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‘Embarrassing’ – Gabby Agbonlahor brutally mocks Arsenal for pre-match tifo and atmosphere
Gabby Agbonlahor called Arsenal’s pre-match tifo during their defeat to Paris Saint-Germain ‘embarrassing’, as he tore into the Emirates Stadium atmosphere. The Gunners fell to a 1-0 defeat to the French giants in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, with criticism being levelled at the lack of support among home fans during the clash. GettyThe North Bank of the Emirates Stadium bore a huge tifo of a cannon[/caption] A fourth minute goal from Ousmane Dembele gave PSG a crucial advantage heading into the second leg at the Parc des Princes, and quickly put a dampener on the mood inside the ground. There had been plenty of talk beforehand of the north Londoners’ plans to create a special atmosphere for the huge European tie. Manager Mikel Arteta released a motivational video on the club’s social media channels pre-match, calling on fans to get behind the team for their first semi-final outing in the competition in 15 years. One way Arsenal looked to drum up support just before kick-off was with a display in the crowd. The Gunners produced a huge tifo of their cannon emblem, which was suspended from the roof of the North Bank as the players walked out onto the pitch. A crowd-surfer banner bearing the words ‘Make it happen’ could also be seen in the East Stand, accompanied by pyrotechnics. But with the noise inside the 60,000-capacity stadium failing to live up to expectations, talkSPORT’s Gabby Agbonlahor has laid into the club’s supporters for both the display and lack of atmosphere. Speaking on talkSPORT Breakfast, he said: “Arsenal fans…come on! “You’ve got your manager giving this big speech, Arsenal fans turn up, the tifo…I don’t know what that was. “That was horrendous. It was like my seven-year-old had done it at school for a project and brought it to the stadium and asked if they could hang it up. GettyArsenal had also planned fireworks and pyrotechnics[/caption] But Ousmane Dembele’s early strike silenced the Emirates crowdGetty GettyThe Gunners stars could be seen trying to gee up their supporters throughout the clash[/caption] “It was embarrassing. They were quiet. I was sat watching it like come on, this is the semi-final of the Champions League. “Look at what Liverpool have done at Anfield, what Aston Villa have done against PSG. Do they need a man with a speaker behind the goal saying: ‘Sing, sing, sing?’ Arsenal’s players could be seen gesturing in an attempt to whip the home fans up at various points throughout the match, which Agbonlahor was quick to comment on. He continued: “It makes it embarrassing for the Arsenal fanbase that they need [Martin] Odegaard every second, [David] Raya was doing it, the manager was doing it.” The former Aston Villa star then continued to take aim at the Gunners’ cannon tifo, which the club opted for after turning down a £12,000 display designed by a supporters’ group. He went on: “I just felt the tifo was embarrassing, the atmosphere was embarrassing, for a semi-final the club should have done a lot more. Gabby Agbonlahor was less then impressed with the Gunners fans’ efforts during their Champions League semi-final clash “It’s incredible, how can you just not create an atmosphere for your players? “I’ve seen Odegaard, I saw Raya, I saw Martinelli a few times as well, Arteta, it’s like they were begging, ‘please, can you sing? Give us something, help’. Agbonlahor added: “You’ve got to cover a lot more of that lower tier, not just a little bit. It was horrendous. It summed up the night for Arsenal, the tifo.” And the talkSPORT host isn’t the only person to criticise the Emirates atmosphere. Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney also took aim at the club’s fans after the match, and claimed Arsenal’s cause was not helped by a lack of vocal support from the stands. Speaking on Amazon Prime Sport, Rooney said: “For Arsenal, I was a bit disappointed with how they played. I was disappointed with the fans as well. “I thought that against Real Madrid the fans were excellent and really pushed the team, but tonight they were a bit subdued.” He added: “In big games like the semi-finals of the Champions League, it might be the difference so I think the fans had to give a bit more.
Gabby Agbonlahor called Arsenal’s pre-match tifo during their defeat to Paris Saint-Germain ‘embarrassing’, as he tore into the Emirates Stadium atmosphere.
The Gunners fell to a 1-0 defeat to the French giants in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, with criticism being levelled at the lack of support among home fans during the clash.
A fourth minute goal from Ousmane Dembele gave PSG a crucial advantage heading into the second leg at the Parc des Princes, and quickly put a dampener on the mood inside the ground.
There had been plenty of talk beforehand of the north Londoners’ plans to create a special atmosphere for the huge European tie.
Manager Mikel Arteta released a motivational video on the club’s social media channels pre-match, calling on fans to get behind the team for their first semi-final outing in the competition in 15 years.
One way Arsenal looked to drum up support just before kick-off was with a display in the crowd.
The Gunners produced a huge tifo of their cannon emblem, which was suspended from the roof of the North Bank as the players walked out onto the pitch.
A crowd-surfer banner bearing the words ‘Make it happen’ could also be seen in the East Stand, accompanied by pyrotechnics.
But with the noise inside the 60,000-capacity stadium failing to live up to expectations, talkSPORT’s Gabby Agbonlahor has laid into the club’s supporters for both the display and lack of atmosphere.
Speaking on talkSPORT Breakfast, he said: “Arsenal fans…come on!
“You’ve got your manager giving this big speech, Arsenal fans turn up, the tifo…I don’t know what that was.
“That was horrendous. It was like my seven-year-old had done it at school for a project and brought it to the stadium and asked if they could hang it up.
“It was embarrassing. They were quiet. I was sat watching it like come on, this is the semi-final of the Champions League.
“Look at what Liverpool have done at Anfield, what Aston Villa have done against PSG. Do they need a man with a speaker behind the goal saying: ‘Sing, sing, sing?’
Arsenal’s players could be seen gesturing in an attempt to whip the home fans up at various points throughout the match, which Agbonlahor was quick to comment on.
He continued: “It makes it embarrassing for the Arsenal fanbase that they need [Martin] Odegaard every second, [David] Raya was doing it, the manager was doing it.”
The former Aston Villa star then continued to take aim at the Gunners’ cannon tifo, which the club opted for after turning down a £12,000 display designed by a supporters’ group.
He went on: “I just felt the tifo was embarrassing, the atmosphere was embarrassing, for a semi-final the club should have done a lot more.
“It’s incredible, how can you just not create an atmosphere for your players?
“I’ve seen Odegaard, I saw Raya, I saw Martinelli a few times as well, Arteta, it’s like they were begging, ‘please, can you sing? Give us something, help’.
Agbonlahor added: “You’ve got to cover a lot more of that lower tier, not just a little bit. It was horrendous. It summed up the night for Arsenal, the tifo.”
And the talkSPORT host isn’t the only person to criticise the Emirates atmosphere.
Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney also took aim at the club’s fans after the match, and claimed Arsenal’s cause was not helped by a lack of vocal support from the stands.
Speaking on Amazon Prime Sport, Rooney said: “For Arsenal, I was a bit disappointed with how they played. I was disappointed with the fans as well.
“I thought that against Real Madrid the fans were excellent and really pushed the team, but tonight they were a bit subdued.”
He added: “In big games like the semi-finals of the Champions League, it might be the difference so I think the fans had to give a bit more.
