Watching Wenger behave like this, ignoring the faults that others see, is painful to behold. He has yet to acquire either the nous or defensive personnel to come even close in the Premier League or Champions League in recent years. Arsenal will probably still finish fourth in the English title race, albeit furlongs adrift of better-trained thoroughbreds. They will probably go out early in the knock-out stages of Europe’s elite competition, depending on the draw. Where once they sought to scale the heights, they are now happy with the passage across the plateau. Fourth is the new first.