• Arsene Wenger’s facing the biggest test of his reign
• Matthew Norman: Battered Arsene Wenger knows how bruised Ricky Hatton feels

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Arsenal were missing two of four back-line starters. Man U is the best team in the world... and will prove it vs. Barcelona. Arshavin would have made a huge difference vs. the Red Devils, but he was cup-tied. Does Wenger need to make some signings in the off-season? Of course. But take a look at where Man City is. What good did their reckless spending do them? Wenger develops players from within his system better than anyone in football. Hleb and Flamini were nothing until last season... and neither were as good this year as they were at Arsenal. Ade and his ego should be sold off. Carlos Vela and Eduardo can fill his shoes adequately. Rooney, Tevez and Ronaldo have proven that short lads can score plenty of goals.

- Mark Northern, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA

Yes I agree, some things Sid has said are correct ,but look at the league.We are a young side with talent up front and players that want to win. We have a good strike force, and the kids will mature from these games to make Arsenal the best and a formidable force, just watch and see next season. Good luck to Manu yours for the taking, but ARSENAL will have there day.

- Darren Harte, Pacific Pines, AUSTRALIA

Spot on Sid and Graham.

- John, London

Adebayor IS the one player I want to leave. Saying he is going to stay like he is doing us a favour. After one half decent season last year he has already become a prima donna. All he cares about is himself, last year saying he wanted to win the golden boot and now moaning because he hasn't got any trophies, not the club and he thinks we love him. Adebayor, you're over-rated and a waste of space. Where have you been in the big games against Man U and Chelsea. Sell Adebayor and buy 3 new players. We also need an English backbone.

- Graham, London

Players complaining about another trophyless season should remember they themselves have to take most responsibility - especially Ade !

- Wwuk1, Essex U.K.

Arsenal's systemic faults where clearly exposed by Man U. Their defence does not mark, cover or take up good positions. Although Ronaldo and Rooney were offside, frequently by inches, they were completely unmarked. The team do not work hard enough tracking back and tackling. Just compare their ineffectual work rate to Man U's. Their front players did not make one penetrating run and the build up is so slow that a good team like Man U had no trouble defending. They flatter to deceive and will never be a great team. In a word their defence is brainless, their attack is pathetic. Wenger seems to have a blind spot when it comes to defence and regards it as something not requiring special skills. He had the good fortune to inherit a great defence and added a brilliant midfield and attack to make a great team. It is clear by his actions Wenger thought it was all his own work and did not rate highly the defensive skills of players like Adams, Keogh, Samson and Dixon. He never replaced them and considered good utility players could easily cope. How wrong he was. Man U cruelly exposed his flawed thinking. He cannot blame the players they were simply not up to the job.

- Sid, london

Leaving the stadium with 30 minutes left to play was an utter disgrace. How many times have the Arsenal fans seen their team score two or three times in the final 15 minutes of a game? Quite a few I would suggest. A half an hour is a long time in football and there's no way I would be leaving the stadium until the last drop of sweat and blood had been spilt. The fans who walked out should hang their heads in shame. No doubt they the same fans who had most to say before the game started.

- James Hennessy, london england

Mercenary teams like Arsenal are doomed to fail. There's no english-backbone (man u / liverpool / chelsea ) and there is a clear communication breakdown going on. I do not think all the players can communicate in english during the match or when training.

- N5_Rules, London - Highbury

Mark - Still living in a Tottenham fantasy land? Despite spending untold millions re-signing players who quite frankly didnt make the grade at other clubs & overpaying for very average players, you are still trying in vain to secure a place in next seasons second rate european competition, the competition you simply gave up on this season! We will hear the usual drivel from Tottenahm fans that they will finish above us & guess what, as usual you will fail miserably. As for Arsenal, we are aware that Arsene Wenger is trying to bring through a generation of young players and at times we supporters get frustrated, but he has done a remarkable job of transforming Arsenal Football club into a modern dynamic entity on the verge of breaking into the highest level of world football. Unlike Tottenham's mid-table mediocracy. Dream on & on & on...

- Rob Gooner, North London

The problem is that although Wenger thinks his players are good enough they just simply arent. How many would get in the top threes teams?. Sagna, Arshavin and Fabregas- thats all. The others are light weights who are fine bossing Mboro and WBA around but when it really matters they dissapear. We dont want Adepaymemore and RIP, they are just not going to score enough goals to win you anything. As for Song,Djourou,Diaby,Denillson and even Almunia, they are just NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

- Spider, Essex uk

Actually I don't care. Crazy Arsenal fans jump over our garden fence and dodge the police blocks on the way back from Emirates ground. They did it again yesterday. For them trespass is fine and they are hell bent in making these underperforming players rich. Many appear to be working class and must be spending hundreds of pounds per year. Credit crunch seems not to have come in their way!

- Gary, London

Rob 'The Goon'
Your team came up short in an important game once more, 'bottlers' with a manager who has run out of ideas.
No tropies in 4 seasons now, what is your one sided view on this? now all the imports will start to look for pastures new.
Arsenal once had a good fan base, now it is mainly corporate, due to the real fans being tired of never seeing English lads playing for their team.
Your team play good football against 2nd rate teams, they cannot compete with the top quality teams any more, all of your patronising comments cannot hide the large cracks that have appeared at Arsenal over the last couple of seasons.

- Terry, London

We were all given an Arsenal flag to wave at the kick off, after the game I overheard a fan telling his mate he received the following text message "For sale 50,000 Arsenal flags, hardly used, only waived for 6 minutes"
Pretty much sums up the evening

- Timbo, Watford

Here's an idea, why don't Arsenal stop being a foreign (French) team and get some young English players up through their ranks who love the club, will play for them heart and soul and aren't there just to pick up their wage slip? Not with whingeing Weiner in charge, me thinks!

- Colin, London

Rob,

Like wenger, you have an answer for everything, except that you haven't won anything in four years and are unlikely too in the next four either.

Yes spurs have had their problems but Harry is on the up while Wenger is on a down.

4th place is all you lot are hanging on to and with spurs, everton and villa biting at your heals, just how long do you think you can hold on too that ?

I think arsenal need to finish mid table next year for any serious changes to happen. It's just to comfortable where you are and you're getting soft.

- Mark, St Albans

Rob the goon again spouting his nonsense,im sorry have the goons beaten Spurs this year,oh yes your highlight has been going to Wembley even that wasn`t a final..Again for all the wonderful so called potential and young guns you have,you still HAVE NOT won a trophy..it was men against boys last night and Walcott is and was useless again..

- Jimmy, st johns wood

What a disappointment! We were truly awful. Sadly, I really think it is time for Wenger to move on. He promises trophies but it is four years now and still no nearer. I for one am tired of hearing about potential, it is all we do hear about!

- Supergooner, London

Wenger's team normally have quite good spirits and work pretty hard against the lesser teams, who allow them to play the beautiful game. And remember that they have beaten ManU and Chelsea (away) this season, and were seconds away from beating Liverpool.

They have been too lightweight to break down packed defences, sloppy in their distribution and don't shoot enough outside the box, but this can be remedied. Arshavin and a fit Walcott will give them attacking options, but they need a forward (Eduardo?) with more oomph than the lumbering Ade.

Two solid central defenders with composure and understanding are also badly needed, but apart from that the team has got all the ingredients of success. Stay free of injuries, and they'll be challenging next season.

- Jools, London

Mark - your memory is incorrect, I always thought he was a quality keeper, just playing behind a poor team. On the second point, you still wont pass us with mid-table Harry in charge. We hear the same nonsense every season from Tottenham fans & every season you fail miserably. Never won the premiership in my lifetime, never even qualified for the Champins league & in all likelyhood never will!

- Rob Gooner, North London

They may be light weight now but in a year to 18 months They will be a team to be feared!

- Man U Fan, London

I came to the conclusion earlier this season that there aren't many true Arsenal fans, just perople who go along for the "Emirates experience, fans of individual players and corporate guests. Why would you get up and walk out after an hour if you were truly a fan of the club?

- Brian, London

I think its a great shame that when injured on more than one occasion this season, Adebayor did not bother to read how the offside rule works. Thanks to him and him alone, so many attacking opportunities have broken down all because he cannot be bothered. He just stands there and grins, well you are not grinning now are you.

- Steve, London

Yes Adebayor is right.Arsenal need to clear out some players and it is a MUST TO GET TWO EXPERIENCED CENTRAL DEFENDERS.The first to go is Adebayor who is out of form ,lazy and slow, and followed by Toure,Eboue, Song.
Wenger needs to accept that he is at fault for the defeat and humiliation suffered .He played the same team that never played a week ago.He needs to talk less and give the answers with good results.Toure once again had a big fault in two goals. He was nowhere near the ball to defend and left Gibbs all alone.
A.Messina

- A.Messina, Malta

I have supported Arsenal for years and yesterday when the 1st goal went in i knew it was over and that was very sad...this team needs to get away from thje mindset that they are weak or not good enough to win...yes agree arsene needs to buy this summer and not keep a tight purse string..man u dont hold back when it comes to buying and they have some of the best players in the leaguse I understand you want to build a team but sometimes you need to spend and now we need to do that.

- Raj Kashyap, London

My mate had to stay until the end of the match to beat the crowds.

- Ted, London

Yes,Adebayor, and the best way to start moving forward is to firstly show you the door. As Henry Winter reported:

"Adebayor was a disgrace to the famous red shirt; uninterested for long periods, the only time he made a mark on the game was when his studs crashed into Carrick’s ankle. If he wants to join AC Milan, Wenger should drive him to Luton and buy him a one-way ticket."

Hear, hear!

- Marie, Bodrum, Turkey

Rob Gooner,

You slagged off spurs relentlessly when Gomes first started and now you want him?

Your memory is shorter than wengers. Gomes is going nowhere and we look forward to passing you on the way up next season.....

Oh, at least we got to a final and took united to 120 minutes with them scoring...

- Mark, St Albans

No Ade you have gone backwards along with RVP and Theo Walcot, the three of you need to understand its a team game, and should start grafting for it.

Look in the mirror Ade who do you see???
Not Henry
Not Drogba
Not E'to

No you see a lazy useless centre forward who is just out to line his pocket.

The problem is you and you atitude to the club

- Robbie, Lower East Stand

I thought United were superb last night & showed Arsenal's failings. We desperately need some drastic surgery, as follows:- A top class keeper, such as Gomes from Tottenham, 2 decent centre backs such as Chiellini of Juventus & Alves of Porto, sell Fabregas to Barcalona with Yaya Toure in part exchange, swop Wallcott in exchange for Babel, purchase Xavi Alonso & break the bank for Ribery. Thus we would have a midfield quartet of Arshavin, Toure, Alsonso & Ribery. Dispose of Adebayor & replace him with Huntelaar.

The line up would be: Gomes, Sagna, Chiellini, Alves, Clichy, Ribery, Yaya Toure, Alonso, Arshavin, Van Persie & Huntelaar! Awesome!

- Rob Gooner, North London

im not an arsenal fan but watched the match last night in the stands and thought Adebayor was awful. He should shut up about bringing on board new talent. He was the biggest let down.

- Nick, london

I tink we need to sell Ade to buy new players. We should say bye bye to him at the end of the season if AC Milan come for him again. He should admit that he was outmuscled by Rio last night. He did not fight enough and should not blame the youthfullness of the team. I see that as patronising to the other team players. If Ade is really a team player, he should take a back step and not talk about Arsenal going backwards and examine himself in the mirror not with image of Beyonce in his mind, but question his own contribution to theteam last night. Maturity they say comes with age and experience. I think Ade has not shown maturity with the kind of remarks that he is making. He should leave the talking to his captain- Cesc and vice captain- Kolo who in my opinion aare more matured and say very sensible things. The third sport in the league is still up for grabs and we can still do it. I think for the next game, Ade and co should be on the bench- for the 'youths' to show them how to win a match.

- Julius Nuga, Abbots Langley UK

I think Arsene should be given the time to take stock of what happened. Players like Ade, RVP should be asked if they are really committed to the cause- playing for Arsenal with their heart and soul. If that is not the case, I think they should be sold and the money used to strenghten the defense. TW for one reason was not very effective last night- bad day at the office for him. Also, injuries to both Gallas and Clichy have cost us this season- who knows what the result would have been had they been fully fit. Those saying that Wenger should be sacked should not forget that this man has done a great job with the funds available to him and should in my opinion be left alone to do his job. We have too many people who seem to think that they can do a better job. Stay in jour jobs and let Wenger do his job- he is the man to put things right!

- Julius Nuga, Abbots Langley UK

It WAS a case of men v boys at times and showed for all their pretty footy,the Gooners are lightweight and do not have the strength against more powerful and better quality teams,they need to buy experience not potential with no end product..Wenger`s cauldron of noise as he called it!!! lasted about 10 minutes then it was like Highbury Library..Utd were clinical and took their chances,and im sorry but they did play against 10 men in both games as Walcott was totally non existent..Evra had him in his pocket,for me he is way over-rated 1 trick pony,no skill just pace and if you get close too him he is out of the game.Forthe hope of football i hope Barca get to the final.for a great footballing final for the neutral.

- Mark, s w wales

Financially it's men against boys, look at the two sub benches:

Berbatov, Tevez -v- Mikel Silvestre & co.

No contest.

- Undercover Elephant, London

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