winner says:

Last season Arsene was very close to a trophy and indeed close to the premiership title. What went wrong:
1. The carling Cup loss gutted the team, But unlike most people I attribute that to the absence of Fabregas and Walcot, who were injured in the mid week game against Stoke. The reason of the loss, in my view, is lack of depth. With a cup final beckoning we should have played the fringe players against Stoke and rested the first eleven for the final. With Fabregas and Walcot injured we should have brought in other players to do the job, but they did not. When Van Persie was substituted matters got even worse…we did not have our bets defender, our best mid fielder and our best striker on the field and although we dominated possession there was not cutting edge in the team.
2.The referee played a significant role in our loss to Barcelona, although in all fairness Barca dominated that game. But why were we playing Barcelona in the first place? We fielded our second string side against Shaktar and Bragga and they lost both matches leaving us to finish second in what was a relatively straight forward group. Verdict…the second string side, although full of potential was not good enough.
3. We struggled very badly in the last ten games of the season. The confidence levels were clearly low, but as I saw it, there was also lack of application. Wenger failed to motivate the team.
What is the source of perturbation this season?
1. The pre-season has shown that we still do not have enough in reserve. The second string lost all three halves they played against Boca juniors, Red Bulls and Benifica. If as expected Cesc and Nasri leave the problem is compounded.
2. The fans booing the team has not helped the confidence of the team. The confidence and motivation issues still exist.
3. We still lack the cutting edge. There is a lot of potential in the team, but little present greatness.

The bottom line is, with all my faith in the team and the manager, I believe there are issues that need to be addressed urgently.At the end of the season Wenger intimated that there would be changes and also a very busy summer with players coming in and going out. In a letter to a fan during the close season Wenger said we could not win the league with the current defense and at some point mentioned that he was looking for tall and strong defenders. This tells me that Wenger has not lost the plot, and although he defends the players he shares our concerns.
I am disturbed by the fact that transfer business was not done expeditiously. But I cannot blame him because I am not privy to what has been happening behind closed doors for the past two months.
The other problem is …how do you actually improve this team? Arshavin did not have a spectacular season, I admit, but are Mata, Marlin, Valbuen, Pastore, Alvarez and the other players being bandied about much better than him? If these players, Arshavin-Ramsey-Walcot-Nasri-Cesc-Rosicky were not at Arsenal I believe we, the fans and the media would be clamoring for Wenger to buy them. The point I wish to make is that after seriously and painfully considering my team’s position over the last four months, I have come to believe that there are not many players who can come in and really improve the team.
The strategy of trying to hold on to what we already have and making the necessary additions makes a lot of sense to me. And this is what Arsene has tried to do with Cesc and Nasri. I cannot blame him but unfortunately the players have set their eyes on different things.
Van Persie needs help up front, yes, but who can be brought in to make the difference? Chamakh was one of the hottest properties in Europe and we got him. Bendtner scored more goals than any one at his age in Europe the previous season and he is on our books. Wasn’t Vela the best and top goal scorer at the under seventeen championships a few years back. Of the strikers available, probably Adebayor is the most prolific. Benzema, yes, but will he not be another Torres or Shevchenko and does he want to come over. Robin and Ribery had disappointing seasons for Bayern. The bottom line is that there are no easy answers to Van Persie back up problems.
Is Wenger to be absolved? No, not at all.
There are many DMs who can do as good a job if not better than Song. There are a couple of LBs that are better than both Traore and Gibbs and surely in two to three years time Djourou and Koscielny could be among the top defenders in Europe if given time and nurtured properly, presently there are more consistent players out there who are not necessarily much better but just a bit more consistent.

The biggest problem is that Arsene has not been able to fully utilize what he already has to give the team the best balance. Why not at times play Arshavin in his favourite position just behind Van Persie? Why not play Gibbs as a left sided mid fileder in some games or push Djourou to challenge Song.
Wenger’s challenge is not just about the personnel available but also tactics and team motivation.
What ever happens these are intriguing and not necessarily worrying times for Team Arsenal.
I will be there to watch and support. Hopeful the adventure will not end in heartbreak.
P.S. I am also surfing the internet every hour hoping for a new arrival, but few people besides Messi, Ronaldo and Vidic and of course Alex Ferguson can improve this team.