It turns out that this is one of the least significant conversations of the week for Mikel Arteta.
The Arsenal manager pauses for a chat near the edge of a pond that runs through the surreal sprawl of Universal Studios. His most urgent commitments have been behind closed doors.
In recent days, Arteta has been finalizing the signing of Oleksandr Zinchenko. Technical director Edu arrived in Orlando while they plan more comings and goings. Stan and Josh Kroenke were also in town briefly.
The owners have invested heavily to correct the mistakes of last season, when Arsenal threw away Champions League football. And they met the manager at a crucial point in his tenure.
Mikel Arteta has been busy this summer negotiating Arsenal’s incoming and outgoing players.
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“I’m really impressed,” says Arteta. “They were here for two days, we had a lot of time to sit in a very relaxed way: talk about football, about sport in general.
‘Their vision, commitment and level of understanding of sport in general is fascinating.
“I can tell you: I have never seen a property at that level so committed, close and committed to taking this club to where we want.”
It’s a bold statement considering that Arteta has been at some of the biggest clubs in Europe.
And when you flip through recent history. After all, it has been little more than a year since simmering riots at the property turned into raging protests and thousands of supporters gathered outside the Emirates to demand regime change.
The club’s failed attempt to join the European Super League was merely the spark that reddened the north London sky with smoke.
“I think that before we could have a perception of what they were,” says Arteta.
“I think it has changed completely, I think that has been shown with facts and acts. His presence here too. Something is to be here and something is to be here as they were. I guarantee you: they are totally committed, committed and very keen to take this club to the top.
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Oleksandr Zinchenko, center, is one of many new additions signed by Arteta and Edu (left)
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It’s about more than just keeping your bosses sweet.
Arteta is right, the evidence is there. Three years ago, the Kroenke family was harassed while attending an Arsenal friendly in Denver. There was no such virulence this week, when they saw Arsenal take on Orlando City.
Instead, his box was a magnet for fans and cameras, who were stunned to see Zinchenko. His £32m arrival brought Arsenal’s summer spending to around £120m. As it stands, the north London club have shelled out more than any other Premier League side, for the second year in a row.
Few things satisfy grumbling supporters like pound notes. But how long can Arteta wait, let alone wait, for such generous checks?
“If you look at how other teams have done and where we were, there’s a transition point where that smile has to change at some point.”
Arteta draws the ascending curve of a graph with his hand.
‘We are not spending money, we have made large investments, but an investment for the future with great talent and great performance,’ adds the coach.
‘Possibly in the future we will have to do something to have a team that can sustainably finance itself. That is the goal.
This summer, Arsenal have already added five new faces: Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus, Fabio Vieira, Matt Turner and Marquinhos.
They have moved quickly and more reinforcements could yet follow.
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Goalkeeper Matt Turner is one of five new faces at the Emirates as Arsenal look to get stronger
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“I am very happy,” says Arteta. ‘For what we planned and where we are today, we are quite far.
He adds: “Everything is going very well and now it’s about finalizing what we wanted to do. Obviously we have a great squad and some of the players have to go and we’re trying to get that balance.”
A striking feature of Arsenal’s transfer business has been Arteta’s personal drawing power. It must be satisfying to hear that the players want to play for him and believe in his project.
“I’m very happy because they really want to do it because they feel it,” says Arteta, who has been relentless in trying to clean the dressing room of toxic influences.
Now we have players who feel this way of playing, this way of being, this way of behaving and everything is natural. I think that’s very powerful and somewhere we weren’t a few years ago.
The next step? That remodeling is paid with results on the lawn. Last season’s near miss was doubly painful: Arsenal not only dropped a place in the top four, but opened the door for rivals Tottenham.
“It was very hard,” says Arteta. “But I know where we were, what we have and now also where we want to be.”
Only after a forensic examination of everything that went wrong.
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Arteta is poised for a tough season and is hoping stars like Martin Odegaard (above) shine.
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“First of all, it’s more than a mistake,” adds the manager. ‘To understand why it happened, what is your responsibility? What can you do more? And then get facts. If where we were was realistic, sustainable, why did we do it and what did we not achieve, what in the end could we have achieved. And move on. There is no time for regrets.
So what did he discover?
“I can’t tell you,” smiles Arteta. ‘It was very clear though, I guarantee it!’
In less than two weeks, your side can start to show the lessons learned. New faces will help. “(Those) with the right winning mindset, players who have already done it and who can inspire others now and push the pot much faster.”
The only problem? Arteta knows that the Champions League race is as open as ever.
“It’s not about the top four, it’s about the top eight or nine right now,” he says. ‘You think you’re doing a lot of things, you look to the side and the quality and the squads these guys have is unbelievable. So we know where we are.
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