Super Santi shows Arsene still knows

There is a banner hanging behind the North Bank goal at The Emirates.

It’s message is simple.

‘Arsene Knows’, it proclaims. It says it all about Arsenal’s current predicament that those who hung it have become ridiculed, derided as part of the problem; the inference being that the AKBs — Arsene Knows Brigade — are clinging on to an ideal that no longer rings true.

So, does Arsene still know? The evidence against is certainly mounting.

Exhibit one is the ignominious defeat at Bradford last week in the Capital One Cup, a loss exacerbated by the fact it was a full-strength team.

Exhibit two is the fact that a challenge for the Premier League title was dead by the end of October, a date that is getting earlier every season as the best players are sold to rivals year on year.

Yet Wenger masterminded the move to the Emirates Stadium and has ensured the club have reached the knockout stages of the Champions League for 13 consecutive seasons.

These are achievements that will stand the test of time, whether or not he adds to the seven major trophies he has won in his 16 years at the club.

But over the last week, one of the most interesting rumours was that some of the players were questioning whether Arsene Knew.

Certainly, that performance against Bradford could have seemed like one that was from a team that did not care about their manager’s future.

Outfought and outbattled, some players were accused of not being fit to wear the shirt.

A response was needed, and this was it, in glorious technicolour — until complacency set in.

True, if Arsenal could have handpicked any opponent, then it would have been Reading. At least the home defence was consistent — they were in the wrong place every single time the ball entered their penalty area.

Allow Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere and Lukas Podolski time and space and they will punish you. As Bradford demonstrated, commitment and devilment ensure much of the battle is won against this Arsenal team.

And it was equally instructive that Cazorla and Podolski were as integral to this performance as it proved. Some of the rumours this week have centred on them, with whispers suggesting they do not recognise this Wenger, a man under pressure and less in control of his temper than they expected.

Yet they showed their commitment to the cause in a dynamic and explosive opening 45 minutes where they toyed with Reading.

Indeed, no matter what is said or written about you, the finest sportsmen do their talking on the pitch. On his day, Cazorla deserves billing with the very best of them, and this was his and Podolski’s way of showing they are fighting for their manager.

There were similar performances from the English core of the side in Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs and Theo Walcott. If Walcott can be convinced to stay, then that trio are the future of Arsenal.

It is one that is less certain than the past, in which Wenger’s preeminence was unquestioned. But the recovery from any disaster has to start with a small step and this was exactly that, against a team surely destined for a swift return to the Championship.

No-one is claiming that everything is all sweetness and light at Arsenal. Everyone knows higher wages are on offer elsewhere, and that the arrival of billionaires at Chelsea and Manchester City have altered the football landscape far more seriously than Wenger could have envisioned.

But there needs to be some perspective. Wenger built Arsenal in its current form, and his eye for a player has not deserted him just yet.

For evidence, look at the performance of the wonderful Cazorla last night, and in particular his third goal. That did not look like a player who has lost faith in his manager. That did not look like a manager who has failed to spot innate talent.

It’s not perfect, but Arsenal are now two points off fourth place, well positioned financially and in possession of players such as Cazorla, Wilshere and Mikel Arteta.

Whether he knows as much as he did is up for debate. But Arsene still knows a lot.