TERRACE TALK: Arsenal - Even staunchest fans admit Wenger’s got fair crack of whip

I was still feeling so devastated following our midweek debacle against Monaco that I was left struggling to muster sufficient enthusiasm to wander around to our encounter with Everton.

In the past I’ve quickly been able to put such gut-wrenching games into perspective, able to appreciate an Arsenal defeat isn’t the end of the world and that there’s “always next season”.

Yet after a confrontation with my own looming mortality following a cancer scare last year, it feels as if I can no longer afford to be quite so philosophical...

You never know, perhaps we’ll witness a miraculous comeback in Monaco but most of us are now expecting the sort of result on the Côte d’Azur that will ensure yet another European campaign ends in glorious failure.

I must admit that even as I booked my outing to the French Riviera for three weeks’ time, only a few hours before the first leg, I became nervous at the way  all the pundits were talking as if we need only turn up.

It didn’t take the Wenger Out Brigade long to emerge from the woodwork, as the radio phone-ins were revelling in the ravings immediately after this fiasco.

No matter how staunch a supporter of le Gaffer one might be, there must eventually come a time when we all have to accept that Arséne has enjoyed far more than a fair crack of the whip.

To my mind, our World Cup winning captain has looked like he’s merely going through the motions,  banking his obscene wages for bit longer before he retires.

Mertesacker bore the brunt of Wenger’s ire by being dropped against Everton. But Per is a convenient scapegoat.  Surely the buck stops with le Boss.

With the Toffees arriving at our place, buoyed by being the only English side to enjoy European success last week and fearing that our habitual failure to turn up for early KOs might be compounded by our midweek hangover, yesterday’s game felt like a massive test for Gabriel. Especially after Man Utd and Liverpool’s results ramped up the pressure. Mercifully, apart from a brief Igor Stepanovs moment when Lukaku brushed a hesitant Gabby aside, our Brazilian centre-half came through with flying colours.

The sense that our entire season might’ve imploded if we’d failed to beat Everton was evident in the euphoric explosion of relief that greeted Giroud’s goal.

Despite missing all those sitters against Monaco, seemingly everyone bar Wenger felt he should have been left out on the pitch to try and rectify matters.

Following Olivier’s humiliation in front of the French nation, it was great for him to enjoy the much needed confidence boost.  Moreover I’m sure Gabriel played a significant part in his goal, by wreaking havoc in the Blues’ defence with his intent at a set-piece. But then anything would be an improvement on Per’s uninspiring efforts.

I imagine our decisive second goal was celebrated with the same rapturous response seen at the Aviva for Ireland’s try, knowing it put such a significant result beyond any doubt. Then seeing the bedraggled Spurs fans departing Wembley, all in all, the afternoon offered a most welcome fillip to alleviate my bleak mood.