There’s not much to say about yesterday’s game really. Ever since France ’98 when I went to some matches with a pal (hi Alister) who used binoculars, I have taken them along to matches. You can just see so much more. And if things on the field get a bit dull, you can always pan the crowd in search of entertainment. Yesterday was a first for me, as I spotted a woman wearing a hijab in the family enclosure. I have to say that’s the first time I’ve ever seen this at a Premier League football match. God alone (or indeed Allah) knows what she made of the industrial language that is common currency amidst the OAPs and teenagers that frequent this particular corner of the stadium.

On the pitch, it was like the good old days. No-hopers come to Arsenal. Arsenal get couple of early goals. Cue newspaper reading session for 75 minutes. Or indeed crowd scouring for those fortunate enough to be in possession of binoculars. At one point (3-0?) the away fans were doing a conga down the aisles. I’m not knocking it, in the old days we used to have a number of games like this and go on to win – or at least challenge for – titles.

Everyone was – metaphorically speaking – on the beach, be it on the pitch or in the stands. The weather was certainly good enough. The disappointments of recent weeks have faded a little and I don’t think anyone had the energy to get angry. It would be churlish to highlight the things that still need attention after a 4-1 victory. Someone quipped after the game that Arsenal are unplayable when there’s nothing at stake. It reminded me a little of the games at the end of the 2002-03 season after the team had blown the title. Of course, that proved to be the start of the 49 game run. What chance of a repeat? I’ll take anyone’s money that is confident enough to bet on Arsenal going the whole of 2009-10 unbeaten.

Anyway, the manager received some very vocal backing from the normally silent majority. And I am sure that – although there are many who want to see him go – there are more that believe he is the best man for the job. Amongst the other things he said at the shareholders q&a (which has now gained almost mythical status, not least due to the manager’s refusal to let the evening go) was that he would use whatever money he had to work with. So the conclusion has to be that his transfer kitty has been pretty slim these last few years and that his lack of purchases has not been due to obstinacy. Let’s face facts. The acquisition of Mikael Silvestre can only have been done out of desperation. If you’re able to spend on quality experience that will improve the team, you would do better than that. A stop-gap reserve left back ended up playing in the centre of defence for the key matches that determined Arsenal’s season. With all too predictable consequences.

Directors make pronouncements about funds being available, because the reality is bad box office given the prices the club ask to watch the team. It’s all PR, spin. But the guy who takes the flak when people believe it is the manager. Wenger though, is not without guilt. He chooses to pay big wages to players with potential rather than proven ability. He doesn’t need to do this. He could use some of the money in other ways, such as tying it into bonus payments based on achievement. If he paid a lesser number of young players so highly he could use the cash saved to buy experience for the short term. Tactically, there should be no need to tinker with formations in the periods around huge games – when the team should be settled. And finally, using games like FA Cup semi-finals as little more than Champions League training sessions is not what Arsenal fans wish to see. And that’s exactly what the first visit to the new Wembley was – a runout ahead of the semi-final first leg against Manchester United to test the formation.

So Wenger isn’t responsible for the poverty of the transfer budget, but he is culpable on other fronts. Imagine how different we’d all be feeling now if we had an FA Cup final against Everton to look forward to.

Having said that, given his resources, he has done well to get the team to the semi-finals in Europe. It was not without a slice of fortune (Roma away) but what the hell. Manchester United’s luck was in v Porto, when they should have been out of the competition after the home leg. No-one at Old Trafford is bothered by the roll of the dice once the trophies are in the cabinet.

Fourth in the league is – frankly – about right, given the comparative spends of the club. Spending so little, could any other manager achieve that at Arsenal? But the team does need better organizing and to be more disciplined, especially when the opposition have possession. Wenger needs to buy the players that can organize those around them, at least until his side play a game where they enjoy 95% possession of the ball.

There is money to spend. According to sources that I believe to be credible, the recent meetings between Gazidis and the manager have seen the £13m figure quoted by the Mail (leaked to the paper by David Dein – who still has very much his own agenda) raised by a further £15m with the additional guarantee that any money raised from sales will go straight into the manager’s budget. If contracts – such as Van Persie’s - are extended, the extra money for any rise in his package has to be found from what the manager has to play with. But there looks set to be a lot more money than last summer.

Wenger has talked about buying more experience on the basis that he has enough young players already. No-one would argue with that. The balance of the squad was too young this season. What happened as a consequence – inconsistency – was no surprise to anyone. You can blame the manager for allowing this situation to develop - he didn’t have to sell players who are still playing at top level in other countries - but he has earned the chance to correct it. It’s going to be an interesting summer.

Finally, I don’t keep up with the website stats but occasionally get informed about things like the following – our website has notched up 10 million page views in the last 12 months. I’ve been asked to mention this. Why? Well, it’s not unrelated to advertising! (Don’t worry, we won’t be plastering any more on, just trying to encourage interested parties to stump up some more cash! This thing takes (working) time to maintain you know!) However, thanks ten million to all those that visit the site, and also to the Arsenal fans that send in their views for us to publish. Without you, we’d just have a stream of online editorials, which I know doesn’t bear thinking about.