Q: Which manager said the following after his team were beaten in the 5th round of the FA Cup? “It was an awful performance. I was embarrassed by that. Any stick the fans are giving us is thoroughly deserved today.”

A: Yes you’re right. It was Mick McCarthy after his Wolves side were beaten by Cardiff. Arsène Wenger on the other hand said ”We were up for it today. We kept our cool.”

Anyone who bothers to read my articles for The Gooner will know that I am one of Arsène’s biggest fans but I have lost a lot of respect for him over the past four weeks.

Firstly; the defeat at Sh*te Hart Lane was predictable but the manner of it was shocking; we were totally outplayed, thrashed 5-1 with two of our players coming to blows in front of millions. Arsène’s reaction? “We had more of the play; we passed the ball better than them.”

As a one-off aberration this game could (just about) be forgiven but three weeks later it happens again. Thrashed 4-0, outplayed, a ridiculous red card and having now seen it on TV, our captain should also have seen red. And our manager tells the world “We kept our cool”

I hate to say it but Arsène has shown a total lack of respect for the domestic cup competitions – why bother entering them if we’re going to implode the first time we play a decent side? We supporters invest too much of our time and money to be treated like that.

Secondly; the quality and attitude of our reserve players is woeful. There were six players in last night’s starting 11 (over half of the team) that would struggle to improve Derby’s squad. Having sung their praises earlier this season, I am now struggling to see how Hoyte, Traore, Bendtner and Eboue are ever going to be worthy replacements for recent Arsenal players as they seem to lack pride when wearing the red & white shirts. As for Lehmann and Gilberto – retirement beckons boys!

Lastly; Arsène has come out in favour of Game 39 saying this week “It is innovative and anyone condemning it hasn’t really analysed the pros and the cons. I agree that you have to respect the competition and the fans but for me the biggest disrespect to the fans is to take their money out of their pockets without giving them any quality in return.” Isn’t that exactly what your team did last night Arsène?

And if Game 39 goes ahead, what will he do? Complain that the players are tired after a long, mid-season trip to Los Angeles, Tokyo or Saudi Arabia and then play a weakened team. I know the counter argument is that we’re top of the Premier League and facing AC Milan next Wednesday. If however, Milan turn in two characteristically robust performances and Man U or Chelsea string a run of wins together, we’ll wish we had taken the cups more seriously.

It has cost me well over £400 (not to mention some bloody awful journeys) to watch the domestic Cup matches this season, but it is money and time that I won’t bother spending next year.

If the manager and players can’t take the cups seriously, why should we?