Published: 4 December, 2014

ARSENAL by Richard Osley

ARSENE Wenger was accused by some newspaper reporters  at the weekend of getting shirty when he was asked about that banner among Arsenal’s own supporters telling him to buzz off. It’s not quite clear how he should have responded to this blathering press conference question. “It’s great, I love it – I love coming to work and finding that nobody likes me,” is he supposed to have said?

Even if you have lost faith in Wenger’s ability to get the best out of the players (see Crow columns 1,762-1,800), such a banner is plain disrespectful to a man who gave us an invincible season to watch. It’s embarrassing too, coming in the middle of a three-match winning streak. And, hey buddies, in the end nobody likes arguing with loved ones, but doubly worse, nobody likes arguing with them in public. Like that time you split up with your girlfriend for an hour after arguing about how little you care about the colour of curtains in John Lewis, while everybody was looking, while pretending not to look. Ok, that was just me. But, nobody likes a big blazing row in public in front of smug rubberneckers, do they? 

And yet here is the Arsenal support knifing Professor W in full view. Booing is just about okay, when you’ve paid £50 for a ticket and you're chasing a home match against Hull. 

But a big banner, demanding divorce from the club’s greatest manager of all time, lacks the class that sets Arsenal apart from most clubs. It was Wenger Out at 88 minutes against Southampton. At 89 minutes, it was Wenger In. It’s getting silly.

SPURS by Catherine Etoe

THERE’S always something you can pin the blame on. 

Naivety, over confidence, too many fixtures, rubbish referees, blind referee’s assistants, rough tackles on dainty players, penalties that weren’t spotted, too many pips in the half-time oranges… blah, blah, blah. 

Now it turns out that a cup competition held in June is to blame for Arsenal being rubbish. “It’s been a typical post World Cup start,” Arsene Wenger joked this week. I say joked not because it’s such a laughable excuse but because it was followed by the hilarious assertion that Arsenal would “of course” win the league some time between now and 2017 when Wenger’s contract expires. Of course you will dear. And there are fairies living under the Emirates Stadium. Wenger was right, and I don’t mind admitting it, when he added that to be successful you have to fight like mad and compete in every game. Arsenal are too busy checking their perky pecs in the mirror to do that this season (it’s not a criticism, I like skin-tight shirts on a man). But Harry Kane isn’t and he competes with bells on. 

Now I have to admit that cracking open a bottle of Babycham after Everton have visited White Hart Lane has become a bit of a habit over the years. But when we took points off them yet again this weekend we plopped a cherry in the glass too. Not because the Toffees are our big rivals for fourth place any more, but because Sunday was our best performance yet and Kane led the way. 

We may be in for a tricky few weeks but while we’ve got Kane busting his guts there’s no excuse for the others not to follow suit.