That's a big exaggeration. Is Ubuntu a better choice for a newb? Yes. Do some people gravitate toward Arch because of the freedom in tinkering it offers? Also yes. But Arch has had simple graphical installers for years now, not to mention the wraparound distros like Endeavour that bundle extra software for a more complete OOTB setup. Arch is a viable choice for a new Linux user and really doesn't require tinkering for a working setup.