Chelsea, Arsenal in deep trouble

To borrow an infamously cynical expression that entered the English political sphere a decade ago, it looked like a good weekend to bury bad news -- especially as far as the capital city's soccer was concerned. No sooner had Chelsea , London's best early-season bet to challenge the Manchester giants for the Premier League title, lost at West Ham than Arsenal went down at home to Swansea City , plunging that vast institution into arguably the deepest crisis since Arsene Wenger arrived from Japan to become its widely revered coach in 1996. The question of whether Wenger should step down is now being seriously asked. It is no longer a case of criticism being diverted to major shareholder Stan Kroenke, who cuts an uninspiring figure on his rare visits from America, and the American-trained chief executive Ivan Gazidis - not to mention the rather lofty figurehead Peter Hill-Wood. True, those fans wishing for a takeover by long-term investor Alisher Usmanov will have had their ranks fu...