Among the highlights of the last three seasons have been our superb League Cup runs. We have got to at least the semi-finals, generally beating Premier League opponents on the way. What has made this more exciting is that these victories have been achieved with a mix of squad players and young talent. The media have been unstinting in their praise of our young players, saying this emerging crop of talented youngsters is comparable to the Manchester United ‘kids’ whom Alan Hansen so erroneously predicted would never win anything.

But it hasn’t worked out as well for us as it did for United. Our squad is smaller than those of our major rivals and, as it has run out of steam in the last quarter of the season, this should have been the moment when the young players came in and delivered. If only that had been the case. Instead, the thinness of the squad has been exposed. Certain key players have become exhausted, with nothing left to give at the crucial part of the season.

Walcott is the closest thing we have to a young player who has broken into the first team. But even he blows hot and cold and his most impressive contributions seem to be when he comes off the bench for the last 20 minutes of games when defences are tiring. It is noticeable that Wenger never seems to want to start with him in really big games.

Bendtner gained a lot of affection by scoring with his first touch against the old enemy just before Christmas but it is hard to think of many important contributions in games since then. In truth, there are too many periods in games when he is anonymous. Diaby and Denilson both seem to have gone backwards this season with neither looking convincing or ready for the rigours of the Premier League. And Diaby’s silly sending off has done nothing to help his cause.

Song, by all accounts, did very well in the African Cup of Nations but we’ve barely seen him since he returned from the tournament. Justin Hoyte has started 50 games for the club and should have been the natural replacement for Sagna when he picked up an injury. Yet the boss preferred to try Toure in that position even though Kolo clearly does not have the pace to be the attacking full-back that our game demands. Traore, by contrast, has pace in abundance but doesn’t yet read the game well enough and gets caught out of position too often.

Randall? Lansbury? Gilbert? Barazite? Merida? We can have high hopes for all of them but they all seem a long way from being ready for the first team. So why have we not seen this golden young generation coming through? My theory is that we have been victims of our early season success. I imagine that before the season started Wenger did not expect us to be serious contenders for the league title.

This was supposed to be a transitional season with perhaps a cup run giving the possibility of silverware, so the young players could be gradually blooded in the team. A trip to Wigan, say, or a home game against Blackburn would be the perfect opportunity to play a few of the younger players, so that they would be ready for a full scale challenge in 2008-09. They could have been introduced in controlled circumstances with the right blend of experience and youth for each game.

Instead, we found ourselves at or near the top of the table – with everything to play for – so the boss has been forced to play has first choice line up every game. No question of a gentle run of a few games here and there for a player on the fringes of the team. When the youngsters have come in it has been as a result of an enforced change, arising from injury and suspension, and has been a short-term measure, which is never ideal. Typically, it’s been a couple of difficult games before being dropped back to the bench when the regular player returns.

Whether this has harmed the young players, only time will tell. We can still hope that some of them come through and become first team regulars but I suspect that most Gooners reluctantly accept that, for all Arsene’s and Liam Brady’s efforts, the strengthening that our squad so evidently needs will have to come via the transfer market.