Perhaps it was those factors that caused Wenger to make the kind of mildly dismissive comments about Bale at his press conference this week when he questioned how long the 23-year-old's current form might last. Over the years, he has been accustomed to the talk being about the exceptional players in his own side, certainly in the north London derby, rather than being quizzed on how he plans to cope with the star of the opposition.
The point that is almost too painful to make in the presence of the Arsenal manager is that Bale looks every inch the kind of player his club once signed as a matter of course. The prototype that Wenger made a virtue of bringing to the club; a remarkable physical specimen with a high skill-level and an ascetic dedication to his craft. If Bale was an Arsenal player, then his recent performance would be drawing comparisons with the best of Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie.
Instead, yesterday, Wenger was forced to build an argument that in the absence of an exceptional stand-out talent in his current team (and that is not to say Jack Wilshere cannot reach a similar level one day), he was content with goals coming from all over the pitch.
He said, not for the first time, that Arsenal have scored more goals than they had at this point last season and were not at the mercy of one individual to score them.
If only it was that simple. Things can change quickly in a league where only four points separate the three teams chasing the leading pair but, all the same, Arsenal look further from flourishing into a coherent, consistent side than Spurs. Wenger's problems tonight are just as likely to be in defence as they are in attack, especially against Bale.
There is no Bacary Sagna in the side; the Frenchman is regarded as something of an expert in handling Bale. In Sagna's absence, Wenger bridled at the suggestion he might do something different to handle the threat from the Welshman.
"We don't plan for anybody," he said, a remark that reads a little more devil-more-care than he intended. What it seemed like Wenger meant was that he was not going to change his formation to deal with Bale.
Even in the bad times, Spurs' league record at home to Wenger's Arsenal has been robust. In 16 games, the record is three wins each, with 10 draws.
In that period, Wenger has seen off eight Spurs managers. Wenger is now up against a young manager in Andre Villas-Boas who is as hungry to begin an era of his own at Spurs and may even be the first Tottenham manager to outlast Wenger.
Were Arsenal to finish behind Spurs this season in fourth, with a Champions League place, it would not be a disaster.
They could still confidently embark on that rebuilding programme in the off-season. But you get the impression that Wenger's record of never having finished behind Spurs is one of his benchmarks of excellence at the club that he really does not wish to give up.
- Independent
