ARSENE WENGER SAYS social media is becoming a growing problem in football.
The Gunners, who play Stoke tomorrow, lost the same fixture 3-2 last season with the Arsenal team met by angry fans at Stoke train station as they returned to London after the game.
Wenger says that while he did not take the verbal abuse he received personally he does believes such behaviour is a growing problem that stems from social media.
“At the time I took it as people who were upset because we lost a game and didn’t take it personally,” he told reporters. “It was my function and the fact that I’m responsible for the club that was attacked.
“I didn’t take it personally. I was sad and upset more by the result than by the individual reactions of people, which I can understand. When you love a club, you want the results to be positive.
“But that problem, I see it in Europe. It exists a lot in France, with disenchanted people coming out and having an aggressive behaviour.
It might be one of the problems that football has to face in the coming years. You see it in many countries now, more and more.”
Wenger also feels that such incidents are likely to become more prevalent in the future due to the power of social media.
“It’s a more common thing now and I believe it will be a problem in the coming years,” he told reporters. “Maybe with social networks everyone’s opinions are strengthened with other people who have the same opinion.
“Before, your opinion was a bit more isolated. Today it straight away becomes a stream. People think the same way and it becomes a force.”
