Arsenal and their 'beautiful football'

The first thing we can take from this transfer window is that teams have learnt nothing from Leicester. They still seem to be buying players for huge sums of money just to make a statement. This is of course, in no small part, due to the fact that the Premier league clubs have a lot of money and everyone knows it.

The point I want to make follows on from my last post about teams playing beautiful football instead of just trying to get a result. It was a comment on the negative style of football that infected the European Championships and ultimately triumphed. So, I want to bring Arsenal up as a counter argument to this point, because while Arsenal may 'try' to play beautiful, they don't get the results often enough and so fans have become impatient with their lack of silverware. So play beautiful football or win Silverware, these are the two choices, and which do you choose?

I choose neither and so should you. It may seem like I am an ardent Arsenal supporter when I lament Chelsea for winning the league through a defensive style of football or criticise Portugal for their victory through a negative style. However, I also can not stand Arsenal and Wenger's approach to each Premier league season.

The question I really want to ask is, is it too much to ask for both? Can we not strive for beautiful football while winning titles? Why can't the two go hand in hand in the Premier League any more? You could argue Leicester did it, although they can be considered an anomily and still didn't play the most fluent of football at times.

Here's the thing, the game is moving forward. As much as I hate Mourinho and his approach. What he does do is identify players he needs in certain positions. He builds an actual pre-planned team and doesn't just buy for the sake of buying.

United have now spent hundreds of millions of pounds trying to rebuild after Ferguson left and it is understandable that Arsenal may want to avoid having to expend such an outlay.

However, let's be clear, United are just as profitable as they used to be. They may not be as successful but they are desperately trying to be and these players are making their money back, and then some, with sponsorship and shirts sales, not to mention the added worldwide interest for the club.

So, when we see Arsenal refuse to buy these players we see a business man planning for the short term. Arsenal's board are perfectly happy charging world record ticket prices with very little outlay while making sure they maintain a certain level to give hope to the fans.

At this point it has to come from the fans. When Wenger does leave, surely Arsenal should build a team that can survive with out him. As long as fans back him or back Arsenal, they can continue to do what they are doing but, importantly, it will eventually unravel.

You can argue that maybe Arsenal are 'trying' to win but it is clear to all those that follow football that overpaying for just a few of the right players would definitely have seen Arsenal pick up the title and it was no more likely to happen than last season.

Back to my original point. While I may seem like I don't care about winning. I do. I think football should be striving for perfection though. I think teams should aspire to be the best and not just to win. They should want to win and win well, that means bursting from the shell of negative football or a lack of ambition. That's the football I want to see.