LOCO GUNNER BLOG: The Season Begins
Neal Thurman • August 18, 2025
The Season Begins
I have lived in Loudoun County for fifteen years; before that, I lived in DC and Atlanta. All have been fantastic places to live but one of the things that I missed most in the last 15 years was having a soccer bar close by. Whether it was Summer’s in Arlington, Lucky Bar in DC, or Brewhouse in Little Five Points, my pre-suburban life was filled with excellent places to watch a match with like-minded fans..
As the parent of a busy almost 13-year-old, I can’t say my life affords much time for sports bars on my own schedule. At a tournament or after a game, sure, but rarely with a purpose beyond eating and bonding with the rest of the team. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed the experience of coming together with a few friends–but mostly strangers–for the sole purpose of watching soccer.
I must not be the only one who feels this way, because attendance at our Arsenal Watch Party at
Anchor Bar far exceeded expectations. At 11:30 AM on a Sunday, in the midst of the Loudoun Premier Cup tournament, the place was packed with fans! Many of the 120+ people came with their Arsenal jerseys and scarves, with their energy invested in the start of a new Premier League season.
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The opener’s opponent, Manchester United, made the occasion that much more special. Man U are a legendary club that last year outperformed their record, logging a win and a draw against defending champions Manchester City, and a draw with eventual champions Liverpool. The Red Devils held Arsenal to a draw at Old Trafford last season, and spent the summer improving their squad with the arrivals of Brian Mbuemo, Matias Cunha, and Benjamin Sesko. Definitely not a match to be taken lightly.
Match Review
After honoring Portuguese brothers Diogo Jota (Liverpool) and Andre Silva (Penafiel), who tragically lost their lives in a car crash over the summer, the match kicked off with the high intensity befitting a season-opener between bitter rivals. From the start, crunching tackles greatly outnumbered deft passing moves or silky dribbles.
As much as I’d like to say that Arsenal came out blazing, that wasn’t the case. They were wearing their
gorgeous third kit, but beyond that looked very much like a side with newcomers in crucial positions (Martin Zubimendi at the base of midfield, and Viktor Gyorkeres at center forward). The midfield trio of Zubimendi, Declan Rice, and Martin Odegaard ignited a few opportunities on the counterattack in the first half, but decision-making in the final third was off, with promising attacks failing to materialize.
At the other end, Manchester United’s new arrivals looked bright, with Brian Mbuemo and Matias Cunha frequently forcing the defense to scramble. While both Red Devils wide attackers were credited with three shots, it certainly felt like more given the sighs of relief from the Arsenal supporters (and the smattering of cheers from the few brave souls sporting Manchester United gear).
I may have buried the lede by not mentioning on Arsenal’s 13th minute goal, which came as a relief to everyone at Anchor Bar, as well as Gunners around the world. On the plus side, it came from a source that has been a club strength under Mikel Arteta, the set piece. (The Gunners have scored more goals on set pieces than any team in the Premier League since the arrival of coach Nicolas Jover.)
Unfortunately, the goal was more down to Manchester United’s inexperienced keeper making a poor play than Arsenal making an exceptional one. A fine delivery from Declan Rice, followed by nice work from William Saliba disrupting defenders and the keeper’s contact as the ball came into the box, served the resulting rebound on a platter to Ricardo Calafiori, who tapped it in after it was already half way across the goal line.
All sorts of cliches apply to the goal, and the match overall:
Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. The most important thing is the three points. There are no style points awarded.
On the positive side, Arsenal got a win on the road against a traditional powerhouse. As the Gunners get to know each other better, their collective and individual form should only improve as the season continues. If you’re a pessimist, you can certainly worry that Gyokeres and Zubimendi weren’t immediate hits, and that Odegaard didn’t immediately rebound after returning from a significant ankle injury.
While the truth lies somewhere in-between, I’ve seen enough early-season matches to be far more on the side of optimism.
The Result: Week 1
Starting Line-up: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard, Martinelli, Saka, Gyokeres
Substitutes: Madueke (for Martinelli), Havertz (for Gyokeres), Timber (White), Lewis-Skelly (Calafiori), Merino (Rice)
Arsenal Result: 1-0 win at Manchester United
Goal(s): Ricardo Calafiori
Assist(s): Declan Rice
Place in the Table: 6th (tied with five other clubs on 3 points but last among those six on goal difference with Everton and Leeds yet to play)
Title Contender Round-up:
Liverpool: The Reds looked amazing scoring four goals against Bournemouth on Friday, but showed the same defensive frailties that cost them the Community Shield against Crystal Palace last weekend. New signing Hugo Ekitike looked like an excellent acquisition with a goal and an assist, but Arne Slot’s side features two aging superstars (Virgil Van Dijk, Mo Salah) with no quality depth behind them.
Manchester City: The Citizens blew Wolves away with a combination of returning superstars and new arrivals Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki. Wolves aren’t expected to dominate, but it certainly looked like City have moved past a disappointing 2024-2025 season and there’s still room for improvement.
Chelsea: The Blues looked a bit disjointed against a game Crystal Palace side and had to settle for a draw. Given the number of new players at Stamford Bridge, the expectation should be that they will start slow and pick up pace as they get comfortable with each other.
Up Next
8/23 12:30 PM: Arsenal host newly-promoted Leeds United in their home opener at the Emirates.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5! GET TICKETS HERE !
The Arsenal women had the Emirates and the spotlight all to themselves this weekend in about as perfect a season-opener as the club could have wished for. As the Premier League took the weekend off for the season’s first international break, the women took full advantage of the opportunity to showcase both their new and returning stars. Saturday was a glorious early Fall day in North London for the opening of Arsenal’s Women’s Super League campaign. For the occasion, the Gunners welcomed over 38,000 spectators and the newly-promoted London City Lionesses and owner Michelle Kang to the Emirates Stadium. The Arsenal women were certainly favored heading into the match, but with a hint of uncertainty due to Ms. Kang’s investment in new arrivals preparing for their debut in the top flight. Lingering concerns that London City might be a surprise package in their first season in the WSL were exacerbated when they scored a penalty in the 17th minute to go up a goal. It took a further 12 minutes, but new signing Olivia Smith announced herself to the home crowd with a wondrous debut goal from 30+ yards out to level the score. Once back on level terms, it was Arsenal’s core group of attacking stars who blew the match open. After a few opportunities went begging, Alessia Russo’s clever dribble around a lunging defender gave her space to find Chloe Kelly who slotted home the go-ahead goal just before the stroke of halftime. The second half saw a brief flurry from London City that culminated in a shot hitting the post and bouncing out, but they were unable to convert and Arsenal’s quality in depth took over down the stretch. The luxury of bringing in stars like Stina Blackstenius, Beth Mead, Caitlin Foord, and Frida Maanum proved too much for the WSL newbies. Mead and Blackstenius came in in the 77th minute and it only took five minutes before the two connected for Arsenal’s third. Mead, as she so often is, was the catalyst as Blackstenius scored off of her cross to put the Gunners up 3-1. Only a minute later, it was Mead again as she crossed for fellow substitute Frida Maanum, who scored the final goal and sent the crowd home happy. The two assists marked a milestone for Mead as they made her the first woman to record 50 assists in WSL play. The Result: WSL Week 1 Starting Line-up: van Domselaar, Catley, Reid, McCabe, Fox, Pelova, Caldentey, Little, Russo, Kelly, Smith Substitutes: Hinds (McCabe), Maanum (Pelova), Blackstenius (Russo), Mead (Kelly), Foord (Smith) Arsenal Result: 4-1 win vs. London City Goal(s): Kosovare Asliani, Olivia Smith, Chloe Kelly, Stina Blackstenius, Frida Maanum Assist(s): Alessia Russo, Beth Mead (x2) Place in the Table: 2nd (tied for first with 3 points, second behind Manchester United by one goal on goal difference tie breaker) Title Contender Round-up: Chelsea: Last season’s champions were undefeated in the WSL and kicked off the season with a 2-1 win Friday against a Manchester City side that should finish in the top three in the WSL. A statement of intent from the Blues to open the campaign. Manchester City: See above, City lost to reigning champions Chelsea in their opener but should be in the race all season. Up Next Women - 9/12 2:30 PM: Arsenal travel south and east to face a West Ham women’s side coming off a 1-0 loss to Spurs. Men - 9/13 7:30 AM: Arsenal host former technical director Edu and his new side, Nottingham Forest at the Emirates to kickoff Match Week 4. NOTE: WSL TV Coverage A note to those who are interested in following the Arsenal Women’s WSL action on TV: In an announcement that came just before the season’s Friday kickoff, the League announced that all WSL matches will be available to US audiences on ESPN+. As of late last week, the plan seemed to be for matches to be available in the US via the FA’s FAPlayer app, but the late-breaking change should be an improvement. The Arsenal Men on International Duty As mentioned above, the men were on a break from Premier League action over the weekend, but that doesn’t mean that they weren’t playing with many of Mikel Arteta’s squad turning out for their countries late last week and early this week. Here’s a list of the 15 Arsenal players who were called up by their countries and then a link to a page that is tracking results : England (4): Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, Myles Lewis-Skelly Spain (3): Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino, David Raya Brazil (2): Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Italy (1): Ricardo Calafiori Norway (1): Martin Odegaard Sweden (1): Viktor Gyokeres Netherlands (1): Jurrien Timber Belgium (1): Leandro Trossard Ecuador (1): Piero Hincapie Two bonus mentions as Max Dowman (England U19s) and Cristian Mosquera (Spain U21s) were called up by youth teams in their respective countries. Of particular note from the matches that have been played so far have been Mikel Merino’s four goals and an assist in two matches for Spain against Turkey (3 goals) and Bulgaria (1 goal, 1 assist) and Declan Rice’s tally for England against Andorra.
A trip to Anfield has never been an easy task. Liverpool have won the top flight title more than any other club–including their triumph last term. Throw in some strong work in the transfer window and the Reds went into the top of the table clash with Arsenal looking at least as daunting a prospect as last season. How you view the eventual outcome of the match, a 1-0 Arsenal loss, probably says a lot about how you approach supporting your team. The pessimist might look at the result and suggest that Arsenal, despite all the strengthening done in the summer, are still likely no better than second best in the Premier League. That pessimist may be further inclined to think that Arsenal have something of an injury-related curse brewing after last season’s injuries to key players, and the early stages of this season have accelerated the trend with William Saliba going early with an ankle injury. Finally, the pessimist might complain that Mikel Arteta’s approach to the match was a bit too conservative, with Mikel Merino replacing Martin Odegaard, and Gabriel Martinelli playing on the left with Noni Madueke moving to the right to replace Bukayo Saka. Supporters looking for a more aggressive approach might have preferred Ethan Nwaneri for Odegaard, or Eberechi Eze instead of Martinelli/Trossard from the start. While there are certainly times to be pessimistic about your team, I have a more optimistic view of this particular match. In particular, I was impressed by Cristian Mosquera’s turn replacing Saliba, as well as the extent to which Arsenal was able to contain Liverpool’s exceptional attack with three key starters missing. As far as the flow of the match went, possession was close to even–as were the chances. And while I would have liked to see Nwaneri from the start and Dowman sooner than the 89th minute, would that have changed anything? Perhaps not, but it would have signaled intent to win rather than to draw. In the end, the difference in the match was a miraculous free kick from 30-ish feet out by Dominik Szoboszlai that would have beaten just about any goalkeeper in the world. A disappointing result for sure given how well the team played away from home, down a few key players, and facing excellent opposition. But it’s definitely not the end of the world only three weeks into the campaign. The Transfer Deadline If Sunday brought disappointment, Monday and the transfer deadline brought continued change to the club. Arsenal brought in their eighth signing of the summer window as they acquired Ecuadorian Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen in Germany. The defender can play both a left-sided center back as well as left back and will replace Jakub Kiwior (who confirmed a move to Porto on Monday). Also leaving the club with Kiwior were Albert Sambi Lokonga (Hamburg), Fabio Vieira (Hamburg, loan), Oleksandr Zinchenko (Nottingham Forest, loan), and Reiss Nelson (Brentford, loan). One of the bigger criticisms of Arsenal’s transfer market dealings in recent years has been their inability to sell players for good fees in an effort to “balance the books” when they bring in expensive new players. The Kiwior and Sambi Lokongo sales both netted small profits from the prices paid a few years ago, but the failure to conclude permanent sales for Nelson, Zinchenko, and Vieira underscore the ongoing problem. Since it isn’t my money, I can’t say I’m TOO concerned about the money recouped in the transfer market so long as the club can continue to buy like they did this summer and they keep developing talent like Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly, Saka, and Dowman at the Hale End Academy. The Women’s Turn With the men heading to the first international break of the season, the women get next weekend to themselves for their season debut. Their opponents for the curtain-raiser will be the London City Lionesses. The only independent (not owned by a Premier League side) club in the Women’s Super League after promotion from the Championship last season, the Lionesses are owned by Michelle Kang who also owns the Washington Spirit in the NWSL and OL Lyonnes in France. While Michelle Kang has a history of success, facing the reigning European champions in the club’s first match in the top flight seems like a lot to ask. Arsenal will be close to full strength as the players who featured deep into or won the European Championships over the summer return to the pitch after late-summer vacations. All of the Euro competitors played at least 45 minutes in the pre-season-ending 2-0 win over West Ham last Wednesday. The match will be played at 8:30 AM on Saturday, September 6th and can be streamed live for free on the FA Player app found in Google Play and Apple App Store . The Result: Week 3 Starting Line-up: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Rice, Merino, Madueke, Martinelli, Gyokeres Substitutes: Mosquera (Saliba), Odegaard (for Merino), Eze (for Martinelli), Dowman (Madueke) Arsenal Result: 1-0 loss away to Liverpool Goal(s): Dominik Szoboszlai Assist(s): none Place in the Table: 3rd (3 points behind leaders Liverpool and one point behind 2nd place Chelsea) Title Contender Round-up: Liverpool: I think we covered that sufficiently above. Manchester City: For the second consecutive weekend, Manchester City looked out of sorts against seemingly so-so opposition. They dropped a 2-1 decision to Brighton and Hove Albion at the AmEx Stadium. Chelsea: Chelsea got a bit lucky having an early Fulham goal wrongly disallowed by VAR but managed to score two against their West London rivals at home to extend their winning streak to two after an opening weekend draw. Not particularly convincing but they did what they had to do against solid opposition. Up Next Women - 9/6 8:30 AM: Arsenal host the London City Lionesses including former Gunners Danielle van de Donk and Nikita Parris at the Emirates to start their season. Men - 9/13 7:30 AM: Arsenal host former technical director Edu and his new side, Nottingham Forest at the Emirates to kickoff Match Week 4.
Join Us September 27 @ Audi Field! GET TICKETS HERE !
Saturday, September 6! Details here !
Women’s Preseason, A New Men’s Arrival, and Arsenal Men v Leeds
Loudoun Soccer x Arsenal Camp - An Insider Look
Men's 25/26 Season Preview With the pre-season in the books and the Premier League set to kick off this weekend, it’s time to take a deep dive into what to expect from Arsenal in the upcoming season. We’ll start with a brief recap of last season before tackling summer changes, and what to look forward to in the early stages of this campaign. KICK OFF THE ARSENAL MEN’S 25/26 SEASON WITH US AT OUR MEN'S OPENER WATCH PARTY THIS SUNDAY! Join us at 11 am at Anchor Bar for lunch, drink specials, games, and prizes! (We’ll have Match Attax EPL trading cards for sale! If your pack includes an Arsenal player, celebrate with a drink of the house!) RSVP here ! 2024-25 In Review Arsenal entered the 2024-25 season expecting to once again challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title. With City’s Ballon D’or winner Rodri lost for the season due to injury, Jurgen Klopp departing Liverpool after an illustrious run as manager, and Chelsea, Spurs, and Manchester United being in various states of chaos, it was thought that Arsenal were the front-runners for the title. Most of the above turned out to be correct. City fell off in the absence of their midfield talisman.Chelsea, Spurs, and Manchester United continued to struggle to varying degrees with none mounting anything close to a title challenge. Two things didn’t go to expectations on the path to a potential Arsenal title. At Anfield, Arne Slot replaced Klopp and not only didn’t he skip a beat but he improved on the German’s final season with the Reds. Despite the change of manager and aging key players in Virgil Van Dijk and Mo Salah, Liverpool were consistently excellent from start to finish. The other significant hurdle faced by the Gunners were some unfortunate injuries that pointed out some areas of the squad where the club was light on depth. Ideally, a club will get 34-36 starts out of 38 Premier League matches from their key players. Of their key attacking players, Arsenal received significantly fewer than that from Bukayo Saka (20 starts), Martin Odegaard (26), Kai Havertz (23), and Gabriel Jesus (8). Beyond the absences, it seemed clear that Odegaard especially was less than 100% even after returning from his injury. Finishing second in an incredibly competitive league while also getting to the semi-finals of the Champions League is hardly something to apologize for. But given the turmoil among the usual suspects and big spenders, finishing second did feel like an opportunity missed. If there was a silver lining to the club’s injury issues, it was the emergence of some young talent from the club’s Hale End Academy. A pair of 18-year-olds, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, took the opportunity presented by the absences of Saka, Odegaard, and Calafiori and showed that, despite their youth, they are capable of competing at the highest level. Nwaneri scored four goals and assisted on a further three in Premier League play across 11 starts and 15 substitute appearances between Odegaard’s attacking midfield role and Saka’s wide attacking role. In addition to the statistics, he impressed with his fearlessness, control in tight spaces, and willingness to take on defenders. A left back capable of moving into midfield when the club is in possession, Lewis-Skelly didn’t produce significant counting statistics but did demonstrate his ability to both attack and defend while tasked with marking players like Mo Salah in the Premier League and Rodrygo of Real Madrid in the Champions League. Summer Activity I wrote an extensive post about Arsenal’s summer and invite you to check it out here if you want all of the details. To keep this post to a manageable length (too late, I know), I’ll just do a quick summary. The goals for the club in the summer transfer window were as follows: Secure a star-level center forward capable of scoring 20+ goals/season Replacing departing holding midfielders Tomas Partey and Jorginho with someone capable of shielding the back four and initiating the attack from deep. Building depth in key positions to ensure one or two key injuries couldn’t derail the season as the injuries to Odegaard and Saka did last season. Clearly, we will need to see how it plays out on the pitch but, on paper, the club accomplished all of these goals with approximately three weeks still to go in the summer transfer window. Here’s how each of the above items were addressed: In late July, Arsenal purchased Viktor Gorkeyes from Sporting Lisbon. Gyokeres scored at more than a goal per match across two title-winning seasons in the Portuguese first division. He also showed well in the Champions League. The step up to the Premier League is significant but there is ample reason to expect he will be a significant upgrade at center forward. To replace their two departing holding midfielders, Arsenal acquired Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad and Christian Norgaard from Brentford. Zubimendi has been an exceptional player in La Liga and should be an improvement over the aging Jorginho and frequently-injured Partey. He won’t light up the stat sheet but he should contribute to a tight defense and facilitate the transition to attack. Norgaard, until recently Brentford’s captain, will back up the Spaniard and provide steady play and veteran leadership. Beyond potential starters in Gyokeres and Zubimendi, Arsenal added depth at center back, wide attacker, and in goal with the additions of Cristhian Mosquera, Noni Madueke, and Kepa Arrizabalaga. Mosquera is a Spain youth international who will deputize for William Saliba and, hopefully, grow into an exceptional starter in his own right. The versatile 23-year-old Madueke, an England international, comes over from Chelsea where he enjoyed a strong season and will have an opportunity to compete with Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard for a starting job on the left wing while also backing up Bukayo Saka on the right. Arrizabalaga joins Madueke coming to North London from West London. It didn’t work out at Chelsea for Kepa after arriving at Stamford Bridge as the most expensive goalkeeper in history but he represents a way-above-average reserve goalkeeping option behind David Raya. While the acquisitions from other clubs are likely to be the most impactful this season and into the near future, perhaps the most exciting development of the summer has been the arrival in the first team of 15-year-old Max Dowman. The Hale End product has been putting up crazy numbers in Arsenal’s youth set-up despite playing with far older players the past couple of seasons. Finally allowed to play with the first team after turning 15, Dowman has tantalized in pre-season including drawing two penalties and showing his ability to create from the right wing. It isn’t clear how much time the youngster is likely to see in the Premier League but he is certainly one to watch whenever he gets on the field. The Season Ahead As the 2025-26 season approaches, Arsenal are as talented and as deep as they have been since the title-winning days of the early 2000s. In defending champions Liverpool and newly healthy and reinforced Manchester City, they will face two significant rivals for the title with Chelsea potentially a wild card in the race after a strong summer showing at the Club World Cup and continued spending on their squad. As Arsenal kick off against Manchester United at Old Trafford on September 17th, the expected starting line-up will be as follows: GK: David Raya - The Spanish international is the reigning Golden Glove winner for most clean sheets in the 2024-25 season RB: Jurian Timber - The young Dutchman has been excellent when healthy but has struggled with injuries in pre-season so former England international Ben White may start the opener. CB: William Saliba - among the top few center backs in the world, the young Frenchman continues to ascend as the rock upon which Arsenal’s defense is built. CB: Gabriel - the Brazilian is a menace in the air winning defensive headers and contributing to Arsenal’s league-best record for scoring from corner kicks and set pieces. He and Saliba form arguably the best center back pairing in the Premier League. LB: Myles Lewis-Skelly - The 18-year-old will look to build on his exceptional breakout season last campaign. CDM: Martin Zubimendi - As noted above, the Spaniard won’t turn heads with his statistics but he has proven himself as one of the best all-around holding midfielders in the world in both La Liga and international play. RM: Bukayo Saka - Arsenal’s homegrown star, Saka is among the best young attackers in the world. If he can start 34 or more Premier League matches this campaign, the Gunners will be well-positioned to challenge for the title. CM: Declan Rice - The England captain has moved up the pitch from a holding midfield spot to a box-to-box role that will allow him more license to create, score, and work higher up the pitch in Arsenal’s high press. CM: Martin Odegaard - At his best, the Norwegian is the creative force the gives life to the Arsenal attack. His vision, range of passing, and ability to fit the ball into seemingly impossible spaces for his teammates to score was diminished after his injury last season but he should be back to his best after a summer with no commitments for club or country. LM: Gabriel Martinelli - The talented Brazilian has flashed moments of brilliance for Arsenal since his introduction into the squad as an 18-year-old in 2019. Now 24, he must add consistency to his game or face the possibility of losing his spot to Madueke or a new arrival. CF: Viktor Gyokeres - The towering Swedish international scored a load of goals in Portugal and will be counted on to translate that form to the Premier League. Arsenal’s title chances may well ride on his ability to be this generation’s Robin Van Persie. These players and key reserves like Kepa, Jakob Kiwior, Ricardo Calafiori, Norgaard, Moreno, Nwaneri, Madueke, and Havertz will face a tough start to the season with trips to Manchester United and Liverpool (1st in the Premier League last season) and visits from Nottingham Forest (7th), Manchester City (3rd), and Newcastle United (5th) before the end of September. It isn’t ideal for a team with a bunch of new players to integrate to face such a tough run right away but if they can survive the first two months, everything will be in place for a great run at the title. All in all, it’s going to be another exciting season for Arsenal fans! Hope you will join us this Sunday to watch the season kick off vs. Man United!
Join us Monday, September 29 at Lansdowne Resort!
Despite what my son might say, I’m not as old as Arsenal. Dating back to 1886, when a group of workers at the Woolwich Arsenal Armament Factory formed their own football team, the club is one of the most storied in world football. I’m not going to attempt to do a better job than the club or Wikipedia have in putting together a history of the club before I was aware of it. Both are great resources if you want to learn how the team moved to North London, who the key people were in the pre-Premier League era, and how they compare with some of the other big clubs in England in winning trophies. What I will attempt is to give my perspective on the club since I became aware of them in the mid-1990s. What has been their relatively recent history? How have they performed lately? How is it reasonable to think about the club in comparison to the rest of the Premier League and other legendary European clubs? The Dawning of the Premier League Era I became aware of Arsenal in the mid-1990s which, as it turned out, was a pivotal time for English football in general and for Arsenal specifically. During the 1994 World Cup, I saw Dennis Bergkamp play for the Netherlands against Saudi Arabia at RFK Stadium and immediately became a fan. In 1995, my satellite TV provider started broadcasting the Premier League, while Bergkamp joined Arsenal from Inter Milan. For Arsenal, the arrival of Bergkamp - an established international star - represented a departure from the club’s recent tradition of defense-first, blood-and-guts play. The pre-Bergkamp editions of the club featured legendary England international defenders like Tony Adams , Nigel Winterburn , Lee Dixon , and Steve Bould , and became famous for “1-nil to the Arsenal” wins. Bergkamp was something else altogether. He was one of the most skilled attackers in the world who, along with manager Arsène Wenger , appointed in 1996 ushered in an attack-oriented style of play that would captivate fans (myself included) and revolutionize the Premier League. (If you’re interested in why Dennis Bergkamp motivated my fandom, here are some of his greatest hits on YouTube. If you only have a moment to watch, I’d recommend from 0:55 sec to 2:15 or so. Just incredible.) The Wenger Era, Part 1 - Revolutionary Success Arsène Wenger has been credited with bringing the Premier League into the modern era of professional sports. His approach to training and nutrition probably looks quaint by modern standards, but when he arrived at Highbury in 1996, the culture in English football wasn’t what we would associate with modern athletics. Wenger also recognized that while English talent was expensive, there were market inefficiencies that would allow Arsenal to recruit foreign talent at a discount compared to their similarly-talented English counterparts. Soon, the Dutchman Bergkamp was joined by a number of Wenger’s French countrymen in the form of Thierry Henry , Robert Pires , Patrick Vieira , and Sylvain Wiltord along with Swede Freddie Ljungberg , Brazilians Edu and Gilberto Silva , German Jens Lehmann , and Ivorian Kolo Toure in the first English club side that was competing for championships against the likes of Manchester United and their English/Welsh/Irish core of David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, and Teddy Sheringham, with only a few high-profile foreigners sprinkled in from year-to-year. While Manchester United were the dominant team of the early Premier League era, Arsenal also experienced great success, finishing either first or second in the Premier League in Wenger’s first nine seasons at the club (including winning league titles in 1997-98, 2001-02, and 2003-04). The 2003-04 squad, The Invincibles , has the distinction of being the only side ever to complete a Premier League season undefeated. The Wenger Era, Part 2 - The Move to the Emirates Stadium While the first half of Arsène Wenger’s tenure at Arsenal was an unqualified success, the second half is a bit harder to characterize. There were a few things happening that changed the situation considerably: Arsenal executive leadership diverted money from buying players to finance the new, larger stadium that they felt was necessary to be financially viable heading into the next era of the Premier League. Chelsea, now owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, was spending money on the type of high potential foreign players that Arsenal had recruited in the late-90s and early 2000s. The rest of the league caught up to Arsenal’s approaches to training and nutrition, blunting what had briefly been a significant advantage. Not long after Chelsea rose to prominence on the back of Abramovich’s fortune, Manchester City was acquired by the Abu Dhabi United Group, further raising the financial stakes for success in the Premier League. With Arsenal financially hamstrung by the move from Highbury to the Emirates, Chelsea’s deep-pocketed owner brought in players like Didier Drogba, Arjen Robben, and Petr Cech – the exact profile of players likely to have gone to Arsenal in the earlier part of the Wenger era. Arsenal’s financial struggles also cost them existing players, with superstar Theirry Henry moving to Barcelona, and England international Ashley Cole moving to Chelsea. The rise of financial powers at Chelsea and Manchester City, along with the continued might of Manchester United, relegated Arsenal to competing at the fringes of the Premier League title race for the remainder of Arsène Wenger’s time at Arsenal. Given the club’s inability to compete financially, holding him to the standard of his first decade in charge seems harsh. Despite FA Cup wins in 2013-14, 2014-15, and 2016-17, Wenger was ultimately relieved of his duties after 22 years in charge. The Kroenke Era Underlying the second half of the Wenger Era was a fight for control of the club. US-based businessman Stan Kroenke (owner of, among other things, the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, and Colorado Rapids) had been increasing his stake in the club. Finally, in 2018, he completed his takeover of the club and declared his intention to once again compete with the top teams in England and Europe. Kroenke was instrumental in calling time on the Wenger era and, after a brief tenure from Spaniard Unai Emery, appointing two former Arsenal players - Mikel Arteta and Edu to oversee the club’s revival as manager and technical director respectively. The results over the past five years have improved progressively, with the club steadily climbing back up the standings after finishing 8th in 2019-20 and 2020-21. Arteta jumped up to 5th in 2021-22, and has finished 2nd in each of the past three campaigns. He has done so by almost entirely turning over the squad. He has focused on developing Arsenal’s academy talent with the likes of Reiss Nelson , Emile Smith-Rowe , Bukayo Saka , Ethan Nwaneri , and Myles Lewis-Skelly having played significant roles under Arteta’s leadership. Coming off of a second place finish in the Premier League and a run to the semi-finals in the Champions League, Arsenal’s men’s side are a few major summer acquisitions away from competing for titles in 2025-26. The Arsenal Women: A History of Dominance So far, I’ve focused on the men’s side because, until recently, that was the only Arsenal side that it was easy to follow from the US. That shouldn’t take away from the early commitment to and success in the women’s game at Arsenal. The Arsenal women’s team was founded in 1987 and have been historically dominant ever since. Their numbers are staggering (from their Wikipedia page): The club have won 15 league titles , 14 Women's FA Cups , 7 Women's League Cups , 10 Women's National League Cups , 5 Women's FA Community Shields . They are the only English club to win the UEFA Women's Champions League , having won in 2007 and 2025 . They are also the only English club to win the continental treble while going undefeated in all competitions played that same season. In the 2006–07 season, the club became the first in the history of women's football to achieve the continental European sextuple . The great news for Arsenal supporters in the US is that Arsenal’s women’s matches, specifically the Women’s Super League (the top women’s league in England) and the Women’s Champions League, are increasingly available to watch in the United States. Loudoun Soccer hosted a watch party at Anchor Bar last Spring for the Women’s Champions League final, where Arsenal defeated Barcelona for the right to call themselves champions of Europe. More watch parties for both the men's and women's sides are planned for 2025-26. A Local Connection In addition to their historical and recent success on the pitch, Arsenal boast Loudoun County native and US Women’s National Team defender Emily Fox as a key starter in their current squad. Ms. Fox was born and raised in Ashburn and attended Stone Bridge High School. From her local roots, she went on to the perennial collegiate powerhouse University of North Carolina Tarheels, where she appeared in two national championship games. She also earned multiple caps from the USWNT before becoming the first overall pick in the NWSL in 2021. Drafted by Racing Louisville, she played for two seasons before moving to the North Carolina Courage and winning an Olympic Gold Medal with the USWNT. In 2024, she transferred to Arsenal to rejoin former college teammates Alessia Russo and Lotte Wubben-Moy , winning the Women’s Champions League title in her first season at the club. If you’re looking for a reason to support Arsenal beyond the partnership between our clubs, I can think of few better than supporting a Loudoun County native who has already achieved so much in the game–with the promise of more to come! Wrapping Up Yes, I know that was a lot to cover, but what’s not to love? Loudoun Soccer has the great good fortune of partnering with a club that: Experienced historic success on both the men’s and women’s game in England and Europe; Boasts a history of recent success at the highest level on the women’s side; Features a strong trajectory on the men’s side, with Premier League and Champions League titles within reach as soon as the upcoming season; Built a strong academy program that has produced stars like Bukayo Saka, Serge Gnabry, and Myles Lewis-Skelly on the men’s side, and Alex Scott, Leah Williamson, and Lauren James on the women’s side–both with a great pipeline of talent close to breaking through; Features a local player as an integral starter on a championship side. Clearly, I’m biased, but I couldn’t think of a professional club better positioned to earn your interest and attention than Loudoun Soccer partner, Arsenal FC!
