Home advantage? Our Arsenal writers discuss the Emirates atmosphere before Sporting CP's visit

Pedro Porru/MB Media/Getty Images Share full articleArsenal have home advantage against Sporting CP tonight in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie, having won 1-0 in Lisbon last week. But the disappointing 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth at home in the Premier League on Saturday drew some boos from the Emirates crowd at the final whistle, while during the game, and in previous games, there has been a sense of tension and frustration. Was it just the result, or the performance, or has the style of play affected how fans experience games? As the season draws to a close and Mikel Arteta’s team target success in both competitions, it is natural for some trepidation among a support who have gone 22 years without a league title. Here, our Arsenal writers James McNicholas, Amy Lawrence and Art de Roche give their opinions on the atmosphere at the Emirates. Amy Lawrence: There is a short, medium and long-term perspective on this and somehow it gets bundled together in the moment as the games unfold before people’s eyes. The short term is the crushing pressure on every point that could take Arsenal closer to the title. The medium term is four years of chasing, which comes with the sneering, jeering accompaniment of “second again, ole ole” from every opponent. The long term is 22 years. That’s the longest stretch Arsenal have been without winning the league since before the club’s first golden age of Herbert Chapman and the 1930s dynasty. That 22 years feels deep. In the previous 15 years, Arsenal won the league five times, so supporters from that vintage became accustomed to it. Its absence has made hearts grow more desperate now that it is close again. Why is there tension? Because everyone wants it so badly. The more you care, the more every emotional aspect is intensified. The desire, the fear, it is all knotted together in a pulsating mess on a matchday. “The natural state of the football fan is bitter disappointment, no matter what the score,” wrote Nick Hornby in Fever Pitch. Little wonder that book became a touchstone for so many fans. It was a study of obsession and pessimism, sometimes relieved by extreme highs. Inside the Emirates at the moment, all these emotions are on the line. No fan necessarily feels it the same way as the person next to them. Extrapolating that, those in the stadium, or gathering with a distant supporters’ club, or faraway watching a screen by themselves, do not have the same experience. It is important to separate the toxic fires online from those who deal with their angst less virulently. James McNicholas: Mikel Arteta has raised the standards at Arsenal – and with that, raised expectations. All that hope, all that belief has steadily built up over the past few years. Arsenal supporters are waiting for the consummation and catharsis of landing major silverware. That wait has created a tension — and that emotion has to be released in some way or other. I don’t know, but I’m not convinced the boos heard after Saturday’s defeat against Bournemouth were aimed particularly at Arteta or the players. I think it was a case of thwarted joy. Arsenal fans came hoping for a party and were left disappointed. The game got the big build-up, and the energy that had been whipped up was diverted into discontent. That may explain the boos, but it doesn’t excuse them: Arsenal’s campaign to date does not really merit that sort of response. If there was any friction between supporters and players at the Emirates Stadium, it may derive from a fundamental tension between the football fans want to see and the football Arteta intends to play. Arteta’s approach, particularly in build-up, is reliant on patience. It’s a methodical attempt to draw the press before playing through the lines. If that means going back to David Raya, so be it. If it means Raya pausing with the ball under his foot, so be it. Being unhurried and composed in those moments are key principles of Arteta’s game.  For a crowd looking for urgency, however, that deliberation can come across as passive. An anxious crowd quickly grows angsty. Arsenal supporters want to see their impetuous hunger reflected on the field… but is that what Arteta believes will serve the team best? Art de Roche: The tension at the Emirates comes from the desperation to finally get over the line and win the Premier League after years of coming so close. Looking across the season, nervy moments come from that desire for there to be a big release of joy at the end of the season. As Amy mentioned, to not be the butt of even more jokes about finishing as runners-up. During the 2-1 loss against Bournemouth, the home crowd continually looked to encourage the team, but were frustrated when the standards that James has mentioned were not met. When anyone is exposed to a quality of football like Arsenal fans were a few seasons ago, a drop off from that can be hard to take, especially when a trophy has not (yet) come with the tribulations. After Bournemouth, Arteta said that the home crowd willing his players to attack more while he looked for calm “came from the right place”. Given a few days to stew on this, in his pre-Sporting press conference, he added: “What I love about where we are is that there is no satisfaction about it. You haven’t asked me any questions like, ‘Congratulations, you’re going to be in the Champions League next year.’ Now it’s like we take it for granted. “I am assuming for the next 20 years of this club we’re going to be taking it for granted that you are fighting for titles in April, that’s OK. But it’s difficult to do it. And I do value a lot what the players are doing, that’s for sure.” The Arsenal bubble has endured a stressful season, but that can quickly turn to elation if Arteta and his squad deliver against Sporting and Manchester City. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms