Ever since its launch in 2012, Arsenal Fan TV has amassed a massive following in the online world, and their YouTube channel currently has over 400,000 subscribers. The channel has even managed to garner the attention of mainstream media, with Sky Sports pundit and former Manchester United player Gary Neville recently appearing in one of their videos. Robbie Lyle, the founder of Arsenal Fan TV, calls his channel "a platform for ordinary Arsenal fans who had no voice at their beloved club" and emphasises that his content is specifically produced "for the fans by the fans."
The platform has also become very popular outside of the Arsenal fan base for its eccentric, passionate, and at times hilarious post-match interviews featuring a wide array of Arsenal supporters.
While Robbie gives various fans of opposing opinions the opportunity to speak their minds, there have been no major incidents of physical confrontations between the supporters thus far. After Arsenal's draw against Manchester City on Sunday, however, the Arsenal Fan TV host was physically confronted and threatened by a mob of angry Arsenal supporters outside of the Emirates Stadium.
Angry Arsenal supporters attack host of Arsenal Fan TV
Robbie was about to conduct an interview with regular guest Claude when they were surrounded and confronted by a group of angry Arsenal fans. One of these fans pushed Robbie backwards, and said: "Get the f*** out of this f****** club, mate." Later, another man was heard shouting "Arsenal Fan TV won't be happening today." In the meantime, a large section of Arsenal supporters was chanting pro-Arsenal songs in the background.
Luckily, a number of fans stepped in to diffuse the situation, but Robbie and his film crew still had to retreat from the scene to prevent any further commotion. While it remains unclear why the Arsenal Fan TV film crew was confronted in the first place, it is safe to assume that the attackers were unhappy with what was being filmed and said.
Robbie gives statement about commotion
Speaking to Mirror Football, the Arsenal Fan TV host gave a statement to clarify the situation: "There was an incident that took place as we attempted to film yesterday. A couple of fans attempted to disrupt our filming which angered some of the other fans who were watching. There was a brief scuffle and we immediately packed up our equipment and moved away to diffuse the situation.
We then continued filming as usual once the situation was diffused. I was told that these particular fans did not even attend the game."
Robbie further claimed that his team had never been involved in "a major incident" during their 4 years of filming and emphasised that the "platform is open and always will be to any Arsenal Fan" to voice their opinions.
Robbie and Claude address scuffle in interview
In a video uploaded to the Arsenal Fan TV channel, both Robbie and Claude further addressed the situation. Claude insisted that it was his right to voice an opinion and explained: "There were five of them coming after me. I mean I stood my ground. I stood my ground, Robbie. I'm not going to let anyone f****** tell me what to f****** do.
I will f****** speak!"
Robbie then gave his take on the confrontation: "That what we saw earlier with those 4, 5 guys, was nothing but a bunch of cowards, right, who came over, right, who tried to cause a commotion. They know we're not going to do anything back because we love this club. We love what we're doing here on this platform. We don't want to ruin what we're doing here, and they just... You know, I mean it was a coward move. It was a total coward move."
Robbie also emphasised that they were ultimately here for "the love of Arsenal."
