Arsenal legend Paul Merson has claimed that some of the club's supporters will be happy to see their team lose matches in the final weeks of the season, if it hastens the departure of manager Arsene Wenger.
The Arsenal boss is under huge pressure as the debate over his future at the club continues to dominate the club's agenda, with Wenger suggesting he has already made a decision on whether he will sign the new contract that was offered to him back in January.
While Wenger is now widely reported to be preparing to sign a new two-year contract to continue his reign as the club's manager, Merson believes the tide of opinion has swayed against the Frenchman to such an extent that some supporters would not be disappointed if the team ensure a poor end to the season that inspires a change of direction from the club.
"There are fans that want them to lose now," Merson told ESPN.
"I think we have got to the point where it doesn't make any difference whether Wenger stays or goes. The season has fizzled out so much now that the fans don't really care any more and they have lost a bit of interest.
"I said last year that if they didn't win the league in a year when Leicester won it, then there is a big problem, but that has been the story year after year for a long time now. It is the same year after year and the fans have had enough of it.
"The trouble for me is the power he has there. Wenger does everything at Arsenal. No one tells him anything and it feels like there is an arrogance about him that is not nice. He keeps telling us he will decide what [he] will do on his future. That is not right.
"The problem is, what will he do if he leaves Arsenal? He is not like Sir Alex Ferguson who can go and have a nice day out watching horse racing. Arsenal is his life. He doesn't want to give that up."
Meanwhile, Merson believes the club's supporters are entitled to an explanation for the bizarre lack of celebration that followed Theo Walcott's equalising goal in Sunday's 2-2 draw against Manchester City at Emirates Stadium.
Walcott and Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny displayed diluted emotions as they greeted what was a vital goal in the club's push to secure a top-four finish in the Premier League, with Merson infuriated by the scenes.
"The way they celebrated that first goal, you would have thought they were playing in a preseason game, it was just unbelievable," added the former midfielder who won league titles with the Gunners in 1989 and 1991.
"You are under pressure, you have lost six out of your last nine games and that was a massive moment. You are 1-0 down against Manchester City and lucky not to be two or three behind and we have Walcott and Koscielny uninterested in the whole thing.
"How do you interpret that? It looked like it didn't matter to that, which is incredible. It was as if they said, we are not winning anything this season, so there is no point of getting excited about a goal.
"It is an acceptance of where things are going. Even on the second goal, you could see Alexis Sanchez trying to get his teammates over to celebrate the second equaliser with [Shkodran] Mustafi.
"I mean, if a goal in a massive match like that doesn't get you excited, there is no point in being in the game."