Embrace the break – we might need it

I HAVE noticed that the following is a sentence I never used write, but it has become more frequent over the past 18 months: thank goodness for this international break.

Yes, the once-unwanted interregnum that would spoil our flow has increasingly become a welcome breather that allows us to sort ourselves out.

Of course, some would find it perverse to be grasping for sanctuary just after a rare and famous Big Four victory, but therein lies the rub. Few were convinced by the three points – hugely celebrated though they were – in light of the respective actual performances we had witnessed. The most telling Wenger post-match comment came after he’d finished his bottle-kicking bug-eyed rant, when he concluded that he’d been hugely encouraged by his team’s display, which boded well for the future.