The front cover of yesterday’s new issue of The Gooner was truly portentous ("Turning Point?"), but unfortunately, not in the way it was intended. The result against Manchester United, and the optimism after the game in midweek in which our youths and reserves performed so admirably has dissipated into the ether - proven for the false dawns they were. This was supposed to be the game where we put a little daylight between ourselves and other would-be Champions League challengers. Unfortunately, instead of cementing our top echelon credentials, yesterday's insipid display against Aston Villa proved something else entirely. For the time being - until the squad is reinforced and those reinforcements bedded in - our lot is to look nervously over our shoulders at the chasing pack, not upwards toward the leading lights of the league - and by that I mean Chelsea, United and Liverpool.

The game yesterday confirmed our relegation to the second echelon of English football. In three years, we have gone from title contenders, to Champions League qualifiers, to chasing the holy grail of fourth place - and the prospects don't look too good for an improvement any time soon. Events in the space of a week should give our players, fans, management and ownership a sobering epiphany - the Man United game was a sideshow - it was the game yesterday we had to win.

I will leave others to the inevitable wailing and gnashing of teeth that our woeful performance deserved. We had so many passengers on the field yesterday, we could have opened a new bus route between each goalmouth. Passing was woeful, distribution was awful and to have one shot on goal in the entire first half was miserable. We were given a present of a missed penalty and a world class save, but still we could not find the motivation to kick on and make a game of it - and what does that say about our team ethic?

If we played United every week, we'd win the league. It's time our team stopped treating the likes of Hull, Fulham, Sunderland, Stoke, Tottenham and now Villa as inconveniences in the fixture list and instead, earn our respect by giving each such fixture the same preparation and application as any other. Saturday was not about freak wonder goals or incompetent referees - the responsibility for Saturday's disaster lies squarely with the players who pulled on the shirt. I hope our esteemed manager, for once, does nothing to deflect the blame. I have seen worse games and worse Arsenal games, but what really hurts with this bunch is that you KNOW they have the talent. If only they had the application.