Thursday 26 February 2015 14:50, UK
The chair of the Arsenal Independent Supporters Association has urged the club's fans to remain united behind the players following their shock 3-1 Champions League home defeat to Monaco.
Wednesday's loss left the Londoners on the brink of a fifth successive last-16 exit, after previous defeats at the hands of Barcelona, AC Milan and, in the last two seasons, Bayern Munich.
Arsene Wenger's men require one of the more notable recoveries in recent European football history when they visit Stade Louis II in three weeks' time.
There was also a backlash on social media against Wenger and his team, who again came up wanting when a big performance was needed, while plenty of jeers were audible at the final whistle.
AISA chair Lois Langton feels while fans have been let down badly, the Gunners still have it within themselves to step up to the challenge for the return trip to Monte Carlo.
"To say it was a night to forget is an understatement. There isn't really any gloss to put on what was an abject performance. The only positive we can take going into the second leg is that we can't play that badly again," Langton said.
"I would like to think we didn't take Monaco lightly and view them as an easy tie after recent draws at this stage of the competition. If we did, it backfired spectacularly. Monaco relied on disciplined team work to perfection.
"However, the tie is still not beyond us. We so nearly pulled back a 3-1 home defeat against Bayern Munich in 2013, eventually only going out on away goals when all the pundits had already written us off.
"You would hope that last night's result will provide the proverbial wake-up call and the team will produce the sort of collective attacking display of which we are capable - and that this time we will get the extra goal needed to put us through.
"Also, now is not the time to criticise the players, because the team and supporters need to believe that we can overturn the deficit."
