COMMENT: There's only one loser to come out of football's latest 'hippy crack' storm - and it has no connection to Arsenal.
Any footballer. Any minder of a footballer. You deserve what's coming to you. If any footballer sets foot in that club, then you can have no complaints.
Because away from all the faux outrage. The hand wringing. And the appropriate shrug from Arsenal. The only loser to come out of all this is the nightclub where the CCTV footage emerged from. For this West End hot spot, it could cost them millions. The idea that any footballer can have footage of himself - via security cameras no less - sold to the highest bidder is ridiculous. That that footage - which conveniently has no timestamp - can then be interpreted to whatever extent the buyer deems necessary is even worse. And we say necessary, because those covering this story really twisted themselves into all manner of knots to paint the players in question as negatively as they could. But try as they might, it just didn't work.
Yes, it was all above board and legal. Yes, the get together occurred before the season had kicked off. And yes, there was no violence. No arguing. Just a group of lads having a good time.
Perry Groves, a twice league title winner with Arsenal, nailed it last week: “I'd rather they take a little bit of gas out of a balloon than having 15 pint benders like we used to."
Which you fancy is similar to the thinking of Unai Emery, the Gunners manager. Before and after the win over Huddersfield Town on Saturday, Emery gave the issue scant regard. As did the club. The official line was perfect. There was no great, apologetic media release. It didn't deserve one. Simply a short briefing from a member of the comms team, declaring the players would be "spoken to and reminded of their responsibilities". And in terms of "responsibilities" you fancy that would be more about taking greater care where you have your next get-together. End of.
Arsenal weren't going to feed the beast. There was no reason to indulge all those behind the wailing headlines and finger wagging. There's too much positivity about the place. Too much to look forward to. Three points against the Terriers meant 21 games unbeaten. It must have killed those sitting on the footage. Desperate for a defeat. A setback. Just something negative about this group of players so their powderpuff bombshell could have maximum effect. But Emery's team just kept winning. And even after it was made public, the one player at the centre of it all - Matteo Guendouzi - stepped out onto the Emirates pitch and played a blinder.
Indeed, rather than cast Guendouzi and his senior teammates in a negative light, the footage has unintentionally offered Arsenal fans another glimpse into why the team has responded as it has this season.
This wasn't a sponsor's event. Nor a club function. On their own time, these players organised a night for themselves and their new, young teammate. This isn't the Arsenal of Alexis Sanchez. This is the new Arsenal. Of senior players like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Shkodran Mustafi. And Alexandre Lacazette. A new team spirit. A togetherness. The unity we can see from that grainy, two tone video footage, is the same being translated onto the pitch this season. These players like eachother. They play for eachother. There's no cliques. No (you know who) loners. Guendouzi is every bit as important and welcome as Lucas Torreira or Stephan Lichtsteiner. Which any Gunners fan could see from that CCTV video.
That's what really should come from this laughing gas story. The unity - the camaraderie - of this group of players. Falsely accused. Wrongly portrayed. They were the victims in all this. But for all the hysterics, this bombshell landed like a damp squib.
Is it any wonder Emery can't be cross with them?