This is classic Arsene Wenger.
In fact, Saturday was classic Arsenal. The 3-1 defeat away to West Bromwich Albion had all the hallmarks of the club in recent seasons, on and off the pitch.
For the team, we’ve seen this type of performance several times over the years.
Arsenal simply couldn’t defend, and essentially conceded the same goal twice, with West Brom defender Craig Dawson scoring from two corners.
There were injuries to key players in the form of Petr Cech and Alexis Sanchez, and a goalkeeper error from stand-in David Ospina. Wenger’s players failed to cope with the physical, direct West Brom.
Off the pitch, it was also peak Arsenal.
This is getting plane ridiculous https://t.co/UIYWngTUO6
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) March 18, 2017
There’s been a civil war brewing among Arsenal supporters in recent seasons. However, the “Wenger Out” and Wenger loyalists had, until now, restricted their views to social media and radio phone-ins.
They took their grievances to the sky on Saturday afternoon.
First, a plane flew over the Hawthorns with a banner reading: “No Contract #Wenger Out.”
So it appears that the plane protest against Wenger went ahead. What's your opinion on these sort of things? pic.twitter.com/VBMUfm7Qs9
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) March 18, 2017
A bizarre scene, but not the first time we’ve seen a fan protest in the sky at a football match.
Some Manchester United fans paid for a plane to fly a banner over Old Trafford back in 2014, reading “Wrong One – Moyes Out”. A protest against then-manager David Moyes.
However, this has to be the first time there’s been two plane protests in a single Premier League game.
Not long after the “Wenger out” brigade made their statement, this happened:
Cada vez son menos, pero aún los hay que confían en Arsène Wenger. #PremierLeague pic.twitter.com/UBjGAWttZC
— Fútbol en Movistar Plus+ (@MovistarFutbol) March 18, 2017
Then, to top off the most Arsenal of days, Wenger responded to the plane protests.
The Arsenal manager was asked by reporters to give his view on the bizarre scenes at the Hawthorns, and responded in the most Wenger way imaginable – it turns out, he didn’t see either plane.
“I watch the game, I do not watch the stands during the game,” he said.
“I believe that we have to live with that and you focus on your job no matter what people think.”
Wenger, who also said at the post-game press conference that he has already made a decision on his future, has for years denied witnessing controversial incidents in games.
Vintage Arsenal. Vintage Wenger. What a day.
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