Paul Parker: Arsene Wenger deserves a four-game touchline ban… minimum

You could see he was wound up. Three points were absolutely imperative, they couldn’t miss an opportunity to pounce on their rivals’ slips. So when referee Jonathan Moss awarded Burnley a stoppage-time penalty at the Emirates, Arsene Wenger’s rage was understandable.

But to actually push the fourth official? Even though he was ultimately right to feel aggrieved (more on that below), you can’t push someone when you’re the focal point of a club. You’re asking for a severe punishment.

We’ve seen one- and two-match bans for managers throwing their toys out of the pram, so I’ll be very surprised if he escapes with anything less than a four-game touchline suspension.

It was so unlike him. While you expect Wenger to have a dugout quarrel – just ask Jose Mourinho, Martin Jol or Alan Pardew – you would never expect him to do something like this. After all, if you push someone in the street, that person can claim you’ve assaulted them. It’s the unfortunate world we live in.

The Football Association has to set a benchmark now. If Wenger is shown leniency, then managers more volatile than the Frenchman will repeat it… with potentially worse consequences. The pressure is horrible in the Premier League, but the club’s leading figure must act like one. Everyone looks to the manager for authority, discipline and organisation. Arsenal may have snatched a 2-1 win, but Wenger let himself down on Sunday – and his players down too.

Wenger can’t afford any more lapses given Chelsea are running away with the Premier League. The pressure is getting to him, without a doubt.

Back to Burnley’s penalty. It was more than contentious.

Sure, Francis Coquelin made contact with Ashley Barnes, but it wasn’t enough to bring him down. The Burnley striker has thought: ‘hold on a minute, I’ve been kicked, I best fall down’. The whole thing was shocking. I’m not someone who believes that contact equals a penalty. No, if you fall down when you don’t need to, it’s cheating. End of.

If I’m walking in the supermarket and someone makes contact with me, do I have to fall down and get run over by a trolley? This is how silly the game’s getting.

The solution? Video assistance. It wouldn’t slow the game down, we know that now. Someone with access to a TV can help out the referee, with a verdict passed to the official by the time he’s wandered across to his assistant.

It won’t end the debate. It won’t gain sweeping approval for every penalty decision. But at least you would get a firm decision – and the reasons – while it would go some way to eliminating cheating which is blighting the game.

Leicester City don’t look like a side capable of winning away from home (they are yet to win on the road this season). Their squad looks delighted with their winners’ medal and are not interested in proving themselves again. They’re too caught up in their red carpet invites, watching replays of what they achieved last season.

It’s nonsense that N’Golo Kante’s switch to Chelsea has made all the difference. One player doesn’t do that, unless they bang in 40 goals a season. They’ve got too many fat wallets in the side – you don’t feed the cat too much, otherwise it’s not going to chase the mice anymore.

That’s the problem for Leicester. They have a bunch of players who never expected to be top-level players who have suddenly done the unexpected. Now they think ‘job done’ and switch off. That’s not the way. Top players want to win more than one title. They feel embarrassed that they’ve only got one title. Leicester see one medal in their cabinet and think that’s great. Even if you’re not good enough to challenge for multiple titles – and they’re clearly not – you’ve still got to go down fighting.

Claudio Ranieri can’t trust anyone, so he’s returned to being the ‘Tinkerman’. Last season, change was frowned upon. Continuity was the key. Ranieri has to galvanise a team in a relegation battle, all with one eye on a Champions League double-header with Liga contenders Sevilla. It’s a big ask.