I don’t think that too many people would argue with the popular notion that Arsenal play the prettiest football in the Premier League. Arguably in Europe.
But ‘pretty’ is hardly, if ever, enough to win trophies – as the Gunners have painfully discovered in recent years.
I would pay good money to watch Arsene Wenger’s enterprising side, any day of the week, but they need to be more ruthless, more compact, more defensively aware if they are to compete with the big boys once again.
If awards were dished out at the end of the season for the most entertaining, attractive side in the country then Arsenal would win it hands-down, almost every time.
But, as we know, and nobody needs to tell Arsene Wenger this, to win the Premier League (or the Champions league) takes much more than fantasy football played with a flourish.
I was interested to hear the comments of Stan Collymore in the Mirror where he compared Arsenal’s defensive frailties – and attacking qualities – to those of Newcastle under Kevin Keegan.
Great going forward, lovely to watch – but vulnerable when on the back foot. Collymore said: “Arsenal's 1-0 defeat at Sunderland has once again highlighted the Gunners’ defensive fragilities.
“There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that until Arsene Wenger gets a midfield enforcer like Javier Mascherano, then their unsuccessful quest for silverware will continue.
“The Emirates club are the great entertainers of the Premier League and have few problems scoring. But that doesn’t win you any prizes or trophies.
“People still fondly recall Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle side of 1995-96, who topped the Premier League. But they fell away eventually to finish second behind Manchester United as they conceded too many goals, and Arsenal are similarly brittle at the back.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal star Andrei Arshavin has urged Arsene Wenger to splash the cash in January in order to maintain their Premier league title pursuit.
Arshavin says: “Arsene needs to buy new players and expensive ones. All the talented and inexpensive players are already with us and the players who could really boost our power are all costly to bring in.
“I realise that if we buy a star, someone in the squad will be rejected but this is fair. It is the manager's job to decide such things.”
