WHAT NOW FOR MIS-FIRING GUNNERS?

Arsenal rounded off a hugely disappointing fortnight by crashing out of the Champions League last night following a 1-1 draw at home to PSV Eindhoven. The Gunners exited the last sixteen round 2-1 on aggregate following another uninspiring performance at the Emirates Stadium. Last night's defeat followed further defeats in the Carling Cup (final) by Chelsea and in the 5th round of the FA Cup at the hands of Blackburn. Losing to PSV, a side Arsenal would have felt capable of beating with the young talent in their squad must be particularly galling.

Once again, a set piece proved Arsenal's undoing and despite Arsene Wenger's surprising admission in the days leading up to the match that he introduced extra training to address the said issue, poor defending from a free kick ultimately proved their undoing. Even the presence of Arsenal's £130,000 a week striker, Thierry Henry, for the final half hour failed to inspire them. It is clear from his brief cameo appearance last night that Henry is not fit. How Arsenal must long for the inspiring captain from last season who scored so many vital goals (that famous win in Madrid springs to mind) during Arsenal’s run to the Champions League final where they ultimately lost out to Barcelona.

Adebayor's early season promise is fading with every match and for all their young talent, Arsenal still do not have a 'fox-in-the-box' to convert the countless passing moves that have yielded nothing in front of goal so many times this season. The truth is the Gunners wasteful use of possession and lacklustre attempts in front of goal resulted in their elimination from Europe's premier competition last night.

These are the recurring issues of a disappointing season though and Wenger must address them during the close season. The resurgence of Manchester United, Liverpool's injection of millions of American Dollars and the seemingly bottomless pit of roubles at Chelsea are making it more and more difficult for Arsenal to keep pace in Europe let alone at the top of the Premiership.

There is no doubting the young talent that has been unearthed by Wenger this season, Denilson, Walcott, Eboue and Glichy to name but a few. Coupled with the experience of Toure, Lehman, Henry and Ljunberg, the bottom line is Arsenal should be doing a lot better than they are. The investors and supporters will no doubt demand more from the Gunners next season as the tag of inexperience can now no longer be applied to the young Arsenal squad. The likes of David Villa from Valencia and Samuel Eto'o from Barcelona are exactly the type of experienced international quality players that would improve Arsenal where they now need it most, up front.

The question is Will Wenger persist with his young talented squad for another season or supplement his squad before the start of next season by spending big and bringing in proven international talent? Another trophyless season may push the Arsenal board towards the latter.