Arsene Wenger Suggests Pundits 'Brainwash' Fans After Arsenal Beat Lincoln City

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes television pundits have started to "brainwash" football supporters.

The Gunners boss has been subject to scrutiny in recent weeks in the media, with the team losing ground in the Premier League title race and falling out of the UEFA Champions League 10-2 on aggregate against Bayern Munich.

But speaking after his team progressed into the FA Cup semi-finals with a 5-0 win over Lincoln City, Wenger suggested analysts set the narrative for fans at times, using Barcelona's stunning 6-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain last week in the Champions League as an example.

"I watched the last 20 minutes of PSG vs. Barca again," he revealed, per John Cross of the Daily Mirror. "It's ­interesting when you see all the conclusions that come out of the game. And the same people who spoke after the game said with 10 minutes to go that PSG was absolutely outstanding. Ten minutes later, they're absolutely rubbish. People brainwash you with what they think is right."

Xavier Laine/Getty Images

Wenger also talked up his own understanding of football, suggesting that after managing around 2,000 matches he "might know a ­little something about the game as well."

The veteran tactician undoubtedly knows something about the FA Cup. As we can see here courtesy of Squawka Football, it's a competition Wenger has excelled in since he joined the north London outfit:

The comments from the Arsenal boss come after protests at the Emirates Stadium in recent weeks, with some sections of the club's fanbase clearly keen to see the manager leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the campaign.

Frustration has engulfed Arsenal this season, with perennial problems that have prevented the team from kicking on to challenge for the major honours having reared their head again. The Gunners are still defensively brittle, still prone to collapses and still struggle to exert themselves on the biggest occasion.

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That's where the angst lies among the Arsenal fans. While Wenger consistently delivers Champions League football and cup runs, there's a sense that the club has hit a bit of a ceiling under him. Some supporters want to smash through it.

Dan Gallagher captured some of the scenes outside the Emirates prior to the game against Lincoln City on Saturday:

"

Arsenal protest #arsenal #wenger #wengerout pic.twitter.com/iZZGRletjo

— Dan Gallagher (@slevinupyoholla) March 11, 2017"

Figures of prominence in the media can have an impact on the psyche of supporters. Especially from an Arsenal perspective, with high-profile former players like Paul Merson, Ian Wright and Lee Dixon regular pundits on major channels.

However, any Arsenal supporter who wants to see the back of Wenger will deny the suggestion that they've been the victim of any kind of "brainwash." While the Frenchman is the club's greatest-ever manager, there's a sense that things have grown stale at the Emirates under his guidance. For an outfit that has won 13 league titles in their history, 13 years without one will feel like a long time.