If there ever was a definite sign that a team will not qualify for the Champions League, it would have to be a humiliating defeat by Blackburn Rovers under Steve Kean.

The naive little puppy of a manager somehow got his Rovers to put in a performance that much less inept than Arsenal’s, and that was good enough for Kean to exit the dugout beaming from ear to ear and waving joyously to fans who were probably giving him the finger.

While his ecstasy was completely misplaced, Arsene Wenger’s despair was not.

Even Wenger’s infamous selective vision couldn’t disguise his team’s failings, and Wenger, who almost never publicly criticises his players, was forced to face the fact that his team did not defend well enough.

Now Arsenal face the same problem Liverpool had with Rafa Benitez. There was no denying that Benitez was the best guy for the job, but he just couldn’t stop the rot at Liverpool. The crisis of confidence had hit critical mass, and the club just couldn’t afford to let it go any further.

Wenger is a living legend, one of the best managers the English game has ever seen. If in some parallel universe where Wenger wasn’t Arsenal manager, and the club was facing the exact same crisis, Wenger would have been the perfect man to lead them out of it.

But in this universe, one where Wenger is already presiding over the crisis, there is a tough call to make.

He has asked for time to allow his new signings to settle in, which is only fair; but unfortunately, the fragile confidence of the squad at the moment might not be able to take any more punishment.

It would be a real shame to see Arsene Wenger leave Arsenal. But he had a hand in getting himself in this mess by letting the Fabregas/Nasri sagas drag on as long as they did, and now he’ll have to pick up the pieces. Quick.

Terrific Tottenham, or lousy Liverpool?

Sorry, I didn’t watch the game, but I hear Tottenham were pretty good.

Alex Ferguson had sent Kenny Dalglish an ominous warning at the end of last season, saying Liverpool would find getting back to the top of the Premier League ain’t that easy.

And these were probably the kind of games Ferguson had in mind when he said that.

Sometimes, it doesn’t matter if you sign a whole bunch of super talented players. You have to survive this league and everything it throws at you.

You have to thrive under the constant pressure, rebound from even the most crushing defeats, and have the willpower to go all the way to the end.

Liverpool had invested brilliantly in the transfer market, and I even tipped them to finish in the top three ahead of Chelsea based on their signings this year, but only time will tell if they can develop those nerves of steel fast enough to keep them in it throughout the rest of the campaign.

As for Tottenham, would you bet against them finishing above Arsenal, given that their strongest XI would include players like Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Emmanuel Adebayor, Rafael van der Vaart and Aaron Lennon?

I noticed Ledley King was also playing against Liverpool, and he can seriously mix it up with the best of the best when he’s fit.

Players like Sandro and Tom Huddlestone have bags of potential, and when Jermaine Defoe gets over his slump (if he ever does), he could add his usual streak of goals to prop them up the table.

So I’d say Tottenham are looking quite terrific now, while Liverpool still have the propensity to be lousy ocassionally.

City slip-up

I thought it would never happen. Turns out all it took was a Champions League hangover and a typically combative mid-table Premier League team to do the trick. And luck. A whole lot of luck.

But fortune favours the bold. After Fulham scored on 55mins and started to look mildly threatening, Roberto Mancini withdrew creator-in-chief David Silva for defender Pablo Zabaleta. He might have been an attacker of considerable class and imagination as a player, but as a manager, Mancini is boring as hell.

This is Fulham we’re talking about. A top club doesn’t switch to being all defensive tactically just because Fulham has scored a goal against you and are starting to look menacing. You compose yourself, maintain your belief in your ability, and slowly impose yourself on the game again.

And if it doesn’t work out and you end up conceding another two goals, at least you can say you gave it a right go. Odds are however, if you are the better team, and you play with the conviction of one, you would be the one scoring first.

But being Italian, Mancini’s instinct made him take the other option – to sit back and defend.

Ferguson made no such changes against Chelsea. Anderson replaced by Michael Carrick after an off-colour performance, but the players’ brief was still the same – score more goals.

Of course, tactical changes are forced on you sometimes, due to players who’re having an off-day or opponents who are simply playing better in certain areas. You have to respond to that.

But with Mancini, it’s always a reaction, a negative move that stems from his fear of losing, rather than a positive attitude of blazing forward for the win; and honestly, long may it continue.