Arsene has suffered many brickbats over recent years but none of his detractors, Gooners and non-Gooner alike, have ever called him bipolar. Perhaps that will be his next diagnosed shortcoming, though. After all, which of the two Poles between the poles should he prefer, as Manuel is quietly, finally, given the elbow? Apart from an early Almunia-esque walkabout, Szczesny gave a splendid performance last night, demonstrating bravery to match his obvious dexterity. No Griffin Park regular will have been the least bit surprised. Extending the contracts of Nasri and Arshavin can wait; young “Chesny” is out of contract in June and there won’t be a shortage of suitors in January, when he is free to discuss his future employment. He must not be allowed to leave in a fit of pique. When Wojciech and Lukasz blow out their candles every 18th April, Arsene’s current number 1 has five more to extinguish. They could vie for two number 1 jerseys for the next decade.

Like London buses, we wait nine months for an away clean sheet then two come along in four days. Radio 5Live’s commentaries on our games are quite formulaic, I’ve just realised. The expert summariser invariably has allegiances to our opponents – at Newcastle it was Kevin Gallacher - and bemoans every cruel deflection (geddit?) and refereeing decision that goes Arsenal’s way, whilst lamenting any squandered half-chance that his team might have. The prolific Scottish striker scored a staggering four (yes, 4) goals for Newcastle in a mere 39 appearances around the turn of the century, sufficient to make him a legend on Tyneside. Bendtner’s interference in our second goal was discussed ad nauseum until, at 4-0, their producer got bored and switched to the far more even contest at Upton Park.

That’s not to say Gallacher’s TV commentating colleagues are any better. Jonathan Pearce stated that Newcastle had made nine changes from the weekend; Arsenal, he noted, had seven full internationals in their starting XI. True, but as only Djourou and Denilson survived from Sunday’s demolition of Mercenary Citeh, I make that nine changes to our team too. Why not state such? If you want balance on any subject, don’t source the BBC. Arsene fielded a stronger team than Chris Hughton because the squad he has built painstakingly for five years is significantly deeper. I would have ended the last sentence with “stronger”, but Gooners to a man seem obsessed with physical strength. Little good did their overpaid, strapping skyscrapers do Manchester City at Middle Eastlands. I think I’ll sign off now, lest you think me bi-polar too.