One of the clearest signs a football club is in a good place is when the debate switches from whether the team are winning to how they are winning.

This is currently Arsenal and Mikel Arteta’s world. For years, Arsenal coaches and players were asked how and when they would start collecting major trophies again. With no concern about their capacity to challenge for top honours over the coming years, the style has become the main focus.

It’s a welcome “problem” – or some might argue a non-existent one – for Arteta while his side is so strong. Building a fortress is the expensive, time-consuming and difficult part. Once it’s constructed and established, how you decorate it is a matter of taste.

Whether neutrals will hold the current champions in the same regard as the great Arsène Wenger sides will be a trivial concern if Arteta does what no Arsenal manager has since 1935 – defend the league title – and then add a few more, which is a serious possibility based on the balance of power in England and the likely punishment heading Manchester City’s way.

It is the nature of our sport that no matter how good you are, or what you have achieved, the follow-up question is how it can get even better, even if that is always going to be highly subjective.

In Arsenal’s case, the consensus is that improving on last season’s title requires playing more adventurously while finding the extra ingredients needed to win the Champions League.

Wednesday’s 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich was a step in the right direction.

It was an end-to-end, entertaining game in the Allianz Arena. Arsenal’s late equaliser was a work of art which undermined the accusation they do not produce enough silky, attacking football.

Even so, as it stands, it is difficult to make a compelling argument that Arsenal will win the Champions League without more stardust upfront. They lack the weapons of the other European contenders, especially Paris St-Germain, so when the moment of truth comes against the very best in the knockout rounds, the likelihood is Arteta’s side will lack the necessary ammunition.

The fundamental question for Arteta right now is what can and should he do about it? Stick with a successful blueprint that has earned admiration and won the Premier League, or make the necessary tweaks which might make Arsenal more loved and a better watch every week, but also more vulnerable?

Staying on the current path he will almost certainly win another Premier League title. Shifting the balance more from defence to attack risks compromising the characteristics which have made Arsenal so dominant domestically.

Last year’s title was built on the defensive triangle of goalkeeper David Raya and centre-backs Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba, with a midfield brilliantly marshalled by Declan Rice. Deep down, I believe Arsenal fans would love the player of the season awards in 2027 to be dominated by Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka.

For the first few weeks of this season, that looked conceivable. Then Arsenal took a heavy beating away at Brighton and Hove Albion.

The natural response after such a defeat is to get spooked and revert to the tried-and-trusted, back-to-basics approach, especially away. That was the Arsenal we saw again at Nottingham Forest, defensively solid and well organised to nick a late 1-0 win.

Arteta is wise to tread cautiously. He needs only to look at his predecessors as Premier League champions to realise how quickly a team can unravel when chasing idealistic, swashbuckling football.

In the aftermath of Liverpool winning the title in 2025, the response was the polar opposite to Arsenal this season. Rather than celebrate the robust qualities which won the league, there was such a preoccupation with what was needed to take the next steps and go further in the Champions League, Liverpool opted for a major reset.

“My football is Paris St-Germain vs Liverpool and Liverpool vs Paris St-Germain,” Arne Slot said, the round-of-16 Champions League meeting between the teams dominating his thoughts – and those of his recruitment team – more than the domestic wins that put Liverpool back on top.

Wherever Liverpool go from here under Andoni Iraola, the team have gone backward since then despite spending £700m, including substantial fees on the most highly rated attackers in Europe. From going toe-to-toe with PSG, losing on a penalty shoot-out, Liverpool are now miles behind the European champions, and optimistically it could take a year at least to close the gap to Arsenal.

That must serve as a warning to Arteta as he considers what direction to go and how quickly he feels it needs to be done. We will only know what difference it will make to the side’s balance after he recruits higher calibre strikers and wingers, and whether he is then to take off the reins and encourage more flourishes upfront, sacrificing a layer of defensive protection.

It would have been fascinating to watch Arsenal in the parallel universe in which Vinícius Júnior signed, because it’s unlikely he would have been tracking back at the City Ground last weekend. Arteta demands his attackers embrace defensive responsibilities. That’s his make-up. Tactically, he remains more like José Mourinho than Wenger.

How much do Arteta and Arsenal fans really crave a change given the road to further Premier League glory is so clear?

When Arteta took over he had to find a different way to get past Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. The fact that they are no longer an obstacle may be one of the reasons why there is a feeling he can afford to play with more risk.

Does it matter how they keep winning titles? Will it change Arteta’s standing as one of the great coaches of his generation if Arsenal never conquer Europe under him? Do we think any less of “The Invincibles” because they fell short in the Champions League? Or Wenger’s first double-winning team because they too were disappointed in the premier competition?

Judging the greatness of a manager, team, or club based on the number of European Cups they have won tends to be the criteria of those accustomed to winning it. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich managers are ranked according to how many they have added to the collection.

I would strongly argue that Diego Simeone has been one of the best coaches of the past 20 years. He is another who earns more criticism than praise for his style, and has fallen agonisingly short of winning the Champions League. It does not change the size of his contribution, adding much-needed variety to our game.

Had he gone against his instincts and gone in a different direction with his football strategy, would it really have made a difference to the outcome when going against Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga and Europe?

Arsenal could be at the start of a golden era, regardless of how divisive their football style is or whether they win their first Champions League.

No matter how withering the criticism of their entertainment value, Arteta can counter-argue that his side was a few penalty kicks from being European champions last May.

That cannot disguise the fact they benefited from a favourable draw pairing them with Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting Lisbon and Atlético Madrid en route to the final.

The danger remains that their attacking limitations will be exposed against Europe’s strongest teams.

But in the absence of such strong competition at home – especially if City are hit hard – Arteta is smart to keep the winning formula and leave the complaining to everyone else.