Mikel Arteta and Declan Rice both said the exact same thing after Sunday's 2-1 loss at Fulham: "Not good enough." And they were right. Arsenal didn't deserve to take any points home from their trip to Craven Cottage, so dire was their display.
The real concern for the Gunners, though, is that same phrase could be applied to their squad. As it stands, Arteta's men don't look remotely good enough to challenge for this season's Premier League title.
Rice added on Sky Sports, "There are a lot of media who talk and say Arsenal are going to win the league this year and we are better this year, but we don’t get involved in that." Which is the right approach, really, because it wouldn't do anyone connected with the club any good to dwell on the fact that the squad is actually weaker now than it was last season - and that's a deeply depressing thought for the fans, given the club spent more than £200 million ($250m) during the summer transfer window.
Rice, to his credit, has proven an excellent acquisition. His goals alone have been worth five points to Arsenal, and that's without getting into what he adds to the midfield. Jurrien Timber was also desperately unfortunate to suffer a serious injury on his debut after impressing in pre-season, but the decision to spend £62m ($78m) on Kai Havertz remains as baffling now as it was last July. The Germany international has enjoyed something resembling a mini-revival in recent weeks, but there's still no shaking the feeling that Arsenal's ambitions would have been far better served by signing a proven goalscorer.
However, it's been made abundantly clear during the first half of the season that Arsenal aren't just short up front. Indeed, a squad that was meant to challenge for the title is alarmingly short in several key areas...