If you're looking for something that's easy "just works"-style and gui-oriented then Arch is definitely not a good choice. As far as performance and customizability are concerned, however, Ubuntu server installation is merely a half measure compared to what Arch brings to the table. Also, once it is set up, Arch requires next to no maintenance and since it is a rolling release distro it has no upgrades every 6 months -- so in a way it is distros like *buntu that can seem like "a pain in the ***" for those who have become accustomed to the Arch way of doing things
It all depends on what you prefer, in the end...
K.Mandla has written an nice post discussing the relative virtues of Arch and Ubuntu on his blog -- have a look if you're interested.
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