Michael Owen believes the Wenger Out crowd could be a negative influence at Arsenal this upcoming season.

In a shocking development, former Liverpool player Michael Owen believes that Liverpool will have a good season and Arsenal will not. In fairness to Owen, he did at least give an interesting reason why the Gunners might miss out on Champions League football again next season.

“With Arsenal I’m just not sure about the overall feeling within the club,” Owen said, as reported by The Mirror. “My gut feeling is they could win five straight games, but if they lose the sixth the Wenger out brigade will come out which creates a negative atmosphere and that’s probably the main thing going against Arsenal.”

Things haven’t been harmonious at Arsenal for a long time, with deep divides appearing in the fanbase over the club’s current trajectory. Owen isn’t wrong that one bad defeat could spark a negative reaction from the more volatile sections of the Arsenal crowd. However, it’s impossible to gauge how much of a negative impact that can have on a season.

Last season wasn’t the only time where there was a strong anti-Wenger sentiment. Arsenal have played in negative environments and have managed to finish the campaign strongly. It’s possible that 2016/17 was simply an outlier, with a number of extraordinary circumstances contributing to Arsenal’s poor form during the second half of the season.

That aside, it’s going to be tough for Arsenal to get back into the Premier League top-four, with all their rivals strengthening. Except for Tottenham, because apparently they’re the best team in the league and don’t need any new players.