Arsenal and Spurs pay for standing still

North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur were given stark reminders at the weekend that in the money-fuelled Premier League you stand still at your peril. 

Both have suffered summers of discontent with their best players anxious to leave and a lack of major signings and both were still shell-shocked on Monday after humiliating defeats against teams they are supposed to be competing with. 

They also seem to have been left behind by Liverpool who have spent freely to revamp the under-achieving side inherited by Kenny Dalglish last season and who now, along with Chelsea, look best placed to challenge City and United for the title. 

Arsenal, who have sold skipper Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona and Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy to Manchester City since finishing fourth last season, were outclassed 8-2 by champions Manchester United at Old Trafford. 

It was the proud club's heaviest league defeat since 1927 and raised further questions about manager Arsene Wenger's philosophy of evolving teams rather than making the kind of marquee signings that have transformed Manchester City into title contenders. 

United would hardly have been quaking in their boots after a glance at Arsenal's lightweight starting line-up which was woefully ill-equipped to cope with the rampant Reds who have been bolstered by the signings of England midfielder Ashley Young and defender Phil Jones. 

While they were not helped by the suspension of new signing Gervinho and absence of injured Jack Wilshere, striker Robin van Persie refused to make excuses for a performance which raised serious doubts about Arsenal's chances of another top-four finish. 

"I don't think we can hide behind injuries or suspensions. It is no excuse. They had injuries too, this is football," Van Persie, who missed a penalty when his side trailed 1-0 at Old Trafford, told the club's website. 

"This was the strongest team we had today. We gave our maximum but it was clearly not good enough." 

Van Persie's comment appeared to be a thinly-disguised demand for team strengthening but with just three days before the transfer window closes, Arsenal are running out of time to put together a squad capable of challenging for silverware. 

A failure to do so would heap more pressure on the previously untouchable Wenger who is now 9-2 third favourite to be the next Premier League manager to be sacked. 

"If he doesn't start addressing the faults that have been there for three years, I think there's a chance he might be sacked," former Arsenal player Frank McLintock told Sky Sports on Monday as the post-mortem began. 
"I know that sounds almost impossible, but it depends what happens in the next month or two." 

Things are hardly any more encouraging a few miles away at Tottenham who sit bottom of the league with no points from two games, albeit against United and City. 

While there were a few positive signs in the 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford, Sunday's 5-1 home drubbing by Manchester City showed just how far Spurs have fallen behind the side they pipped to the Champions League in 2009-10. 

Manager Harry Redknapp, well-known for his transfer dealings, admitted the continuing saga of playmaker Luka Modric's desire to move to Chelsea had cast a shadow over the preparations of the new season. 

"There's been a feeling around the place...it's not been right," Redknapp said after admitting that Modric had been reluctant to even start on Sunday. "People going, people wanting to go. The place needs a lift and I've told the chairman." 

Tottenham appear to have gone backwards since qualifying for last season's Champions League and reaching the quarter-finals. 

With the strikers continuing to struggle, fans can only cast envious glances at the firepower City displayed on Sunday when Carlos Tevez was not even required. 

So confident are City now that they have allowed their Togolese forward Emmanuel Adebayor to join Spurs on loan -- a situation unthinkable a year ago when the clubs appeared to be evenly-matched in the hunt for a top-four finish.

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