• Premier League

Arshavin slams 'weird' Arsenal atmosphere

Andrey Arshavin says that Arsenal's Emirates Stadium has an atmosphere similar to being at the theatre.

Arshavin, 32, parted company with Arsenal in the summer, bringing to an end four years at the club after joining from Zenit St Petersburg in 2009.

After a bright start to his career with the Gunners, the Russia international struggled to make a significant impression during his time in North London.

And, after Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas recently criticised the atmosphere of his own club, Arshavin has questioned the level of vocal support from Arsenal's fan base.

He said in The Sun: "The atmosphere was weird. It felt like the crowd was at the theatre - good seats, expensive tickets and they wanted to see a show, not to support the team.

"It was like there was no advantage in playing at home. Many of the players - the leaders that were left from the club's time at Highbury - often complained that the atmosphere in the stands was so bad."

Meanwhile, manager Wenger has insisted he is not too worried about his side's recent defeats that have both come at home versus Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea ahead of Saturday's meeting with Liverpool.

"We want to win every home game, so the home form is a concern - but not as big a concern as the statistics might show it," he said.

"Against Dortmund and Chelsea, we gave easy goals away. That is a positive and a negative. The negative is that we gave the goals away, but the positive is that neither of them created too many chances against us.

"It is down to how we get rid of those mistakes without losing the belief in our qualities. That is what is at stake."

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