Mikel Arteta has elevated Arsenal on and off the pitch—but in the seasons they’ve fallen short, the club’s branding, fashion drops, and documentary hype have often carried the narrative more than the football.
Right now, Arsenal seem like the best team in the world. Well, if not the world, at least the Premier League. With just one loss in the league, they seem unstoppable and they wouldn’t have achieved all this success without the genius Mikel Arteta.
Taking over the club seven years ago, Arteta didn’t look like the man for the job. At first, it felt like another experiment as many clubs at the time were employing the services of former players. But over time, Arteta’s rebuild of Arsenal has shown that he was different from the rest, especially this season where it feels they might finally win something.
But what if I told you that Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are more marketing than masterclass.
Well, looking at this season, this doesn’t seem like a good opinion because Mikel Arteta has elevated Arsenal both on and off the pitch. There’s more swagger, the players have an identity about them, and there is a change in the mentality which was very obvious after the 1-1 draw to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
However, in the seasons they’ve fallen short, the club’s branding, fashion drops, and documentary hype have often carried the narrative more than the football.
Arsenal fans would love to forget the 2022/23 season to the 2024/25 season where they three-peated a second place finish in the Premier League.
It was a horror show, football wise, but on the marketing aspect, it was a rollercoaster for the club.
In the 2021 season, the club just began its journey and they began building a brand which has now kept them a class above some of the best clubs in Europe.
In that season, they released their third kit launch in August titled “A Bolt from the Blue,” paying tribute to the iconic blue lightning bolt away jerseys from the 1990s and using creative, “surreal” imagery for its promotion.
They also had fashion collaborations which helped them connect with fans through fashion. Arsenal collaborated with North London brands and designers, such as Aries and Labrum designer Foday Dumbuya in subsequent years to create appealing merchandise and build an authentic connection with local fan culture.
There was even a “Where We Belong” Mockumentary, which was used to launch the 2021/22 third jersey.
Then came the “All or Nothing: Arsenal” documentary. While its not a direct marketing campaign in the traditional sense, the “All or Nothing: Arsenal” Amazon docuseries, which followed the men’s team during the 2021/22 season was released in 2022.
It was a significant commercial and content success that deepened global fan engagement and was widely seen as an effective “content club” model for the club and the streaming platform.
Arsenal also released special varsity jackets and clothing accessories which just strengthened the connection between the club and fans. Players were pictured at fashion shows and even modelling for fashion brands.
There is even a Vogue article on how Arsenal became the fashion’s favorite football club which isn’t essentially a bad thing but it lends to the earlier statement that in the seasons they’ve fallen short, the club’s branding, fashion drops, and documentary hype have often carried the narrative more than the football.
Right now, Arsenal are on course to do something remarkable and I’m opinion that once they get one trophy, they would set off a chain reaction where they don’t stop winning and adding to their marketing masterclass, the football world may not just be ready for their trophy roll-out and eventual domination.
