“You can't blame him for that goal because he touched it and when a goalkeeper touches the ball you always think he should stop it. But if he dives and doesn't touch it nobody speaks about it. First of all, the goal was offside and apart from that I think he had a sound game.”
Arsene Wenger on THAT goal at Spurs 21.09.2010 Arsene Wenger on THAT goal at Spurs 21.09.2010

Now we all know the manager will never criticise his players publically, which in the main is an admirable policy, but quite why we should be expected to listen to (and somehow believe?) the drivel concerning the woeful, laughable, error-ridden excuse for a goalkeeper that presided in goal in N17 land this week goes way beyond keeping faith with your manager and his decisions.

We also know and have seen on numerous occasions in the past, Wenger’s stubbornness bears no boundaries, but even he is excelling himself this time.

Clearly the situation is blindingly obvious to all observers: A guy totally out of his depth at a club supposedly intent on challenging for honours. It’s one thing Wenger showing faith, courage and loyalty but if it is continually thrown back in your face time and time again with clanger after clanger, then all you are really doing is delaying the inevitable and at the same time dangerously leaving yourself open to ridicule.

Arsene: Forget the general footballing public; the bottom line is you can no longer continue to attempt to mislead and dupe a dismayed Arsenal public.

So please, for once, be cruel callous and brutal, tell the man that his name will be circulated with immediate effect to any interested parties (yes I know unlikely) - he is up for sale ahead of the January window. His fellow countryman, Wojciech Szczesny understandably perplexed and frustrated with the current situation, should be made Manuel Almunia’s No 2, ready to grasp any opportunity that comes his way.

On the subject of Almunia, a keeper who also should also have had has P45 last May, his potential absence for any length of time leaves me accepting that any realistic challenge for honours will cease, the impact is that serious. That is of course if Wenger continues to employ blind vision to an already embarrassing situation that should have been resolved way before the squad reported back for training in July.

Ruthless is not a word that appears in the Wenger vocabulary very often, but surely after events this week, enough is enough.

And yes I haven’t named him, just not to scare off would-be suitors – though where they would come from remains to be seen – interested parties that is, not mistakes, because they showed no sign of eroding in pre-season and in his first, and, what for the sake of our hopes this season, has to be last competitive appearance of the season at White Hart Lane.