Arsenal unrest: fans right to be angry at same old failings

As Arsenal sit eight points adrift of league leaders Leicester City with just nine games left, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the Gunners have blown their chance of winning the title for another season.

Meanwhile, the spectre of civil war in the stands is hovering over the club.

Manger Arsene Wenger has refused to give up hope of a dramatic late surge for the Premier League crown and has suggested that Saturday's comeback against Tottenham Hotspur, which saw his side salvage a point at White Hart Lane despite being reduced to ten men, could act as a catalyst for the team.

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But he also hinted that the "relentless" pressure of the highly-strung fans, who are becoming increasingly hysterical as the season reaches a climax, could harm the Gunners' hopes of glory.

Unsurprisingly, his comments have only served to widen the rift between the different camps in the Arsenal support.

The point against Spurs appeased some, but Leicester's win over Watford put it into context, says Henry Winter of The Times. "This is classic Arsenal in the tailend of the Wenger era, a door opening, then slamming in their faces.

As the dust settled on the weekend action, "the 'Wenger Out' versus 'In Arsene We Trust' battle lines were drawn again".

Bringing the fans into the debate over Arsenal's title hopes "is a public relations misstep", says Charlie Eccleshare of the Daily Telegraph. "Although the Emirates crowd can be dreadfully anxious and negative, to suggest the players are being affected by it fails to engender sympathy for a number of reasons."

The comments have also been "met with dismay by some supporters, who feel Wenger is trying to shift the blame for the poor performances of his team".

It remains to be seen what sort of reception the manager and his players get next time they play at home, by which time they could have been knocked out of the FA Cup - they play Hull away on Tuesday.

"The atmosphere at the Emirates on Wednesday during the 2-1 defeat by Swansea City was extremely tense and, although the mood can shift quickly, there is clearly the possibility of significant unrest should the season fizzle out," says Jeremy Wilson of the Daily Telegraph.

And despite the performance on Saturday, the fans up in arms may have a point, suggests Barney Ronay of The Guardian.

"If there is a keynote to the unique frustrations of the late Wenger years it is just this tendency to play their best football when the day has all but gone."

Arsenal did not take the game by the scruff of the neck until they were fighting for their lives. If they had done with the score 1-0 in their favour, they could have won all three points.

But the derby was a microcosm of the whole season, suggests Jack de Menezes of The Independent.

"Had they not put in one of their worst performances of the season against Manchester United last week, or avoided unnecessary defeats against Swansea, Southampton and West Bromwich Albion earlier in the season, then the Gunners would have been in much better shape with a generous run-in to look forward to."