On-pitch performance
Top of the Premier League, a 100% record in the Champions League with no goals conceded, the best defence in Europe’s top five domestic leagues, a deep squad and a regular flow of goals from set-pieces – their party trick. Criticise that.
Some do. They say it’s mechanical and lacks boldness, from a manager who daren’t fall short of the title after three second-place finishes. But the departmental balance in the side and depth in the squad are an impressive feat of construction. Mikel Arteta has restored much of the old Arsenal character.
In defence, a 122-year club record-equalling run of eight consecutive clean sheets was stopped by Sunderland in a 2-2 draw. William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhães (potentially out until January after picking up a thigh injury with Brazil) and Cristhian Mosquera are outstanding centre-backs and Jurriën Timber has been first-rate at full-back.
Arteta has spent £325.6m on midfielders (compared with £165.77m on strikers) but the best midfielders represent double value because they can attack and defend. Declan Rice is a world-class No 6 or No 8. Mikel Merino and Martín Zubimendi are fellow guarantors of solidity and Martin Ødegaard, when fit, and Eberechi Eze add creativity.
In attack: if Arsenal’s manager has a blind spot it’s been at No 9. Viktor Gyökeres is still adapting but Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Noni Madueke, Leandro Trossard, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus pose wide or central threats.
Some consider it a non-negotiable that Arteta wins the league
Money
More than £260m of gross summer spending is said by one former employee to have taken the budget “to the hilt”. So far it’s working. Edu’s departure to Nottingham Forest last year upended the recruitment department. His replacement as sporting director, the Italian Andrea Berta, performed well this summer – especially with the late grab of Eze, who admitted he was “prepared to go to Tottenham” until Arsenal intervened.
The club’s operating costs have risen but so has commercial income. A pre-tax loss of £18m in 2023-24 improved on £52m the season before.
Fan satisfaction
This week’s announcement that the Visit Rwanda deal won’t be renewed in June will please supporters, especially the Gunners for Peace pressure group. Rwanda’s government has been accused of enabling the brutal M23 rebel army in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Efforts to strengthen bonds with fans have been well received. Supporters generally don’t mind the “Set Piece FC” label. Some consider it a non-negotiable that Arteta wins the league; others still point to how far the team have come since finishing eighth as recently as 2021, below Tottenham and 25 points off the champions that year, Manchester City.
Products and prospects
Saka is the poster boy for academy products who are given their first chance at GCSE age.
Fifteen-year-old Max Dowman, the youngest ever Champions League debutant, is already being considered by England’s Under-21s after impressing at Under-19 level. Ethan Nwaneri, a potential star No 10, was 15 years and 181 days on his first full-time appearance three years ago (Dowman was only 54 days older). Jack Porter played in goal in the Carabao Cup at 16. Myles Lewis-Skelly, 19, is another precocious son of the Hale End Academy.
Ownership
A major autumn reshuffle passed the day-to-day running to Richard Garlick, promoted from managing director to CEO, and said to possess the common touch. The more abrasive Tim Lewis left as new non-execs joined Lord Harris of Peckham, a carpet mogul.
Otto Maly (a stadium developer), Kelly Blaha (a finance executive), Dave Steiner and Ben Winston (a media specialist who was James Corden’s best man and has worked on Olympic ceremonies, Gavin and Stacey and The Kardashians) now assist the American owners, Stan (father) and Josh (son) Kroenke – co-chairs of both Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) and Arsenal. Their portfolio extends to the Denver Nuggets (NBA), Colorado Avalanche (NHL), Colorado Rapids (MLS) and Los Angeles Rams (NFL).
Stan Kroenke first bought a share of the club in 2007 and took full control in 2018, buying out Alisher Usmanov. The club say Kroenke Sr, 78, is still involved in all decision making.
Women’s team
The European champions beat Real Madrid in midweek – but you wouldn’t know it from their Women’s Super League form. They are eight points off the lead after nine games, their worst start since 2014.
Critics point to recruitment errors, slow build-up play and an average squad age of 28. Head coach Renée Slegers has that underdog Champions League win over Barcelona to sustain her but a change of tack is needed.
Still a powerhouse of women’s football, with 15 league titles and 14 FA Cups, Arsenal play all WSL home games at the Emirates, with tickets starting at £15 for adults and £7.50 for kids. An average attendance of 29,000 last season was nearly three times that of the next club down (Chelsea).
History
“Everything about that club is class,” Sir Alex Ferguson said after a visit to Highbury in the gin-and-tonic and wood-panelling era.
The five busts in the Emirates entrance hall evoke that grandeur: Herbert Chapman, Arsène Wenger, Denis Hill-Wood, Ken Friar (for 60 years of service) and Peter Hill-Wood.
But the club are now part of an Americanised sports empire. The most recent of 13 League titles came in 2004 and they are desperate to progress. Also on the trophy list: 14 FA Cups, two League Cups, a European Fairs Cup (1970) and Cup Winners’ Cup (1994) – but no European Cup/Champions League win.
Wenger governed for 1,235 games from 1996 to 2018. Unai Emery was gone in 18 months. Arteta has been rebuilding since 2019. The club motto, Victoria Concordia Crescit, means victory through harmony.
Club facilities
Stadium expansion is being looked at but is a long way off, with feasibility studies focusing on risk and reward. A temporary move to Wembley is only one of many options.
When the Emirates was finished in 2006, 60,704 was an extravagant capacity. Today’s behemoth clubs, however, dream of mega-stadiums. The Emirates has undergone sustained “Arsenalisation”, with murals and giant artworks. The training ground, now the Sobha Realty Training Centre, was a ground breaker, with sports science input from Wenger, not least fish and broccoli.
Atmosphere
The ugly mood of the late-and post-Wenger years has been replaced by 60,000 people just being nervous every week. Hardcore season ticket-holders say the anticipation is hard to bear. The team are more resilient. The crowd are trying to be, too.
Photography by Ian Walton/AP and David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images