Arsene Wenger says Arsenal fans still do not 'feel at home' at the Emirates

The club moved to the state-of-the-art £390m stadium in 2006

Arsenal's Emirates Stadium (Getty Images)

Arsene Wenger believes that many Arsenal supporters still do not feel at home in the Emirates Stadium and their uneasiness can have a negative impact on the players.

Despite the club moving to the state-of-the-art £390m site at Ashburton Grove almost a decade ago, the 66-year-old coach thinks elements of the club’s support are still coming to terms with leaving Highbury, their former home.

Speaking to Arsenal’s official website, Wenger said: “When you move into a new stadium, you have to feel at home.

“You have to feel that it is the right place for you. That is only created by the history that you build slowly through the games.

“I still think it’s a little bit of a disadvantage, even for the fans, they do not feel completely at home, and that can transmit to the players.”

Wenger, currently the longest-serving manager in English football, was in charge when the club brought their 93-year-stay at Highbury to an end.

Despite being emotional about the move, Wenger justified it by arguing that it would help the club progress both on and off the field.

“What convinced me [to change] was when we went to Wembley in the Champions League. It was a sell-out every time,” he said at the time.

However, the Frenchman has now admitted that playing at a neutral venue may have been a mistake and warned other clubs against surrendering home advantage.

“Yes, that was a big problem for us,” Wenger said.

“In hindsight it was maybe a mistake to move to Wembley, but we had no real choice as Uefa did not accept us holding the games at Highbury. Looking back today, I say it was a handicap for us.

“The players were comfortable at Highbury and the teams that visited us weren’t comfortable. Suddenly it was like we were playing games on a neutral ground, basically.”