Arsenal fans went into meltdown on Saturday afternoon after their loss to Bournemouth dented their Premier League title hopes – with one supporter calling for Mikel Arteta’s head on AFTV.
Supporters booed at the final whistle at the Emirates after the 2-1 defeat and some flocked straight to the fan channel’s cameras to air their furious views.
The Gunners could have gone 12 points clear at the top with a victory, which would have piled pressure on their closest challengers Manchester City, but nerves are fraying as they seek their first title since 2004.
Their lead remains at nine points, but Man City have two games in hand and meet Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium next week.
Despite still being in a strong position, Arsenal fans have raged following the setback as fear grows that they could finish as runners-up for a fourth straight season. City beat them in last month’s Carabao Cup final, while they crashed out of the FA Cup to Championship side Southampton.
‘We have a rubbish manager. We’ve got a s*** manager. I keep on telling people, everybody telling me that I’m negative. This guy keep on telling us bare bull-c**p,’ one fan vented on AFTV.
He added: ‘We have a good team but a s*** manager. We can win the league if we sack Mikel Arteta and go and get a different manager. Don’t ask who.
‘If we get rid of him now, we are six points ahead. Just put it that we’re six points ahead because Man City playing tomorrow – say they beat Chelsea. We’re six points ahead.
‘[Xabi] Alonso is out there. Alonso is a manager where the team [is] going to look and say, from Real Madrid, from Bayer Leverkusen, this guy has won it as a manager and a player. Somebody who has the know-how.
‘But we have owners who don’t have any b***s. The only reason why we’re going to win the league is because City is not the City of two-three years ago. The only thing going for us is that City will drop points. It’s got nothing to do with Mikel Arteta.’
Meanwhile, well-known AFTV star Lee Judges furiously claimed on the fan channel post-match that Arteta’s time at the club is coming to an end, despite suggestions this week that contract talks are heading in a positive direction.
‘We are now in the last few weeks of Arteta,’ Judges claimed to host Robbie Lyle. ‘I have spoken to one of the most positive fans around and he said “he’s gone”.
‘I don’t really know where to go from that. The team set-up is wrong, I don’t see how you can keep rewarding players for performances and still play.
‘I couldn’t stand it no more Rob, I had to walk away. I didn’t go out of the ground and there were thousands, thousands walking out.
‘You are at home against Bournemouth going for a title, God has come down to you and said “You’ve had it hard for 20 years, i’ll give you a gift of Newcastle at home, Bournemouth at home.
‘By the time we play Newcastle, guess how many points were will probably be clear… none.
‘If City win tomorrow it has gone mate.’
Arsenal fans fears have grown following a disastrous couple of weeks, with Arteta’s side first losing the Carabao Cup final to Man City to end dreams of a quadruple.
The Gunners returned from the international break in the FA Cup, but suffered a shock quarter-final exit to Championship side Southampton.
Arsenal bounced back by earning a 1-0 win over Sporting Lisbon in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, but defeat to Bournemouth has set the nerves jangling again.
Troopz (real name Aumar Hamilton), formerly one of AFTV’s stars, exploded with rage on his own YouTube channel after the Gunners fell 2-1 behind in the second half.
‘Oh my days man, f*** off,’ Troopz was heard shouting on his live stream as he jumped off his chair in anger at conceding.
‘We are getting opened like a tin of beans on the f***ing pitch,’ he added, while taking aim at several Arsenal stars for apparent mistakes in the build-up to the goal.
Oasis singer Liam Gallagher, one of Man City’s most well-known fans, poked fun at Arsenal as he highlighted the growing pressure on the Gunners.
Gallagher shared a meme featuring a child with an Arsenal badge superimposed over them attempting to run away from their shadow, featuring the Man City badge, before stumbling over.
Man City will have the chance to close the gap to six points on Sunday when Pep Guardiola’s side face Chelsea.
Arsenal will then travel to the Etihad next to face Man City in a potentially pivotal match in the title race.
