Wenger on crowd "protest": I care for the club

Yesterday was, of course, the day when fans at the Emirates were going to mount the Protest That Changed Everything; in the 12th and the 78th minutes, fans were asked to hold up signs basically saying HASH TAG WENGEROUT to express their displeasure, which in their minds would get the job done and GET US OUR ARSENAL BACK.

Except that, according to the Guardian,

There were around 300 banners held, accompanied by a mix of booing, jeering and applause as Wenger stood in his rectangle pretending to watch the football, but looking a little sad and thin and brave.

A reminder: The capacity of Emirates Stadium is 60,432.

The Guardian also had this to say:

"Time For Change" is the mantra, the object of protest that sense of a luxury vessel simply drifting. Get rid of certain players; start getting to the last eight not the last 16 of the Champions League; stop being overly pleased about making a profit: as ultimatums go it's a fairly slow-burn affair, and no doubt fans of Charlton, Aston Villa and Leeds will all come out in sympathy some day soon.

So, while there have been supporter protests held recently that have been a success, and while there are teams that have things that are legitimately worth protesting about, it would seem that Arsenal's more disgruntled fans had their protest, which basically boiled down to OH SURE THINGS ARE PRETTY GOOD BUT NOT GOOD ENOUGH PLEASE MAKE THEM BETTER, put in some perspective

After the match, Arsene Wenger was of course asked about the protests, and if he had a message for the fans. In typical Wenger fashion, he answered succinctly:

"That we respect the opinion of everybody, and that we give absolutely the best. I've shown my commitment to this club. I care for the club and the fans. I'm really sorry that I cannot make them all happy, of course, but we'll continue to work hard to achieve it."

Considering that there were people outside chanting "we'll be happy when you die Arsene", I think that response is pretty reasonable. Now, hopefully, those fans who felt like they needed to vent have done so, and we can all get back to the business of willing the season to end quickly so we can see what is to be done this summer.