Arsene Wenger says it’s down to him and the players to excite Arsenal fans during a period when attendances are at the lowest they’ve been for many years.
Despite the announcements of crowds in the high 50,000s*, it’s clear that far fewer people are in the stadium, with an estimated 30,000 of the 60,000+ capacity staying away from the recent league game with Manchester City.
As the Gunners prepare to face AC Milan in the Europa League Round of 16 second-leg this evening, the manager acknowledged the team’s role in winning back supporters.
“I have played in front of sold-out stadiums for 22 years and I am grateful,” he said.
“If there are one or two games and the stadium is not completely full, we have to look at ourselves and get the fans behind us again.”
While Aaron Ramsey, goalscorer in the San Siro, said he was hopeful the importance of tonight’s clash would see people turn out to back the team.
“Hopefully there won’t be so many empty seats,” he said, “But we’re just focused on trying to win a football game.
“Hopefully our performances on the pitch will encourage many to come back.”
Let’s hope that the excitement of tonight’s game helps with the attendance. We have the chance to get into a European quarter-final, and a good performance and result would go some way to reinvigorating fans.
* Arsenal’s announcement is not the number of people through the turnstiles, but the amount of tickets sold. However, there’s a lot to be read into the fact that so many people are choosing not to attend games they’ve actually paid for.
Europa League should be packed, though just can’t see that there is much more to watch for the rest of the season outside that. I’d expect a fair number of empty seats for most other matches.
Let’s hope we don’t go out of the Europa League!
I’m getting an ache from the amount of times “hopefully” is used in these sound bites. Give 100% on the pitch and the sound will be deafening. #yagunnersya
Truest comment I have heard from the gaffer in a long time. I’ll give him respect for that…at least he acknowledges the performances have a lot to do with the empty seats whether or not the players want to continue living in the very wealthy bubbles of denial and this “true fans” BS. Time to get out there are earn at least a little of those ludicrous pay packages and show us why we support the team
One of the most reasonable things (without making excuses), Wenger said in the last decade…“If there are one or two games and the stadium is not completely full, we have to look at ourselves and get the fans behind us again.”
The fan’s are staying away because of you Wenger, not the team or the players, I think it’s very important we make this distinction.
And those fans can keep do that.
And they will
Another big reason is that all the corporate hospitality ticket holders don’t want to bring customers to a toxic atmosphere
Not sure why so much negative feedback. It’s the truth. Don’t we all want change? Perhaps this is the way to get the board to notice.
because it’s not the truth. it’s just john’s opinion.
It’s not an opinion.
A half-empty Emirates stadium during Arsenal’s worst period in over a decade is not a coincidence, its because they want the manager gone.
That is the truth.
The half empty stadium is because the team isn’t winning. If the team were winning this wouldn’t be happening, Arsene or no. They’ve just identified the manager as the source of the problem.
I’m not disagreeing with them on the source of the problem, but fact is if we were winning the seats would be full.
It’s the manager and many fans will not return until he’s gone. It’s not just about results.
If he is somehow still here next season and the team is winning, the seats will be full.
Maybe, maybe not, but to say it hasn’t been a protest against the manager is wrong.
Never said it wasn’t directed at the manager. Said if we’re winning the seats are full.
Because we’ve beaten 2 average, semi-motivated teams and all is rosey again amongst the fickle.
Some people believe we should show blind devotion to the club regardless of the decision they make, the lies they’ve told and the contempt upon which they show the fans, more fool them i say!
What a bullshit statement. Nobody has said anything is all rosy. But you like to fight, so you put up a bullshit statement to get people to argue with you.
Enjoy.
No bullshit statement just the truth, which is why you attack me not the argument.
Enjoy.
“all is rosey amongst the fickle.. more fool them”
yeah, you’re a fucking saint.
It’s a bullshit statement because as i said nobody has said all is rosy. Flat out lie.
Attacking you? That’s also a lie because I obviously called out your bullshit argument that some think all is rosy.
I clearly played the ball and now you’re rolling around on the pitch making card hands to the ref. Nice.
You were getting raked by differing opinions and pulled out your straw man argument. You were clearly the one not playing the ball, I pointed that out.
You didn’t offer a different opinion, you called the statement bullshit, which it isn’t as it’s my opinion and i stand by it.
You decided to miss out the central premise of the sentence, i.e; “Some people believe we should show blind devotion to the club regardless of the decision they make, the lies they’ve told and the contempt upon which they show the fans” which you haven’t countered, probably because you don’t have one.
As per usual you don’t argue the point but attack the messenger, no debate, no counter argument.
Oh, you mean the other part of your statement meant to pick a fight with fellow Arsenal supporters? That was also BS because someone saying to be behind the team when they’re on the pitch is NOT the equivalent of agreeing with the club in all it’s decisions and practices and by absolutely no means is equivalent to saying Wenger should stay. Now before you get your assumptions ahead of yourself, I’m NOT saying nobody should protest. What I am saying is these propped up fake scenarios -straw man arguments- are shit. Putting fake words into mouths that don’t exist… Read more »
Please tell me which fake scenarios or words i’ve put forward?
That’s exactly what I’ve done above.
But let me summarize:
1. “everything’s rosy again” – nobody’s said it
2. “Some people believe we should show blind devotion to the club regardless of the decision they make” – pointed out above if someone says theyd like to see people get behind the players when they’re on the pitch that IN NO WAY equates to blind faith in the overall club’s actions.
Clear as day.
This IS the only way to get change.
Supporters are totally fed up having the piss taken out of them by paying the highest ticket prices in the world to compete with the major teams in exchange for supporting a manager that has no clue how to get his team to defend, won’t invest and can’t attract the players we need.
why should we support this manager?
He is stale, deluded and has gradually sent this club back to the 70’s.
The supporters are letting their feelings known and Wenger is shitting bricks…
He’s taken us to 17th, like 1975/6? One worse than the previous season.
Arsenal didn’t have twice the budget as the teams below them then as they do now. Our wage bill is what?! 4 or 5 times larger than Burnley’s at the moment who are closer to us than we are to the team above.
Arsenal’s policy of keeping the teams below them at arms length worked when 16 teams had less money and Champions League football was guaranteed when you finished 4th but doesn’t work when teams from the chasing pack decide to up their investment when they saw our venerability
So you are now saying we can’t compare to the 70s?
So we can’t be back in the 70s as it is totally different?
It’s comparable but different because the financial disparity didn’t exist.
The same because we are not competing in the same way, different because we now have a financial glass bottom that stops us falling into the bottom half of the table which for years has given an appearance of relative competitiveness, which has only existed because the teams below couldn’t afford to compete with us.
So we’ve occupied a limbo land of knowing that those below couldn’t afford to finish above us whilst we’ve shown no desire to challenge the teams above us. Hence numerous groundhog seasons.
I don’t see why people are quick to exonerate the players. Should it be hard to motivate them with the money they make ?
It’s because they’re at the bottom of the pile when it comes to decision making. They don’t pick themselves.
Players absolutely need to step the fark up. Their effort and commitment is pathetic…and we just sold off the two guys that left their heart on the pitch every game (Alexis and giroud). problem is Wenger continuously telling them how good they are and backing them even after bad losses just propogates this meek squad mentality that exists at the club. A couple decent games doesn’t mean shit. We have been shown over the last decade that no matter who is around its squad frailties that cost us in the end. …every year. Not going to change until the manager… Read more »
Bang on John.
Its not like we have never lost a game before or had a run of bad performances in the past, but at least there was some entertainment on show from Arsenal. I can barely watch games that we win because we have lost our way of playing. We have lost the biggest reason for foreigners like me to start supporting Arsenal. I am not surprised at the attendance being so low, but its says even more about this team that the local people don’t relate to the club anymore. Maybe its decisions like putting on Wilshere instead of Reiss Nelson… Read more »
Couldn’t have said it better. I live in New York and wish I could attend more games at the Emirates but can’t afford it on a teacher’s retirement income, but I go once a year to see a game because I love the team no matter what. I watch every game on tv that’s available in the States no matter how sick and depressed it makes me feel when we lose. Either you love the team, or you are not a fan. Be upset, wish for better, but how can you stop loving Arsenal. Can’t wait to beat the Burnley… Read more »
Wilshere was brought on to establish more ball control in a bid to protect the clean sheet for Cech; I don’t think it represents anything other than that. The team need a win and a clean sheet for their captain that game more than Nelson needed 10 minutes on the pitch. That said, I agree with you that the team has been a shadow of itself this season, though hopefully we are making strides to return to the light.
Play a different tune please.
Been hearing this same rubbish for years from him.
The tune will change when Arsenal changes its manager…
you dont have to win back the fans.. as mikhitaryan said, the real fans are already there. And there are more of us that wants to be there but dont have any tickets. the ones having the tickets dont wanna go to the games 🙂 you support a club or you dont. Through it all, no matter if you dont like the teams form or the teams manager. you dont go to the games for them you go FOR THE CLUB.
Totally agree, if fans want to protest against the manager/board or the direction of the club, it has to be away from the actual match.
I find it pretty shameful that so many gooners are such fair-weather supporters. We had it good for a long long time, now we’re experiencing some slightly shit times and the team needs its supporters more than ever. So how are we going to respond??
Lets support the team, win this fucking cup and move on and upward together.
Slightly shit? This is more like humiliatingly shit! Those of us that had the foresight to see where the club was heading 10+ years ago were lone voices. We are not alone now. I do not want to pay £100 for a ticket to just line the CEO and Wenger’s pockets, I expect in return good investment in the right players so we can compete for the top prizes. I also expect the players to be well prepared, fit as the rest and to play for the manager and supporters. This creates hope for the supporters, huge enjoyment and immense… Read more »
Mickey had two great games, one bad and two very poor games and already dividing fans. He ought to concentrate on his consistency instead.
Some fans can’t get to ALL the games, but still buy the ticket, that is SUPPORT too!
I agree for myself, I would go to support the club. But Mhki was wrong to say people who wouldn’t go were not supporting the club. It’s quite possible they love the club so much they are desperate to send a signal for needing change. It can’t be easy to let go a $100 ticket in protest, if you’re a die hard fan. When you say whatever I’m not even watching the game on TV, I don’t care anymore, Arsenal are shit, I’m done, and then when they start winning again, you hop back on the bandwagon, that’s different. If… Read more »
@High Gunner
There is an exchange platform for tickets that are not going to be used for a game here : https://www.arsenal.com/ticketexchange
So if so many people are desperate to get to a match and there are masses of tickets available on the exchange, why is the stadium more than half empty still?
I’ve been offered loads of tickets today, expect a half full stadium again.
looks like expectation unfulfilled.
There were lots of empty seats, at least 5,000, which for a game against football royalty is a big worry
I want a new coach but with Wenger’s personality
I was at the City-match. The whole day, the arsenal.com website told us to consult the page often in case the match was cancelled. Most train services in England stopped at 3 o’clock. There were difficulties on the tube. Tv and radio were full of snow-propaganda. I was alright with double wool socks, mittens and long johns, but I think the weather must have affected attendance far more than “Wenger out” (although I too hope he’ll quit in the summer).
What happened against Watford?
We don’t like to talk about that one because the answer to that question could be too much for the ‘true’ fans to handle…
Those true fans that almost certainly haven’t been within 100 miles of the stadium
The fact that season ticket holders continue to buy their (‘most expensive in the world’) season tickets despite knowing they will not be able to get to all the games because of other commitments says a lot too. Gooners live all over the country, not just North London!
Appreciate this from Le Prof after Mhkitarian’s idiotic comment a couple days ago.
The club is bigger than any one player or coach. If any one player or coach is getting in the way of the good of the club, we have the full right to protest.
That said, I’d kill to be in Islington today taking in a few pints before heading over to the stadium!
COYG