Last season the atmosphere at the Emirates was electric.
It was best it had consistently been over the course of a season for decades, and this coincided with our best on-pitch performances in decades.
This season the crowd has been more subdued. Many fingers have been pointed towards the club for the change in ticket philosphy and the reduction in Ashburton Army allocation. We have written plenty on these two factors. But is the change in atmosphere also a bit of “second season syndrome”.
Over the years, I have done hundreds of away games, and teams always follow a similar pattern.
The first season a team is back in the Premier League (either for their first time or for the first time in a while), the atmosphere is electric. I am thinking Portsmouth in the early-mid 00s, Leeds United more recently and Luton Town this season. But each year after, the stadium noise tapers off.
The fans at these clubs remain the same, yet from the second season the atmosphere declines. After that first season, they are no longer as excited. Being in the Premier League has stopped being special. And they become more demanding.
In that first season, the fans are just “glad to be back” in the top flight. They could lose 5-0 and still be cheering their team in. Give it a year and that same 5-0 defeat and performance is met by boos and discontent.
And the same happens further up the table.
When Manchester City first became competitive, their ground was a bit of a cauldron. With their narrow away end, it felt like the home fans were on top of you, and it was a fairly intimidating place. A decade on and it is now one of the worst atmospheres in the Premier League.
The more succesful they have become, the worse the atmosphere has become. Whilst this can be pointed at more “day trippers” turning up, 70% of the ground (like Arsenal) is season ticket holders. So a few thousand “new fans” should not have made that much of a difference.
Reality is with success – whether that is at the top of the league, battling at the top of statying in the league – comes expectation. You are no longer excited to be in a title race, you just expect to be in it.
And with that buzz of excitiment of being in it diminishing, the atmosphere also begins to decline.
Manchester City fans now turn up and expect to win, expect to be entertained. And they sit and await that victory and entertainment, like an opera go’er waiting patiently for the performers to hit the big notes, at which point they erupt.
After last seasons exploits and excitment, this season was always going to potentially see a natural decline as second season syndrome kicked in.
Last year saw us return as title contenders, and it is a position we are still in this season. But whereas in 2022/23 we were excited to be in the title race, this campaign we expect to be in it. And that rise in expectation will naturally lead to a decline in atmosphere.
The only way we would have maintained (or built on) the atmosphere is if we had have kicked on again.
For a newly promoted team, kicking on again is transititioning from “happy to be here” to “competing for Europe”. For us, considering the start we had in 2022/23, we had very little room to kick on. The only way the atmosphere of last season would have been replicated this would be if we were running away with the league title. Cantering towards it and double figures clear after 20-games. It is a fairly unreasonable expectation.
And even if we had have done that this season, the atmosphere would have simply dropped next season as that bar of expectation would have risen again. It would no longer be exciting to just win the league. We need that next hit.
It is a bit like your childs excitment declines over Christmas and birthdays over the year, the 2nd time on an airplane never quite generates the excitiment as the 1st, that first game at football is always the most exciting, as is the first away game, first North London Derby, first Euro away trip. The 2nd time around is never quite as exciting.
Yes, I do think that the club have played a huge impact with their decision making, and they have perhaps sped up the decline in atmosphere, but second season syndrome is also a factor.
My final point is to the social media warriors – instead of complaining online that the atmosphere is not as good, why not do something to change it? Stand up and start a song yourself. Do not leave it up to others then complain with they do nothing.
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 
The reason is simple. We have a failing manager who has wasted 700m on mostly dross players and then completed wrecked our season by his completely terrible summer recruitment buying all defensive players again for like the 4th year in a row.
Always 4 defensive players and one attacker since he arrived.
Then there are fanbkys like ypu and U told Arsenal who have your heads so far up Arteta ass that you don’t even care about Arsenal football club itself.
Stop making excuses for his failures and stsrt reporting objectively about what is actually happening.
This summer we needed two strikers, a RW comp.for Saka, two No8.
We got a DM, RB, GK and Havertz.
My point I’d pur manger wrecked our season.
Rice and Timber were heavily scouted by Edu.
Havertz was a spur of the moment buy to please Arteta. The money and wages almost could have gotten us Kudus and Sbotslzai…players we heavily scouted for years. We could gotten Milonkovic-Savic and Kudus for same money.
Face Arteta is joke of a manager.
Every carte Blanche signing he has been allowed has been an unmitigated disaster since he arrived
1) William was his first total disasterpus failure who now thrives at fulham
2) Not replacing Ozil and killing Auba and Laca with no service
3) Using ESR out of desperation who them saves his job, who he then discards for Havertz who does nothing
4) Ben White as CB who was overhyped overpriced disaster as CB (when we already had Saliba who goes on to be to League Un team of the year ) costing us top 4, who he then converts to RB who he now wants to replace with frimpong/peters and has already replaced with Timber anyway.
5) Fabio instead off Maddison…fabio has failed to establish himself as first team becjase he is a biscuit sized midget who is not suited for PL
6) Havertz who will go down historically as Arsenal’s single worst ever signing of our entire PL era. For about 9 different reasons.
i) he strengthened pur rivals financially when they were struggling badly (reeks of a behind the scenes closed door deal between US billionaires to help each other out, same with Mount to Man U). Wenger would never have done this.
ii) He unbalanced the squad from tje beginning marginalixing ESR, Fabio, Partey, Gabriel M, and also ruined Martinelli season
iii) He is rubbish in tje tem, doenst impose himself and doesn’t score or assist. Does thread through balls, doenst impose himself on the play. Has killed lurfuildty and goalscorer threat. Don’t tale my word for it….go read for yourself all our attacking metrics are in the gutter.
iv) We vastly overpaid for him.
v) His wages are 280k/week which is scandalous
vi) His signing prevented us getting a RW and No8 which we desparately needed andcpuld have easily have gotten….k
KUDUS for 35m, Sbotslzai/Milinkovic Savic for 38m
7) Other rubbish signings include Soaores who was renewed by the way, Mari, Tavares who ad potential but could not be coached by Arteta, KT whonwas wadted and not sold when 35m was offered, Eddie who should have been sold instead of Balogun when 36m was offered, Maitland Niles should have Ben some when wolves offered 20/25m
Artetas failing are too many and too often. He can no longer be trusted at elite level.with Arsenal football club.
Then another time will wriye about his tactical failings as well
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