If there is one lesson from the Granit Xhaka furore at Arsenal, it is this: If the fans love you, you can pretty much get away with anything as a player and manager. If they don’t, and you make a mistake, you are screwed.

Football is a global popularity contest. Those who win hearts and minds of spectators, whether it is through their talent, application or charismatic personality, will command loyalty and respect even if they make the worst indiscretions.

Players who have never delivered or built a rapport with those same supporters will always find it tougher if they step out of line. They are convenient targets. It means when they make a genuine mistake – as Xhaka did last weekend – the reaction is sometimes more ferocious than is fair or reasonable.

Every club has its share of heroes and scapegoats, and it is not only the crowd that is guilty of favouritism. Owners and board members are equally guilty of determining a punishment based on the value of their assets. It is easier to make an example of an underperforming footballer whose salary has become a drain on resources rather than the talisman who is fundamental to success. Double standards are rife and clubs are opportunistic.