As Arsenal FC file out from the dugout at White Hart lane on Wednesday, the terse stroll across the short stretch of rug leading onto the soccer pitch must surely harbor the aura of a season about to be added onto the record books as another trophy-less endeavor. Worse still, Arsene Wenger, nick-named the Professor, not for his frame and mien but for this tactical astuteness, must be living in a rarefied edge of discomfort that encircles a soccer intellect who finds his knowledge cruelly ridiculed by a persistent failings on the football pitch. Though not in the quality of play, but rather in the share absence of the brute needed to excel in the most keenly followed soccer league in the world.

In Arsenal, a team’s philosophy is unfairly waged against a football style that emphasizes a more direct, fast paced and often underlined by the need to win “at all cost”, quite brutal in the case of Allerdyce’s former Bolton and to some extent, his present Blackburn. A soccer league where self expression is denied talented players, individual artistry is easily perceived as leisurely disregard for team discipline. A player holding on to the ball for long periods disrupts the bustling pace of the team. In spite of the successes of English football teams in recent years, it is still difficult to see beyond the league’s bias for physical and aggressive play, which has unsurprisingly curbed the flair in talented Brazilian imports like Anderson for Manchester United and Liverpool’s Lucas.

How does a Professor rewrite his lecture notes? Difficult to contemplate in most cases, but at the London derby with Tottenham, anything short of three points is bound to elicit a form of inquest from the fans that have cherished the beautiful game at the Emirates but would want some silver ware to embellish it. Wenger appears to be left with limited options. Abandoning the beautiful is out of it, because it has come to symbolize the mental sketch of the gunners. A strategy that may solve the dilemma is to have more experienced players in the back half of his team to serve as a bulwark against the inherent tactical frailty of trying to do too much with the ball when opponents are broadly set to deny you space.

Nevertheless, the huddle against Spurs would be steep. A combative prospect is in store because Tottenham have an excellent chance of upsetting Manchester City for the fourth champions’ league spot, with the Manchester derby to come on Saturday.