If I had to single out the one quality above all others which I admire in [him] it would be his abiding faith in youth.

The words from forty years ago resonate down the ages. In his 1969 book Arsenal From The Heart, former Club Secretary Bob Wall was talking about Sir Matt Busby. No doubt that Arsene would have found favour with Wall in view of his current policy of developing young players in the first team. Unlike any manager before him, the current run has been polarising opinion amongst the support. Interestingly, the overwhelming majority still backs him as the right man for the job; it is his methods which are under scrutiny.

I believe it is a methodology that will bear fruit in the long term. Does that make me more or less of a ‘loyal’ supporter than anyone else. No. Everyone is entitled to their view. Taking the opposite side to the argument is not being a more ‘loyal’ supporter either nor is it a sign that you care more about the club. Pragmatism is going out of the window though. There are seven weeks before January 1st 2009, the earliest date when a new player can join; this is being forgotten in the current round of debates.

There are crucial aspects that do not make the arguments about the balance of the squad invalid but they are susceptible to becoming pointless and fruitless. Key amongst this is the fact that Arsene has a firm belief in the path he is choosing to tread. Having invested time and money in the process, he is mindful that the option to sign experienced players is limited. In his own words, he does not want to ‘kill’ the young players hopes by blocking their path to the first team by signing a player in his mid- to late- twenties, someone who is likely to be in the starting XI for several years.

Wenger has built a reputation within the game for being progressive on this front. It has enabled him to persuade the likes of Clichy, Fabregas, Vela, Bendtner, van Persie, Denilson and Walcott (to name the current beneficiaries) that they have a solid future at the club and that they will be given the opportunity to prove themselves based on talent alone. Wenger’s faith in this is being put to the test, perhaps the strongest threat to his beliefs that there has been since ‘The Invincibles’ broke up in 2004/05. The reaction he gave after the defeat to Aston Villa suggests that he is as baffled by the current indifferent form as we are. For him though there is more at stake: his job, his reputation and the club that he undoubtedly loves and is desperate to be successful with once more.

If Wenger were to abandon this policy now and sign, en masse, the experienced players that are being called for, the implications are more far-reaching than the immediate first team. In the first instance, the players ejected from the starting XI will be disheartened. The clear message would be that they were not good enough. That might also include the word ‘yet’ but the message which registers in their minds will not. Further down the ‘food chain’, a clear signal is sent that Arsenal is not quite the place that it is supposed to be. Youth might be given the chance but not as readily as is portrayed and frankly, if after three months the team’s performance is not good enough, “so long and thanks for all the fish“, even if your form is decent.

This season, it is the experienced players who have been most culpable this season when it comes to apportioning blame for the goals, namely his defence. Yet there are calls for Denilson to be replaced. Is that the right option because arguably, he has been in better form than Fabregas. The latter has built a reputation over the past five years but thus far this season, he has shown sporadic glimpses of his best form. The partnership is, to my mind, unbalanced but the inexperienced player is held to blame. I do not think he is being played in the position that is best for him but if an experienced midfielder is signed, should he be the one to make way? The answer ought not to be as clear cut as people seem to think. If it were made now, there is a strong case for omitting the Spaniard.

So what can Wenger do? Once the last transfer window had closed, he admitted to trying to sign an experienced, more defensive midfielder. As he said earlier this week, he could not find one. That is not saying he did not try to, simply one that he wanted could not be signed. This would indicate that he might well try to sign one in the January window but if you look at the names we were linked with in that time – Toure, Barry, Alonso – what incentive is there to leave their current clubs? Barry has said he will not leave until next summer, Toure and Alonso are in teams with a strong title chance. Whether either of those materialises is another issue and I have strong doubts that the latter’s will. Yet when they review their situation, unless Wenger is in a position to seriously undermine either of those beliefs, it would be an odd move for either to make. There are others of course and the likelihood is that he would sign someone whom none of us had seriously considered. Or heard of for that matter.

There is a misconception about Wenger’s ‘Youth Policy’. It is not the youth that is wrong. Nor is the policy. It is the current form. Can experience rectify that? Possibly. Possibly not. At best, there would have been one new face in the summer. Would that person have rectified the problem? Of course not. One player on their own cannot make that substantive a difference. Even with Flamini, the mistakes made at the back would not have gone away. Looking at the goals Villa scored on Saturday, it is unlikely that either would have been stopped by his presence. In any case, can anyone offer proof that he would have performed to the same level as last season? The evidence of his peers suggests otherwise.

The apparent thinness of the squad is now going to be tested to the limits. Injuries are rearing their ugly heads which puts pressure on the players. Bacary Sagna is out for approximately three weeks which means that combined with Eboue’s woes, Arsene has Kolo Toure to play right back. Even if Eboue returns in the next week, Wenger now faces up to twelve weeks without Theo Walcott if an operation is required. The reported length of absence needs to be treated sceptically until the club comments later this week. Whatever the case, he is likely to be until the middle of next month at the earliest. The right hand side of the pitch is now stretched to its limits. The injury to Walcott merely reinforces Wenger’s view that the current round of friendlies is crass.

No-one said supporting Arsenal was easy. It is a rollercoaster ride with the highs being of such altitude that the lows feel as though they are further down than the deepest trough in the Pacific Ocean. Keep the faith. ’til Tomorrow.