Please Sort It Out.

I'm pissed off. It's been a very long time since I wrote anything for this blog, partly because of work, but mainly because, for a long while, I didn't really have much to say. Now I do. I'm angry and I need to vent. What I'm angry about is the overwhelming sense that Arsenal Football Club is mugging me off. I'm sick of hearing Arsene Wenger spout shit about bad luck, injuries, potential… just give us the flipping truth mate and admit you've fucked up massively.

The frailties of the team were painfully evident in the early part of the season, which was not helped by the questionable decision to leave trading till the last minute for the sake of a few extra quid, or indeed by the decision, again money motivated, to choose the cheaper Per Mertesacker over experienced Premier League campaigner Gary Cahill. I'm not saying Mertesacker is a bad player, in fact he could end up being rather good, but putting financial considerations before football ones created uncertainty within the team, which was a key destabilizing factor in the miserable start to the campaign. New players need time to adjust, particularly ones from other other countries and other cultures, so all our business should have been done much much earlier.

As it happens, the manager and the players did remarkably well to rescue a seemingly hopeless situation, propelling the team from relegation zone to top four by Christmas, and this in spite of a defensive injury crisis that saw the squad shorn of every one of its full back options. Through a mixture of hard work and good fortune, they managed to negotiate the pre-Christmas period relatively unscathed, though it was clear for all to see that the team was far too reliant on Robin van Persie up front and stretched to breaking point at the back.

Instead of capitalizing on this good fortune at the start of January - signing players to cover at the back and providing proven support for the the lone goal threat - Arsene thought it prudent to keep hold of his cash and instead rest his hopes on players returning from injury and to form. Well, Arsenal lost three and drew one of their Premier League matches in January, looking sloppy at the back and being ineffective in front of goal, so this gamble seems to have been a gigantic failure. The fact that Jack Wilshere now looks set to miss the rest of the season, or at the very least the vast majority of it, makes the decision not to strengthen even more questionable.

Arsene, I'm addressing you directly now: please stop basing your transfer strategy on the best possible outcome.

You should have learned by now that things are very unlikely to work out this way. You may be right that, when everyone is fit, you have numerous options at the back and in midfield, but when in living memory has this ever happened? This season we have had to rely far too heavily on players being played out of position and one player in particular, Aaron Ramsey, being played into the ground. This is a young player, returning from a broken leg, who, like Wilshere last season, has probably played more football than is healthy.

Your hand has been forced somewhat due to the unavailability of Wilshere and the permanently injured Abou Diaby, but putting too much faith in these and other players winning their battles with injury and returning to make a meaning contribution is at the root of the problem. You need to legislate for, if not the worst case scenario, then at the very least the possibility that things might get a bit worse than you anticipate. It's called insurance. You're right to point out that you can't have 17 full-backs on the books, but it appears, as evidenced by QPRs loan move for Milan's Taye Taiwo, that there were temporary options available.

The re-signing of a club legend and the FA Cup rescue job against Villa, which surprised as much as delighted, should not fool anyone. The returning players will add some solidity at the back, but the most pressing problem right now seems to be up top. Aside from Robin van Persie, who can be relied upon to score goals? The answer appears to be no-one.

I can't be bothered to do the maths, but suffice it to say that the goal return from Chamakh, Park, Walcott, Arshavin, Gervinho, Arteta and Ramsey has been paltry. Particularly worrying is the contribution from the so-called strikers, Park and Chamakh. Honestly, these two are simply not good enough for the Premier League. When you compare them to the back up options at United and Man City, or even Newcastle and Liverpool, it's quite embarrassing.

What I don't understand is, did Arsene ever think they were good enough? I guess with respect to Chamakh, he really did, and with good evidence. This was a player out of contract and coveted across Europe thanks to his Champions League displays for Bordeaux. Arsene actually pulled off quite a coup securing his services - although he is no doubt on massive wages (this is a point I will return to). Van Persie's early season injury troubles in 2010-2011 accelerated Chamakh's route to the first team, and at first this met with surprising success, but his decline since that initial glut has been Torres-esque. I don't doubt that he has some ability but he appears bereft of confidence and unable to find a way back to form. Cut your loses, Arsene.

The Park signing seemed much more of a gamble. He had a respectable record in France and notably was being pursued by Ligue 1 champions Lille, but he was certainly not a proven quantity, and he appeared from a fan's perspective to be a bargain basement option when a marquee signing was being yearned for. In Arsene We Trust, though. That was the mantra. This guy must be good otherwise we wouldn't have signed him. Right?

Wrong. Park is still yet to start a Premiership game. Arsene, given the failure of Chamakh, why did you sign another striker with question marks hanging over his head? Foolish. If van Persie gets injured, we are completely fucked. Then we definitely won't make the Champions League, and RvP will leave. You will then have Chamakh and Park as your two most experienced strikers. Sad face.

How has it come to this? You have really ballsed things up and you need to listen to the criticism. Listen to it. Accept it. Do something about it.

Stop taking gambles in areas that need improvement. Buy some proven quality. And be more ruthless. Stop defending poor performances. You should shield your players from unfair criticism but if your players play shit, say so. And stop rewarding mediocrity. If you didn't have players like Denilson on (reputedly) 60 grand a week, you would be able to compete for players like Juan Mata, and keep players like Samir Nasri (ahem, cunt). Sport is a meritocracy. You might not like it, but that is the way it is.

Come on, show some ambition. You cannot continue to charge fans the highest prices in the country and not invest that cash in improving the team. People won't stand for it. So please, sort it out.