Arsenal fans have turned from fragile to ferocious at the crucial moment
Arsenal fans have turned from fragile to ferocious at the crucial moment
Sam DeanMon, May 18, 2026 at 6:00 AM UTC
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Arsenal fans have energised the team in recent home games - Paul Childs/Reuters
With the smoke of flares in their nostrils, the sound of a pounding drum in their ears and the sight of thousands of Arsenal supporters on the streets outside the Emirates Stadium, the build-up to the Champions League semi-final was a sensory experience unlike anything Mikel Arteta and his players had ever seen before at a home game.
The mobilisation of the Arsenal fans for the meeting with Atlético Madrid was so awe-inspiring for the team, and so thrilling for the fans involved, that they will do it all over again on Monday night. Another bus welcome outside the stadium, another roaring atmosphere and, Arsenal hope, another memorable victory. This time, against Burnley in their final home match of the Premier League season.
“When the stadium provides that level of energy, passion and optimism, they play every single action with the team,” said Arteta. “When we have the ball, when the opponent has the ball, in every element, they live the game. The value of that is just infinite. I think you cannot measure it. The team becomes different.”
That night against Atlético marked the high point of Arteta’s long mission to weaponise the Arsenal fanbase, to turn the Emirates into a truly hostile and intimidating arena. Transforming the feel of the stadium, he has said, was the “first thing” on his mind when he took over in 2019, shortly after seeing widespread dejection among the Arsenal fans in defeat by Manchester City.
“A few days before I was appointed here, I was on the other bench with City,” said Arteta. “That image, the feeling of the stadium, the crowd… 50 per cent of the stadium was empty. It really got into me. I said, with this, there is no project. This is not going to work. Unfortunately it got worse very quickly because then Covid hit and then instead of 50 per cent, we had zero.
“After that, we had to rebuild everything. But when it’s harder at the beginning, then it’s better. So to see that transformation and that joy in the people, it’s something that is beautiful to watch.”
In December 2019, then Man City’s assistant coach, Arteta watched on as they comfortably won at the Emirates. Five days later, Arteta was named new Arsenal head coach - Ian Kington/Getty Images
Arsenal will hope that the scenes before and during the Atlético game could now trigger the start of a new era of fervent support in north London. The fans have seen what is possible, and they have felt the impact they can have.
“I wasn’t sure we could do that at Arsenal,” says Akhil Vyas, of the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust. “I was shocked at how many people were there. It was immense. There is now a bit of belief in the fanbase that, actually, we can make a difference. That night taught us that. We were the 12th man, and I don’t think we have ever really felt like the 12th man. We did something we have never done before and now, we can probably do it again and again.”
Arteta, speaking on the night of the victory over Atlético, had a similar view. “That box is ticked now,” he said. “We’ve got it, and now we have to maintain it.”
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Part of the reason the atmosphere against Atletico was so intoxicating is because it stood in contrast to many other home games this season. For much of the campaign, the Emirates has been defined by edginess and nerves, and the soundtrack to their matches has often been groans of anxiety.
Fixtures against Wolves and Brighton in December, for example, were so ridden with collective angst that it evidently affected the players. The home defeat by Bournemouth in April, when some fans booed the team, was another example of the panic in the stands spreading to those on the pitch. Clearly, the atmosphere was hindering rather than helping in those moments.
“When you have not won for that long, it is going to be edgy and there are going to be moments of doubt,” said Arteta. “I am very glad that now we have turned that point.”
There are two main reasons for this nervousness. The first, obviously enough, is expectation. Unlike in the 2022-2023 campaign, when Arsenal’s title charge was a pleasant surprise to their supporters, Arteta’s side came into this season with perhaps the strongest squad in the league. The conversation has therefore shifted: before, many Arsenal supporters wondered whether their team really “could” win the league. This year, many of them feel they really “should” win it.
Secondly, there is the issue of style. Arsenal’s evolution under Arteta, and the wider changes to the Premier League, have made the football less free-flowing this season. Arsenal usually grind down their opponents, rather than tear them apart in spectacular fashion.
“The expectation has changed and so has the playing style,” says Vyas. “In the 22-23 season, we were scoring early goals, playing amazing football and beating teams easily. As time has gone on this season, we came to the conclusion that the style is going to be different.
“Every game has become a bit more nervous. We are not winning many games by two or three goals. A lot of our games have been by one goal and when that happens, it creates nerves because the games are tight. There have been so many moments when you think: ‘this is tense.’”
What has caused the dramatic shift from the anxiety of the Bournemouth game to the deliriousness of Atlético? Much of the credit must go to supporter groups, especially RedAction, and also to the club, who have worked with fans on all manner of issues relating to the atmosphere.
There is also a widespread understanding that this, for the team and manager, is the decisive moment of the entire project.
“It has reached a stage where there is a feeling among the fans of: we are in this, we are in the latter stages, we have to give everything,” says Vyas. “The opportunity this year is so big and we are so close. We believe we can do it. We need to be that extra person.”
Source: “AOL Sports”
