The anonymous HATCHET MAN, who writes for the Daily Mail, attempts ‘hard-hitting’ journalism, which is a positive spin on articles that are generally full of sensationalist drivel. No wonder the columnists who write it retain anonymity.

Here are two examples of why this columnist is one of the worst in the British media along with Dan Silver of the Daily Mirror. Firstly:      

Robin van Persie cannot understand why Arsenal have stopped scoring, Robert Pires claims the team are struggling because they don’t have enough Englishmen, and Arsene Wenger is probably still muttering darkly about referees two days after the goalless draw with Tottenham.

Robin van Persie is an Arsenal player and clearly knows why the team has stopped scoring. He knows Wenger has partially sacrificed the all-out attacking philosophy for defensive solidity, by keeping the full-backs from constantly venturing forward all the time. Also the number of injured creative players, the poor form of Adebayor and young players, like Denilson, being forced into action too soon has caused Arsenal to stagnate.

As for referees, the ruled-out goal was a poor decision, but such decisions happen to teams all over the country. We do not see national newspapers attacking British managers for criticizing the match officials, but when Benitez, Wenger or (previously) Scolari do so, the media do so, revealing an agenda.

The lack of a genuine midfield enforcer has been identified as a problem this season too along with defending in general, and Emmanuel Eboue’s job in the team seems to be to make matters worse.

The lack of a midfield enforcer is clear and Wenger should be rightly criticised for not replacing Flamini, but injuries to other parts of the team have amplified concerns of this position. Diaby and Denilson are not yet good enough, while Song, despite being the most effective defensive-minded midfielder at the club, is wrongly criticised for his laid-back posture and easy-going character.

Defending has been identified and corrected by Wenger, with Djourou playing an important role, along with the more cautious full-backs. As for Eboue, the petulant persona inside of him can’t seem to be caged, as he is actually a decent footballer, but his actions have affected his reputation across the country.

It does seem that if a Wayne Rooney lashes out at referees, they tend to ignore it, perhaps subconsciously seeing such actions as typical of ‘passionate’ English nature. If a foreign player does so, the referee may see it as a deliberately thought-out reaction and thus inflict a greater punishment.

But whichever angle you are coming from, when the difficulties are added up it is hard to get away from the conclusion that Arsenal are in a deep-rooted crisis. If the looming Champions League games against Roma see them crash out of Europe that will be confirmed.

Unbeaten in eleven games, now seems to be a crisis and while the form of the team is not as relentless as Champions League rivals Aston Villa, it is hardly the makings of a crisis. Yet, the anonymous writer of this article says, it will be so if the club is knocked out of Europe; so actually, it appears as if the ‘Hatchet Man’ is contradicted his earlier assertion and the Arsenal are not yet in a crisis.

Eduardo’s return to fitness and the introduction of Andrei Arshavin will freshen up a jaded team but they are unlikely to have enough to drag their team out of the slump they descend farther into all the time.

Here the Daily Mail columnist conveniently forgets the imminent returns of Fabregas, Rosicky and Walcott. All three alongside the two that are mentioned should help Arsenal to a strong end to the season and not help then descend further into a slump, which there is no justification for as returning quality players generally help teams, not slow their decline.

Drastic action will be required in the summer with an overhaul of the squad or a senior addition to Wenger’s coaching staff.

This shows a fatal misunderstanding of how Arsenal is run. Wenger is the chief at the club and has total control over every aspect of the day-to-day running of the club. There will be no addition to the senior staff because of this. An overhaul of the playing staff would be, frankly ridiculous. The squad is the youngest in the Premiership and needs time to bond and grow. Last year’s title challenging side took three years to form. An overhaul this summer would ruin the club.

Arsenal are being blown way off course and some new ideas are needed.

The youth philosophy at Arsenal is greatly based on preparation, technique and sharpness of the players. Injuries have affected the club greatly, and given the style of play, this is common. Sharp turns and little sprints can be stopped by efficient tackling, while the players required for this style of football are agile, smaller and consequently more prone to injuries.

The economic model of the club is steady and will see them through the current climate, unlike Chelsea who rely on unsustainable outside sources of income from the pockets of owner Roman Abramovich, and will break even in 2010 if pigs fly. The club is not being blown off course and it is trophies that are required not new ideas.

Secondly, this ‘esteemed’ columnist has another go to amplify a perfectly reasonable comment from new Arsenal CEO Ivan Gazidis claiming Arsenal’s financial forecasts are based on having Champions League football once every four years and an average gate of 51,000.

If Arsenal’s new signing Andrei Arshavin cannot secure his new club a Champions League place this season they could be banished to mid-table obscurity for the foreseeable future.

Chief executive Ivan Gazidis claims their finances can handle only one year out of the European elite, but how does the man from Major League Soccer think they will be able to break back in once they have slipped behind the rest.

Considering Gazidis is an Oxford graduate, and was Deputy Commissioner of the MLS, sorting out all transfers and contracts and general financial work, he should have a good idea of how finances in football works. Considering, the South African can directly look at Arsenal’s finances, he can make such claims. Yet the Hatchet Man decides to portray an honest assessment as arrogance from a man arriving from an inferior football league, not realizing that the quality of the football in the MLS, is not a gauge on the credentials of Gazidis himself. 

Arsenal have not exactly been big spenders this year and may not be prepared to gamble on a big push to return to the Premier League’s top four if Aston Villa squeeze them out because of the debts they have accumulated moving home.

That expensive new stadium is not looking quite so smart any more, is it.

It seems that the newspapers always use the expenditure of a club in transfers as a yardstick of how well said club will do the following season. They conveniently forget that team-building is the most important factor at clubs like Arsenal, hence how only a few signings in the summer of 2007, allowed a team finishing 4^th to challenge for the title in 2007/08.

Finally, the Hatchet man seems oblivious to the long-term in football, with the new stadium bringing in roughly £3m every Matchday. Also, Arsenal made a decision on moving from Highbury, obviously without a Karl Marx on board to tell them of an impending financial crisis, and delivered the project on time and at the predicted cost.

A crucial lack of understanding about how loans work is also missing from this columnist’s skill set, as he fails to recognize that generally borrowed money has to be repaid. Also, in the long term the club will be able to compete financially, while the current transfer budget is not exclusively linked to the debt repayments. These ridiculously reasoned articles are not just directed at Arsenal but over anyone and anything in football. And it is all in the name of impact.