Call them a bogey team, call them what you will. While Bolton Wanderers have been slowly climbing the Premiership ladder, Arsenal have consistently stayed near the top rungs. At present we find the Trotters nipping at the Gunners' heels in the league, and challenging for Europe. And while a Champions League place doesn’t necessarily look like a good bet, UEFA Cup inclusion certainly does.

My personal opinion is that there is an alternative reason why Arsenal manage to fail so brilliantly against Bolton - particularly in the FA Cup. Looking at the Reebok club's first-team squad, it does not resemble the high-profile and high-expense representatives that grace the rosters of the ‘big four.’ In fact, Sam Allardyce has made a soon-to-be-successful squad out of other squads' rejects.

Take the sometimes potent strike force of Nicolas Anelka and El Hadji Diouf. Anelka ran from Arsenal to Madrid, then back to Manchester City and finally signed for the Trotters this year. And Diouf is another representative of Liverpool's constant state of anarchy. Always willing to bring in at least a half-dozen players during the transfer period, the Anfield squad consists of untouchables (read Steven Gerrard) and transfer bait - or already marked for disposal. Diouf doesn’t have the greatest goal-scoring record, and his disciplinary background cannot be considered even remotely respectable. He is a supreme agitator, and his constant movement make his inclusion necessary.

In midfield, Bolton have self-proclaimed Liverpool reject Kevin Nolan as their inspirational leader. Without him, Allardyce's men lack a cutting edge and he is clearly the lynchpin of the entire team. Beyond these so-called rejects, Big Sam has made good profit out of over-the-hill former Premiership stars and continental also-rans like Anthony Gardner and Jay-Jay Okocha. Their mature presence and time-tested work ethic can only mean good things for Bolton’s younger players.

Yes, they’ve got a direct style of play that tends to put other sides off their normal game. But the Premiership table is evolving into a two-tone mixture of clubs: half want free-flowing, free-scoring matches played at breakneck speed with millions of pounds worth of investment displayed on the pitch; the other half fight for every ball, commit themselves fully to every challenge in every yard of the park. And they don’t care if the football they play is ‘ugly.’

Further proof that this dichotomy is beginning to expand is that several other clubs have adopted this approach. Blackburn have some impressive, young cosmopolitan talent, but Mark Hughes has his players fully committed on the pitch and their displays took the team to sixth place and European qualification last season. However, it came at an expense, as Rovers also found themselves at the bottom of the disciplinary table. In fact, they are still the Premiership's bad boys, with three of the five most cautioned players in the league based at Ewood Park.

Sheffield United boss Neil Warnock is aware that his team don’t play free-flowing football, but that’s a given. He had them playing as scrappily as ever last year as they finished second in the Championship to win automatic promotion to the top flight. They fight  for every ball and their never-say-die attitude has helped them make a very positive start to the current campaign. They may not secure a top-ten finish, but they’re likely to manage survival come season’s end.

Charlton's recent away form has been one of the worst in Premiership history. However, a brave performance at high-flying Portsmouth last week, supplemented by a healthy dose of luck, gave them a well-deserved three points.

Stuart Pearce has his Manchester City players following the same game plan, albeit with mixed success. Alan Curbishley, newly-installed at West Ham, has adopted a similar approach and knows his relegation-threatened Hammers will need to own every inch of their home pitch to stay in the top flight. Even Reading, whose players admittedly boast much more finesse than the aforementioned sides, have adopted an aggressive and antagonistic approach in most games - again to mixed success.

The point of this piece is that, while Arsenal will attempt to right the ship in terms of ‘getting even’ against Bolton this weekend, Arsene Wenger is likely to explain his distaste for the Allardyce style of play. It may not be particularly exciting or interesting to watch, but it has achieved results for Bolton this year.

Breathtaking finesse versus stubborn, hard-nosed intensity is the name of Sunday's match, although it goes far beyond just one FA Cup tie. The Premiership has changed, with the likes of Bolton Wanderers fighting for
European inclusion and silver-lined success.

Do Bolton play 'ugly' football or is their style misunderstood? Thoughts and comments to Sportingo.