Arsenal FC: 10 Things the Gunners Are Getting Wrong This Season

Though it seems that us Gooners say this every year, this season has been a tough one to endure for Arsenal supporters.

The Gunners are currently sitting in seventh place, and the "catastrophe," as Arsene Wenger describes it, of not qualifying for the Champions League looms large for a team that has been in the competition for each of the past 15 seasons.

There have been many mistakes made this year on all levels of the club, and there have been several factors that have contributed to the stagnation of such a great club.

We could contemplate these falterings at the end of the season, but by then Arsenal will have finished outside of the top four, and could be contemplating the possibility of long, cold Europa League nights.

So, before the season is out and while there are still months left to play, here are 10 things that Arsenal have done wrong, and must improve on if they have any hope of success.

Away Form

Technically, this is not something that a team can "get wrong," but Arsenal's away form has been abysmal nonetheless.

Whether it was the horrific 4-3 defeat to Blackburn at the start of the season, "the 8-2" against Manchester United or, more recently, a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat at Craven Cottage to Fulham, Arsenal have struggled mightily on the road this season.

While the Gunners have generally been fine at home, many of the points they have dropped have been lost away from home. And if Arsenal are to go on a sterling run of form to climb up the table in the final stages of the season, they will have to reverse this trend.

Playing Theo Walcott

Earlier in the season, I was a member of a contingent of Arsenal fans that fiercely defended Theo Walcott, but with each passing wasteful performance, my support for the winger has steadily deteriorated.

Rather than developing and maturing, Walcott has become even more one-dimensional during the course of the season. He is completely reliant on his pace to get behind defenders, and frequently wastes possession as soon as he receives the ball or takes a dribble.

Simply put, Walcott is hurting the team, rather than helping it. And in any other side of similar rapport, the Englishman would have been benched or sold long ago. However, since Arsenal do not have the depth to adequately replace the winger, he continues to start every game for which he is eligible.

Tactical Inflexibility

If Theo Walcott is a one-dimensional player, Arsenal are as much of a one-dimensional team tactically.

Every single game sees the Gunners play in the same 4-3-3 formation, with the same players occupying each role when healthy.

Alex Song occupies the defensive midfield role, while Mikel Arteta serves as the midfield glue and Aaron Ramsey plays the furthest forward. Ahead of those three, a group of forwards consisting of wingers Gervinho and Walcott always flank Robin van Persie.

The result is that opposing teams always know what to expect in terms of tactics and almost always in terms of personnel. There is never any element of surprise, and opponents can plan for precisely what will happen on matchday.

Overplaying Aaron Ramsey

Throughout the course of the season, there has been one ever-present in midfield, and, ironically, it is the man who barely played at all last year: Aaron Ramsey.

The only player who has appeared in more matches for Arsenal this year has been Robin van Persie, and it highlights the lack of depth that the Gunners have.

While the Welshman has developed since the beginning of the year, it is clear that he is burned out from playing in so many games and working as hard as he does in those games.

He has scored but one League goal all year from an attacking midfield position, and has been very ineffective in recent matches.

While it is obvious that Ramsey desperately needs a rest, he will probably not get one for the foreseeable future due to Arsenal's paucity of midfield options and Jack Wilshere's continued absence.

Relying Too Much on Robin van Persie

The only Arsenal player to have played more games than Aaron Ramsey this year is captain Robin van Persie, and understandably so.

It has been clear that Arsenal are a one-man team, and that the Gunners are completely dependent on their leader for goals and their attacking output as a whole.

When your best player is the leading scorer in the Premier League and recently finished one of the best seasons ever for a striker in England.

However, there is serious doubt among many about whether Arsenal have the quality to support van Persie, and, until others contribute and visibly take the burden off him, that opinion will remain prevalent.

Playing Andrei Arshavin

The Russian lilliputian has been an abject failure at the Emirates for some time now, yet, until very recently, Arsene Wenger continued to play him on a consistent basis.

Arshavin has been lazy and ineffective in numerous substitute appearances, and was even worse when given the opportunity to start following Gervinho's departure to the African Cup of Nations.

Yet he got several appearances that were undeserved, most notably when he replaced the outstanding Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain against Manchester United and proceeded to commit the fatal error that cost Arsenal the match and at least two crucial points.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has since replaced Arshavin in the Starting XI, but the damage has been done, and he will unfortunately remain in the squad due to a lack of depth until at least the summer.

Not Buying a Full-Back

When Arsenal were in the midst of their injury crisis at defence, Arsene Wenger said that it would be "stupid" to lose matches due to a dearth of specialized full-backs.

What happened next? Arsenal lost matches because they were playing with no full-backs.

Most notably, Johan Djourou was positively torched in matches against Manchester United and Fulham, and his sending off in the latter fixture heavily contributed to Arsenal's subsequent loss.

The silver lining of this crisis was that it occurred during the January transfer window, giving Arsenal ample opportunity to obtain a replacement on either flank.

Players like Aly Cissokho would have added real depth and quality, but, alas, the best footballing option was rejected in favor of the best financial one yet again.

Not Buying a Midfielder

Another area in which Arsenal were desperately in need of reinforcement during January was the mdifield.

As previously mentioned, Aaron Ramsey has been drastically overplayed this season, and when another overplayed man, Mikel Arteta, went down recently, there were very few options available to replace him.

Rather than just relying on the return of Jack Wilshere, who has not played a minute of competitive football all season, Arsenal could have gone out and actually spent money on any number of versatile and creative midfielders like Clint Dempsey, who is in the form of his life for Fulham.

But, again, Arsenal chose to conserve every penny and fall ever further behind the competition.

Buying Ju-Young Park

I certainly had no opposition to Arsenal buying a striker at the end of the summer transfer window, and I was cautiously optimistic when I heard that an obscure South Korean named Ju-Young Park was purchased from AS Monaco.

I patiently waited for him to assimilate to the English style of play, and I was greatly encouraged by his superb goal in the Carling Cup against Bolton.

But Park has made only one Premier League appearance during his time in North London, and his place in the team seems completely wasted.

A valuable spot on the 25-man roster could be occupied by a player who will actually play and help the team, rather than warm the bench until the mighty Marouane Chamakh returns to reclaim his spot.

Handling Transfer Business

During the summer, Arsenal was a club that lacked any quality, and the team was absolutely crying out for reinforcements.

While the clubs did bring in players in who have, for the most part, been effective, the need to complete every deal at the last second was completely unnecessary and cost Arsenal results during the crucial first few weeks of the season.

Then, going into the January transfer window, it was blatantly obvious that the Gunners lacked a reliable support striker to assist Robin van Persie up front. This time, Arsene Wenger mishandled his business even more, as not one senior player was brought in on a permanent basis.

The result? Arsenal are just as thin and ineffective in attack, and points continue to be lost because the Gunners lack the quality of their competitors.