A lot of fans are disillusioned with the state of Arsenal at the moment.

From last season, where we capitulated in spectacular fashion after the Carling Cup defeat, and since then we have lost Cesc Fabregas, Carlos Vela, Denilson, Gael Clichy and Emmanuel Eboue to a combination of transfers and loans. Added to that, it is suspected that Nicklas Bendtner and Samir Nasri have played their last games for the club.

You almost feel as if the players mentioned have had enough with Arsenal and want to move on.

And if Arsene couldn’t think that things could get any worse, we also have Gervinho, Alex Song, Emmanuel Frimpong, Jack Wilshere, Laurent Koscielny, Sebastien Squillaci, Johan Djourou, Tomas Rosicky, Kieran Gibbs and Armand Traore all unavailable through suspension and injury.

So if you take into account that essentially 17 players are missing or not focused on playing for Arsenal, then that would cripple any football team.

And the fact of the matter is, in the first leg of the Champions League qualifier with Udinese, we scored a goal and kept a clean sheet, which is what we would have taken before the game.

So while things might seem bad, they could be worse. And if anything, this current Arsenal squad have exceeded expectations considering the major setbacks they have experienced already this season.

Strangely enough it was not the young players such as Miquel, Jenkinson and Frimpong that disappointed against Liverpool yesterday (in fact I thought they were all exceptional), it was the senior players such as Theo Walcott, Andrei Arshavin and Aaron Ramsey that let the side down. So you can’t fault the performances of the young players Arsene has recruited.

The fact of the matter is Arsene doesn’t have money to spend. There’s a reason why he’s reluctant to spend the money, and it’s because he doesn’t have it. Surely it would make his life easier if he did spend big money on experienced Premier League players – it would get the fans off his back, it would give him a far greater chance of success in terms of trophies and create a better feeling around the club overall. Arsene knows better than most about the animosity some Arsenal fans are displaying at football matches and surely he would like nothing more than to bring in players that would make a difference.

You have to ask yourself why isn’t Arsene spending the money? The only other explanation to not having any money to spend is that he wants to tarnish the legacy he has left our football club and get the sack. Does that sound likely?

The Emirates Stadium project was designed to give Arsenal a solid future and compete with the big teams financially and on the pitch. We are one of the few major football clubs that can balance the books and have also competed consistently at the top of the Premier League. We’ve come close most of the time over the last few seasons, particularly in the 2007-2008 season, and if it wasn’t for Martin Taylor I’m certain we would have lifted the title that year. And how about the Champions League Final in 2006? If we had a bit of luck there as well things could have been so, so different. With those two successes we could have really built on that and had even more success. But as so much in football you need that bit of luck which has deserted us over the last few years.

The model Arsenal are currently embarking on is designed to ensure that we are still a top club in 50 years time. Far too much in the Premier League era we’ve seen “big” teams like Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest, Derby County and Coventry City reach the heights of success now to be condemned to the lower leagues.

Gary Neville, of all people, wrote this excellent article last week on Arsene Wenger and it makes so much sense. I’m sure you’ve probably already read it but if you haven’t I highly recommend you take a look.

In Arsene we trust.

When you ask Arsenal fans what has been the biggest problem this season, they will point to the horrendous injury list we’ve had this year, including the likes of Robin Van Persie, William Gallas, Cesc Fabregas and Thomas Vermaelen who have been out for a decent number of games.

But other things high up on the list, especially recently, would be the lack of fight, lack of unity and the basic desire and determination to win.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a squad player or a first team starter, you should have pride wearing the Arsenal shirt. And the fact that you’re paid handsomely is just one of the other reasons why you should never lack balls when it comes to playing for Arsenal.

Just take a look at Manchester United. They lost Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez in the summer and are effectively a one man team now, heavily relying on Wayne Rooney. But look at them, despite the weakest squad they’ve had for years, they are only a single point off the top of the Premier League.

And why is that?

Their squad might not be full of world class players but they are winners. They have the f*cking balls for a fight.

Veterans such as Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes have been integral players for Manchester United this season, despite being in the twilight of their careers. Despite the fact they are almost on their last legs they want to win, whatever the cost. You might take the p*ss out of players like Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick, Nani and Gary Neville but they want to f*cking win. You see it in their performances, and you see it when they score.

The ethos at Manchester United is win at any cost. Their squad is full of winners, who are hungry, determined and have experienced winning countless times before.

And what about Arsenal?

From our entire squad, I would only consider Robin Van Persie, Cesc Fabregas, Thomas Vermaelen and Sol Campbell as winners. They are hugely loved by the Arsenal fans because they want to win as much as we do. They have the balls for a fight and know what it means to win.

Unfortunately, the rest of the squad are over-paid, pampered losers who are amazingly rewarded for consistently losing.

What other “top club” in European football would repeatedly give pay rises and improved contracts for not winning?!

Who should be hungrier for success? Players like Ryan Giggs who have literally won it all, or players like Abou Diaby who have yet to win anything?

Unfortunately, this sad state of affairs has badly exposed Arsene Wenger.

Arsenal’s biggest problem ever since their last trophy in 2005 is not the quality of player brought it, or the lack of transfer funds available. It hasn’t even been the injury problems. The biggest problem is that winning mentality.

When Arsene Wenger took over the reigns in 1997, he inherited a squad full of winners.

David Seaman, Tony Adams, Lee Dixon, Nigel Winterburn, Martin Keown, Steve Bould, Paul Merson and Ian Wright had won things with Arsenal before. We even had David Platt and Dennis Bergkamp who had won things in Italy and Holland respectively.

As the season’s progressed, we had players come in and replace the old guard but they had a chance to play alongside the original winners. Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit and Marc Overmars played with the famous back five, Sol Campbell played alongside Tony Adams and Martin Keown when he arrived and later on Lauren, Ashley Cole, Gilberto, Fabregas and countless others came in a played alongside winners week in a week out.

Robert Pires, Thierry Henry, Jose Antonio Reyes and Freddie Ljungberg were all winners. Just look how they celebrated when they scored. Arrogant, determined and full of passion – scoring meant everything to them. Scoring and winning was a big f*ck you to the opposition.

Players coming in since 1997 had a chance to live, breath and work alongside born winners. It clearly rubbed off since they Arsenal won trophies for the next 8 years.

And it’s these relationships that have been integral to Arsenal’s success.

But after the 2006 Champions League Final, the last of the latest breed of “winners” was too weak. Only Gilberto, Thierry Henry, Jens Lehmann, Kolo Toure and Freddie were left from the Invincibles team of 2004, and even those players were seeing out their careers at Arsenal. Dennis Bergkamp retired, Bobby went to Villareal, Ashley Cole went to Chelsea, Sol Campbell went abroad to Portsmouth, Jose Antonio Reyes left for Madrid and Edu went to Valencia.

The whole winning mentality and “mental strength” Arsene Wenger keeps talking about pretty much disappeared in one summer.

And the sad fact is, Arsene Wenger hasn’t been able to instil this winning mentality into an Arsenal squad ever since.

And you don’t have to look further than the football pitch for the proof.

Abou Diaby strolls through games with an alarmingly lazy approach. He doesn’t just stroll around the pitch like it’s a training session but he is mentally off the pace. Poor decision making, the inability to track back or basic things like mark opposing players at set-pieces are just some of things he is guilty of.

We all remember the ridiculous headed own-goal he scored at Old Trafford at the start of the season. Would you ever see Vieira or Gilberto do something like that? Of course not, they’re focused winners who are switched on. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure they made mistakes now and then but for the life of me remember any as ridiculous as this current squad make.

Look at Manual Almunia and Lukasz Fabianski. They’re not winners, at best they are backup goalkeepers. The amount of mistakes they make is staggering. But you can’t blame them – Arsene Wenger is a manager that rewards mistakes. He is the man that is selecting these kinds of players so the blame has to laid at the managers doorstep.

What did Alex Ferguson do when Fabien Barthez made a few mistakes? He shipped him off to Marseille. Manchester United also had error prone goalkeepers Mark Bosnich and Massimo Taibi at the club but showed them the door once they showed they weren’t up to the task.

So the big question is can Arsene Wenger build a team of winners in the future?

A team of players that will fight until the end, never give up and not think performances against Wigan Athletic and Blackburn Rovers are good enough?

It’s all well and good performing when things going well but the real character of a squad is shown when you’re not playing well and need to grind out a result.

The solution

As I have mentioned before, Arsene Wenger can help himself by taking the FA and Carling Cups seriously.

To win a cup competition you need that siege mentality, and that determination to win is severely lacking in most of the players at Arsenal. You play one off 90 minute games and the focus is getting through the match with the win. What better than trying in these competitions to get the squad that mental strength? You need character to win any cup competition and you’re tested all the time – there are many highs and lows in the cups and the players could do with being put in this high-pressure environment – where all that matters is winning.

Well you don’t need me to tell you this – look who were finalists/winners for this years Carling and FA Cup. Manchester United and Chelsea.

And would Arsenal fans mind a trip to Wembley and a trophy to celebrate?

Would they hell.

But is Wenger too stubborn to change his ideals? If so, he could be in for a very uncomfortable 12 months next season because the patience of the Arsenal fans is becoming to wear a little thin.

I don’t usually read other Arsenal blogs or websites, partly because I try to keep my views on Arsenal objective (what’s the point of rehashing the same opinions as someone else?) and partly because there’s so many sites now I wouldn’t have the time to read them.

Anyway, I did take a quick look at the Arsenal links on NewsNow, and I was pretty shocked at the vast majority of Arsenal fans who seem to want Arsene Wenger out.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m as disappointed as the next supporter, and I was at that disgrace of a game at the DW Stadium, but despite all that I firmly believe Arsene Wenger is the man to take Arsenal forwards.

First of all, as regular readers will know I am definitely not one of the “Arsene knows” brigade. I know Arsene Wenger has his faults; he can be extremely stubborn and some of the decisions he makes are baffling. But Arsene’s positive attributes far outweigh the negatives.

There is no co-incidence that the building of the Emirates has coincided with the clubs most baron spell in terms of honours. Yes, we’ve had 5 seasons now without any silverware but in 3 of those seasons, a bit more luck and we would have won two Premier League titles and a Champions League.

You might baulk at that suggestion but we reached the Champions League Final in 2006. Despite Lehmann losing the plot we still managed to go ahead, and if Almunia wasn’t so sh*t then we could have amazingly hung on. We all know about the title challenge of 2008 when Eduardo suffered that horrific injury, and even this season, with a fit again Robin Van Persie we would be top of the league right now. There’s no doubt in my mind about that.

Now people will point the finger at Arsene Wenger for all of those “unlucky” periods. They will say it’s his fault for having a rubbish backup goalkeeper, he should of had better cover for Eduardo back in 2008 and that this season, he should have brought in players in January, and that the squad was not strong enough.

But where do you draw the line?

One thing I find surprising when it comes to Arsenal blogs and websites is the ridiculous amount of transfer speculation going around during the year. We’re somehow linked to a million players and I can’t believe some Arsenal fans haven’t figured out that we only buy 2/3 players per summer and to ignore all the transfer rubbish from the newspapers.

I actually agree with Arsene Wenger when he says you can’t just bring in players when some get injured. What would you do if we brought in a striker and then Bendtner and Van Persie come back from fitness? You can say that for the rest of the team as well. You need to think long term.

People will go on about the 5 seasons without winning anything but football is about ifs and buts. You can’t legislate for certain things. What would Manchester United do if Rooney suffered his injury earlier on in the season? The same goes for Drogba or Lampard at Chelsea. Alex Ferguson clearly doesn’t have a backup plan if Rooney was missing for any real length of time yet he might win the Premier League this year. Yet if he pulls it off, I don’t think any Manchester United fan would be calling for him to be sacked.

As I’ve mentioned, Arsene has been hampered by the new stadium. Once we are back on track financially Wenger will spend, there’s no doubt about that. He has said many times that he won’t put the club in financial ruin and surely that’s a sensible thing to do. And the funny thing is that he is the one that has his head on the chopping block. If Arsene had the money of course he would spend it!

People forget the first few seasons – Wenger wasn’t afraid of spending big back then. He fact is he can’t right now. I don’t understand Arsenal fans who are calling for his head – a change of manager isn’t going to suddenly make a massive transfer budget appear from nowhere.

That said, I do believe that Arsene does need to change his priorities.

Arsenal should take the Carling Cup and FA cup more seriously. The Invincibles are all but gone and with that so has the winning mentality. We’ve seen against Wigan that no-one in the current squad (apart from Sol Campbell) knows how to win. That’s not a slight on the players, but it’s a fact, they haven’t won anything before at Arsenal. Arsenal need to instil that winning mentality by winning something, it doesn’t matter what. Arsene should see the domestic cups as a priority because they are trophies and Arsenal are more than capable of winning them.

And I don’t think Arsenal fans would complain about a trip to Wembley and something in the trophy cabinet.

Success breeds success and Wenger needs to realise this. And a good cup run would add to the “mental strength” that Arsene keeps referring to. Domestic cup competitions were great because you gain that “siege mentality”. You’re playing one-off games and need to win at any cost. That’s why Manchester United and Chelsea are so good at it (and were finalists this year if I’m not mistaken?). And it’s also the reason why they don’t lose stupid leads like we did against Wigan. The Carling and FA Cups would give our young squad the mentality to close out games because that’s the nature of the competition.

The Champions League doesn’t do that. It’s a glitzy Broadway show and a lottery to win. I personally wouldn’t mind sacrificing Europe for a successful domestic campaign.

Can Arsene Wenger change? I guess we will see this summer.