Time for teams to behave like champions

Frank Malley

It is a long shot, of course, especially, at a time when Wenger probably has a soft spot in mind for Mr Riley somewhere in the most remote reaches of Hackney marshes.

But if Wenger truly is the cerebral, rational professor of football which his image portrays, then he will see the big picture surrounding the events of Sunday’s 2-0 defeat and not just the apparent foibles of an official who has given Manchester United eight penalties in the last eight matches in which he has officiated at Old Trafford.

Which is not to exonerate Riley.

The referee got it wrong, at times understandably, at others blatantly at Old Trafford. That is undeniable.

But do not shoot the referee. Do not blame the official for all the “crimes” perpetrated in the biggest match of the season so far.

Riley cannot be blamed for the penalty won by Wayne Rooney.

It was one which had Sky commentator Andy Gray, no mean judge, immediately clamouring for a spot kick until, with the benefit of copious action replays, he changed his mind to proclaim it was a “soft penalty.”

The official appeared over-generous in giving the benefit of the doubt to Rio Ferdinand in what looked like a body-check when Freddie Ljungberg was about to go through on goal.

But, again, do not shoot him for missing the sight of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s raking studs sliding down the shin of Ashley Cole. It deserved a red card. It is the sort of thing the FA should be moving to stamp out and they are now reviewing the evidence, especially considering the high-profile nature of a match which was reputedly seen by 450 million viewers worldwide.

Wenger was swift to demand just such an FA investigation, though the myopic Arsenal manager would be on much more solid ground if ever he had recognised the shortcomings of his own team.

When was the last time Wenger admitted to seeing a Robert Pires dive?

When was the last time he recognised the occasionally overzealous aggression of Patrick Vieira or the slyness of Dennis Bergkamp, or the temperamental shortcomings of Ashley Cole?

When did Wenger ever see anything remotely approaching a dark side in his champions?

Any chance of him having seen the pea soup allegedly thrown at Alex Ferguson?

As Don King used to say: Fat and slim - and slim just left town.

When was the last time Wenger attempted to understand the job of a referee such as Riley, who was surrounded and pestered for the entire 90 minutes by players from both sides, snarling and intimidating, as they attempted to influence his decisions?

True, Riley left much to be desired, but not nearly as much as the players plus Wenger and Ferguson, whose willingness to indulge in the pre-match war and peace hype, with continual reference to last season’s horror show, was the most depressing aspect of all.

Much better that Wenger, instead of berating Riley, should look at his own players and ask pertinent questions, even following a run of 49 unbeaten Premiership matches.

Such as why Thierry Henry, the most feared all-round striker in the Premiership, was such a peripheral figure. Come to that, why is it that Henry can take apart teams such as West Brom and Portsmouth and most of the rest of the Premiership almost single-handed most weeks and yet appears innocuous in the biggest matches of all, especially in Europe?

For all the aggravation, however, two other things stood out from the spiciest, if by no means the most exciting, match of the season so far.

FIRST, and not for the first time, reports of United’s demise have been exaggerated. Even with Rooney and van Nistelrooy operating some way off their peak there was a solidity about United, mostly emanating from the magnificent Ferdinand, which suggests they will be a force as usual once Christmas has passed.

The second thing, however, is that Arsenal are without doubt the best footballing side in England by some considerable distance. Even in the maelstrom of Old Trafford their football possessed a fluency United never matched. They treasure possession, pass, move and work tirelessly and eye-pleasingly for each other.

How they deal with defeat psychologically remains to be seen but I still take them to lift the title come next May, though now it promises to be a much closer run thing than it seemed a week ago.

In truth, however, while either United or Arsenal could still be champions the most important thing is that they start behaving like them.