Empty seats mar Arsenal win
Print Edition
ALEXIS Sanchez was surrounded by thousands of empty seats inside Emirates Stadium as he scored twice against West Bromwich Albion to ease Arsenal back into third place with a 2-0 win on Thursday.
Because Arsenal announced 59,568 tickets were sold for the Premier League game, the north London stadium should have been near capacity to see Sanchez make it five goals in four games. But the swathes of unoccupied red seats told a different story, reflecting mounting unrest among fans frustrated that it is 12 years since Arsenal lifted the league trophy.
“If you love football, you go out there and I think you see quality football,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said in a post-match message to fans who shunned this rare Thursday night domestic game.
Murmurs of discontent among fans have grown as Leicester City has astonishingly climbed to the summit, with some calling for Wenger to go after nearly 20 years in charge.
Three months ago, the Gunners were ahead of Leicester at the top on goal difference but now they are 10 points adrift with only 12 points to play for.
“We are under permanent pressure,” Wenger said. “There are top teams who are behind us. Because Leicester is front everyone thinks we should have done it (won the title). But you can say that for any other team because Leicester was bottom of the table last year.”
Rather than ending the title drought, Arsenal is in a scrap just to qualify for the Champions League for a 19th consecutive season under Wenger.
Its back-to-back draws opened up the race for the top four. But Arsenal seized on Manchester City’s draw at Newcastle on Tuesday by moving two points in front of Manuel Pellegrini’s side and four ahead of fifth-place Manchester United.
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