Premier League, take note: PSG and Bayern Munich’s flying forward lines are the future of football
Back in February, Mikel Arteta was genuinely astounded to learn that Arsenal had earned a reputation as the most boring team in England. “I hear completely the opposite,” the Spaniard insisted, “that all around Europe that we are (considered) the most exciting team in Europe – the most goals, the most clean sheets. Maybe I have different sources!”
That’s clearly the case, because you’d be hard pressed to find anyone across the football world that finds Arsenal ‘exciting’. At their best, though, they are extremely effective and highly efficient, which is why they’ve reached last four of the Champions League for the second successive season – and without losing a single game.
Arsenal are also the poster boys for an increasingly pragmatic Premier League, one in which teams score more goals from set-pieces and fewer from open play. In that sense, they’re something of a throwback to a bygone era, more George Graham than Arsene Wenger, and the old-school, ‘1-0 to the Arsenal” approach could yet win them the title – and the Champions League, meaning the ends would justify the means.
However, PSG and Bayern are showing that there’s a different way. Indeed, if Arsenal embody some core principles of the dark, defensive days of the past, PSG and Bayern are thrilling examples of the potential for a much brighter future.
