Basta!

Enough is enough! After the disgraceful performance against AC Milan midweek, one thought the Gunners would show up today. Instead we suffered another early injury, had to watch Djourou and Squillaci remind us how bad our reserves are and then lose to Sunderland in a largely disgraceful 2-0 defeat. Yes we are beset by injuries. Yes we were a little unlucky with two own goals. But we didn't score for the second game in a row. We gave the ball away in midfield. We gave very little service to Van Persie all day and we looked downright pathetic in the defensive half. This team is playing without grit, without determination, without creativity and without any will to win. And it shows.

And so we have reached the seven-year itch, as the only competition we are still in we are out of, and it's time to state the obvious: our system is not working. Not even a little. The expectations just keep falling year after year and now we will be lucky to end the year in fourth place. If we don't, disaster is sure to follow. It's time to admit defeat in the "youth first" system and find a coach willing to have a win now attitude. Wenger just seems deluded and unable to make a good decision anymore. The 4-3-2-1 is not working. Our passing is terrible. We lack leadership and seem to retreat more than we push forward. And we get stuck at the back game after game. A squad like Arsenal needs quality at least two deep at every position and we only have two great players on the entire team. What happened? We lost our two best players, but we didn't do enough to replace them. We took chances on average players and only a few of them lived up to our hopes. We don't adjust when our game plan isn't working and we lose faith far too often. The FA cup was certainly an opportunity to end the silverware drought, and Wenger did play a strong side, but just doesn't seem to motivate the team to win. 

I've said this before, but it is obviously time to look elsewhere for a coach that can restore belief and make the necessary changes. We need a mix of established talent together with our youth to cultivate that talent and help it grow. One can see the stalled Walcott development as a perfect example of what a lack of seasoned players can cost us. Chamberlain is coming up strong, but he's not ready to lead yet. Gervinho also looks like a talent, but when our opponents pack it in in the back, we have a hard time even creating opportunities these days. And with Henry back in New York, there is a serious question of who else can score on this team besides RVP. We need some flexibility in formation and strategy. We need to be active in the transfer window and not continue to buy youth when we need established talent. The latest comments from the Chairman lead to fears that he too is stuck in a bubble, relying on past glory as the barometer of the future. But nothing is left of those old teams that challenged for silverware perennially. Instead we have players who shouldn't even be in the premiership, players too young to perform consistently, one superstar and the worst bench in the top half of the table. If Wenger is given another season, he could theoretically destroy Arsenal for a generation. Hopefully our American owner realizes the ramifications in profits and prestige and will finally make the moves necessary to stop the bleeding. If we play like we have in the past two games, we could easily lose 5 or 6 nil to Tottenham. Something must be done!