I always think watching Arsenal must be like watching one of those royal military exhibitions, where everything is functional and efficient, like a well oiled piece of machinery.
When we were kids our dad often forced us to go and sit through these tedious military exercises where the choreographed, dismantling and subsequent reconstruction of a tank, a cannon or similar would take place in some vast arena somewhere. Soldiers in battle fatigues saluting everything and anything that moved.
After the first five minutes the novelty would wear off and we'd be as bored as fuck for the next two hours watching a carefully rehearsed and methodical 'battlefield ballet.'
And this is exactly how I feel watching Arsenal's conveyor-belt football. It's pragmatic, workmanlike: devoid of creativity - almost Germanic.
Their fans might settle for this dull and mechanical style of play as long as it gets them a trophy, but are they really content to pay a lot of money to watch a ritual as opposed to a sporting game? I know I wouldn't.