Arsene Wenger has been let down by many of his leading players and the Arsenal boss needs to ship out half a dozen of his stars in the summer, according to David O'Leary, the club's record appearance holder.

O'Leary believes the Gunners should keep faith in Wenger but that the manager needs to wield the axe and bring in fresh blood. Wenger should have more than £50million at his disposal for new signings - and perhaps more should Arsenal finish fourth and qualify for the Champions League - and O'Leary believes the Frenchman should not hesitate to act.

"Arsenal need to change about half a dozen players. I think Arsene has been let down by a group of players he had a belief in. That group have been failures in my eyes and now a change is needed," said O'Leary.

"Just look at the AC Milan game last week - they were well and truly beaten but what will disappoint Arsene Wenger is that this Milan side was not nearly as good as the other Milan sides he has played down the years.

"Arsenal are now fighting it out with Chelsea for fourth place - and the only good thing for them is that Chelsea are struggling too."

Stan Kroenke, the American who is Arsenal's majority shareholder, attended a board meeting at the club on Wednesday after which the club announced a price freeze on general admission season-ticket renewals for next season.

Arsenal and Tottenham have also issued a joint statement warning fans that anti-social behaviour during Sunday's north London derby will not be tolerated.

Spurs' former Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor is the biggest concern - he was the target of abuse during the first meeting between the sides at White Hart Lane in October.

The statement read: "A north London derby is always a special occasion and we hope this game will be remembered for both the action on the pitch as well as the positive support for both teams off it.

"All fans should be aware that breaches of ground regulations - including anti-social behaviour - will not be tolerated."