Tony Leen
SERIOUSLY Arsene. Get a grip, man. It's hard to blame media spin when most of the football-watching world is, well, watching you damn Chelsea with feint praise.
And you did infer – no, strike that - straight out label Aston Villa's style of play as 'long ball'.
And you did both right after frustrating shut-outs for Arsenal.
There's a manager a lot closer to home, in our GAA firmament, who by his own admission, shouldn't stray within a country mile of a microphone, dictaphone or camera straight after a defeat.
He's just as sore a loser as Wenger, who continues to undermine all the ground-breaking brilliance he brings to football with inane post-match criticism of the opposition. Whatever you want to say about Alex Ferguson, he is a master of post-match spin and control. Harry Redknapp too.
Not Arsene.
We all watched him Sunday telling Sky that Chelsea – who armchair rode their way over Arsenal's brave but ultimately toothless efforts – didn't provide “a demonstration of football”, and that they resorted to “a lot of tricks” by utilising fouls to break up counter-attacks.
He has admitted in the past that he has got physically sick after losing a match. In that context, his churning stomach is clearly getting to his mouth quicker than his brain.
So with a few days to mull it over – and tonight's must-win clash with Liverpool looming – does he turn it to his advantage?
You check. “I was full of compliment and praise for Chelsea after the game. I find it completely unfair from the press that you take one word from my press conference to turn it.”
Which word was that Arsene? (a rather obvious question that hung in the air at yesterday's press conference).
No. Instead, the Arsenal manager kept digging. “You did that at Villa, you did that at Chelsea. If you look at the intent of my press conference it was positive to the opponent. If you want, we can have a press conference and I can say nothing, don't worry.”
Now that would be a loss. When he's calm and rational, there is no more stimulating football mind in the game, and for Wenger to clam up would do him, and football, a grave disservice.
I wonder is it a lack of counsel. Paul Merson made an interesting point lately about Wenger. While Pat Rice, his long-serving first team coach has been a loyal and trusted lieutenant since 1996, he is not going to pull the French man over and tell him what's what. Wenger no longer has the suaveness of his consigliere, David Dein, to pull him aside, and while the Arsenal press office is functional, Wenger will always go with his own judgment on press issues. Perhaps he could do with a stronger No 2.
It wasn't all silly stuff after the Chelsea game. He alluded to the (unwritten) fact that no-one wants to hear the story of the sore loser. The respective positions taken by the media after a game are so conclusive these days (whatever the result) that it virtually disallows realistic analysis of the game.
Example? When Tyrone beat Kerry in the 2008 All-Ireland final, the absolute conclusions drawn within minutes were truly absurd (an honourable exception, by the way, was Mickey Harte). Tyrone hadn't time to get down to the press room before they were labelled team of the decade. And yet Paschal McConnell had saved their bacon with an unbelievable save in the last ten minutes at a moment when they were a point ahead.
Same story last September. Kerry were on the back foot an creaking when Tommy Walsh pulled them out of a hole with two points against Cork. And yet Monday's coverage was dominated by Cork's mental frailties. The small inches.
I agree with Wenger's unspoken suggestion that had Arsenal pinched a goal back in the second half at Stamford Bridge last Sunday, who knows how their confidence, and Chelsea's self-belief, would have changed
But they didn't. And when that happens, you swallow hard and move on to the next game – just like Kerry's Tomas O Sé did in the press room after that 2008 gut-wrencher for Kerry.
Said Wenger yesterday: “You have to accept that when you lose games, the way you play is always questioned - what becomes a fantastic quality when you win, becomes a fantastic mistake when you lose. It is like that. We still have to believe in the way we do things, in the way we play and to show that strength.'”
Exactly Arsene. The problem is that opinion will get far less headlines today than some of your senseless ones.
