Analysis - Slick Arsenal top style charts, not the league
By Martyn Herman LONDON (Reuters) - If honours were handed out for stylish football Arsene Wenger's Arsenal would clean up. The Gunners were at their irresistible best at times in a 3-1 victory at Hull City on Monday that guaranteed an 18th consecutive season in the Champions League. With the impish Santi Cazorla conducting an orchestra containing the likes of Chile's Alexis Sanchez, Welsh wizard Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil, Arsenal picked off a struggling Hull side with a degree of nonchalance few teams can match. Sanchez's second goal, and his side's third, just before halftime was Arsenal's 100th of the season. Since losing to Tottenham Hotspur in February, Arsenal have collected nine wins from 10 Premier League matches, drawing the other one 0-0 at home to champions Chelsea. It is title-winning form and they are playing with a panache that Chelsea have not matched this season -- all with the likes of England trio Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the sidelines nursing injuries. Yet, there is a nagging sense of "same old Arsenal" -- the team belatedly firing on all cylinders long after the title race was won at a canter by a meaner, more street-wise outfit. There was evidence in Arsenal's tame performance against Chelsea last week that they are still lightweight when up against the very best. Five consecutive last-16 exits in the Champions League offer more ammunition to those who say Wenger's tactics are inadequate when up against the game's smartest coaches. Wenger points to injuries early in the season to explain his side's slow start which ultimately left them too far behind Chelsea to make a real fight of the title. However, those kind of excuses for the bad spells that afflict Arsenal at some stage every season are wearing thin. FANTASY FOOTBALL Wenger knows that for all the fantasy football his side are capable of, they will not get the better of Mourinho's Chelsea without the ability to grind out results when off form and, more importantly, before the pressure is off. He talks about "quality" as being paramount, whereas Mourinho's simple mantra is "winning". "The target is always quality," Wenger said. "We work very hard to get the quality of our game very high and I do not see myself telling the team that we don't want quality. It can happen that you play well and don't win the games but after 38 games the quality always dictates the result. "Not always but most of the time." Should they pip Manchester City for the runners-up spot it would seem to largely justify that comment, but will Arsenal find the missing ingredient before the start of next season which will start, should they beat Aston Villa in the FA Cup final, with a Community Shield curtain-raiser against Chelsea? "I'm not a prophet. That is unpredictable and nobody knows how strong the team will be at the start of the season," Wenger said. "What's important is that you go out of the season by thinking we have made progress, we have moved forward and that the confidence is high. "We need to start strong again next year. Who will be there fighting for the championship next season? It's difficult to know." (Editing by Ed Osmond)
