UGLY ARSENAL SCENES LIKEN ARTETA'S TREATMENT TO WENGER'S
The Arsenal online experience has again become a difficult arena after Mikel Arteta's supporters and critics collide. The experience of living in, working and presenting shows in the world of the Arsenal fan base is an experience that can only be described as a unique one.
Yet passion runs as the overriding emotion and characteristic that can be attached to Arsenal's supporters. Evident in their overwhelmingly positive support away from home but also in the level of vitriolic response and meltdowns across social media in reaction to poor results.
Before social media existed, how supporters of different clubs would interact with one another was the main source of discrepancy from a fan perspective. You defended your club and debated into the late hours about how your team, in my case Arsenal, was greater than the Manchester Uniteds, Tottenhams and Chelseas of this world.
Now, things have changed. Arsenal fans are at each other’s throats on social media. A tribal division has been built up, born during the second half of Arsene Wenger’s tenure. There were ‘Wenger ins’ and ‘Wenger outs.’
You could hardly move without feeling pressured onto a side and once you were there, that was it. This dynamic has persisted and fast-forward to 2022 and Mikel Arteta’s reign has seen it return. The online Arsenal fan base is rife with clashes of unchecked, merciless and abusive back and fourths never coming to a harmonious conclusion.
Providing a brief insight into my own experiences. As someone who has given their backing to Mikel Arteta this season, this, unintentionally, puts me into a category. The ‘Arteta in’ group. It is not a label one would want, nor would even attribute themselves to.