By Sumaiya Vawda
Culture. It’s a quiet force for good when the goings are joyful and it’s a raucous concern when results are poor. To some it’s everything and to others it’s a peripheral intangible.
For the duration of Arsenal’s sustained absence from the Champions League the team culture has been questioned. Would the likes of Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira allow for such a spiral or would their sheer force of will halt its progress? The players have changed, executives rotated, social norms stand anew so it seems a natural consequence for the culture to be different.
The perennial culture of elite sports is one of winning, and when results don’t trend that way, it’s difficult to pin down a team’s culture.
Mikel Arteta stressed culture and non-negotiables early in his tenure. At times, it has felt like a crutch to prop up a sliding grip on his managerial post. Significant moves such as isolating Özil from the dressing room and stripping Aubameyang of the captaincy have held a culture marker. Yet, Arteta’s greatest culture win has been well beyond the dressing room- non-playing staff, stadium and global fans are wholesomely invested in the club’s project.
When Saliba headed in an own-goal, his next touch was met by encouraging applause. The moment was so sincerely human that technical director, Edu, acknowledged it on his Instagram.
Gabriel’s error against Fulham placed the team a goal down for the first time this season. After the game, Gabriel acknowledged the role of his teammates in his redemption arc. He said, ‘After I lose the ball, my head is down. But I look [at] my brothers, they say ‘Gabi, let’s go, let’s go!’, and I put my head up.”
Arsenal have struggled to win matches when conceding first under Arteta. The win against Fulham was the first time the Gunners have won a Premier League game after conceding the first goal in the second-half since December 2013. If that statistic doesn’t depict the swing in playing spirit and intensity, I’m not sure what might. While trailing, the crowd kept faith and likewise the team rose to the moment.
This symbiosis is a culture shift that Arteta has long spoken about. The Emirates’ librarian must be pulling her hair out at the decibels of noise within the stadium. The crowd song book has undergone a thorough refresh with SALIBA (to the tune of Tequila) a firm favourite. And diverse groups of fans seem to be milling around the stadium for longer periods before and after the matches. Celebrations following the Fulham victory even saw the celebration police emerge in force.
It’s now strange to think that Arteta’s side played more than a season of football behind closed doors. Online discourse at the time contested that Arteta would have been sacked if a crowd was present to share their feelings on the team’s performances.
However, the Spaniard has prevailed. The manager’s staunch belief and commitment is seeping into every facet of the club. Even the ball boys and girls at the Emirates return the ball speedily to maintain the intensity of Arsenal attacks, indicating they were likely instructed on it.
All or Nothing has given us an insight into life at Arsenal. Regardless of whether the show’s scope felt restricted or you saw Arteta’s analogies as pseudo-profound, the programme leaves no doubt as to the man’s passion for the club that employs him.
This culture trumpets passion in colourful arrays of Arsenal kits with kids perched on shoulders and young players spreading delight. If this idea of culture harmonises a community, then long may it continue.
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