Le Boss has been talking to French daily sports paper L'Equipe, sticking up for none other than Nicolas Anelka.

'His reputation is unfair,' says Wenger. 'He's just an honest person who says everything he means, without sometimes realising the consequences of what he says.'

He goes on to suggest that you can lead a more sheltered life at Arsenal than anywhere else - and manages to contradict himself by wondering whether press pressure was really the reason why Visage-du-Cheval moved on.

'I think Nicolas left us too early,' says the Man Who Knows. But Arseweb has a memory long enough to remember how irritating it all was - and how glad we were when he finally left.

NOTE: this report was written without access to the original French text. Usual warnings apply.