SUPERSTAR or liability! The jury is out on Ivan Campo after his Highbury hiatus.

For all but 10 minutes of what threatened to be the biggest mismatch since the bookies calculated the odds of David beating Goliath with a catapult, the Spaniard was the central figure in another heroic Wanderers performance.

But he left North London as the villain of the piece - his talent unquestioned but with serious doubts about his temperament.

Sam Allardyce pulled no punches. He blamed the Real Madrid defender he worked so hard to sign for costing Wanderers a point they worked so hard to win.

There was no ambiguity here; no carefully-veiled hint to protect the player's feelings. The manager delivered a stark, public warning to the big mop-haired defender that he will have to learn quickly if he is to justify the time, the effort and the money spent on getting him to the Reebok.

Campo is class! Let there be no doubts about that. He showed that on Saturday when, despite playing out of position, he made as big a contribution as anyone as Wanderers frustrated Arsenal, the most dominant force in England and, apart from only his own buddies at the Bernabeu, the best team in Europe.

But oh that Latin temperament!

He was not around, of course, when Kanu reacted quicker than both Gudni Bergsson and Simon Charlton to stab home the Gunners' matchwinner in the third minute of added time. He had spent the previous 13 minutes sitting under Highbury's marble halls wrestling with his conscience, clearly feeling he was an unfortunate victim of referee David Pugh's petty policing while wondering how his pleas of mitigation would go down with his manager.

He did not have to wait long. When Allardyce stormed in, he let the swarthy 28-year-old have both barrels and when he emerged, he saw no reason not to fire the same broadside.

"They are so upset, the lads in there," Big Sam said, nodding towards the dressing rooms, "but Ivan has to carry the can for me, stupidly throwing the ball away like he did after being booked.

"I think we'd be stood here with a point now if he hadn't been sent off."

There was collective responsibility in much the same way that Campo was not exclusively to blame a week earlier when again he starred in the twin role of hero and villain, marking his Reebok debut with a sensational late equaliser against Liverpool then missing the tackle that let in Emile Heskey for the winner just seconds later. But there is a trend developing.

At Premiership level, points are hard enough to come by without contributing to your own and your team's downfall and petulance of any description is a cardinal sin. Campo showed all the strength, all the touch of a quality

performer as he assumed the Paul Warhurst role - "sweeping" in front of the back four as though he had been born to it. He is powerful, tenacious and considerably more comfortable with the ball at his feet than most central defenders.

But he was lucky not to argue his way into a red card after only eight minutes when, rightly aggrieved not to get a free kick when Ray Parlour gave him a painful rap on the heel, he raged and ranted on, growling and arms waving, long after Mr Pugh brandished the yellow and had to be restrained by Dean Holdsworth.

From that point on he was a sending off just waiting to happen and it was no surprise, when he tossed the ball back to Jussi Jaaskelainen after Dennis Bergkamp was awarded a disputed free kick, to see the referee show red.

It was petty and rather pathetic considering Campo felt Bergkamp had got away with sticking an elbow in his face but the Merseyside official can justify his actions by pointing to the rules and the diktats. Allardyce, who was unhappy with Mr Pugh's overall performance, responded to suggestions that Wanderers did not get the rub of the disciplinary green with a curt "We're at Arsenal, aren't we!". But there was still no sympathy for Campo.

"In many ways it's our own fault and his fault in particular," the manager added. "He'll have to learn very quickly to calm himself down and realise that in the Premiership you can't get away with it. I think it's rather petty that he gets sent off for that but, unfortunately, that's the rules and the referees have to stick to the letter of the rules now.

"We know he's an excellent footballer; we know he's got excellent skill and ability. We were well short in midfield and he was very solid. His use of the ball and his reading of the game is very, very good but he spoiled what would have been a very good game, a good full debut for him, and that's a great shame because it's not only spoiled it for him, it's spoiled it for us."

Down to 10 men, an already daunting task became doubly difficult. The high-flying champions had not been at their most devastating as they tried desperately to break Wanderers' resolve after Gareth Farrelly had fluked the equaliser 90 seconds into the second half, adding to the catalogue of calamities that had England's number one raising his eyes to the heavens and mouthing "I don't believe it ... not again!"

But they rode their luck and whatever Arsenal managed to get on target was either blocked by a heroic defender or saved by Jaaskelainen and, as the clock ticked, it looked like Wanderers were going to claim a 1-1 Highbury draw with only 10 men for the second year running.

Yet, as often happens in these situations, there was a certain inevitability that it would end as it did. The winner was all the more heartbreaking coming when it did - with 93 minutes on the clock - and more so now that there have been doubts cast that it should even have counted.

Wanderers were probably too stunned to realise it at the time but Thierry Henry, whose dodgy aerial presence between Bergsson and Mike Whitlow made Ashley Cole's cross so decisive, was clearly offside and interfering with play when the Nigerian pounced - a point Robbie Earle made so eloquently on ITV's Premiership show. But neither "Mr Picky" (as Earle referred to the referee) nor his linesman spotted the offence!

Such a pity. Even at their strongest, Allardyce knew his players were no match for Wenger's Gunners - the team he believes can dominate the Premiership for the next decade. Weakened so significantly by an injury list that already included Warhurst, Bruno N'Gotty and Bernard Mendy before Ricardo Gardner and Kevin Nolan - both impressive against Liverpool - were ruled out, he could only hope for the best.

Hope turned to prayer when Henry put Arsenal ahead at the third attempt in 26 minutes, having already missed a penalty and squandered a sitter. But, as they showed in winning at Old Trafford and in the unfortunate defeat by Liverpool, Wanderers are able to raise their game against the top sides and players who were not expected to figure much in this second Premiership season made significant contributions - Farrelly, Holdsworth and the excellent Whitlow who, in his 150th appearance for the club, showed Campo that defenders can be committed without being careless.

They were never going to match the seven points they got from the three corresponding fixtures last season. Maybe Allardyce feared they would get none, but 11 days earlier he suggested he'd settle for two and admits now

that he would have been more than happy with the three he actually banked.

But, having been so close to holding Liverpool and Arsenal, he admitted: "I'm gutted now that we were a hair's breath away from standing here with five!