The recent run of form dropping eight points from the last four games tells its own story, an over reliance on Adebayor, playing too narrow and a series of long term injuries. What’s also concerning to me is the signals coming out of Arsenal. The Arsenal website and matchday programmes of late have had the Gaffer, Gallas, Bendtner and co saying that now's the time to turn it on. 'We cannot allow any more points to be dropped now otherwise we won't make it' stated Bendter in Saturday's program.

Fair enough you might think, fighting talk like that should create a siege mentality. Us against the world, which is just what we need. Unfortunately when things have been going wrong recently the chest thumping rallying cries like those after the Milan game have been watered down by the poor excuses we have been coming up with. The Wigan game is a case in point. Gallas’ excuse for the Wigan result in Saturday’s program is that ‘Sometimes it is human nature that after a huge game in the Champions League it’s difficult to find the same level of motivation for the following game’. Well excuse me, but as a professional footballer and the captain of the team isn't that his job to motivate the team on the pitch, and not suddenly try to start doing that when the game is ten minutes from the end when we’re one-nil down like we have been doing recently? All the players have to do is look at the league table to see we need the points; every game should be massive in the eyes of the players. The other old chestnut is the pitch is bad, which fair enough it was, but do you see Chelsea or United complain? No you don't, they just get on with it.

Things are looking as if they might change. As I write this Wenger on the Arsenal website has come out and said that Saturday was simply not good enough and it felt like a defeat. At last he said what I've been thinking since the disastrous Villa game. We need to toughen up, and not in a physical way. I know this is a very young squad and we are actually – in spite of my rant - having a really great season. Last season we would have lost against Villa and Middlesbrough. We are way above where the press said we would finish. Everyone at the start of the season wrote us off and I think that spurred the players on. Now we just need to find a way to replicate that mentality because at the moment I think our heads are down. The Eduardo situation has not helped us, but what’s done is done and we must carry on. It’s down to Wenger to try and get the team refocused (which he can do - just look at the Milan game).

The only players left in the squad who know what a real title run-in is like when you’re in the driving seat are Gallas, Gilberto and Toure. This is the first time a lot of the players have come under this sort of mental pressure and it's showing. So let’s from now on just tell it like it is when things go tits up and not hide behind embarrassing excuses. I know Arsenal historically set there standards high, and so does Wenger, but let’s not try and fob off the fans with the excuses that have been coming out of the club when we can all see that it's just not good enough at the moment.