We called it.

On this site, as the reports emerged, we said that the likely truth to the whole Mesut-Ozil-goes-clubbing tedium was that the manager knew exactly what was going on.

That didn’t stop a number of papers running stories claiming that Wenger and the player would hold CRUNCH talks over his behaviour and all the usual sort of nonsense we hear from people who just seem to make it up as they go along.

So I wonder how they’re all feeling now that the German manager, Joachim Low, confirmed that Ozil had Wenger’s permission to be in Berlin.

Low said

‘It’s anyone’s guess whether he was partying or not.

‘He has told me that he was in Berlin. I spoke to him and he said that he was weakened by a cold during last week and so Arsene Wenger and Ozil together took the decision to not play him at the weekend.

‘After the match, he was allowed to fly to Berlin.’

‘Weakened by a cold’ – it’s almost as if there’s no difference in the minds of some in the media between playing a top level football game and standing around in a bar.

That it was reportedly a pre-arranged PR event also doesn’t seem to have factored into their headlines either.

If you’re wondering how the same press are dealing with this, the Mail included this line in their reports of Low’s comments:

It was a move that is sure to have angered club boss Wenger, who is likely to remind the 26-year-old of his responsibilities when he returns from international duty.

Cling to that narrative lads, cling to it real tight!

Maybe some of these reporters should have some CRUNCH talks with their own bosses over their recent behaviour.