One of the most exasperating aspects of the game against Manchester United from an Arsenal perspective, apart from the abject performance, was Andre Santos asking Robin Van Persie for his shirt at halftime, having been played out of the park by Antonio Valencia and Rafael.
That act was met by disgust and anger by the fans, and rightfully so. There is no call for a player to do so, when he has endured a torrid half, and with a player who is not exactly one of the favorites of the Arsenal faithful.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted he was not too happy with Santos' behavior, having made his feelings clear at halftime. "It's interesting because Santos is a player who cares," Wenger said. "If you speak with him, he gives an image of himself which is not him.
"He is serious, he wants to do well. It is about the result, about the team. (Asking for a shirt at halftime is) a difference of culture.
"I can understand that an English guy doesn't understand it and I'm French and I don't understand it either. He is completely in a different world when he does that.
"But he cares and he understands today what it means and, believe me, he will never do it again. I spoke to him about it but I do not want to make too big a story of it.
"I believe that was not the right thing to do at all, but that is not an explanation of our bad performance on Saturday."
However, one of the explanations for the bad performance can be attributed to Wenger's refusal to leave Santos on the bench, and shift Bacary Sagna at left-back with Carl Jenkinson, one of Arsenal's outstanding performers in the early part of the season, slotting in at right-back.
Wenger hinted at the possibility of leaving Santos out for the crucial Champions League game against Schalke, not just as a direct result of the shirt swap incident, but also due to the Brazilian's poor performance in the game against the German side at the Emirates a couple of weeks ago.
At the end of the day, it is quite clear Santos is not good enough to play at left-back - he does not have the positional awareness needed for a defender, nor the pace to make up for those mistakes. The Brazilian is also quite slow to get back into position after making a forward run, which at the end of the day is the most crucial aspect of being a fullback.
Jenkinson, for the performances he has put in this season, does not deserve to be on the bench, and with Sagna perfectly capable of playing at left-back, Wenger must be seriously considering making that switch.
