Arsene Wenger still has full backing of Arsenal's board

Arsene Wenger has still got the full backing of the Arsenal board - and will get to decide when the time is right for him to leave.

Manager Wenger is under mounting pressure after the Gunners' latest February/March slump, and is acutely aware of the growing frustration among the supporters.

Those close to him insist he wants to see out an £8million-a-year contract which expires in 2017, and Arsenal majority shareholder Stan Kroenke and the rest of the club hierarchy remain fully behind him.

But there is also a sense that Wenger is concerned the anger among the fans is in serious danger of affecting his players and their performances.

If that becomes too much, he has said before he would know when to go, and if it ever reached a point where he was no longer getting the best out of his players.

Wenger is facing one of the biggest tests of his 20-year reign to stop the club’s season from hitting crisis point.

They are now out of the FA Cup, face mission impossible in Barcelona in the Champions League's last 16 and go to Everton on Saturday with their traditional top-four finish still far from certain as West Ham and Manchester United are close behind.

Arsenal’s players are on big bonuses for reaching the Champions League, so there is a financial incentive to earn a top four spot as well as wanting to remain on the top European stage.

But there is mounting concern that stars Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez have yet to commit themselves to new contracts. While the early signs have been positive, they may think twice if the club misses out on the top four.

Wenger is likely to face more of a backlash from the travelling supporters in the Nou Camp on Wednesday night, where Arsenal will try to overturn a 2-0 deficit and avoid going out at the first knockout stage for a sixth successive season.

There has also been talk on social media of a new banner after the one reading 'Arsene thanks for the memories but it's time to say goodbye' made headlines at Hull last week.

The fans are split over Wenger and whether he should stay or go, to the extent that fights and scuffles have broken out at recent games and also post-match following Sunday's loss to Watford which ended their bid to win the FA Cup for a third season running.

Wenger is adamant that he wants to play a strong team in Barcelona, even though they need a miracle there and must then play a tricky-looking game at Goodison on Saturday lunchtime.

It is a gruelling schedule, but Wenger has told the players they must not lose focus or momentum.

Centre-half Per Mertesacker has admitted the team is struggling for form and goals in winning just one of their last seven matches in all competitions,

Mertesacker said: “The season is not over. At the moment we lack that killer instinct. We need to work on that if we want to be successful in the Premier League and the Champions League.”

Watford’s former Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes also put the boot in, by describing Arsenal as a “small team.”

Gomes added: “When you see Arsenal playing against big teams, they look like a small team. They don’t look like winning a title soon.”