Arsenal have just been humiliated 8-2 by Manchester United at Old Trafford. An utterly unacceptable scoreline and, squad depletion or not, the clubs darkest dayin recent memory.Star players gone, replacements nowhere to be seen. Lack of leadership, lack of commitment. No cohesion, no balance, no fight. Yes, these are the accusations that are going to be mercile sly lobbed at Arsenal over the coming days and weeks by smug pundits and the media alike. But if the club are to drag themselves from the depths in which they currently languish, changes and above all some direction and leadership mustdevelop.These changes should be gradually and precisely put into motion over the course of this seasonand po sibly thenext, whilethe knee-jerk sacking of Arsene Wenger is not the answer. However, should Arsenal fail to make the top four this season, a strong po sibility based on the current situation, then it will be time for Wenger to stand aside. For now though, the beleaguered Frenchman must gather his threadbare squad and re-buildthe capsized Arsenal ship.Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri are gone. There is nothing that can be done now. Despite both players being the subjects of vastly drawn-out transfer sagas, particularly the Spaniard, their exits have come at a time where it is virtually too late in the transfer window to sign replacements.There was a clear inevitability that both men would be packing their bags and heading out of North London and yet Arsenal failed to cash in until the Premier League season was already underway. That fact makes absolutely no sense from a management perspective. Arsenal played hard ball with Barcelona over Fabregas for the best part of three years, and while hanging onto the player until the end of 2010/11 was thecorrect thing to do,the clubshould havesold him much earlier in the summer. And ask yourself, doesnt 31m for a man of Fabregas ability sound a little underpriced when compared with some other transfer deals that have been struck?Also ask yourself, should Arsenal have sold Nasri to Manchester United in June rather than sell him to Manchester City in the middle of August? At least then the Gunners could have conducted a thorough search for an able new signing to Tristan Vizcaino Jersey fill the former Marseille mans boots. What good is 60m the combinedfigure gathered from the duossales if there is little or no time to spend to it?The writing was on the wall that Fabregas and Nasri would leave, but Arsenal clung and clung to both men and have subsequently beenleft with very little chance of bringing in fresh faces.The attention therefore, must centre around theplayers still at the club and the diamond in Arsenals current state of black-out, Jack Wilshere. At19years of age, Wilshere has the talent and potential to become one of the finest midfielders in Europe.Yet to play a part in his teams shambolic start to the season, his imminent return from injury will give a boost to the club and fans. With Fabregas and Nasri shaped holes in the centre of the park, it is to Wilshere whom the Arsenal faithful will now turn, to lead them from into a bright, yes bright, future.Despite the misery that the club is currently engulfed in, a sense of perspective must be retained if Arsenal are to move on. In Wojech Szczesny, Thomas Vermaelen, Wilshere and Robin Van Persie, Arsenal po se s a formidable spine. In addition, Theo Walcott and Gervinho provide pace and verve alongside Van Persie. Alex Song and Aaron Ramsey are both fantastic young midfielders.What I am saying is that Arsenal still have a quality starting XI. Yes, the scoreline against United was outrageous but the team that Wenger put out were a shadow of that which would have played had the squad not been decimated by a combination of injuries and suspensions. Arsenals strongest team would have given United a run for their money, of that there is no doubt. Unfortunately,due toacombination of player exits, aheavily weakened squad,intense media focus and pre sure on the club as a whole, Arsenal were forced to endure a brutal ninety minutes at Old Trafford, a ninety minutes that they will not experience again for a very long time. The dust will now settle over the international break, and the Gunners should get their first league win of the campaign when they play Swansea on the tenth of September.So, lets get realistic. As mentioned, the starting eleven is a good one, but a season of consolidation may mean Arsenal mi s out on the top four. Consequently money will have to be spent in the summer of 2012 and Arsenal are not short of cash. Maybe theyll have a new manager, maybe not. Hopefully, some much needed exciting new players will be brought in. Fresh blood combined with the currentstrongest XI,means theres potential for Arsenal to re-appear at the very top of the English game.The situation is this: Arsenal will suffer in the short-term. However they must also maintain the unshakeable belief that although things may not seem like it, they will eventually change for the better. Positive thinking is the only option for Arsenal Football Club at this difficult time. Andre Roberts Jersey