'It's the disease we've shown all season"

I just watched the highlights. I couldnt bring myself to watch this match replayed on Sky for obvious reasons. But MOTD was on this morning so during my Easter Sunday coffee I decided to flick on and see how we did. And we were excellent. Stunning football... about 30 shots... 64% possession. Even our midfielders were peppering the goal with good shots.

AND WE LOST.

The above quote is from Arsene Wenger after we lost our third match on the trot 1-0 to West Ham and our first at the Emirates Stadium. And its about time. I have long noted that the Arsenal have had trouble in front of goal taking their chances. In the Champions League and elsewhere.

This is not a new issue. Here is what I wrote about the CSKA match in November. Never before have I seen so many missed golden opportunities to score. Not just clear chances, but open goal variety misses not seen in North London since Kanu departed. The result was so little to show from so amazing a display. And it was precsisely the same yesterday.

But its *funny that my last post noted the Arsenal as having reached Rock Bottom. I wrote this too soon. We're not at rock bottom yet. With Chelsea and Bolton at the Emirates and with sp*rs to play away, we are nowhere near as comfortable for a Champions League place. Let's be clear. We are now in deep trouble. 2 points up on Bolton with a game in hand is not comfortable. Not with the wheels coming completely off the Arsenal wagon. And not with us having absolutely no nous in front of goal. Oh, and we dont have Thierry Henry to save us. Or Robin Van Persie. Or even Theo Walcott. You will recall that Henry scored a final match hat trick to secure 4th place as the lot down the road proved they lacked the stomach for the highest level. With out a change in something... we are in deep trouble.

The supporters are calling for changes for next season. And that is fine. But with Van Persie and Henry to return next season and Adebayor playing out of his skin. Do you buy a striker to simply sit behind these three. Or determine to purchase a player like Eto'o or Villa who in all reality would find themselves in a dogfight with Van Persie to play alongside Henry. We HAVE top strikers. And Bendtner deserves a chance in the first team along with Theo Walcott. So perhaps we need scoring midfielders.

Perhaps. But you cannot fault the performance yesterday from our normally goal shy midfielders. Gilberto, Rosicky and Fabregas all had lots of shots on goal. But the bottom line is that Paul Robinson has more goals in the league that Cesc Fabregas and that the Arsenal have not replaced the goals from Reyes and Pires, in spite of all the pretty football or dynamic interplay.

So what do we do now? I have absolutely no idea. I do think Flamini, Lehmann and Aliaidiere will more than likely move on with perhaps Ljungberg and Baptista on their way as well. I find it highly unlikely that Jose Antonio Reyes will return to the Arsenal also so there are some places in the side to fill. If I were king (and I should be) I would bring in one of Daniel Alves or Jesus Navas (although preferably Alves as Navas has acute anxiety issues), Ryan Babel and Igor Akinfeev. We can afford all three, particulary with the Reyes money on the way. Will this happen? Only if Im king, I fear.

In other football, one-name wonders Lauren and Kanu kept Manchester United from a straightforward procession to the league title. Well done lads.

Oh, and Happy Easter. For some.