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What is going on at Arsenal? Do they really want to go head to head with Manchester United and Chelsea? Are they really willing to splash the cash in pursuit of a trophy, a first in four years? Sadly, it doesn't appear so.

Don't get me wrong, I have tremendous respect for Arsène Wenger. He is one of the shrewdest managers in world football and has done a magnificent job in North London for more than a decade. He is a legend.

Yet this Arsenal team, even so early in the season, are looking a pale shadow of their predecessors. Where are the figures such as Tony Adams, Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry? Men of stature, men of influence? I don't see them. As an opponent, you'd stand next to this present lot in the players' tunnel and think: “They're just a bunch of kids, I'll have some of this.” They don't scare you, there is little physical presence.

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On the pitch, they don't impose themselves, either. They play what I call PlayStation football - pretty, lots of running with the ball, intricate passing, but then nothing, just powderpuff overindulging and overelaborating. No punch, no penetration, no end product. As a team, they look extremely vulnerable.

I know they have injuries, but who doesn't? And where are the big-name signings to excite the fans, to generate the passion, to reinvigorate the team? I just don't see it and I just don't get it.

Arsenal should be challenging for all the leading honours - and I don't mean the Carling Cup - yet Wenger and his board seem to be more obsessed with running a tight ship and bringing on the kids. Sorry, it won't work.

Sir Alex Ferguson acts when he needs to. “Get me the final piece of my jigsaw,” he will demand and his wish will be granted, whatever the cost. Chelsea do the same, albeit with the luxury of the millions of Roman Abramovich at their disposal.

Balancing the books is nonsense. You have to speculate to accumulate to win silverware, not worry about the resale values of players in, say, three years' time. Who cares about 2011? It's all about this season, now, as any fan will tell you.

Theo Walcott does not seem to have progressed. I find that strange. Robin van Persie misses a lot of games through injury and rarely seems a happy chappy, anyway. And William Gallas as captain? To me, that sums up this bunch. He would never have got near the armband in the days of “The Invincibles” in 2003-04.

So, go on, Arsène. Bully the board, get £50million to spend and go out and buy big - some experience, some guile, some knowledge. Get a centre back with leadership qualities, a central midfield player with bite - to help Cesc Fàbregas - and perhaps another goalkeeper. Go on, Arsène. Give your kids a chance.