Wenger: The scarves are the first step, the fans were great

Results

Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
22 Aug	3:00 PM	P	Portsmouth (H)	4	1	Win

Manager Arsène Wenger today credited the fans with the support they showed towards the team as they brushed aside a fragile-looking Portsmouth side 4-1 to climb to the summit of the Premiership.

Midfielder Abou Diaby scored a brace, whilst defender William Gallas and substitute Aaron Ramsey opened his season's account. There were times when it looked as if the Gunners would let Portsmouth back into the match but the defence held firm when they needed to.

And with today being the first match of the new season at the Emirates, supporters group REDaction set out to create a special but intimidating atmosphere by giving out 58,000 free scarves to the attending faithful. And Wenger acknowledges the role the fans play in the success of the club and revealed that today was just the first step at making the Emirates a 'warmer' place for Arsenal fans.

The Frenchman said: "I feel the fans were positive. Today we had some fantastic moments in the game, as well some moments when we were a little bit flat. You felt that the crowd was always behind the team.

"We are trying to create something special at the stadium, to make it more warm, to warm the whole place, and the scarves are a part of that. You will see much more – it is not up to me to talk about that – but we want to make this place very special. There is more we will do.

"I never expected it the other way round. At some places there are exceptions like up north at Celtic or Rangers where the fans are a bit more fanatical. But in a big city like London you have to accept that the waves have to come from the team and they have to get the people off their seats, not the other way round.

"When that doesn't happen maybe the vibes coming out of the team are not right. People maybe cannot always explain what is happening in the team but they sense that if the whole team is right or not.

"Last year we did not give enough belief to our fans that we could win. And as well maybe the belief of our fans has been affected by the negative publicity we got."

You can see the first pictures of the changes being made to the stadium here.

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