Before all the ‘Arsene Knows’ brigade jump aboard and have a go I do realise what the great man has done for the club, of course I do. He is the most successful manager in Arsenal’s history. He has transformed us into an mediocre side into one of the biggest four teams in the Premier League.

But some of things he comes out with are so ridiculous.

I’m not sure who his PR man is, but he’s not doing a very good job.

Arsene has come out and said he doesn’t know why he’s under pressure to buy a £40 million player.

Who the hell has actually said they want Arsene to spend that on a single player?

He said:

“It is not one player who makes a difference. It is up to us as a team to show personality, strength and belief. If we can find one more, we will do it, if not we will not limit our ambitions because of it.

“I do not know why we are always under pressure to buy £30m or £40m players.

“I am under pressure to buy good players – it is as simple as that. And good players are not always necessarily linked with the price.”

Talk about getting all defensive.

I’m sorry Arsene. We’re so sorry for putting you under so much pressure to buy a £40 million player. Because obviously the rumours of Messi and Kaka joining Arsenal won’t go away.

And talking about the team showing personality, strength and belief – I failed to see any of those things against Fulham at the weekend and the first match against FC Twente. Along with our paper-thin squad, we don’t have any desire on the pitch.

Am I the only one who thinks that a central midfield of Emmanuel Eboue and Denilson isn’t good enough to challenge for honours? Am I the only one who realises injuries are part of the game? Last January was a glaring example of how close the title was – just another player (no, not at £40 million) with a bit of experience would of helped.

I don’t want Robinho, I don’t want Ronaldo.

I just want half decent replacements for the players that have left, and Arsene can do that without breaking the bank. I don’t have specific examples, but with a scouting structure as good as Arsenal’s he should be able to pick out a few players. We’ve lost Gilberto, Lehmann, Hleb, Flamini, Diarra, Hoyte and Senderos, and the only player of quality that’s been brought in is Nasri, who is still very young.

And if you can’t get decent replacements, then why let them go!

You don’t have to be a genius to see it doesn’t add up.

I also don’t get the signing of light-bulb head. Arsene talks about bringing in experience yet he releases Gilberto, who has been there and done that. This is a player who won the World Cup and is a fantastic professional.

Let me say this though: I hope I am completely wrong.

I hope Arsenal fight for all the major honours and Arsene Wenger has the last laugh. I hope I look like a complete idiot as the season comes to a close. I hope come May I get put in my place, and get a torrent of abuse because I couldn’t see the forthcoming success. Unfortunately all the antics over the summer and the performances this season haven’t given me much confidence for the campaign ahead. And the signings of Silvestre and Bischoff just scream of desperation but Arsene will tell us all that “this season, we have the same numbers as last year”.

So that makes it okay then.

It doesn’t matter if the ‘numbers’ brought in are crocks and can’t even play for us. What the hell is going on?

The only saving grace tonight is that McClaren is completely shite at qualifying for major tournaments.

I’m going for a lie down.

A bit extreme? Maybe. Then again maybe not.

People will accuse me of jumping on the bandwagon after defeat at Fulham yesterday but since the summer there has been a general unrest amongst Arsenal fans.

But if anything I should have written this years ago. At least then it would have been more prophetic.

We lose experienced Premier League players such as Flamini, Hleb, Gilberto and Diarra, and apart from Samir Nasri the arrivals to replace them are hardly going to excite the fans.

We’ve brought Mikael Silvestre (£750k), Amaury Bischoff (Free) and Aaron Ramsey (£5m) – one of which is a 17 year old and the other two have big injury problems hanging over them. Our squad also contains Abou Diaby, Tomas Rosicky and Robin Van Persie who spend more time on the treatment table than on the pitch.

You can harp on about the state of the squad once we get our injured players back but it seems like Diaby and Rosicky are destined to never get a decent run in the side. And the purchase of Silvestre and Bischoff has most Arsenal fans scratching their heads – are we so desperate for players that we have to resort to injury-prone personnel?

Would Manchester United, Chelsea or Liverpool ever do that?

The fact is that since the invincibles season, we’ve become a selling club. Probably because of the Emirates Stadium. I mean look at Wenger – he’s waiting for the last week of the transfer window so we can get cut-priced players! We have no money, despite what crap you hear from Arsenal.
Just think of Arsenal as an Ajax Amsterdam.

People ask why didn’t Arsene strengthen the squad last January so we could push on with our title challenge? It’s because he’s got no money to do so. Remember Wenger had no problem forking out around £12 million for Reyes in 2004 to reinforce an already awesome squad. We were spoilt for choice that season. This was a squad that had a midfield choice of Wiltord, Ljungberg, Vieira, Edu, Gilberto, Pires, Reyes and Parlour. Players full of experience, power and excellent technical ability. At the weekend against Fulham we had Denilson and Eboue in central midfield. How on earth did things get so bad?

Since 2004 another trend that’s begun is the fortunes of departing players. We used to say that players leaving the club were going to see out their careers but is that really the case these days? Patrick Vieira left for Italy and he’s won the Italian league. Mathieu Flamini and Alexander Hleb have joined AC Milan and Barcelona – two of Europe’s real superpowers. Thierry Henry is at Barcelona too, and even Jose Antonio Reyes joined Real Madrid when he left. Wiltord went to Lyon and won a couple of French titles, and Ashley Cole is at Chelsea.

Hardly terrible destinations for those players are they?

I hate to say it but those players have got more chance of winning honours at their new clubs then they would do at Arsenal. And that is heart-breaking to even say.

And we haven’t even talked about Emmanuel Adebayor who wanted to leave the club in the summer. We keep hearing Arsene talking about how we should get off Adebayor’s back after the summer but that just reeks of desperate damage-limitation.

Things look to get worse before they will get better. And maybe that is the whole point.

Arsene’s policy on youngsters is obviously driven by the lack of funds at the club. Before the financial constraints he didn’t have a problem bringing in experienced players like Emmanuel Petit, Marc Overmars, Giles Grimandi, Nwankwo Kanu, Sol Campbell, Gilberto Silva – the list goes on.

The fact is Arsenal will have to go through a few more seasons without silverware before they can even consider challenging for honours. And the problem is you’re playing a dangerous game, because even when we are ready to compete in the transfer market again to buy quality players attracting the very top players is going to be difficult since titles speak volumes. Who is going to want to join a football club which has been trophy-less for years?

Arsene knows we’re in no state to challenge for the Premier League.

He’ll never say it in public, but he knows we’re miles off. That’s why he hasn’t spent anything! Why waste valuable money on buying players when we’re never going to win the title. Wenger is playing the waiting game and will only spend the money when he truly believes we can challenge for the biggest honours. But is that going to be in one, two or three years time?

That’s the big question.

And don’t even get me started on Gareth Barry. He is not the solution to our problems and has to be one of the most overrated players in the Premier League. On the state of the squad this season we need at least 3 or 4 experienced players to even think about challenging for the league, but we all know that’s never going to happen.

I’m sure you’ve all read the so called interview with Arsene Wenger, where he states that he intends to continue selling Arsenal’s prized assets in order to make a profit in the transfer market. This is apparently because of the costs involved in the Emirates Stadium.

While it’s highly unlikely Arsene actually said these things, it would be fair to say that Wenger’s policy in the transfer market much more prudent that most, especially when we’re talking about the top four clubs in the Premier League.

Every single summer we’re linked to players who are valued at over £20 million plus, but the real Arsenal fans know these rumours are just hot air. Partly because of our specific transfer policy and also because Arsene has always said it’s better to work with players who are hungry for success and have something to prove.

We say it time and time again but look at Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires, Thierry Henry, Freddie Ljungberg, Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole, Gilberto Silva et al – when Arsene introduced these players to the first team they had won nothing (except World Cup Winners Gilberto and Titi).

The policy never changes.

And the players that have come in afterwards are of the same ilk. Alexander Hleb, Tomas Rosicky, Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Adebayor, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna, Theo Walcott – quality players with massive potential who have yet to win any major honours.

And now we’ve got Samir Nasri.

But after 4 seasons in the Premier League wilderness the big question now is are we being left behind?

It does seem like the transfer policy gets tighter and tigher as the seasons and years go by.

When Arsene first arrived he brought in players like Marc Overmars and Emmanuel Petit to lift the team to another level and we achieved the double in that season. He then brought in Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg to strengthen the side even further the season after.

Don’t forget an injury-prone Overmars was £5.5 million and Henry was £10.5 million, which 10 years ago was a significant sum of money. Especially when you consider in roughly the same period Manchester United bought Andy Cole for £7 million, Dwight York for £12.6 million and Teddy Sheringham for £3.5 million, while Chelsea purchased Gianfranco Zola and Roberto Di Matteo for £4.5 million and £7 million respectively.

So it wasn’t as if we couldn’t compete on a similar level.

But today it seems like the gap is bigger than ever.

Manchester United spent a staggering £33 million on Rio Ferdinand in 2002, and only last year spent a combined £31 million on Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick. We know what Chelsea’s transfer budget is like and Liverpool spend big amounts too, like they did for Fernando Torres who was £20 million.

Arsenal just can’t compete with that.

We always point to how players who have left the club never reach the same levels of success they did with Arsenal. Vieira, Pires, Henry, Freddie and Edu are just a few examples of ex-players who fit that mould.

But is that really the case?

Because since they’ve departed we’ve hardly been racking up the trophies.

So when Myles says Arsene Wenger is the greatest spin-doctor football has ever seen you can’t really disagree with that. He has been selling us the future for the last 4 seasons and the bottom line is we have to yet again qualify for the Champions League.

It’s funny, because over the last few years I’ve always said that Liverpool don’t have a chance in hell of winning the Premier League. They rotate too much, drop to many points against the lower sides and play one-dimensional football. Don’t get me wrong, they are a decent side but when compared too Manchester United or Chelsea they don’t seem to have that something extra.

And I used to think Liverpool fans were delusional when they said they could win the league.

But maybe I’m the delusional one.

We would slate football pundits like Alan Hansen for writing off Arsenal’s title credentials but he wasn’t wrong in the end. It’s easy to see Arsenal through Wenger’s reality but the fact is my belief and hope is wearing thin.

I wrote a piece in April which expressed the soul crushing end to the season with a month of football to play. It talked about the massive desire from the team, the run of bad luck since Eduardo’s injury and Wenger’s unique vision on how football should be played.

I painted Arsene and Arsenal as some kind of victim and that’s how I felt at the time. It was as if we couldn’t have done anything to prevent the demise of our title challenge but looking back on it all the bottom line is Arsene could have – brining in some experience in the January transfer window could have made all the difference. It’s obviously easy to look at things in hindsight but a complete squad is essential in today’s game.

And ours just isn’t good enough right now.

A youth policy like Arsene’s used to have a future years ago but nowadays with big clubs buying established and experienced world-class talent the gap is just going to get bigger ang bigger.

Chelsea have brought in Deco, who despite his age is such a quality player. And what if they manage to prise Kaka away from AC Milan? No amount of youngsters in the world could compete against that team.

What a soul crushing end to the season.

I’m just so exhausted from the events of the last few weeks, I really am. As a dedicated Arsenal fan I feel the highs and the lows after victory and defeat, but for some reason I just feel like I’ve almost had enough.

Have we ever experienced a rough period like we’ve seen over the last couple of months?

It’s not because of the performances of the team. You see Arsenal give absolutely everything in the games against Chelsea and Liverpool and get nothing but a kick in the teeth in return.

I tried to be balanced in writing the match report after the Liverpool game but the fact is I’m still gutted now. I just couldn’t believe it. Arsenal did fantastically well to score the equaliser with 7 minutes left and then another dodgy decision stole victory from us.

It’s not as if we would have won anything from last nights game, since there’s still a long way to go in the competition but the manner of the defeat is just depressing. I haven’t felt this down since the 1999 FA Cup Semi-Final when Ryan Giggs scored that wonder goal at Villa Park. It took me weeks to get over that one, and isn’t it strange that it involved a Dutchman and a penalty?

You see Arsene Wenger impose his vision for beautiful football and can’t help respect it. Wenger wants to play football in the right way, which is the correct attitude to have.

Football is entertainment and people pay good money to watch it. It should be aspiration of any top side to play beautiful football rather than just win matches. Of course, winning is important but will we end up with teams of robots who just play functional football?

But it seems like everyone hates us for it and people like nothing more than Arsenal to lose football matches. Kick Arsenal about to stop them playing is the attitude here. It’s a massive accomplishment if you can somehow stop Arsenal. Whereas in Spain it’s all about technical ability and playing football. No wonder the English National team is a complete shambles.

Then you have the referees.

They say decisions balance themselves out over the season but where is our luck? Ever since the Eduardo incident I haven’t seen anything go in our favour.

Clichy’s tackle at the end of the Birmingham game was a valid one and he won the ball, Liverpool seem to have some sort of penalty kick hoodoo and other bad decisions have really gone against us in an unreal fashion. If anything I thought the ‘bigger’ sides got preferential treatment when it came to the major incidents. The problem is the damage is done, and we might get 10 dodgy penalty decisions in our favour before the season ends but at this stage they woudn’t mean anything!

And Arsene has always been an advocate of helping referees.

He says that technology should be used to help officials who can make mistakes. That’s not a criticism, but a fact of human nature. Referees will make mistakes. Surely a guy behind a TV screen who has a benefit of a replay can instantly tell the referee on the pitch if it’s a right or wrong call.

And if this was implemented and players knew that every decision was based on replay evidence then they would stop cheating and diving, because they would know they wouldn’t get away with it.

Then you have the media.

How many times does Wenger get slated for not playing Englishmen? Every time the England National side is in the press all the attention focuses on Arsene Wenger. Why is he responsible for the state of the National team?

There does seem to be this anti-Arsenal bias in the media based mainly on things like the England team. Then that spreads to other criticisms.

And then there is the media and the referees.

Football is almost a 24 hour sport now and you need these kind of things to keep people interested. The Newspapers love it, the Sports Channels love it – it’s all part of the game they say. It’s pretty obvious officials won’t get the help needed to make football a fairer game because it would ruin the whole theatre that is football. What would Sky Sports News report about on their 24 hour news channel? What would the experts on Match of the Day talk about? The media have so much power that the use of replays and technology will never happen.

It’s all “part of the game”.

And the really annoying part of all this is all these bad decisions are just brushed under the carpet. The media will paint Wenger as a moaner, which sells newspapers. There’s nothing like a bit of controversy to sell right?

Wengers belief and motivation in his whole philosophy of how the game should be played is probably being tested like it never has been before.

He revolutionised training methods in this country and helped the Premier League reach another level as a whole. When he won the double in his first full season at the club it forced Fergie to improve his team and then he won the treble 12 months later.

Then there’s also the ex-Arsenal players.

Arsenal must have more ex-players in the Premier League than any other side. There’s Kanu, Campbell, Lauren, Diarra, Volz, Aliadiere, Larsson, Muamba, Ljungberg, Ashley Cole, Pennant, Bentley and Stuart Taylor. I’m sure there’s more but I can’t remember right now.

It’s like we’re a feeder club and making other sides stronger.

And what do we get in return? Players like Bentley, Cole and Pennant slagging off Arsene Wenger!

You would probably find it hard to find a man who has contributed more to football in this country and this is how he gets treated.

So is it too much to ask to get a fair whack at things?

And look at this weekend’s game with Manchester United. In any other circumstances, people would want the underdog to win so that it would setup an exciting finish as the title race comes to a close. But you get the feeling that everyone would love Arsenal to continue their poor run and get beaten once again rather than the league leaders lose.

People would just love it if we got tanked on Sunday.

I’ve almost had enough of it all. I’m not actually sure if anything I’ve written actually makes sense. I’m just down right now and you’ll have to excuse me. Thanks for reading anyway.

Well with impeccible timing as always, Arsenal’s greatest ever manager Arsene Wenger has finally signed his contact extension which means he will stay until 2011 – and who knows maybe beyond that.

Since joining in 1996 from Grampus Eight in Japan, Arsene has transformed Arsenal from a decent team into a title-winning side. The 1997/98 season – his first full season in England – was sensational, and his revolutionary training methods and attitudes to football, nutrition and fitness have become the milestone for the rest of the Premier League clubs.

Has any other manager been so influential?

All Arsenal fans knew that the man would sign, but as long as the contact hadn’t been signed then you would get all the press speculation that he might leave.

But we all know he has some unfinished business.

Currently building his 3rd Arsenal team, it would be ridiculous to even suggest he would leave without seeing how all his hard work will develop and compete for honours.

The news of Arsene’s extension is a welcome diversion from all the rubbish surrounding David Dein and a possible takeover. Whatever happens in the future – until 2011 anyway – Arsenal will always be Arsene Wenger’s club.

And that is great news.

And as ever, the most important thing to Wenger is the team – so he announces he is staying during the boring International week so it doesn’t take anything from his players or their wonderful start to the season.

Arsene Wenger has contributed so much to football in the last 11 years he has been at the club and what he has done with Arsenal Football Club is simply astounding.

Who else in world football with a top football club has the balls to nurture a young side and play stylish football in the process, especially in an age where winning is everything?

Who else would pass up on proven superstars and create his own?

Arsene Wenger is literally one in a million.