Arsene Wenger urges Arsenal fans to stop criticising this star: Why he is struggling

The full-back was the main target for Arsenal fans infuriated at last Monday’s 3-0 defeat at Crystal Palace, with the club’s previously loyal travelling support also losing patience and calling for Wenger to go.

The Gunners will not take any decision on his future until the end of the season and the manager is intent on signing the new two-year deal which is on the table for him.

But apart from Wenger, it was Bellerin, 22, who took the brunt of the frustration at Selhurst Park. At one point his own fans refused to give him the ball back for an Arsenal throw in as they sang “You’re not fit to wear the shirt”.

And at the end of the match, as he went to applaud the fans, he received such abuse that he had to be consoled by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Boro’s head coach has seen two of his former clubs, Sunderland and Leicester, defy the odds to avoid relegation in previous years, now he wants Boro to follow in their footsteps.

To achieve his unlikely goal, his goal-shy side will have to win as many games in the next month as they have throughout the campaign.

“That win we’ve been waiting for can literally change a lot of things and affect other teams as well,” said Agnew.

“It has happened in recent seasons with Sunderland and Leicester so why not us?”