A lot has already been written about Stoke. The best summary of the situation is probably Sunday’s Arseblog, a particularly fine piece of writing under the circumstances.

So I’ll not go over ground already covered and covered well. This is just a brief piece looking ahead and peering into the near future.

First up, a few points that need making clear.

If there was actually no money to spend this summer, then Arsene Wenger is in cahoots with the board about the myth that there was. That makes him as guilty as any director for misleading the supporters.

Arsene Wenger attends board meetings as a matter of course, even though he is not an appointed director. He is in full possession of the facts regarding the club's real financial position.

Obviously if there was money to spend and the manager has willingly chosen not to strengthen, then it is an outrage that fans are being asked to pay the prices for admission being asked.

The problem with the team is that the manager pumps them up mentally to believe they are capable of greatness. When they are defeated by championship plodders, there is no fallback, only collapse. This group of players will only recover when bolstered by a number of new signings. Their confidence and self belief is shot. It'll get worse before it gets better.

Long term, what needs to be realised is this. Some of the very young players will bring more to the team than their older colleagues. Time to start playing – albeit selectively and not all at the same time – Ramsey, Vela, Wilshere and Djourou. Let’s see what these players are made of. If they are better than the current bunch, then start playing them more regularly. Now is the season to experiment in the Premier League. The team won’t challenge for the title, and the more established players have little motivation in a battle for fourth place. Younger players will. We’ve more chance of making the top four by playing motivated footballers.

As for the manager, he has got it badly wrong and needs to be honest about his errors – either that or apologise for lying and admit he had no money to spend. Looking at the wage bill, my guess is that money is there, but he has chosen to use it by rewarding some average players with some big pay packets. Sell those that obviously aren’t worth even £20k a week that are obviously being paid so much more.

He needs to buy in January to begin the rebuild. Let’s try and win the FA Cup with our strongest available side and see if the side can ride their luck in Europe. He needs to stop saying he believes in this group of players or that it’s the best he’s ever worked with. It’s emperor’s new clothes stuff, it doesn’t wash anymore and it makes himself and the club look stupid. By all means believe in individual players, but not the group. It’s surely the worst he has ever had at the club.

There are three ways this can go. Either complete decline – which will lead to Wenger’s dismissal. Continued inconsistency with brilliance mixed with performances like those seen at Fulham and Stoke. In which case we simply bump along until 2011 hanging onto a top four spot as tickets become easier to get hold of for Arsenal matches and general sale signs go up frequently. Or Wenger admits his folly and abandons the experiment whereby major players are not bought if they are over the age of 23.

Has the manager got the stomach for a fight? He’s 59 now. It will take him at least until the 2010-2011 season to put together a good enough squad to challenge for the title again.

But there are more fundamental problems which indicate the prognosis is bleak. Wenger has enjoyed too much power for too long. And that has corrupted his judgment. Even if the club is struggling financially, that doesn’t excuse some ridiculous starting selections or bad substitutions. Last season’s challenge masked the fact that things have been allowed to slip – defensive solidity, team spirit, tactical know how. High wages paid to over-rated and arrogant players – few of whom could pass the ‘show us your medals’ test – have created a rotten culture at the club. Arrogance and complacency - in the manager and as a consequence in his players.

Both the backroom staff and the board would not say boo to a goose where Wenger’s concerned and that isn’t a good situation. The idea that Wenger is playing a part in the decision to appoint a CEO means the employee is effectively choosing his own boss.

What Saturday told us is simply this. Arsenal Football Club no longer have any bollocks. And that is very sad. It is also not a situation that can be tolerated for any length of time. If the board won’t let the manager know that, the fans soon will.