SLIPPING STANDARDS

Losing becomes a habit. And as we are seeing at Arsenal it is becoming a familiar story. Arsenal have already lost 8 games this season and have a goal difference of +6 which is "un-Arsenal-like" to say the least.  A far cry from The Invincible's team who remained unbeaten for 49 games.

This is despite having the top goalscorer in the Premier League, Robin van Persie, who has scored an astonishing 19 league goals already. This is also despite Arsenal, at the same point last season, being in 3rd place challenging for top spot, having a goal difference of +22 and a healthy points total of 43.

The standard has been raised by the two Manchester clubs but had Arsenal maintained a similar standard to last season, Arsenal would be 4th at least and within touching distance of Spurs.

But how can Mr. Wenger expect to keep us within touching distance of the elite Clubs in England by selling our top players and not quite replacing them with the household names we crave or we believe the Club has funds for? Players like Hazard, Mata, Goetze, M'Vila were all linked with us over the Summer and we ended up with a loan deal for Benayoun and Park Chu-Young. 

"Imagine the worst situation, that we lose Fábregas and Nasri; you cannot convince people that you are ambitious after that." These were the words of our own manager who allowed the worst case scenario to become reality. The trust had now been broken as Wenger endured his worst Summer ever at Arsenal as he failed to replace our star player, Cesc Fabregas, with a player of top calibre.

The substitution that confused home fans

He has shown he still has an eye for young talent and will spend money on a long-term investment i.e Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who made his full league debut against Manchester United and sparkled. He instantly showed what a handful he can be. A lot of fans were having a go at Wenger for spending £15m on Oxlade-Chamberlain during the Summer and it is quite ironic that his decision to take Oxlade-Chamberlain off during the game was met with jeers from the home fans.

After the game, Wenger seemed to be caught in two minds as to whether to accept he made a mistake and Arshavin let him down or whether to insist we stick together and don't question him. He said, "Arshavin is captain of the Russia national team. I have to justify [substituting] a guy of 18 who's playing his second or third game? Let's be serious...We win and lose together. You want me to blame one player? I will not do that. If I've made a mistake, I'm sorry..". In the initial SkySports post match interview when asked "could Arshavin of done better for the goal?" Wenger replied, "You should ask him." This contradicts Wengers argument of Arshavin being Russia captain and is actually on the verge of hanging Arshavin out to dry.

As John Cross also said we prefer "raw enthusiasm over lazy talent". I agree with this totally and I actually question why so many senior players at Arsenal seem to play with such a lack of enthusiasm at Arsenal. The Chamakh's, the Arshavin's, the Squillaci's, the Almunia's? Why are they still at the club? Why does nobody want them? They are deadwood and are hindering young players' prospects while collecting big wages and draining club resources as they totally under perform.

Then the young players out on loan such as Bendtner, Vela and Denilson were on the verge of breakdown if they had to spend another season at our Club. These players are not even remotely interested in playing for Arsenal or under Wenger, and while they were heralded as future superstars and deemed good enough for Wenger to waste up to 5 years on, not one of them seems likely to attract a big bid from any top European sides.

Perhaps this is one of the key reasons why Wenger is yet to spend, the fact players have not been moved on promptly and kick out of the door has also managed to keep Wenger from spending to improve the team.

Wilshere (right) yet to feature this season

There are also 11 injured players who are awaiting a return from injury such as Wilshere, Sagna, Gibbs etc who will undoubtedly improve us on our current wretched run but these are familiar problems we face and complain about on a season to season basis.

Inevitably our standards, ambition and expectation have all become based at a mediocre level. Our league position represents that and Mr.Wenger has yet to replenish the situation. The fact Wenger begged Pat Rice to stay when Rice was hellbent on retiring also suggests that Wenger is not open to change, new ideas, refreshing the backroom staff or promoting from within.

Steve Bould linked with Assistant role

Steve Bould and Dennis Bergkamp were names mooted as possible replacements for Pat Rice but Wenger was never interested and actually convinced Pat Rice that the right decision would be to stay on. This has undoubtedly contributed to the stale factor that is lingering at the Club.

The players, staff and fans have hung on his every word and this is why the unrest, frustration and nervousness are common place at The Emirates. He has always been trusted to deliver in the face of adversity but currently he appears secluded.

"You don't know what you're doing" is a chant that has reared its ugly head all to frequently at The Emirates recently but what is important is to remember that Wenger has a huge passion for the Club, has a long term vision that nobody can imagine at the moment and that Arsenal is still our Club. 

Support it and love it regardless.

CHECKPOINT FOR ARSENAL

We are fast approaching a feast of football which is appropriately labelled as "Super Sunday" and like it or not, Arsenal fans across the country will be worried. 

Arsenal could of gone into Sundays clash, at The Emirates with Manchester United, in 7th place. However, they should be buoyed by the way Saturdays games have panned out with Newcastle losing, Liverpool losing and Chelsea only managing a draw. These results leave Arsenal 5 points behind 4th placed Chelsea with a game in hand - versus the team that spanked them 8 - 2 in August.

After the 8 - 2 mauling at the hands of Manchester United, Wenger said "You feel humiliated when you concede eight goals." I would agree. It was an abject performance to say the least. There were factors which left our hands tied as we were mercilessly ripped apart at Old Trafford. Wenger also says, "It was a terrible day for us, it was a combination of an under-strength team and weakness. We collapsed physically in the second half." 

We had players like Traore on the pitch, who were not even bothered as they knew they were about to leave. We had a bad injury/suspension list with the likes Vermaelen, Sagna, Wilshere, Song and Gervinho all missing. We had out of form players like Djourou, Koscielny, Ramsey and Arshavin getting the runaround while rookies such as Jenkinson (who was also sent off) and Coquelin were exposed to the ruthless reality of playing against Premier League champions. Not forgetting the loss of Fabregas and Nasri coupled with the signings who had yet to be made part of the new Arsenal such as Arteta, Mertesacker and Santos.

At that point Arsenal were written off with no regard for the problems at the Club. Ex-Arsenal player Paul Merson questioned Arsene Wenger; “Don’t put those kinds of players on the pitch and make them like lambs to the slaughter – it’s not good enough. You have got to start looking at the manager now and asking questions."

At that point, Arsenal were 17th in the league with 1 point on the board and a goal difference of - 8. The long and desperate road to recovery began at Arsenal and since then Arsenal climbed the league table, sitting in 5th place while negotiating 1st place qualification in a Champions League group containing Marseille and Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund. The dark clouds over Arsenal seemed to have finally cleared and pride as well as confidence appeared to have been rediscovered.

However, in the build up to this game the murmurings seem to have begun again; with Arsenal losing 3 out of the last 6 league games, Wenger's position being questioned and van Persie yet to sign a new deal. As always is the case, Arsenal seem to have severe injury problems, with arguably more injuries than in the last encounter. The lack of full backs available is a serious concern and there is a possibility of there being as many as 8 of the same players who played in the game at Old Trafford remaining in the line up for the return fixture.

Arsenal fans will be desperate to see Vermaelen playing in any capacity, even if it is left back, and if Arteta is not fit, will be a huge blow to Arsenals plans.

The thought of Nani and Valencia running at Djourou and Miquel is a daunting prospect and I believe thats where the game will be won or lost. Manchester Uniteds wing play is extremely important to their style of play and Arsenals full back positions are particularly weak so its inevitable Manchester United will consistently play through the wings. Paul Scholes will play in Manchester Uniteds midfield and hit the wings instantly with his classy range of passing and he will be key to Manchester Uniteds game plan. Arsenal will need to get stuck into Scholes instantly and not give him any time on the ball. This will be important if Arsenal are to stop Man. United from dominating that spacious Emirates pitch.

It will be a hard game tomorrow but the importance of the game is massive. If we win tomorrow it can totally change the prospects of our season;give us huge confidence and squeeze the gap between us and the teams ahead of us. If we lose it will consign us to the expected barrage from the "I told ya so" brigade. Lets hope its the former results that we are celebrating tomorrow night.