Football: Mowbray Hopes to Shock Admirable Arsenal

It is not only his admiration for Arsenal's free-flowing football that prompts Tony Mowbray to claim he is looking forward to a daunting opening fixture at the Emirates. Having developed a reputation for upsetting Rangers and Celtic during his time in charge at Hibernian, the West Bromwich Albion manager has a game plan which he hopes can spring another surprise this afternoon as the most attractive team in last season's championship face their Premier League counterparts.

"As Hibernian did on many occasions at Ibrox and Celtic Park, we won football matches there against teams that were hugely bigger in size, in quality of players, in everything, and yet we could go and win 3-0 at Ibrox twice," recalled Mowbray. "It gives you hope to know that you could, if you get it right on the day, beat a team that you've got no right to and the players have got to believe that. So we will go there believing we can do it if we do our jobs.

With Mowbray renowned for his unwavering beliefs about the way football should be played, it comes as little surprise that Arsenal are among the teams he tells his players to watch and learn from. He has great respect for Arsene Wenger's principles and, despite the failure to win the Premier League title since 2004, believes that Arsenal should be applauded for their ability to compete and entertain without breaking the bank.

"There's always this debate in football about whether it's about winning or whether it's about entertaining and I think, generally, Arsenal have got that balance right. You could argue that Arsenal have not won the Premier League for a few years but is that a negative with Chelsea spending millions and Manchester United [being there]? What I do know is Arsenal don't spend hundreds of millions, continue to play fantastic football and continue to be in the top four."

Whether Albion's expansive style proves successful in the Premier Leaguere mains to be seen but there is no chance the manager will change his viewsif results suffer. "Last season was great for football because ManchesterUnited won the Premiership, we won the Championship, Swansea won League one and MK Dons won League Two. I think all four are purist football teams whopass the ball and score plenty of goals. I hope that forms a trend of the way the English game goes."