SUNDAY, AUGUST 17: Head over to Anchor Bar for the Gunners' season opener v 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!

If you read my first post , you’ll know that I was planning a leisurely summer of introducing you to Arsenal and preparing to watch the upcoming men’s and women’s seasons. That’s still the plan, but the events of this past weekend are too important to Arsenal to maintain a slavish devotion to an editorial schedule of my own making. As I mentioned in my second post , many of the Arsenal women made their mark in the Women’s European Championships in Switzerland. While it was a fun tournament overall, the semi-finals and finals, with key performances from Arsenal players, were notable enough to elevate the tournament into an emergency column. (As an added bonus, I’ll throw in a few notes about the men’s pre-season results from their first two matches in Singapore.) Women’s Euro Headliners The setup for Sunday’s final had its roots in two matches: Spain’s Women’s World Cup win over England two summers ago, and Arsenal’s Champions League victory over Barcelona in May. Spain’s World Cup victory launched a potential dynasty on the international side, supplanting England’s Euro championship in 2022 as the most significant development in European women’s football. Spain’s World Cup winners were fueled by a core of players from Barcelona’s Champions League winners from 2022-23 and 2023-24. Arsenal, with a core of players from the England squad, faced an uphill battle in the Champions League final and never looked like the better team despite ultimately winning the match. The feel for the Euro Final was very much the same. Could England, with their Arsenal core, contain Spain with their Barcelona core? The match played out very much the same way as the Euro Final. Spain maintained most of the possession and looked like the better side, while England kept the ball out of the net and reduced Spain’s advantage to an academic one. Goals Straight from North London While Arsenal features six England players, their member on the Spanish side, Mariona Caldentey, was first on the scoreboard on Sunday. The former Barcelona forward’s tally came from a thundering header in the 25th minute. On the other side of halftime, it was Caldentey’s Arsenal teammates who crafted the equalizer. Chloe Kelly crossed for Alessia Russo, who went for placement rather than power with her header and found the back of the net behind Spanish keeper Cata Coll. The balance of the 90 minutes and both periods of extra time went by without another goal, setting up a penalty shootout for the title. Arsenal forwards Beth Mead and Caldentey both had penalty attempts saved along with Gunners defender Leah Williamson and two-time Balon D’Or winner Aitana Bonmati. After Salma Paraluello missed her kick wide it set up Gunner Chloe Kelly for the winner, which she dispatched with aplomb. Between the honors earned by Spain and Barcelona, there is no denying their quality, but the England side, powered by a core of Arsenal players, are now two-time defending European Champions to go along with the Gunners' Champions League title. The Arsenal women have consistently displayed the mentality necessary to prevail on the biggest stage against incredibly talented opponents. Notes from Singapore While the Women’s Euros were playing out in Switzerland, the men traveled to Asia to start their pre-season schedule. Pre-season matches, by their nature, are disjointed and don’t make for the best entertainment because coaches are getting players into shape, trying combinations and tactics, and rotating 22+ players into a 90-minute match that usually only accommodates 13 or 14 players. Despite those realities, there were some positive takeaways worth passing along: Everyone Stayed Healthy. Job one in pre-season is to get everyone to the first match of the season in good health. The Arsenal men’s team has come through the first two matches in good shape. We’re still waiting to see a few players for the first time, with Gabriel and Jurian Timber still recovering from injuries late last season, and new arrivals Noni Madueke and Viktor Gyokeres not yet with the team. Otherwise, everyone is training and playing in the pre-season. Zubimendi Impresses. Martin Zubimendi is the rare case of a high-level international player whose move was completed early in the transfer window, and who didn’t have any summer obligations for his country. As a result, he was available to participate in Arsenal’s entire pre-season program. On early evidence, he is going to be a great addition. He isn’t going to show up in many highlight packages, but he is assured on the ball, and kept the attack moving in the half he played against each of AC Milan and Newcastle. One for the Future. Arsenal’s academy has been producing talent at a high level recently, with Bukayo Saka, Myles Lewis-Skelly, and Ethan Nwaneri the highest profile graduates currently starring with the first team. The next in line may well be Max Dowman. Participating in his first pre-season with the first team, the 15-year-old has very much looked the part against high level opposition. His first appearance against Milan showed some flashes without any end product, but his second appearance against Newcastle saw the precocious teen draw a penalty and force a strong save from the Magpies’ goalkeeper. It is probably too much to expect a significant role in Premier League and Champions League action for Dowman this season, but he’ll be one of the main reasons I tune in to watch their early round League Cup and FA Cup matches. He looks like he might be another special player coming off the Colney assembly line. Next up for the men will be the first North London Derby played outside of the UK, as Arsenal face off against Tottenham from Hong Kong on Thursday, July 31 at 7:30 AM Eastern Time.

There's a Lot Going On in the Offseason While summer is technically the "offseason" for Premier League and Women’s Super League teams, that doesn’t mean that nothing is happening. For club teams, the summer is about a few things for both the men’s and women’s sides: International tournaments Player movement Kit releases Pre-season tours This week, we’ll look at each of the above from an Arsenal perspective for both the men and the women. International Tournaments Because Arsenal did not qualify for the new version of the Club World Cup, there wasn’t a great deal happening on the pitch for the men this summer. Mikel Merino and new signing Martin Zubimendi featured for Spain in the UEFA Nations League final in early June. Gabriel Martinelli played for Brazil at about the same time in the CONMEBOL version. Beyond those couple of matches, the summer was a rare time to rest and recover between the end of one Premier League season and the start of the next. The summer has been more active for many of the Arsenal women. The Women’s Euros are being held this month in Switzerland and Arsenal are well represented, with twelve players being called up to represent their countries. Here are the Arsenal players competing and which country they are representing: England: Michelle Agyemang, Chloe Kelly, Beth Mead, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Alessia Russo, Leah Williamson Netherlands: Victoria Pelova, Daphne van Domselaar Norway: Frida Maanum Spain: Mariona Caldentey Sweden: Stina Blackstenius Switzerland: Lia Walti For those interested in watching, Women’s Euro matches are being televised in the US by Fox (mostly on FS1). Player Movement With the men’s and women’s sides having finished last season second in the Premier League and Women’s Super League respectively, this is an important summer for both when it comes to strengthening their squads as they look to move up a spot in the standings in 2025-26. Player movement in club soccer is a little different from American sports. There are no drafts, and there are rarely trades. Players are typically acquired in cash, or as free agents when their contracts expire. Players can be bought and sold during the so-called “transfer window” from July 1st through August 31st, as well as the “January window” which offers a mid-season opportunity to adjust rosters. Despite the summer window being less than half way through, both the Arsenal men and women have been busy with both headline-grabbing moves, as well as smaller ones to build depth. Here’s a rundown for each side: Men’s Transfers Mikel Arteta’s side entered the transfer window knowing that it was going to lose Jorginho and Tomas Partey at the base of midfield, Neto as a second choice goalkeeper, and Takehiro Tomiyasu as a utility defender. They also had a big gap at the center forward position where Gabriel Jesus has struggled with injuries and Kai Havertz and Mikel Merino were more makeshift solutions rather than first choice. Beyond those clear needs, there was a desire to improve depth across a squad that showed cracks when injuries hit key starters like Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, William Saliba, and Gabriel last season. New Sporting Director Andrea Berta has come in and gotten to work quickly to address his “to-do” list. Here’s a quick summary of confirmed arrivals for the 2025-26 season: Martin Zubimendi: This one has been percolating for over a year with Mikel Arteta looking to bring in his countryman to control the base of midfield for the Gunners. Zubimendi is not going to be a flashy presence but has a reputation for being in the right place at the right time to snuff out trouble and then making the right passes to get the ball out of danger and where it needs to be to start an attack. His presence should allow Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice to play further up the pitch without worrying about leaving gaps behind them. Victor Gyökeres: Since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left the club in 2022, Arsenal have been looking for a top-level center forward. In Victor Gyökeres they may have finally gotten their man. A late bloomer, Gyökeres broke out as a 23-year-old in the Championship scoring 17 and 21 goals for Coventry City which earned him a move to Sporting Lisbon where he absolutely exploded with 68 goals in 66 Premeira Liga matches over the past two seasons. The move from the Portuguese first division to the Premier League is not to be dismissed but Gyökeres has also been prolific for Sweden in international play (10 goals in six matches) and in the Champions League for Sporting (6 goals and 2 assists in eight matches). Both fast and powerful, Gyökeres will be counted on to lead Arsenal’s attack for the foreseeable future. Noni Madueke: The good news is that Bukayo Saka is one of the biggest young stars in world football. The bad news is that while he seems super-human at times, he can go down to injury as he did for a significant chunk of the second half of last season. Enter Noni Madueke. The 23-year-old winger can play on either wing but, as a left-footer like Saka, is likely to play on the right more frequently as Saka does. That he is being brought in as depth shouldn’t cast shade on the player so much as highlight Arsenal’s desire to have depth in top level talent. Madueke scored seven goals and added three assists across 32 matches in the Premier League last season and has represented England at every age level, including seven appearances for the senior national team. Christian Norgaard: The 31-year-old Danish holding midfielder arrives from Brentford as an experienced Premier League campaigner who can play a role when called on, provide leadership in the locker room, and be counted on not to understand that Zubimendi and Rice are ahead of him in the pecking order for minutes in midfield. This isn’t the type of transfer that makes headlines but is one that can save a match or even a season if the injury bug strikes. Kepa Arrizabalaga: Arsenal’s new second choice goalkeeper holds the distinction of being the most expensive goalkeeper in football history when he made his move from Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea in 2018. While that move didn’t move out as Chelsea had hoped, Kepa is more than qualified as a back-up for David Raya and comes much cheaper this time around. Still only 30, Arrizabalaga has been selected for the Spanish national team 13 times and has won the Champions League twice, the Europa League, La Liga, and the UEFA Nations League among other titles. Cristhian Mosquera: Nominated for 2024 Golden Boy award given to the best young player in Europe, Mosquera represents depth at center back immediately and a potential replacement for William Saliba should the Frenchman decide to leave the club at some point. In addition to the six players above arriving, there is plenty of talk about further activity as Arsenal continue to look to strengthen the squad as they look to close the gap between themselves and 2024-25 title-winner Liverpool. Women’s Transfers Not to be outdone by their male counterparts, the Arsenal women have been busy acquiring talent in an effort to build on their second place finish in the Super League, as well as defending their Champions League crown. Their initial forays into the market were of the lower profile variety, but the third week of July saw them break the women’s transfer record to bring in 20-year-old Canadian national team forward Olivia Smith from Liverpool. Here’s a look at the new players that have been confirmed so far this summer: Olivia Smith: At age 20 and already the veteran of three seasons as a professional, Olivia Smith was Liverpool’s top scorer in her lone season on Merseyside and was voted the Reds Players Player of the Season last term. The youngest player ever to play for Canada at 15 years and 94 days, she has scored 4 times in 18 matches for her country after a prolific 22 goals in 22 appearances at the U20 level. Taylor Hinds: England-born Jamaican international Hinds played at Arsenal as a youth player and is returning to the club after two seasons at Everton and five at Liverpool. The left back was a vice captain at Liverpool for multiple seasons and has captained the club on occasion. Hinds arrives on a free transfer after her contract at Anfield expired and will likely start her second stint at Arsenal as a reserve. Chloe Kelly: Another Arsenal youth product who left the club only to rejoin, Kelly actually returned to Arsenal ahead of last season on loan from Manchester City. She started eight matches in the Super League, scoring twice, and started five times in the Champions League, including the final. With the expiration of her contract at Manchester City at the end of her loan period, Kelly has elected to rejoin Arsenal on a free transfer. Kelly and fellow returnee Taylor Hinds came through the youth ranks at Arsenal together and were teammates at Everton. Anneke Borbe: Despite being relatively young for a goalkeeper at 24, Borbe has been playing professionally in Germany for eight years. Borbe has been up and down between Germany’s top two leagues with Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg, and has featured 87 times between the two clubs in her eight seasons. Her 2024-25 Wolfsburg side made it as far as the quarter finals of the Champions League. She has also been selected for Germany at multiple youth levels. One for the future, Borbe arrives on a free transfer and will likely start her Arsenal career as a reserve. As with the men, there is certainly time for more new players to arrive. The fact that three of the four new arrivals so far have been free agents means that there may be some budget left for another higher profile arrival or two. Kit Releases It used to be that soccer clubs, like most American sports, changed their kits infrequently and, when they did, only made minor alterations. Those days are long gone, yielding to a cycle where clubs release three kits - home, away, and a third - each year along with a training range or two and a variety of other options for the supporter who wants to show their allegiance. As an Arsenal supporter of many years, I have my favorites and some that I am not as fond of but this year is off to a solid start. Here is right back Jurrian Timber unboxing Arsenal’s new home kit . The home kit rarely strays too far from Arsenal’s traditional red torso with white sleeves and this season is no exception. The differences from year-to-year tend to be in the details when it comes to the home kit. The away kit tends to provide more flexibility for designers as Arsenal have used a variety of secondary colors as the basis for the away kit. Blue has figured heavily into the away kit from the earliest days of the club having multiple kits and this season adds heavy graphical elements. Here is a video of a number of players unboxing the new away kit . The third kit will be announced later in the summer, and from what I’ve seen via unofficial leaks on the interwebs is correct, it is going to be gorgeous. Pre-Season Tour Finally, to wrap up our guide to all things Arsenal over the summer, we arrive at the club’s pre-season tour. Global soccer clubs, recognizing a chance to expand their fan bases outside of their home countries, have turned their pre-season into a combination of training and goodwill-building tours, with the US, Asia, and Australia being popular destinations. Over the past two summers, DC’s Audi Field has hosted both the men—facing off against the MLS All-Stars in the summer of 2023, and the women—who played Chelsea’s side in a doubleheader that also featured the Washington Spirit and Kansas City Current. This season sees the Arsenal Men traveling to Singapore and Hong Kong where they will play AC Milan (July 23rd), Newcastle United (July 27th), and rival Tottenham Hotspur (July 31st). The Arsenal Women, at least those not participating in the Euros, have just returned to training outside of London and have yet to announce any pre-season friendlies or tour plans.

We are pleased to introduce the "LoCo Gunners Blog," a weekly(-ish) rumination on all things Arsenal in Loudoun County. Each installment by long-time fan and Loudoun Soccer Board Member Neal Thurman provides families and fans with his perspective on all things Arsenal, at home and abroad.

Check them out HERE ! Thanks to our Uniform Sponsors: Michael & Son , Patient First , and NSMI !

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