Groaning was a big issue two weeks ago in the Everton game.
The crowd groaned and Henry said they shouldn’t, especially if there was still an hour to go.
And he’s right. Fans shouldn’t groan.
However, disappointment has a sound and 30,000 people being disappointed at the same moment produces a groan, which is discouraging for the players.But groaning is not booing -it’s more reluctant than that, more inadvertent.It’s a private reaction multiplied by 30,000.
Against Liverpool a goal can take a long time, so a groan might come before the goal.
YES, IT WOULD be great if people at club level didn’t dive out for their ” free” drinks before half time, and came out promptly for the second half.
But that’s unrealistic. The demographics have changed since the club left Highbury. Many of the diehard fans are in the lower tier, while many of the 22,000 new fans are in the upper tier.
Let’s face it, the 9,000 corporate fans in the middle tier will not influence a game.Their support is not noisy, not emotional – it’s financial.
So Arsenal need to galvanise the upper tier and get them excited.
How can they do that? By scoring early. By not conceding from a corner. By sending Eboue flying down the wing and putting pressure on the Liverpool penalty area.
How vital is this game? Well, Arsenal v Liverpool isn’t a must-win game.There are no must-win games in November.
But it’s a big game because Arsenal have to stop the rot and show us that the team which has too few ways of scoring goals can now score a couple using the pass-and-move-and-miss style that failed to beat Middlesbrough, Aston Villa, Everton and CSKA.
I’m told that Robin van Persie is unbelievable in training. Limpar was the same.
Maybe it will come.The future is unknown and unpredictable, as we all know, but it might start today.
Bottom line, Liverpool over 38 games are not coherent enough to finish above Arsenal.
So Arsenal can beat Liverpool and finish third.
Or they can lose 1-0 to Liverpool and finish third.
What Arsenal can’t do is match the pace set by Man United and Chelsea.
The billionaire’s Blues thrashed Watford 4-0 with Drogba grabbing a hat-trick.
And Man United won at Blackburn when Rooney found O’Shea on the right and his big left-footed cross to the far post was sidefooted back across the six-yard box and Saha stretched to hook it in for Man Utd’s first win at Ewood Park in eight years.
United have a chance against Chelsea because Rooney, Ronaldo and Saha are all good defenders.
Whatever happens, Arsenal are doing better than AC Milan, who have lost their last three home games.
And the England rugby team have lost their last seven games.We can’t even beat Argentina at Twickenham any more.