Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has urged calm ahead of planned protests this weekend.

Black Scarf Movement, RedAction and the Arsenal Supporters Trust want those present at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday to raise placards reading: "Time for change. Arsenal is stale, fresh approach needed.

"We have to put things a little bit into perspective and see how the club's evolution has gone over the years," Wenger said.

"It was not always easy. The quality of the work we've done at the club has got us into a strong position where expectations are very high, but we are frustrated when we don't get what we want.

"When you build a stadium, we had five to seven difficult financial years where we had to pay back - we had (to qualify) for the Champions League three years out of five and have an average (gate) of 54,000 people (to finance the new stadium). We didn't know we would be capable of that.

"We had to sell our best players every year to survive, but we didn't do three years out of five in the Champions League. We did five out of five. But during that time, it was very difficult."

Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp this week said Wenger had "brainwashed (Arsenal fans) into thinking fourth is good enough", while former Arsenal forward Paul Merson and celebrity Gunners fan Piers Morgan are among other vocal critics, and the Frenchman said: "The best chance (Arsenal supporters) can give our team is to be behind our team.

"Some groups of people try to manipulate our fans, and I believe apart from an agenda, a personal agenda, a big ego, there's not a lot behind it.

"This team has character and attitude. Some people question them. I know them well, and they have less character than this team have. I saw them play and I know them very closely, and they shouldn't question this team's character.

"When a club cannot enjoy anything any more, it's in trouble. In football you go down very quickly and come up very slowly. We have to stick together."