It’s time for Wenger to set his captain free

He has done that in his inimitable manner, a professor guiding a gifted but troubled student. For Vieira was, if not troubled, then troublesome, with a penchant for picking up red cards that threatened to knock the bottom out his class midfield act. Wenger showed him the way, then in an inspired moment gave him the captain’s armband when Tony Adams retired (strongly reminiscent of what Alex Ferguson did with Eric Cantona and Roy Keane).

That brought out the best in Vieira — his leadership on the field, both as captain and midfielder, was unmatched in the English game, more so because the powers of Keane, his only rival, are on the wane. On the field, he became an extension of Wenger, putting into practice what the coach had theorised beforehand, binding the players together, driving them on.

It was a relationship that went way beyond coach and player. Every top manager has that one player who best sums up his ideals, becomes his alter ego. Ferguson’s choice would be Keane, Matt Busby’s Bobby Charlton, Bob Paisley’s Graeme Souness or Kenny Dalglish (though he had several to choose from!). It is an unquestioning partnership based on implicit trust and faith.

A relationship whose foundation is such faith founders when the first questions are raised. As they have been, first by the player expressing an interest in leaving the club, then by the coach giving him a deadline to decide. Wenger’s mind is clear: Vieira has given Arsenal ‘‘eight fantastic years (but) he can’t be half with us and half with someone else. He’s got until Saturday to make up his mind.’’

In his own mind, Wenger has probably made his decision: the time has come for Vieira to go. He would not have made it without looking at every possible fallout and side-effect, but it could be that he’s decided a Vieira with even a minimum loss of focus would be harmful to the tightly knit squad that is the Arsenal team.

Ultimately, football is run not on emotion but on cold, hard calculation; Ferguson’s decision to sell David Beckham last year was not because of his dislike for the player but because Goldenballs simply didn’t fit into his football plan. Similarly, Wenger would know that Vieira, at 28, cannot improve as a player; from the current peak, it’s downhill all the way. A year later, his market price would be greatly reduced.

If Vieira goes, would it be the end of life as we know it at Arsenal? Not really. The coach has a knack — forced on him by the club’s financial state — of picking out high-quality talent on the cheap.

While too much should not be read into Sunday’s defeat of Manchester United, where Wenger’s latest crop of young stars ran rings around their opponents, one fact is significant: it was achieved without Vieira.