Arteta has his fingerprints over every aspect of trying to unite Arsenal in a way not seen since their days at Highbury, which is to his credit and speaks to his relationship with the club. However, this is threatening to blow up in his own face.
Bringing in ‘The Angel’ as the club’s new anthem makes neutrals wince, but it was about improving the stadium atmosphere, as was asking the announcer to repeat the name of the goal scorer as they do in Europe. Marginal gains, et cetera, et cetera.
When Arteta’s side first emerged as title contenders in 2022-23 and 2023-24, the football they played was entertaining and befitting of the Arsenal name. They simply fell short, firstly due to a lack of experience in seeing out the job and then for starting too slowly. Last season exposed the lack of squad depth, which was rectified in the summer of 2025. Now, they have a huge squad but supporters, who pay among the highest ticket prices in all of Europe, have had to stomach the worst football in the league in hope it finally yields a trophy.
People have called Arsenal fans entitled for booing off their side after the Bournemouth loss, though this is ultimately why they did. If you play a pragmatic and ugly side built to win at all costs, you better actually win. These same people, generation upon generation, are watching their team fold again, only this time there isn’t even any style to what they’re seeing. They’re the ones who have to go to work or the pub or wherever and put up with all the jibes that the players and manager, who earn a fortune, only truly see through their phone screens.
That, as much as anything else, feeds into the Emirates Stadium atmosphere. The nerviness and persistent groaning is embedded into the club’s DNA more than any pre-match song or ritual from the stadium announcer. That is the final problem for Arteta to solve, and only winning the Premier League or Champions League will solve it.
