They're Coming To Take Him Away......!!

I purposely avoided the papers since Sunday and was therefore more than a little surprised when I heard it from a Spurs mate that Wenger was in hot water for accusing a linesman of lying.

I've just watched the BBC's video of Friday's press conference and I can't honestly recall ever seeing Arsène in quite such a tizzy. I'd like to think it was a tactical ploy to get the club to raise the portals and instill the sort of fortress Arsenal spirit, which is needed right now. However I have to admit that I'm more inclined to believe it's evidence that the boss is losing it and that the pressure is getting to him.

If it wasn't for the fact that we are without Henry, Van Persie and so many other injured players, I wonder if he'd be able to view the recriminations from Sunday's final with a little more perspective?

Let's face it, no matter how innocent Adebayor is of the crime for which he was sent-off, any chance he had of getting the suspension rescinded was ruined by Manny's reaction and his refusal to leave the pitch.

Sure I can understand how unhappy Manny was and in his shoes, in those particular circumstances, whose to say that even the most even-tempered amongst us wouldn't have reacted likewise. Nevertheless, as an example to all the millions of kids watching on TV, Manny's actions were absolutely indefensible. There will be lary young larrikins playing on Hackney Marshes and open spaces up and down the country, who'll doubtless end up immitating Manny, anytime they are wrongfully accused, thinking his actions give them a license to express similar contempt for the officials decisions

Meanwhile no matter how much Arsène rails against the perceived injustice of it all, at the end of the day, we will have still blown our chances of any domestic silverware and in truth (unless there's something to be gained from putting up the barricades and promoting the "fortress Arsenal" spirit), he'd probably achieve a whole lot more, by expressing remorse about his team's failure to set the right example and by looking a little closer to home, when it comes to apportioning blame.

Let's face it, unlike Lille, it wasn't as if Chelsea or Blackburn beat us by means of a sneaky, quickly taken free-kick. Just like everyone else who has been watching football all their lives, Arsène should know only too well that as far as the officiating is concerned, you win some, you lose some. Thus it's a futile waste of breath to be blaming the men in black, especially when there's far more obvious reasons for both defeats. But then perhaps it's much easier to vent ones anger elsewhere, rather than accept his own player's responsibility.

Success eluded us against Chelsea because we failed to take sufficient advantage of our first-half dominance and against Rovers, it was always going to be a case that the winners would be the team who wanted it most. Judging by our decicdedly uninspired efforts, apart from a couple of players who truly worked their socks off, by and large, you never got the sense from the somewhat timid displays of some of those in red & white, that they really wanted it.

It's wrong really to single out individuals in such a lame performance overall. However watching the likes of Baptista and Hleb, there was never any sense in their casual efforts, that they were prepared to die to make it into the next round. I should be careful, lest I really go off on one, but watching the (entirely inappropriately named) Beast literally bounce off Blackburn's 6ft 5inch centre-back, just about summed up our evening. Sadly our free-kicks either failed to make it into the box, or were floated in, as meat and drink for Brad Friedel. However at every single set piece, I was screaming for someone, anyone, to demonstrate that sort of John Terry like determination to get their head on the ball, putting themselves, the ball and anyone else into the back of the net, with a show of the sort of hunger and commitment that was deserving of a place in the quarterfinals.

Sadly it wasn't to be and if Arsène isn't careful, instead of inspiring the troops, he's going to end up promoting the sort of blame culture, where our squad is going to feel permanently hard done by, moaning about everyone and everything, other than their own lack of intensity.

If we're going to turn things around against PSV, we really need to roll Reading over to get us back in the winning groove. Most other clubs would be delighted if they could put out a side with half the ability of Arsène's patched up team. Considering the inevitable and doubtless costly consequences of FA's wrath, I pray Arsène's outburst ends up having a positive effect.

And while we're on the topic of throwing one's toys out of the pram, personally it drives me absolutely potty when people insist on drawing any parallels between football and those Phillistines egg chasers. "Rugby is a hooligan's sport played by gentlemen and football is a gentleman's sport played by hooligans". It might well be a worn-out cliché but it remains as true today as it always was. The respect afforded to the officials in rugby results from the fact that it's always been an upper and middle class pursuit (at least that is the case as far as rugby league is concerned), by and large played by privileged youngsters. When was the last time you saw kids on a council estate throwing a rugby ball around? The officials in a rugby match command the exact same authority that is afforded to the teachers in a posh public school, where no one would dare show any disrespect. By contrast, the lack of respect often shown towards the officials on a football pitch is no different to the attitude usually shown towards teachers in a less privileged school.

I in no way mean to suggest that this is right, but it's merely a fact of life that football is a far truer representation of the society in which the majority of us live, compared to the more rarerified atmosphere of the hampers and champers crowd who frequent Twickers and the like

Meantime we have to have faith in Arsène's ability to get our season back on track over the next two games. Failing that, the demoralisation is likely to be such, that I really wouldn't fancy our chances of recovering sufficiently for the few remaining Premiership matches. Such a complete capitulation over the course of two weeks would be truly ironic, when you look back to the astonishing manner in which we demolished the Scousers and after which the pundits were absolutely falling over themselves to heap praise upon the abundance of talent in Wenger's young squad. Who could've imagined a season of such promise, could potentially end up being so disappointing?

However I honestly haven't been so excited about the promising prospects for an Arsenal squad, since Manu Petit and Patrick Vieira first paired up in our midfield. I'm under the impression PSV haven't lost a game in the last dozen matches and with this in mind, it would be no mean feat if we can turn things around next week. Yet if we can actually get past the Dutch and into the last eight of the Champions League, Arsène will have nearly a month to prepare for the quarterfinals. And with the likes of Diaby, Denilson and co. all coming to the fore with relatively fresh legs, compared to the potential opposition, where the majority of their most influential stars have played so many more matches, I certainly wouldn't back against us!

Besides which, we've gotta beat Reading and PSV, if only to prevent the men in white coats coming for Le Prof and hopefully, to put a much welcomed end to the old bugger's constant whinging

Come on you rip roaring Reds
Bernard