The buzz of excitement at the prospect of Arsenal getting the Amazon Prime ‘All or Nothing’ treatment was born from both intrigue and pure terror. The latter grew after the conclusion of a season whereby, despite the prospect of a surprise fourth-place finish, the Gunners just missed out to the worst of opponents.
However, the state of the squad after a strong transfer window this summer coinciding with the release of the All or Nothing series’ release has given Arsenal fans a new perspective to go into the revealing documentary. And it is revealing.
Having seen the first three episodes and without revealing fine details that you will be able to enjoy yourself, the early stages of this nine-part deep dive into Arsenal certainly does give plenty. Aaron Ramsdale told football.london in a conversation about the series that he hoped it would reveal the human element of the team.
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"How hard it is to be a footballer," Ramsdale answered the question regarding his hopes for what fans see and understand whilst watching. "One of the best jobs in the world but one of the worst at the same time.
"Don't get me wrong, this isn't me preaching to be like 'Oh everyone feel sorry for us' but time away from families, young girls, kids etc which Granit [Xhaka] has, and living out of a suitcase, travelling. The stress you put on yourself, the stress you have in terms of the fanbase and like you say, it's one weekend it's the best job in the world, and you're living on cloud nine and winning games and the next week you lose against a team you shouldn't lose to and its doom and gloom.
"I just hope what comes out they get to see that, we are all just human, that you get to see us enjoying ourselves, but at times we are suffering, you know, together and we're suffering together. That's probably the hardest thing, trying to get out.
"Everyone thinks football is easy. You go on the pitch for two-three hours. You go home, you know it's just not like that, you're travelling 24/7, you're in the gym, meetings like I said it's not me moaning we want some sympathy it's just the facts of the job."
Ramsdale is a heavy feature of the early episodes, and he will be pleased to learn that the side beyond what is seen on the field and in the weekly interviews is certainly shown. Not just for the goalkeeper but the wider squad.
The series is not afraid to highlight the uncomfortable side of the game. From abuse online to the vocal and angry fan opinions, both verbalised and written.
Whilst at the same time showing what the fans' actions mean to the players. The response to Bukayo Saka's penalty miss in the European Championship final being a catalyst for this.
One of the highlights of the series is the coverage of the Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang captaincy controversy shown in the trailers. Those perhaps more perceptive will notice an incident earlier in the campaign which highlights the former Arsenal striker's behaviour regarding the coach just a couple of months prior to his eventual removal as captain and subsequent exit.
The elusive ownership of Arsenal, headed up by Stan Kroenke, who has not been present in the opening episodes, is fronted, as expected, by his son Josh. It is interesting to see his conversations not only with Arteta and technical director Edu but also with the players to some degree.
Mikel Arteta, though, quickly becomes the protagonist of the season. Hardly surprising considering how Jose Mourinho featured so prominently in the Tottenham series, with Pep Guardiola also a prominent part of the Manchester City version.
Arteta is seen by fans on the touchline, in the press room, and if we're lucky, in behind-the-scenes clips put out by the club. This series shows more to the man.
It shows his values and passion and details the methods behind his decision-making. But most of all, it unravels what fans have so far not seen, and that is who he truly is as a coach.
There are surprises early on and, as has been shown with the early released clip of his pre-match team talk for the Norwich City game, an insight into the more human tactics that he deploys with the squad. In addition to this, there are plenty of outside-of-the-box techniques which vary in success.
However, a weakness is how quickly the series goes into the new season with little-to-no coverage of the fallout from the previous campaign and the early transfer business. Similarly to the Tottenham version, the coverage throws you immediately into the first few games, with the second half of the season expected to take up the bulk of the nine episodes.
That said, ultimately, from what we have seen so far, supporters will be in for the most in-depth and behind-the-scenes look at the modern iteration of Arsenal Football Club. It is revealing and, quite impressively, honest from what has been observed.
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