Manchester United: Masters of The Sucker Punch

After such a solid display against Ronaldo in the first leg, Kieran Gibbs must have thought that his fledgling career had well and truly taken off.

Fast forward one week and Gibbs looked like he wanted to run off somewhere to dig a hole so he could stick his head in it.

Faced with a crucial crunch tie, Arsenal could not afford any slip ups. But slip he did, in every literal sense, at the crucial moment when a tantalizing Ronaldo cut back had to be cleared. 

Park pounced on that mistake and it was almost well and truly over for the Gunners.

The first goal effectively killed off any hopes of an Arsenal comeback. In all honesty, nobody would have expected Gibbs to have lost his footing at that crucial moment. 

The delirious flag waving Arsenal fans' mood suddenly darkened and it was not even 10 minutes in to the game.

Just before the Arsenal fans could get over cursing the young left back for his mistake, Ronaldo struck another stunning blow.

It came out of nowhere. From a position that even David Beckham would have hesitated, Ronaldo struck his free kick with so much venom that the ball dipped and swerved in response, and left Almunia clutching at thin air.

The arrogance on Ronaldo's face after that fortuitous strike only served to rub it into the deflated Arsenal fans, who came here unaware that this tie would be all but over in a mere 10 minutes.

Well, truth be told, the Arsenal team that took to the field last night looked lost again. Throughout this season, I have always reiterated that Arsenal need a player who can change the game by himself.

Wenger knows this as well, so he went out to get Arshavin.

However, I fail to understand how amid all the promising youngsters that were out there, not a single one of them could have stood up and changed the complexion of the game.

Wenger said in the post-match interview that he will reflect long and hard at the season that went by, stating that he has to evaluate why the team cannot win when it matters.

The answer can be found without going through any such pains. The fact that Manchester United can beat Arsenal with their game of counter-attack says everything.

Wenger's obsession with turning his youth team into championship winners is going overboard. 

He has seen in the last four painful trophy-less years that his policy to play boys against men has failed. 

This long and hard reflection should have taken place a few years ago, not now in the aftermath of an imperious Manchester United performance. 

Arsenal need to revamp their structure, their policy, and their transfer signings.

What this team needs is a few more world class signings. Wenger's youth policy has created a squad of players worthy of the Premiership but hopelessly short of that championship edge.

I applaud you Wenger for keeping faith in youths when the footballing world around you has moved on to splashing ludicrous amount of cash on top players.

However, it is time that you realize that this faith can only get you so far. The youths have already achieved what they can.

It's time to bring in the men who can win Arsenal something.