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Mathieu Flamini scored an own-goal in the dying seconds to hand Swansea a point[GETTY]

Wenger, who has stalled on signing the two-year contract offered by the club, had previously brushed aside such criticism. But sources close to the Frenchman say that, for the first time, he has been affected by the backlash.

Arsenal were booed off at half-time against Swansea at the Emirates on Tuesday after going behind to striker Wilfried Bony’s early header.

They rallied to take a lead via Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud. But a last-minute Mathieu Flamini own-goal earned the Swans a deserved point. That was not the reaction fans wanted after the horrific 6-0 thrashing at Chelsea on Saturday, and the Gunners and their manager were hit by more vitriol at full-time.

An Arsenal source told the Daily Express: “Arsene has been affected by the criticism.

“Previously it was all water off a duck’s back to him because he was so sure of what he wanted and so sure of the course he was on.

“But he has been really shaken by this, for the first time.” Olivier Giroud thought he had scored Arsenal's winner in the 74th minute [GETTY]

Against City we will have to be strong defensively first of all because that is very important when you play against a big team like that who are very offensive

Mathieu Flamini

Wenger has been content to wait on finalising a new contract because in his eyes there is no hurry, having agreed in principle.

He retains the support of the boardroom, and has been heavily involved in planning for next season.

But the club are making plans should he choose to leave in the summer, and have Everton manager Roberto Martinez and Borussia Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp as the leading candidates to step in.

Arsenal are still in the Premier League’s top four and the semi-finals of the FA Cup, but Wenger virtually conceded on Tuesday that the title is now beyond them. And Flamini warned his teammates they have to start winning their battles on the pitch if their season is not to collapse, with in-form Manchester City due to visit on Saturday.

Arsenal were three goals adrift in just 17 minutes at Chelsea, and conceded in the 11th minute against Swansea, with Flamini saying that such sloppiness must end.

“When you play a big game, you cannot lose it in the first 10 or 15 minutes,” he said.

“We have to be focused, be ready for this kind of game because they are battles. You have to win the duels, win the fight, and then play your football. As a player, you always try to give your maximum and give back trust the manager gave you by putting you on the pitch. For me, it is important to give the maximum.

“What is said elsewhere is not our problem. We just have to concentrate on our game and give 100 per cent.

“Against City we will have to be strong defensively first of all because that is very important when you play against a big team like that who are very offensive. If we do that well, then we have enough quality to find a goal.” Arsneal have lost further ground on the top three and now face a challenge for fourth [GETTY]

Arsenal fought back from that early Swansea setback and eventually broke through with two goals in a minute. But, at the death, Flamini’s error handed the visitors a point.

And it could have been even worse had referee Lee Probert not ended the match with seconds of injury-time left just as Jonathan de Guzman broke clean through on goal.

Flamini said: “We wanted to come back for the fans after that 6-0 reversal.

“We wanted to react and give a positive game because that was a big disappointment for everyone. But we have to take the positives – we reacted well from going 1-0 down. Against City we have to prove we are one of the big teams of the Premier League.

“It is going to be very difficult in the league now because we dropped three points at Chelsea and another two against Swansea. All we can do is focus on the next match, get a good result, and then we will see where we can go.”

But Arsenal’s task has been made that much harder with news that French defender Laurent Koscielny is now set to be out for three weeks because of a calf problem.

Aaron Ramsey has suffered a setback in his recovery from a calf injury. Now, the Welsh midfielder will be on the sidelines for another fortnight at least.