Football fans can be a superstitious bunch.
You might not find them desperately trying to avoid stepping on cracks on their promenade to the ground in an effort to stop their manager's back from seizing up in the technical area, but they' generally take issue with things that 'don't bode well.'
Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker proved this theory rings true when he foolishly issued a war cry to rally on the troops via Twitter on Sunday.
Every Gooner would agree with the sentiment behind the tweet. The Big Fuckin' German simply wants the team to continue their fine form in the league at the stage of the season where you can gain and lose a lot of points because of the fixtures piling up. However, his ill-judged closing line was always going to spark a reaction from the Arsenal faithful.
https://twitter.com/mertesacker/status/807545172716306432
Football fans aren't quick to forget the failures of their rivals and few are more celebrated than Steven Gerrard telling his Liverpool teammates that their title run-in in 2014 "does not fucking slip now!" before proceeding to stumble against Crystal Palace to throw any hopes of winning that elusive trophy out the window.
Some took Merstesackers choice of words as a bad omen...
https://twitter.com/WildyAlex/status/807551228809007104
https://twitter.com/TheArsenalKidd/status/807546592647675905
https://twitter.com/tareksaada/status/807545364618313728
Some were just happy to remember that hysterically funny (or cripplingly heartbreaking if you're a Liverpool supporter) Gerrard moment...
https://twitter.com/briteihuomah11/status/807556901240274944
Others started getting aggressive...
https://twitter.com/a4af0a9d76184e4/status/807546962283151360
And there's always one...
https://twitter.com/salehabass/status/807545866458464257
