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Arsenal blame game takes dark turn as big Emirates Stadium problem resurfaces in Champions League

Arsenal fans are beginning to point fingers after PSG clash sparked atmosphere debate
-Credit: (Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)


To speak bluntly and to take off my journalist hat for a moment, I love so much about Arsenal Football Club. The community which I feel a part of when supporting the team or sitting on my hands and biting my tongue in the press box at games when a goal goes in (most of the time) is all part of that adoration.

Being able to be inside the ground on a regular basis and watch the Gunners is something no one should take for granted. Millions of fans around the world - and of course many closer to home - either cannot get to games regularly or are still yet to even make their first match.

Therefore when the conversation turns to the atmosphere and question marks over both its volume and consistency emerge it can quickly generate a rather toxic discussion. PSG were well-beaten by Arsenal on Tuesday night but if it was a battle of the barking it was a no-contest in favour of the Parisiens.

This is so often the case for European games. Arsenal have welcomed hundreds of sides over the years to the Emirates Stadium and formerly Highbury as well, all typically outsing the home crowd the majority of the time.

European sides have a common thread of bringing the noise, the choreography and the intimidation factor that so many Arsenal supporters are jealous of, and quite rightly. The thought of the Emirates simultaneously bouncing even when 2-0 down almost makes me giggle at its ridiculousness, yet I sat across from that very thing on Tuesday evening.

Maybe it is about being built somewhat differently because travelling around the country covering the club, it is not as though I see stark differences in many other places here in England. Crystal Palace and St James’ Park to me offer two of the best examples in the league of that noise but neither of them can touch what I experienced when in Lens last season for instance - that was a spectacle I was completely taken aback by.

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It is also worth noting that the new format has taken some of the stakes out of these earlier ties. With six more games still to play, the jeopardy is lower and some estimates claim that well below ten points will qualify sides into the top 24 and as fans adapt to this new setup, perhaps this also plays a role in why what should be a big game against PSG did not compare similarly to the atmosphere against Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.

Despite the aforementioned systemic issue though across English top-flight clubs, for many, there is another target that gets the brunt of criticism and have the finger pointed at them in North London - the “tourist fan”. This factually correct yet corrupted term describes supporters not from the local area but who have travelled from further afield, perhaps abroad, to come and watch the games.

It seems that whenever there are concerns raised over the atmosphere in the ground, these supporters so often are referenced as the key issue. A switch to a ballot system regarding ticketing has led to theories that it has seen more tickets put into the hands of those not, and I stress these are not my words, “as loyal” as other supporters.

Now I have personally travelled the world to other Arsenal supporter groups and from those experiences, I know for a fact that the passion and love for the club runs just as deep as that of friends of mine living five minutes from the Emirates. Is it fair to say that some people buy tickets, watch games seated and don’t sing? Yes, of course.

Is it fair to say some of those people have come from outside of the local area, perhaps outside the country? Yes, of course. Equally, is it fair to generalise all supporters in this way and paint them with the same brush? Absolutely not.

It is worth pointing out that between 40,000 and 45,000 seats in the ground are held by season ticket holders, the majority of whom have had these seats for many years. How can it be that for the single-digit thousands of fans who get their tickets through the ballot and subsequent ticket exchange of which there is an even smaller proportion making up this group can be the bearer of the primary blame for many of the stadium’s issues regarding atmosphere?

It simply doesn’t add up and yet many are utterly convinced and will not be told otherwise that this is the case and bring up this group whenever the atmosphere is discussed. While some will never be told otherwise, for the percentage reading this who do have more of an open mind, just consider the volume of Arsenal supporters in that greater than two-thirds who hold season tickets.

Should we not be looking inward first before immediately pointing fingers elsewhere? We know that the stadium’s aura can be louder and there have been strategies implemented to try and help with this.

Be it flags and Tifos organised by the club and supporter groups. Be it incentives to enter the ground early for certain matchdays by lowering prices during specific time periods, the club are not sitting on their hands.

The charisma of Arsenal’s pitch-side announcer Nigel Mitchell has been kicked into overdrive. Mitchell has been a staple of the Emirates experience but more recently I have noticed an effort going above and beyond be it before kick-off or as was heard before the second half started against PSG the speeches he delivers do carry weight.

2022/23 for me was a season which had the best atmosphere I have experienced being inside the ground. Many link this to a then-larger allocation given to the Ashburton Army in the club’s Clock End stand.

They have since seen this halved and while a group still occupy the stand with their ever-present drumming and chanting trying to work the crowd, naturally their effect could be argued is not as impactful. Yet there is also a strong argument their larger presence coincided with the team’s shock challenge for the title that year which was instead the bigger reason behind that season's improved vibe.

This momentum carried the crowd far more and by 2023/24, the mentality had shifted inside the ground. Arsenal were expected to challenge and that made a serious impact on the atmosphere when the start of games didn’t begin with the same energy as some of the previous season’s clashes.

That has only continued into this season but it should be pointed out, like last season, the atmosphere does tend to improve across its course as stakes become higher and matches grow in importance and tension, that is only natural. Yet there is, for me and many others, a noticeable dip since 2022/23 but in no way can anyone seriously argue that this is because a few hundred fans in a 60,000 seater-plus ground don’t know all the songs.

The last thing to say is that if you’re in the ground and you’re getting frustrated at the lack of buzz, I have two questions. Firstly, are you doing everything you can, everything you’d want others to do?

And if you are and you look around and someone isn’t singing or getting involved, have you ever politely asked why or checked what their association with Arsenal is, what their background is? Not that it really matters, but you might be surprised to learn that who you have presumed to be a “tourist fan” because they are not singing along to “Waka Waka” in fact is someone completely different.

Considering the proportions, the odds are certainly stacked heavily against it being who so many claim it to be. Funnily enough, the fans who I know who have come from further away tend to be some of the loudest in the ground, and fair play to them - long may they continue to feel the love that thankfully the majority of fellow Gooners have for them.