In my time following Arsenal I have seen many sh*te performances and watched some pretty appalling players (Selley, Morrow, Hillier, Kiwomya, Helder, Stepanovs) so Saturday may have been total and utter crap but it was nothing new and there are still 36 games to go.

Accordingly I agree with the sentiment behind most of Tony C’s article, except for the bits about Arsene parting company (he’s contracted until 2011) and dipping out if we don’t get into the top four next May. You don’t support a team just because they’re winning silverware.

Having said that, I am starting to get worried about the lack of investment in the playing squad. As much as I love and respect Arsene, it’s no good having the world’s shiniest stadium if our central defence is more Hackney than Highbury and we can’t string two passes together further upfield. In addition his quote about not buying experienced players if there is no resale value is bizarre; surely their value is in keeping you at the top????

I also don’t understand the sentiment behind letting Gilberto (31 yrs old) leave, and for that matter Robert Pires (32 yrs old) whilst bringing in Mikael Silvestre (31 yrs old) who has made a handful of appearances for Man U in the last year. And why are we allowing Philippe Senderos to go on loan to AC Milan for 12 months? How can he be good enough for them but not good enough for us or not good enough that we receive a hefty transfer fee for him?

Seven players have left this summer and only Silvestre, Bischoff, Nasri and Ramsey have arrived. Ramsey is 17; Bischoff and Silvestre are seriously injury-prone and Nasri has recently recovered from life-threatening meningitis. That is a pretty big gamble and one that I can’t see paying out.

Arsene has until next Sunday at midnight to bring in the strength that we so desperately need; if he still has the same squad this time next week then we can all start pressing the panic button. Can you imagine what a good midfield would do to Eboue and Denilson??

We’re constantly told that money is available. If so Arsene can no longer avoid spending as last Saturday’s performance was below par in so many areas. It lacked any leadership (McLintock / Adams / Vieira? Gallas defended like Titus Bramble and simply doesn’t come close to his predecessors!). Three of the midfield were relegation standard, the strikers made Emile Heskey look threatening and the bench was packed with potential but nothing else.

Having turned up for the West Brom match full of optimism, I now cannot see how the current squad can mount a serious challenge to Man U and Chelsea this season. Considering that we went unbeaten only four years ago, that is a very unhealthy place to be.