Sam Dean’s ‘inside story’ is a thoughtful and revealing history of the fall and rise of Arsenal Football Club from the dark days at the end of Wenger’s long reign and Unai Emery’s brief tenure to the glory of our first premier league title in 22 years. It is clear that Dean has good access to Arsenal, which means there is insight from past and present members of staff, including the key figures in this story like Edu and Arteta. We learn a lot about Arteta the man, his motivational approach, determination and drive and, crucially, how the club – in particular Tim Lewis and Josh Kroenke – backed him even when things were not quite working out. In perhaps the most interesting section of the book Dean reminds us how fragile Arteta’s grip on his position was in those early days and how the club’s owners and board stayed patient and had faith in him. It is an object lesson for owners and supporters everywhere that sometimes it is necessary to ‘trust the process’ if you want to succeed. Dean sets out the importance of shifting out the playing staff on large wages who were underperforming, and of the success of the Hale End academy stars like Saka, Nwaneri, Smith-Rowe and Dowman that helped Arsenal fans reconnect with a club some had fallen out of love with. Edu, Ljungberg, and Mertesacker – none of whom won a medal for the 25/26 title victory – all played their part in it. There are lots of revealing moments in the book: how we almost missed out on Arteta, how City tried to highjack the Declan Rice transfer, why Mikel thinks the food scene in his native San Sebastian makes great football managers, even why the 8-2 thrashing by United in 2011 mattered. The planting of the olive tree and recruitment of Win at London Colney, Rambo vs Raya, and the difficult decision to let ESR go to Fulham, the importance of Berta, and the bitter rivalry with Manchester City. In 272 pages Sam Dean gives the reader a series of themed chapters that cover Arsenal’s transformation from a ‘ship of fools’ to Premier League Champions. For those of us who were along for the ride in Arteta’s boat this is a must-read reminder of everything we have been through and why, ultimately, we celebrated like mad last May.
Drew Gray, Chair of AISA (Arsenal Independent Supporters Association)