After Arsenal cruised to a 4-1 victory over in-form Newcastle, Arsene Wenger called on fans to make an instant snap judgement about his side before the euphoria fades and they draw 0-0 with QPR.
Wenger said: "I said after we lost at Stoke, and after we lost at Swansea, and after we drew with Anderlecht that it was far too early to judge this team.
"I meant to add that the time to judge us is mid-December, right after we've beaten Dortmund and Newcastle, but before we fall apart in the spring, by which time it will be too late to judge us."
Wenger presented journalists with a handy cut-out-and-keep table of Arsenal's results, explaining that 'W' stands for 'What a good time to assess our progress', and 'L' for 'Let's not jump to any conclusions'.
The 65-year old added: "I never judge our progress by the league table until we're fourth, in which case, as we say in France, it's judgetimes o'clock."
He continued that judging a book by its cover was fine, assuming the cover had tremendous potential but the book itself suffered from chronic inconsistency.
Arsenal season-ticket holder Ray McCallum said: "Beating Newcastle is all very well, but we fans deserve better. At least, if you judge us on the rare occasions when we make a noise that isn't a grumble, a carp or a boo, we deserve better."
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