With Chelsea conceding a last minute equaliser just before kick-off, there were some eternal optimists at the Grove who could see Chelsea’s tough final fixture at Goodison Park as a route for Arsenal to sneak back into a respectable second position. Sadly, another demoralising showing could well see us finish fourth and the sparse ‘lap of appreciation’ suggested Arsenal are heading towards breaking point; too many over paid, underperforming players and too many fans who can barely afford tickets, reluctantly paying their wages.

With The Arse following in our captain’s footsteps by taking a rest before the final game of the season, our latest capitulation provides the perfect excuse to conduct a depressingly familiar end of season post mortem and kick-start the silly season.

We started the game on Sunday with no sense of purpose and Aston Villa had enough belief to punish us. So often our sluggish starts go unnoticed as the opposition are only set up to stifle us but Darren Bent’s invaluable striker’s instincts gave Villa an early cushion.

We gradually came back into the game and, in truth, were on the wrong end of some very poor refereeing decisions from the youngest referee in the entire football league. Bad luck is not something that can be blamed but an interesting feature from Opta showed that we would have run away with the league title if all shots that had hit the woodwork in the Premier League this season had gone in. In many respects we are not far away but bad luck is an easy excuse and begins to explain the culture that has developed at the club.

Arsene Wenger will never publicly criticise his players and will blame referees, scheduling and fatigue before the players, which is to be expected, but there is a feeling that they are allowed to get away with poor performances and player power seems to have had a big effect on our youngsters. They are given big contracts to attract them to the club and these are renewed regularly, seemingly regardless of performance to ensure that they are not able to leave the club on the cheap. However, this can cause complacency which means, even if we did want to sell a player for underperformance, very few clubs are stupid enough or rich enough to match their wages or give us a decent fee.

Some players will still be self-motivated enough to succeed but some will be very happy with their wage packet and will relax into a comfort zone. This is human nature but even if it is something that only happens sub-consciously, it can have a very negative impact, particularly once you get to the very top of a profession. These players must be very driven to have got to where they are, but once you are rewarded as handsomely as top class footballers, it is only natural that some will begin to relax. This situation can only be exacerbated at Arsenal where we have so many young players who have found fortune and regular first team football at such a young age.

The obvious recipe of success to look to is at Manchester United where Ferguson has managed to mix young emerging talent with very experienced players who have had the motivation to keep going at the very top and who provide a perfect example to the younger players. We have too many at the same stage of their careers and it has caused déjà vu to strike in the closing stages of every season since we moved to the Grove. Excuses are made for the players who underperform at crucial stages and they seem to wallow in self pity for the rest of the season. Since the Carling Cup Final, nearly 3 months ago, we have only beaten Leyton Orient, Blackpool and Man Utd. It is symptomatic of a team with a fragile will to win who have no one to show them the way.

One of the most worrying facets of this situation is that the manager seems to be unable to illicit a response from the team even though he should be the man leading the way. His distraught appearance on the sidelines cannot be helping the team’s downward spiral since the Carling Cup debacle and there needs to be a major change this summer, if not in manager then at least in the manager’s approach.

“6 per cent, you’re having a laugh” echoed around the Grove on Sunday as yet another 60k plus attendance was announced despite swathes of seats remaining empty for the entire 90 minutes. The only way the club will be able to justify such a hike in prices will be serious investment in players which could finally rectify the balance that Wenger has been unable to find with such a plethora of youngsters. This hike in prices has definitely put a wedge between the club and the fans but, it must surely mean that the manager will be buying proven quality this summer rather than mediocre talent from the backwaters of European football.

The transfer window opens in July and we can expect weeks and weeks of rumours surrounding Arsenal, this season more than ever. Such is the current dissatisfaction, we could sell the majority of our current squad without a tear being shed, obviously this won’t happen but there is a feeling that Wenger is finally prepared to change his approach.

Manuel Almunia, Denilson, Niklas Bendtner and Gael Clichy all appear to be very close to the exit door. With only a year left on his contract Samir Nasri could follow them, particularly if Cesc Fabregas takes the plunge and goes back to Barcelona. There must be a question mark over Andrei Arshavin after his lazy offerings and Tomas Rosicky may have had one sick day too many. That’s eight players who could conceivably leave this summer and the main requirement for any new signings has to be character.

A new left back could come in the form of Newcastle’s Jose Enrique or Everton’s Leighton Baines. Wenger would have to pay more than he would want for either but both would provide a steely presence and greater reliability than Clichy or Gibbs. Scott Parker could give some tenacity in midfield to contrast with the anonymous career of Denilson and we need a wide player in the mould of Antonio Valenica, who has the top class attitude to match his talent to put Arshavin to shame.

These are fairly random suggestions but none are too outlandish and they prove how much potential there is for change this summer. Obviously too much change can be counter-productive but Wenger has this last chance to resurrect his Arsenal career before the greatest manager in the club’s history is forced out. Something has to happen this summer and the optimists will say that things can only get better.

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