It was supposed to be a PR exercise, an initiative introduced by the board to make shareholders feel they had something to reward their loyalty and refusing to cash in on their shares, announced at the 2007 AGM. I doubt the manager sees it as anything other than a waste of his time and I wouldn’t be surprised if the second occasion Arsene Wenger faced shareholders’ questions at the end of the season is the last.

Bob Wilson hosted and there are accounts of some of Arsene’s responses here,here and most thorough of all, here. It’s scheduled for broadcast on Arsenal TV this evening at 9, but I wouldn’t be that surprised if it was pulled. No need for me to repeat what was said as there are decent enough accounts elsewhere, but what I will say is that Wenger appeared a very different man from that of 12 months ago. Then, a similar exercise saw some polite but challenging questions, which the manager handled with good grace. This time, the atmosphere was more fractious, as the shareholders were more aggressive and opinionated.

The surprise was that Arsene Wenger responded in kind. At times it got a bit personal and there was an element of contempt for the questioners. Possibly justified if they expected him to agree with their views or comment on individual players, but even so, it didn’t do much for club-supporter relations which is a big part of what this exercise is about. An element of contempt may be a long held view of the manager for the views of supporters, but if so, he’s always disguised it until now. He was very much on the defensive, so much so that one attendee later quipped his players could learn a thing or two from his performance.

I believe he is a man under pressure, not least from himself. He knows his team have fallen short this season and underperformed in some big games, costing Arsenal two cups and ensuring a potentially tricky Champions League qualifying tie at the beginning of next season. And he’s not holding up all that well when his beliefs are challenged. And maybe that’s because there is some truth when questioners pinpoint certain areas such as lack of leadership, defensive qualities and the playing of players out of position.

He explained the decision to leave Andrey Arshavin on the bench for the semi-final at Wembley as his wanting to play the team that would compete in the Champions League semi-final so that they could experience a win against a top team and take confidence from that into the European semi, or words to that effect. In that case, why not play Almunia and Song? He argues that Arshavin could always come on from the bench, which indeed he did, albeit for only 15 minutes. Even accepting his explanation, it went against the idea of playing your strongest team if you have ambitions to win a game, and what appeared as extreme folly before the semi kicked off was confirmed by subsequent events. Wenger felt the team played better than is believed. I saw the ball being given away far too often and Chelsea enjoying the much better chances.

It was a difficult hour for Wenger, called upon to justify his methods after another trophyless season. I’d consider it a nadir in his relationship with the supporters. There were some questions that simply were not aggressive that were interpreted as such by the manager and dealt with accordingly. I’m no expert, but this sounds like a classic symptom of paranoia. They’re all out to get me.

Perhaps a little humility might go a long way. Admit that at times Adebayor has not played to the level expected of him, that the defence needs strengthening and that – given what the fans are asked to pay to watch the team these days – they have a right to an opinion, whether it is right or wrong. People ask questions because they don’t understand and seek an explanation, rather than being dismissed as fools.

If Arsenal TV do show the meeting, the programme lasts an hour, the same as the actual event. With adverts, the station will probably cut ten minutes of the most curt exchanges. But what remains will tell the rest of the story. The man needs a holiday, as the stresses of the job are beginning to overwhelm him.

Around the turn of the year, he asked to be judged at the end of the season. Yesterday, he extended that to two years from now. I believe he can turn things around if he accepts some of the current squad need replacing rather than waiting to see if their potential ever develops into something more concrete. I don’t see enough real winners out there at the moment. Wenger wants to win just as desperately as the fans, and the lack of trophies is starting to gnaw away at the personality of the man. I hope the summer is a productive one and that he returns in pre-season with freshness, vigour and a calmer disposition. This is not the man who arrived from Japan in 1996, and I am not sure I like what he has become.