Arsenal stars enjoyed hippy crack! It’s enough to start a scandal – if you try hard enough.

That’s what the S*n, who are the experts at this sort of thing, wants but in case you find yourself getting worked up over this nothing story, allow me to take a few minutes to highlight a few points that you might have missed….

This party took place BEFORE the season started

I don’t know if the S*n only just found out about the story or they have been holding it since the summer (more likely the latter knowing the S*n, they did the same when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang when he first arrived, bringing up a dis-proved story that once again went nowhere) but the fact is this all took place more than THREE months ago and we’ve been doing alright since then.

A number of papers on Saturday were discussing how the story will be a ‘distraction’ ahead of the game against Huddersfield but that’s disingenuous.

The COVERAGE of the story might be a distraction but the club have already dealt with the matter and the players involved have been among the standout stars of Arsenal’s season so far.

Arsenal ‘warning players of their responsibilities’ took place ages ago.

‘Hippie crack’ is not illegal and it’s not crack

Sticking the word ‘crack’ on the end of the street name for nitrous oxide is a simple way of making something not very exciting seem like it could be about to cause an epidemic.

In fact, it’s insulting to compare the two when you consider the devastation actual crack unleashes upon individuals and criminals.

Nitrous oxide is nothing more than laughing gas that you get at the dentist, designed to relax and produce the giggles.

It is no more illegal than alcohol and, many would argue, significantly less damaging to both the person taking it and society as a whole.

What is the public interest here?

Stories that make the papers should have a public interest angle, so what is it here?

Arsenal are currently on the longest unbeaten run in Europe so it can’t be that the players’ partying is affecting them on the pitch.

As already mentioned, they haven’t done anything illegal – either in the eyes of UK law or FIFA rules, so there is no reason to publish this story other than to try and unsettle Arsenal.

Martin Keown is clutching his pearls in the Daily Mail, calling this behaviour ‘unacceptable.’ “It is incredibly disappointing to see Arsenal players inhaling ‘hippy crack’,” Keown writes. “Above all else, Premier League players are role models and this type of behaviour is simply unacceptable.”

But drinking 15 pints on a night out is no biggie…

Kevin Campbell perhaps summed it all up best:

https://twitter.com/1kevincampbell/status/1070961217777340416