Hearts and Minds

Morning all and welcome to a potentially busy week from an Arsenal perspective. 

After Saturday night’s 2-1 win over Manchester United – expertly covered by Lewis –  Mikel Arteta and the boys have swapped Los Angeles for Philadelphia ahead of a clash with Arne Slot’s Liverpool. 

The West Coast leg of the tour appears to have gone very smoothly. While the manager would have wanted more senior squad members at his disposal, he clearly relished the opportunity to give most of the kids a taste of the big time, especially given recent criticism aimed in his direction following a spate of high-profile departures from the academy. While some of these youngsters will now fade into the background, there are others who might just fancy their chances when the League Cup comes into view in September. 

Before the tour, Arteta spoke about the importance of winning matches and setting the right tone for the season ahead. On that front, two(ish) victories from two bodes well.

Of course, we haven’t just flown to the other side of the world for a change of scenery – this isn’t a closed-shop trip like the transformational January jaunt to Dubai – the club is there to win hearts and minds (and to flog some merch). 

Ahead of Saturday’s match, Arteta said: “It’s an opportunity for us to connect with our supporters. If they’re Arsenal supporters then great, and if they are football supporters let’s get them to become Arsenal supporters. That would mean that we produced certain joy and excitement in them in the way that we play the game.”

Afterwards, he was buoyed by the support his players received: “Thank you so much again for coming to watch us. Hopefully, they had a good time and we provided good entertainment for them.” 

There was a particularly touching moment when four of the Arsenal players took time out to chat with a local man who appears to have fallen on hard times. Here’s hoping the experience serves as a timely boost to his confidence.

In all seriousness, I hope everyone in Los Angeles, the natives of the city and the thousands who visited from all over the States and beyond, enjoyed this latest Arsenal experience. When I met some of you last year, I was in awe of your passion for the team and your dedication to watching matches at ungodly times of the day.

I have to say, I find it genuinely interesting how closer ties are being forged with the Kroenke family’s other sports franchises. Obviously, the players have been using the LA Rams’ facilities this week and SoFi Stadium has now hosted friendlies in consecutive years but there’s more happening beneath the surface. 

Arteta and Sean McVay, head coach of the Rams, seem to have struck up a genuine connection and their co-hosting of a community event on Friday, at which both Stan and Josh Kroenke were present, will have deepened that relationship. McVay was only 30 when he was hired by the Rams in 2017. Five years later he became the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl. You can see how he and Arteta might get on. 

“We have a big connection with the Rams. We are generating something special in the US, which is really important for us,” was the Spaniard’s parting message. 

Elsewhere, the club also revealed that former players, staff and partners from across the KSE network – including Arsenal, the Rams and NBA franchise Denver Nuggets (who won their first NBA title last year), were invited “for lunch and a panel discussion about their careers” to “share knowledge and spend time together”. 

Sure, it all sounds horribly ‘LinkedIn’ and makes me want to gag a bit but frankly, if the Rams and Nuggets have advice on how to win shit and make more cash (which will help with that), I want our lads and lasses (and Gunnersaurus) to soak it all up. In return, maybe we can get Louis Dunford to write them a song or send Stu MacFarlane to do a team talk: “This is my franchise, I fucking love this franchise…”

I don’t know if the club is lining up similar community events and whatnot in Philly – the tours are pretty gruelling for the staff so it makes sense to front-load this stuff – but at least the East Coast Gooners will be the first to get a glimpse of Riccardo Calafiori in Arsenal colours.

The Italy international underwent his medical in London on Saturday and flew to the States yesterday, so, in the coming hours, we should get official confirmation of his official arrival from Bologna. As negotiations have dragged on longer than anyone would have liked (even his under-7s side had a sell-on clause apparently), there’s no time to waste. He’ll be chucked straight into training and should be on the bench for the Liverpool match. We wait with bated breath to hear which of the many chants proposed on Twitter best translates to the terraces. 

By the sounds of it, Edu will spend the rest of the week finalising Emile Smith Rowe’s departure before directing funds towards the recruitment of Mikel Merino. While the Spaniard is clearly high on our shopping list, Fabrizio Romano said yesterday, “he’s not the only name on [the] list”. 

I suspect that’s the type of line you plant to stop Real Sociedad’s collective eyes from lighting up at the £35 million Fulham are wiring straight to our transfer war chest. In an ideal world, Smith Rowe will not just pay for a new midfielder, he’ll also cover the cost of a couple of backup goalkeepers and Arteta’s next round of Botox. I kid, I kid. He can pay for that himself…

Right, I better get to work. After Lewis’ terrific job over the weekend, the baton now passes to young whippersnapper Tim Stillman. If you’ve not read his stuff before, you’re in for a treat…

I’ll be back on Thursday to review the Liverpool game.

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