Current Arsenal team lack "winners"!

[UCGooner4life]

I have been an arsenal fan for a number of years and under Wenger I have enjoyed this great period in our beloved clubs history. However, I think it is fair to say that this current Arsenal team lacks the "winners". When I say winners, I mean players who set out to do their best week in week out and deliver for us. I am talking about players with intensity, passion, grit and determination. This is the elusive element in our current team.

Every time I see arsenal's squad list I am struck by the number of players I feel are passengers. It's hard not to draw comparisons to the invincible squad that was packed full of winners! Who is our Vieira? Who is our Pires? Who is our Henry? These are the bigger names of that magnificent team but what made that team successful was that the players who were not our most talented played their part well. Players like Lauren and Ljungberg who were arguably not as good were the linchpins for the others to shine. They contributed by being passionate and challenging with determination.

The problem with this current arsenal side (aside from a keeper) is that players like Denilson, Rosicky (when is the last time he scored?), Diaby and Koscielny do not contribute enough. They are just not good enough in the big games. Against the likes of United, Chelsea and Liverpool they are no where to be seen. Diaby is a great example of this, he is ready to score the third against Hull but ask him to score against Chelsea and you are asking for too much! This problem is further contributed to by our more established players lacking the kind of consistency required of them. Gael Clichy seems to be going backward this season; Van Persie is injury prone and Song can be wasteful with possession at times. The true winners in this current crop are Vermaelan, Fabregas, Nasri and Van Persie (when he is fit). The rest need to step their game up. They need to be better and can be better. In every team you will have better players but success is about your more average players overachieving. There area of the pitch where a lack of commitment shows up is in defence (wining headers, diving for shots) and if the last few games show anything, it is that our defence is very questionable. To win the league or any cup for that matter we need each individual to step up. That is the
be all and end all!

[QuartzGooner]

We need a defensive coach.

[Titi2]

Keown. There's only one Keown. There's only one Keown.

[StuartL]

I reckon you can add Wilshire and Gibbs to that list as both seem to be 100 percent effort and commitment to me.

The frustrating thing is for the fourth year or so we are so close, but nothing has been done to bring in the 2/3 players that we need to make that difference