A miserable start to the English Premier League campaign with Arsene Wenger facing the fans' wrath yet again. Not something that Arsenal and the club's manager would have envisaged prior to the start of the season.
It should not be a surprise though really. What do you expect to happen when you have a squad that barely made up the numbers with the board and the manager sitting on piles of cash yet refusing to spend it on players as one top footballer after another seemed to have slipped from their grasp?
Come Wednesday evening, Arsenal will face a make or break game - the first leg of the Champions League playoff against Turkish side Fenerbahce.
A big loss like the one suffered against Aston Villa on opening day will be hard to swallow even with a second leg at the Emirates to come.
A loss over two legs and with it missing out on Champions League qualification will be almost unimaginable, making the prospect of bringing in quality players before the transfer window closes even more difficult.
Of course Arsenal could go through to the Champions League group stages even if they lose over two legs with the Court of Arbitration of Sport set to rule on August 28 whether Fenerbahce can compete in the Champions League after initially being banned from the competition for match-fixing.
"It is a vital game for us, because we have fought very hard to be in this position," the manager said. "We finished just two points behind Chelsea, the last game was decisive, and just one point above Tottenham.
"We needed 10 games unbeaten at the end to achieve that and we want to finish the job now.
"You cannot gamble on (the CAS ruling). What is important for us is the pride of any football club to win on the pitch. All the rest is less important, so that is what we want to achieve."
Wenger barely has enough regulars at the moment to name a proper starting XI, after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain joined the likes of Mikel Arteta, Abou Diaby and Thomas Vermaelen on the sidelines.
Tomas Rosicky, Santi Cazorla, Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey and Bacary Sagna all picked up knocks in the game against Villa and while they are expected to be available, it is far from ideal, especially for a club with the stature of Arsenal. Nacho Monreal, though, returns from injury and is expected to travel to Turkey.
Fenerbahce will have nothing to lose and will go all out in the first leg, ready to pounce on the perceived weaknesses of Arsenal.
Wenger will be aware of the pitfalls of the Champions League playoffs - even though Arsenal have negotiated the playoffs on two previous occasions -- and also playing in the cauldron that is football stadiums in Turkey.
The onus will be on the likes of Jack Wilshere, Cazorla and Theo Walcott to stand up and be counted and show they have the quality to see off the challenge of Fenerbahce.
Ideally, Wenger would like to put the tie to bed in the first leg with a 2-0 or 3-0 result so that he can completely concentrate on bringing in a few signings to the Emirates.
Come Wednesday, the fans will be hoping for a similar result as well.
Expected lineup: Arsenal: Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Ramsey, Wilshere; Walcott, Cazorla, Podolski; Giroud.
Prediction: 1-1
