Arsenal fans' anger after seeing the club beaten 3-1 by AS Monaco in the UEFA Champions League hasn't just been limited to manager Arsene Wenger. Winger Theo Walcott also couldn't escape the wrath from the stands.
Walcott is alleged to have raised the ire of supporters after he swapped shirts with Monaco centre-back Aymen Abdennour after the final whistle. The act was taken as the final straw for frustrated fans who soon showed their displeasure, according to Mail Online reporter Nicholas Godden : "The forward apparently responded by gesturing towards the Arsenal fans motioning with his hand to suggest the criticism did not affect him."
The Mail Online Sport Twitter account claimed the following gesture was Walcott's direct response to the taunts:
Players swapping shirts and exchanging handshakes is a common post-match ritual. In fact, it's probably the last bastion of genuine sporting conduct left in the modern game.
The fact it drew such a negative response at the Emirates Stadium stems from the colossal disappointment of the night. Arsenal's limp surrender to a team many expected, wrongly as it turned out, the club to see off easily, has prompted a torrent of derision.
The Gunners have been mercilessly berated by both pundits and fans for what was a shambolic and calamitous collapse in Europe's premier club competition.
BBC host Gary Lineker dubbed the squad worse than "amateurish" after being caught cold by a cagey Ligue 1 opponent:
Meanwhile, celebrity fan Piers Morgan was even harsher in his critique, aiming his words directly at beleaguered manager Wenger:
But what will irk fans the most is the apparent limp surrender from the Gunners. That's what Walcott's act of contrition toward Abdennour, then apparent subsequent one of defiance toward the stands, will represent to many.
Walcott appeared quick to stand up for himself when his own supporters voiced their disappointment. Yet no Arsenal player showed the same willingness and bravado to repel a Monaco team that bossed midfield with strength and trampled on a tame attack in defence.
Ageing striker and former Tottenham star Dimitar Berbatov summed up what most may have been thinking after watching Arsenal collapse so easily, per Sky Sports: "Today, we probably wanted to win more than them. We were fighting all over the pitch and winning our challenges."
Walcott's alleged gesture that he's unmoved by criticism from the fans perhaps only strengthens the case Wenger's players don't care enough when the going gets tough on the pitch.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1AuH6Ev
via IFTTT February 26, 2015 at 01:08AM
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