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New Arsenal initiative to make football a more pleasant game for all/Arsenal: No opposing manager is allowed to celebrate his team's goals. This should prevent Arsene Wenger's feelings from getting hurt, and will thus ensure that he does not have to start a fight to right the wrongs of lesser mortals such as Alan Pardew.

And back in the real world, this writer is still jointly amused and repulsed by Wenger’s reaction to Pardew’s “over-zealous” fist pumping. Imagine! The cheek! But we shouldn’t expect any better from such a confirmed sore loser as the Arsenal manager, who has little in the way of grace, decency or manners.

Wenger is a terrific manager, but an inept man. Perhaps Pardew’s behaviour was provocative, but look at it from his point of view- he has been under huge pressure with the tediously protracted takeover, his players have been shocking for two months, and then in the last minute they score a last minute winner against one of the best sides in Europe.

So forgive him for celebrating. But do not forgive Wenger for shoving Pardew, or trying to hit him. Do not forgive Wenger for refusing Pardew’s offer of a handshake (maybe he did not see it). And do not forgive Wenger’s fit of pique in leaving the stadium without using the media interviews as an opportunity to apologise to Pardew and West Ham United.

Pardew apologised profusely after the game- yet he has nothing to apologise for. He has conducted himself with dignity, while Wenger’s lack of that quality transmitted itself to his team. At the final whistle, Cesc Fabregas aimed a punch at Teddy Sheringham’s stomach, and Jens Lehmann squirted a water bottle at the veteran striker.

It was just as well there were no trays of pizzas hanging around, or Sheringham could have found himself covered in cheese and tomato. Arsenal have something of a track record when it comes to not taking a defeat on the chin.

A quick run through of recent Arsenal tantrums includes a 3-1 home defeat against Newcastle in 2002 which saw Thierry Henry banned for his post-match hysterics, the infamous pizza episode after the 2-0 defeat at Manchester United, and of course Martin Keown, Ray Parlour and Ashley Cole assaulting Ruud Van Nistelrooy after he missed that last minute penalty.

It is a mentality which Wenger has created and nurtured. He used to pretend that he never saw Patrick Vieira’s red cards. Yet in an amazing show of effrontery in April, he criticised Martin Jol’s claim that he had not seen the controversial incident which led to Tottenham’s goal-“I can’t believe they didn’t see it. Of course they lie,” Wenger whined, leading to a spate of ‘Pot Calls Kettle Black’ headlines.

His constant belief that officials are out to get his side, which sees him spend games berating officials and trying to get opponents sent off, is paranoid and against the intended spirit of the game.

Wenger is held up as an ambassador for English football, yet only last March, he labelled Pardew racist for suggesting that Arsenal’s run to the Champions League final was not an English success because of the lack of English players at Arsenal. Still, it was not hard to note why he has the nickname Le Professeur when he lectured Everton manager David Moyes about his team’s stifling tactics.

Clearly Moyes was meant to set his side up so that they could be cut open by Thierry Henry. For all of Arsenal’s beautiful football, they are all too easily muscled out of games. No-one likes to lose a football match. But, Arsene, let’s face it, surely your team’s form means you should be getting a little better at handling it by now? I can’t wait to hear your excuses after your visit to Bolton.

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