1. In a central midfield where Fabregas and Gilberto are automatic first choices, great players like Rosicky and Hleb who have the skill to create passes and space in midfield are relegated to the wing. This was OK in Highbury which was narrow, but in the wider Emirates Stadium, we are allowing other teams space in wide areas and not using it well enough ourselves.

2. Fabregas and Gilberto are more likely to take shots from outside the box after Henry’s departure, but again we are still losing out on a man who is good at shooting from range – Tomas Rosicky. Hleb has seemingly found his ideal spot as secondary striker, but Rosicky is still not being offered his preferred role. For me, he is the man who will diversify what we do with the ball in CM – when opponents expect a through ball, they might get a powerful curling shot into the top-left corner of the net.This allows Fabregas to still have an element of surprise when he plays a clever through-ball, opponents cannot assume that Arsenal will always pass the ball from midfield… if we start scoring from midfield. It is important to get this side to our game.

3. People have talked about how our attack is more diverse – we now have Bendtner as a physical presence, and Adebayor who is tall and thus has an aerial advantage. However, the crosses are just not coming in. Walcott is a forward, and Eboue is a good right-back, but only a make-shift right winger, besides he’s going to the African Cup in mid-season. It CANNOT hurt to sign a winger, especially on the left, for a reasonable fee.

In the end, it’s all about giving yourself options ON THE PITCH. If your only trump card is counter-attacking (in a league full of defensive minnows who sit back and hold out for a draw) then you have got to look for other ways to get goals. Mr. Wenger has taken positive steps in this regard but this one LAST problem, about the balance of our mid-field needs sorting out. Then we shall be true world-beaters.