Arsenal V Swansea, Wed 19:45

[Marc Overmars]

Actually , I believe that negative or positive vibes exist and can affect anything to a certain extent. Most of intimidating stadiums are those where fans and teams are in perfect harmony . Where the crowd can puss their team to the victory despite their weakeness . We hardly create that atmosphere at the Emirates. What makes playing a game away from home very tough is the atmosphere surrounding the stadium . And that is created by the fans and the performance of the team .Psychology plays a big part in sports .

So, our team is mentally weak?

[selassie]

Well , I did not refer exclusively to the United game but there is a few fans who have that habit of predicting Arsenal loss before the game is even played . I wonder why are they disappointed if it happened exactly the way they said it would.
I , personally ,feel disappointed after any defeat because I don't always expect us to lose and when it happen , I am deeply saddened.
You also asked why do the players have to raise their game ? Simply because the level we are at the moment can not guarantee us a win let alone a title . If we want to get something we need to play better .
I think Leicester and Tottenham have raised their games that's why they fighting for the title . otherwise , Leicester would be fighting relegation and Tottenham would be struggling for top four finish .

Alpha, it's not even the defeats, it's the manner of them, Sunday's performance was totally unacceptable IMO, it was bordering on embarrassing, I wasn't totally confident beforehand given that I don't fully trust this team but still I expected a more fluid performance. This team has been in a bit of a mess for a while now, we look totally disjointed, they are playing like they have never played together before.

[Kano]

Actually , I believe that negative or positive vibes exist and can affect anything to a certain extent. Most of intimidating stadiums are those where fans and teams are in perfect harmony . Where the crowd can puss their team to the victory despite their weakeness . We hardly create that atmosphere at the Emirates. What makes playing a game away from home very tough is the atmosphere surrounding the stadium . And that is created by the fans and the performance of the team .Psychology plays a big part in sports .

What you say makes sense but away win ratios are at their highest and have been creeping up for the past five seasons. Home wins this season are also at an all time low so far, which means teams are avoiding defeats on ther travels quite often now. Alongside the counter attacking style used by so many currently, players are used to the intimidating atmospheres at stadiums and I'm not sure it has much affect on the modern player. The psychology of how a player is prepared before the match probably has more of an effect than anything the crowd does, as most of them live in an absolute bubble. The only time the crowd acknowledged is for a goal or after the game is done. They are mostly shut out. Highbury was never the loudest stadium but that didn't affect Wenger's great teams one bit. It would be great to hear more noise at the Emirates but its effect on the team is negligible I think.

[Niall_Quinn]

Well , I did not refer exclusively to the United game but there is a few fans who have that habit of predicting Arsenal loss before the game is even played . I wonder why are they disappointed if it happened exactly the way they said it would.
I , personally ,feel disappointed after any defeat because I don't always expect us to lose and when it happen , I am deeply saddened.
You also asked why do the players have to raise their game ? Simply because the level we are at the moment can not guarantee us a win let alone a title . If we want to get something we need to play better .
I think Leicester and Tottenham have raised their games that's why they fighting for the title . otherwise , Leicester would be fighting relegation and Tottenham would be struggling for top four finish .

No fan WANTS the team to lose. But when you see these results against particular teams happen year after year you go into those games with trepidation - much like the players it seems. And then when the same outcome unfolds you think WTF! What's going on with this team, year after year? So you can want to win, be disappointed when you don't win but also not in the least bit surprised given the history.

My point about raising our game is if we aren't peaking now, at the business end of the season, with our squad experience, with our resources, with the club's experience of these pressure soaked title challenges in relation to the spud's and particularly Leicester's lack of experience then it's inexcusable. It really is. You have to conclude the manager has not done his job, has failed miserably to do his job, when you consider our performances over the last couple of months. All culminating in a limp-wristed capitulation to the worst equipped and worst managed Utd team in decades. It's a scandal and there's no explaining it away with tired old excuses that Leicester are busy blowing out of the water and a mile into the air. Leicester raised their game months ago and have kept their performance levels at a peak. The spuds have been relentless in the past couple of months, peaking just at the right time. It's as if they are the experienced campaigners and we are the nervous rank amateurs. Questions need to be asked and it wouldn't hurt the club or the manager to provide some answers. Instead you see sarcasm from the manager who is busy blaming other clubs for tapping up his players, pretending Utd's money had a bearing on Sunday's results and advising the fans who have watching this repetitive bullshit to be "neutral" and unemotional. This is a joke surely?

I understand that we have more chance of fixing this mess if the fans and the team are united, and I don't see any problem with that and I believe it's what will happen. But there's no requirement to include Wenger in the relationship. He knows best, he fucked up the transfer window, he took the big pay-cheque to manage at the top level and he has fucked up, again. Just as he does every season. There comes a point where the man's excuses have to be discounted and his performance analysed in a colder light. Is 10 years not enough time to reach a decision on this guy? Bottom line, he can't compete with Leicester City and our reviled rivals so what is he good for? And why do we need to support him? He plainly has no respect for the fans, look at his interview today. So let him live by his attitude and his failures. That doesn't stop us cheering on the team and I'm sure we will.

[Alpha]

So, our team is mentally weak?

Any team which does not have a proper support may be mentally affected .
There are two kinds of situation here :

1) Some fans wait for their team to click before their can show any support .
or
2) Some fans scream , claps and push their team to make them click .

Current United squad is weaker than Arsenal's but last Sunday their fans gave them a proper support to push them to the victory .

[Niall_Quinn]

Any team which does not have a proper support may be mentally affected .
There are two kinds of situation here :

1) Some fans wait for their team to click before their can show any support .
or
2) Some fans scream , claps and push their team to make them click .

Current United squad is weaker than Arsenal's but last Sunday their fans gave them a proper support to push them to the victory .

Do you really believe it is the fans who need to step up now? Well okay, maybe so. But what about this manager and his team? Huge resources, huge pay packets, the best of everything and they can't be bothered to turn up? And the manager's response is basically to tell the fans to shut up? So which is it? Shut up or shout?

[Alpha]

Alpha, it's not even the defeats, it's the manner of them, Sunday's performance was totally unacceptable IMO, it was bordering on embarrassing, I wasn't totally confident beforehand given that I don't fully trust this team but still I expected a more fluid performance. This team has been in a bit of a mess for a while now, we look totally disjointed, they are playing like they have never played together before.

Totally agree with you , Selassie . But we should not just only point a finger at the team . All of us are concerned . Board , management , team , fans ,.. Etc .. We have let the Arsenal "family" down . What was once a great team , we have made it average .

[Niall_Quinn]

Totally agree with you , Selassie . But we should not just only point a finger at the team . All of us are concerned . Board , management , team , fans ,.. Etc .. We have let the Arsenal "family" down . What was once a great team , we have made it average .

No "we" have not! The fans have had the prices doubled on them and they are still filling the place.

[Alpha]

What you say makes sense but away win ratios are at their highest and have been creeping up for the past five seasons. Home wins this season are also at an all time low so far, which means teams are avoiding defeats on ther travels quite often now. Alongside the counter attacking style used by so many currently, players are used to the intimidating atmospheres at stadiums and I'm not sure it has much affect on the modern player. The psychology of how a player is prepared before the match probably has more of an effect than anything the crowd does, as most of them live in an absolute bubble. The only time the crowd acknowledged is for a goal or after the game is done. They are mostly shut out. Highbury was never the loudest stadium but that didn't affect Wenger's great teams one bit. It would be great to hear more noise at the Emirates but its effect on the team is negligible I think.

To be honest , there is a kind of vicious circle at Arsenal football club . The team wants the fans to be their 12th player before they can raise their game , the fans wait for the team to give them some joy before they can show any support .
You just do know what should come first .
It's not just the same Arsenal we have known for ages . Normally this period is when we are always starting to wake up but with 11 games remaining we still seem sleeping . hopefully we will wake and once for all tomorrow. I haven't given up for the title yet even though I know it will be very hard . we have never done it the easy way , have we?

[Marc Overmars]

Any team which does not have a proper support may be mentally affected .
There are two kinds of situation here :

1) Some fans wait for their team to click before their can show any support .
or
2) Some fans scream , claps and push their team to make them click .

Current United squad is weaker than Arsenal's but last Sunday their fans gave them a proper support to push them to the victory .

It's like the last 10 years have been one constant loop, things should be different now but they're not, they're exactly the same thanks to one man repeating the same mistakes over and over, after being given ample opportunity to get it right. I do think the Emirates can be a suffocating place however no team has been more stagnant than us, we are right to demand more because we have been short changed. Players deal with all kinds of hostility wherever they play, if they're not mentally strong enough to deal with it then I'm not sure I want that kind of lily-livered personality in the squad.