Arsene Wenger has gone from being the most revered man at Highbury to the most polarising figure at the Emirates. Opinion between Gooners is divided on their legendary Arsenal manager so much so that two planes flew over West Bromwich Albion, albeit with two different banners – #WengerIn and #WengerOut.
While the jury is still out on the debate, Arsenal fans all over the world have had their say on the matter with various ‘Wenger Out’ banners spotted irrespective of what place and occasion.
Here are 10 different places the #WengerOut banner has been spotted.
#1 Wrestlemania
Wrestlemania is undoubtedly wrestling’s biggest pay per view of the year. So when a lot of football fans tuned in to watch Wrestlemania 33, they were amused to find a fan holding the banner #WengerOut during the preshow of the event. Even Arsene Wenger has a Wrestlemania moment!
#2 Raw
Raw is one of the most popular with the loudest crowd in wrestling. If a #WengerOut banner was seen at Wrestlemania, someone made his views pretty clear the following night on Raw when a banner was spotted during Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman’s segment.
#3 IPL
Summers are loved for two reasons in India – mangoes and IPL. In the opening game of the IPL in Hyderabad between Royal Challengers Bangalore and defending champions, Sunrisers Hyderabad, apart from the usual cricket-themed banners was a football one – the #WengerOut banner!
No better way for Indian Gooners to show their disapproval of the current manager than by parading a banner in the most popular T20 league in the world.
#4 Protest against South African President
Tens of thousands of South Africans took to the streets to protest against their President Jacob Zuma for recently reshuffling the cabinet ministers, including the sacking of respected finance minister Pravin Gordhan. Arsenal fans in South Africa saw these protests as a great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone as there were multiple banners of #WengerOut as well.
#5 Maasai tribesmen
The #WengerOut phenomenon has reached the farthest corners of the planet. This one here is clicked in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. While it isn’t clear whether these two Maasai tribesmen did it voluntarily, the ripple effect of the #WengerOut protest is mindboggling.
#6 Ultra music festival
The Ultra music festival is an electronic festival that takes place in the month of march in Miami, Florida since 1997. Some Arsenal fan took the event as an opportunity to make his feelings known about Arsene Wenger.
#7 Serbian student protest
In a student protest at Belgrade, Serbia, thousands marched to protest against the overwhelming victory of Prime Minister Aleksander Vucic who is said to have won the election by fraudulent methods. One particular student and Gooner didn’t shy away from protesting against another grievance of his!
#8 Football match in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabians the love the game of football and back their national team to the hilt. The Saudi Arabians play their home games at the King Abdullah stadium in Jeddah, also known as the ‘Jewel’, which can hold a capacity of just over 60,000 people. In a recent game at the stadium, a fan posed proudly with his #WengerOut banner at a football game! Another fan on the #WengerOut brigade from an entirely different part of the world!
#9 Coldplay concert in Singapore
Another #WengerOut banner, in another corner of the world and in a rock concert. This Gooner had his banner out in Singapore in a Coldplay concert when the rest of the crowd were singing to hits like Viva La Vida, Fix You and Paradise. We wonder if Coldplay frontman Chris Martin had a look at the banner!
#10 Donald Trump protest rally in London
Donald Trump isn’t a loved figure in London and neither is Arsene Wenger. In a protest where people took to the streets to demonstrate against Trump’s Immigration ban and his visit to the UK, one particular person sneaked in his #WengerOut banner at the protest which was held in London.
While the protest did make the headlines, the banner made news in the footballing world and this was perhaps the start of the various #WengerOut banners held up around the globe.
