Arsene Wenger has come under a lot of pressure from Arsenal fans recently but after watching today’s performance against Newcastle it’s hard not to see that some of the players who put on an Arsenal shirt are just not upto it, or worse believe their own hype.

The only player who I thought had a decent game and tried to make things happen was Gael Clichy – and he’s our left back!

We know Arsene won’t throw tea cups or even shout at his players but it’s clear this current Arsenal squad doesn’t have enough winners. Players who will fight on the pitch and have that fire inside them to win.

I’m not sure that a lot of these players have this winning mentality.

Too many off these players have no problem in motivating themselves for games against Manchester United and Chelsea but they’re not interested if it’s against Everton, Newcastle or Sheffield United.

They only perform in big games because they know that’s where the glamour is. There’s no attraction or headline-making stories when you beat a Watford or Charlton Athletic.

Okay, we’re fourth in the table and don’t have anything to play for but Bolton Wanderers and Everton aren’t exactly a million miles away in threatening the final Champions League spot.

And if Arsenal don’t start winning then our fears of playing UEFA Cup football alongside a team like Spurs could become a frightening reality.

Wenger has installed a beautiful football ethos throughout the club, from the youth teams to the reserves and straight through to the first team.

We know what Arsene will and won’t do.

He won’t buy big name players with reputations.

He hasn’t changed his style of play for ten years and he won’t start now.

But what Arsene will try and find is players who fit his system and style of football. Unfortunately the players he has brought in and he has at his disposal don’t look like being enough.

But what can Wenger do once the players enter the pitch as start the game?

He has to hope that the players listen to him and perform like they can do.

Unfortunately over the past few games the players have let him down.

The away performances against Liverpool, Everton and Newcastle were lacklustre and absent of any urgency, motivation and passion.

And despite a poor result against West Ham at least the players looked motivated at the Emirates but the players have to perform – or at least try – in every game.

There’s not much Wenger can do looking on from the touchline – the players have to put their acts together and start performing.

After defeat at Goodison Park and Anfield could Arsenal get things back on track against West Ham?

Well the only small positive we could take from this season was the unbeaten record at the Emirates.

But this afternoon at team who started the day second from bottom ended that run.

Could things get any worse?

I could go into detail about how Arsenal dominated the match but in the end wastefulness in front of goal cost Arsenal yet again. Although credit to Arsene, he dropped Aliadiere and Baptista to the bench.

But Adebayor was supported by Rosicky, Freddie & Hleb – hardly prolific in front of goal this season!

The ironic thing was that despite the injuries to Henry and Van Persie, you would say that Arsenal had the strongest possible team out on the pitch against West Ham.

The starting line-up was:

Lehmann, Eboue, Clichy, Toure, Gallas, Fabregas, Gilberto, Freddie, Hleb, Rosicky & Abebayor.

You couldn’t get any stronger than that really.

Arsenal had 25 shots and 11 of those were on target, while West Ham had 5 shots in the entire game.

But I suppose that’s been the story of our season.

Well Liverpool were after some sort of revenge after 3 drubbings from Arsenal already this season with a 3-0 win at the Emirates, and the two cup wins in the FA and Carling Cups. Unfortunately we obliged and Liverpool beat us convincingly 4-1.

To be fair, Adebayor hit the post twice when it was 3-1 and on another day it could have been 3-3 at that stage. Totally undeserved of course but I wouldn’t have complained about it! But as the clock ticked down man of the moment Peter Crouch sealed the game and scored a hattrick.

How embarassing.

Arsenal were just not at the races and you can’t face a team like Liverpool and put in a performance like that. The only players who had a decent game were Gallas, Lehmann and Adebayor – the others were just not interested.

But without Henry, Van Persie, Gilberto (and Freddie & Rosicky starting on the bench) than your always looking at an uphill struggle.

During the game I questioned whether this Arsenal team has enough winners but I suppose it’s hard to motivate yourself when there’s nothing to play for. But then again there’s enough reasons to be motivated, including playing for the fans and the fat wage packet.

And after the match there were more answers than questions.

The fact is that Julio Baptista is not good enough. With Arsenal trailing 1-0 he had a fantastic chance to equalise but got his shot closer to the corner flag than the goal. When you see his form in the Carling Cup and in the Premiership it’s like seeing two completely different players – or maybe it’s because the Carling Cup is an easier competition.

We also know that Cesc is completely burnt out. He had the ball in good positions today but only succeeded in losing the ball and looking sloppy all afternoon. Give the boy a rest!

And with Arsene looking to start Diaby for the remaining fixtures this season it looks like he has a lack of faith in his low-scoring wide men. Arsenal have missed goalscoring midfielders such as Overmars, Pires and Freddie in his prime and playing Diaby there instead of Hleb, Rosicky and Freddie shows that Wenger’s not happy.

William Gallas is a warrior in defence and thank god we’ve got him next season. Toure can at times look lost and Gallas should hopefully help our inexperienced defence.

And finally, the drubbing at Anfield has shown us what we already knew – you can’t have injuries to several key men and still fight for honours.

Let’s hope we show more fight in our next match!