How this Arsenal fan went from Arsene admirer to 'Wenger Out!'

The elation associated with hearing the Champions League anthem in person had long since passed and reality had begun to set in.

Arsenal was characteristically second best all over the pitch, and Paris Saint-Germain deservedly opened the scoring in the 18th minute as the French behemoth's fervent supporters celebrated below. And why not? The fixture took place a few weeks short of Christmas, but PSG had already received its gift in the form of a ponderous Arsenal side.

We were seated in the East Stand where it curves to meet the Clock End, and as PSG fans danced and sang beneath us, a collectively antagonistic voice was brewing among a section littered with season's seat holders and second- and third-generation Arsenal supporters. It was the voice of ever-growing dissent, from a group who had become increasingly frustrated by stagnation; a group who after two decades of backing the gaffer had turned.

A combination of dire defending and a daft challenge in the penalty area gifted Arsenal the lead before PSG clawed back for a 2-2 draw, and after years of finishing runner-up in group play, the Gunners again squandered a chance to top the division courtesy of a performance that had become all too familiar.

Supporters who were once a source of loyalty for the manager were now whistling his charges as they circled the dance floor at the Emirates Stadium and screamed the need for change.

I stood quietly and observed, my sentiments as a lifelong Arsenal supporter more conflicted than ever.

This was before the organised protests that funnelled from Holloway Road to the stadium, and before duelling planes whirled the Hawthorns during a drab trip to West Brom. One called for the manager's head; the other pledged to support the Frenchman. In hindsight, the latter display seems as daft as the concept of renting a plane to share a message in the first place.

Arsene Wenger has changed both Arsenal and the Premier League for the better. After my father, he's long been my elder idol. He introduced me to my favourite athlete, Thierry Henry, and to a brand of football that would forever alter my opinion of the sport. He made the Beautiful Game that much more alluring, and through thick and thin, I came to his defence.

But I can no longer support the man whose influence at the club is now a destructive one.

On the heels of Sunday's dire 4-0 defeat against Liverpool, Wenger offered, "If I am the problem, I am sorry, but I believe all together we lose." Those comments - along with several in the past when he admitted his squad was underprepared - point to one glaring deficiency: the manager.

At Anfield, Arsenal's efforts were as toothless as Wenger is out of touch. Once at the forefront of dietary and tactical trends that transformed the English top flight, the 67-year-old is now a dinosaur among litany of managers who inspire from the touchline. Wenger barely gets out of his seat unless there's a zipper to meddle with, and even then, his claims are typically directed at the fourth official and not his hand-picked collection of underperforming players.

A week after Danny Welbeck's worst outing in an Arsenal kit, he still started over club-record signing Alexandre Lacazette. Fellow new boy Sead Kolasinac was also on the bench as Wenger again opted to start players out of position. Two first-teamers who've asked to leave the club, Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, were disturbingly disastrous. The midfield duo of Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey were once again to ball-stopping what Eric Cantona is to crowd control, and the result was a scoreline that flattered the visitor.

This was the worst performance I've watched in 30-plus years of being an Arsenal supporter. The 8-2 loss against Manchester United at Old Trafford - which coincidentally took place six years ago today - hurt, as would any performance in which the club you love makes Ashley Young look world class. The 6-0 beating at Stamford Bridge in Wenger's 1000th match in charge also stung, especially as it came against nemesis Jose Mourinho, but it was nothing like the display at Anfield.

Arsenal was abject. Arsenal was spineless. Arsenal's core players, many of whom were on the pitch for the loss to Chelsea, were pitiful again, and that's what makes it that much worse - they haven't learned a thing.

There's no doubt that Wenger loves Arsenal as much as the north London lot's most committed supporter. Sadly, that's not enough anymore.

In the same way that Liverpool's tireless squad and the Gegenpress emulate its impassioned manager, Jurgen Klopp, and in the fashion that Chelsea dominates opponents as the menacing Antonio Conte glares from the sidelines, Arsenal has become a symbol of its manager, and it's simply not good enough.

With complete autonomy over the club, a new two-year deal, and a habit of making sports-franchise fetishist Stan Kroeke millions, it appears Wenger is the master of his own demise. At this point, a once-stellar legacy is being tarnished with each abhorrent performance, and that's the issue in a nutshell. Few have said it better than Henry, who stated Sunday: "Everything is comfortable at Arsenal. It's not the kind of pressure that you have at a big club."

It was the last day of the 2010 campaign, and goals from Andrey Arshavin, Robin van Persie, and Carlos Vela had guided the Gunners to a one-sided victory over UEFA Cup-final bound Fulham. As the players and staff did the lap of honour to our appreciation, the biggest smile among the bunch was Wenger's. Like a kid in a candy shop, I darted to the first row as the Frenchman passed, and starstruck, all I could muster was, "Thank you."

Seven years and change later, I would say the exact same thing to Wenger, though the conditions have changed. Thank you for everything, Arsene, but it's time for you to go.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)