Reading the opinions of Arsenal fans on various football websites is starting to get funny.

Whatever Wayne Rooney says about the league being between Chelsea, United and Arsenal, we know Wayne probably isn't the guy to go to for incisive analysis. It seems that a lot of the Gooners aren't over their six months of embarrassingly pre-emptive gloating last season.

First off, it took Arsenal a late equaliser to get a point away at Sunderland, where Liverpool's late goal won the game. Also, Arsenal lost at home to Hull; whatever you think about Hull's impressive and wholly unpredicted (outside of Hull-based psychiatric wards) start to the season, I don't think anyone seriously expects them to be in a European competition next season. Compare this with Chelsea's consistent crushing of their opposition and United's newfound form, and it seems that Arsenal aren't near the level of these two teams.

When it comes to explaining away trophyless years and mediocre results, a lot of Arsenal arguments seem to boil down to "we lost Eduardo at a crucial time last season, our kids hammered a championship side again recently, our squad cost less than many Premier League teams and we play the best football so I'm not listening anymore, la la la la la laaaaaaa". Add to this a few cheap shots at Liverpool (not as easy this season) and regular reminders of the cost of the United and Chelsea teams (and benches).

I know it's not a popular sentiment, nor is it an original thought, but I'd rather my team was winning stuff than playing this "beautiful football". The Arsenal football seems to be analogous to charming a pretty girl you meet, organising a guaranteed-action date and then sending her a text message that afternoon saying "I can't make it out, I'm really ill... and tired... and my boss just told me I have to do some come in to work early tomorrow... and it's cold outside and I lost my coat". Dirk Kuyt might work like a North Korean political prisoner but his style has payed off for Liverpool in many big games. And I think you don't need to be a Liverpool fan to acknowledge we've had a fair share of great games during the Benitez years.

The fact is that Arsenal are several world-class players away from a sustainable challenge for the league title. And they don't have anything like the squad depth the other big four members have. This "beautiful football" thing is starting to sound like an excuse for the prolonged failure of the club to win anything.

Sure, Arsenal are still ahead of the pretenders to the big four CL club - who are in for at least another year of UEFA cup football, but it seems that Arsenal fans are faced with an unpleasant choice. Either big up their team and Cesc 'I'd like to play in Spain again' Fabregas and Em 'I'm worth £30, me, sort of' Adebayor at every possibility or acknowledge that Liverpool, this season, appear to be a superior team. The whole idea of Liverpool being better than Arsenal has generally attracted scorn during the past decade, even though we'd probably have finished ahead of them for the third successive season if it wasn't for our hugely publicised boardroom problems massively undermining both the team's morale and Rafa last time around. But I just used an 'if' and am starting to sound like an Arsenal fan.

Mourinho's dismissive comments of Arsenal's squad at the start of the season seem to be in the process of being vindicated. Liverpool are gonna get the third place (at least), guys. Arsenal might break their trophy drought with one of the domestic cups, though.