First of all, Wenger isn't stupid. But I do feel he is influenced by the favouritism he has for Arshavin. The Russian is an enigma. When he played in Euro 2008, when he first signed and when he played at Anfield everyone acknowledged that this man was a gem. He can dribble with both feet, he has an eye for a pass, his shooting ability is exceptional and the power he generates in his shots is surprising for a man of his stature.
But alas, while those abilities remain, the mentality of that man we signed is gone. Wenger longs to see the ambition Arshavin had to prove himself outside of Russia - which would subsequently see the return of the abilities. So in a way it's easy to understand the persistence with the Russian.
The other factor is that Wenger lost Nasri, Clichy and Fabregas in the summer, three players that he had so much love for, and he can't lose Arshavin too.
People speak about the Man United game yesterday as a watershed moment for Arsene Wenger. But I'd be sceptical of that view myself. Yes we suffered our third defeat in a row but all is not lost either. The team will get stronger in the next month with the returns of Wilshere, Sagna, Gibbs and Gervinho pencilled in. And the team we are seeking to catch is in dire need of reinforcements - even more so than Arsenal. Chelsea's full team lacks balance but ours does not. That will give us an advantage over them coming into the next few months.
If there was a watershed moment for anyone yesterday, it was for Arshavin. Wenger had faith to replace Chamberlain, for whatever reason, with the Russian. And Arshavin let his manager down in a big way. He was quiet in attack and was responsible for Valencia getting inside for United's winning goal. It's hard to imagine Arshavin getting many more chances to show what worth he has left in the remaining games. That's with injuries permitting his disuse of course.
Overall, the team played very well yesterday. Arsenal is not as far away from United as the league table might suggest. Yes Manchester United has a far more resilient side but, player-for-player, there's not too many in the United squad that I think would improve ours except perhaps their strikers (I would take Danny Welbeck at Arsenal any day of the week) and Vidic.
Saying all that though, there are deficiencies in this squad that probably won't be addressed in the next week. RVP still does not have a solid deputy striker, and a replacement midfielder for the perpetually injured Abou Diaby needed strong consideration this month too.
Yet, I can't help but be positive about this team. Arsenal has so much going for it. Koscielny and Vermaelen will be an awesome centre-back pairing once Sagna and Gibbs are back in their fullback positions. Wilshere's return to midfield will revolutionize our attacking play (some might say that is over-enthusiasm for an inexperienced midfielder but I would turn their attention to how he matched - and at times dominated - Xavi and Iniesta against Barcelona in the Champions League last season). And Chamberlain's first start yesterday can be seen as nothing but a huge boost for Arsene and the squad.
Eight defeats looks awful. The goals conceded in the last few weeks have looked even worse as a lack of fullbacks cost the club nine points. And boos aimed at Wenger yesterday were tough to observe.
It's pretty obvious-looking that Arsenal and Wenger have taken a gamble this month. They have gambled that we can finish fourth without new signings. But the teams around Arsenal aren't exactly demolishing all in their path and more importantly, Wenger isn't stupid. So the gamble may just pay-off yet.
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