Mikel Arteta has hit out at the social media trolls who targeted Kai Havertz and his pregnant wife after he missed chances to score in the FA Cup defeat to Man Utd on Sunday.
So-called Arsenal fans sent despicable messages to her which she then made public to highlight the abuse she had been subjected to, and when asked about it today the Arsenal manager backed his player and condemned the behaviour.
“It’s incredible, honestly,” said Arteta. “And we really have to do something about it, because accepting that and hiding this, I think has terrible consequences.
“It’s something that we really have to eradicate from the game, because it’s so cynical as well, and it’s so dependent to a result of an action.
“27th of December at home. We win 1-0. Kai Havertz scores a goal, and the whole stadium after that is singing the Waka Waka. That’s 20 days ago. Guys, what is the perspective?
“So we are all responsible, and all means you guys are responsible, everybody is responsible for the narrative, everybody is responsible for how we talk, and we cannot look somewhere else.
“This is a really serious matter, guys. It affects him, and it affects me, and it affects everybody that is in the industry in a way. We can accept criticism, and we say that’s our job, yes, but there are certain limits, and the line has to be drawn.
“We put a lot of attention on that, about technology and what is next, and next in football might be that this is prohibited. It cannot happen. That’s it.”
It is important to point out that there is a world of difference between the fans in the stadium and the overwhelming majority of supporters, and the half-witted morons who feel they can send that kind of abuse online.
The sad reality is that those people will always exist, and it’s unfortunate they’re given any oxygen – but it’s also important to hammer home the message that this stuff is unacceptable on every level.
As we pointed out in our post about comments last week, there have to be some standards of moderation, but social media companies turn a blind eye in their pursuit of profit. Again, we’ll just remind everyone here that we welcome your comments, but please consider not just what you say, but how you say it.
He has been very good for us. Two bad misses in the last two matches but let’s get behind him, we need him.
Love me a bit of Kai. Always works his ass off and It’s not only his fault we don’t score enough, he’s been seriously lacking support. I mean he’s got more goals than anyone else this season.
Let’s not forget he had the flu/illness that knocked him on his ass. Out of the squad for a game, on the bench for another and then we have to start his as the squad is so thin. If you watch him in the beginning of his first game back, his speed of thought was not typical Kai. No one ever produces at 100%, there are regular dips in form. Let’s ALL try and support the players we have, we saw what happened to his performance when the crowd got behind him.
This is what I’ve been concerned about. Havertz was one of the worst affected by the bug, and I think that under normal circumstances he’d have been rested for a few extra games but injuries to other players have prevented this.
What kind of people downvote this?not welcome at this club! I can where they come from 😡
GUESS!!!
It doesn’t matter if he’s great or if he’s total shit. The things that were written and sent to his wife are beyond the bounds of human decency. And that’s not more or less true based on performance.
100%, beyond human! 🤮
Clearly these cretins need identifying, charged in the courts and banned from football for
Life
That element of divs that make money on their You Tube channels fuel this behaviour (we know who they are).
I don’t agree with lifetime bans. Of course there does need to be a strong punishment for that sort of abuse, but it’s important not to get hysterical with the proposed punishments.
The notion that someone shouldn’t be able to take their grandkids to football because they wrote a horrible message 50 years ago is an overreaction caused by emotion. Yeah they should be banned for a fair while, probably charged for sending intimidating messages and frankly they should be named and shamed, but lifetime bans don’t encourage people to change their future behaviour in my opinion.
Sorry but if you send death threats or anything similar it should be a lifetime ban from all footballing activities and a criminal investigation.
Agree to disagree – personally I think people can change a lot and should be given the opportunity and encouragement to do so. For me lifetime bans don’t offer that.
No
Highly persuasive.
Or maybe don’t threaten to kill an unborn child of a football players wife? That would solve the problem
At no point have I said I think that’s remotely acceptable. I’ve said they should get a lengthy ban from going to football, probably be *criminally charged* and named and shamed. I have simply put forward a counter argument to lifetime bans on the basis that someone at the age of 60 might just be a different person to who they were as a foolish teenager.
Perhaps I was expecting a bit too much in hoping for a nuanced discussion in the comment section on here 👍
Well, the very definition of your argument in the first place suggests that you do consider it acceptable, remotely.
those idiots sending despicable things on social media should be found and shot. such idiocy should not be tolerated. life time bans are the least of what they deserve. There are lines that should not be crossed at any point.
I was thinking about using the death penalty as a possible escalation from the lifetime ban 😂
It wasn’t at his wife thank god, but even right here there were so many seething comments about Kai, saying he’s an awful striker, a bust… As Arteta said, same people who were probably singing Waka Waka a few weeks ago. I can’t get my head around how fickle some of our fans are.
Fragile ego’s who find it necessary to link their personal status with the team. When the team loses, they lash out. We do seem to attract a lot of this type in the supporter base. Some sort of weird entitlement.
I am always a little surprised at the vehemence of some of the comments on this blog immediately after Arsenal lose. Most of the people who comment here, even after a loss, try to keep some perspective. But some seem to have no context whatsoever, no sense of scale. Havertz the worst signing in Arsenal history? As Arteta points out, the whole stadium was singing his song literally three weeks earlier. Missing a sitter is football, not a war crime.
The scary thing is that Arseblog is FAR better than social media. There’s obnoxious stuff posted here in the comments sometimes, but it’s much worse on social media, and more eyeballs on it there too.
We are lucky to have this place and thank you to the staff who try to keep it sane and decent here.
But it was her that received the messages, and the BBC article states that there were threats to the couple’s unborn child
He is an awful striker, he is a total bust. And his place in the team means we will never win the league. Carry on burying your head in the sand…
They are not Arsenal fans!
Utterly depressing – and without restraints social media is likely to become even more of a cesspit.
I was extremely disappointed this wasn’t addressed in this morning’s blog.
Why? I’ve spoken out about this many times before – and as I said in this piece, there is that thing of giving these idiots oxygen by bringing it up.
In this case, we’re reporting the manager’s reaction to it. I think everyone who reads Arseblog or listens understands we condemn this kind of behaviour and always have done.
I totally agree, as long as it applies to all victims of these intimidating and not just bullying practices. However, I don’t recall any reactions from the blog when some …nice guys were wishing Xhaka’s daughter had cancer.
There was plenty of reaction. It was disgusting, and so is this.
It’s all your fault Andrew. Own it.
I respect your response here, and you are right, more consideration should have been given by me to the comments you made in this article about giving oxygen.
All good 👍
When people say ah isn’t social media awful, it’s not the same in person, I suggest they pay closer attention the next time the camera cuts to player walking to the sideline for a throw/corner and witness the red faced rage that the oppo fans have and the abuse and gestures hurled in the players direction. In full view of the cameras, often their own child next to them, certainly others’ children nearby, and anyone else who doesn’t want to hear it — but for a not insignificant minority it’s amongst a group who are all joining in doing the… Read more »
Tennis and cycling!!!
Giving stick to the opposition is part of what makes a hostile/intimidating atmosphere. Of course there’s a line but please think twice before wishing for the atmosphere to be like going to Wimbledon, we’re just about to play Tottenham and I intend on being rude to their players and supporters.
I’m with you on that one, but there’s many country miles difference between a bit of banter and brutal verbal behaviour on the social media platforms. Seems like so many folks have lost their moral compasses since the age of cyber communication dawned. If one attempts to put a filter on the abusive outbursts online, you risk being accused of censorship. Mental poverty it seems is rife in 2025..
This reminds me of what Xhaka said about the Arsenal fans above the tunnel the day our own turned on him. He spoke about the hatred and something beyond he could see in the eyes and faces of those he looked at. They weren’t on social media ( which is worse and horrible at it) but these were people who had been turned against him week after week
The scary thing is that with Zuckerberg’s latest comments it looks like social media is only going to get worse…
What the fuck is wrong with people?? Something really needs to be done against abusers on social media, it’s disgusting. We all have bad spells in our careers and having abuse be thrown at you and your loved ones hardly helps…
I get footballers are paid millions but there’s no amount you could pay me for my pregnant wife to have to go through that knowing because of the scum running these sites there will be no consequences.
Kai has been a good signing for us, he’s a confidence player – just who he is – let’s get behind him 100% and help him.
It’s such a contradiction when fans criticise their own players in certain ways. Do they expect the criticism will make them better? We all want them to do well, so it makes no sense to actively seek to destroy them (much of the time it will be opposing fans that are trolling, sad cunts). Players will all be well aware of when they are underperforming, and even if a player claims that they feed off criticism and doubt, they are probably lying and are most certainly in the minority – for most players it will hurt, just like it would… Read more »
To pin our disappointing form on Kai is crazy. There are people who call themselves arsenal fans just waiting for bad results so they crawl out of their dungeons. Why did we have to end up with the worst fanbase in the world? Anyone who engages with their rage bait is just as complicit too. When will they learn?
Despicable is the right word. I recall the treatment Saka got as a young lad after missing that pen for England. I hope that they players and their families are able to rise above it, but I am sure than abuse like this takes a toll. On a side note, I’d like to praise Blogs for moving over to Blue Sky from Twitter. I am not on social media myself, but I am aware of the cesspit that place has become, and support anyone who turns their back on it regardless of the potential business cost of moving to a… Read more »
The abuse is sad. INTOLERABLE. But …. Football is an emotional endeavor n Kai havertv conspired 2 miss sitters. If the Waka Waka was acceptable after scoring, the criticism should also be welcome 4 the misses. Don’t misunderstand me … The abuse I don’t condone but civil criticism I support
Well you’re commenting on the wrong post. We’re talking about abuse, not criticism. And it seems people cannot tell the difference between the two. And every time we call it out, someone feels the need to post a comment like this.
Not really. The posts in this thread would say otherwise. Abuse is absolutely unacceptable but can’t be used as an excuse for not being able to constructively criticize a player’s lack of performance.
People who abuse their own players aren’t fans. Paying for a ticket, rooting for a team does not give you the right to abuse players or their wives and other family members.
You should be banned and forever barred from using the word, “entitled.”
The animals that call themselves arsenal fans and hide behind their keyboards to throw abuse at our players and manager can just f*ck off already. It’s one thing criticising a performance but to go after a man and his wife is low and disgusting.
Screw Kai Havertz, I don’t want to see him at no. 9 ever again! Even better would be to not see him wearing an Arsenal shirt again, he is not at the level this club needs, an overall was horrid ever since he came in! Those few goals are far and between and are not good enough! That said, anyone that ever threathened harm to any of the players or their families needs to be dealt with swifltly and with full determination! Criminal charges, lock them up and throw away the key!! Abroad fans, ban IPs, ban everything possible! Turbo… Read more »
Thumbs down 4sure, not ever wear the shirt again?!? Screwhim?!? Wtf man, the borderline for decency is not at threatening players or their family, and you are on wrong side of it. Not thinking he is right for our club can be expressed in a million proper ways, this is not one of them.