Despite the latest inevitable Wengerian response, there is also a recklessness in his dotage, as though the slide from the top four has liberated him
There comes perhaps a point in the lives of men at which the usual considerations no longer seem to apply. Hang around long enough and you’re allowed a certain licence. The foul-smelling tobacco becomes an amusing quirk, the brash waistcoat evidence of individuality, the brusque repartee a life-affirming sign of energy. He’s packing the team with inconsistent creators and failing to address the concerns at the back of midfield? That’s just Arsène Wenger, dear: you won’t change him now.
A rare mood of optimism seems to have settled over the Emirates Stadium, although there have been plenty of those that have gone nowhere over the past decade. It’s likely anyway to be challenged at Wembley on Saturday by a Tottenham side who lie four points above them in the Premier League table and who offer a reminder of their younger selves.
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