Allow me to start on a positive note. An interesting stat is that prior to the Liverpool game (23 games into the season) we had exactly the same number of points as we did last season at the same stage (37), but this season we have scored 7 more goals and conceded 6 fewer goals than we had the previous season resulting in a goal difference improved by 13. I bring this up because it highlights the argument that we have the quality in the side to produce great results, despite the oft raised issue of losing our 'best' players.
Furthering the positive vibe, let's give praise to Wenger and the club for adding strength where we need it most with a very talented individual for a very reasonable price.
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This isn't to say we are without our issues. It's worrying that it took an injury to Gibbs for the club to decide to bring in cover for him this season. These concerns are perfectly articulated in a quotation from a statement issued by the Arsenal Shareholders Trust below.
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And that leads us perfectly on to a look at our January transfer activity. Here's a simple summary of the comings and goings.
Out:

Chuks Aneke (Loan)

Emmanual Frimpong (Loan)

Johan Djourou (Loan)

Marouane Chamakh (Loan)
In:

Nacho Monreal (approx. £8.5m)

Benik Afobe (Returned from loan)
Despite the addition of a quality alternative at left back, we're still 2 players lighter than we were at the start of the window. This begs the question what is happening with regards investment in the team?
Based on the quotes Ivan Gazidis feeds the media it would be easy to jump to the assumption that it's Arsene Wenger who's completely unwilling to open the purse strings and of course at least some of the blame is with Wenger.
Assuming Gazidis is correct then it's undoubtedly Wenger who's responsible. To make that assumption, though, is to forget that Gazidis' boss is owner Stan Kroenke - the man who stands to benefit most from the vast cash reserves Arsenal currently hold. Calculations range wildly across the web but anywhere from £50m to upwards of £100m is the range you can find across the internet.
Ultimately though, we know from his other sports teams that Kroenke is a cold, hard business man who has no passion in Arsenal and his only pursuit in sporting ventures is profit. With such a large - and still growing - balance our enterprise value is substantially higher than it would be if said money was spent. This, in turn, means that share prices are worth considerably more and with the monumentally rich Alisher Usmanov waiting in the wings for an opportunity to buy more of our club it's unsurprising that Kroenke is pursuing a strategy that maximises the share price with little regard to the overall success of the club. As a businessman I can't criticise what Kroenke is doing, but as a fan who wants success not riches it makes my tummy turn. It's my interpretation that the purse strings are held tight by Kroenke, that the club is restricted in its investment towards the best talent, and that Arsene Wenger is being made a scapegoat for all that is going on behind the scenes and away from public knowledge.
Let's not forget where we were prior to the Wenger era. Wenger made us who we are more than any other manger. Kroenke's takeover of Arsenal in 2008 coincided conveniently with the move to the Emirates (I hate having to call it that) a couple of years earlier. A spell of financial austerity following that move meant that we would have to tighten our belts for a spell, although a rights issue could have cleared those debts far earlier than now if the club wished to spend money freely. It also occurred during a decade where investment in other clubs blew transfer fees and wages sky high, and made the very best few players unaffordable to all except a handful of clubs. All this provides reasonable excuses for why to be sensible, but not why we need tens, maybe even a hundred million, pounds held in cash reserves whilst year on year we allow talent to leave either in pursuit of the greater wages available elsewhere or because they perceive there to be a lack of ambition in the club.
There's more problems too, at Arsenal. This month we've played 5 home games and won just one. That's a terrible home record. It's my belief that the invincibles era attracted a lot of fans who felt trophies were a right and not a reward at Arsenal. Fans who have absolutely no understanding of how far we've come under Wenger. Now the home support is vastly different to the old Highbury way. Fans boo and jeer at players after 20 minutes. They berate the staff and players in the dugout. That's disgusting behaviour for fans of any side. Then you have the black scarf brigade who organise pre-match marches against the club, or the people who hold a 'Wenger out' banner high in the stands. By all means voice concerns towards the ownership/management of the club, but you best be damn careful to do it in a way that isn't detrimental to our performances. Currently the fans' negativity is perpetuating mental problems within the team. The sooner we lose the fans who think it's acceptable to organise pre-match marches, wave dissenting banners, and boo a player when they slip up the more quickly this club will get back on track. Right now it's a self-fulfilling prophecy and certain segments of the Arsenal fan-base seem to relish the fact that bad performances support their stance.
Ramsey, Walcott and Santos have all come in for a lot of stick over the past 12 months. They've not always played well, but they're players that never hide, never stop trying their best and that is commendable. In the case of Santos he simply is being asked to play at a level beyond his ability. He just isn't good enough to play in the Premier League for Arsenal, but that's not his fault. When he's asked to play he tries hard. There's absolutely no justification for the abuse he's been on the receiving end of both pitch-side and on twitter recently. That unsupportive voice needs to vanish, and vanish fast.
I think I've ranted and rambled enough. I could go on forever!
