Arsenal round-up: West Ham win reaction; Lots of empty seats at the game; Chris Willock set to leave in the summer

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Arsenal managed to return to winning ways with three second-half goals against West Ham United. Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud found the back of the net for the home side as they closed the gap on Manchester City to only four points. It was important that they won in style on Wednesday night and they did just that. After the game, Arsene Wenger said that consistency will be crucial during the run-in. The following quotes were reported by the BBC:

“We are in the final sprint in the Premier League. Consistency will be very important.

“We have a little handicap on the points front. We have less possibilities to drop points.”

The mid-week matches went well for the Gunners as they triumphed, while three of their rivals dropped points. They are still outsiders in the race for Champions League football, but they are in a stronger position now and their confidence will have grown significantly. Although it took a while for them to find a breakthrough, they looked comfortable throughout the match and deserved the three points. Next up for the Gunners are trips to Crystal Palace and Middlesbrough. They will be looking for maximum points to maintain pressure on the sides above and it is important that they do that as there is no margin for error at this stage of the season.

It was noticeable during the match that there were a lot of empty seats at the Emirates Stadium and that isn’t surprising considering the anger within the fan-base. There was a protest held called ‘Protest 13’, which involved supporters being out of their seats for the first 13 minutes. Although this was held, it isn’t the explanation for all the empty seats. Arsenal claim that there had been 59,961 tickets sold for the match, according to the Mirror. However, it was obvious that there were fewer than that in the stadium.

This will be disappointing and it underlines the problems facing the club regarding their support. There are lots of protests going on and it has the potential to affect the players on the pitch. Arsenal aren’t helping themselves by refusing to put an end to the speculation about Arsene Wenger’s future. The supporters feel that this could be their only opportunity to cause change and they are doing their all to get their message across. Although they won on Wednesday, this negativity and anger won’t go away anytime soon.

This summer is going to be a huge one for the Gunners as they have plenty of key figures facing uncertain futures. One player that could be set for a move away is Chris Willock as he is out of contract in the summer and yet to agree to a new deal. Celtic are seen as the frontrunners for his signature as they attempt to find another bargain in the transfer market after their success with Moussa Dembele.

This may not seem too bad as Willock is not near the first team, but he is an England Under-19s international and he could be one that they regret losing at a later date. The club want to keep him and they are in discussions to extend his contract, but little progress is being made. According to the Mirror, he is keen to play senior football and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he opts to leave. The supporters may not give it a second thought, but it would be another blow for the club.

Featured image: All rights reserved by Stuart MacFarlane