Open disunity shames the club. Thoughts on United and the last few weeks.

It's undoubtedly been a bad few weeks for the club. Speaking to a friend before the United match I suggested that the previous five weeks had been the worst I'd seen us consistently play as a team in the 15 years I've been going to Arsenal. And after the match, we remain pointless in 2012.

But I do think people have suffered from raised expectations. The run of form from late October to early December coincided with a wonderful run of form for Robin van Persie, who along with a couple of others, carried the team up the table.

I look at this team and it's not the fourth best in the Premier League. It will be a lot closer with Sagna, Santos and Wilshere, but the expectancy that your first-choice team will and should be able to play the whole time is naive. When has it ever happened in the last five seasons? Incredibly rarely.

For what it's worth I think Abou Diaby is one of the most talented players at the club, and if fit, could provide drive and attacking vigour from midfield. But he's not fit and he's hardly ever fit so it's irrelevant.

And it's why I think the injuries are a poor excuse. We've definitely missed having any full-backs, but having seen the performances against Fulham and Swansea, I'm unconvinced they'd have helped that much.

I really like Mikel Arteta but he doesn't create enough chances. Neither do Aaron Ramsey, Gervinho or Walcott. One man who can create chances is Van Persie, but because he's starved of service, he now tries to find a way to shoot almost every time.

The sheer ineptitude of our attacking play in the last six weeks - I'd go back as far as Everton - has been the main problem. Which is why I was so shocked by the booing on Sunday.

Andrey Arshavin is a good player but he's not a winger and it shows. Wenger made a great change in bringing Chamberlain in and it worked, as we actually showed some real attacking purpose for the first time in ages, Wolves aside.

As it happens, I think the substitution was wrong - I think Walcott should have made way, and the fallout will have an impact on the rest of our season. Theo has played dreadfully recently and will never have the quality of Shava.

But I cannot fathom why people booed. Did they think he was suddenly going to change his mind and leave the Ox on?

It left a bitter taste in my mouth. And most importantly, it lacked all the class that 'The Arsenal' are known for. Booing your own manager in the midst of one of the biggest games of the season when there's an important three points at stake? Unbelievable.

Considering we hear ad nauseam about how the Premier League is the most popular League worldwide, I'd worry about further ramifications: it was unlikely before Sunday that a player of Gotze or Hazard's caliber would come to play for Arsenal; if they've seen how the home crowd react in a match of this importance to what was a reasonable (if incorrect) substitution, why would they want to come here?

Defeat to United in of itself is not a terrible result. We were unlucky to lose the game and played loads better than in the previous few matches.

But the spiral of negative stories around the club which the crowd - and, to an extent, the Captain's reaction - has caused will have a much greater impact on our season.

There are some winnable matches ahead, and we could well defeat AC Milan in the Champions League, but to do that, the club needs to stick together.

It's bad enough the referees hate us; fans should quit hating, and start supporting the team.

Keep the faith.

Arsenal's recent form is what you should expect - sort of

The thing which everybody forgot was that it was hardly a great Arsenal side which challenged so strongly until March last season.

Tears were spilt on deadline day 2010 over a refusal to buy a veteran keeper; the centre half whom everyone insisted we signed turned out to be not much cop; the side as a whole was very dependent on Marouane Chamakh and Samir Nasri in the first half of the season, Robin van Persie in the New Year. On top of this, the captain and best player Cesc Fabregas was injured for half of the season.

And yet, this was a team which arguably should have won the League.

What was easy to forget in the midst of that wretched run of form from March until September, was that there was a reason that Arsenal were challenging for all the trophies. Partly, it was good performances - beating Chelsea 3-0 particularly springs to mind; but a lot of it was about other teams not playing very well.

This came in two ways: first, the opposition were poor. Although there were some great individual performances from Arsenal players, the poverty of teams like Wolves, West Ham and Birmingham was striking to behold. In fact, what was so frustrating about our results at the end of the season was that the teams didn't even play particularly well.

The 3-2 defeat to West Brom last September at least saw some excellent attacking play from the Baggies; defeats to Stoke and Villa were largely self-inflicted, clear by-products of our poor defending and inexplicable lack of inspiration in midfield, rather than the result of the opposition playing particularly well.

The second reason we were doing so well was that the other big teams had clear deficiencies, some of which remain: Man United had a lightweight central midfield which led to them being over-run on occasion; Chelsea's experienced squad at times looked very old, and ended up in a terrible run of form mid-season; and Man City, the great success story of the season thus far, couldn't play as a team.

To be sure, our three rivals of last season have improved. United strengthened their team (although their improvement has been greatly exaggerated), Chelsea have changed their tactics under AVB and look more competitive, and City have gelled as a team; it's this which will preclude us from winning the League this season.

But the poor teams in the Premier League remain. Sure West Ham and Birmingham went down, but Blackburn and QPR are equally bad.

And this is a good Arsenal team. Not a great Arsenal team, but a good Arsenal team. Heck, keep Szczesny, Vermaelen, Wilshere and RVP fit at the same time (unlikely, I know) and they could challenge for a League title.

Which is why when the fixture list gives us a kind run like this, we should win seven out of eight matches. We should expect it - we just shouldn't expect to win away at Chelsea.

With no Drogba and Arsenal coming into the match with momentum, I certainly give us hope; but I have realistic expectations for this season. And providing you accept that our ambition should be to finish in the top four, I think you'll actually have an enjoyable season.

Keep the faith.

Blogging about Arsenal is painful at the moment. Post-Blackburn thoughts.

Blackburn Rovers 4 Arsenal 3

For all I said that it was time pressures which precluded me from blogging as much as I used to, it's also that I don't really see the point of writing the same thing over and over again, especially when other people are also writing the same thing.

What am I supposed to say? Blackburn are truly abysmal and Steve Kean is one of the worst managers in Premier League history.

If there was any team we should be able to beat, it's them: they're in even worse form than us (probably), and trailed twice. And yet we lost the game.

How many teams could have 43 shots on goal over two away games, score five goals, and still lose both games? It is beyond a joke.

I have never seen a team flood the opposition with confidence like this Arsenal team, and it sure doesn't feel seven months ago that we beat Barcelona at home.

For what it's worth, I'm not sure we've ever got over the Van Persie red card in the Nou Camp.

We don't need a defensive coach, so much as a sports psychologist who can sort these guys out mentally.

It's all very depressing. If you want to find out what happened during the match, the Guardian has a match report here.

The nadir. Man United 8 Arsenal 2. Eyewitness report.

Man United 8 Arsenal 2

A terrible, terrible performance brought a terrible, terrible result. Make no mistake, this was the nadir of Arsene Wenger's time in charge.

For an hour we were outclassed but somehow were in the game at 3-1 down. Then we removed our holding midfielder and put an attacking player on to try and get a result, and conceded five goals in half an hour.

That's not meant to be an excuse. You know something has gone seriously tits up when Henri Lansbury is subbed on for Theo Walcott to play right back. It was tactically negligent. Maybe if we'd scored the fifth goal it would have been a different game, but when you're introducing a 17 year old debutant to try and change the game, something's not quite right.

I don't feel there's any point going into the match in any depth - none of the team covered themselves in glory (Coquelin, possibly, excepted) - but who expected them to.

There have been bad defeats in the Wenger era before - 5-1 to Spurs, and 5-0 to Chelsea - but those were in the Carling Cup with weakened teams.

The most depressing thing about yesterday is that it was the best team we had available.

And despite all that, amidst all the media hype, things aren't nearly as bad as the media would like you to think they are.

Real Madrid lost 5-0 away to Barca last year with none of their players being red-carded until the 93rd minute and won the Spanish Cup, reached the Champions League semi-final.

Strip away the hyperbole, and you have a manager who every player who leaves ends up praising, and a coaching set-up which consistently brings through young players who are talented.

Sure the United team was marginally younger, but would Rosicky start under ideal circumstances? Both teams had three players who had come through the academy in their teams. The difference was that United were able to spend big money on Anderson and Rooney, when we dealt in the bargain basement, signing players like Song and Bendtner.

And when they bought 20 million pound players, we bought ten million pound players? I'd rather have Theo Walcott than Ashley Young (though I'm probably in a minority there), Samir Nasri instead of Nani, and Fabregas instead of Carrick.

The issue at Arsenal is two-fold for me. Firstly, it's a question of personnel. I felt we were very close last year, and if Chesney had been keeper all season things might have turned out differently; but we were still without decent back-up at centre back, and now we've missed out on Phil Jones to boot.

And yet, since last season, we've lost a top-quality Premiership left-back, still failed to strengthen at centre back, and lost the best midfielder in the Premier League. I'm prepared to accept that Gervinho is a good replacement for Nasri, but that still leaves the other three positions.

Aside from United pressing better yesterday, they used possession a lot more effectively; where was our playmaker for the front three? Judging by yesterday's performance, Aaron Ramsey isn't up to it at present.

The other issue was at full-back: Carl Jenkinson has merits insofar as he's not Eboue but he lacks experience; Armand Traore lacks everything a good footballer should have.

I don't advocate the 'spend spend spend' philosophy of other clubs, but I think when you lose your best player, as well your first choice left back, and then you don't replace them, it's unsurprising the team looks weak.

But it's not easy when you're missing Vermaelen, Sagna, Gibbs, Diaby, Wilshere and Nicky Bendtner, along with the suspended trio - the squad players are playing, so the consequence is the bench looks weak.

I don't think we're as weak as all that. I think with three decent signings before the window closes (a left back, a centre back, and a marquee midfield player), we could really turn things around.

It's easy to trot out stats about it being a terrible start to the League season, but we're one point down on the corresponding three matches last season.

The bigger test will be not dropping cheap points at home against the lesser teams.

I think with those signings, we could do pretty well this year - and by that I mean finish 3rd.

But to do that, the other thing which needs to improve is the morale around the club. I was in Manchester yesterday and the away support really was excellent, but we need to see that at home.

There's a malaise surrounding the club, which is affecting the players. In short, they lack confidence on the pitch, mainly because of this dreadful run of form which stretches back six months.

Now, more than ever, we need to get behind the team and the manager. There's a reason all ex-players speak so highly of Arsene.

Keep the faith.

We created so little. Liverpool match report.

Arsenal 0 Liverpool 2

It's not as bad as some people are saying it is, but it sure ain't great either. By my reckoning, the choice for the holding midfield role against United is between Francis Coquelin and Craig Eastmond. It's hardly encouraging.

But equally, if you wanted an example of why spending tons of money isn't necessarily a good thing, look at Liverpool on Saturday: for 65 minutes against a very poor Arsenal side all they created was a couple of headers which were easily saved by Szczesny. Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam were rubbish, Downing was anonymous, and Andy Carroll's movement was predictable.

It's this, in a sense, which is so encouraging. Spurs are dreadful, Everton worse, so if you were looking for a team to take the fourth Champions League place it would be Liverpool; and yet, against an Arsenal side which finished with ten men, and included Jenkinson, Miquel, Frimpong, Ramsey and Lansbury, they couldn't break us down until the sending off.

Or, alternatively, until the introduction of Luis Suarez. The malaise isn't as bad as some would have it, but our lack of creative players is troubling. When you sell Nasri and Fabregas, you have to look round and see who's going to replace them?

And there's nobody there.

Wilshere is injured, Rosicky and Diaby can't be relied upon to play two games in a row, Walcott isn't suited to our system, and Gervinho's start has hardly been auspicious. I have faith that Chamberlain and Miyaichi will be good players for us, but they shouldn't be first-choice back-up at the age of 18.

I'm confident that the manager will rectify things, but the next couple of games are difficult matches, and defeat to Udinese would be terrible financially.

On the plus side, if you were to ask why Liverpool struggled to break us down, the answer would be pretty solid defence. I think s lot will depend this season on us being able to play Vermaelen and Koscielny together. If we can, it might not be nearly as bad as some people are saying it will be.

I hope everyone gets behind the team tomorrow against Udinese.

It's clear that when you lose the best creative midfielder in Europe, and also one of the best young wingers, things aren't ideal, and that showed in the lack of opportunities we created. But if we qualify, there's still a week left to bring in two or three players. And if there's one thing the Liverpool match should have taught us, it's the impact that one really good player can have.

Keep the faith.

Good to win a game. Udinese match report and Liverpool preview.

Arsenal 1 Udinese 0

Let's get one thing clear: the media reporting of this match was distinctly odd.

We were without our best player through suspension, and Arshavin didn't play. We had to deal with two defensive reshuffles in the course of the game because of injury. And crucially, Udinese played very well, with Chesney making a string of excellent saves.

And yet, rather than being congratulated on a committed performance which won the game, we're told Arsenal looked 'sketchy', 'disjointed', 'lacking creativity'; all of that has some truth. But to then suggest that it has 'added to the malaise' around the club is ridiculous.

I don't know how hard this is, but we won the game. And over the last few months, we haven't won many games.

The goal was a well-worked move between two talented young players, and our defending (which has so often come in for criticism), was well-disciplined and, generally, in command: Udinese had few chances.

I'm not trying to suggest it was a brilliant result; but when you read the media fawning over Manure's win over West Brom, about how they come through even when not playing their best, the portrayal of Arsenal's performance seems more than a little unfair.

Sure, we need a couple of midfielders, but if you read the papers, you might think this season will be armageddon for Arsenal.

All of this said, the return leg will be nervy, and I may well have to bake a lucky carrot cake.

Today it's Liverpool, the match which upset me so much last year I almost packed this blog in. I'm anticipating a similar game to last year, but we've now sold Eboue...

I think a lot depends on RVP, who was starved of service last week, but I am going to predict a win.

Keep the faith.

Same old, same old. Newcastle match report.

Frankly, I might as well just cut and paste different bits from match reports from last season.

Apart from better defending, everything I watched today I've seen before: Arsenal denied a perfectly good penalty; Arsenal player sent off in ridiculous refereeing injustice; Joey Barton being a Grade A tosser.

It was a very odd match. After pressing for the first few minutes we dropped off and let Newcastle have a sizeable amount of the ball. There was no thrust to our play apart from Gervinho's dribbling, and pretty much zero chance of us scoring. Van Persie was isolated and Rosicky isn't Cesc.

But equally, we appeared very solid defensively. It underlines the point I've been trying to make all summer: the centre back we want to sign is somebody better than Seb Squillaci, but somebody who is going to be 3rd/4th choice. And it's hard to find somebody of the requisite quality who doesn't command a huge fee.

All of this said, I think it's easy to read too much into the defensive display: ignoring the controversial incidents, this was a very boring match in which very little happened.

So, to the incidents: first let me say that Alex Song is an absolute cretin. You can arguably make the excuse that Gervinho doesn't know about Joey Barton, and that it's hard not to react. Song, on the other hand, just stamped on Barton. He'll be banned for three matches and quite right too - and consequently we'll be without our best holding midfield player against United. Terrific.

But it was incident number two which has sparked all the conversation.

Jack Wilshere had this to say:

That is not football! I am pretty sure abu diaby got sent off for that last year!less than a minute ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® Favorite Retweet ReplyJack Wilshere
JackWilshere

To be honest, I think Jack misses the point. Abou reacted last year with a push after a bad tackle by Barton.

This year, Gervinho did nothing wrong, and Barton tried to grab him by the neck. It's completely ridiculous, not least because it was a penalty.

And it particularly upset me, as if you watched Gervinho all afternoon, he was constantly dribbling into the box and making dummy movements trying to get the defenders to foul him. Finally, Tiote ankle-tapped him and yet the penalty wasn't given.

On top of that, Gervinho was sent off, and Barton got away with what was essentially assault. As I say, same old, same old.

Ultimately, worse things happen than drawing away at Newcastle, particularly as we played pretty poorly. But equally, the next three matches are tough. I think the week ahead could be very interesting. Defeat to Udinese and no signings, and the stadium could be a horrible place to be come next Saturday.

Keep the faith.