After Thursday night’s defeat by Manchester City, Arsene Wenger was asked why his Arsenal players looked so devoid of confidence. This has happened a lot in the last few years. Wenger looked like a beaten man by then. He looked sallow and dejected and tired. He looked like someone who had had enough. He thought about confidence. ‘You go up by the stairs and you come down by the lift,’ he said.
It is the opposite of his trajectory at the club he has dominated for 22 years. When he arrived at Arsenal, Wenger pressed the button to the top floor and got there so fast ears popped on the way up.