Winning IS Entertaining

"This is the way we believe football should be played, and I really believe we can win big things with this type of football. For me the basis of football is to entertain people. We are like 11 actors and we have to entertain the people who buy tickets."

- van Persie, Sunday Mirror

I like van Persie's sentiments - I really do. I believe Arsenal DO play football the way God intended it to be played. I believe Arsenal CAN win things with this type of football. Most of all, I am willing to endure the perpetual frustration of seeing our side fuck up title challenges, as long as they hold with the ideals of playing pretty, pass-and-move football. There's more to life than lifting big shiny things on raised bits of wood, and I'm glad van Persie sees that too.

However, I hope someone will tell van Persie that the fans would like to see Arsenal winning trophies soon. The basis of entertainment (for a fan) is to win. Winning is entertainment. Trophies are fun. Armchair Corinthians enjoy the spectacle of pinpoint passes and elegant one-twos, but they aren't gutted when Arsenal lose 0-1 against the run of play.

I love Arsenal. I really do. I love our style of play. I love our players. I love Wenger. I love his vision of a young, multi-national team, playing a brand of football that is the equivalent of improvised jazz. I love how his players play with the same idealism. When everything clicks together, the football that is produce is simply breathtaking.

However, sometimes I wish that Wenger had time for a little pragmatism as well. Would it compromise his vision that much to have a coherent back-four? Or spend 20 million pounds for a world-class 'keeper? Or even buy a few mature squads to cover for the inevitable injuries?

Using van Persie's film analogy, most commercial features must negotiate between artistic integrity and mainstream comprehensibility. The director may like to use panoramic shots and meaningful silences, but it'll be to the detriment to the film if they're used too much. Ever noticed how most director's cut DVDs are bloated, self-indulgent messes? It's because directors are too closely involved to have a clear picture of what should be kept and what should be cut. Editors are needed to make the director's vision accessible and efficient.

I think all Arsenal fans wish that Wenger would make use of a good editor, if only to cut those unnecessary scenes. Such a thing would not only make Arsenal more successful, but would also open up Arsenal's style and beauty to a mainstream audience. At the moment, Arsenal is like an Almodovar film - beautiful and moving, but only accessible to a minority. It hurts to hear people hammering Arsenal for being too young, too thin, too foreign, too weak. I want to argue that their football is beautiful, but what's the point? Arsenal's beauty is incomprehensible to football fans who believe "winning is everything".

Most films strike up a balance between art and commerce. It is possible to have an artistic film which is accessible to a wide audience, which is critically acclaimed and makes a lot of money. The Godfather movies and The Deer Hunter spring to mind (actually, anything featuring Robert De Niro is usually a winner on both counts). And Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind are more recent examples. In footballing terms, you can build a side like Man Utd with pace, skill power and ruthlessness, or a Milan with tactical nous and technical abilities. Sides like these show us that you don't have to sacrifice your ideals in order to succeed. You can have your cake and eat it, too.