Have Arsenal Pressed the Self-Destruct Button?

Year after year, Arsenal sell their best players which ultimately provides them with yet another and another trophy less season, such has been the case for at least half of the last decade.

All of a sudden, The Invincibles seem nothing more than just a distant memory.

"Of all the things, I still remember, Summer's never looked the same, The years go by and the time just seems to fly by, But the memories remain."

Thierry Henry, Fredrik Ljungberg, Patrick Viera, Sol Campbell right through to Mathieu Flamini, Aleksandr Hleb and now the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor and perhaps even Kolo Toure.

"I'm rushing back to let you know, No, No, There's no life after you."

Whatever might be the reason for this—whether it's covering the stadium debt, whether it's the lack of funds given to Arsene Wenger, or whether it's the persistent injuries that never seem to go away—the mere fact remains, these departures significantly weaken Arsenal and how then, can you expect them to go and compete consistently for silverware?

"You'd think I'd learn my lesson by now, You'd think that I'd some how figure out, That if you strike the match, you're bound to feel the flame."

They might get a high-flying start but as Christmas approaches, they slowly and steadily begin to fall out of contention for the league.

Arsenal fans were delighted by the sale of Emmanuel Adebayor, the badge kisser who was found offside, more often than not, scored 16 goals in all competitions last season (in 38 appearances)

"No you don't belong to me, I think you lied to me, and with my back against the wall, it's hard to be strong."

Wenger has yet to bring in a replacement for the Togo striker who joined Manchester City for a fee reportedly worth £25 million.

Mirko Vucinic, Obafemi Martins, Edin Dzeko, and Marouane Chamakh are the latest in a long line of forwards being linked to the club, yet, the Gunners haven't seen any new arrival since that of Thomas Vermaelen.

"It's no surprise, I won't be here tomorrow, I can't believe that I stayed till today."

It now appears, out of nowhere that Nicklas Bendtner is apparently, ready to step up to the plate and replace him. Mind you, I think this is the same Bendtner who was blasted by certain sections of the Arsenal faithful last season until he scored a late winner against Bolton, was it?

The same Bendtner who clashed with Adebayor? The same Bendtner who walked out of a night club without his pants, earlier this summer? The same Bendtner who apparently rejected a move to AC Milan?

"I know this will take time, can you give me one last chance to make it right."

However, there is Robin Van Persie, who has pledged his future to the club, what a relief that must be for Arsene Wenger!

"For the first time, you can open your eyes and see the world without your sorrow."

Eduardo seems to have a recovered from a career-threatening and Andrei Arshavin seems to have settled in well at the Emirates Stadium, so perhaps, Arsene Wenger is content with what he's got.

If they need some backup, I'd think Wenger would like to turn to the likes of Carlos Vela and perhaps even play Theo Walcott upfront, if needed to do so.

Arsene Wenger refuses to press the panic button and well, why should he?

"Well, it's not the time to breakdown, Keep it together now, well, it's not the time to breakdown."

However, Arsene's strategies sometimes can be called bizarre at best, his obsession with adding youth to his ranks might be a positive (in the long-term) but why not add a couple of experienced, mature (leaders) Who can guide that youth? Who can inspire the youth?

"What about now? What about today? What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?"

Samir Nasri's injury has rocked the balance in Arsenal's midfield. Andrei Arshavin might be needed to play on the left flank for a bit, an obvious boost is the return of Thomas Rosicky. Despite the rumours, Cesc Fabregas appears to set to stay, a much needed relief for the Gunners.

Abou Diaby (hopefully Wenger won't ever play him on the left again), Denilson, Alex Song and even Aaron Ramsey besides the likes of Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott could expect to find alot more playing time this season.

Arsenal were linked to Lorik Cana, Felipe Melo, Xabi Alonso, and Gokhan Inler but failed to bring any of them to the Emirates Stadium.

Hey Arsene! Why not get Viera back?

I think Arsenal should offload Emmanuel Eboue to Fiorentina, why do they want him so bad? What a disaster he was for Arsenal? He was ridiculed by most Arsenal fans, wasn't he? The substitute who got substituted.

Arsene Wenger doesn't talk much these days, it appears as if, his hands are tied.

On replacing Adebayor and Toure, he said, "I am more focused on getting everybody fit for the start of the season but we are looking at opportunities as well, there are still some pre-season games to see what we really need."

What we really need? Don't you know what you need?

A defender? A defensive midfielder? An imposing striker?

The season hasn't even begun yet.

"It's a long way now, If only I could turn around, there's no direction where I stand."

Kolo Toure's departure won't do any good to Arsenal's defense, now would it? Unless, they can use the funds to get somebody in the same bracket as him, if not better.

Brede Hangeland, well, Fulham have reportedly slapped a "not for sale" tag on him but didn't Manchester United and AC Milan do the same on Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka respectively?

It's funny what a couple of millions can do!

Sebastian Bassong? Tell you what, he got relegated with Newcastle and some thing tells me, if Arsenal want, they can pull this transfer off and from the most ridiculous of rumors, you might ever hear, here's another—Bassong, Duff (replacement for the injured Nasri), and Martins to Arsenal for £25million and Armand Traore, heading the other way.

Boro's David Wheater is another name in the tabloids besides Sevilla's Federico Fazio (also earlier being tracked by Manchester United) and Real Madrid's Christopher Metzelder being linked to Arsenal.

William Gallas, Gael Clichy, Vermaelen, and Sagna are form the core of Arsenal's defense with Kieran Gibbs, Silvestre, and perhaps even Song, serving as backup, needless to say, reinforcements needed!

Senderos might come in handy, if he's not shipped off to somewhere in Italy.

"When the time comes we will do something."

Mr. Wenger, when will the time come?

When the transfer window is closed? When most of your squad is injured? When preseason is over? In January? After you've seen them against Everton, in the Premier League opener?

Act while you can my brethren, or risk losing your fourth spot to Aston Villa, Manchester City or Everton!

"Well, I'll try to do it right this time around, lets start over, I'll try to do it right this time around, It's not over."