Basically, you cannot treat them like robots even though the demands of professionalism insist that you do and despite the fact that you know you shouldn't, in any case. So long as they get rewarded well enough, this is not a problem, except, as you say, to those who don't. The supporters who want to win the league, for instance.
I wasn't trying to say we're weak, more that nowadays we want to have different strengths. The Keown/Deeney exchange post-match touched on this; TD boasting that he came on to try to rough us up and Keown replying sadly that, once upon a time, he would have out there waiting for him. And adding that he didn't think this Arsenal team and these Arsenal players had that attitude anymore.
Well, duh ..