Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has opened up to those set of fans who boycotted Thursday’s Premier League clash between the Gunners and the Baggies at the Emirates Stadium. Alexis Sanchez scored a brace to lift the North Londoners to the 3rd position on the league table, but the empty seats at the stadium were almost impossible to ignore.
Earlier on, a section of Arsenal fans had threatened to boycott the match after yet another disappointing season without a major title. The Gunners have gone 12 seasons without clinching the league title and what hurts most is the fact that their next door neighbours and rivals Spurs have come from nowhere to challenge for the prestigious title. Some fans believe that this is the right time for Arsene Wenger to hand in his resignation letter, but the Frenchman insists he still has more to offer to the English club.
WATCH: Wenger talks about the stay-away fans
Speaking during a post-match press conference, the 64-year-old urged the boycotting fans to return to the Emirates Stadium to watch some ''quality football.’’
When asked about his message to the boycotting fans, he replied:
"To come and support the team. If you love football, you go out there and I think you see quality football.
"That's what we try to give to our people. It was a special night as well, Thursday night, and I don't know if you are intelligent enough, nor am I, to detect exactly why everybody that did not turn up tonight did not turn up.’’
He then added:
"I believe we dominated from the start to the last minute and in fact, was what we did against Crystal Palace. Overall I believe the quality of our game was very good. Maybe, we could have scored more goals.
"That is the only thing you could say tonight. We didn't concede and couldn't finish the game off the way we wanted."
Although official figures showed that 59,563 tickets were sold for the midweek clash, the turnout at the Emirates Stadium told a different story. A story of despair and hopelessness as many fans opted to boycott the match. At least, the former Monaco boss will not see empty seats in the next Premier League fixture as the Gunners travel to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland.
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