The final episodes of All or Nothing: Arsenal have been released and we bring you the best talking points from an emotional end to the docu-series.
It’s been a great watch so far as we got more insight into the club’s 2021/22 season and a close-up look at the events that take place off the pitch. We’ve done our reviews on the first three episodes as well as episodes four to six. Although, none could have been more painful to watch than the concluding ones.
As we knew it would be, it was hard to watch the final two episodes. To relive the team getting so close to sealing Champions League football only to miss out to Tottenham was quite hard to take.
Without trying to sulk too much, let’s get into the major talking points from the concluding episodes.
Players want to play – but it can not always be the case
The latter episodes gave a closer insight at fringe members of the squad, with Eddie Nketiah, Rob Holding and Mohamed Elneny taking centre stage. It seemed like Nketiah was on his way out of the club but injuries afforded him a chance to get a regular run of games.
These three stepped up in the business end of the season and deserve a lot of credit for their performances. Eddie, in particular, was showing genuine frustration over not playing like the other two, but it was awesome to see his perspective and watch him get his chance.
A sustained run of goals, including braces against Chelsea and Southampton changed his fortunes and ultimately saw him rewarded with a long-term contract at the club. Rob Holding also got his first Premier League goal after six years of waiting so it did work out for them, right?
Mikel Arteta takes a page from Thomas Edison
Some have criticized the producers for often leaving Arteta out to dry in some of the moments captured. One of those moments came when Arteta attempted to prepare his players for the Liverpool challenge at Anfield by getting staff to blare out You’ll Never Walk Alone from speakers while they train. It didn’t work out well as Arsenal went on to suffer a 4-0 defeat.
And in the penultimate episode, Arteta attempts to another ‘bizarre’ idea, using Thomas Edison’s invention of the lightbulb as inspiration for his players, and trying to get his players all ‘connected’.
“Edison invented the lightbulb,” Arteta begins, a lightbulb in hand as a sheepish staff member flicks the switch. “Today, I want to see a team that is connected because a bulb by himself is nothing. I want to see a team that is connected with each other and that shines.” Addressing individual players, he adds: “You want to transmit to him light and energy and passion!”
Arsenal went on to lose 2-1 and that will surely further question Arteta’s use of unorthodox ideas to motivate his players.
North London Forever
Hearing Lewis Dunford’s “The Angel” at the Emirates live was a brilliant moment. It was even better to see the behind-the-scenes footage of Arteta bringing it to the players first before having it played before matches was fantastic.
It further pushed the idea that the manager is re-establishing the connection between players and supporters.
Lewis’ emotional reaction to his song being played in the stadium was incredible and we can expect to hear more of that as time goes by.
Players are as disappointed as fans
Arsenal fans suffered from the end-of-season culmination but the footage showed us that the players had it even worse. At one point, the narrator described the atmosphere at London Colney as ‘silent as a graveyard’ and this came after successive defeats to Crystal Palace, Brighton and Southampton.
We can now cut these players some slack as they even have it worse than fans.
FINAL VERDICT: A SEASON OF PROGRESS
It was disappointing to see Arsenal come so close and lose it at the final stages but the players, Mikel Arteta and club director Josh Kroenke all agreed that the 2021/22 season was a step in the right direction.
The disappointment from last season is now expected to fuel the players to do even better after a positive start to the 2022/2023 campaign.