Carling Cup half empty

Couldn't Carling Less

An insipid performance from an Arsenal side lacking cohesion who could have placed one foot in a Wembley final, against an uninspiring Ipswich team reaping no reward save a humiliating defeat to a team walloped for seven by Chelsea.

This performance bought home the lie of Wenger's self proclaimed 'best ever sqauad'. The chance of a first trophy in five years given little regard by a group of players who clearly don't have what it takes. Let's be frank. Ipswich Town are and were poor, yet Arsenal did nothing of consequence for the 95 minutes of this Semi Final first leg. With a solid victory it would have taken the pressure off of the second leg, in an already congested fixture list. Ipswich, on the other hand will fancy their chances against West Ham or Birmingham and know a draw at the Emirates next week will be enough. Should Arsenal fail to reach the final of this often derided competition, which now has taken on importance for the club, it will be not only an embarrassment but a sad indictment on the squad that Arsene has assembled.

Does this current crop have any desire to win any aspiration to write their own chapter in Arsenal's history book. Doesn't look like it.They played like strangers tonight, like a team of Hillier, Morrow, Selley, McGoldrick vintage

So it was ironic that Chris Kiwomya was on the Ipswich bench, he was the type of player who, along with the others mentioned, signalled the beginning of end of the George Graham era. The type of player not up to the job at hand; playing for the Arsenal and having a winning mentality. Sound familiar?