Wenger Facing Greatest Test – All Of His Own Making

Wow.

That was my reaction following Man United's stunning 8-2 win over Arsenal last weekend. The Gunners were ripped apart by a youthful and dynamic United team, it was a humiliation from start to finish and one of the most eye-catching football scores in recent years.

Ask the Arsenal supporters though and they will perhaps tell you that this was coming. Arsene Wenger has slowly watched as his best players have been cherry picked (usually by Manchester City) while even those considered squad players have left but not been adequately replaced. The result is a team low on both numbers and quality, with living nightmares like last Sunday a clear symptom of that.

Those who watch football live at the Emirates are growing restless and the murmurings of discontent have reached fever pitch following the Old Trafford massacre.

Wenger surely now can't deny that the squad needs strengthening. But his stubbornness to spend inflated transfer fees has backfired because with just a few hours remaining of the transfer window and a sackful of cash behind him following the sales of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas, clubs are asking for inflated fees for their players. In transfer terms, that is Wenger's worst nightmare.

But he has little choice but to act. The club needs a commanding defender, some driving midfielders and a striker to help support Robin van Persie.

But does Wenger look like changing his policy? Well a £1.8million deal for Park Chu-young and rumoured cut-price offer for Yossi Benayoun suggests their transfer record may not be in danger this transfer window.

And if that's the case, I fear Arsenal's dip in form may not have reached its nadir just yet.