HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE ARSENAL?

What happened?

Whatever happens next Sunday at Craven Cottage, I'll be looking back at yet another disappointing season for Arsenal Football Club. A season that at one stage promised so much is ending in embarrassment, and as every man and his dog keeps reminding me, trophy less for the sixth consecutive year (is no-one counting the Emirates Cup then?). Only Arsenal could take just a point after a 4 goal head start. Only Arsenal could be 2-up and cruising against Spurs and lose. Only Arsenal could lose so spinelessly to West Brom, Newcastle and Villa all at home. And of course, only Arsenal could contrive to lose the Carling Cup Final in the way we so memorably did. We were eliminated in the other two cup competitions by the two Champions League finalists and for me, the best 2 teams in Europe right now so no disgrace there, but that day at Wembley this February won't be forgotten in a hurry.

Where are we now?

In our 13 games since the Carling Cup final we have won a measly 3 - against Leyton Orient, Blackpool and Manchester Utd. A month or so ago we were still in the title hunt but now we're on course for a 4th place finish which would mean going through the unpredictable Champions League Playoff in August just to reach the group stage. Unhappy voices from the stands have grown louder and are as widespread as I can remember during Wenger's reign. The discontent came to head at yesterday's game with chants of '6 per cent, you're having a laugh' directed at the club's recent announcement of a ticket price hike - why should we be paying more money when we see no investment and no success? At half time and full time there were a chorus of boos (from the crowd that remained, the ground was half empty at FT) and the ill timed 'lap of appreciation' was given by the players to a near empty stadium. A banner was placed near the stadium tunnel which read - 'Football manager, not bank manager.' And speaking of banners, the well known 'In Arsene We Trust' flag has been renamed unofficially amongst regular fans as 'In Arsene We Rust.'

Wenger.

Wenger out? Sack Wenger? No not for me, or not yet at least. For me his best years are behind him now, the game has moved on a long way since 1996 and Wenger has struggled to adapt, but that doesn't mean that he hasn't got have another title or even Champions League in him. His biggest flaw is that he is a stubborn man, seemingly unwilling to admit that he's got some things wrong, some players wrong and he's made some ill advised statements over the last few months - 'I would sign for 2nd place for the next 10 years' springs to mind. Is 2nd place a disaster? Obviously not, there are of course many other teams who would like to swap places with us, fans who tell folks like me to shut up and stop moaning, to appreciate the great football we see every week etc, but for every one of those statements, there are countless Chelsea, Utd and Spurs fans ready to remind us Arsenal fans that our trophy cabinet is full of nothing but cobwebs. It's time for Wenger to admit that this policy of bringing talented youngsters to the club has not worked, or at least that he needs something else to make it work. Do we give him another season? But didn't we say that last summer, and the summer before? For me, I'll know all I need to about our chances of winning something next season by the 1st September. This is the most crucial 16 weeks of Wenger's Arsenal career, if the problems aren't addressed and we come out of the transfer period with a similar squad with the same attitude, we Will win NOTHING.

Players.

The manager is in charge but the players have a massive amount of responsibility for the way things have turned out. If you can press and tear round the pitch like we did brilliantly against Chelsea in December, why can't you do it away to Stoke in May? The world admires Barcelona's wonderful attacking talent and mesmerizing 'tiki taka' passing, but it's their high intensity pressing game that wins them matches and trophies. We barely got out of our box during our game at the Camp Nou in March, and that wasn't because we tried to play negatively or defensively (as if we could!), it was because they didn't stop getting at us. On too many occasions have too many individuals let us down this year by not working hard enough - mistakes happen but I see no excuse for a lack of hard work.

Current squad.

There is serious work to be done in the next 16 weeks. Without question I would cut the following players from the squad: Almunia, Squillaci, Denilson, Eboue, Rosicky, Bendtner and Vela. None of them have made a significant contribution this season and all of them have had plenty of opportunities to do so. Almunia was always Lehmann's understudy and was promoted to first choice when the German left the club with no competition and no record of sustained quality - he's clearly last choice GK at the club already. Squillaci was a cheap acquisition who has been poor, we've all had enough of Eboue's antics (the Liverpool penalty was the nail in the coffin), Denilson not good enough, Rosicky not good enough/made of glass, Bendtner not good enough/arrogant prick and Vela not good enough to even get in the West Brom team. There should be serious questions asked of Arshavin who we can all see is super talented but is the most guilty of all regarding not working hard, Diaby can't stay fit for long enough to be any use, and Clichy who's defensive lapses and stall on a new contract make him vulnerable. Nasri is another who is seemingly undecided about committing another 5 years to club, but who can blame him? A sparkling start to the season has tailed off somewhat but we have to keep hold of him. Cesc and his rubber band hamstrings have been missing far too often, and when they have been present he has failed to live up to his high standards. And where would we be had RvP been fit all season? He's as important to us as Rooney is to Utd or Tevez to City.

Transfers.

There is a fundamental lack of characters and leadership in the team which needs to be addressed. As good a player as Cesc is he's not an Adams or Viera, we should just let him play and not get weighed down by the armband. We need some guys in there who are going to shout, who when you go 3-1 up at White Hart Lane can say 'right Samir, Theo, you tuck in, Robin push on the centre backs and hold the ball up, Alex and Jack, drop in for 10 minutes, we're not conceding a goal before half time.' This should obviously be being done already by the manager and the players but it isn't. Starting at back, we need to buy a keeper. Szczesny looks a good prospect, hasn't made a lot of mistakes (the decision to take Lennon out in that Spurs game probably his most notable and costly) but he's just 20 years old. He won't like it but he has to be on the bench, that is where he belongs for now and in 5 years he'll be ready. Given is surely available, Green probably too, or there are more expensive options like Lloris or Buffon. A new centre back. Djourou has done well after missing all of last season with a cruciate, and Koscielny has done okay whilst playing far more games than the manager had expected or wanted him to, due to Vermaelen's injury. Chris Samba would be a good and relatively cheap buy, Gary Cahill more expensive or you look to Europe at someone like Chiellini possibly - Samba and Cahill have the bonus of knowing the league well. A defensive midfielder. Song has done okay this year but has no competition for his place whatsoever, and frankly I think there are better players than him out there. Scott Parker is a must for me, he's available for probably a knock down price, great age/experience, English, and would jump at the chance of Champions League football. There are no better options for me, but a De Rossi, Senna or Felipe Melo wouldn't go a miss either. Those are the 3 key positions that need addressing, and throw in the bonus of picking up one or more of an Eden Hazard, Lucas Podolski, Radamel Falcao, Romelu Lukaku or Mario Gotze, and we'd be looking at a good squad again.

The rest.

It's not all about spending money, the club should be pleased that Pat Rice has decided to delay his retirement for another year, but I can't help but think bringing in another new face in the coaching setup would help. A defensive coach in the shape of an Adams/Keown/Dixon, or the well regarded Steve Bould who is in charge of the U18's if they prefer to promote from within. Wenger's refusal to do this seems to come from his reluctance to lose control, he is a man who wants to be involved with everything that club does which has been both a help and a hindrance in recent years. Ivan Gazidis seems to be an intelligent and realistic man but maybe he needs to stop being an enabler for AW and start to help this club move forward. Gazidis and the board have basically been happy not to be asked by Wenger for a large transfer fund, and are content with Champions League football every season. You only need to look at what City, Liverpool and Spurs are investing to see that a top 4 finish is not guaranteed anymore. After tying up the contracts of those mentioned above and shuffling the squad about, AW needs to address the team's work rate misgivings and have a rethink as to how we play tactically. Some games we need to go 2 up top, some games we need to sacrifice playing both Cesc and Wilshere and drop another defensive body in there. I'm sure he thinks about all these things, and I nor most other fans know what really goes on behind closed doors, but to me it seems that our preparation for our opponents is not thorough enough. You never hear enough about Mourihno's detailed preparation in every game, while Wenger is constantly banging on about us being in the right mental state and getting our own preparation right.

The future.

I love my club, what we stand for (Victoria Concordia Crescit - Victory through harmony), the way we play, the values we have, the way we respect our finances, but I want nothing more than to see some success on the pitch. Had Koscielny put the ball into row Z as he should have done, and we'd gone on to win THAT match, who knows where we'd be right now, but all we can do is affect the future. Anyone who knows anything about football knows that success ebbs and flows. Looking backwards Utd and Chelsea have dominated lately, we had a lot of success around the turn of the century, then it was Utd in the 90s, Liverpool in the 80s, Leeds in the 70s and so on. Forest, Villa and Ipswich have all won European trophies in the last 50 years, and where are they now? I'm not trying to put those teams down, I'm trying to illustrate that football is an unpredictable beast, that's why we all love it. The frustration has come from being so close for the last 6 years, 3 defeats in finals, another 3 or 4 semi finals, and even more quarter finals, but as Ricky Bobby would say, 'if you ain't first, you're last.' Hopefully, not for much longer.