The news broke that we kind of already knew yesterday, but it was still important and lovely to read nonetheless:

Mikel Arteta has signed a new contract with The Arsenal

This is fantastic news. Yes, everyone was ‘calma’ about it at The Arsenal; the journos ‘in the know’ were all saying it is pretty much done, but now it is all official, and he’s signed on until 2030. That means, if he sees out his contract, he’ll have done 10 years at The Arsenal and hopefully will have built that ‘legacy’ that we are all talking about right now.

It has not been all plain sailing; we’ve had some bumps along the way, but this is the right move for the club, and I don’t think you’ll find any proper Arsenal fans who aren’t delighted with this news. The video the club did, where he stood in front of two LED walls of Arsenal fans and their messages, was absolutely lovely to see. I’m clearly biased on this, but The Arsenal has always tried to demonstrate that it acts with ‘class,’ and when we do things like this, you really get the sense that those values shine through at the club. When some clubs are intent on taking cheap shots on signing unveiling videos, or two drag the game into disrepute with their own inability to admit their dodgy wrongdoings, The Arsenal does things the right way and, in that regard, I am proud to call myself an Arsenal supporter when I see things like yesterday and all the #content that accompanied the video.

There were also the little touches that reflect, represent, and acknowledge the proud tradition of the club, like the fact that his ‘contract’ (although we all know that deal had been signed somewhere else, and this was just ‘for the Gram’ as the kids say) was delivered to him by the CEO in a box that was used by David Danskin, the club’s first Club Secretary, as a writing desk tool as well. Richard Garlick even talked about how we are connected to our history, we acknowledge and are proud of it, and that shines through with little actions like this.

I’m also proud of the longevity of managers the club has had in my time. I was born in 1982, so I’m not really going to count or claim Terry Neill or Don Howe, as I didn’t even get into football until I was six, but by then George Graham had been in charge for a couple of years, and so my experience of full-time (not caretaker) managers is:

  1. George Graham
  2. Bruce Rioch
  3. Arsene Wenger
  4. Unai Emery
  5. Mikel Arteta

Five in 28 years. That is class. That is The Arsenal.

Like I say, it hasn’t always been perfect though, and I remember telling my mate Johnny from The Arsenal Opinion Podcast after the Villarreal defeat (ironically at the hands of Emery) that I thought he wasn’t going to make it. I don’t like being the guy who shouts for the manager’s head, but I was basically there in 2021, so to see how this has turned around is marvellous. And as I’ve already said in my blog in May of this year (KSE apology tour), you have to give huge credit to the owners on this too. They stayed patient; they truly did ‘Trust the process’, and in May everyone with a stake – whether physical or emotional – in The Arsenal was rewarded.

And now we find ourselves looking towards the future. I’ll save Leeds chat for tomorrow, but next on the ‘to do’ list is apparently Decaln Rice, which again, I don’t think you’ll find an Arsenal fan in the proverbial house who doesn’t want this deal done quickly and soon. He’s a key cog in the team; he is one of our best players (there’s a shout for ‘The best’ player), he’s a guy we want to be part of this ‘Legacy’ that Arteta is talking about. So let’s get him on the train/boat/bus – whatever form of transport metaphor takes your fancy.

One more final video link to show you before I pop off for the day, which is back to Mikel, and the fan sit-down that he did that the club videoed. I just think this is lovely. Yes, it is PR; yes, it is heavy on the production value, but it comes across as so genuine. There is genuine warmth from him, from the fans around the table, and it serves to underline the ‘connection that Arteta is always talking about. You see things like this, and you realise that to him, these aren’t just words at pre-match press conferences; they are real values and cultural identity that he has been despErate to build at the club since the day he walked through the door. He ‘gets it’ and ‘gets’ what it means to all of us. Having a manager like that is amazing. Yeah, he rubs up opposition fans, pundits, and the media with the most trivial of things (“HOW DARE HE STEP OUTSIDE ARBITRARILY WHITE LINES THAT ARE PAINTED ON THE TOUCHLINE!”), but you cannot look at videos like that and what his actions have shown and not convince me that every single Premier League team wouldn’t have him in a heartbeat if they could.

They can’t. He’s ours. And he’s here to stay for a while longer.

Back tomorrow as we start to preview the return of The Arsenal and Leeds at home. Speak then.