Arsenal vs. Newcastle: Joey Barton's Pathetic Antics Mask Arsenal's Big Problems

Joey Barton is a thug. A total, absolute, no-good criminal. The words I would use to describe him are unfortunately not allowed on this dignified website, but you get the idea.

His pathetic playacting when Gervinho was attempting to defend himself against Barton's malicious assaults was revolting and a mockery of all that is good about the beautiful game of football.

When Gervinho went down in the Newcastle penalty box, Barton immediately grabbed the helpless Gervinho by the throat and acted as if he had been shot when Gervinho attempted some measure of self-preservation.

Simply put, Joey Barton belongs in the obscurity of prison, not on a football pitch. But we knew that already.

After Barton's deplorable acts somehow got Gervinho sent off, it will surely become a major reason as to why the Gunners did not manage to break the 0-0 draw at St. James' Park and come away with an Opening Day win.

Using Gervinho's red card as an excuse, however, would prove a crucial misjudgment, and merely paper over the deeper faults within the squad.

These faults will surely come to haunt Arsenal in a major way throughout the rest of the season, and ignoring them would not only be a disservice to a team that for some reason needs massive amounts of popular criticism to stir action, but it will set Gooners up for massive disappointment later in the season.

Oddly enough, it is not defense that bears the brunt of my criticism this time, as our first choice central defensive pairing of Laurent Koscielny and Thomas Vermaelen performed very well both from set pieces and pressure-filled situations from open play.

While we do need depth in that area to prevent this guy from ever setting foot on a pitch in an Arsenal kit again, it seems to no longer be the most immediately pressing issue currently facing Arsene Wenger.

Rather, it was apparent during the game that the Arsenal midfield completely lacked creativity, and the killer, defense-splitting ball was never once played—indeed, it never looked as if it would ever be played.

With more or less a full-strength XI on the pitch against Newcastle, it is certainly troubling that we could not manage to break down a fairly ordinary side on the first week of the season.

I realize that Jack Wilshere has yet to return from his Achilles injury, but even then, the same trio of midfielders cannot continue to start for 60 consecutive games; there needs to be some depth.

And even while only scooping one player—Tomas Rosicky—off of the scrap heap, it was clear that Arsene Wenger's squad, which is supposedly "too big," is, in reality, much too small.

Without Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, Arsenal often looked devoid of that creative spark, that belief that a moment of inspiration is imminent.

Slotting an aging player who is visibly past his prime into the central creative role in midfield is certainly not improving matters or replacing that lost ability.

Thus, we are left with the maddening transfer market as a source for talent. We must be careful in bringing in top talent, though. We must not hurt Emmanuel Frimpong's career, whatever we do.

In all seriousness, though, the transfer market is only maddening because Wenger makes it so. Leaving his transfer business obscenely late, only to dump some great South American value into fans' eager laps is totally unnecessary and is greatly hurting the club.

Therefore, Wenger must spend on a relatively young, extremely skilled and creative player like Juan Mata to fill the immense void left by the departures of both Fabregas and Nasri—the horror!

I realize that spending real money and breaking his relatively small transfer record feel like he has a combination of the flu, pneumonia and measles at the same time. But with the massive influx of cash received from the sale of our two stars, it is an unnecessarily bitter pill that Wenger must swallow.

Our back four could suddenly and miraculously replicate the George Graham days of the 1990s, but without a player to replace Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri's skill and creativity in midfield, we might as well hand the fourth spot to Liverpool on a platter.

But with the right purchase or two, Arsenal could acquire the critical linchpin it needs to operate its fluid 4-3-3 formation with success.

We have the stature, the money and the need. The question is: do we have the manager?

Our season depends on it.

Follow me on Twitter: @planefreakf22