Things are starting to pick up at Arsenal HQ. David ‘Still a god who is Fabrizio anyway’ Ornstein has made the announcement that a new three-year deal has all but been inked.

The report on The Athletic had a few interesting tidbits.

1. The contract will ‘enable’ him to become the highest-paid player at the club. Enable suggests that there are some sexy bonuses involved, I’m not sure it means he’s going to be raking in the same takehome as Mesut.

2. The theme of the summer is that Arteta played a huge role in pulling the deal over the line. I told you way back when that he had the sauce and here we are. I’ve said many times over the years that big-name managers are not the only guys in the game with pull. Big ideas, attention to detail, and project energy can go a very long way. Auba looked very slumped shoulders in December.  Now he’s winning trophies and he looks like an icon. I am very, very happy that we have a coach that knows how to motivate and sell an exciting vision.

3. The article talks about his leadership. He’s a ‘by example’ kind of guy. It reads like the club is very much leaning on its older players to bring the promising batch of kids through the ranks. Auba will be an influencer on our striking talent, but according to the report, he’s also making time for Tierney and Pepe.

I definitely wanted to burn down the house this summer and start again, but I have to admit, I like the idea of keeping big players around to guide the youth coming through. David Luiz guiding Saliba and Gabriel is a good thing. Willian helping Saka, Reiss and Martinelli can only be a good thing. Auba, one of the best strikers in the game, leading our line, can only be a good thing.

This deal is absolutely huge for Arsenal. We’ve spent the last 5 years under a very dark cloud. We’ve been directionless on and off the pitch. We’ve had to question the motives of our execs like never before. All those issues have now been dealt with decisively.

We have one leader at exec level. We have a technical director free of negative influence. We have one of the best young coaches in world football. We kept our best player. We have the makings of a very, very, very good squad.

There’s still work to do. We need to address our midfield with an 8 and ideally a 6. We still need to shake free some of the deadwood. There must be a balancing of the books.

But the fundamentals are there… you haven’t been able to say that of Arsenal for a long time. Now watch this video to close out my emotionally charged piece about GETTING OUR ARSENAL BACK.

Wipe those tears you melt, it’s just a promotional video.

… but, you know, I do advertising for a living so let’s have a little chat about how fine this execution is.

It’s another 30-yard screamer in the 90th minute for me (Arsenal scoring).

The narrative for the 3rd kit, which I actually really like, is that we’re a family. I don’t know whether you could have posted a video like that 5 years ago. At the 3000 feet view, it’s a football story, at the super fandom level (using hacking technology to find out if Partey has a booking at Claridge’s), it’s basically reflective of how the fanbase has come together over the last 6 months.

I love the historical references. King Kanu making an appearance. I love that the Women’s team prominently featured again. I love the way the phone footage makes the piece feel intimate. I also like how Adidas is positioning Arteta as a star. They’re making a thing of his non-negotiables, just like me and you are doing so at work.

‘Billy, what have I told you about saying ‘thanks for reaching out’ in e-mails?’

‘You said it was a non-negotiable’

‘Pack your Zoom Billy, the internship is over’

Anyway, all these good feelings heading into the season are important. We need a great start. This is a confidence team. We need to turn good vibes into points, but I’m feeling good about that this year.

Still some work to be done in the transfer window, but overall, things are looking up.

What do you think of the shirts? Share in the comments.

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