We all know what to expect from the All or Nothing franchise at this point. For all the epic narration, slo-mo fan shots and emotionally overblown moments of jeopardy, this is essentially carefully curated and thoroughly sanitised PR which requires the acquiescence of the clubs involved and, as such, cannot afford to transgress the boundaries of what they consider acceptable.
Arsenal are more protective of their image than most, which doesn’t bode well for great entertainment. Ultimately, anyone coming to All or Nothing: Arsenal in the hope of a John Sitton-style “bring yer f______ dinner” outburst or a Graham Taylor-esque “can we not knock it?” freak-out will be disappointed.
There are moments where things promise to get interesting. Bukayo Saka talking about being spotted by Arsenal as a kid and holding onto the scout’s card given to his parents like a precious gem; Aaron Ramsdale opening up on dealing with the abuse he received on social media after arriving at the Emirates with multiple relegations on his CV; Kieran Tierney discussing his working-class upbringing in Motherwell, the homesickness when he swapped Celtic for Arsenal and subsequent lows for his mental health.
There are touching moments, too, such as when cameras follow Ramsdale’s family through his Premier League debut for the club against Norwich. While his dad swears his head off throughout the match, his mum wonders: “How does he feel? I mean, I know he’s buzzing, but good god.”
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FA to recognise 1972 Lionesses as England fixture against world champions USA confirmed02 August, 2022Ramsdale, Tierney and shy newcomer Nuno Tavares make for interesting characters behind the scenes, with the latter, now on loan at Marseille, making a fast start in the club before a slump in form leads him to make the telling admission: “I think about my mistakes, because that’s what stays in my head, not the good things I do on the pitch.”
There are intriguing glimpses of the players working with Carlos Cuesta, Arsenal’s individual development coach and a lesser-known member of Mikel Arteta’s backroom staff, with one chat with Saka threatening to turn into effective social commentary when Cuesta says: “There is a story behind everybody. How many times do we, or society in general, criticise or judge without knowing that this person is doing their best?”
Mainly, though, the series brushes over deep insight in favour of broad narrative strokes and motivational platitudes. The first episode touches on fan protests at the club following Arsenal’s involvement with the attempted European Super League breakaway, but singularly fails to explain why that was seen as such a betrayal of the club’s values and indeed the entire domestic game.
It quickly segues to Josh Kroenke, Arsenal director and son of owner Stan Kroenke, talking about bumps in the road and “winning back trust”. The fact that he resists using the phrase “teachable moment” is his only saving grace.
Inevitably, Arteta takes up a huge amount of screen time. While Saka and Granit Xhaka both rave about his tactical genius – the latter calling him “a freak, but in a positive way – this rarely gets more in-depth than fleeting mentions of his pressing structure or positional demands which, given the growing appetite for serious tactical analysis, seems like a shame.
Otherwise, the manager’s behind-the-scenes interviews are as guarded as his press conferences. The word “passion” is repeated endlessly in conversation with players and during dressing-room monologues, while there is also a lot of talk about positivity, self-belief and having a winning mentality which, without the accompanying tactical attention to detail, all begins to feel a bit live, laugh, love.
There is also a lot of talk about pressure and external negativity, with the media coming in for a lot of flak. No doubt some of it is well deserved. At times, though, it feels like an attempt to create a siege mentality when, in fact, Arsenal’s struggles are largely self-inflicted.
After losing the opening three games of the season to Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester City respectively – not helped by a Covid outbreak which disrupts his preparations – Arteta has a moment of self-reflection which feels much more meaningful. “In difficult moments you question yourself, you have fears, difficult things happen in your mind,” he says. “Can I turn it around? Do I have the energy today to go back tomorrow and transmit what I have to transmit? How are we going to do it? Are people going to believe in what we are doing?”
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under Arteta does not lend itself easily to the All or Nothing format. If All or Nothing: Manchester City was All and All or Nothing: Tottenham was Nothing, then this tale of a group of promising young players coming close but eventually falling short of their ambitions falls somewhere in between. Unfortunately, Something, But We’re Not Really Sure What Yet: Arsenal doesn’t have the same ring to it.
When Amazon Studios are willing to trust the process, embrace that kind of messiness and possibly even take people outside of their comfort zone, maybe they will produce a genuinely great football documentary.
The first three episodes of All or Nothing: Arsenal are available to stream on Amazon Prime on Thursday 4 August
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