Arsenal FC: 5 Reasons Arsene Wenger Must Be Sacked After Blackburn Loss

Where is rock bottom for this Arsenal team?

We all thought it was against Manchester United, which gave us all a reason to forget that debacle. Arsene Wenger wants consistency from his squad, and after slightly promising results against Swansea and Borussia Dortmund, many figured it might be coming.

How wrong we all were to actually trust this floundering manager. Wenger's predictions about confidence being built and the team being on the upswing were clearly false.

The Gunners suffered an embarrassment almost as bad as the demolition at Old Trafford when they lost 4-3 to a poor Blackburn side, sending the team back into disarray and the manager's position rightly into question again.

Wenger has had his many chances to prove himself, but he consistently fails. With yet another pathetic capitulation against an inferior team, here are five reasons why he must be sacked.

The Same Defensive Problems Still Exist

Can't hold a lead. Vulnerable from set-pieces.

All the defensive maladies that plagued the Arsenal team last season—and indeed for several previous seasons—that ultimately resulted in its elimination from the title race, looked to finally be gone at the start of this season. As it turns out, they were merely bubbling under the surface.

Over the summer, even the stubborn Wenger acknowledged that something needed to be done about the leaky defence, and he resolved to improve it. Against Blackburn, he showed that he has failed to find any solutions to the same old problems.

It goes without saying that, after five matches, an incredible goal difference of minus-9 is nowhere even remotely close to acceptable for a team that hopes to be merely good, not one of the aspirations of Arsenal.

The Same Attacking Problems Still Exist

Yet another issue with Arsenal's team last season was its inability to finish off games when in control, and that clearly has been a running issue once again this term.

Chance after chance after chance was practically handed to Arsenal as they thoroughly dominated much of the match, yet the Gunners spurned nearly all of them, especially in the latter stages.

And when red and white shirts surged forward in numbers, blue and white shirts were ready to pounce on any mistake and launch a vicious counterattack of the sort that yielded Laurent Koscielny's own goal.

Gervinho spurned numerous chances to extend Arsenal's lead while they still had it, and Per Mertesacker missed an absolute sitter from six yards out that would have gotten Arsenal a draw very late in the match.

Especially for a manager that prides himself on his attacking philosophy, such poor attacking play in the final third is simply unacceptable.

If Steve Kean, Then Why Not Arsene Wenger?

Before this match, some 1,000 angry Blackburn fans protested outside of Ewood Park to voice their displeasure with manager Steve Kean after a disastrous start to their season saw them languishing in last place.

With Kean's position a little bit safer after his side's thrilling win, doesn't it stand to reason that Arsene Wenger's position should be a bit weaker after such a shocking loss?

If we judge Wenger by current success—not what he did a decade ago—the Frenchman's job should be in just as much danger as that of his Scottish counterpart.

After all, Arsenal's early-season troubles were almost as bad as Blackburn's, and the Gunners' goal difference going into the match was even lower than their last-placed counterparts.

When crunch time came and both sides were tested, it was the side managed by the Scot that prevailed, and the supposedly superior squad supervised by a certain Frenchman that were found desperately wanting.

It may not be long before we see signs that say "Wenger Out" outside of the Emirates.

Arsenal Are Already out of the Title Race

See that team? They have the look of repeat champions. And sadly, Arsenal have no chance of unseating them for quite a while.

As painful as it may have been to hear, Cesc Fabregas's statements (disputed as they were) are nevertheless true: Arsenal are certainly not in any position to challenge for top honors this season and do not look set to do so any time in the near future.

Even if the squad was strong enough, this disastrous start has left Arsenal so far off the scintillating pace set by the two Manchester squads that it is now nearly impossible for the team to lift itself out of the enormous hole it has dug for itself.

Arsenal's greatest trophy hopes lay in the remote possibility of cup glory, but every fan covets the league title most—and Arsene Wenger sure does not look like he is able to deliver it anymore.

There Are No More Excuses

After a loss like this, Arsene Wenger usually makes some obviously half-hearted excuse about how the spirit was there, or one of the goals was partially offside or a more recent one like "we dropped off physically."

But at this point, the beleaguered manager is out of excuses and cannot even bear to return to his old standbys.

When Wenger admits that he is worried about his team and that his defense cannot focus for a full 90 minutes, you know things are seriously wrong. The manager did not even fully admit his squad's shortcomings after their humiliation at Old Trafford.

If things are truly so bad that Le Boss is forced to admit to the fact that the team he has put together is not good enough, maybe it is just time for him to go and let someone else build a better one.