Arsenal’s dismal 2-0 defeat at Brentford on Friday immediately crushed the fans’ excitement about the start of the new Premier League season.

The result sparked an outpouring of fury on social media, with the owner, manager and players all coming under fire from the Gunners’ faithful.

The current frustration is undoubtedly accentuated by the fact that Arsenal have started to lag behind clubs they previously dominated.

For instance, Leicester City have been a perfect example of how clubs should be run since they were acquired by the King Power Group.

Current chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha has proved to be hugely popular with fans since taking over from his father Vichai following his tragic death in 2018.

More fondly known as ‘Top’, the Foxes’ chief is adored by the fans to the same level that online gambling in Thailand is loved at ThaiCasinos.com.

By contrast, Stan Kroenke is viewed as the epitome of everything an owner shouldn’t be – if Srivaddhanaprabha is ‘Top’, then it would be fair to dub Kroenke ‘Bottom’.

Much like the debates around legalising gambling in Thailand, there are many different strands to the current issues at the Emirates Stadium.

Kroenke obviously shoulders a big proportion of the blame for refusing to engage properly with the supporters and failing to invest in the team.

The American businessman appeared to have been blinded by former manager Arsene Wenger’s track record of plucking bargains out of French football.

When that particular production line dried up, the club failed to move with the times and they have been left trailing by their rivals.

Things were already heading south when Wenger exited the club in 2018 and things have not improved since then.

While the Frenchman left the Emirates Stadium as a legend, it cannot be ignored that the squad he left behind was not overly impressive.

Their transfer business since then has been questionable, with the club wasting millions on fees and salaries on players who have failed to live up to expectations.

Edu’s appointment as Arsenal’s first ever technical director in 2019 has failed to deliver the desired results, and he must also take some responsibility for the club’s current predicament.

The Brazilian played a key role in luring former captain Mikel Arteta to the club as manager, and the jury is still out as to whether it was the right move.

Things appeared to be heading in the right direction when Arteta guided Arsenal to victory in the 2019/20 FA Cup final, but he has not built on that success.

The 39-year-old increasingly looked out of his depth last season as the Gunners endured a miserable campaign.

They finished eighth in the Premier League, were dumped out of the FA Cup in the fourth round and lost in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.

Their run to the semi-finals of the Europa League provide some solace, although losing to a Villarreal team managed by former boss Unai Emery was hugely ironic.

Arteta’s insistence on sticking to a tactical style that his players are incapable of implementing is not helping matters, but he appears to be unwilling to ditch his beliefs.

It would be wrong to argue that the players are blameless for Arsenal’s current predicament, with many of them failing to live up to expectations in recent years.

Mesut Ozil, Nicolas Pepe, Hector Bellerin and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang are amongst a host of players who have plenty of questions to answer about their contribution to the team.

Whichever way you look at things Arsenal are a mess right now and things could get much worse over the coming months.

New ownership would be a great place to start, with Spotify co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek the most likely candidate.

His efforts to buy the club have fallen on deaf ears, but hopefully he will be able persuade the current owners to step aside.

If Ek fails, it is highly likely that Arsenal’s slide will continue for the foreseeable future. These are extremely worrying times to be a Gunners fan.