Dilettante Arsenal suffer their first defeat at the Emirates.

Normally my predictive powers are second to everyone. But I feel if you take the concerns I raised in this post, and times it by those in this one, the result is last night's performance.

The wheels have come off our season; the inadequacies of our squad have been exposed for all to see.

Technically, of course, it wasn't a defeat. But trying telling that to the loyal Gooners - myself included - who stayed until the bitter end last night, sitting in muted silence as another European season came to an abortive end far too early. Almost as soon as Alex's header hit the back of the net, the sound of thousands of seats snapping up-right was heard around the ground. Never have I seen a stadium empty with such ferocity and alacrity as in the last moments of our doomed campaign last night.

Normally, I abhor this type of behaviour; but as the empty red seats multiplied before me, perhaps Arsene might have reflected on a few things.

Firstly, shooting is not optional in football: it is encouraged. Some teams even consider it superior to endless passing and re-working of the ball in final third. Some teams even put players into the box to attack balls worked into dangerous areas.

Some teams have midfielders who can score goals. Imagine that! Imagine Hleb deciding to shoot instead of pass. Imagine Fabregas being able to hit the target with a free shot from the edge of the box. Imagine Freddie, frankly, doing anything that really troubled the opposition. Imagine not having to rely on raw teenagers in the most important game of our season thusfar.

We have a collection of midfielders who possess wonderful passing and technical ability, but who have no inclination whatsoever to pepper the target with shots. Playmakers are needed, but we have too many makers and not enough finishers. Either our midfield steps up and starts scoring, or we buy in the summer. Simple as that.

And what to make of our strike force? A perma-injured Henry who looks like he's losing his pace and ability to dictate matches. A bustling centre-forward in Adebayor who misses chances he must score in big games. A 'Beast' who is struggling and out of confidence, even if he is at least getting into dangerous positions. And a Dutch-man who, whilst supremely talented, struggles to stay fit.

I wrote two weeks ago that this leg would say a lot about whether last year's campaign was a one-off or not. On the basis of last night, it appears that we still don't have the squad to really challenge for honours, especially in Europe. And for all the talk of potential surrounding the club, if potential isn't turned into concrete success sooner rather than later, who's to say that our young talents will want to stay? They want to win now as much as we do. How long will Fabregas tolerate a trophy-less state of affairs?

Arsene needs a re-think. I hope he realises that some members of our squad our not at the required level and may not reach it. I hope he realises that goals are the fundamental aspect of footballing performance, not style, regardless of how much I enjoy the artistry of our current players.

For the whole of this season I've felt the club has been 90% from perfection or disaster. Whilst finishing third or fourth in the league is no disaster, losing three cup games in a week is not far from that description. And a hard look at the squad needs to be taken between now and August, to ensure this fiasco does not re-occur next year.