I wonder why it took 92 minutes before any Arsenal player showed any real sense of desire at the Stadium of Light today. Cesc Fabregas’ contestation of the header that led to the equaliser was the kind of thing I’d been waiting to see throughout the game. It only came as a result of Sunderland’s opener. Without that I am confident the game would have ended 0-0.

The accounts for 2007-08 released recently demonstrate that Arsenal’s players are very well paid indeed. Might I venture that they are paid so well that they have lost any sense of hunger and desire.

Sunderland set up to ensure that Arsenal would not pass. So it was up to the visitors – through sheer force of will if necessary – to ensure that Craig Gordon was tested often. I don’t recall any outstanding saves except the block he made from Robin Van Persie halfway through the second half. What is required when such obstacles are placed in front of a team is for the players to keep knocking on the door to such an extent that the opposition end up run ragged and mistakes occur.

Arsenal failed to push them, as they failed to push Hull last week. Some players are suffering from a lack of consistent form, so we see a sequence of matches like those against Hull, Porto and Sunderland. Real Jekyll and Hyde stuff. I can forgive Arsene Wenger for only making one change from the Porto game, but the change itself I cannot get my head around. Nasri dropped? What was that about? If he wanted to play Song, Denilson should have been given a rest.

Yet, bizarrely, against a team lacking any sense of ambition, Wenger fielded a 4-5-1. By the closing stages of the game, Sunderland’s lack of threat meant that the team were effectively lined up as a 2-5-3, the fullbacks as the wide midfielders.

Changes should have been made at half time with Bendtner, Vela and Nasri all coming on for Adebayor, Van Persie and Denilson. Yes, Arsenal could have suffered an injury, but the first half was so poor, drastic surgery was required. That it was Walcott that was first withdrawn was a joke. It’s almost as if the manager is afraid to take off his more established players.

As I type, I am listening to Manchester United win at Blackburn. Ferguson’s players are paid as much as Arsenal’s (as a squad at any rate) and yet they seem to have a greater desire. The rain is p***ing down at Ewood Park. These are the kind of conditions where players who don’t fancy it can be exposed. And the rain seems much heavier than it did in Sunderland.

Do Arsenal’s players want it enough? Well not enough of them seem to, and for the money they are paid, they are taking the fans for a ride. Do these people care about the club? The spirit is bad and Wenger needs to give a few of his charges a diplomatic injury. There’s rot at the club and players are not prepared to battle for one another. There are factions in the squad and the team suffers as a result. Too many first choice names are complacent and seemingly undroppable. Drop Gallas. Drop Adebayor. Drop Van Persie. If Wenger believes his reserve players are so good he does not need to invest in the transfer market, let’s see them start a few games in place of the players who are not made of the right stuff as far as this observer is concerned.

Victory through harmony? Remember that one. What we are seeing now is the occasional win despite disharmony but don’t let that mask the truth. The players are – potentially – so good that they are going to win matches in spite of all that’s wrong with the team.

Fabregas is the only really unifying spirit in the team and even he seems to be affected by the bad vibes around him. He did not have a good game at Sunderland. But who did? As a last gambit to try and salvage this season, Wenger should make him captain immediately and tell Gallas the reason is that the number 10 has allowed the divide in the squad to fester – and in addition he’s lost the respect of the players.

I could not bring myself to celebrate the equaliser. Sunderland were p*ss poor. It was a shocking result. Thank God I don’t have to witness Arsenal produce more of the same for a fortnight.