Some fans vented their frustrations at Wenger on the final whistle at The Hawthorns
Je ne suis pas d’accord avec ce que vous dites, mais je me battrai jusqu’à la mort pour que vous ayez le droit de le dire – Evelyn Beatrice Hall (also known as S.G. Tallentyre), The Friends of Voltaire
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
Please, let’s all take a few minutes to digest this before I share my point of view with you.
Being allowed to protest is not under discussion and should never be. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and everyone should be allowed to express hers/his, shall this not be an incitement to violence or hate.
I won’t be discussing the right of exposing that famous banner straight after the final whistle of the game we played at The Hawthorns; those people wanted to do it and had all the rights to do it.
Anyone within or outside of the club who tries to stop any respectful (you know what I mean!) protest could be easily labeled a fascist.
Personally, I don’t agree with anything done by that group of travelling fans once Chris Foy declared the match concluded.
I don’t like the way that message was sent, I don’t like the timing and – most of all – I don’t like the idea that some people preferred to display a banner instead of applauding their players, who were coming towards the supporters.
I get the fact that people out there are upset, disappointed and fed-up with Arsène Wenger but showing that banner after such a hard-fought, laborious win seemed quite disgraceful to me.
On the pitch players were showing solidarity, unity and commitment; on the stands people were divisive and dissentious – that sounds terribly wrong.
Solidarity, commitment and determination showed by players on the pitch are the only magic ingredients that could allow us to turn this indecipherable season into something better; can we stop protesting against our manager and our players (remember Aaron Ramsey, boys?) and support our club in its quest for better results?
Ramsey, Ozil and Wilshere have all had their critics
How difficult is it? How hard is to back those people who – more or less successfully – are representing the club we all care about?
I dare you to point out one single moment during his 17-years tenure in which Arsène Wenger didn’t put his best effort and maximum commitment in driving the Arsenal.
He did mistakes, many of them. Players did mistakes, as well. So what? We are all supposed to be supporters in the first place.
We ask our manager to do the best to drive the club to glory; we ask our players to fight for the club; we want everyone to give his all during nine frantic months – I would expect the supporters to do the same on the stands, that’s the minimum we must delivery.
The season is not over, there’s plenty to play for and everyone at the club seems ready to give it a go.
It seems like we are the firsts to give up while our manager and our players battle to recover some form and deliver some good results.
That’s utterly ridiculous; I hope you will excuse my French.
Andrea Rosati
Italian living in Switzerland, Gooner since mid-nineties, when the Gunners defeated my hometown team, in Copenhagen. I started my own blog and podcast (www.clockenditalia.com) after after some experiences with Italian websites and football magazines. Covering Arsenal Women with the occasional rant about the boys.
Andrea,
I don`t agree with displaying a banner either. I do agree though, that Mr. Wenger has to go.
I would like to admire your unconditional support for the players and Arsene, but I`m afraid that unconditional love only exists between parent and child. As an adult you make your own love choices and without exception, I would suggest that all of the supporters in the stadium and many more besides chose Arsenal as their club. It is undoubtedly a love affair but when the object of that love let`s you down not once but repeatedly you have to be able to express your dismay.
Arsene added to the stature of Arsenal in his time here, but lately, he has become set in his ways. He refuses to admit his mistakes and to take steps to correct them even when the world and his dog can see them. As a result, the Club which we all love has sickened and become a shadow of itself. The recent improvement in performances came about because he finally made the team play the way every soccer pundit knew it should have done. He finally realised that you have to keep the house locked when you go out shopping. There is no use shopping for goods ( goals ) in the High Street when the burglars are helping themselves to your goods at home because you left the door open.
He may continue with his new found tactics and I suppose he is entitled to a chance to redeem himself if he does. If he had done so last year or the year before, the banners would have been praising him, not deriding him.
Dear Victor, thanks a lot for your comment.
Indeed, my support is unconditional towards any manager and player who represents the Arsenal at present – and will always be.
That doesn’t mean I am unable to be critical towards Arsène Wenger and/or players, however.
I try to stay as much neutral as possible in my judgment and put things in a bigger perspective: Arsène Wenger does tactics, Arsène Wenger knows how his team must defend and protect a lead.
His teams are always among those with the best defensive record, whith his worst performance being the 49 goals conceded in 2011/12 (6th defensive record of the league), which proves that basics are there and knowledge is there.
At times mistakes prove to be more costly, at other times you get away without harm.
It doesn’t depend on the manager only but it also depends on how poor your own players might be on a day and how good your opponents are – as well as luck or bad luck at times.
I wish we, as Gooners, can stay united and support the team until the end of the season.
Once it’s over, everyone will make up his mind and decide whether it’s time to setup a mass protest and ask for a change.