Time to reflect. The dust has settled on another disappointing season, which without a trophy for the fifth consecutive season is ultimately a failure. Where do we go from here? The two extreme schools of thought are: 1) Wenger’s project has failed. He has dismantled his team of Invincibles, replacing them with a bunch of overpaid, inexperienced, physically and mentally weak kids of which he is oblivious to their many frailties which we can all see. We will not win another trophy with him at the helm. 2) Arsene Knows. My feelings lie closer to the latter.

As the wheels came off our title challenge, it left me with an empty feeling. The summer ahead will be an important one. With Cesc’s departure seemingly imminent and the arrival of Marouane Chamakh, any other business conducted will have to be of the requisite quality. Top of the agenda is a world class goalkeeper. I have always thought that Almunia lacks the presence to ever be a world class goalkeeper, Fabianski has age on his side and sending him out on loan may be the best option for him to gain experience and confidence. Wojciech Szczesny looks to be our future number one, having received rave reviews following his loan spell at Brentford and Arsène Wenger even issued the bold statement that he will ‘certainly’ be an Arsenal number one. A world class defender to partner Vermaelen is required if Gallas leaves and a world class midfielder if Cesc leaves. That’s up to three world class players to strengthen the spine of our team and with the rest of our young squad one year older and wiser, a few young guns ready to make their mark on the first team and better luck with injuries, I feel we stand in good stead for next season.

I watched the recent question and answer session with our CEO Ivan Gazidis staged by the Arsenal Supporters Trust. Since his arrival, I have admired his intelligence and honesty. He is more in touch with the fans than other Arsenal board members and his involvement in the ‘Arsenalisation’ of the stadium shows that he appreciates that the fans are the heart of the club, something which has been lacking since the departure of David Dein. I thought he answered the questions with sincerity and assured us that the managerial staff will thoroughly analyse the team’s performance. One of the points he mentioned is that we may think that Wenger has an obsession with this team and can’t see things. However, he prefers not to publicly criticise his own players and I think this is the way a club that wants to be regarded with virtue should act.

Another issue that was raised was the significant number of injuries. Mr Gazidis attempted to answer this question by stating that we are a young team playing possession football and run more than any other team, so injuries were inevitable. He also pointed out that we have less rest days than the opponents we are playing in comparison to our rivals; 36 in total, compared to Chelsea 22 and United 24. The long term injuries have been impact injuries. Injury problems have plagued us for many seasons now and he did reassure us that this would be examined and also mentioned a new GPS system, which will be used next season to anticipate injuries.

Let the lot from down The Lane bask in their so-called glory with their manager losing the little dignity he had in ‘The Sun’ advert, having previously been charged for tax evasion and will undoubtedly leave them in disarray as he previously has the Hammers, Saints and Pompey. Look at the big picture. Having settled into our new stadium, we have one of the world's finest sporting arenas, generating enough income to ensure our future at the top is secure for years to come. Once the debt has been paid off and other clubs are hit by the irrational management of their finances during a global financial crisis, plus the possibility of a spending cap based on income generated, we will be in a financial position of most clubs’ envy.

Wenger’s vision has made this future a reality. He knew we would be handicapped in the initial years and planned for this period of transition into a new stadium but couldn’t have foreseen factors out of our control i.e. Abramovich. We are fans for life. I’m not old enough to know what it was like during the barren spell post 71 but I’m sure that this doesn’t even compare and I’m also sure that one day the chickens will come home to roost for other clubs and we will be rewarded. Enjoy the summer.

Victoria Concordia Crescit