(Buck your ideas up son)

Let's face it - things are not looking good for Arsenal. The Gunner's slide into mediocrity continued last night with a piss-poor performance against a Bolton side now just two points clear of the relegation zone. The gap between us and fourth remained at 5 points thanks to Chelsea's draw at Swansea, but two teams, namely Newcastle and Liverpool, now occupy the space between us and them. To put that into perspective, that's a Liverpool team with lumbering man-child Andy Carroll up front and a Newcastle team managed by Alan 'he's absolutely raped him' Pardew. Can things get any worse?

Well yes, as apparently Jack Wilshere looks to set to miss the rest of the season. The young midfielder aggravated his injury in training and will almost certainly not feature in the league. Wenger must now rely entirely on the midfield trio of Song, Ramsey and Arteta, an alarming prospect given Ramsey's tendency to play as if he's just returned from his year long absence (ie tentatively and sloppily) and Song's apparent disinclination to provide any meaningful contribution at either end of the pitch. Arteta continues to provide the only spark in the middle, although his physical limitations prevent him from taking the game to the opposition in the way that someone younger and quicker might, say a Fabregas or a Nasri.

Meanwhile Van Persie continues to look like a man who feels the burden of expectation upon his shoulders - with Gervinho in Africa his support up front at Bolton came in the shape of the inexperienced Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and the woefully inefficient Theo Walcott. The latter, who can can only really be allowed one more season to show why he should be allowed to play for Arsenal, looks less and less like the player who beat three Chelsea defenders to score at Stamford Bridge in October. The paucity of quality in the team was reflected by the rather abject performance on the pitch. Opportunities were created in a first half which Arsenal largely dominated - Ramsey failed to make sufficient contact on a Van Persie through-ball, and Walcott unsurprisingly squandered a one on one after he was played in by Oxlade-Chamberlain. David Ngog missed a similar chance at the other end but Arsenal should have been ahead at the break.

After half time the roles were reversed. The Gunners best chance came in the shape of a cross from the returning (and ever-reliable) Sagna, which Van Persie could only crash against the post. The Dutchman hit the woodwork again with a Bergkamp style lob from close range, and Oxlade-Chamberlain fired just over from 25 yards, but for much of the second half the ball was in and around the Arsenal penalty area. Despite creating only half chances, the home side were almost rewarded for their hard work right at the death when Szczesny brought down Mark Davies in the box but Chris Foy gave the goalkeeper the benefit of the doubt.

The momentum gathered during a dominant second half performance against Villa on the weekend failed to spill over into the next game, and instead Arsenal demonstrated the lack of incisiveness and ability to convert chances that has plagued their game since late December. Van Persie's task must seem increasingly thankless and futile if the other strikers consistently fail to alleviate his workload, and rumours linking him with a Summer move to Spain seem to be gathering momentum. Moreover the midfield must start creating the chances that their possession merits. Walcott and Ramsey, playing as they are, would probably look out of their depth in promotion chasing Championship sides.

What's to be done about a run of form that makes Champions League football next season look more and more unlikely? Well with the transfer window shut (and our only purchase a young German from Dortmund without a single senior appearance to his name) the only thing we can do is to hope that the player we have can turn things around. The talent is obviously there, as evidenced by the fact that the team went from 17th to 5th in about a month earlier in the season. When Gibbs and Santos return we will at least have two bona fide full backs, which will allow Vermaelen to move back into the middle to partner Kosielny, who has, except for Van Persie, been Arsenal's standout player this season. Oxlade-Chamberlain, who looks to have displaced Arshavin in the pecking order (much to the pleasure of most Arsenal fans with the exception of those select few who have honoured him by naming their blogs after him) looks like the player that Walcott always wanted to be: fast, strong, tricky and with a fierce shot. As his general game improves (and with the return of our actual fullbacks) we should have a genuine wide threat for the first time this season. Above all else though, players like Ramsey, Song and Walcott have to start making a positive contribution. Van Persie cannot carry this team for an entire season, and shouldn't be expected to. Ultimately the difference between playing in Europe on a Tuesday night or a Thursday will ultimately rest in their hands.