Wenger’s final game/ Proactive AVB brightens up EPL

Will Wenger\’s last game be Spurs on October 2?

A heavy defeat at the Lane might finish him.

Arsenal were first on Match of the Day and also first on Sky\’s Sunday Supplement, where top hacks talk about the big football stories of the moment.

Brian Woolnough : “Wenger says he won\’t go. Should he?”

Paddy Barclay : “No, I don\’t think he should. It’s an extraordinary day at the office that he keeps enduring.”

Still one of the leading Wenger apologists, Paddy said, “The decision whether he should carry on is his and his alone – he\’s earned that right. Eventually, it\’s gonna turn.”

Since I was a footballer reporter for 20 years. I know Brian and Paddy.

Disappointed to hear Paddy say that. But, as I always say, it’s only opinion. As Cloughy said, It makes the world go round.

Brian Woolnough  kept asking, “How long do you leave it?”

Paul Smith of The Sunday Mirror, a lad I don\’t know, said, “How long can Wenger go on like this?”

Watching this conversation I was thinking, “Yes, it\’s Wenger\’s club. That\’s the problem!” And I was thinking : Surely, a day of reckoning must come eventually.

But when is eventually?  

Paddy said, “Eventually is the threat of relegation.”

Brian disagreed : “It should be when there\’s no chance of winning anything.”

When Jan and I went out of the house at 9am on Saturday, Blackburn Rovers were bottom of the table and when we came home, Blackburn were above Arsenal, who are now 17th.

We knew nothing of Saturday\’s football until we got home at 5pm.

I dived through the front door and stepped over the mail on the carpet and headed for the TV switch, not the kettle.

At that moment BBC1 was showing Premier League Final Scores.

Blackburn 4, Arsenal 3 ?????

I\’d recorded the game on my Skybox. Would I watch it? Did I want to watch it?

I had a cup of tea and took a phone call from an Arsenal fan and had dinner and took another call from a distraught Gooner. At half-time in the Barcelona-Osasuna game, where I had backed over 3.5 goals, I took a third Arsenal phone call.

By 10 pm I was totally cream-crackered, so I crashed out and got up at 7 am today and watched Match of the Day. So far I’ve only talked to friends and seen the highlights.

Frankly, I\’m not surprised that this is Arsenal\’s worst start for 57 years. But I\’m much more interested in the future of the club.

The team is a shambles because they miss Jack and Tommy V (as well as Fabregas)  and the defence lacks basic organisation, so I regard Wenger as unprofessional.

Simple as that. If a team defends unprofessionally, it’s because the boss is unprofessional.

Even with two new guys in the back four, the defence should be a lot better than it is. Five games, one win, 14 goals conceded.

On the radio, apparently, Wenger\’s tone was : These aren\’t my players, so we have to see how  well they play. If that\’s the tone, and that continues to be the tone, he’s asking for thesack. He wants a golden handshake.

Talking to a close friend this morning, I said, “He should resign and apologise. If he stays on till he\’s sacked, it\’s immoral to insist on being paid millions more after he\’s lost the plot to this extent and ruined the team.”

My friend said, “Both sides sign a contract. He\’s entitled to whatever\’s in the contract.”

“OK, fine, just so long as he doesn\’t stay on as Director of Football. He\’s got to go. The team cannot improve while he\’s there.”

My best friend insisted, “Wenger will be there till the end of the season. Who can you get mid-season? You can\’t hire a top manager mid-season.”

I was really looking forward to Super Sunday, starting off with Spurs v Liverpool.

Modric scored a very fine goal from distance but then Charlie Adam got sent off for a late tackle on Scott Parker in 27. Spurs were 1-0 up and went on to win 4-0 against ten men and then nine men.

The Manchester United – Chelsea first half turned on a bad miss by the raw Ramires. That was after Smalling headed in an Ashley Young free-kick in 7 minutes.He was offside but the goal stood.

Torres crossed from low from the left and Ramires, racing in, hit his shot at the middle of the goal. Shoot near post, son. Shoot wide, maybe. But don\’t shoot there. Don\’t shoot where the keeper is bound to be.

Jonny Evans hit Nani with a giant crossfield ball, Nani hit us with a thunderbolt and then Martin Tyler hit us with a great stat.

Nani danced infield, checked back onto his right foot and fired a 20-yarder across Petr Cech for 2-0 in 37. Eusebio, eat your heart out!

Martin noted that it was Nani\’s 100th Premier League game and his 19th goal, same number as Cristiano Ronaldo. Wait for it : Nani had 33 assists in those 100 games, Cristiano only 12.

When the irrepressible Phil Jones ploughed into the box, JT blasted his clearance at Nani and the ball rebounded to give the unmarked Rooney a tap-in for 3-0 at half-time.

I\’d had a bet on over 2.5 goals & it\’s always nice to win before half-time .

Second half it continued to be an amazingly open game. Why?AVB, of course.

At half-time he brought on Anelka for Lampard in left midfield, put Mata behind Torres, pulled Ramires and Meireles back to holding roles.

When Anelka slipped through a tasty little pass towards the corner of the six-yard box, Torres jabbed it past De Gea at pointblank range, just like he used to do when he was hot.

Only 33 seconds into the second period, it was 3-1  and : fasten your seat belts !

When Nani hit the bar, the rebound came back  to him as he raced forward into the box and Bosingwa’s lunge seemed to connect with Nani AND the ball. Ref Phil Dowd gave a penalty.

Rooney took a long run and his left foot slipped so far that when  he kicked the ball  with  his right foot, it hit his left toe and squirted wildly  off target. Rooney sat down suddenly on his bum.

When Torres blasted a left foot shot that came back off De Gea, he then fired hit a right foot shot over the bar. A bad miss. When Evra crossed low, Rooney scuffed  his left foot shot against the post.

Playing on instinct for the first time in months, Torres ran onto a  slick Ramires through-pass, slalomed round  De Gea  but shot weakly wide with his left foot in 83. He panicked in front of a gaping goal and tried to hit the ball before his feet and body were in exactly  the right position.

Juan Mata is inventive and craftsmanlike and very two-footed.

Andre Villas-Boas will liven up the Premier League because he\’s bold and proactive and interesting.

I like him a lot. He did a lot of things right at Old Trafford, even if he lost 3-1. Chelsea were a lot better when Lampard went off.

Over 2.5 goals? This could have been over 6.5, easily.

For me, AVB is an impressive manager. He\’s a squeezer who likes to defend with a high line. The more you compress the play, the quicker you can win the ball back.

That makes for an action-packed games like this one.

Hundreds of millions of fans in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and China would rather  watch this exciting battle than a walkover like Barcelona 8 Osasuna 0.