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One day soon the phone will ring and it will be Arsene Wenger fixing up a time to come and sign his new three-year contract.

That's the hope in the boardroom, anyway. As chief executive Ivan Gazidis said last month, it's all been agreed. “Arsene will be extending with us and at the right time we'll announce it.”

Now, you might think right about now might be a good time. A point off the top in the Premier League. In the fifth round of the FA Cup. And a Champions League showdown with the European champions Bayern Munich.

But, sadly, now might be the worst time to confirm it. The fans have gone from loving the ride to questioning where this season is going.

The way Arsenal are playing, it could be over fairly quickly. And it's not just about staying in touch at the top, it's becoming more about looking nervously over the shoulder as Liverpool and (whisper it quietly) Tottenham hurtle ever closer.

That's probably why, first thing on Tuesday morning, when a few members of the board visited Arsenal's training ground, the assembled members of the press were quickly told that they were there to oversee some redevelopment plans. It wasn't a visit about Wenger's contract.

The point is now is probably not a good time to be talking about a new contract for Wenger. For the record, I think he'll stay and is still the best man for the job.

But the current mini slump – Arsenal have taken just five points from a possible 12 – has thrown up some old problems. A section of fed-up fans who were briefly won over have gone back to being thoroughly fed-up.

(Image: Andrew Powell)

Wenger's long standing assertion was that he would only sign if he was wanted, if he felt he could take the club forward and be successful.

The trouble is, if Arsenal finish fourth (or even fifth), go out of the FA Cup and Champions League is that going forward?

I think some fans (and no journalist ever claims to speak for all) will be loud enough to make it clear that is not acceptable and Wenger will undoubtedly be left having a wobble over whether it is right to stay.

Wenger is single-minded, arrogant and focused on what he sees is right. Those are the qualities of a good manager. But he's also not deaf.

The abuse – and the very personal nature of it – shouted at him at the opening day defeat against Aston Villa shocked him to the core. I am told by people nearby it was the worst they'd ever heard.

So, let's not pretend that Arsenal fans weren't fed-up and it was all just a media invention. Even if it was just a minority, the minority were loud enough and must have upset him.

Do you really need that for another three years? And the point is that another season without a trophy makes it nine years without silverware and that's far too long for a big club. Far, far too long.

Yes, they've moved to a new stadium. And yes, they had to pay it off. But late last year, they announced season ticket price rises of three per cent. That's just above inflation.

At the time, I didn't think that was so bad (and I admit that I don't have to pay those prices) because Arsenal had paid through the nose for Mesut Ozil. And he had done wonders for the club, lifted the mood, represented a change in philosophy and given the fans a new hope.

Then on top of that, season ticket holders will have to pay extra (the money gets deferred to next season's ticket) for their seat against Bayern Munich. That's big money. I know a lot of people who have decided not to take up their seat for arguably the biggest game of the season.

(Image: AFC)

And what do they get in return? They get Kim Kallstrom, an injured player signed in a panic on deadline day.

The medical team recognised he had a back injury, would be out for at least six weeks and Wenger still signed him as his parent club Spartak Moscow would pay his wages for six weeks. Good old, Arsene. That's Wengernomics for you.

So, for all of the promises of a brave new world, impressive new commercial deals and a new outlook, they are back to panic bargain basement deals.

Yes, it's difficult to do deals in January. But, believe me, the scouting and transfer department had put in the hours, hard work and preparation on deals like Julian Draxler. They got it to a place where if Wenger had wanted to do it then it could have been done. And the board were prepared to back him.

We could argue all day whether Draxler is worth £37m (the same as Juan Mata, a proven player with Premier League pedigree) but sometimes you have to pay over the odds. Wenger refused.

And now Arsenal may end up paying an even heavier price if their season goes up in smoke.

Arsenal don't just need Draxler though. As we've been saying for months, they are likely to lose Bacary Sagna on a free transfer. He's been offered a one year-plus one contract to stay.

He can get three or four elsewhere. I don't blame him. It's his last year. It will cost more to replace him though, so where does that fit with Wenger's economics? It's messed up.

Lukasz Fabianski is going on a free transfer, probably to Schalke. Emiliano Viviano will not be signed when his loan expires.

Young keeper Damian Martinez may well be No2 to Szczesny next season. But they need another. They also need a new right back, two new centre backs (Thomas Vermaelen will surely go), I think they're looking for a successor for Mikel Arteta and a world class striker.

That's six players. And there's no-one ready made coming through in the academy. A couple of gems in Gedion Zelalem and Serge Gnabry, who is progressing well. But generally the academy is another story of gradual decline which is now, finally, being addressed.

They have appointed a new academy head in Andries Jonker, they have just hung on to their Grade One status. I hear there are big, exciting changes ahead for the under-21 set-up. A potential deal with BT Sport to show games on a Friday night, a split into two divisions. Arsenal will need to keep up with the Joneses.

But they still haggle over players. I've been writing about Arsenal's interest in Nottingham Forest defender Jamaal Lascelles for as long as I can remember. Lascelles is rivalling Sebastian Frey as one of Arsenal's most linked. How much would he cost? £5m maybe? Arsenal have watched him possibly more times than Gary Cahill which they didn't do.

Arsenal's chief scout Steve Rowley went and watched Lascelles last week at Blackpool. How many more times? Surely there reaches a point where they must just do it.

Wenger has the final say on transfers and his dithering and indecision is legendary. So if he's undecided on a young emerging player, how can he rebuild a squad with world class players?

This is a new era for Arsenal. It also has the same old familiar problems. I don't want to be too pessimistic. But I can see Arsenal losing to an in-form Liverpool side on Sunday. They are rank outsiders against Bayern Munich.

That will knock the stuffing out of them in the title race. So, if the season fizzles out then I do believe we will look back on January as the month it was lost, not the nightmare run of games in February.

That was the month when the squad needed strengthening. Not yet another scouting mission to watch Lascelles. Just do it. Spend the money, also buy a top player, pay a bit more for a striker.

That's what happens when you don't do your business in the summer. You have to pay over the odds in January. So enough of this you can't do deals in January. Do them in the summer, then. But they didn't last summer and are now paying a heavy price.

The players are dead on their feet. Arteta, one of my favourite players, looks as if he's running through treacle. You can't rest the centre halves as Vermaelen has had a setback and there's no-one else. Olivier Giroud works hard but needs back-up. He's running on empty.

Aaron Ramsey was run into the ground. It was too late to rest him when they did. Rest him when he's fresh to keep him fresh.

There's even a big school of thought in other sports that players suffer serious injuries (like cruciate ligament injuries) when they are jaded because they take a fraction longer to get to the ball, they're a bit weaker and so on. And how Arsenal miss Theo Walcott now.

Arsenal have left themselves short. They are running out of gas. And if this season ends up fading away, Wenger's new contract may be a hard sell to some people.

I don't think most fans want a change of manager. But, yet again, they are crying out for a change in the manager.