BILLY BUNTER

Weblog: The football punter

Look homeward for fiscal salvation this Euro night

IT was another comedy defensive show from Arsenal at the weekend but good enough for Arsene Wenger to declare that his team are back.

Despite conceding more goals in one afternoon than George Graham’s Gunners used to in a season, Wenger is adamant that Arsenal are contenders once more.

It would have taken about half-a-dozen unfussy 1-0 wins in a row for Gorgeous George to declare so positively that his team had turned a corner, but Wenger has clearly decided that the only way to challenge the Manchester giants is to take a leaf out of Kevin Keegan’s book. Sod the back four, let’s go for goals.

He could of course simply buy a decent keeper or classy centre-back but as we all know that would be cow-towing to pubic (and shareholder) opinion and he’s never going to fall into that trap.

So now that we know that Arsenal are back in the title race (33-1 anybody? No, thought not) they can concentrate on the Champions League and that means doing the double over Marseille.

In days gone by you’d have put your house on the Arsenal at 4-6 for what should be such a routine task against the most miserable Frenchmen not taking orders at aParisian brasserie.

But au contraire, Le Prof’s kids are way too unreliable to trust at cramped odds, an accusation you can also chuck at Porto and Valencia.

I’ll swerve Barcelona at 1-7 and Chelsea at 1-4 – and they’re not even at home for heaven’s sake – and not for the first time on a big Euro night I’m looking homewards for some financial salvation.

Thank the Lord for Forest at 6-4 to take care of Reading and Palace at 23-20 to do likewise to Portsmouth.