The latter factor has led to some denouncing Arsenal fans as the worst in the league. They also raise issues as to why Arsenal fans are so quiet. All of this is an oversimplification of the reality that requires far more analysis than a simple condemnation.

Firstly let me make it clear I don't agree with the booing of your own team, it is counterproductive, and I was not the only one who didn't join in. However to imagine that this incident is the cause of a breakdown of support, and of all decency, by many Arsenal fans for their team is too simple.

Arsenal fans have a long tradition of picking on a player that has caused real, or imagined upset. I have seen far better players than Emmanuel Eboue driven out of the club.  Jon Sammels is one that immediately comes to mind. A player that could score wonder goals, and compared  to Song was Platini. I have also seen it happen at other clubs, it is not unique to Arsenal fans.

However the booing of Eboue goes beyond the other examples, it is an opportunity for some fans to show their discontent with Wenger's transfer policy. It also symbolises the gap that has now grown between the fans and the team. Most fans who turned up yesterday were expecting a poor performance and Arsenal didn't let them down. Arsenal had five shots on target to Wigan's four. This was a poor match, with an Arsenal that was listless and languid for vast periods.

If last season was typified by the refusal to shoot, this was ratched up another level by the refusal to pass forward. Square pass followed square pass, only to be broken up by passing to the opposition.

The past weighs like a nightmare on the minds of the living

The crowd did try and rouse the team, the team did not respond, indeed the players looked capable of throwing the game away. It raised the spectre of Arsenal throwing the points away as they did against Spurs, Hull and Fulham; and some of the crowd's frustration was turned into booing their favourite scapegoat.

Not just about one poor game

 This is not just about one poor game, it is the fact that many no longer believe that the team is going anywhere. In these days of Sky and immediate success two losses in a row is a crisis, and now even a poor win becomes unbearable. Add to this that Arsenal fans pay the highest prices in the world, no hyperbole, the lowest priced tickets are more expensive than most clubs highest priced fare; mean that fans expect to see high quality football every week. They see no reason to wait for players to develop, or sympathise with out of position players that haven't played for two months. They want success now, not in the long term, for in the long term we are all dead. This attitude is not peculiar to Arsenal fans, and we will see more and more of this in the coming years, sooner rather than later.

The Myth of Silence

Finally silence should not be mistaken as apathy; it is one way that the fan demonstrates their isolation from the modern player. When Arsenal played Manchester United the stadium was a cauldron of noise from beginning to end. It was not an opportunistic wait and see support it was unconditional and enduring.  The crowd hadn't been to training school with Red Action, no one orchestrated it, it just happened.  At the end of the game only two players went and clapped the North Bank, William Gallas and Theo Walcott. The rest gave a desultory wave on the way back down the tunnel.

The next week against Villa the crowd sat in stony silence, I am not saying it was directly due to the lack of response by the players, it had more to with the fact the crowd were expecting normal service. However you cannot help but get the feeling that some players felt they had put the crowd in its place by beating Manchester United. They strode off triumphant, no need to acknowledge the fans, some who have dared to question their potential. They had a missed an opportunity to build a bond between players and fans.

This is where Roy Keane Comes in

That bond is now almost nonexistent, the fans used to sing Adebayor's name long and loud, and he rewarded them with a flirtation with Barcelona. Ashley Cole was their idol, he fecked off to Chelsea. Flamini and Hleb behaved like schoolboys at the end of season parade, and then immediately got on a plane out. If fans are cynical they are no more cynical than the players, or the people that run the game. There is no loyalty left in the game, of course there are one or two exceptions, but they prove the rule. That is the reason why Roy Keane walked out of Sunderland, he sees no point in managing when you cannot expect loyalty.

Indeed the lack of loyalty has undermined Wenger, for in football greed is good, and many fans are sick of paying for a greed that delivers very little for the spectator. They do not want to pay to see a callow mediocre midfield develop into a mature mediocre midfield. They wanted Flamini and Hleb, and Eboue takes the stick because he isn't them. The lack of loyalty is undermining Wenger in two ways, one he has lost players that were part of his plan, and secondly others are not motivated for the "lesser teams".

Arsenal fans are not unique; they just reflect the direction the game is going. A sport where spectators and players have nothing in common, especially in the realm of income. Maybe the recession will save it, cheaper seats, lower salaries, and less transfers, but there will also be need for bread and circuses.  As the fans feel more isolated and alienated the more prepared they will be to give the thumbs down to any player they believe deserves it. They might not be able to affect team selection, but they can, occasionally, drive out a player. Those hoping for "class" behaviour by fans will, I am sad to say, be disappointed.

I suspect Wenger will continue to "develop" Eboue; he cannot let him be the scapegoat for his own policies. For once the scapegoat is sacrificed another one must be found.

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