FA to consider Wenger misconduct charge today

Arsene Wenger was today working on Arsenal’s defence rather than his own with a hearing set to take place in his absence into a misconduct charge for accusing Ruud van Nistelrooy of “cheating”.

Despite having initially requested a personal hearing, Wenger was not expected to appear before the disciplinary commission at the Football Association’s Soho Square headquarters this afternoon.

Arsenal have instead drawn up a detailed written defence, leaving Wenger free to continue preparing his team for Sunday’s match at Portsmouth.

The Arsenal boss certainly has much to work on, given that his defence continue to leak goals at set-pieces at a worrying rate.

However, he can at least rest assured that, even if he is found guilty of improper conduct at today’s hearing, he should not receive a touchline ban.

Instead, a guilty verdict could carry a fine, as well as a possible warning to be more circumspect in future as to his comments about fellow professionals within the game.

The FA charge arose after Wenger’s outspoken criticism of van Nistelrooy following his side’s defeat at Old Trafford, which brought their 49-game unbeaten league run to a end.

Wenger insisted: “We all know him, he can only cheat people” following van Nistelrooy’s ugly foul on Ashley Cole, for which the Dutchman later received a three-match ban.

Given the interview was on television, that should remove the possibility of a ‘David Beckham defence’, in which the Arsenal boss could dispute having made the comments.

Instead, Arsenal may seek to insist Wenger did not actually accuse van Nistelrooy of being a “cheat” and, possibly, that his English let him down.

That potential argument could nevertheless be seen as semantics by the commission, while any repeat of Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood’s previous insistence that Wenger should be allowed to speak out in such a way may also fall on deaf ears.

However, at least Arsenal are not expected to use video evidence to support a claim that van Nistelrooy is, after all, a cheat, which would simply have inflamed relations between Highbury and Old Trafford even further.

On another positive note for Wenger, striker Jeremie Aliadiere has started running again after sustaining knee ligament damage during the Community Shield tie against United in August.

Having undergone surgery back in Paris, the France Under-21 international is now targeting a return to action in March, although he admits that he may struggle to win back a first-team place.