Heroes & Villains: Wily Wenger and unfortunate Vertonghen

Heroes
Arsene Wenger
Wenger has certainly suffered through his fair share of criticism for Arsenal’s lack of bottle in big games, so equally deserves the praise when the Gunners are at full steam.

The Frenchman steered his side to a controlled 2-0 sinking of champions Manchester City, with the kind of resilient rearguard performance and ruthless finishing away fans have been waiting for all season.

After being berated by the Emirates faithful before Christmas, Wenger is once again man of the moment and lord of north London. Until next week anyway.

Eljero Elia
Yet another new super Southampton hero emerged against Newcastle United, straight off Ronald Koeman’s conveyor belt of sensational signings.

Electric Elia bagged a fine brace to ensure his side took all three points, leaving Magpies defenders in the dust with his pace and movement, and could be the man to accelerate the Saints’ top four challenge.

After being out-of-favour at Werder Bremen, the borrowed Bundesliga star now has a fantastic chance to turn his career around and earn a Netherlands recall.

Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea 2.0
Ever since Roman Abramovich’s takeover, Chelsea seem to have been constantly striving to earn the admiration of neutrals as well as strike a balance with success.

It often seemed the Stamford Bridge side’s Russian Oligarch owner had unreasonable expectations, but he finally seems to have found the perfect balance second time out with Mourinho.

The Blues’ 5-0 demolition job on Swansea City, and Arsenal’s triumph at the Etihad could be the crowning moment when the title race turned.

Either way, Chelsea were a finely tuned team against the Swans, with free flowing football instigated by leading Premier League assistant Cesc Fabregas and top scorer Diego Costa.

Hero, victim or villain?
Jan Vertonghen
Tottenham defender Vertonghen certainly had a mixed game against Sunderland and was at the heart of the drama at both ends of the pitch, going from goal hero to villain in the space of a half.