A Fan Confronts Wenger As His Side Lost At Southampton

Arsenal's season got from bad to worse after a fan held out his hands in front of the away bench at St Mary's as Arsenal were going down to the Saints two-nil on New Year's Day. The fan was apprehended by stewards inside the stadium and later arrested by Hampshire police.

"It was a young boy. I think he was a Southampton fan. He was not aggressive at all. I don't think he said anything. Honestly, he was not aggressive", was what Wenger said after the match when questioned about the incident. He might have a point as even though the fan in question claimed to be an Arsenal fan demonstrating after a dismal performance by Arsenal. In all probability he must have sat with the Southampton supporters as it would have been impossible to come all the way from the away enclosure, which is around 40 meters away from the away bench, without being apprehended by the stewards earlier.

Earlier in the season Wenger was abused at the Stoke-on-Trent railway station after his side lost three-two against Stoke City FC. The local police as well as Southampton FC are looking at video footage to see how such an incident took place and the ways to avoid such occurrences in the future.

The defeat on New Year's Day was described as self-inflicted by the manager. It was a comedy of errors as the two goals were a result of misunderstanding between goal keeper Wojciech Szczesny and Laurent Koscielny and Szczesny and Mathieu Debuchy respectively. The later was described as a New Year's gift by the Southampton manager Ronald Keoman.

This defeat leaves Arsenal on the sixth position on the league table. They are three points behind the UEFA Champions League places and 13 points behind the league leaders Chelsea and Manchester City FC.

To contact the author of the article, email a.biswas@IBTimes.com.au