Wenger blames fans for home losses

Arsene Wenger has called for unity at Arsenal as the club look to finish the season on a high and snatch third place in the Premier League.

The Gunners boss has come in for criticism this season as Arsenal have fallen away in the title chase, while they failed to get past the first knockout stage of the Champions League and were beaten by Watford in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Supporters have vented their frustration, with some planning protests at Saturday’s meeting with Norwich City, and ex players Paul Merson and Thierry Henry have both criticised their former manager for his lack of success in 2015-16.

But Wenger hit back at those critics, by appearing to point the finger at home fans when assessing what went wrong.

“We lost the championship at home against the lower teams, but we played at home in a very difficult climate.

“We have to realise that, away from home, we are championship winners. At home, against the smaller teams, we lost the league.

“This club does have special values though and one I’ve experienced over the years is to stick together and support the team. There’s no success without that.

“We have to put what we have achieved into perspective and see the revolution that has gone on over the years,” Wenger told a news conference.

“The quality of our work has got us to a position where expectation is high and frustration is high when they don’t get what they want.

“It is very frustrating, we were in a position where we could compete, we wanted to go a step higher [after finishing third last season]. It was possible, that’s why we’re frustrated.

“I understand that, nobody is more frustrated than we are. We will fight whatever happens, go for what we can achieve, our disappointment should not go too far.

“This team has character and attitude, some people question them, but I know them and they [the critics] have less character than this team have.

“This club has special values, and one is to stick together and support the team – there is no success otherwise.”

Report by OmniSport