The critics can sit back and rest easy now. It will indeed be five years since Arsenal last won a trophy – their dramatic capitulation at Wigan made certain of that – and work will be required over the summer.   But are Arsenal continuing to go backwards or are they in a transitional period with only minor surgery needed? Well yes and no. The problem is that they have been in a transition for the last five years and for every step they take towards footballing perfection they seem to take two steps back.   In 2008 the Gunners had one hand on the title before faltering spectacularly and it prompted the departure of two of their most influential players from that season – Mathieu Flamini and Alexander Hleb – and they weren’t adequately replaced

Despite being written off on several occasions throughout the current campaign and losing key players such as Robin van Persie to injury, they did extremely well to stay in the title race for as long as they did.

But their powder-puff frailty was exposed ruthlessly by Chelsea and Manchester United, while the way they surrendered in the final ten minutes at lowly Wigan shows how brittle they can be when the going gets tough.

The spine of the team, from the goalkeeper to the front, needs strengthening with quality players who can handle loss of form and DW Stadium like shocks to the system. If they can manage that they will be much closer to the Premier League summit.

 

However, with the real possibility of Cesc Fabregas leaving for hometown club Barcelona next year, any development would be seriously undermined.

It’s a cycle they can’t break away from and why they have gone five years without major silverware.

The foundation at the club is there. Young players are well educated and are allowed to flourish, while one thing continues to get better – Arsene Wenger’s Basil Fawlty impressions.

But the Frenchman has won four league titles and is a Champions League finalist. He will be hurting as much as anyone at the club for failing to win something meaningful since 2005.

Significant progress will have to be made and quick – otherwise the next key player, or players, who depart due to frustration at underachieving could leave the North London club haunted by an empty trophy cabinet for a long time yet.