When I wrote following our defeat against West Bromwich Albion, I said that the scoreline in that game flattered us.

Since then, we have won in Belgrade; lost away, predictably, at Chelsea; won at 10 Man City; then against a second string Newcastle United side; before giving Eduardo another chance to show his class at Shakhtar Donetsk.

P 5 W 3 D 0 L 2 F 11 A 5

At home, we turned the game round to beat Birmingham City; surprised Shakhtar Donetsk and narrowly edged past West Ham. Only the Shakhtar game represented a convincing victory - the others remembered far more for their outcome than their substance.

P 3 W 3 D 0 L 0 F 8 A 2

Most recently, Newcastle United brought a full strength side away, with a tried and tested formula. They worked hard, pressed and took their chance. Result. No news there, then.

Given that the other two league games played at home were won by the slenderest of margins, our recent record could have been worse. Laurent Koscielny recognised the importance, this week, of being hard to beat at home. His dismissal makes him a helpless spectator in the near future – to that extent, I share his frustration. It is a shame, but no longer a shock that we were unable to narrow the gap with Chelsea after their humbling by Liverpool. To date, neither Chelsea, nor Manchester United have lost at home in the league this season – a telling statistic.

Other than the definitive business of results posted since my last piece, there appear to have been two big news stories (discounting van Persie being fit to start a game and Jack Wilshere’s most welcome contract extension). Lukasz Fabianski appears to have been reinvented as a goalkeeper and there have been allegations about Arsene Wenger’s private life. Quite which would have seemed more unlikely a month ago, I cannot say.

The Professor has hitherto trumpeted great importance in doing things “the right way” – an extension based on his own beliefs, if you will, of “The Arsenal Way”. All the while, he has attempted to do this whilst operating in a notoriously murky industry and it would be fair to say that he has made more enemies than friends in his approach.

Consider his experience at Monaco, where he was, understandably, mortified by and arguably the biggest loser as a result of the nefarious activities eventually proven against Marseille. It was during this period that he first drew criticism for an apparent over reliance on youth - leading to an unedifying dismissal. However, it should not be forgotten that he did enjoy success before the translation to a youth policy - his team formerly enhanced by world class inclusions and hardened warriors.

Further success at Nagoya Grampus Eight was fused with a complete change of lifestyle: the value of order reinforced and also the importance of preserving serenity. These precepts are clearly central for the manager to this day, as anyone who has observed a half time talk would confirm.

I have questioned before whether the cycle which unfolded at Monaco was being repeated at Arsenal. This week's stories put me in mind of the quip which is said to have most upset Alex Ferguson during the height of the rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester United. True, the equilibrium has since been smashed for both United and Arsenal by an invasion whose vulgarity possibly matched that of Marseille’s antics all those years ago. Manchester City have again shown how "financial doping" can warp the status quo.

Perhaps the emergence of these new "big clubs" has riled him to the extent that he felt obliged to follow a different model to the one which had previously accounted for Leeds United, most notoriously, among others. Certainly the move to the new stadium has restricted spending in the short term and this was his primary focus in undertaking his experiment. If so, with the debts now less of an issue by the Club’s own (enforced) admission; we can re-evaluate why the move was made – simply, to make us more competitive. It is now time to pursue that vision.

It might be that Lukasz Fabianski could represent the most significant rebuttal of the theory that Wenger’s youth experiment has failed. We all know the history, but in the last month, we had hoped against hope. To be fair, "The Rooney Saga" has served to remind us how fickle football fans can be. Another object lesson was doubtless on display in the away end at the Reebok Stadium this Saturday lunchtime.

Sadly, the nature of the goal conceded to Andy Carroll must cast fresh doubt. I would like to see Wojciech Szczesny tried in a meaningful way, before January and the grand opening of the transfer window. The question will then be answered - not if money should be spent urgently, but where – given other continued glaring issues facing the defensive composition of our squad.

Whatever the allegations facing Arsene Wenger, in football terms, there is not doubt that he has shown a fastidious ability to remain faithful. His faith in his squad is a soundbite repeated almost as often as their “dropping a little bit physically” or “lacking a little bit of sharpness”. His persistence with certain players and philosophies, in the face of fluctuating outrage around him, attest to that truth. Another truth remains that the moral high ground is notoriously treacherous.

Arsene Wenger is not going to win trophies without spending money, whatever his ideologies. I do not mean bringing the Club to the brink of financial meltdown; rather sensible investment. I have said this before and I am not alone in thinking it. He also needs to share the burden of coaching – which means relinquishing some control. Herein lies the problem – and this will not be solved until he admits that, defensively at least, we are not good enough.

Having demonstrated his belief that his way is "the only way", he might expect criticism in wavering, as any such pseudo deity could conceive. For the record, I believe that history has shown him to be human: neither always right, nor wrong. The trend in recent years, however, may suggest more wrongs than rights. In light of the wonderful achievements which have gone before these barren years, it does seem to be a dreadful pity. If indeed this is a period in which Arsene Wenger is to waver from previously held assumptions, then surely we would all welcome an adaptation to allow more variety and balance within the squad.

As an Arsenal fan, I miss the mind games with Alex Ferguson which precluded seasons of fierce competition for trophies. With the rumour mill set to focus once again on transfers in the coming weeks, I would invite Monsieur Wenger to look in the mirror and revisit his comments of yesteryear: does he still believe that he has the prettiest wife at home?