The world's going to end for Arsenal: Part One

If anyone was listening to a well-known radio station in England on Friday, their ears would have absorbed an indictment of Arsene Wenger and the state of affairs at Arsenal. Arsenal are in crisis. No really they are. Didn't you know? I didn't. Maybe it was because I was out of the loop. It wasn't the mid-season crisis when they lost the in Carling Cup final to now relegated Birmingham or the fact that Arsenal managed to finish 4th in what seemed to be a two horse race. It was the early transfer window crisis. Their crime? Well it's not something Arsenal did but it's what they didn't do. They didn't sign Jordan Henderson and Phil Jones. Maybe one but preferably both. Liverpool and Manchester United did, wisely stocking their central defensive and midfield positions respectively. Yet not all is as it appears.

Media reporting in football

Ok, I'm not someone who is a fully paid up member of the Wayne Rooney fan club but I do realise that he is a quality footballer who has been around for a while now. I even thought that when he was bagging all those goals in the 2009/2010 season, he was not fulfilling his original promise as a creator and finisher. However, now he is being deployed in a deep-lying striker role, he's looking like a truly world class player. I completely appreciated his relaxed and amiable appearance on Talksport. Talksport has its critics but I miss Richard Keys and Andy Gray on Sky Sports so I'm glad they've got a spot on Talksport. Reproach me if you will but feelings aren't always logical. Just ask Andy. Even though I'm not a Sky Sports subscriber, I miss the fact that there previously was an option to see the duo whenever I popped round to the home of a friendly Sky customer. Nostalgia aside, when Wayne Rooney joined the duo for the last hour or so of their show, a solitary eyebrow was raised at his appearance. I thought, "What is Wayne doing? So soon after a Champions League final defeat? Sir Alex must know..." As I pondered the potential unsavoury consequences of such a decision, I realised that it was Keys and Gray. My mind stopped wondering.