ARSENAL are shrinking - literally.
Since they last won a major trophy in 2005 the height of the team has decreased by, on average, more than three inches per man.
Take a look at the side which beat Leicester City in May 2004 to complete the Premier League season unbeaten and compare it with the players who beat Stoke in the last game of last season.
The difference is not just in quality, it's quantity.
And therein lies one of the main reasons Arsenal have been potless for four years.
In central midfield for The Invincibles were 6ft 3½in, 13st Patrick Vieira and 6ft 3in, 12¾st Gilberto Silva.
Ray Parlour on the right was 6ft and 12½st.
The midfield generals last year - and this - are 5ft 10in, 10½st Cesc Fabregas and 5ft 11in, 10½st Denilson.
On the flanks are 5ft 9in, 10½st Theo Walcott and 5ft 6in, 10st Andrey Arshavin. In boxing terms, that's like dropping from welterweight to lightweight - which is exactly what this current Arsenal team are.
The strangest thing about this shift in emphasis is the man behind it.
It was Arsene Wenger who developed the blueprint for the modern Premier League-winning team but has since torn up his own masterplan.
Between 1998 and 2004, Wenger revolutionised football in England by developing a side with a remarkable fusion of qualities.
We had seen quick skilful players succeed before. And everyone knew about the benefit of brawn and bravery in this country.
Wenger, however, created almost an entire team which combined pace and technique with sheer physical power and aggression.
Take a look at the stalwarts of the team which became The Invincibles by completing the 03-04 season undefeated.
Sol Campbell, Lauren, Vieira, Gilberto, Thierry Henry. The smallest man in the team was Ashley Cole - no shrinking violet.
Even the easiest man in the team to knock over - Robert Pires - was 6ft 1in and 11st.
There was Martin Keown, Kolo Toure, Edu, Dennis Bergkamp. Need we go on?
If you were to put today's Arsenal midfield (Arshavin, Fabregas, Denilson, Walcott) against the '04 side (Parlour, Vieira, Gilberto, Pires) who do you think would win?
It's like fielding a bunch of Victorian chimney sweeps against the WWF legends.
Arsenal were so physically superior and technically dominant in the first part of the decade that they left opponents gasping for breath.
Alex Ferguson was so exasperated by the Gunners' uncanny marriage of flair and power, he often puzzled over Wenger's secret.
Then he decided to copy it. As did Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benitez.
Hence the bulking up of Cristiano Ronaldo. The purchase of Michael Essien and Didier Drogba and the arrival of Fernando Torres at Liverpool. The major trophy standings among the Big Four since Arsenal's double in 2004 looks like this: Chelsea six, Manchester United six, Liverpool two, Arsenal ONE - no, we're not counting last weekend's Emirates Cup, Arsene.
No one is denying that smaller, skilful ball players can be effective in English and European football.
But recent history tells us that any team with serious ambitions cannot afford any more than one or two such players on the field.
Proof? Carlos Tevez's lack of game time at Manchester United and Joe Cole, notwithstanding injury, becoming a fringe player at Chelsea.
And Yossi Benayoun is very much a cameo man at Anfield, while almost every other player in those three squads is around 6ft and 11st.Even the all-conquering Barcelona side of last season would rarely field Messi and Bojan for any more than 20 minutes together.
As it stands, Arsenal's squad is, on average, an inch shorter and half a stone lighter than any of the top three rivals.
And that is before centre-back Philippe Senderos' move to Everton is considered.
So why has Wenger all but abandoned the very model of success he created?
Those close to the Frenchman insist it has not been a conscious change of style - more one that has evolved through the club's transfer policy. Wenger has stubbornly insisted on grooming young players while buying carefully - despite losing every one of his '04 side in the meantime.
Of course there remains some power at the club but William Gallas, Alex Song and Mikael Silvestre are hardly capable of scaring tots, nevermind Tottenham.
Add to that the fact Wenger sold defender Toure and striker Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City in the last two weeks and it all looks rather bleak.
True, Wenger has been handicapped in the market by the costs of the Emirates Stadium but he is still one of the only managers in the Premier League who has returned a net profit for his club on transfers. He has boasted of the 'English tradition' at Arsenal, the only top four club not to be owned outright by a foreign billionaire.
Fair enough, but would the fans rather have a sugardaddy with trophies or a democratic boardroom and ANOTHER barren season?
With Alisher Usmanov and Stan Kroenke still teetering on the brink of making an offer for majority ownership, it is an issue which will be addressed sooner, not later.
As for Arsenal's chance of winning a trophy this season, it is wrong to say 'nobody ever won anything with kids'.
It just depends on how big your kids are.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sp ... R=Football
