Those who have recently upgraded the Arsenal app for their smartphone will have noticed some none too subtle changes in the most recent version.
There has been an obvious pivot towards _#content_, with features such as a Martin Odegaard documentary, and a series called ‘The Link Up’ with Bukayo Saka, appearing front and centre while more useful information such as fixtures, results and so on, have been buried in sub-menus that are hard to find.
Some have called it the TikTok-ification of the app, designed to draw in and keep younger users engaged. The new generations have become used to the instant scroll functionality which is present on TikTok, Instagram etc, moving quickly from one video to another, and Arsenal have simply followed suit.
Those hoping for a more traditional experience will just have to grow accustomed to this new era, as the club ramp up the production machine, investing heavily in the internal resources to produce more and more content based around the teams, the fans, and the game in general. The appointment of Ben Winston, a well-known British producer and director, and close friend of Josh Kroenke, to the board of directors last year was a clear hint at this upcoming strategy.
“This is what is being referred to internally as _footballtainment_“, said a well-placed source who spoke to _Arseblog News_ on the condition of anonymity so as to protect existing relationships.
“The crossover of the entertainment industry and the game of football is seen as a way of becoming a market leader. In much the same way as Man Utd identified the benefits of mass-merchandising before anyone else, Arsenal are determined to make themselves the leaders in this field.
“And despite what some old fogeys think about the new way, the demand is there. At one meeting of the content team, someone quipped ‘Those ancient guys can go and get the fixtures on Ceefax!’.
“We cracked up”.
Market research has shown that insight into the players’ lives and behind the scenes footage are what connect best with audiences, and there are medium-term plans to venture into territory never seen before.
“Anyone can do an interview”, said our source, “but we’re looking at the intersections of football, entertainment, live-streaming, and reality TV.
“The plan is contingent on the lawyers and player representatives coming up with a framework that allows the content team access to the players at the training ground, at home, and beyond, but it’s a delicate situation that requires serious consideration and will need the club to adequately compensate those involved.
“Some of them are more keen than others. One senior pro insisted he’d rather gargle his own balls in a cup of polluted seawater than have anything to do with it, but the younger generation are certainly more interested.
“Basically, think the ‘_All or Nothing_‘ documentary, but much more in-depth with users able to flick in and out of the lives of players at will.
“Imagine opening the app, and you follow Viktor Gyokeres as he takes in a show on the West End; go to church with Eberechi Eze; see Ben White top up his tan at the local salon; or catch up with Katie McCabe when she visits her family back in Dublin and they go to the St Patrick’s Day parade dressed as Thin Lizzy.
“The options are endless, and it’s all very exciting.”
[](https://arseblog.news/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ben_white_sunbed.webp)
As a way of trialling the technology, the club will be using Win the dog as a test subject, with selected beta testers able to check in on her day to day, and see what she gets up to at London Colney. She might be sleeping on a mat, getting the zoomies in the gym, or having her belly rubbed by Mikel Arteta himself.
There’s even an interactive element where, if viewers see her do her business on one of the pristine training pitches, they can alert ground-staff who will be armed with poo-bags at all times.
Tentatively entitled ‘Win the Doghouse!’, select users can expect to see this in their apps towards the end of April, and those who love man’s best friend may well be interested in future developments too.
Talk inside the club, driven by Arteta and the impact he feels she is having on the culture, is about creating what he calls a “Wynesty” – ensuring Win’s Arsenal DNA continues long into the future. For that to happen, you need puppies, and before that, a mate.
Arseblog News understands that there have been suggestions about a dog dating show, first mooted by Arsenal’s Head of Digestible Interactive Vertical Video Content, Col Lee, but that one remains, for now at least, on the long finger.
Or paw.