Premier League, take note: PSG and Bayern Munich's flying forward lines are the future of football

Back in February, Mikel Arteta was genuinely astounded to learn that Arsenal had earned a reputation as the most boring team in England. "I hear completely the opposite," the Spaniard insisted, "that all around Europe that we are [considered] the most exciting team in Europe – the most goals, the most clean sheets. Maybe I have different sources!"

That's clearly the case, because you'd be hard pressed to find anyone across the football world that finds Arsenal 'exciting'. At their best, though, they are extremely effective and highly efficient, which is why they've reached last four of the Champions League for the second successive season - and without losing a single game.

Arsenal are also the poster boys for an increasingly pragmatic Premier League, one in which teams score more goals from set-pieces and fewer from open play. In that sense, they're something of a throwback to a bygone era, more George Graham than Arsene Wenger, and the old-school, '1-0 to the Arsenal" approach could yet win them the title - and the Champions League, meaning the ends would justify the means.

However, PSG and Bayern are showing that there's a different way. Indeed, if Arsenal embody some core principles of the dark, defensive days of the past, PSG and Bayern are thrilling examples of the potential for a much brighter future.

PSG's signing of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia during the 2025 January transfer window appeared unnecessary. With Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola, Luis Enrique wasn't exactly short on wide players. As far as the Spaniard was concerned, though, the more wingers in his attack, the better.

Shortly before Kvaratskhelia's arrival, Luis Enrique had come up with what Montpellier coach Jean-Louis Gasset called "the idea of the century", namely moving Dembele into the centre of his forward line. Then, with Kvaratskhelia on board, PSG could always have three devastating dribblers on the pitch at the same time - and one in reserve to come off the bench to torment tiring opponents.

It proved a stunningly successful strategy, with Luis Enrique's fantastically fluid forward line propelling PSG to a thrilling treble that culminated in a breathtaking 5-0 dismantling of Inter in a historically one-sided Champions League final in Munich, as the Parisians claimed their first European Cup in the most fantastic fashion imaginable.

PSG's tournament triumph was also a victory for attacking football. Even before they ran riot at the Allianz Arena, they had racked up more goals and shots than any other team in the knockout stage, while also registering the highest amount of possession. Right-back Achraf Hakimi claimed after the final that Luis Enrique had "changed the way the game is seen", and while that may have been a slight exaggeration, the manner of his success had undoubtedly made the rest of Europe sit up and take notice.

For example, Liverpool's summer transfer business was undoubtedly influenced by their last-16 loss to PSG, with Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez clearly acquired in the hope of providing the same dynamism at full-back as Hakimi and Nuno Mendes. Of course, it hasn't worked out like that at all for the Reds, but perhaps the bigger issue is that Liverpool's recruitment team missed the main point.

Instead of adding another world-class winger to their team, they let one leave, with Luis Diaz allowed to join Bayern, who, coincidentally, have become the biggest threat to PSG's hopes of retaining their continental crown.

As Max Eberl has subsequently pointed out, Bayern copped a bit of criticism over the Diaz deal. Nobody was questioning the Colombian's quality, but paying €75 million for a 28-year-old attacker was very unlike Bayern. Or, at least, it would have been in the past. Harry Kane had already fully vindicated the €100m outlay on him after arriving from Tottenham in 2023 at 29, so Eberl was in no doubt that Diaz would prove just as sound an investment.

"We knew what we were doing," the director of sport said. "We were convinced he would be a perfect fit, not only because of his goals and assists, but also because of his attitude and intensity."

Bayern couldn't have been more correct. Diaz has slotted seamlessly into Vincent Kompany's starting XI, while at the same time elevating the forward line to a whole other level.

"What makes Diaz special," Bayern legend Phillip Lahm told AFP, "is that he's also a worker. You have brilliant footballers in your ranks, which is always important. But you also have to work. That sets him apart in unbelievable fashion. He works in both directions: going forward but also defensively."

Tellingly, Diaz is more than happy to run himself into the ground for Bayern. He's always been an industrious player anyway, but he considers it both a pleasure and a privilege playing alongside Kane and Michael Olise, arguably the two best players in the world in their respective positions right now.

"They are both spectacular," Diaz said of his fellow forwards in an interview with Sky Germany. "Kane surprised me a lot. I had seen him play in England, because we faced Tottenham several times. But it’s one thing to watch him on the opposing team. It’s another to actually share the locker room with him and stand with him every day on the training pitch and see how he works for us as a team, how he moves, how he constantly drops back, demands the ball, and of course, how he scores goals. He’s a machine. He really does everything well.

"Michael destroys you one-on-one; he’s so technically gifted and makes the difference. He’s a calm guy. On the pitch, he’s very communicative. He helps a lot, pays attention to many details, and sometimes says, ‘Hey, let’s defend like this or that.’

"These are the details that help you grow as a footballer and make you feel comfortable. It's incredible to play with players like this. I’m very proud to be part of this attack."

Of course, industry is just as important to PSG's forward line, with the once infuriatingly lazy Dembele pointing out last year that he and his team-mates are acutely aware that if they don't press with sufficient intensity, they'll be immediately replaced in Luis Enrique's starting 11. Kompany even admitted before the league-phase meeting between the two sides back in November that he and his PSG counterpart share the same "prerequisites" when it comes to their players' work-rate.

It was also clear during that game at Parc des Princes that Bayern are very close to matching PSG in terms of movement. Kane may not be quite as fast or nimble as Dembele, but there's arguably no more mobile or intelligent No.9 in the game today, while Diaz was bought as much for his inability to play through the middle as he was for his devastating dribbling skills. With Olise constantly cutting inside onto his lethal left foot to devastating effect, Bayern have become a riddle that very few teams have managed to work out.

"We like that all experts are asking themselves 'who was our striker tonight? Who was the attacking midfielder? Who was the playmaker?'" Kompany enthused after a win over Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund in October. "That is how we know we have a fluent attack and that we’re doing it right."

It's an approach that's certainly made them "fun to watch", as Bayern president Herbert Hainer put it, while Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has praised Kompany for creating a team that has "converted the enjoyment of football into success". Of course, we could say the exact same about PSG - who are the reigning champions for a reason.

So, the question isn't really whether Bayern could win the Champions League playing the way they do, but rather whether anyone but the equally exciting PSG can possibly stop them?

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