Why Arsenal fans are beginning to question if Arsene still knows - Martin Lipton's Big Lunchtime Read

By Martin Lipton in Laptop with Martin Lipton

Published 11:46 30/11/09

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There are none so blind, they say, as those that will not see.

And while we all know that Arsene Wenger's selective vision is a means of preventing himself having to criticise his own players, sometimes the Frenchman takes it too far.

One of those occasions came at the Emirates yesterday, as Wenger stunned onlookers with his reading of a match that demonstrated the scale of the divide behind Arsenal's half-strength side and a full-bore Chelsea outfit.

Dismissing the contribution of Didier Drogba, the scourge of his side yet again, was silly, pernickety and plain ill-graced.

Refusing to acknowledge what was missing in his own side, bemoaning the disallowed Andriy Arshavin goal but forgetting the clear penalty denied Chelsea in the first half for Bacary Sagna's foul on Nicolas Anelka, was an attempt at wilful concealment of the truth.

But that truth was crystal clear. The truth is that Arsenal, without Van Persie and Bendtner, with no left back and, in the absence of Abou Diaby, nobody robust enough to withstand Chelsea's power play, were bulldozed off the park.

No question, indeed, that everything went in Chelsea's way. After all, Carlo Ancelotti had - Jose Bosingwa excepted - a full squad to chose from, allowing him to leave Michael Ballack on the bench.

But once the referee blows the whistle, all of that means nothing.

And once Chelsea had resisted Arsenal's early thrust, with John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho epitomising all the physical resolve and desire that was so patently lacking at the other end, there was an inevitability at what followed.

The loyal refrain from the Gunners fans has been a constant for years: Arsene Knows.

But some are beginning to question that now. One fan, accosting me as I left the press box, insisted it was about time Wenger played some British players, demanding the inclusion of Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere, believing they would have shown the heart he felt lacking in Cesc Fabregas, Denilson and Alex Song.

That is too simplistic, of course. Did he really think Ramsey or Wilshere could have done anything to withstand the thrust of Frank Lampard and Michael Essien?

But the underlying doubts were evident before the game, dining in the Royal Oak Carvery at the North End of the Emirates.

There was none of the swagger and certainty that you expect from Arsenal supporters, just fear and apprehension, as if they knew what was going to come and desperately wanted Wenger to prove them wrong.

Many of those fans still pine for the days of Henry and Bergkamp, Vieira and Petit. But if you can't get the Fab Four, then at least you need to hire the Bootleg Beatles, the nearest thing you can get to the real thing.

Wenger, it seems, has gone for impersonators who neither look nor sound like the originals, who might know the tunes but aren't too sure of the lyrics.

Chelsea, by contrast, are looking word perfect. Drogba may be, at times, the most frustrating, irritating, pain in the backside on the planet.

But he can play. Play like one of the greats, a fusion of power, pace and steely-eyed conviction in front of goal.

Compare Drogba's sureness of touch with the litany of mis-controls shown by Eduardo.

Watch Denilson find touch with a monotony that suggested he was playing the wrong code and was backing his team of midgets to win the ensuing line-outs at Twickenham and then marvel at the angles found by Lampard.

Shudder at the intensity shown by Terry and Carvalho before wondering why William Gallas and Thomas Vermaelen did not have even half that desperation.

Wenger is not shy of spending big in January. Jose Antonio Reyes, Emmanuel Adebayor and Arshavin - still playing with the weight of Russia's World Cup exit on his shoulders - are proof of that and the Frenchman will surely spend again, probably waving a £5m cheque in front of Bordeaux, who will otherwise lose Marouane Chamakh to Arsenal for nothing in the summer.

That Arsenal will come third - irrespective of the table that sees them trailing Spurs - is surely not in doubt.

But third is, surely, merely the second worst loser. And Wenger's attitude has always been one of 'show me a good loser - and I'll show you a loser!'

Things looked grimmer, as the Emirates emptied early, than they really are. But once again, Arsenal do not have what it takes to compete for the silverware the fans crave.

You sense, already, that the next time Chelsea visit the Emirates, the song will have changed: "SIX years, and you've won f........."

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