It has been a topic of constant debate all season long that came to a head after the4-1 humiliation on their own patch at the hands of Chelsea.
London's two biggest teams, face-to-face in front of a capacity crowd bathed in May sunshine. Instantly, it felt like a cup final, although in reality it was something of a play-off. Up for grabs, third place in the Premier League - and an unofficial Champions League bronze medal, both sides having been eliminated in the semi-finals during the week.
Arsenal attacked it like a final. They jumped out of the blocks like Asafa Powell and ran rings around Chelsea. The playmaking duo of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas owned the ball, and Theo Walcott latched onto everything in his path. It was good, fast, entertaining, dangerous football - Arsenal football.
But for all that early brilliance, the Gunners failed to register. Walcott shot wide time after time and Abou Diaby spurned a glorious chance in the box as he skewed an effort off Fabregas' laces. Such profligacy would prove costly.
Eventually the Blues found a foothold in the game; that was all they needed. A header from Alex, a fine effort from Anelka, a Kolo Toure own-goal and a third-time-lucky strike from Florent Malouda left Arsene Wenger left to rue his club's worst home defeat in 32 years - and their worst ever at the Emirates.
Arsenal were doomed to a trophyless season when Manchester United inflicted similar scars upon them on Tuesday. It has now been four years since the London club collected their last piece of silverware, and five since they won the league - in fact, they haven't even finished in the top two since 2005.
Obviously, there is something missing from the current crop at Ashburton Grove. This is old news, of course - fans and pundits alike have been screaming for years for Wenger to draft in some experience. So exactly what will it take to transform this young squad from boys to men?
Well, let's start with the weak links. There aren't too many of them, but the few that are there are rather crippling. The centre of midfield is the most obvious of these.
To demonstrate the problem, I'll throw you an interesting statistic. Of all the richly talented players on Arsenal's books, who do you think has played the most games this season? If you said Fabregas, Nasri or Bacary Sagna, you'd be wrong.
Denilson is the correct answer. Yes, Denilson - a player who has performed so averagely this season that Alexandre Song has actually looked good by comparison. You can talk about injuries all you like - but when such an embodiment of mediocrity is the mainstay of your engine room, you can't seriously expect to challenge for honours.
The other issues lies in the centre of the defence. Every combination of Toure, William Gallas and Mikael Silvestre has serious flaws - not least of which is the highly publicised falling-out between Toure and Gallas. Furthermore, none of them are tall and they have all proven rather inconsistent this term.
Then there's the lack of properly versatile, reliable performers. They have Emmanuel Eboue, but he's one of the most erratic players in the league. No, what's missing is an experienced, tidy, un-fussy player who you know will give a solid showing whenever called upon.
As Tony Cascarino told Goal.com recently, "While United have players like John O’Shea and Darren Fletcher who come in when needed and always do a job, Arsenal don’t. Wenger wouldn’t entertain having a 27/28-year-old who he could call on to come in and merely do a job for the team - he wouldn’t even entertain the idea."
You cannot dispute the attacking talent the club have at the disposal - any manager would dream of having Fabregas, Nasri, Walcott, Van Persie, Adebayor and Arshavin in his squad. But flair alone doesn't win you trophies, as has become painfully obvious in recent years.
So, we know that Arsenal need seasoned, top-drawer players to strengthen their spine, and a jack-of-all-trades who can plug all the gaps when necessary. I'll leave it up to others to speculate on exactly who Wenger should chase for these roles - but just how much does he need to spend?
To get a ball-park figure on the investment required, you need only look at the competition. Man United have regularly cracked £50 million per summer on player purchases in recent years; Liverpool are usually around the £40-45m mark. It would be foolish to suggest that Arsenal would (or should) emulate Chelsea's post-2003 figures, but they should at least be in the vicinity of what the two giants of the North West are forking out.
Despite the gaffer's notoriously stingy approach to the transfer market, money has never really been a problem for the Gunners. The board has come out time and again to say that 'Le Professor' can essentially sign whoever he wants. But that's simply not the way he operates; even with all the riches of the world in his pocket, he'd be balancing the books.
I've already touched on a certain Brazilian youngster whom I think should be got rid of, and I also think Song is nowhere near adequate. At least one of these players should be moved on to make room for someone who can actually make some sort of impact upon a game of football.
I'd also turf Gallas. Although the most talented of the stoppers, he has always been an unsettling presence within the team unit. His leadership is based almost entirely on ego, as uncovered by the events that led to his removal from the captaincy earlier in the season, and his performances haven't been good enough to cover up such faults.
Will these sorts of players generate enough cash to satisfy Wenger that he's not financially ruining the club by making a purchase of over £10m? Perhaps he may have to part with a player like Emmanuel Adebayor - important to the team, but a highly valuable striker and one whose commitment to the club has been questioned more than once.
Alan Hansen told Goal.com after the Champions League clash with United, "They also have a problem with Emmanuel Adebayor; on his day he can be unplayable but from what I’ve seen over the two legs, he looks a player who wants out of Arsenal to me."
Whichever way Wenger goes about strengthening the team is not important, the main thing is that it gets done. No more teenage gems, no more washed-up Frenchmen. Arsenal need a world-class holding player, a world-class central defender, and an O'Shea-class utility man. Anything short of that will see them battling for bronze again next season.
By : Mike Maguire
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