Arsenal brutally mocked for what they did before PSG game as Arsene Wenger watched along in the stands

Paris Saint-Germain are 90 minutes away from making Arsenal their third English casualty in the Champions League knockout rounds this season and the Gunners were getting pelters on social media even before Ousmane Dembele’s goal in the fourth minute.

Arsenal welcomed PSG to the Emirates Stadium knowing that Liverpool and Aston Villa have already been knocked out by Luis Enrique’s team and the home supporters were in fine voice at the start of the match.

That was despite a pre-game tifo display that was a little short of imagination compared to the banners draped over the Holte End at Villa Park throughout Villa’s first Champions League season.

The Gunners dropped a large red flag emblazoned with the club’s famous cannon emblem in white, fortunately behind the North Bank goal so as not to obstruct the pre-game view of legendary former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, taking in a rare fixture in person seven years after leaving the club.

The reaction on social media from supporters of other teams was inevitably brutal.

“Got to be the worst tifo I’ve ever seen?” asked one user on X, formerly Twitter, asking a question only they could possibly answer.

“Tifo from Temu,” chuckled another.

One fan described the timid tifo as “Arsenal doing Arsenal things” while another thought it was hilariously “Up there with their manager begging fans for support.”

“Wow, a lot of imagination went into that,” zinged one sarcastic observer.

Mikel Arteta speaking ahead of Arsenal’s game against Paris Saint-Germain (Image: Getty)

There’s a serious side too, as one user pointed out: “Zero thought went into it. No one expected much else to be fair. This is why fan engagement is needed. Because corporate entities don’t understand creativity.”

Arsenal supporters had their say too, of course, with one prominent fan account pointing out that fans were ignored in the decision-making process.

“Arsenal turned down the fans tifo design request to produce this monstrosity,” said Connor Humm. “Champions League semi-final and this was the best they could come up with? So disappointed.”

Perhaps the most devastating reviews of all – harsher even than “shower curtain” and “unfathomable levels of tinpot” – were the reams of posts drawing comparisons between Arsenal’s display and the ones that appear in the background on football video games.

Ouch.