Julian Finney/Getty ImagesAfter a good week, Arsenal's lack of creativity and energy vs. Aston Villa proves that the Gunners still have a long way to go.

Given how watching Arsenal is one of the things in my life that I usually enjoy doing most, it was telling of how bad the match at Villa Park was on Saturday evening that even I was getting bored. Apart from the players being slightly tired, I was struggling to understand why that was the case.

However it's getting to the point where nothing surprises me with this Arsenal team. The confidence should have been high following a good week with the 5-2 derby win and the securing of Champions League qualification, yet the team seemed flat. It was as if they were just waiting for something to happen to win them the game instead of making it happen themselves. The conditions weren't ideal, but that shouldn't be used as an excuse for not driving forward to win the game.

What summed it up for me was that Arsenal's best chance only came about from Laurent Koscielny taking responsibility. The French defender tried to make something happen by going on a barnstorming run in the first half. After playing the ball out wide, he found himself in a great position in the box but screwed the shot over the bar with his left foot. It's difficult to be angry at Koscielny for missing the chance as the team shouldn't be relying on the centre back to create and convert such a scoring opportunity.

Alongside Per Mertesacker, Koscielny did his primary job in the team well as the team registered a second consecutive clean-sheet. The return of Wojciech Szczesny has helpd the Gunners' solidity, as emphasised by his excellent second-half save from Brett Holman. It was also a relief to see the return of Kieran Gibbs, who was excellent at the start of the season.

However, the strength Arsenal showed against Aston Villa does leave a question mark about the club captain. Thomas Vermaelen hasn't had a stellar season defensively and regularly finds himself as the man to cover at full back, meaning he has fewer opportunities to develop a partnership with Per Mertesacker. With a busy schedule coming up, there will be some rotation, but the captain is arguably far from the first name on the team sheet at the moment.

A lot is also being made of Arsene Wenger's substitutions yesterday, and when the only striker in the squad leaves the pitch for a defensive midfielder with the score at 0-0, the questions are justified. However I think it's worth noting that although there were a few changes to the starting XI, the bulk of the team that started at Villa Park would be considered first choice and they still struggled to create chances against a poor Aston Villa side.

Apart from Aaron Ramsey, the spine of Saturday's team would be considered by many to be the strongest available to Arsene Wenger. While Mikel Arteta and Santi Cazorla saw plenty of the ball, they struggled to dictate the game and no-one was busting a gut to get up and support Olivier Giroud. The big Frenchman was often isolated and barely had a sniff of goal. He's been in great form of late but if he doesn't get chances, the goals will dry up again.

It seemed like the match reverted Arsenal back to the team that started the season poorly. The defence has improved but suddenly the attack lacks fluidity and after a good week, Saturday's 0-0 feels like a massive step back after two steps forward.

If Arsenal can't string a series of good results together and yet continue to produce flat performances, fans will become as tired as the players looked at Villa Park. The fear of not making the top four will become increasingly closer to being the reality.

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