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Two things have struck me this week.

First was thinking about the similarities of Chelsea selling Juan Mata to Manchester United as compared to when Arsenal allowed Robin van Persie go to Old Trafford.

And the other was thinking about David Moyes struggling to guide Manchester United into the top four throughout a transitional period.

Just think about it for a moment. Arsene Wenger managed to lead Arsenal into the Champions League places year after year even with a squad in decline.

And it was in decline, make no mistake about that. Arsenal went from The Invincibles to selling Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and van Persie which resulted in these barren years without a trophy.

It was a transitional period in its own way because the ball game changed for Arsenal, having to budget to pay off a new stadium.

But Arsenal still managed to reach the top four. It has been dismissed each year as a disappointment, Wenger has been mocked for comparing it to a trophy and some fans have even called for his head.

Now Wenger's achievements have been given a new context by Moyes' problems at Old Trafford. United are also going through a transitional period from being champions under Sir Alex Ferguson into a new era.

(Image: John Peters)

They won the title by a landslide last season . The same group of players achieved great success under Ferguson and are now failing under Moyes. Ferguson managed to lift the squad to great heights.

But is Nani really that much better than Gervinho? Can Denilson be compared to Tom Cleverley? And was Sebastien Squillaci that much worse than Chris Smalling?

Moyes is being asked to pull off a big feat now, to lift United from the depths of despair into the top four. If they finish in the top four then I bet that United's season will be upgraded from disaster to consolidation .

Wenger had to do that for eight years, lifted Arsenal into title challengers on occasion and yet was battered from pillar to post. Given United's problems, maybe Wenger deserves a bit more respect, after all.

Similarly, Chelsea selling Mata to United sends an odd message. Mata is such a talented player, he will go a long way to solving United's problems.

Mata was Chelsea's Player of the Year in the past two seasons. He was incredibly popular with the fans, a talisman for the team.

Midway through a season selling to a direct rival is such the equivalent to waving a giant white flag. That's what it was when Arsenal sold van Persie to United.

Yet Chelsea, as they are managed by Jose Mourinho and are above United in the table, have escaped virtually any criticism.

But the bizarre thing is that Chelsea fans are not questioning Mourinho's judgement. He truly is the Special One to get away with selling last year's best player.

(Image: Getty Images)

Reading the fall-out on Twitter is quite funny. One blinkered Arsenal fan said there would be meltdown if it were Wenger and the media would be in uproar.

There's a reason why the media hasn't been in uproar. It's because the Chelsea fans are seemingly relaxed about it.

We in the media try to reflect the fans' views and that of our readership. Arsenal fans went into meltdown over the van Persie sale. That's why it was plastered all over the back pages and still haunts Arsenal.

The Chelsea fans back Mourinho over Mata and that is why – even though I don't agree and am saying so here – the story is different from van Persie.

Arsenal have moved on from van Persie and the £42m signing of Mesut Ozil signalled a new era .

You can make an argument that Chelsea were willing to sell Mata because of the damage that he can potentially inflict upon their rivals.

It is one hell of a shot in the arm for United. And that's exactly what Arsenal need in the final week of the January transfer window .

But I severely doubt Chelsea would have sold Mata to Arsenal and maybe that's the best compliment that Mourinho could have paid Wenger.