment and is calling on the fans to put aside their anger and frustration, at least for now.

Wenger said, ‘What hurts me is that at the important moment of the season we played in a sceptical environment.

‘I think after the Tottenham game where we played a very good game with 10 men against 11 and came back to 2-2, I couldn’t understand why – at the moment when you need everyone behind the team – we had to hit that storm.

‘From the media, OK. From our fans? It is a bit more difficult to take.

‘I never complain about critics, especially when they are turned against me. But we have to get the fans behind us with our attitude, and make sure that they stand behind the team until the end of the season.’

Is he right? I can certainly understand the Arsenal fans being fed up and it is hard not to let your feelings show during the passion of a football match, but at the same time I know that is does not help the players when there are grumblings coming from the stands. What do you guys think?

Tags Emirates Watford

17 Comments

  1. If Arsene made the additional signings he should have, even if we were not any better off in the league, at the least fans would look and say well Arsene has tried to bolster the squad and done all he can to try ensure EPL title this season. (Although I firmly believe if he had brought in better players we would be top of the table.)

    The sad truth is that we have be counting on mediocre players to win the league and Arsene for whatever reason is either too naive or simply overconfident in his current squad. Fans are upset for a very good reason, and one draw against spurs isn’t going to fix some of the problems Wenger should have addressed long ago. I’ll admit Wenger has indeed fixed many of the issues, but just not enough to be CONSISTENT enough to win top honors.

    1. @ Big Gun. Your first paragraph is the reason Wenger is reluctant to spend. Wenger is afraid his flaws of incompetence and eventual sack would be confirmed should he spend big and yet win nothing. The current situation is in his favor as everybody believes Arsenal is not winning because Wenger is not spending.

    2. I agree 100%, my frustration does not stem from being kicked out of the FA cup by Watford or an other dumb red card against Spurs or for being eliminated from the CL, my frustration comes from the fact that we all know in the summer we would suffer injuries and that we need more goals in the team in the form of a quality striker. Wenger did nothing and that is now the reason in my mind for these poor results.

      In your mind you think when Coq gets injured “if we had Wanyama on the bench we would be ok”. When he starts Sanchez because he can not afford to rest him and we all know Sanchez will get injured you think “If we had Griezman we could afford to rest Sanchez”.

      When you see Giroud miss he gazillion’d easy chance you think “If we had bought even Lukaku with all that cash in the bank Giroud would have some compition and Srsenal a few more goals”

      That is the reason IMO for the negative fan reaction, not the results. The fact he did NOTHING this summer (and in January for that matter) and we all knew we would once again get hit by injuries and we all knew there was room to strengthen this squad.

  2. Yes Wenger is right. With just few games to go and title still in sight the time is not right to moan and talk about all the players we could have bought and what not.
    The current scenario is that fans have given up on the title but still don’t want the players to give up as well. Make up your mind!

    1. Yes, now blame it on the fans like they managed the squad and didn’t buy the required signings to win it? I mean it’s one thing to be naive like Arsene, but another to blame it on the fans, who eat all the disappointment, and are the people who PAY for Arsenal to exist, while people like Arsene who don’t do their job get richer and richer.

      Nice logic sir!

      1. @disturbance decide what u r more angry about, fans buying most expensive tickets and team still not winning the title or owners and Wenger getting more and more rich. Quite a fine line between these two.

    2. I have a feeling you started following Arsenal this season. I will take the pain to enlighten you. The fans concern has nothing to do with patience till the season is over. The fans genuine concern is the fact that we have been in this same same scenario, same manager and same situation for the past 12 years! It is deja vu. It is the same old tape that has been over and over again for the past 12 years. It is simply boring!

      1. I assure you I have seen the entirety of arsenal’s drought years. Hope that clears any doubt.
        @eloaking

        1. You are missing the point, still. In the entirety of Arsenal’s drought years, we were not repeating the same thing, year in year out, for 12 consecutive years.

          1. The point is, channel your anger and frustration into something when the time is right. Had we lost title by now (mathematically and realistically) then I would have had no problem with fans moaning excessively and already planning about next season, why would I ?

  3. Noooooooooo……. Wenger has no right to call out anybody…certainly not the moaning fans…..
    He’s had well over 20yrs to put smiles on miscellaneous faces…….. Well , he couldn’t and the rest is History!

    1. Wenger has to go at the end of this season … He had his chances already … The fans are frustrated, the man cannot even tolerate that …
      More chants and more banners have to be raised … The board and the manager, they all need to go …

  4. Losing at home to Watford was
    an embarrassment something
    which could not be defended.
    I am not sure why Arsene would
    even try blaming a home loss
    to mid table Watford on the fans.
    Scraping a home draw with Championship Hull
    the previous round was indefensible also.
    Then the exit to Barca which to be fair everyone expected.
    But Wenger had assured us that Watford
    and even Barca were beatable but after the losess
    we as fans should not be disappointed at the defeats
    and we should also not be disappointed with the manager.
    It’s been the theme of Arsene and Arsenal for years.
    Promise EPL+ ECL glory every summer so the money keeps
    rolling in but when these promises are not kept then
    expect the fans to be satisfied with top 4 and last 16.
    We all know by now that the public promise of
    EPL and ECL glory conflicts with the in house top 4 last 16 model
    espoused by Stan, the board, the CEO and Arsene.
    The fact that Stan was quoted as saying Trophies were
    too expensive to compete for only fanned the fires.
    Telling people a lie for 9 years and to always
    label critics as moaners, disloyal and not true fans
    has worked a long time, but maybe not forever.
    But with top 4 secured I would not bet on change
    in the Arsenal structure any time soon.

  5. Well if you actually listen to fans grievances once in a while maybe you would understand why they are angry.
    I first commented on this site five or six years ago and I said Arsenal will remain in the same predicament, have the same injury problems, same top four situation UNTL WENGER GETS SUCKED. And guess what five-six years later things haven’t changed much.
    I eventually got fed up of commeting on this site,after seeing the same type of comments year in year out:
    -“We need a new Central-Defender to replace Diaby”
    -“Somebody like so and so would be a good striker”
    -“Just buy a Central Midfielder and we will be complete”

    -And not forgetting the ever present AKB’s who insured disunity among fans but thankfully they have diminished in number.

  6. He is right to give out about the grumbling atmosphere and the fans are right to grumble, everyone has their own mind or way about them so who is he to say that they are wrong and who are they to say he shouldn’t feel the way he does. On a serious note though, the atmosphere has been piss poor, and we have still a slim fighting chance. We did give up a bit easy, but I just think that swa game kicked everyone in the nards.

  7. Us fans thought the business model was,
    A. whilst paying off stadium debt – achieve top four finish and reach last sixteen whilst not incurring more debt.
    B. After paying off stadium debt – challenge for top honours, grow what Kronke would call the Arsenal Brand.
    Note – stadium debt above refers to the high interest loans not the long term low interest loans which are still there.

    It now appears from Kronke’s comments that B above is not the aim, top four in PL and last 16 in CL is good enough. Add to this the poor performance of chelsea, manu and manc in the PL and Arsenals falure to capitalise on this. So many fans are upset, realisation that their aims and aspirations are different to the owner, and poor performance this season, looks like we will be beaten by club or clubs with less financial clout.

    To many fans it seems like ten years of pain and no gain. No wonder we are upset and negative.

  8. sorry Mr Wenger but your complaints about fans expeasing just proves that you and your players cant take the pressure, which is what most of your critics are saying.

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