Tim Stillman, who writes for the www.arsenal.vitalfootball.co.uk website, admitted he could not remember ever hearing such a "savage" reaction to a Gunners manager's decision than when Wenger replaced Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain with Andrey Arshavin.

Such open dissent during yesterday's Barclays Premier League game appeared to demonstrate confidence in Wenger had reached an all-time low after six-and-a-half years of near misses under his stewardship.

Stillman told Press Association Sport: "It did feel like a kind of watershed moment, the amount of open mutiny from the support.

"The reaction was very, very savage from those within earshot of him and it was quite hard to watch."

He added: "I certainly can't remember a reaction where everybody seemed to share that exasperation.

"I consider myself a more placid supporter.

"I didn't boo or react myself but I shared the exasperation."

Stillman, who insisted fans had every right to boo, admitted the jeering was about far more than star man Oxlade-Chamberlain being replaced by the unpopular Arshavin.

And he expressed concern that captain Robin van Persie also appeared to question his manager after being caught appearing to respond to the change with the word 'no'.

"It is a worry," Stillman said.

"The fact that he openly questioned it makes you think: 'Is that because he didn't have faith in the fact that the manager knew what he was doing?'"

Stillman insisted he was "pro-Wenger" but admitted he would not be against replacing the Frenchman at the end of the season should Arsenal fail to reach the Champions League.

"We're basically the fourth best resourced team in England so, for me, we should be finishing fourth," he said.

"Finishing outside the top four this year would be a failure.

"Whether I think he should be replaced at that point entirely depends on who's available."