"These games are very intense and are rarely played beautifully because they mean so much," Arena said of the tournament.
"The focus is results. There is just too much at stake to worry about how the game looks."
Arena, capped just once as goalkeeper for the national side in their 2-0 defeat to Israel in 1973, replaced Steve Sampson as head coach.
He took the post after three years in charge of Major League Soccer side D.C. United having coached the American Olympic team in 1996 and later the under-23 national side.
Three-and-a-half years into the job, the senior squad are getting used to his alternative approach.
Marcus Hahnemann, Reading's American goalkeeper, is clear on where his stance differs from Sampson's.
He said: "In the past, if you played in Europe you were in. That has changed under Bruce and he is picking more and more domestic players."
No World Cup win
When the USA's squad is announced, Arena expects a 50-50 mix of European and American-based players.
Players like Blackburn's Brad Friedel and Bayer Leverkusen's Frankie Hejduk are tipped to line up with MLS stars Josh Wolff and Brian McBride.
But whatever the combination, Arena is under no illusions about his side's chances against the likes of France and Argentina, his picks to win the World Cup.
"I don't think there is a "plan" to win the Cup by 2010," he confessed.