Wenger’s long Good Friday

A LONG and ultimately frustrating Wednesday had just turned into Thursday when Arsene Wenger walked into the San Danielli Italian restaurant on Blackstock Road for dinner with Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein.

The diners greeted him with a spontaneous round of applause, but the events of a few hours earlier had drained Wenger of any joie de vivre. The lady acquaintance he greeted with a kiss urged him: "Keep smiling."

"I can't," he whispered.

It was a revealing moment of poignancy from the French man, and it was as well that only Edu and Lauren of his playing staff were dining at the next table.

"He will bounce back, he will be fine in the morning," said Phillippe Auclair, a correspondent for France Football, who knows Wenger and the Gallic contingent at Highbury better than most. "He is passionate and resilient and fiercely loyal to his players."

However, few will argue that Alex Ferguson's Man Utd are on the inside rails as the Premiership title race moves into the final straight.

That isn't the only reason for Wenger's melancholy. The initial prognosis on Patrick Vieira's injured knee is that he will not play again this season. Yesterday's Highbury bulletin that he may be out for only two weeks was more public relations than fact.

Wenger fears the worst, as he does about his 'Rock', Sol Campbell, who looks set to miss the title run-in and the FA Cup final on the word of referee's assistant, Nigel Miller.

Arsenal will appeal the Campbell sending off by referee Mark Halsey for striking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but precedent is against him.

"Campbell is destroyed," insisted his manager, who didn't look much better as he stepped out into the North London night with the Premiership initiative gone from his grasp.

"I spoke to the referee after the game and he is willing to look at it," said Campbell. "He was receptive to what I said. It looks bad with the naked eye, because Solskjaer's head jerked back but the video won't lie, and it will define my season."

Vieira was more optimistic after a scan yesterday, but anyone who witnessed his peripheral role on Wednesday night must argue that a fit Edu, though nowhere as influential, is a better option for the run-in.

"I hurt the knee again when I landed heavily after a challenge. What I need is a rest. I will not play on Saturday and I am not optimistic for the rest of the season," he said.

Though Arsenal have the game in hand, the schedule for the remainder of the season benefits United. When Man Utd visit Spurs on the penultimate Saturday of the season, Arsenal will still have three games to play in seven days at home to Leeds and Southampton, and away to Sunderland on the last day of the season. United visit Everton in the Premiership climax, but the smoke may have cleared by that stage.

Wenger said on Tuesday that a draw against Man Utd wouldn't be a disaster, but to seize power and then relinquish it within 60 seconds was a frustration that Wenger couldn't mask.

Though each game now takes on massive significance, one suspects that Saturday's programme will tell a tale. Wenger believes that victory at Middlesbrough, however unlikely that may seem, could swing the momentum back to North London.

Blackburn manager Graeme Souness was at Highbury watching United and, as long as his side has an outside chance of Europe, they will make life awkward for Alex Ferguson's side on Saturday at Old Trafford. However, few at Highury are holding their breath.

Nineteen-goal striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy is in no doubt where the momentum lies: "We've come back into the race from a long way behind. We've caught Arsenal up, gone in front and now it's up to us to finish it off. Wednesday's result must be a big blow to Arsenal, because they were 2-1 up and thought it was going to be entirely in their hands.

"Everyone went crazy when they went in front. The ground was going mad and it looked as though it was going to be a very hard game, but we reacted and now it's still wide open."

Ferguson's problems are not as taxing, though the exhilarating John O'Shea was forced to retire at half time at Highbury with a recurrence of his groin strain. Were the British media not so transfixed with Everton's Wayne Rooney, the Waterford defender would be a shoo-in for PFA young player of the year.

With Mikael Silvestre and Gary Neville at full-back, there is hope for Damien Duff, Keith Gillespie and Blackburn. Ferguson is likely to give O'Shea as much time as possible to recover for Wednesday night's Champions League quarter-final second leg at home to Real Madrid in order to send out his strongest back four of Brown, Ferdinand, Silvestre and John O'Shea.

Also Ferguson must decide whether to continue excluding a frustrated David Beckham, who watched from the sideline at Arsenal as Solskjaer set up Ryan Giggs for the equaliser with a pinpoint right wing cross.

Injuries and selections aside, Ferguson will look to Roy Keane to refocus his players after the intoxication of three thrilling displays against Liverpool, Newcastle and Arsenal.

Wenger, meanwhile, will attempt to invoke the spirit of Arsenal's FA Cup quarter-final victory over Chelsea on Saturday at Middlesbrough. Then Arsenal were playing their second game in 48 hours and finished with ten men, but battled to a 3-1 victory.

This time, he will have no Patrick Vieira to stoke his players' pride, though David Seaman will return.