Micah Richards has suggested AFTV are piling the pressure on Arsenal's players amid their slump in form because comments from the fan channel are affecting players' confidence.
The Gunners' crisis on the pitch this season continued as they were hammered in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals by Manchester City in a 4-1 defeat.
Mikel Arteta's men are also sat way down in 15th position in the Premier League table and have failed to win any of their last seven top-flight fixtures and have not taken the lead in such a fixture since November.
The Spaniard's position as boss has therefore been question but Sportsmail columnist Richards believes AFTV - which he admits he loves watching - are adding further issues to the internal problems at the club through their excessive criticism of the team.
The former Man City right-back also urged Arteta to give youth a chance now, believing some experienced players like midfielder Granit Xhaka have become 'a bit of a scapegoat'.
'I would just play the kids. The kids are better than some of the senior players,' Richards told Sky Sports.
'People talk about Granit Xhaka and I feel sorry for him because I think he's a bit of a scapegoat but just play the kids.
'They're playing with more freedom, with more confidence.
'You know AFTV, I'm a massive fan of it, I love it. But for the players, the amount of pressure… you could be scrolling through and your name pops up and someone's being horrible and it can affect your confidence.
'These players now look at social media. Players work hard, trying to be better every day but there's negativity…'
AFTV, previously known as ArsenalFanTV, was started in 2012 by Robbie Lyle and is a YouTube channel and website directed at supporters of the club.
Richards' comments came on the same night as fellow Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp named the Gunners' experienced stars as ' a team full of kidders'.
