Unimpressed by the Orient thumping

That 5-0 win was a big lie. It was all about Orient not showing up. I couldn't enjoy the game because Arsenal were pathetic until Wilshere and Nasri came on. With injuries to key players, it was disappointing to confim that the squad is carrying too many passengers when we have a really good chance to fight for the title.

Leyton Orient were assured their big payout and they feared a big thrashing at the Emirates so they didn't show up. Two percent more effort from Orient would have exposed an Arsenal team containing some players who are both uninterested and uninteresting. Later on in the game when Orient tried to save face, they showed just how easy it was to get behind Arsenal. If we were playing Sunderland, it would have finished 0-5. The damning thing about some of the players is their mentality, not their skill and these are the players that will have replace injured players when we are playing for our lives to win something this season. I am not happy.

I watched Chelsea vs United and although Man Utd lost, they showed what fight it takes to win the title these days when every team in the league can cause you problems. Man Utd are always competitive because their mentality is more important than their skill. They have played this season and last with persistent injury in the back four and went to Chelsea without Valencia and Park and with 36 year old Paul Scholes in midfield. To compete, they have to fight harder to make up the deficiencies and they did. That is why Man Utd are competitive every season.

Arsenal have found the fight this season. Pretty much all our first team players have put in a serious fight this season. That is reflected in our league position even though we have had injuries, a completely new and changing relationship at the centre of defence and changing goalkeepers. However, in order to completely cope with the injuries and bring home the title in the last 10 games, we badly need some players to step up. Against Orient, it was painfully clear that some of the players don't quite get it or are not up to it. Eboué, Diaby and Bendtner are not giving me anything.

Let's get two players who are on everyone's black list out of the way. Squilacci is not coping well in England but I have no problems with his attitude. I find it easy to forgive players who try and fail than those who don't seem to care. The same applies to Denilson in my view. Denilson is trying hard as far as I am concerned. Eboué, Diaby and Bendtner for me are simply not doing enough at all.

Orient got behind Eboué countless times. On many of those occasions, Eboué and Bendtner were standing close together and looking for someone else to do something while Orient cut into them.

Eboué is quick, skillful and strong. He is 27 years old and should have a lot of experience by now. Eboué, however, seems to have accepted his fate as second choice after a player of the same age as him. He is sitting on a nice contract and seems quite happy to be a bit part player at Arsenal. That is the problem with Eboué. Eboué is content. He has got more natural talent than John O´Shea but cannot match John O´Shea's hunger and performances. Eboué should be at the peak of his ability yet he is content and happy to be mediocre. At 27 and a long time Arsenal player, Eboué should be vital in the leadership of the team but he isn't. He falls asleep during games, losses his concentration and happily gives up his place in the team to Sagna. That is not right.

Bendtner seems more concerned about being first choice than proving to he is good enough to be first choice. With RvP injured and with enough games in three competitions, Bendtner also seems too content. His workrate is poorer than last year and he doesn't seem to have thought hard enough about the reality of him playing wide and how to get better with it. He seems to be hankering for a spot in the middle rather than trying to influence the team from wherever he is put. Bendtner scored a hat trick yesterday but that did not dilute my anger at the comfort he seems to feel. Contrast that with Chamakh who had a less impressive game but is visibly trying hard to get his form back

Bendtner is 23 and I have been a long long supporter of Niklas. At this age, he wants to be in the first team and talks about it a lot. I think Niklas needs to think about it differently. He needs to say to himself, I am very different from RvP or Henry. I am going to do everything this season to see if I can really fit and contribute to this team. I can try to change my style here and there and also keep the good things that I bring that are different. If it doesn't work, then I know this is not the team for me. That is the question Bendtner needs to be looking to answer instead of demanding a starting place and then getting it just to deliver a far inferior performance to what we expect from the first team players in that position.

Then there is Diaby. Diaby winds me up the most because of all these three players, he is the one with the most ability and power. He is also the one who can have a massive impact for Arsenal because not only can he cover so many key areas in midfield but he can also add something new. Diaby is a very gifted player who just needs to improve very simple things that he already knows. Denilson, Eboué and Bendtner have to acquire completely new skills to get better. Diaby on the other hand just needs to improve on some things he has shown evidence of being good at.

First Diaby has to improve his awareness in defensive situations. We see him snuff out opponent's attacks very often. We see him win crucial tackles, we see him cover important angles and make vital defensive clearances during set-pieces. But then he sometimes just forgets to get involved and doesn't do any of those things when threats are inches from him. He just seems not to care sometimes. It is infuriating because we know how effective he can be.

Second, Diaby confuses action with progress. Diaby has to understand what it means to have the ball. It is not an end in itself. You have to do something with it. Keeping control of the ball for as long as you can is meaningless. Abou picks up the ball, doesn't look up so he doesn't see two or three killer passes. Then he goes on to try to keep the ball by dribbling or running with it with the sole purpose of retaining the ball. He finally runs away from opponents but finds himself near the touchline having gone nowhere. Then he looks up and the only pass that is on by that stage is a meaningless one.

Cesc and Wilshere will run with the ball only if there is no good pass to make. When they run with the ball, it is a temporary measure. It is designed to create movement that opens up a good pass. It is about creating a good end-product. We have seen Diaby do that and we know he can do it but he just seems to forget so often. It kills me.

I am not too concerned about Chamakh. His basic problem right now is that he has no confidence to turn with the ball, something that van Persie has in buckets. When we play a fast moving game with Cesc, Nasri, Walcott and Wilshere on the pitch, his reluctance to turn is not such a huge issue. But it is an issue now with the injuries. The guy always works hard and you can see him trying to fix his little problems so if Arsenal are lucky, he will fix them in the next game or two or three.

Diaby and Bendtner however are so desperately important right now but are so completely unpredictable. We don't know if they can rise to the occasion. Song and Jack may have to serve a suspension or pick up a knock at some point. Jack has been almost overused and I doubt Cesc is going to have a good run to the end of the season after this hamstring problem so Diaby is going to have to turn it on immediately for us to have any chance for the title. As Wenger said, all we have from now till the end is cup finals. In those games, we need very hungry warriors all round the pitch.

Bendtner is going to have to cover in different ways for the absence of RvP, Walcott and when Arshavin needs resting. Bendtner is rather important now till the end of the season. For that reason he needs to step up now!

I wish I could go into that dressing room and tell Eboué and Bendtner that they have to play for the right to stay at Arsenal next season from now on. I am aware that Diaby needs a run of games before he can get such an ultimatum.

Sunderland will not be easy especially before Barcelona and without Cesc, Walcott and RvP. It will be very tough. A game in hand is not 3 points and though the title is in our hands, even fourth spot cannot be considered to be in the bag.

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