Neutrals are calling it an epic. That is little consolation this morning. The bottom line is that, in Arsenal’s three cup exits this season, each time, at least four goals have been conceded in 90 minutes. Whether playing first choice defenders or back ups, it doesn’t take a genius to work out where Arsenal’s Achilles heel is.

I found myself trying to work out exactly where it’s all gone wrong, in comparison with past backlines. Two of the four that lined up at Anfield actually established the Champions League record for clean sheets two seasons ago. The others – Flamini and Eboue, were on the field at the start, although the former didn’t last long.

To set such a record, there has to have been an element of composure present, as opposed to lack of focus, blind panic and bad decision making. Yet so often this season, Arsenal have given away cheap goals. Toure is not the player he was. He took a huge risk clambering all over Babel and even if the penalty was soft, he had cover in the middle and didn’t need to take the chance. Did he forget he wasn’t playing at centre back or something? It was the key moment of the game.

Senderos’ customary howler on this occasion cost a goal. I think you could argue that Liverpool’s second by Torres was just a cracking strike and it would be churlish to criticise the defence too heavily for that one. The final goal was academic. An extra nail in the coffin and a distortion of the difference on the night.

The attacking players did their job. They scored two. Adebayor was Adebayor. He missed a sitter yet didn’t hide and got his just rewards after Theo’s incredible run. Yet, as at home, within a short space of time, a lack of composure handed Liverpool a goal. It was a bit too late to issue an instruction to - as someone somewhere once said – calm down. But Wenger’s players just get carried away by emotions sometimes and fail to regain the necessary concentration before it’s too late.

Wenger has built a side that is capable of playing some of the brilliant possession football we witnessed last night, and in Milan, against quality opposition. Yet he has failed to equip them mentally with what’s required to win matches once their talent with the ball has put them in the box seat. Is this down to the quality of the players or the quality of the coaching? My suspicion is that it’s a bit of both.

Wenger is a stubborn man, who will always do it his way. The Champions League means everything to him. And yet he lessens his chances of one day lifting it by his refusal to draft in a dedicated defensive coach and his own insistence that games can be won purely with style. He is surrounded by yes men who will not tell him when he’s got it wrong. He waxes lyrical about past European greats like Real Madrid, Ajax and AC Milan. The former two I am not old enough to write about authoritatively, but I suspect, amidst the beauty, there was an element of beast. AC Milan I remember vividly, even having attended the 1989 European Cup Final when Arrigo Sacchi’s team put on an exhibition to defeat Steaua Bucharest 4-1. It was two days before Anfield and that game with Mickey Thomas.

Milan had Gullit, van Basten, Rijkaard and Donadoni, but they also had Baresi, Costacurta, Tassoti, Maldini and Ancelotti. They could all play, but the latter names could also stop players. Babel would have been fouled, there would have been less doubt about the award of said foul, but critically, he wouldn’t have been allowed within a metre of the penalty area. It was cynical, but people, not least Wenger, don’t remember that.

For those who require a more recent example, I give you Barcelona in 2006. Managed by Rijkaard, their victory against Arsenal is not remembered for the cynical hacking of Thierry Henry, but the Larsson inspired comeback.

Arsene Wenger’s attempt to win the big prizes with a philosophy that worked for Brazil in Mexico back in 1970 is laudable, but it’s doomed. Arsenal’s last prizes were won playing some beautiful football, but the team was stuffed with experience. Patrick Vieira combined both beauty and beast and knew how to prevent collapse by just killing a dangerous passage of play by either winning or conceding a foul. A master of the art.

Yes, Arsenal have suffered some bad fortune this season with injuries and the rub of the green with refereeing decisions. But, due to the lack of experience in the team, they have got themselves into positions where the bad luck became the significant factor in determining outcomes all too often.

Thierry Henry moved on last summer because he did not want to spend the final seasons of his career wet nursing a team of the future. William Gallas and he will doubtless have plenty to talk about next time they speak. It’s strange to think that Arsenal have only lost two Premier League matches this season, and indeed could finish the campaign that way and – in all probability – fail to secure the title. In truth, they will lose at Old Trafford, any lingering sense of pressure will evaporate and they’ll suddenly remember how to win matches in their final four meaningless fixtures.

The team have progressed immensely from last season. That cannot be denied. But in the aftermath of another Champions League exit, that seems a minor consolation. Wenger talks about the importance of keeping this group of players together rather than upsetting the apple cart by buying in. But what if some of the players aren’t good enough? Arsenal’s all-too-quick concession of their advantage in the tie against Liverpool, both home and away, suggests to this viewer that major surgery is required in defence, or at least the acquisition of quality to give Wenger the option of dropping out of form players. If Justin Hoyte isn’t good enough to cover for Bacary Sagna, what’s he on the payroll for? What’s needed in the first team squad are back up players of the quality of Oleg Luzhny. We used to give ‘The Horse’ stick. A surefire demonstration that fans know little, but hey, at least we were winning trophies or reaching major Cup finals every season he was at the club.

The goals that should not have been given away last night were down to Senderos and Toure. One of them is a liability that should be sold and the other needs to change his thinking to become the player he was before. For those that argue that this is over-reaction, I return you to the statistic of the goals conceded in the three cup exits – 13 in total. The defence of Arsene Wenger’s new Arsenal ain’t good enough to win prizes.

Season ticket prices will be going up 3% this season, with an attendant rise in individual match tickets. So I am guessing lower tier tickets will be £33 and £36 per Grade B game, with those upstairs rising by either £1.50 or £2 per match depending on where you sit. I’d like to see some of that money spent on improving the squad, rather than watch another season of growing pains.

Finally, and not completely off topic as it relates to Arsenal and Liverpool, a plug for the latest Ray of Hope initiative raising funds for former Arsenal and Liverpool legend Ray Kennedy. It’s a car dash of all 92 Premier and Football League grounds. Details of how to contribute can be found here, whilst details of the itinerary of how the 92 clubs will be visited in five days can be found here. There is talk of a bucket collection for the appeal at the next Arsenal home match v Reading. This is to be confirmed, but if it is to go ahead, I’ll post details nearer the time. For anyone unaware of Ray’s condition, read this. It puts the disappointments of losing a football match into some kind of perspective.