Can mentality really do this much to a group of players? Obviously it has because here we are. Don’t worry I haven’t forgotten about the loss of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. I usually do not count Samir Nasri who was often just a fantastic recycler of possession but when he wasn’t scoring goals, he wasn’t doing a great deal else in an Arsenal shirt. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that Nasri will become one of the best players in the world if he keeps improving but for large chunks of his Arsenal

Late blog today as my telephone line is down which also means that my internet connection has been dragged down with it. It is amazing how much we, or at least I rely on technology such as internet connection and mobile phones. Where were we before those days ey? We actually had to talk to people in real life. I know, crazy isn’t it.

Anyway, I have managed to wriggle away from the comfort of my own home to get some work done so I have the wifi vibes circulating around me once more, giving me the kind of powers that He-Man could only dream of.

If you didn’t already know that it was the International break then the start of this article tells you all you need to know. There is not much going on at the moment apart from a few quotes from Szczesny and Alex Song but I am guessing you’ve already read those already.

That Szczesny is a legends isn’t he? He talks like a proper Gooner. I like it.

I don’t actually know what to make of this International break, is it a good thing that we can digest the pain of White Hart Lane (part time poet) or do we want to jump straight back on the horse even though our arses are hurting like mad. Who knows?

I think I will use today’s blog as a type of clearing the mind by getting stuff off my chest. I hope you are a good listener.

Before the Carling cup we were title challengers who were in every competition. Theo Van Nasrigas were the best attacking group of players in the Premier League and we were the team in form. Post Carling cup we have been in relegation form. Not just pretend relegation form but actual real life four defeats from seven games relegation form.

Can mentality really do this much to a group of players? Obviously it has because here we are. Don’t worry I haven’t forgotten about the loss of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. I usually do not count Samir Nasri who was often just a fantastic recycler of possession but when he wasn’t scoring goals, he wasn’t doing a great deal else in an Arsenal shirt. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that Nasri will become one of the best players in the world if he keeps improving but for large chunks of his Arsenal career he received the ball, twisted and turned and passed it to someone else. His replacement has been very inconsistent so far but if he can find his feet and find good consistency then I believe he will give us more than Nasri without being technically as good if you catch my drift, or is that just wishful thinking?

What we are massively missing is the gifts that Cesc Fabregas has tucked away in his right foot. Cesc is an assist junky and we simply have nobody doing what he did. Wenger has reverted to a rotating three man midfield, all contributing to that job, all sharing the work load. Alex Song has done remarkably well, considering his job is primarily the player to stop the opposition from getting to our defenders. As well as he has done, we are asking box to box midfielders to be playmakers and so far that hasn’t worked anywhere near as much as we would have loved. This probably will improve as time goes on but by how much?

We miss what our former number four provided us with but this is certainly not all about Cesc Fabregas. Cesc was a part of our slump, he played post Birmingham City and his vision, passing ability and captaincy did not get us out of our rut.

Ever since the season has started we have practically stuck all our players in a big bag, shaken them up and down, then emptied eleven players on the pitch at almost random. New signings, suspensions and injuries have all played a big part in that and now we are seeing the result of that. Disjointed, not on the same wavelength, inconsistency. Confidence has whittled away because of it and now we are stuck in a super great big catch-22 full of depression mixed up with some hope.

Arteta hope, Coquelin hope, Chamberlain hope, Vermaelen hope-depression, Wilshere depression-hope-depression, Ramsey depression-hope-depression, Sagna hope-depression.

That list could go on but that is the way of Arsenal supporting life right now. I do not believe that we are anywhere near as bad as what is being made out and even what our results are telling us but currently the latter cannot be ignored.

So why not just sack the manager and bring in a manager who will coach defending? Why not get someone in who will cut out the basic errors that we continue to make? There are plenty of good managers out there who have won trophies. Why are we so desperate to hold onto a manager who hasn’t won a trophy for six years?

A ‘realist’ will snatch that A5 piece of paper and open it out several times to give you a bigger sheet of paper with plenty more questions that have to be answered before you reach the sacking conclusion.

So you find a manager who can organise his team defensively better than Arsene Wenger. Not such an impossible task I would imagine.

You then hope to find a manager who can continue the club’s identity of attacking football because this is not only just a style but this is how the club keeps itself as one of the biggest marketable clubs in world football. Arsenal are known as a stylish, attacking side who play good football. It is who we are. Even so, I imagine that there are plenty of managers, especially outside of the Premier League who play entertaining and attacking football.

Then it becomes a little more tricky. The club has been built on a foundation of young talented players coming through. The model of this club is to make profits on players who do not make the grade and improve the special youngsters like Szczesny and Wilshere who make it to the first team. Arsene Wenger has consistently improved players personal development for the last 15 years so I don’t suppose there are many managers as good as he is at doing that.

Then comes the toughest task of all. If all teams were on an equal footing, a level playing field even on the same ball park then Arsene Wenger would have done an awful job in the last six years and Alex Ferguson would be an absolute genius, which he could well be given the amount of success that he has brought to Manchester United.

Let us clear one thing up though when it comes to judging our manager. We can load the blame of most of the playing side if not all on his back, let us not add more that isn’t his fault. Our self sustaining model has always been in place. Well as far back as I can remember and that was before I even knew who Arsene Wenger was. The club have always had a strict wage structure. The difference is, in previous times players were grateful to sign a new deal regardless of the amount. Football has changed and players and agents have changed.

Arsene Wenger has had to work to constraints, he has had to build his teams with the resources afforded to him. Much of which he has pretty much had to make himself. The balancing of the books is not the manager feeling high and mighty and choosing to go head on with his rivals with one arm tied behind his back, it is the way of life at Arsenal and it has always been that way.

Arsene Wenger’s total net spend as Arsenal manager is £3,826,000 (http://www.transferleague.co.uk/league-tables/managers-comparisons.html) In the 15 years at our great club this manager has a net spend of just under £4m, has appeared in the Champions League every season and won trophies along the way. That has dried up but it is no coincidence that in the time we have been trophyless managers such as Jose Mourinho (£134,450,000), Carlos Ancelotti (£104,800,000) and of course Alex Ferguson (£182,560,000 which includes the £80m in for Ronaldo) have all spent hundreds of millions more than Arsene Wenger.

Wenger was able to out do a richer Manchester United because the distance between sustainable clubs and richer clubs was not impossible to bridge. It was bloody hard work and United won more than we did but Arsene’s brilliance in the transfer market allowed him to build a team with the quality to overcome Manchester United. These days the bridge has turned into a flyover.

This is not excuse making, this is facts. Cold, hard and clear facts. David Moyes gets lauded as a manager who is doing fantastic work with the constraints put on him. He has spent £7,450,500 net during his time at Goodison Park. He may well organise his teams well, he may well drill them defensively not to make stupid errors in matches but once he has spent the budget afforded to him which also includes current players wage contracts. Where next? What do we do when a manager needs £17m to buy a right back as good as Sagna? What happens when a different manager needs £22m to buy a central defender as good as Thomas Vermaelen? Where do you pick up another Cesc Fabregas for 500k or a van Persie for £2.75m?

Harry Redknapp (£18,450,000), David Moyes (£7,450,500) and Martin O’Neill (£88,900,000) have never finished above Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal yet are portrayed as gods gift to football management.

The arrival of Manchester City has made things much more difficult for Arsenal. We have had to suffer the impact of managers such as Mark Hughes (£218,500,000) and Roberto Mancini (£190,500,000) playing catch up with the top clubs.

Arsene Wenger has been hugely overachieving since he has been at Arsenal, he has done so because he is an exceptional manager who has some obvious flaws. Flaws that are bugging more and more Arsenal supporters. So much so that many want him to be replaced.

At the end of the day, I am an Arsenal man before any manager, player or board member. The club comes first but the reason why I support what Arsene Wenger does is because I think he is the best fit. Things have to improve but if there is a man to do it then it should be our manager.

Not everyone agrees with that and everyone is entitled to his opinion but I challenge you to find a manager who can improve on Wenger’s flaws, as well as matching or bettering what Arsene Wenger has been absolutely exceptional at doing. Would love to hear actual reasoned arguments and not just petty abuse. Good luck.

To quote Alex Ferguson “Get a big piece of paper and name some possible Wenger replacements. How many can you get? Probably none”