The International break has come and gone, but the problems that have haunted Alex McLeish's Birmingham side refuse to go away. Three games without a win, and the defence that was hailed as supremely solid has started to look shaky. Off the pitch, the takeover by Carson Yeung has been completed, with a few surprises along the way.

It has been another week of upheaval at St Andrews, and it begs the question, will the arrival of the new owners finally bring the stability that we have called out for?

Arsenal away. A daunting trip to say the very least. Blues were without a number of top players, including Christian 'Chucho' Benitez, who failed to return to the club after the International break. Whether Chucho missed his flight on purpose or not, is another question entirely, and it is one that I shall revisit in due time.

Without Chucho, Alex McLeish was relieved to see the return to fitness of Cameron Jerome, resulting in the 4-5-1 formation chosen by the Scotsman. Without a recognised left-back available, Liam Ridgewell slotted in, while Charsley, Bowyer and Ferguson were given the unenviable task of coping with the supremely talented Arsenal midfield.

Could Blues pull of a shock? Well, that depended on what you considered to be a shock. More than a few people would have been unsurprised if Arsenal had gone on to score 4 goals or more, as they had done in previous matches. How would the Blues defence cope against the side whose free-flowing football makes even the likes of Messi and Ronaldo drool.

Right from the off, the answer seemed evident. The fantastic Cesc Fabregas ran the midfield, as Arsenal players swept forward, pushing Blues back onto the edge of their area. From where I was, it appeared to me that our problems were clear. Whenever Blues cleared the ball, Cameron Jerome could not win the ball when faced by 4 Arsenal defenders, and the ball simply returned in the direction of the Blues goal.

Behind Jerome, the midfield 3 sat too far back. Neither Bowyer, nor Ferguson or Carsley are blessed with pace and a tremendous engine, which was needed. All three players sat back far too much, allowing Cesc Fabregas time on the ball to open up his bag of tricks - big mistake. I would have been much happier if someone like Damien Johnson had started in the central three, for the fact that when it comes to closing down and getting around the pitch, there is no-one better for Blues than little DJ.

Arsenal pushed forward, constantly posing a threat on the Blues goal, and so it was no surprise when Robin Van Persie took the ball superbly before finishing in a clinical fashion to put Blues 1-0 down. If that was bad, what was to happen next was a killer blow. Blues fell asleep again, and some shocking defending followed by some horrible marking allowed Arsenal to double their advantage, with a second goal in 2 minutes.Blues fans in the away end were irate, and their feelings were exemplified by kepeer Joe Hart, who ran out of his area screaming at his teammates to wake up and get in the game.

In fairness, the team soon woke up, and they started to get a foothold in the game. However, every time they attacked, it looked as if Arsenal were going to score. Somehow, Blues managed to get a goal on the break, with only their second meaningful shot on goal (after a Seb Larsson free kick). Lee Bowyer stabbed the ball home to give Blues hope, at a time when a cricket score looked on the cards. That goal was much needed, to say the very least. It gave the side some belief, while also unnerving an Arsenal side who failed to recover the fluency with which they passed the ball so exquisitely in the first half an hour.

After half-time, the side came out with renewed vigour and our best chance came with a ball into Ridgewell who tried to set up Gary McSheffrey for what would've been a certain goal. However, the keeper got to the ball first, and then Arshavin finished the game with a goal in the 84th minute. You could possibly blame Carr for not getting tight enough to the Russian, ut you cannot find fault in the finish. It was a quality finish from a world-class player.

The new owners watching from the stands will have learnt a tough lesson. If they are intent that they want to mould our club into a top side, then now, they know exactly how much work needs to be done. Let's be honest, Blues and Arsenal are lightyears apart. Every Arsenal player on the pitch seemed to be a yard quicker and one step ahead of their opponents.

Mr Yeung, you have work to do. Talking of Mr Yeung...

The takeover is complete, and the new owner of Birmingham City gave his first press conference on Thursday. Yeung stated that while he wanted the club and the supporters to be a 'family', Alex McLeish would be given free reign to add to the family, with £20-40 million being made available for the January transfer window. However, did Yeung make the right decision? I'm not so sure. It is one thing saying that McLeish has money avaiable, it is a wholly different thing when you announce a budget. The chances are that this announcement will only serve to weaken Blues during the transfer market.

Sammy Yu and Peter Pannnu have also conducted interviews in recent days, and may I be the first to concede that I like what they have to say. They have emphasized the importance of the fans in this new regime, and that is music to the ears of many Bluenoses.

The role of Sammy Yu is something that McLeish will be wary of, but it also seems as if he may have other problems to consider. Chucho has now missed Blues' last two games, and after missing his flight back to England, questions must be raised as to why he did not arrive on time. Antonio Valencia returned home on time, and he scored the winner for Manchester United at home to Bolton. However, Benitez did not arrive back, leaving McLeish in a position where he had to turn to Cameron Jerome to lead the line. Maybe there was nothing to this story, but still, watch this space.

It's a time for change. Change in the boardroom. Change on the training pitch. Change in the mood of fans. Hopefully the visit of Sunderland will bring a change in fortunes to boot.

Keep the faith.