It doesn't feel like a real Premier League season until Arsene Wenger is forced to defend his team from accusations of choking and a lack of character. But in his pre-match press conference for a game against Norwich, Wenger went further than that.
Wenger blamed the current climate around the Emirates as a reason why his team weren't challenging for the title. The Arsenal manager thinks that his team have dropped too many points at home because of the pressure that the fans put on his team, and is calling for them to unite behind them:
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.
If Wenger thinks that Arsenal would be 'championship winners' away from home, and seems to think that Arsenal's home failings are down to the 'very difficult climate' - it does seem like he's trying to blame the fans for the Gunners collapse.
Wenger's claim that Arsenal are 'championship winners' away from home doesn't really hold up though. According to the Premier League away table - Arsenal would be seven points behind Leicester City in first, having played a game more. In contrast, Arsenal would be just five points behind Leicester with a game in hand based on home results.
[Independent UK]
