It is time for the Arsenal Fans to show their quality

We aren’t quite in crisis yet but we on a downward spiral and heading for crisis point very quickly.  Indeed, this is easily the worst phase of the Wenger years.

It’s difficult to know where to start or what to say. Yesterday’s 3-0 defeat to a team we should always beat was not unexpected and Burgervan feels that it is completely pointless to place blame. We are in such a bad way that the fans, more than ever, need to come together and get behind the manager and the team. Only through solidarity can we get through this. The manager has a tough job ahead of him instilling confidence in these players. They have had a run of poor results, they have internal strife borne of their immaturity and lack of leadership, they have been betrayed by their captain, and they are playing very badly. The last thing they need is for the fans to turn against them. Likewise, the manager has delivered unprecedented success to the Arsenal and now, in his hour of need, we need to pay him back for the years of glory by giving him our support until he can put this (self-made) mess right.

Whoever Arsene chooses as Captain has a tough job ahead of him, healing the rifts, bringing factions together (if there are any) and leading the team out of the quagmire. It will probably be Fabregas, but I would not be adverse to seeing Kolo Toure take on the responsibility. He has been an excellent ambassador for the Arsenal over the years and you never see him saying anything inappropriate to the press.

Gallas was dropped yesterday, expectedly. The player has performed professional hara-kiri, but despite this Wenger has behaved in a dignified manner that does him great credit. When questioned about Gallas after the game, Wenger said "There is nothing to clarify. Of course (he has a future) but we do not speak about the players who have not played today. It is disrespectful."

Burgervan hopes that Gallas doesn't have a future at the club, indeed, he MUST be sold (not given away - he hasn't earned the right to a free transfer) as soon as possible.

I don’t think that there is any question now that the squad just isn’t good enough. We’ve sold our way into this mess and now we need to buy our way out of it. As it unfolded we knew that it was a bad idea to strip the team of its experience and now with the benefit of hindsight we can see that while youth and vigour are excellent qualities in a team, they can only work in balance with experience and toughness. When Arsene argues that we have experience and points to the number of games certain players have started etc he misses the point entirely. The kind of experience we are missing isn’t simply based on the number of games a player has played. It is based on winning trophies, having been through the many and varied experiences that football throws at you and come out the other side. It is about having been around the block. These aren’t qualities that are just time based. Many of our players have many games under their belts but haven’t actually done anything. Ach! It’s such an old argument now and we all know it can only be solved by spending some of this cash we have sitting around and bringing in some experience. Trouble is of course that the longer all this goes on the less likely we are to attract top players, particularly if we fail to get into the Champions League. A failure that would have serious consequences across at all levels of the club.

The January Transfer window is drawing closer. One would hope that work is already underway to bring players in. Until then COME ON THE ARSENAL!