I am writing this while watching Man. United cruise to victory over Bolton to open up a three point lead at the top and it really brings it home just how badly we have blown it.

Just a few short weeks ago we beat Blackburn to go five points clear and I was starting to believe that we could really do it. However since then virtually everything has gone wrong for us, starting with the Eduardo injury at Birmingham, a match that would have seen us open up a, surely unassailable, 8 point lead.

There is no doubt that our little striker’s injury certainly had an effect, not just in that game but in the next three or four as well. However if we do not end up winning the title, as now seems likely, it will not be down to that. No, the fact is that the squad has not been strong enough from the start and the injuries and sheer number of matches have finally caught up with us.

I am convinced that we the have the foundations of a great side, one that will be challenging for, and winning, many major trophies over the next few years, but Arsene really does need to strengthen the squad during the summer. We have no quality cover for either full back position and are short in the wide midfield areas too, as the cup humiliations at White Hart Lane and Old Trafford highlighted in the worst possible way.

I always felt that we lacked cover for the wide midfield positions in particular and as the season has gone on this has proved to be the case. At Wigan, for example, we had to play Cesc wide on the right due to Rosicky and Walcott being injured and Eboue suspended. Yes we were unlucky to have so many players in the same position out at the same time but the fact is that Man United and Chelsea both have enough cover to cope with these situations and we don't.

A player like Ryan Babel could well have made the difference for us this season, especially in the tight games where our opponents put nine men behind the ball, i.e. most of our home matches. Instead we have been forced to play Diaby wide on the left at times and for his all his obvious talent, being a winger is clearly not his greatest strength.

However I feel the biggest difference between us and both Man. United and Chelsea has been defensively. Too many times we have conceded a soft goal and then had to work twice as hard to get back in the match, especially at home. The recent games against Villa and Boro are prime examples of this. Had we not gone behind in both those matches, to goals, it has to be said, that could easily have been prevented, it is not unreasonable to think we would have won both and the four extra points would have be crucial at this stage.

You rarely see Man United and Chelsea conceding these sort of goals and that will probably be what will cost us at the end of the day. Kolo and Gallas are a decent enough partnership but both are prone to the odd lapse in concentration and cannot deal with a long ball over the top, while Senderos has never really convinced despite the odd good display in the slower pace of the Champions League. Equally without Sagna and Clichy we have looked particularly vulnerable down the flanks. The fact that we have gone behind in matches nearly twice as often as both our challengers tells its own story. So this is another area that desperately needs strengthening.

As the matches have mounted up you have seen both Man United and Chelsea rotating their team, resting key players like Rooney, Ronaldo, Lampard and Joe Cole at crucial times and still getting results. On the other hand we have been forced to play virtually the same 11 in every Premiership and Champions League match, injuries permitting, as Wenger clearly does not trust the others at the very highest level. Cesc, for example, has been in desperate need of a rest for weeks but even in the so-called easier fixtures against Birmingham, Boro and Wigan, Wenger continued to play him as he clearly did not fancy Denilson or Diaby to do a job in his place. Yes on form Cesc is irreplaceable but so is Ronaldo for Man. United and they have still been able to rest him.

But let's not get too down about it all. Whatever happens between now and the end of the season we have still exceeded all expectations. Most so-called experts were saying we'd struggle to hang on to the fourth Champions League spot after selling Henry and it has been great to prove them all wrong. Okay so maybe we will fall short at the end but we are still a work in progress, a team that is still developing, and we will only get stronger by what has happened this season.

I don't believe for one second that this season will have been a failure if we do not win something. The boys have done good, played some amazing football and seeing the improvements in players like Adebayor, Walcott, Flamini, Clichy, Hleb etc has made the season a success. Let's just hope Arsene spends wisely this summer and builds on what we have because another season without a trophy would not be good enough for a club like ours, especially with all the talent we currently have.