Photo from Freepik
Morning all.
After this international break, the 2025/26 Champions League campaign begins. Two of the three fixtures against the “big clubs” are at The Emirates Stadium which is better than facing them in front of their own fans.
Athletic Club vs Arsenal — September 16, 5.45pm
Arsenal vs Olympiacos — October 1, 8pm
Arsenal vs Atletico Madrid — October 21, 8pm
Slava Prague vs Arsenal — November 4, 5.45pm
Arsenal vs Bayern Munich — November 26, 8pm
Club Brugge vs Arsenal — December 10, 8pm
Inter Milan vs Arsenal — January 20, 2026, 8pm
Arsenal vs Kairat Almaty — January 28, 2026, 8pm
Arsenal’s Champions League List A squad:
Goalkeepers: David Raya, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Tommy Setford
Defenders: William Saliba, Cristhian Mosquera, Ben White, Piero Hincapie, Gabriel, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori.
Midfielders: Martin Odegaard, Eberechi Eze, Christian Norgaard, Leandro Trossard, Noni Madueke, Mikel Merino, Kai Havertz, Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice, Max Dowman
Forwards: Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Viktor Gyokeres
Good to see Havertz in the squad as it means he’s expected to return soon although worryingly, there is no Jesus. Myles Lewis Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri and any other homegrown player born after 2004 are on list B.
I hope this is the season we can beat Bayern, Atletico too because I’m pretty sure our record against both hasn’t been that good over the years. However, our squad is different now. Very different. Stronger, deeper and wiser.
There is a good article by Dan Sheldon in The Athletic this morning while dives into the change of the clubs transfer dealings since KSE’s 2018 buyout of Arsenal FC. When Usmanov and the Kroenke family were joint owners, it’s fair to say that our transfer dealings were pretty dire.
However, between 2018-19 and 2023-24, Arsenal had a gross spend in the region of £1.1billion. If you add 2024-25’s spending (£104m) and what they forked out this summer (£245m), they are now over the £1.4bn mark. The figures from 2024-25 and 2025-26 exclude agent fees and transfer levies as we are yet to have the accounts for the year ended May 31, 2025.
The once much maligned owners supported Unai Emery and now Mikel Arteta by authorising spending big money to bring the club in line with the likes of both Manchester clubs and Liverpool. Chelsea still lead the way as far as how much a club spends but that’s just the way they operate these days.
When it comes to pursuing targets, neither Stan nor Josh get involved. They have a perspective on the profile of player Arsenal should be targeting — young with plenty of upside — but they are not entering negotiations with the selling club, nor will they be dealing with a target’s agent.
They ensure there are checks and balances before it’s too late. For example, Stan and Josh want to know why a certain decision is being made before giving the sign-off. There is a sense that by seeking justification first, it should alleviate any problems later down the line if things go wrong, be it with a player the club signed or another business decision. This has been followed with each of this summer’s acquisitions.
KSE wants the club to improve in the selling department as there is a sense they have often missed the right moment to offload a player. Given they want Arsenal to be a self-sufficient operation, maximising player value is paramount.
I think we would all agree with the last paragraph because we as a club are dreadful when it comes to selling players. But maybe that’s exactly why Andrea Berta was brought into the club. It might mean that in future, fan favourites might be sold for big money which at the time, we might not like but I think this summer in particular has shown that if a player wants to move to a different club, he will do all he can to force that move. So when the boot is on the other foot, tough. As long as quality is replaced with quality, Arsenal will be fine.
Catch up in the comments.