Arsene Wenger: From Dumbledore to dunce

Until around 22.30 on Tuesday night, Arsene Wenger had a well-earned reputation in Spain for being a bit of an avuncular, Dumbledore type figure: unthreatening, cultured and a proper gent famous for relishing in the finer side of football. So much so, in fact, that Florentino Pérez â seeing the FrenchmanâÂÂs name in a sticker album one afternoon â even tried to bring the Arsenal boss to the Bernabeu on his return to the Real Madrid presidency in 2009.

But after the events in the Camp Nou, WengerâÂÂs reputation as a sophisticated sommelier of the beautiful game went so far south that penguins were waddling on top of it. Arsenal's 3-1 defeat has been greeted in Barcelona as a victory for truth, justice and the Catalan way. Then again, pretty much all wins for PepâÂÂs Dream Boys are viewed thusly, such are the sideâÂÂs insufferably smug ways.

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