Arsenal hoping for leniency

No one seriously expects Martin Keown or Patrick Vieira to be elevated to a pedestal in the pantheon of footballing saints, though it is good for the sport when two such high-profile individuals hold their hands up and say: "It's a fair cop, guv!"

This is precisely what they have done, along with team-mates Ray Parlour, Ashley Cole and Lauren, in response to the Football Association charges following their demeaning misbehaviour at the end of the goalless draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford last month.

Although it's encouraging when the wrongdoers acknowledge their wrongs, there is, I suspect, a less noble cause behind this unusual mass admission of guilt from Highbury's marble halls.

A plea of not guilty would almost certainly prompt stiff penalties if the accused are indeed found guilty. However, a plea of guilty, perhaps with a request for mitigating circumstances to be taken into account, will almost certainly be looked upon more kindly by the FA.

The fact of the matter, of course, is that the TV scenes from Old Trafford that day were appalling and in football's present squalid climate the FA cannot afford to be seen treating player misbehaviour lightly.

Having faced up to their responsibilities, Arsenal will now seek leniency.

The violent behaviour charges against Keown and Lauren carry possible three-match suspensions. There is no fixed-penalty structure for the charge of "improper conduct" against Parlour, Cole and Vieira, but they won't be treated at severely as Keown or Lauren.