‘Arsenal fans are no longer fighting – hardcore all want Arsène Wenger to go’

Wednesday evening in Munich seems like a watershed moment with regard to Arsène Wenger’s relationship with Arsenal’s travelling support. Once again the “We Want Wenger Out” chant could be heard but this time there were no objections, no in-fighting inside the away end at the Allianz Arena. Instead there was a collective air of resignation and the feeling that a consensus has been reached – the manager’s time is coming to an end.

The anti-Wenger chanting wasn’t as vociferous as normal, because the point doesn’t have to be made any more. Even many of those who continue to back Wenger don’t want him to stay per se, they just want to be respectful and not force him out of the club.

To some extent the club have brought this on themselves. Six years ago Ivan Gazidis, the chief executive, said publicly that Wenger was accountable to the fans, not the board. It may have been a slip of the tongue but it immediately threw the gauntlet down to the supporters by making it clear that if they want the manager to go, they have to put the pressure on him themselves. If Wenger does not sign a new contract it will not be because he thinks he cannot do the job any more, it will be because he cannot stand the pressure any longer, which in turn leads to even more pressure from the fans.

Life as an Arsenal supporter is not that bad and most of us recognise that. We follow a talented team and there are many worse things than finishing in third or fourth place every year. But we want something different, even if that means failing in a different way.

Yes, it may be difficult replacing Wenger, and by doing so we may experience something similar to what Manchester United fans experienced when Sir Alex Ferguson retired, but we need to take that on at some point so why not as soon as possible. Better that than being in a permanent state of stasis.

I was happy for Wenger to continue when he signed his last contract in 2014 – we had just broken our trophy hoodoo by winning the FA Cup and broke our transfer record by signing Mesut Özil. It seemed only right that having taken us through the frugal years, Wenger should be given the opportunity to lead a better squad though a period when we finally had serious money to spend.

But I am now firmly of the opinion that he should leave at the end of the season and I feel sure he will. Wenger is a smart man and after Wednesday’s game he should recognise enough is enough. The pressure is rising and it is clear the players are not fighting for him any longer.

The chanting on Wednesday began shortly after Bayern’s fourth goal. Some fans were also singing “Where’s our manager?” and as they did I looked down and realised I could not see him because he was sitting down. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that but the moment seemed symbolic – 4-1 down and Wenger was nowhere to be seen. Many of those who had travelled hundreds of miles and paid hundreds of pounds to watch their team play felt it sent the wrong signal.

There will be 700 of us at Sutton United on Monday and given the unique nature of the fixture, I expect the atmosphere in the away end to be quite upbeat. But that will no doubt change if we have not scored after 20 minutes. Fans will turn and once again the noise about Wenger will build. It has been like this for some time and will not change until the increasingly inevitable happens.