You just know Arsenal are going to make it hard for themselves between now and May, with aberrations such as the 4-0 defeat at Southampton on Boxing Day, and probably plenty more soft muscle injuries; yet Wenger’s quest to re-conquer England’s football summit is one of the great spectacles of the age. His problem, of course, is that if he fails to do so in such a wide-open race, his life’s work will be tossed on the bonfire of mass opinion.