It sticks in the throat but the truth is we are not good enough. It has been said by many Gooners and we can deny it no longer. The defensive frailties were there for all to see and in the last year we have been well beaten by Chelsea and Man U, twice each at the E******s. You expect the occasional bad day at home but not four times in less than a year. It is not even the physical side as we have matched lesser teams. It does not bode well for when we play a quality team in the Champions League.

The problem is when we lose possession we immediately look vulnerable, especially when playing Chelsea and Man U. They both have the quality players to hurt you in situations we get away with against lesser teams. It is not just the defence, it is the defending of the whole team when we lose the ball. I would really only exempt Gallas and Vermalen from criticism as they are left exposed by our fullbacks and midfielders.

Clichy in my opinion has been playing poorly since Birmingham in 2008 when he ran away from the ball and conceded a penalty. We know it was not a penalty but the ball should have long been cleared. Against Man U he bizarrely chose not to cut across to challenge Park but to merely run parallel to him and only move across as he was about to shoot. I really cannot think what was going through his mind but I have no confidence in him. He has performed below standard for almost two years and is lucky he is seen as a man who gives 100% or the boo boys would have been on his case long ago. The game was probably already lost but that really killed it.

Perhaps if we had got back to 2-1 and scrambled an undeserved draw it would have only papered over the cracks. But let’s not kid ourselves, Chelsea and Man U deserved their victories and conceding three goals to both these teams on home territory is not the thing champions are made of. Hopefully Arsene will have a rethink and realise it is not just about how many we score but also stopping the other team.

Denilson, not for the first time was woeful giving the ball away and falling over like a child when dispossesed. The way he tries to fall in front of an opponent when outmuscled or just being too slow to try and bring the opponent down is just laughable. The only thing you can say is he does not try to hide and is always looking for the ball. The problem then of course is the more he gets the ball the more often we are likely to lose possession.

Rosicky is a great player but unfortunately when the team struggle he disappears. In short, great when things are going well but might as well not be there when they are not. The centre backs are up to the task as is Cesc, Song and Arshavin. Nasri was not great on the day but overall he has what it takes. He was part of the problem though of the team defending as a whole, although to be fair he was playing in a more foward role. Sagna flatters but is not a solid defender and Almunia is a good reserve keeper - enough said.

On our day we can beat anyone, which would make us a great cup team. Trouble is we sacrificed both domestic cup competitions. Anyway that is not good enough for Arsenal, we want the league. We have gone backwards since the 2007/2008 season so please sort it out Arsene. I am still waiting patiently but I know many Gooners who are losing faith and do not have that patience.

(Ed’s note – Just to confirm that we are still working through the glut of submissions received this week at about four a day with the aim of getting everything posted by Sunday lunchtime. So if your offering hasn’t appeared yet, bear with us! More tomorrow.)