The suggestion from Wenger - backed predictably by some supporters on here - that Arsenal players are afraid of playing at home, is just cretinous and should not be allowed to go unchallenged.
I started going to Highbury in the late 60s and the criticism was there, just the same - probably worse.
I've been to other grounds in this country and abroad and the criticism when things go badly is often loudest, at grounds where the support is most obsessive - Liverpool, Barcelona and Newcastle all fit that bill.
Wenger insists his players are courageous. But then says they are afraid of a section of their own home fans. If so it's no wonder they are paralysed by Tevez and Ronaldo
But there is one big difference between now and 1967. In those days players were paid modestly and the connection between them and the supporters was real, in the sense that the latter could relate to the former. And I would suggest the former also had some regard for the latter.
If the players - or some of them - now whine about a section of the supporters being alien to them, it is as nothing compared to how remote the players now are from the fans. From the training ground to the Bentley, to OK Magazine and awful lot of players cocoon themselves in their own little cash fueled world oblivious of how the remaining 97.5% live. On the pitch is one of the few areas where reality checks in.
If some players find a few choruses of disapproval too much for their sensitive nature, try flipping burgers for £6 an hour. Or better still, be the man and rise to the challenge.
The abuse Tony Adams got from rival fans was far worse than anything that I have ever heard directed at any Arsenal player at Highbury or the Emirates. But TA6 was not some whimpy little crisp packet who folded in the breeze and he fought back and won.
Part of Wenger's problem is that he has a squad of 'airey - fairey lightweights', devoid of fight and unable to ispire anyone around them. This is one of the many things Wenger needs to look at this summer.
