It's hard to believe the state of things at Arsenal.
"I have never known anything like it in the history of the club,'' chairman Peter Hill-Wood said.
With all that's going on, it's easy to forget that Arsenal is the defending holder of European Cup Winners Cup, and the co-favorite to repeat the triumph next spring. But Europe is the only place where Arsenal has been at peace this season.
England striker Paul Merton was the first casualty when he rocked the soccer establishment with his admission of cocaine and gambling addictions. Rather than ban him, the club and the Football Association have granted Merton indefinite leave to sort out his problems.
Then came allegations last weekend that manager George Graham had received a ?285,000 ($416,000) gift from a Norwegian agent when the club purchased Danish midfielder John Jensen in 1992. Graham denied profiting from the Jensen transfer, but Britain's tax authorities are investigating it and several other deals involving Scandinavian players and English teams.
On the field, Arsenal is a mediocre 11th place in the 22-team Premier League with a dubiously balanced record of six wins, six losses and six draws. Ian Wright has been his usual force on the front line, scoring 18 goals, but he has collected nine yellow cards and this Saturday begins a two-match suspension. He was banned for three games earlier this season, and also sat out two weeks with a leg injury.
Arsenal, which broke a six-game winless streak with a 2-1 victory against Manchester City on Monday, will get a chance to further turn things around with a home match Saturday against Leeds.
In other games this weekend,Leicester, which filled its managerial vacancy Wednesday by hiring Mark McGhee away from Reading, hosts first-place Blackburn on Saturday. Manchester United, one point off the lead, is home to Nottingham Forest.
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