I’m certainly not saying that there is no basis for the chants and boos. Far from it. While I didn’t particularly enjoy the angry cacophony that day at the Emirates Cup, I understood and even defended the rationale behind them. They weren’t directed at our inability to win our “own” trophy. They were directed at the lack of evidence that we had improved, that we had not learnt from our previous

So…interesting weekend, eh? Not going to rake through the ashes of the game itself as Mean Lean has already done that here.

Instead of focusing on the on-pitch matters such as how our back-four held firm; how Szczesny commanded set-pieces; how Song was solid yet his alter ego Songinho is a nutter; how Rosicky was good but we still lacked in creativity; and how Gervinho is an unfortunate but silly boy, I’m going to focus on the chant that echoed around the away section on Saturday evening.

“SPEND SOME F*CKING MONEY”

Isn’t it sad when we Gooners now speak of “that chant”, we no longer know whether we are referring to the horrible one directed at Arsene from cretinous Mancs or Spuds, or the one levelled at him for his transfer market habits from our own fans?

I’m not getting all high and mighty here and saying the chant should not be aired at all. Nor I am in any way insinuating that any Gooner who does chant it is approaching anywhere near the level of a Manc or Spud (that is against nature anyway, for they are the lowest of the low).

But in my opinion, there is a time and a place.

Fulham away, last game of the season and a virtual dead rubber after we couldn’t even finish third in a two-hour race? Understandable, acceptable, and fair – especially after a 6.5% rise in the season ticket price combined with the mother of all collapses. There was little riding on that game for the players as Man City had pretty much sown 4th place up, so it was the perfect stage for the fans to vent. Indeed, the legend that it is Tim Stillman (he of VitalArsenal and Arseblog fame; find him here – informs me that 80% of Gooners in the stands that day were singing it, and the other 20% weren’t exactly muttering their disgust at the chant.

Newcastle away, first game of a new season, injury time, down to ten-men with our backs to the wall and defending to hold on to a precious point. The players need us to be behind them at that time, they do not need to hear vitriol directed at the higher-ups and certainly do not need to hear how we are crowing for replacements for some of them. Can you imagine the mutiny if that chant had affected Koscielny, for example, with all the speculation surrounding a potential new centre-back? A moment’s distraction and BANG! Newcastle grab a cruel late winner. Horrible thought, isn’t it? Yet the very fans singing that song may well have contributed to our own downfall. I’m not saying there’s a guaranteed definite link; I’m saying it could have played a part had it gone pear-shaped. Thankfully the chants were not as widespread as Fulham last year, with the aforementioned Mr Stillman telling me that some 50% of fans sung it, with 30% frowning at the (timing of the) chant.

Even the recent Emirates Cup, where we gave away two leads in two matches, saw boos at the end of the second game. Had more “regular” fans been present on that day, I would wager that the chant may have broken out again.

I’m certainly not saying that there is no basis for the chants and boos. Far from it. While I didn’t particularly enjoy the angry cacophony that day at the Emirates Cup, I understood and even defended the rationale behind them. They weren’t directed at our inability to win our “own” trophy. They were directed at the lack of evidence that we had improved, that we had not learnt from our previous failings, and that there was fear these failings would persist into the new season.

There have been many people I respect who actively defended that chant on Saturday, including my kindred spirit and fellow panicker and all-round good guy Tim Clark of www.arse2mouse on the premise that there’s no other forum for such a chant to occur and the message to be rammed home to Arsene and the board. Yet even he agrees that such a chant should be reserved for after the full-time whistle.

To be quite honest, I think the chants throughout a virtual non-event like Fulham away last season may have been called for and could even have had a stirring effect; a timely reminder that the faithful was sick and tired of paying the highest prices in the WORLD but seeing no evidence of improvement. Even during fallow periods in Saturday’s match I can see a reason for them as fans get frustrated at our inability to break down an average Newcastle side. These fans spend a bucketload on tickets and travel and have EVERY right to voice their opinion. I didn’t like it, the timing was not great, but I understood it.

But during the dying embers of the game? When our team has already been handicapped due to somewhat unfair refereeing and need us to support their travails on the pitch against a pumped up Newcastle side and crowd? No, just no.

So here is my impassioned plea to those going tomorrow. The Champions League qualifiers are the biggest games of our season. They will shape the morale around the Club – in the dressing room, boardroom and stands. They will even shape our transfer kitty and ability to attract players. I’m not going to go all accountancy on you, and we may have a cash windfall from selling wantaway players, but mark my words – if we crash out then: 1) the Champions League television revenues that we include in our budget will disappear and money from the transfer pot may have to fill this gap; and 2) what’s to say a Mata or Jagielka or Cahill wouldn’t rather see out another season with their current clubs if the Champions League carrot at Arsenal is no longer on offer?

Tomorrow night it is on our patch. Our chance to get behind the boys and roar them on to, hopefully, a comfortable win and clean sheet to take to Italy for the second-leg. And if we aren’t going to roar them on (as is often our wont at The Emirates) then at least please do not resort to mindless booing and chanting DURING the game. It will not be beneficial because it detracts from supporting those on the pitch, and any new signings will not be able to help us qualify in any case. For these two qualifying games the existing squad is all we have, and if we want it to match or exceed the sum of its parts then it needs our support.

If things do go awry, I envisage ugly scenes and sounds in the stands. But at least save them for after the final whistle.

In the wake of the sale of certain players, our team needs us more than ever for 90 minutes tomorrow night. Let’s not let them down. Let’s make them proud and in turn give them the best chance to make us proud.

Twitter: Squid Boy