A bit of effort from our heroes would be nice

THE omens were poor from the start. There were as many Man United fans milling around Euston on Sunday morning as there were Arsenal and Chelsea.

Without a reservation I was left behind when the 11.20am to Manchester (via Stoke) pulled out.

As it turned out, I made it to Stoke in plenty of time to puff away outside the ground and restore my nicotine level prior to the game, which was fortunate because in their current inconsistent guise, watching the Arsenal involves the tension of a guaranteed two pack a day smoking habit.