Bad Korea move: Arsenal fans compare Etihad to secretive state after anti-Wenger banner ban.

ARSENAL fans have vented their fury after claiming they had a number of their banners and flags confiscated on Sunday while Manchester City supporters blanketed the Etihad with signage.
A small group of Gunners fans unfurled anti-Arsene Wenger posters that were swiftly snatched away by Manchester-based stewards and officers from Greater Manchester Police.
From photos obtained by SunSport, none of the Wenger-inspired art was insulting or abusive yet fans had their property wrenched away on the grounds it could cause unrest among fans who take offence.

Certain sections of Arsenal's travelling crowd held-up signs demanding Wenger's head

One infamous poster re-emerged demanding the Frenchman leave his post 

 

 

 

There was no suggestion of any crowd trouble in or around the 2-2 draw but Gunners fans were unhappy they lost their artwork.
And, after a photo of two Arsenal stewards inside the Etihad circulated online, unhappy Gooners began to speculate that their own people we enforcing the crackdown.
In the home stands City fans had hundreds of signs applauding the work of exiting manager Manuel Pellegrini and wishing the Chilean future success.
But it does not appear any of the banners displayed by the blue sections of the Etihad were removed.

Arsenal fans were blocked from taking certain flags into the stadium

One Arsenal fan had his red flag removed by two officers

Manchester City fans paid emotional tributes to Manuel Pellegrini at the Etihad

Star striker Sergio Aguero is also the subject matter of a giant flag inside the ground

Unlike Arsene Wenger at the minute Pellegrini appears universally popular with fans

Gunners fans were fuming with their treatment and took to social media to compare the policing to that in totalitarian North Korea and the old Soviet Union.
However, the club insists the handful of stewards they had in the Etihad were commonly-used escorts deployed only to ensure the squad, staff and away fans complete trips without incident and had no involvement in the banning of flags or signs.
The Greater Manchester Police were contacted for a comment but are yet to make any statement.