Former Arsenal Player Andrey Arshavin Hits Out At Arsenal Fans

Former Arsenal player Andrey Arshavin has criticised the Gunners faithful for the "weird" atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium.

The 32-year-old now plays his football for Zenit St Petersburg, having left the North London club when his contract ended in June to return to the side Arsene Wenger first bought him from in 2009.

In what was a difficult period for the Russian playmaker, Arshavin recalls the lack of support from the home fans and the resulting absence of a home advantage at the Emirates.


"The atmosphere was weird. It felt like the crowd was at the theatre - good seats, expensive tickets and they wanted to see a show, not to support the team," he told the Sun.

"It was like there was no advantage in playing at home. Many of the players - the leaders that were left from the club's time at Highbury - often complained that the atmosphere in the stands was so bad."

Despite sitting top of the Premier League, Arsene Wenger's side have lost their last two home games against Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea, and next face Liverpool on Saturday at the Emirates.

However, the Frenchman remains positive ahead of a difficult run of games, including away trips to Dortmund and Manchester United.

"We want to win every home game, so the home form is a concern - but not as big a concern as the statistics might show it," he told the Mirror.

"Against Dortmund and Chelsea, we gave easy goals away. That is a positive and a negative. The negative is that we gave the goals away, but the positive is that neither of them created too many chances against us.

"It is down to how we get rid of those mistakes without losing the belief in our qualities. That is what is at stake."