Arsenal: Aren’t we meant to be supporters?

The Arsenal fan base is becoming an increasingly pejorative, critical and vociferous community. But aren’t we meant to be supporters? I.e. Support the team?

I thought it was Arsene Wenger. The Arsenal manager was a divisive figure. Not because of his character. Few people carried the grace, decorum and unwavering respect for others as Wenger. But his management was failing and, although he was the greatest manager in the history of the club, there were growing shouts for his sacking.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Huddersfield, abuse and a difficult question

That, inevitably, led to an increasing divide among the fan base — the divide was only intensified by social media, a rather recent phenomenon. The ‘In Arsene We Trust’ faithful versus the ‘Wenger Out’ brigade. In the end, it did not matter which side was right. It was ripping the fan base apart at the seams.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

Sadly, though, Wenger departed in the summer. The vitriol, however, did not. It culminated on Saturday. Arsenal beat Huddersfield Town 2-1 thanks to goals from Alex Iwobi and Alexandre Lacazette. But their performance was poor. And many fans took great pains to point that out after the match. It was a 22-year-old and a 21-year-old that took the brunt of the criticism. Indeed, the next morning, the younger of the pair spent his time replying to critical comments on Instagram.

On Twitter, after the match, Tim Stillman, who is a season ticket holder and frequently present at away matches, stated:

"The Arsenal crowd is hard work nowadays. The only noise the away end made today was to jeer Alex Iwobi as he was subbed. Just lots of people that stand there waiting for a mistake so they can get angry. It’s draining to be around.”"

But this is not an isolated incident. And it is not just relevant to the match-going faithful. Fans around the world are increasingly critical of the club, the team, Unai Emery, the individual players, with the protection of a keyboard seemingly freeing them to verbally attack individuals in a way that they never would if they were in the room with them.

The culture of fandom is increasingly negative. But it shouldn’t be. We are supporters, after all. The clue is in the name. That does not mean that you cannot moan — I am chief among them. That does not mean that the club is exempt from criticism. That does not mean that fans should blindly follow without having a voice.

But it does mean that they should not abuse their own players. It does mean that they should not comment on every social media, shouting from the rooftops about how poor the player performed. It does mean that fans should be encouraging, positive, inspiring to those that play for their club, cheering them on, not baying in the stands, waiting, like a crouching tiger, to jump on any tiny mistake.

We are supporters. So we should support the team.