Where's your anchorman, Arsene?

So far this season, Arsenal have destroyed Everton 6-1 at Goodison Park, hit another six against Blackburn at home as well as putting four past both Wigan and Portsmouth. They did all this playing some sublime football according to the footballing philosophy of experienced manager Arsene Wenger. Yet I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that there isn’t a chance in hell of seeing their captain Cesc Fabregas lifting the Barclays Premier League trophy come May. Though an admirer of the close passing, fluid play performed so easily by Fabregas and his peers, they’re lacking arguably the most important ingredient for a title-winning team- a robust, no-nonsense defensive midfielder. England in 1966 had Nobby Stiles, Manchester United in 1999 had Roy Keane, Brazil in 2002 had Gilberto Silva, even the fluid Spain of Euro 2008, so often compared to Arsenal, had the bullish Villarreal anchor-man Marcos Senna in their starting line-up. Even Arsenal themselves had one of the great defensive midfielders as their captain in the infamous “invincible” season of 2003/04, the powerhouse Patrick Vieira. Yet in the few short years since then, Wenger has revolutionised the team, with incredibly talented young players replacing the likes of Vieira, Thierry Henry, Sol Campbell and the afore-mentioned Gilberto Silva, yet they don’t seem capable of winning any trophies. The likes of Andrei Arshavin, Tomas Rosicky, Denilson and Theo Walcott can all mesmerise defenders with speed, tricks and a killer pass, but who’s going to get stuck in with a crunching tackle or a crucial block when the likes of Fernando Torres, Nicolas Anelka and Wayne Rooney are bearing down on the defence? The Arsenal squad simply hasn’t got enough balance. Chelsea have Michael Essien or Jon Obi Mikel, Liverpool have Javier Mascherano, Manchester United have Darren Fletcher. United are a good example of a balanced squad. When up against the Premiership’s lesser lights, Sir Alex Ferguson often goes for more creative midfielders such as Anderson, Michael Carrick and the veteran pass-master Paul Scholes, yet when up against stiff opposition, Fletcher is almost certainly the first name on the team sheet. Ironically, Fletcher was much maligned by Arsene Wenger after Arsenal’s 2-1 reverse at Old Trafford earlier this season. Arsenal played the better football, but United’s steelier midfield and defence prevented them scoring more than one and the Champions were rewarded with the three points. This is Arsenal’s problem. They can score all they want against mid-table and bottom half teams, yet when they come up against more threatening teams, as seen with their 4-2 defeat to nouveau-riche Manchester City(featuring Gareth Barry and Nigel De Jong as holding midfielders), they don’t have the defensive guile to claim the points. Even against teams like Stoke and Bolton, they lack the physical ability to defend for 90 minutes, particularly away from home. 24 goals scored in their first seven matches is very impressive. 10 conceded in those same games is certainly not title-winning form, and with City and Tottenham on the charge, it remains to be seen whether it will be Champions League qualifying form... Wenger, brilliant football philosopher that he is, must surely accept he needs some more defensively-minded players in his squad, if he is to bring an end to Arsenal’s four year trophy drought