the Sol Campbell row.
Friends of mass murderer Fred West always said he was a
friendly, Mister Fix-it type of guy. Especially if you were
having trouble disposing with corpses under the patio.
Because no matter how damning the evidence may be, you can
always find someone out there who is prepared to defend the
indefensible.
Even as armed police haul a criminal through the front door
in handcuffs, smeared from head to toe with blood, screaming
"I did it!”, the television cuts to an elderly neighbour who
says: "I don't believe he's capable of this. He was a
lovely, quiet man who kept himself to himself."
Should I ever be unfortunate enough to fall foul of the law
and face a spell at Her Majesty's pleasure then I would hope
to call on my star witness to the stand, m'lud - Mr Arsene
Wenger, c/o Highbury, London N5.
When Sol Campbell was sent off for elbowing Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer in the face, Arsenal's manager had only seven
minutes to dream up some kind of explanation for the red
card. Inevitably, he came up with a "Not Guilty" plea, this
time arguing Campbell should have been excused because he is
"usually a nice bloke".
Wenger's actual words were: "It's a complete joke. Anyone
who knows Sol knows that he would not touch Solskjaer on
purpose. When you know Sol's behaviour, you know he can
handle extreme situations without hitting or kicking
anybody." Wenger stopped short of saying "he's kind to his
mum and this is a good neighbourhood," but it was a close-
run thing.
Arsenal are now pleading their centre-half didn't
necessarily mean to catch Solskjaer with his elbow. But he
meant to connect with some part of his arm - and succeeded.
Red card, end of story.
Wenger, however, has adopted his usual ploy; hinting this is
all another conspiracy concocted by the referee and his
linesmen. After the match, he wouldn't even believe the
television footage being presented. Asked on the night if
Arsenal would appeal, he moaned: "They use this camera angle
and that." And indeed they do. They use those camera angles
that point at the pitch.
Look back over the seven years Wenger has been in charge at
Highbury and it becomes clear the Gunners have made a very
nasty habit of collecting red cards. They have had an
almighty 49 players sent off in seven seasons - an average
of seven every campaign.
Our library staff are still sifting through the mounds of
cuttings relating to these incidents, but so far there is
scant record of the Arsenal manager ever having said: "Yes,
the referee was absolutely right to dismiss my player. I saw
the incident quite clearly and I have looked at the video
and I agree entirely with the officials."
Life is not fair. If it was, Arsenal's second goal would
have been ruled out for blatant offside. If it was, the
Gunners would have lost and now be preparing to surrender
the championship.