I’M not going to enjoy writing this week’s column. Every word will sting to type, an act of betrayal against one of the people I admire most and someone who has given as much as anybody to English football.

But all the same, I’m going to come out and say it: Arsène Wenger might, perhaps, have finally outlived his role as Arsenal manager.

Let me preface what I’m gong to say but distancing myself from hysterics of the ‘Wenger Out’ section within the Arsenal support who seem to believe the club has a divine right to trophies. I firmly believe that what he has done in maintaining their Champions League position while building a new stadium and competing with the near-limitless resources of their rivals is a unique achievement. I don’t think that there is another manager in the world with the skill to keep the club balanced through such a time and the loyalty to hang around and see the project through. The modern Arsenal is unrecognisable from the club he arrived at in 1996 and that is entirely thanks to Wenger’s hard work.

But now the times are changing. The idea that their stadium debt is all but paid off is a myth, but improved commercial revenue means Arsenal are undoubtedly in a much stronger financial position than before, one which means they can now compete to sign world-class players instead of making them and selling them on. There is a very strong squad there, but the results so far this season have not reflected that and Wednesday night’s absurd collapse at home to Anderlecht only served to cast an even sharper light on their shortcomings.

Whisper it quietly, but these last few months have been the low point of Wenger’s time at Arsenal. Yes, they have been worse at times in absolute terms, but never have their performances sat far below where they should be given the players and resources available. When they’ve done badly in the past it’s been because they just weren’t very good, the aforementioned difficulties manifesting themselves in the quality of player on the pitch. Now, though, they should be strong contenders for the Premier League and Champions League, but so far they appear terribly short on both fronts.

The first and most oft-cited reason for this is the team’s often shambolic defending. They got by on a wing and prayer last year, gambling everything on the first choice back four remaining fit and the lack of back up never being exposed. For the most part the dice landed in their favour, but instead of walking away with a relieved sigh, Wenger raised the stakes ever higher. To lose Bacary Sanga, Thomas Vermaelen and Carl Jenkinson over the summer and only bring in Mathieu Debuchy and Callum Chambers as replacements seems inexplicable and is costing them dearly now with Debuchy and Laurent Koscielny both injured. Nacho Monreal is being shoe-horned into the centre of defence, which in turn is making Per Mertesacker appear much less confident. How different it could be if Wenger had simply held on to Vermaelen?

Defending, though, is not simply about personnel, but organisation too. Would Gary Cahill, for example, excel at haphazard Arsenal the way he does in Jose Mourinho’s well-drilled Chelsea side? Arsenal’s back four currently appear to be largely unaware of one another’s positioning, seemingly playing as individuals rather than a unit. While defensive organisation has never been Wenger’s strong point, he is fortunate to have Steve Bould at his side, someone who thrived in the ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’ days of George Graham. Exactly how much room is allowed for Bould’s input into such issues has always been unclear, but it certainly seems like he has more to offer.

On top of the defensive issues, much of Arsenal’s play has been blunted by experiments with a changed formation. Often this season one central midfielder has been brought forward, morphing last season’s 4-2-3-1 into a 4-1-4-1, seemingly in order to accommodate both Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey into the same team. This means that Mesut Özil, who thrives centrally in the ‘number 10’ role is pushed out wide where he is less influential, while also asked to chase back to help out the defence. Furthermore, Ramsey has also struggled in a role where, instead of making tackles and bringing the ball forward from deep, he is playing behind the striker. After the success of last season, he now seems unsure of his game, trying to score goals and having much less to offer when they don’t go in.

Finally, it has isolated the deep lying midfielder, leaving one man to shield the back four instead of two, another reason why the defence has become less solid. So to sum up: the already shaky defence is more exposed, Özil, who can’t defend to save his life, is given more responsibility at the back and Ramsey, one of the league’s most underrated tacklers, is given less. And both then have their offensive instincts muddled too.

I’m not saying Arsenal must get rid of Wenger. Indeed, I fully expect that their season will pick up and they should finish in the top three without too much difficulty. But what if they don’t? What if things just carry on as they are? Wenger has turned things around before and he most likely will again, but at the moment there are very obvious problems hampering his team’s progress, and the responsibility for them falls directly upon his shoulders.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Hugo Saye is an English journalist who spent nine months in Jamaica shadowing 2012-2013 National Premier League champions Harbour View FC, where he spoke openly with stars of both sport and politics and discovered the importance of football in the Caribbean island, which formed the background of his book, Of Garrisons and Goalscorers.