Arsenal fans stage protest against the club before and during clash with Norwich City at the Emirates Stadium

  • Arsenal fans stage protest against the club’s regime on Saturday evening 
  • Organisers handed out signs with message: ‘Time for Change: Arsenal is stale 
  • Supporters also held signs up in the 12th minute reading 'Wenger Out' 

Arsenal supporters have staged a protest against the club’s regime before and during Saturday evening’s Barclays Premier League match with Norwich City at the Emirates Stadium.

Around 50 fans gathered on the roundabout on Benwell Road outside the stadium ahead of the match, chanting ‘Au Revoir Arsene Wenger’ and holding up placards calling for change.

Organisers handed out signs with the message: ‘Time for Change: Arsenal is stale - Fresh approach needed,’ while other banners read ‘Wenger Out’ and ‘Arsene: Thanks for the memories but it’s time to say goodbye.’

Arsene Wenger has come under fierce criticism and signs were held up by Gunners supporters in protest 

Arsene Wenger has come under fierce criticism and signs were held up by Gunners supporters in protest 

Fans hold signs calling for the Arsenal manager to be sacked prior to kick-off against Norwich City 

Fans hold signs calling for the Arsenal manager to be sacked prior to kick-off against Norwich City 

Another banner reading ‘Love Arsenal, Hate Kroenke’ was aimed at the club’s American majority shareholder Stan Kroenke.


In the 12th minute of the match, a few hundred fans in the near-capacity crowd stood and waved the ‘Time for Change’ placards. It is 12 years since Arsenal won the Premier League.

A larger group of supporters then responded with chants of ‘There’s only one Arsene Wenger’ a minute later.

A large selection of fans held up 'Time for change' signs in the 12th minute at the Emirates on Saturday 

A large selection of fans held up 'Time for change' signs in the 12th minute at the Emirates on Saturday 

Some supporters came out in favour of their beleaguered boss and this fan was in the Frenchman's corner 

Some supporters came out in favour of their beleaguered boss and this fan was in the Frenchman's corner 

The demonstration was organised by prominent Arsenal supporter groups Black Scarf Movement and RedAction, who claim the club isn’t moving forward, are enduring ‘groundhog seasons’ and are ‘stuck in a rut.’

RedAction added that Kroenke is ‘an absentee owner who takes money from the club.’

Wenger had fanned the flames of supporter unrest on Friday by claiming that the toxic atmosphere at the Emirates had damaged their title bid.

He said: ‘We lost the championship at home against the lower teams, but we played at home in a very difficult climate.

'When people pretend to be Arsenal fans and every week come out against the club, you cannot say it's not manipulation.

'They look for their own agenda, to get people on Twitter and social networks, and it becomes a way to behave.'