Congratulations to Wigan. Arsenal may have won the second leg of the semi-final last night, but they were not two goals better than the visitors. What hurt most about the defeat was the timing and manner of the goal. In the moments after the game, I reflected that Liverpool fans must have felt like this after 26th May 1989, and this morning, the FA Cup replay of 1993 comes to mind. We’ve been in Wigan’s position and loved it. And that is why football is such a great game. Any fan will get highs and lows. And that the lows hurt so much is what makes the highs so great.

In fairness to Arsène Wenger, after what he’s done for the club, he’s entitled to a bad season. He’s been forced to develop youth due to the new stadium, leaving the squad lacking alternatives when things aren’t going well. Good, quality experience. An Arjan de Zeeuw instead of Pascal Cygan. There is nothing wrong with having a Philippe Senderos on the books as long as he can be left to work on his game in training and reserve matches when a crisis of confidence comes. And Senderos is suffering this right now partnering a fading Sol Campbell. On recent evidence, you’d have to say the best two centre backs at the club right now are Kolo Toure and Johan Djourou, although if the latter was played frequently, I suspect his mistakes would come.

They say form is temporary but class is permanent. I’d say Toure is now Arsenal’s only class centre back. In fairness to the youngsters who have disappointed this term though, does anyone remember the Kolo Toure of 2002-03? Who’d have thought he would have turned out this way. Re-building is rarely without harsh lessons which mould players into better and more consistent performers. Tony Adams had the luxury of developing in the Arsenal team at a time when the success we expect now was a dream. That he was given the opportunity to do that without being destroyed made him the player he is. The stakes are so much higher now that I wonder if Senderos will get his chance. If Martin Keown is a regular at training (presumably with a view to working in coaching either at Arsenal or elsewhere), it’s about time he took the kids and started toughening them up. Remember the George Graham era and the phenomenon of getting the youngsters in the weights room? It was the legacy of that which ultimately made the Gunners so difficult to beat when they were really determined to win a particular game.

There’s no doubt that physically, Wenger’s team are being beaten all ends up in both midfield and central defence. There is still enough talent in the team to win matches (as indeed Wigan were in fact defeated at Highbury), but overall this season, Arsenal aren’t getting the breaks. It’s just one of those campaigns. The Carling Cup represented - by a long way - the best chance of winning silverware in the last season at Highbury. But the final salute is turning into a limp-wristed surrender. The things that are going wrong need to be addressed on both the training ground and in the summer transfer market. Where is the steel, the leadership? I’ve read elsewhere on other Arsenal sites the idea of persevering with Gilbert and moving Lauren into the centre of midfield when Cole returns again. It’s got to be worth a try. Some may question his abilities as a full back but there’s no doubt Lauren is made of the right stuff – one of the few showing it at the club these days.

In going down the admittedly heavenly route of outstanding entertaining football, the Gunners have slowly lost the thing that makes Arsenal Arsenal, whatever the era. Backbone. A strong spine. Attitude. The transition to the bigger ground should ensure Arsenal do not slip away from the elite group of clubs in England, but right now, the bigger picture is difficult to take comfort from when basic errors such as those against Everton and Wigan are hurting so much. Bolton and the Reebok stand on the horizon. Couldn’t come at a better time, eh?