Arsene Wenger has become a poor man's Alan Pardew... heaven knows what Herbert Chapman would make of his antics

The pressure is getting to Arsene Wenger. So much so he’s become a poor man’s Alan Pardew.

It’s funny how Pardew was castigated for headbutting someone on the touchline, yet if Wenger charges towards an opposition manger and pushes him in the chest with both hands during a game, he gets away with it.

Does the Frenchman get away with it because he’s been in the job for a long time? Because he’s untouchable? Because of the ridiculous amount of respect afforded to him by seemingly everyone in the game?

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Arsene Wenger (left) shoves Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho during his side's 2--0 defeat on Sunday

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Newcastle manager Alan Pardew headbutts Hull midfielder David Meyler back in March

A two-handed shove may not be as aggressive, or as likely to cause injury as a headbutt. But it is still an unprovoked act of aggression which brings the great name of Arsenal into disrepute, and sets a terrible example. Yet the board have so far failed to offer any kind of statement condemning the incident, or sanctioning their manager.

Three red cards in four Champions League games this season should be enough for Arsene Wenger to take a look in the mirror. If he ever bothered to do that, he’d realise that starting a ruck with Jose Mourinho on the touchline at Stamford Bridge will in no way help Arsenal achieve better results. It seems the Arsenal manager is more bothered about his own personal duels these days than boring stuff like tactics and team selection.

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Arsenal's players look dejected on their way to defeat at Stamford Bridge on Sunday 

What kind of message does Wenger’s aggression send to the players? Are they laughing at this manager trying to start a fight he can never win because he’s up against a far sharper operator? Or are they thinking that they need to start getting physical with the opposition, roughing them up, pushing them without provocation?

Arsenal used to be a club that prided itself on its discipline: to some Herbert Chapman is still the greatest manager in the club’s history – he’s the only Gunners’ manager with a statue outside the Emirates stadium so far. Chapman believed in a “code of conduct,” and even sacked a player, Tommy Black, on the bus home after conceding a penalty in a cup tie at Walsall in 1933. Chapman even refused to allow Black back into Highbury to collect his boots.

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Legendary Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman was known for setting high standards of his players

Heaven knows what Chapman would make of the current Arsenal manager shoving his opposite number in the chest during a game.

It’s a new low for a once great manager. Wenger is becoming a specialist in spoiling his legacy.