All the newspapers have the tale: Manchester City are outraged by Arsenal having discussions with Arteta, without first going to Manchester City.

The implication throughout is that Arsenal have done something very wrong – and yet if we pause for just one minute we can realise that many employees talk to potential future employers without telling their current employer about it first as Tony Attwood explains.

Indeed quite often we might apply for several jobs at once, and in doing so don’t always tell our current bosses, or each of the companies we apply for a job with, about the other applications.

This is the normal way of the world – at least in the UK it is – but the newspapers and broadcast media have successfully put about the tale that Arsenal have behaved badly.

On its own of course this doesn’t amount to much, but it is part of a constant on-going campaign in which Arsenal are seen as doing things wrong, acting badly, being stupid, being unreasonable, being disorganised and so on.

And that is the story: not that Arsenal are disorganised or incompetent, but that the media want us to believe they are. Day after day we are told this tale, but it is set up solely because it is a narrative that the media like to run.

It has nothing to do with the truth.