The first three episodes of the eight-part series were released on 4 August 2022, and further episodes were released on 11 and 18 August.[7]
Background
In the 2016–17 season, Arsenal won the FA Cup for a record thirteenth time-and a record seventh under Arsène Wenger,[8] who became the most successful manager in the history of the competition, but fell out of the top four in the Premier League for the first time since before Wenger arrived in 1996, finishing fifth to end their 19-year run in the UEFA Champions League. After another unspectacular league season the following year, Wenger departed Arsenal on 13 May 2018, ending a 22-year, trophy–laden association with the club.[9]
Unai Emery was named as the club's new head coach on 23 May 2018.[10][11] In Emery's first season, Arsenal finished fifth in the Premier League and as runner-up in the UEFA Europa League.[12] On 29 November 2019, Emery was sacked after Arsenal had gone seven games without a win in all competitions, which was their worst run in 27 years; and former player and assistant first-team coach Freddie Ljungberg was appointed as interim head coach.[13][14]
On 20 December 2019, Arsenal appointed former club captainMikel Arteta – who was 37 years old then and had never managed before – as the new head coach.[15][16][17] The 2019–20 season had been defined by a three-month lull between March and June, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; and when it returned, it was behind closed doors. Arsenal finished the league season in eighth, their lowest finish since 1994–95, but earned a record-extending 14th FA Cup win on 1 August 2020, helping them qualify for next season's Europa League, and making Arteta the first person to win the FA Cup as both captain and coach of the club.[18] After the Gunners triumphed in the 2020 FA Community Shield, Arteta's title was changed from head coach to manager.[19][20] On 18 April 2021, Arsenal were announced as a founding club of the breakaway European competition The Super League; they withdrew from the competition two days later amid near-universal condemnation.[21] Arsenal finished the 2020–21 season in eighth place once again, this time not qualifying for a European competition for the first time in 25 years.[22][23]
The series features a rollercoaster season for the club.[24][25] With their three consecutive defeats without scoring a goal to open the 2021–22 Premier League campaign, Arsenal dropped to the bottom of the table, at 20th, which was their worst start to a season for 67 years.[26][27] Since then, a new look Arsenal started to emerge with several academy graduates and new signings making a major impact.[28] They finished the league season in fifth place with 22 wins, 3 draws and 13 defeats, and qualified for the 2022–23 UEFA Europa League.[29][30]
In the 2021–22 season, Arsenal were the youngest team in the Premier League with an average starting age of 24 years and 308 days – more than a whole year younger than the next team.[1][2]
From 2008 to 2013, Round was an assistant coach to David Moyes at Everton, where Arteta spent six years and a half at as a player before joining Arsenal. He was named assistant coach to Arteta on 24 December 2019.[80][81]
Cuesta was previously a coach at Spanish side Atlético Madrid and Italian side Juventus. He got to know Arteta during a visit with Manchester City in 2018. Cuesta was appointed as an assistant coach to Arteta on 28 August 2020.[83][84][85] He was the Individual Development Coach in the 2021–22 season.
Jover previously worked with Arteta at Manchester City after spending seasons at Brentford. He joined Arsenal in July 2021, and was the set piece coach in the 2021–22 season.[86]
Before joining Arsenal on 24 December 2019, Caña was a goalkeeping coach at Brentford. He started his playing career at Spanish side Barcelona,[80] where Arteta's senior career began at.
Mertesacker has supported Arsenal since he was a teenager.[87] He began his senior career at German club Hannover 96 in 2003. After spending seasons at fellow German side Werder Bremen, Mertesacker signed for Arsenal on 31 August 2011,[88][87] the same day Arteta joined Arsenal on. He won three FA Cups in 2014, 2015 and 2017 with the club. Mertesacker was appointed as Arsenal's captain by Arsène Wenger for 2 seasons from 2016 until his retirement in 2018.[89] He was announced as the new Arsenal Academy manager prior to the 2017–18 season, officially assuming the position in July 2018.[90] After Unai Emery's sacking in late November 2019, Mertesacker took the role as interim assistant manager to support interim head coach Freddie Ljungberg for the meantime.[91]
Lewis comes from a family of Arsenal supporters and has a longstanding association with the club.[99] He is a partner with Clifford Chance, an international law firm headquartered in London. Lewis was appointed as a non-executive director to the Arsenal boards on 1 July 2020.[98][100][99]
Garlick was previously director of football at the Premier League between 2018 and 2021. He is a qualified solicitor specialising in sports law. Garlick started work at Arsenal as director of football operations in May 2021.[110][111][112]
Wright started his professional career in the Second Division with Crystal Palace in 1985. He signed for Arsenal in September 1991. With the club Wright won the First Division Golden Boot, won a Premier League title, a European Cup Winners' Cup, two FA Cups and a Football League Cup, including a domestic cup Double in 1993.[120] As of the 2021–22 season, he is Arsenal's second highest goalscorer of all time, behind Thierry Henry who broke his record in 2005.[121] Wright was named in the PFA Team of the Year thrice. In 2005, he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame.[122] Wright was also inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2022.[123]
Wretch 32 is a rapper, singer and songwriter. He is an Arsenal fan.[135]
Production
It was first announced on 9 July 2021 that Arsenal would be the subject of the Amazon Prime All or Nothing series,[136][137][138][139] following similar projects with two English football clubs – Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.[3] It was reported that Arsenal received around £11 million for the docuseries filmed in the 2021–22 season.[140]
The series was produced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The documentary production crew were given access to the club to provide a behind-the-scenes look at the club. The goings-on at the club were captured by cameras and microphones at the Emirates Stadium and the Arsenal Training Centre.[141][24][136] When the team were playing away, video footage was captured by a camera crew following the team.[3][24][136]
Release
The official teaser was released on 28 June 2022.[141][142] The official full trailer was released on 19 July.[143][144] Six official clips were released on 27 July,[145][146] 2 August,[147] 9 August,[148] 10 August,[149] 17 August,[150] and 18 August,[151] respectively.
The first three episodes were released on 4 August 2022, one day before the start of the 2022–23 Premier League season. Episode 4 to 6 were released on 11 August. The last two episodes were released on 18 August.[7]
^Hussein, Ceylan (19 April 2022). "Ranked! The 30 best strikers in Premier League history". fourfourtwo.com. FourFourTwo. Retrieved 3 August 2022. 1. Thierry Henry. No other player has ever hit more than 20 goals in five consecutive campaigns. On four of those occasions he was Premier League top scorer, collecting the PFA's Player of the Year prize in 2003 and 2004, and the Football Writers' award in 2003, 2004 and 2006.
^Pope, Conor (15 February 2021). "Best Premier League players EVER: 100 greatest footballers in England's top flight since 1992". fourfourtwo.com. FourFourTwo. Retrieved 3 August 2022. 1. Thierry Henry. No one has won the Golden Boot more times. No one assisted more in a season. No one has terrorised defenders with such a combination of bewitching grace and phenomenal power. He was the catalyst in two Premier League titles for Arsenal, carried them on his back during the dark days and lit up English football with his signature swagger.
