Absurd supporters must lay off Arsene Wenger

His grey hair was wet and his angular, well-worn face was creased like an accordion. Afterwards he spoke of "scandalous bad luck", as if he were more sinned against than sinning, as if the gods themselves were conspiring against him and his project to produce a title-winning side comprising young, highly-technical players.

Wenger is committed to a singular vision of football, of how the game should be played and of how a club should be financed and run.

He disapproves of debt-financed consumption and exorbitant transfer fees and wages. He believes in nurturing young players rather than buying in ready-made superstars. He is aghast at how first Roman Abramovich at Chelsea and then the Gulf oilcrats at Manchester City have used their astounding wealth to shift the balance of power in the Premier Club. He wants to take them on and beat them in his own way, in his own style.

But it's not happening for him. The world and the game have changed too much. On Saturday he seemed both lonely and vulnerable as he watched his young, patched-up side lose. The old hauteur and reserve have long since gone and his supporters' boos are becoming ever louder.

It's true that Arsenal have both an injury crisis and key players missing through suspension. But the suspended players - Alex Song, Gervinho and now Emmanuel Frimpong after his sending-off against Liverpool - have only their indiscipline and stupidity to blame.

Of those who are injured, Wenger should have known that his first-choice left-back, Kieran Gibbs, a young English player of immense promise, was liable to break down at any moment, and so it has proved. As for Abou Diaby, he is a near-permanent crock and should now be discounted.

It's true we are only in August and the second full week of the new season but there's an autumnal chill blowing through Emirates Stadium.

Already Wenger's disparagers are saying that the week ahead will make or break his season. That is absurdly alarmist - but Wenger knows that if he were to lose against Udinese on Wednesday, in the second leg of the Champions League play-off and fail to qualify for the group stages, and then lose to Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, the mood at the club will be as dark as he has known it since he arrived in London, from Japan, in 1996.

These past few days it has seemed as if everyone interested in football has had a view on what Wenger should do next. George Graham, Arsenal manager from 1986-95, has re-emerged to offer advice. "Please get the cheque book out, Arsene," he said.

"I think they need another centre-half, I think they still need a strong, outstanding, experienced midfielder and I still think they need an out-and-out striker like a [Thierry] Henry. I think Arsene, if he sits down and is honest with himself, he'll put it all back together again. But he needs to do some hard thinking."

It's condescending of Graham, who was sacked by Arsenal for corruption, to suggest that Wenger is not doing some hard thinking. He is probably the most introspective manager in the Premier League.

But Graham is correct to identify the absences in the present team: a commanding centre-back to play alongside Thomas Vermaelen, a destroyer in midfield as well as a playmaker to replace Cesc Fabregas and, probably, Samir Nasri, too.

Yet there's also a sense that supporters and friends of Arsenal like Graham are unrealistic in their expectations of what the club should be winning and how often. Throughout their distinguished history Arsenal have gone long periods without winning the title, from 1953-71, for instance, and then from 1971-89. Manchester United similarly did not win the title between 1967-93. Liverpool have not won it since 1990.

Wenger has spoken of how we all live under the "dictatorship of the instant". We all seem to want gratification, here and now. And heaven can wait!

However, life isn't like that. Arsenal fans should imagine, for a moment, what it must be like to support, say, Crystal Palace or Watford.

Like most professional football clubs they have no hope of winning the highest honours and yet their true supporters remain resilient and loyal.

Instead of booing Wenger, the Arsenal fans should encourage him through this crisis. With one or two sensible signings in the next week or so - such as Phil Jagielka from Everton and Eden Hazard from Lille - and the return to fitness of Jack Wilshere, Arsenal's confidence will come back.

They will not win the Championship this season but they will be all right. First of all, however, they have to get past Udinese and acquit themselves well in Manchester.

For now, the sorrows are coming at Wenger in battalions. But the seas will settle and the storm will pass.

Neville shines with his long-ball game

Gary Neville, the former Manchester United defender, has made a good start in his new role as a Sky Sports pundit.

There's a hauntedness about him, an unsmiling seriousness. He has the dark-eyed intensity of one who played his whole career under Sir Alex Ferguson - and was never sure when the hairdryer would be turned on. He sits well alongside Jamie Redknapp, who, with finely plucked eyebrows, looks like a boy-band member (recently retired).

The fast-talking Redknapp works the language hard. On Saturday he flourished the neologism "instinctivity" in a moment of inspired creation. Neville, meanwhile, is less flashy and more workmanlike. When it comes to word play, he hits the ball long out of defence rather than going on an extended dribble. They have the makings of a decent team.

Jason Cowley is editor of the New Statesman