Plenty has been written about our shocking defeat at home to Man U so I shan’t go over all the individual shortcomings again here, suffice to say that I am as disappointed as any Arsenal fan at the way we failed to take advantage of (with the exception of Rooney) a fairly average side by Man U’s standards.

I cannot think of any other Premiership manager who would start with Denilson and Almunia at Stamford Bridge this coming Sunday, but what’s the betting that both of them do? And, come to think of it, is there any other manager who would not have strengthened the team during the January transfer window, knowing that there were substantial funds in the transfer kitty?

But, if there’s one thing that Arsene Wenger is becoming increasingly famous for, it is his stubbornness. There is barely a Gooner on the planet that wasn’t holding their breath in anticipation of seeing some fresh blood (and quality) injected into the team during January to help boost our title and Champions League chances. But that’s Arsene Wenger for you. Which begs the question ‘What the hell is going on behind the scenes at the club?’ By all accounts, Ivan Gazidis has had a good first year in his post as Chief Executive and he will by now be familiar with the way the club works and the way in which it runs as a business.

If the fans are asking questions about the quality of some of the players, how come the coaching staff at the club aren’t doing the same? Surely they cannot be oblivious to the fact that certain players have quite clearly failed to reach the standard expected for a club that claims to genuinely challenge for the Premiership and Champions League every season. Who within the club is challenging Arsene Wenger?

It is almost inconceivable to think that no one, either at board level or on the coaching staff, has had a word in his ear about strengthening the squad. Or do they hold him in such reverence that they all believe him when he says that Nicklas Bendtner is the answer to our striker problems and that Manuel Almunia is a perfectly capable goalkeeper? You would like to think that Pat Rice has told Wenger that he has serious reservations about Denilson, Bendtner and Walcott. Realistically there’s about as much chance of that as there is of goalkeeping coach Gerry Peyton telling him that neither Almunia or Fabianski are good enough for a top club like Arsenal. In which case, the two coaches aren’t doing the jobs for which they are getting paid. Again, that is something the board should be addressing.

And what about Arsene’s ridiculous statement last week when he said that he would only add to the squad if he could find better players than those he already has available? Is he really serious? How is it that in just a couple of years we have gone from having a striker with one of the best first touches world football has ever seen (take a bow DB10) to someone whose skill at this aspect of the game is more akin to someone from your local park? That said, I shouldn’t be me asking these questions, it should be personnel within the club.

Then there was Wenger’s ridiculous ‘self sufficiency can make us No 1’ spiel. Is he oblivious to the way the game has changed since football clubs became the latest ‘must have’ toy of foreign billionaires? Being solvent doesn’t mean you have a team full of good players. Am I the only person that is beginning to think that Wenger is seriously losing the plot? If he wants to harp on about the business side of things he should think himself lucky that he his working at a football club which has the commitment and loyalty of thousands of fans (who, lets face, it are its customers).

If Arsene were running an expensive restaurant serving the culinary equivalent of Denilson, Bendtner and Almunia he would go bust after the first few weeks. Arsene Wenger is an employee of the club, and, like all employees, he should be held to account for his decisions by those that run the club and pay his wages. Of course, should he deliver a trophy by May then all well and good but that looks highly unlikely now that he has passed up the opportunity to strengthen the squad during January.

It is almost as if he has decided to deliberately handicap the club and do it the hard way. On second thoughts, make that the REALLY hard way. What sort of message does this send out to our handful of genuine world class players such as Arshavin, Fabregas and Van Persie? And who would blame them for thinking that they would be better off next season at a club with real ambition.

One final question from Sundays shambles. In training sessions, are tactics ever taught to the players (like Nani would have been told to harass Clichy as Ashley Young had done a few days earlier at Villa Park) or do they just spend endless hours practicing their pretty passing moves? I have never coached a football team but even I would have drilled into our players before Sunday’s game that Wayne Rooney was on no account to be left unattended.

Ever heard of man marking Arsene? It’s what defenders have been doing to Arshavin for the past month – hence his lack of goals! It’s too late to do anything about new players now – Le Boss has decided the players we have are good enough to challenge for the Premiership and the Champions League. Few of us believe that they are but it’s up to them to prove him right, otherwise come the end of the season their boss is going to need the thickest flak jacket he can lay his hands on. They have four months in which to do it – starting at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.

(Ed’s note – That’s it for the United match/Wenger posts for today, but just to confirm that we are still working through the glut of submissions at about four a day and aim to get everything posted by the time of the next game, clearing the inbox just in time for the post Chelsea match flood! So if your offering hasn’t appeared yet, bear with us! Once again, we have an open church policy in terms of what we post, and only online editorials are the confirmed opinion of the editor himself. If you want to write something in contrast to the current gloom, please submit it! We could all do with some cheering up. Over and out for today.