Total Disappointment for Arsenal: What Went Wrong? How About the Future?

I am struggling to write the "right" thing since there are words in my head and words in my heart which are contradicting themselves.

I am quite sure Gunners fans are feeling this as well.

One part of me tells me that it was a great effort by the lads, but another part tells me that they have wasted a golden opportunity and a chance to get their season back on track.

The problem is, I am quite sure that Arsenal have created more chances against Liverpool tonight, than any opponents that Liverpool have faced at Anfield this season, yet, Arsenal bottled it and gifted Liverpool four goals.

Ok, the score line disrespects the game and its overall play, since it was actually very even. But the score line does not lie, Arsenal conceded four goals, and only scored two, therefore they are out of the competition that the club has craved for so many years.

There is one thing that fans have to get over though, and that is the penalty incident. It is not right to argue over it since the game is done and dusted, the thing is Toure gave a chance for the ref to please the Kop, and he conformed, end of story.

Arguing over it won't change the fact that we lost, we don't want to end up like Chelsea who are still complaining about "the goal that wasn't a goal."

Toure has been one of the stand out central defenders in Europe in the past four years in my opinion. Few can challenge him for strength, desire and pace. But since he has returned from the African Cup of Nations, he has not been performing anything at that standard.

Did the Ivory Coast staff drug him or what?? He had a nightmare tonight, so did Senderos, so did Gallas, to a lesser extent though.

Footballers are paid to concentrate on doing their jobs, and the Arsenal defense just didn't do that, cheap set-piece goal, not tight on defenders in your own box, wrong side of Torres, 30 seconds after scoring the equaliser (winner, actually) etc.

It is difficult to argue that Arsenal deserved to win after defending like that.

Adebayor has been a revelation this season, he has carried the team via his goals. Without him, Arsenal probably would be struggling to fight for fourth place in the EPL.

It is not right for fans to start telling Wenger to replace him, just utter disgrace to start blaming everything on him. Ok, he didn't have the best of games tonight, well, actually for about a month now he has underperformed. However, this is not the time to just slap him in the face and forget what he did for us. Don't forget, he still managed to score tonight albeit a relatively easy goal.

So where next for the Gunners? Out of the Champions league, out of the FA Cup and Carling cup, embarrassingly I must say, and also falling of out the EPL race.

Three empty handed years is hard to accept for Arsenal fans. Is it time to start investing on new players? To sacrifice the "Beautiful Football" philosophy?

To even, dare I say it, change manager in order to set a brand new page for the team?

Arsene Wenger has been fantastic, top 10 managers in the world without question. However, there are times when fans will question, why do this, why do that? One of those questions he has to answer will be, why not improve the squad?

70 million profit is a large sum for any clubs. Torres cost 24 million for Liverpool, Ribery cost 22 million for Bayern. If players of this calibre are available in the summer, I just don't thing Wenger can ignore them anymore. Torres has transformed Liverpool into a very potent attacking force, and has guaranteed his club 25+ goals per season if fully fit.

Ribery has turned Bayern into a force to be reckoned with in Europe again after a couple of torrid seasons.

Arsenal are in need of a couple of established, if not world class players, to give the youngsters a lift, also most importantly, installing that extra belief, for fans and players, that they are built to win trophies.

What if the players are expected to deliver trophies, rather than keep using excuses such as inexperience and poor referee decisions?

It is not often that fans turn their backs on the greatest manager of their club's history, but if endless trophy years continue into May 2009, Wenger might just get too much pressure for his liking from the fans, and even his players...