14 hours Ago By Oliver Young-Myles
From the highs of beating Real Madrid home and away came a crushing low for Arsenal against PSG in the Champions League on Tuesday.Ousmane Dembele’s third-minute goal in north London gives the French champions a lead to defend at the Parc des Princes next Wednesday and the Gunners an uphill battle to reach the final in Munich.A 1-0 defeat was not the only regret for Arsenal fans.
Before kick-off, a large tifo – the biggest ever at the Emirates – featuring the club’s badge in front of a plain red background was unfurled, spanning the middle section of the North Bank stand.if(window.adverts) { window.
adverts.addToArray({"pos": "inread-hb-ros-inews"}); }#color-context-related-article-3667343 {--inews-color-primary: #8BC419;--inews-color-secondary: #F6FBED;--inews-color-tertiary: #8BC419;} Read Next square FOOTBALL 'It's only half-time' - but can Arsenal bounce back from damaging PSG defeat?Read MoreThe banner, organised by the club, prompted complaints from supporters and ridicule from rivals over its simplistic design. Some claimed that it looked as though it had been inspired by Fifa career mode, while others suggested it had been ordered from Temu.
“I thought the Arsenal club Tifo looked like a giant branded shower curtain – an obvious product of corporate groupthink by people who are likely not football supporters and aimed primarily at offending no one,” Northbanksy, an Arsenal street artist, told The i Paper.Groups of Arsenal fans reportedly had plans for pre-match displays rebuffed by the club, adding to the sense of disappointment.if(window.
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adverts) { window.adverts.addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet_l1"}); }The X account REDaction Gooners, which has more than 80,000 followers and is run by two Arsenal fans involved with fan engagement discussions with the club, claimed that their ideas had been rejected.
In a thread on X, they said one suggestion was to have a sprawling banner of Bukayo Saka answering a phone alongside the words “Munich Calling” with pictures of the Champions League trophy in the background.“The roof banner image was a bit underwhelming tbh,” they posted. “The display of it looked great, but I do wish we had been allowed one of our images on there, I think it would have looked much better.
”Arsenal’s pre-match Tifo upset fans (Photo: Getty)Ashburton Army, a group of black-shirted “ultras” who sit at the front of the Clock End, also said (in a since deleted X post) that their tifo proposals had been turned down.They said that they had crowdfunded £10,000 to pay for the V for Vendetta-inspired designs, which will now be refunded to donors.“In just 24 hours, Arsenal fans came together to raise over £10,000 to fund what would have been our biggest ever display for the Champions League semi-final against PSG,” they said.
“Unfortunately, the club has blocked a display for this game. As a result, everyone who contributed will be fully refunded.”if(window.
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adverts) { window.adverts.addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet_l2"}); }While supporters may have preferred a fan-led display, not everyone was on board with the Ashburton Army’s proposed drafts.
Whoever designed these TIFO’s should get arrested.Now I understand why the Arsenal as a club rejected them. pic.
twitter.com/08HrlWKjsb— Arsenal Team (@_ArsenalTeam) April 24, 2025 “On seeing the designs I felt the club had probably made the right call: the AA had seemingly put little thought into their unimaginative AI-generated mock-ups, but it seems Arsenal put even less into their one,” Northbanksy said.He produced a mural of Dennis Bergkamp in the tunnel on Hornsey Road on the night before the game.
“I probably spent as much time working on that piece of street art as was given to these Tifos.”Dembele’s early dagger drained the Emirates of its big-game atmosphere, more so than an underwhelming pre-match show.Speaking on Amazon Prime, Wayne Rooney criticised Arsenal fans for their lack of support, saying: “I was disappointed with the fans.
“The fans against Real Madrid were excellent, and really pushed the team. Tonight they were subdued. It was almost like an anti-climax that Arsenal beat Real Madrid [and thought] they were going to walk into the final.
”if(window.adverts) { window.adverts.
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addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet_l3"}); }#color-context-related-article-3644758 {--inews-color-primary: #8BC419;--inews-color-secondary: #F6FBED;--inews-color-tertiary: #8BC419;} Read Next square FOOTBALL What aura? Arsenal dismantle Real Madrid to prove they can go all the wayRead MoreThe aesthetic merits of a tifo may seem inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, but there is a sense among Arsenal fans that an opportunity to generate an unforgettable atmosphere on a huge night was fumbled.“We had a really good look for the Madrid game with the seats covered and created a really good atmosphere. It wasn’t quite the same here,” Akhil Vyas, an Arsenal Supporters’ Trust board member, tells The i Paper.
“I don’t know if it was a timing thing and logistically a bit of a nightmare, but it probably wasn’t great or the most creative thing in the world. “Hopefully, there will be learnings from it because you don’t get to the semi-finals of the Champions League often.”“It’s a shame because the connection between the club and its supporters was a real energy that the team could draw on in seasons past,” Northbanksy said.
“But it feels as if there are those in Arsenal who think they know better than anyone else how to support this club, and when company men dominate that space, you are going to end up with bland efforts like last night’s Tifo.”.
