Speaking in February on the tenth anniversary of Gianni Infantino’s accession as FIFA president, Arsene Wenger paid tribute to his friend for overseeing a ‘huge improvement’ in world football.‘Gianni is always ready to move forward and to create new ideas. He’s open to new ideas,’ said Wenger.Say what you want about Infantino, he’s most definitely open to ideas.The idea to have a World Cup in Qatar at Christmas time, and increase the number of teams at the tournament this summer to 48. If he gets his way, it will be 64 in four years’ time, when the tournament is already being played across six countries.The idea to introduce mandatory hydration breaks at the World Cup this summer, thinking we wouldn’t see them for the commercial grab they really were, and to have the finalists from Spain and Argentina kicking their heels in the dressing room at half-time for the best part of half an hour waiting for Madonna and Co to get off the pitch at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.It was Infantino’s idea to award President Donald Trump the ridiculous FIFA Peace Prize, and then say nothing when the Iran team were banished to train in Mexico while Trump’s war against them raged in the Middle East, or when the Somalian referee Omar Artan was denied entry to the US. ‘Gianni Infantino is always ready to move forward and to create new ideas. He’s open to new ideas,’ said Arsene Wenger Say what you want about Infantino, he’s most definitely open to ideasAnd it’s his preposterous idea to carve up the World Cup and sell it to private investors for £3.1billion by strong-arming FIFA’s 211 member associations into accepting his proposals, thus plunging world football into crisis.All the while, Wenger has hovered at Infantino’s right hand like a silent stooge, a sight we witnessed so often in North America this summer.As FIFA’s chief of global football development, the 76-year-old Frenchman is part of Infantino’s inner circle. One of the people, it’s fair to assume, who would have been aware of the great World Cup sell-off when so many other executives weren’t. For all we know, Wenger may have played an active role in hatching the plot given that he has Infantino’s ear.Either way, it’s not a good look for the man English football first came to know 30 years ago when he arrived from Japan to take over as Arsenal manager.The Professor, they called him. The forward-thinking coach whose ideas had a profound effect on the Arsenal culture and beyond the marbled halls of Highbury.Wenger has continued to influence football’s development since he was appointed by Infantino in November 2019, 18 months after he had left Arsenal after 22 years in charge.Among other things, he heads up the £160million FIFA Talent Coach Programme which develops young players in poorer countries where the path to professional football is lacking, and for that he deserves credit. He also leads a FIFA taskforce on player welfare which aims to address concerns over the increasing demands of the football calendar, although how Wenger’s proposal to stage the World Cup every two years would help in that regard is anyone’s guess.It would be refreshing to think that a man of his influence and intelligence would be able to stand up to Infantino’s rampant egotism, but sadly that doesn’t seem to be the case. It’s not a good look for the man English football first came to know 30 years ago when he arrived from Japan to take over as Arsenal manager and turned them into champions Wenger will do what he always does these days. He will follow his master and nod along to whatever hare-brained idea Infantino comes up with nextBefore the World Cup final, he claimed the new 48-team format had been a success – though at least had the decency to admit that not everyone was a fan of the hydration breaks.It would be fascinating to hear what Wenger really thinks of the plan to sell off the World Cup and Infantino’s offer to give member associations £30million if they accept it by September 19, which has met with such resistance around the globe including the threat of a UEFA boycott. But let’s not hold our breath. He will do what he always does these days. He will follow his master and nod along to whatever hare-brained idea Infantino comes up with next.FIFA tried to extinguish the fire on Friday as its president faced growing calls to step down. ‘Nobody is selling football. This is not something FIFA would ever entertain,’ read a statement.But they aren’t fooling anyone. The world can see Infantino for what he is now – and we see Wenger standing squarely behind him.