Arsenal Have Entered a New Era

What the recent shakeup at the board level means for the Gunners' trajectory.

Recently, my wife and I engaged in something of a light purge around the house. For similar reasons involving family members who lived in monuments to clutter paralysis that became increasingly uncomfortable for their loved ones to bear witness to, we are both deathly afraid of becoming hoarders. And although our home is relatively spacious compared to your typical D.C. apartment, we’d hit the point where knick-knacks were falling off our desks and we had to get creative about finding room in our dresser and closets. It was time for a little reset.

So we set about gathering items to donate or otherwise responsibly dispose of. One of our old Nespresso machines was given to my father to use in his office, the other was taken to the nearest Best Buy for their electronics recycling program to handle. An old bar cart was loaded into the car to deliver to Goodwill, along with the barely functional SodaStream that once sat on it. And I had to say goodbye to some old clothing — there was a Better Call Saul-themed printed tee that was the ugliest shade of yellow imaginable (think slightly radioactive urine), a gold zip-up jacket that had started to fade in patches because of the cheap fabric it was constructed from, and a pair of checkered sweatpants I had only worn once because they were two sizes too big. All of those pieces, along with years of free swag from college and grad school, were unceremoniously loaded into a garbage bag and donated as well. But I refused to get rid of my Arsenal shirts, as well as a prized graphic T-shirt of mine that depicts the Grim Reaper standing on a surfboard while catching a wave, with the image captioned, “Dude was totally killing it.” Needless to say, the latter has earned me a free espresso shot here and there at various coffeeshops.

What am I getting at here? Well, every single one of those items I removed from my home was, at one point or another, something I cherished and enjoyed. Okay, maybe not the checkered sweatpants, but definitely everything else. I made countless iced lattes using both of those Nespresso machines. The bar cart served as a makeshift island in the kitchen of the first apartment my wife and I lived in together while holding multiple gadgets and appliances. The graphic tees now probably on a rack somewhere miles away from me were a staple of my wardrobe back in the day.

But everything has its time, and eventually that time is over. Even if nothing’s wrong per se, even if something still feels like it’s working, eventually the right moment to move on presents itself. Everything in life has its phases. Arsenal Football Club are no different.

A little under a month ago, David Ornstein of The Athletic reported that Tim Lewis has departed his post at Arsenal in a “shock boardroom revamp”. He was offered a non-executive position according to James McNicholas, but declined the demotion. The corporate-level shakeup also saw Richard Garlick take over as the club’s CEO. Additionally, Kelly Blaha, the current Senior Vice President of Sports Finance at Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, and Otto Maly, former Vice President of Development at The Kroenke Group, joined the board as Non-Executive Directors alongside Dave Steiner (not to be confused with the United States’ current Postmaster General), a longtime adviser to KSE, and Ben Winston, a decorated Hollywood producer and director who is also a lifelong Gooner.

Before we delve into what the new additions mean, I just want to say a few words about Tim Lewis and his contributions to the club. Without him, Stan and Josh Kroenke may never have gotten involved with Arsenal, as he advised them through multiple steps of acquisition of the club starting nearly 20 years ago. Lewis himself, a former partner at the prestigious law firm Clifford Chance, joined as a Non-Executive Director in the summer of 2020. At the time, the Gunners were a ship that needed righting.

And for the most part, I think Lewis has been a force for good in that regard. He helped drive an internal investigation into Arsenal’s recruitment immediately upon his arrival that saw Head of Football Raul Sanllehi step down. Lewis was part of the leadership group that helped steer the club through the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic and played an important role in refinancing the club’s debt. He was a key cog in Arsenal’s much more disciplined recruitment machinery of recent years, whose green light was typically required ahead of the signing of a new first-team player. Not only did he represent the Kroenkes’ interests internally, but he has also been an advocate behind the scenes for Arteta, Edu, and Andrea Berta. His relationship with Steve Parrish was crucial in beating Spurs to Eberechi Eze’s signature. And perhaps most significantly, Lewis was a staunch supporter of financial fair play rules that keep nation-state-owned clubs from truly running amok.

Over the course of his tenure, he unfortunately developed a reputation online of being a stingy curmudgeon who would shoot down player acquisitions, particularly in the wake of Arsenal’s signing-less January window earlier this year. Like many widespread perceptions of public figures on social media, I think it’s a bit harsh. But ultimately, that’s what Lewis was there to do — to balance progress with pragmatism, and to help create a corporate environment that could allow Arsenal Football Club to go from laughingstock to gold standard of the sport. I figure such a job requires you to occasionally make unpopular decisions.

I’ve seen speculation that Lewis may have departed because a reportedly abrupt and curt personality had eventually overstayed its welcome. Perhaps that’s the case. Even Henry Winter was apparently willing to come out publicly and say he didn’t particularly care for the man. After all, we’re talking about a guy who rose to the top of big law, a setting that is inherently adversarial, competitive to the point of being occasionally cutthroat, and not all too focused on fostering comradery. But personally — and I understand that I say this as someone who was nowhere near being in the room in which these decisions were made — I think Lewis left because it was the right time, because he righted the ship as he was asked to do and that has allowed Arsenal to move into a new era of the club’s history.

Think about the moment Arsenal are in right now. They have finished second in the Premier League in three consecutive seasons. Last season the Gunners reached the semifinals of the Champions League, a year after making the quarterfinals of that competition. And yet, they appear to still be on an upward trajectory, with a squad packed with stars in their early- to mid-20s, led by an elite manager who is still only 43 years old. In addition, they now have a sporting director who has shown that he can manage the squad astutely and make the most of his resources. Off the pitch, the club are pulling in record profits are announcing new, highly profitable sponsorship and partnership deals on a regular basis. Arsenal’s brand is a global one — for evidence of that, look no further than their reception on preseason tours in opposite ends of the world over the last few summers. This is an already massive club that is ready to explode even further in stature.

To that end, KSE have seemingly increased their influence at Arsenal. Blaha and Steiner likely represent more experienced hands at the wheel that know how to stably guide a sports franchise to success; lest we forget, the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Rams, and Colorado Avalanche (all owned by KSE) have won championships within the last few years. In addition to that, Josh Kroenke himself is set to have a more hands-on role at the club. He’ll probably take over Lewis’ old supervisory role, but his involvement will also help streamline Arsenal’s recruitment process and allow them to act that extra bit quicker in the transfer market. It has the feel of the owners making another significant push in the hopes of glory and maintaining the current high status.

But on top of simply getting over the line in terms of silverware, I think these boardroom changes indicate something more: a target of making Arsenal commercial titans in football. To me, the appointments of Maly and Winston signal this aim in particular. Let’s start with Maly. For some time now, the idea of an expansion for the Emirates Stadium appears to have been very much on the cards. In 2024, Josh Kroenke revealed that preliminary discussions had taken place regarding such an undertaking. Since then, it has emerged that Arsenal are targeting a final capacity of 75,000 to 80,000 at the ground. In recent weeks, reports have surfaced describing various renovations the club might opt for, as well as one avenue that sees them use Wembley Stadium as their home ground for a season or two.

A renovation to update the Emirates makes a lot of sense. Next summer, Arsenal’s current residence will turn 20 years old. And in recent years, other clubs around the Gunners have sprung for (or in some cases, been gifted) improvements at their current grounds or new arenas altogether. Spurs, Everton, and West Ham now play their football in new homes while Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, Fulham, and Manchester City are currently pushing ahead with expansion plans. The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium stands out in particular, unfortunately serving as a shining example in terms of matchday experience and functionality as a multi-purpose entertainment venue (more on this in a second).

As we all know, the demand for admission to Arsenal matches is off the charts these days. You have to have a season ticket, be extremely lucky, or know the right people to consistently make it to the Emirates. It’s not hard to see an opportunity for the club to capitalize off this current popularity by adding more seats and therefore more tickets, concessions, and merchandise at the Armoury, to sell. This is where the experience of Maly, currently the President and Director of Special Projects for Kroenke Holdings and in possession of decades of knowledge regarding real estate investments and projects, will likely come in handy.

But I think there is potentially another level to what Arsenal could do with a new-and-improved Emirates Stadium. Not only could it become a top-of-the-line matchday experience, but it could be more: a five-star entertainment venue that hosts concerts, shows, and all sorts of spectacular events. Look at what goes on at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — concerts headlined by Beyoncé and Gorillaz, several NFL games a year, and an F1 go-karting track. And that brings us to Ben Winston.

A quick Google search reveals that Winston is a highly decorated Hollywood producer. The 44-year-old boasts 13 Emmy awards, 33 nominations, and executive producer credits for projects such as The Late Late Show with James Corden, The Kardashians, and The Grammy Awards. He also executive produced and director the Friends reunion special, which became the most-viewed show in the history of both Sky One and HBO Max.

But I think the more relevant part of Winston’s resume here is his track record with music specials. The new Non-Executive Director has previously created and produced music specials for Bruno Mars, Harry Styles, Elton John, Sam Smith, Adele, Justin Bieber, Kacey Musgraves, Ben Platt, Gary Barlow, and Shawn Mendes, for networks and streaming services including CBS, Apple, Disney+, Netflix, ITV, and Amazon. He also oversaw the production of Global Citizen: Mandela 100, a 10-hour broadcast from South Africa featuring Beyonce and Jay-Z. One of the specials he was involved in, Adele One Night Only, was the highest-rated entertainment show on network television in 2022.

Hosting concerts and live shows at the Emirates Stadium is one thing, and a pretty significant thing at that. But instead of letting the revenue for those events be capped at the admission prices and concession sales related solely to the attendees within the venue, I think Arsenal have realized they can go an extra step further. They can rope in a big distributor like Netflix or Disney and turn these comparatively exclusive events into globally broadcasted extravaganzas, reaping in big paydays from those deals as well as additional advertising or sponsorship revenue.

With that in mind, it’s honestly a monumental stroke of luck that perhaps the best in the business at producing these sorts of events is an Arsenal season ticket holder. It’s very easy to envision Winston in his new role making use of his expertise and industry connections to orchestrate and bring live events of award-winning quality to Ashburton Grove, beamed to screens all over the world from a freshly refurbished Emirates. Imagine — “21 Savage at the Emirates Stadium”, “Dua Lipa Live from N5”, or “Celeste: A Night in North London”, broadcast on Apple TV, Amazon, or Netflix. It would be a cash cow for Arsenal. They would be on their way to matching the innovation and revenue that Spurs, as much as it pains me to say, have derived from their new home.

But there’s one more part to this that I think is important to mention: Garlick taking over as CEO of the club. It’s a big change. And I think the effect of that change is one that won’t just be felt by Arsenal, but by the Premier League in general.

As the new CEO, Garlick will most likely represent Arsenal in meetings with the other 19 clubs in the English top flight. One topic that is sure to be the crux of many of those meetings will be financial rules for Premier League teams. Previously, it was Lewis who represented the Gunners before the rest of the league. During his tenure, the Kroenkes’ right-hand man would acted as a vocal supporter of financial fair play within the Premier League; he endorsed PSR regulations, lobbied against the acquisition of teams by nation-states or their surrogates, and advocated for rules preventing associated party transactions. But as noted before, the word out there is that he wasn’t universally popular.

Garlick strikes me as someone much more affable and capable of earning favor from other club representatives. He’s described by his peers as a cool and calm negotiator, and his appearances on camera in club (and Amazon) media make him seem like a pretty agreeable guy. And I think, as the league finds itself in a moment when clubs are choosing sides, either allying themselves with clubs backed by sovereign countries (or those sovereign nations themselves) or standing against those thumbs on the scale, Arsenal believe Garlick is the man to help them win that battle. Through Lewis, the Gunners made it clear which side they’re on, but perhaps through Garlick the Kroenkes are aiming to bring more clubs to that side. Or at least, they like their chances of Garlick being able to strike up useful partnerships as they fight to make sure endless money can’t just be pumped into the likes of Chelsea and City.

And with what they aim to achieve in this new era for the club, of course Arsenal would make efforts to ensure their hard work isn’t for naught. Over the next several years, the club will probably embark on a significant renovation of the Emirates, a reinvention of the stadium’s uses beyond the typical matchday, and likely other projects as well. Despite those endeavors being in the name of self-sustainability, they are massive, expensive undertakings. The Kroenkes will want to protect their investment and do all they can to prevent it from being nullified by loopholes and alleged self-dealing perpetrated by their rivals.

So Maly will help decide the future of the Emirates Stadium. Winston will fill that venue with more than just football. And will set about making friends in the right places so that Arsenal don’t see their hard work spoiled by PSR violations or APTs. Sure, Arsenal have had to say goodbye to someone who was a large part of their day-to-day. But such is life. It has its different eras, and they all have their beginnings and ends. And right now, we’re witnessing the beginning of a new one.

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