Sunderland vs. Arsenal: 6 Lessons Learned About the Gunners' Future

Another season, another calamitous Arsenal meltdown.

For the second consecutive year, all of Arsenal's good work for an entire year went up in smoke in a very short amount of time.

Last year Arsenal were knocked out of the Carling Cup, FA Cup and Champions League in the span of just two weeks.

This year, they were knocked out of the Champions League (effectively, not officially) and FA Cup in just four days.

This loss will likely be the toughest for the Gunners faithful and Gunners players to swallow.

No one expected Arsenal to contend in the Champions League, but with Manchester United and Manchester City out of the picture, the FA Cup was a winnable trophy for Arsenal.

Now, Arsenal will have to focus on holding onto fourth to prevent this season from going down as one of Arsenal's worst ever in the Arsene Wenger era.

Here's what we learned from Arsenal's painful loss to Sunderland.

Djourou: Poorer Than Squillaci?

There was a time when I thought Johan Djourou was a better center-back than Laurent Koscielny and that he deserved to be a permanent starter along Thomas Vermaelen.

Needless to say, that time is long gone.

Djourou looked poor against AC Milan, and against Sunderland he still looked uncertain and quite error-prone.

It was his foul after sloppily losing possession in his own half that led to Sunderland scoring the opening goal. He also picked up a needless yellow card for his foul, which arguably could have been worse if he had been in a different position relative to the defender.

Arsenal may want to cut their losses with Djourou in the summer. If anybody offers a semi-decent sum for the Swiss center-back, I'd sell him off as soon as possible.

Even Sebastien Squillaci looked more composed than Djourou, which is saying a lot.

Defense, Defense, Defense

Though Johan Djourou stuck out as Arsenal's poorest defender, the rest of the defense didn't exactly look great either.

The defense against Kieran Richardson's goal was very poor.

Arsenal's vulnerability at set pieces is well-known, and for the millionth time it was exploited as Bacary Sagna, normally Mr. Reliable, stopped running towards Richardson and allowed him time to smack a shot at goal.

That shot deflected off Sebastien Squillaci and into the back of the net.

On a separate incident, Sunderland winger James McClean got past three Arsenal defenders before getting hacked down by Sagna on the edge of the box. Once again, poor defense.

Finally, for the second goal, where was Alexander Song?

As is often the case, Song forgot his role as a defense midfielder, and thus left Arsenal awfully exposed on the counterattack.

Mikel Arteta could've and maybe should've done better than to get outmuscled and outpaced by Stephane Sessegnon, but it wasn't his responsibility to mark Sessegnon anyway.

Once Sessegnon got past Arteta and Song was trailing far behind, it was very likely that Sunderland were going to score, and it was just unfortunate that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was the one to put the goal into the net for Sunderland.

Another game, another poor defensive display. And it's not the personnel, because Arsenal do have some of the finest individual defenders in the business. It's a lack of defensive discipline, which an offense-minded coach like Wenger simply doesn't have.

Someone like Tony Adams would have it though—which is why, for the millionth time, he'd make sense as the Gunners' defensive coach.

Alas, Wenger continues to believe in "his way or the highway," and the Gunners suffer from preventable defensive mishaps as a result.

Let the Robin van Persie Speculation Begin

I sincerely hope Robin van Persie stays with Arsenal.

He is the last world-class player the Gunners still have, and without him Arsenal will probably collapse. That may be harsh, but it's the truth.

Nevertheless, with Arsenal trophy-less for the seventh consecutive season, speculation is bound to kick into overdrive between now and the end of the season over new destinations for Van Persie.

Already, Spanish newspaper Marca has made the case that Van Persie could be a Real Madrid player next year, while the Barcelona rumors are well-known.

As Zlatan Ibrahimovic has pointed out, no one can really blame Van Persie if he indeed decides to leave Arsenal.

While Arsenal and Gunners fans have been great to stick with Van Persie through his many injury problems, seven seasons without silverware is virtually unheard of for a striker of Van Persie's quality.

Additionally, Van Persie is 28, meaning if he's going to make a move somewhere, it has to happen now. He's in his prime, and if he waits another year or longer its unlikely he'll be of interest to the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid, or other European giants.

The ball's in Van Persie court, and Gunners fans will be eagerly awaiting his decision at the end of the season. For now though, Arsenal must focus on qualifying for the Champions League by finishing fourth.

If they fail to even achieve that, Van Persie will be as good as gone by the end of the season.

Transfer Market Attractiveness Hurt

Arsenal used to be one of the clubs players dreamed about joining at the start of their career.

If you were French, or managed to play well in Ligue 1, your aim was generally to join Arsenal. That's how Wenger managed to recruit the likes of Samir Nasri, Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy, Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires and more.

But now, things have changed. 

In the past, a player like Eden Hazard would've chosen Arsenal in a split second if he had to choose between Tottenham and Arsenal. Now, many people are tipping Spurs to be the favorites for his signature.

The same applies with guys like Yann M'Vila. In the past, such a player would've jumped at the chance to join Arsenal. 

Instead, this past summer, M'Vila turned down the chance to join Arsenal to stay with Rennes, a decent mid-table Ligue 1 club currently sitting in seventh place.

Should Arsenal retain fourth place and qualify for the Champions League, chances are they'll still be able to sign all their summer targets, especially considering Wenger's preference for less-developed stars-in-the-making.

But if Arsenal fail to secure fourth place in addition to the cup failures they've suffered this season, they could be set for a long summer filled with rejections from the world's top players.

When and What Is the Breaking Point?

In the aftermath of Arsenal's losses to AC Milan and Sunderland, many Gunners have, as usual, sprung up in defense of Arsene Wenger.

Honestly, I have no problem with that. No matter what Wenger does, he'll always be remembered as one of the best Arsenal managers ever, if not the best.

And in any case, sacking Wenger right now can only hurt Arsenal, since stability and consistency is needed to secure fourth place in the EPL.

But what is the breaking point? When should Gunners fans say "enough is enough" and call for Wenger to be sacked?

Is it when Arsenal finish below fourth?

Is it if Arsenal go trophy-less for an eighth consecutive season?

Is it if Robin van Persie leaves?

Or is it simply when Wenger gives up and decides he cannot do anything more for the club he's done so much for over the years?

Most clubs set goals that they hope their manager can achieve. They also have minimum objectives, which often aren't spelled out, but are set as the "breaking point" after which a manager must be sacked.

Have these "minimum objectives" been removed because of Wenger's history with the club, or are they just set so low that Wenger will never go below them? More importantly, is it right that Wenger continues to manage Arsenal without ever fearing repercussions from the board?

Even Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho know that the pressure from fans and management intensifies if results aren't going in their favor. But at Arsenal, we never hear anything remotely threatening towards Wenger's position—only that he is a great manager and helping the club grow excellently.

Obviously, we don't control Wenger's employment, so our decision on what the "breaking point" is doesn't matter too much. However, it is an interesting debate to consider considering the varying differences in opinion among Gunners fans.

Gael Clichy: Arsenal's Biggest Mistake of the Season

I warned about how idiotic the sale of Gael Clichy to Manchester City was for Arsenal. But not many heeded my warning—certainly not Wenger anyway.

Yet, Clichy has proven to be the hardest ex-Gunner to replace from the ex-Gunners who left Arsenal in the summer.

Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri's exits obviously took a considerably amount of quality out of Arsenal's midfield.

Nevertheless, the addition of Mikel Arteta and Gervinho, as well as the emergence of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, has done much to alleviate concerns over the midfield quality lost over the summer.

But in defense, no one has emerged for Arsenal. Thomas Vermaelen has been forced to play at left-back for much of the season, resulting in him being upset with his role and denying Arsenal his quality at center-back.

Plus, Vermaelen isn't a great left-back anyway; he lacks the pace to maraud up and down the flanks, and can't cross well either.

Kieran Gibbs has been a disappointment, hampered as usual by injuries, and Andre Santos was not able to convince us that he was adept at both the defensive and offensive responsibilities of a left-back prior to his injuries.

Had Gael Clichy not left, I'm almost surely Arsenal would've conceded at least five fewer league goals and been at least three to five points ahead of Chelsea in fourth place.

Yet, Wenger caved in to player demands as he always has, and Arsenal's defense has suffered ever since.

They say the past determines the future. I don't want to toot my own horn too much, but anyone who's looked at Clichy's stats and his contributions to Arsenal's defense could've foreseen Arsenal's defensive struggles coming this summer, months before the start of the new season.