Josh Kroenke: Arteta is like a sponge. Expecting Arsenal to perform after pressure is off

In an official Arsenal program, Arteta, Josh Kroenke, and Richard Garlick discussed winning the Premier League and preparing for the Champions League final.

When asked about how he felt after Arsenal became the Premier League champions for the 2025/26 season, Josh Kroenke said: "I can slightly use jet lag as an excuse, but I'm still very excited. The emotions and pride of that moment, I think Arsenal fans all over the world feel the same way. Being there with my father, being able to hug the people around us, knowing what we've been through, I'm incredibly proud of our team."

Arteta spoke about the moment of winning the title: "It's not easy to describe in words. As I said, it was even better than I expected, even better than I could imagine. Because it happened in a very beautiful way. Nobody expected us to confirm the title away from home. The reaction was incredible, from the players together, to everyone gathered at the Emirates Stadium, to the celebration scenes from various countries. Although it was away and not in the expected way, it was all beautiful. You could see the connection between the fans and the team, and then the families came to the venue and had their moment together."

Richard Garlick said: "When we first talked, I described the feeling as nervousness and excitement. After winning the title, it turned into ecstasy, and then pride. Although it wasn't at home, but at Crystal Palace, the moment Martin lifted the trophy and walked in front of everyone, the whole stadium erupted. Honestly, there was also a bit of relief, because everyone had put so much into getting to this point. It was great to see this, it was a fantastic celebration of this journey. Of course, we still have the next step this season, which is equally exciting, so we have to readjust and start again."

Speaking about the experience of bringing the Premier League trophy onto the field with his father, Josh Kroenke said: "It was a concentrated emotional release. Arteta also mentioned that it was a beautiful moment. If I wasn't at the training ground with the team, I would actually be happy to be at home with my fiancée, processing those emotions alone. That moment on Sunday filled me with pride and gratitude, because it created a moment you can't buy in any way. Only by truly achieving something do you get moments like that. To bring the trophy out with my father, thinking about my journey with him, and thinking about the people around me, I can only say thank you. You created a priceless moment for me and my father, and I will always be grateful."

Arteta also spoke about the feelings of his family being there: "That also wasn't expected. When you see Stan and Josh together, you think, wow, I don't think it gets any better than this. They've done similar things in many other sports, and to witness it firsthand is incredible. I can't imagine how they feel about it. We also had the chance to bring our families onto the pitch, and you could see their joy, and everything they've experienced with us. Letting them stand next to the trophy, kissing it, touching it, that's special."

Richard Garlick spoke about the meaning of the trophy to the club staff: "Many people have made many sacrifices along the way. Arteta has said that working hours in football are not always very sociable, especially during the season. Whether it's the staff who work with the players here every day, or the staff at Highbury, everyone is working towards the same goal, all wanting to win important trophies like this, and to keep winning more. That's our plan. Many people have invested a lot of time and sacrificed a lot to get us here. So when they see the trophy, they feel, 'this is what we've been fighting for.' It's really special."

Arteta spoke about how the reality of lifting the trophy compared to his imagination: "Reality was better than imagination. I stood by and watched that moment, Stan and Josh bringing the trophy, Martin walking forward to receive it, and then they walked off together. I looked at the players' faces and saw what it meant to them. To see them gather together and lift the trophy, it was incredible. Because they absolutely deserved that moment. We often talk about 'our people,' and the players absolutely deserved that moment. From now on, we will strive for more."

Recalling the night the Premier League title was confirmed, Arteta revealed that he received a video call from Josh Kroenke immediately: "I immediately received a video call from Josh. We were almost in tears."

Josh Kroenke added: "Speak for yourself, I was definitely crying. That was indeed an emotional release."

When asked what they said on the phone, Arteta said: "It was probably something like 'We did it.' That joy, relief, and the realization that we had reached where we wanted to be."

Josh Kroenke said: "It was a very short call, just to confirm that we did it, I was proud and grateful. And then it was about letting him go back and enjoy it with his family, not to miss that moment. He has always been very good at that, reminding you to truly be in the present. Although I wanted to talk to everyone, I was very emotional at the time, and I was glad I could process those emotions alone with my fiancée. It was good talking to him, when I saw the celebration there, I really couldn't hold back, I just sat there with the phone watching everything happen."

Speaking about the players' celebrations on the night of the title win, Arteta said: "It was fun, it was good. The relationship between the players and staff is also very good. I've been to many such gatherings, and usually players want to leave after 10 or 15 minutes. But this time they stayed together for four hours, which is a great testament to the relationship they've built."

Regarding preparation for the Champions League final, Arteta said: "We are doing all the preparations now. We need to use all the energy, all the positive feelings we have now, and the confidence we feel at this moment. We need to be fully prepared and then go and win it."

After Arteta left, Josh Kroenke spoke about working with him: "The best thing about Arteta is him as a person. First of all, he is a very competitive person, and the whole world sees that every week. But behind that competitor, his character is outstanding. Arteta and I talk about what's happening at the club, and we often talk about life. It's a privilege to work with him, and I hope this collaboration continues for a long time."

Richard Garlick also spoke about Arteta's off-field side: "As Josh said, he's a fun, relaxed person. He likes to have his family around, and he cares about my family, Josh's family, and the people who know him. Everyone gets along well. He's very easy to get along with, and very willing to take the time to care about others, always asking how family and friends are. You can see that family means a lot to him, not just his own family, but everyone else's extended families."

Josh Kroenke also talked about Arteta's ability to learn from other fields: "From the perspective of other businesses I've been involved with in the US, it's interesting to work with someone like Arteta. Arteta is always like a sponge, absorbing best practices or new information whenever possible. He sometimes recommends documentaries to me, thinking they might be helpful for leadership and so on. For example, there was a documentary about a chef managing multiple restaurants, which talked about how you have to think about trusting others to execute the menu even if you're not there. He thinks about problems in different ways. Another quality I like about him is that he extracts best practices from other fields and considers whether they can be applied to our team."

Josh Kroenke gave an example: "There's been a lot of talk about set pieces this year. A few years ago, I remember a conversation where we already had our own team, and they worked very hard, but Arteta watched an NFL game and broke it down in a way I'd never heard before. He said, every play is a set piece, every play is choreographed, every time it's a set piece. You could see him starting to get into his thought process: how do we apply this to football? I also took him to a hockey game once, and he saw triangles forming everywhere on the ice, and he said we had to go down and see, he really wanted to meet the coach. Arteta looks at these things in his own way, breaks them down. Even if he doesn't initially know how these things relate to his ideas, he wants to observe them and use them in some way."

When asked about the moment that best summarized Arteta and this group of players this season, Richard Garlick chose the away game against Newcastle: "I would say the away game against Newcastle. That's always been a tough place to play, and they were very well prepared again. Newcastle is a very good, well-coached team, and the atmosphere there is incredible. When we equalized 1-1 near the end of the game, you'd think, okay, that's pretty good. But this year the team's mentality is different, we weren't satisfied with that, we kept pushing for the win, and scored the winning goal in the last minute. Everyone rushed forward. This not only broke the previous struggles away at Newcastle, but also sent a signal to the outside world: we are here, we are serious, we will not be complacent, we will maintain this intensity throughout the season. That's the moment I remember most clearly this season."

Josh Kroenke, on the other hand, mentioned the moment after the home loss to Manchester United in January: "For me, there was a moment in January. I was here then, and we had just lost at home to Manchester United. Of course, I remember many big wins, but it's often the tough moments that really stand out. That was the first time I felt that external pressure was really starting to mount, saying that the team would face more pressure, questioning whether we could do it. We weren't always like that, but that time Arteta and I had dinner during my visit to London and talked about a few things. After that dinner, I left truly believing we would do it."

Josh Kroenke continued: "It wasn't because of any particular sentence, most of the conversation was actually about life. But it gave me a confirmation to keep going. Sometimes you have to block out the outside noise and keep doing things amidst all the voices. I could feel that his and the team's resolve around him was getting stronger. Later, every time I came here, I could feel it even more clearly."

Speaking about the reaction after losing to Manchester City, Josh Kroenke said: "Although we lost that game, there was a feeling conveyed through eye contact in the dressing room: based on how we played, this should have been ours. I think that moment, coupled with the determination in the dressing room, gave the team the confidence to really knuckle down in the final stretch."

Looking ahead to this weekend's Champions League final in Budapest, Josh Kroenke said: "It's an honor to be there and to be a part of it. But more than an honor, we're going there to win. Although the opponent is an incredible club that knocked us out of the Champions League last year, we will be a different team from last year. In a single-elimination game, anything can happen. I'm also very much looking forward to seeing what this team can do now that a little pressure has been lifted from their shoulders. Both Arteta and the players have been under immense pressure this season. Now the pressure from the trophy next to us has been lifted, and we'll go to Budapest with smiles and competitiveness to see what we can achieve."

Richard Garlick spoke about the reflection after playing Paris Saint-Germain last year: "We played Paris twice last year. I think that was actually a pivotal moment. After the Paris game, we were with Arteta and saw the squad depth, especially the depth of the bench, and what changes he could still make in the second half. Although Donnarumma played exceptionally well in the first half, and it was difficult for us to create chances in the second half until the very end, we reached a consensus at that time: we didn't want Arteta to look at the bench again and not have anyone who could come on and change the game."

Garlick said: "That's why the investment happened last summer. Josh and his father, the club, made the investment, and Edu, James, and Arteta did an excellent job with the execution of the transfers. You can see the results. The other day against West Ham, Martin Ødegaard and Kai Havertz came off the bench, which wouldn't have happened last year. Last year when we played at Liverpool, there were five left-backs on the field because we were running out of available players. But now Martin Ødegaard comes on, Kai Havertz comes on, Martin assists, Leo scores, game over. This all comes from the investment in squad depth last summer. That wasn't luck, it was a plan, and a plan that was executed brilliantly."

Speaking about the celebrations of Arsenal fans outside the Emirates Stadium and around the world on the night of the title win, Josh Kroenke said: "You mentioning those images makes me a bit emotional. From the scene outside the Emirates that night, to the celebrations of fans across Africa, Asia, and the US, to the messages people sent us, it's incredible to see so many people telling you they are proud of us, proud of what we've achieved. Those images mean the world to me, because it means people are supporting this group of players and coaching staff in a way they haven't in a long time."

Regarding the victory parade, Richard Garlick said: "This will celebrate all our successes this season. The men's team winning the Premier League, and hopefully also the Champions League; the women's team winning the inaugural Women's Championship, and also honors like Team of the Year. We have a 'one club' philosophy, and we want to celebrate everyone's success, including the men's team, women's team, academy, on and off the pitch. Community members will also be on the bus, celebrating what Arsenal stands for. It will be a fantastic celebration at all levels."

When asked how to carry the momentum into next season and beyond, Josh Kroenke said: "Of course. The success achieved this season will take us to a higher platform. Whether commercially, off the pitch, or on the pitch, as a club, we have great opportunities. We are excited about winning the league, but we cannot be complacent in any way. If others haven't targeted us before, we are now a target. Every team in the Premier League is already working hard to strengthen, and if we don't strengthen, we will stagnate. So we must continue to evolve, and never allow complacency to set in."

Josh Kroenke also spoke about the growth of the club's commercial revenue: "Our commercial department is doing very well, and I want to acknowledge them. The club's revenue is growing along with on-pitch success. Continuing to grow this part of the business, allowing us to reinvest, will only help us become stronger."

When asked about summer transfer window plans, Richard Garlick said: "Arsenal's motto is always forward. We are always looking for ways to get better, there are always areas to improve, adjust, and change. We must prepare ourselves for next season, both on and off the pitch. Josh also said that we have now built that connection with the fans, which took some time, but now it's incredible. We need to leverage that, and also continue to do community work, not forgetting who we are, not forgetting what we represent as a club, and our roots. Arsenal has a very long history, and I am proud and lucky to be a part of it at this moment. But behind this, there is a complete history. I have told all staff that this is a moment where you can say 'I was there' later, so seize it. But after that, we have to do it again, readjust, and keep moving forward. Everything we do is for progress, moving towards the next important goal. At the very top of our strategy is winning major trophies, not just one trophy, but trophies. That is our goal."

When asked about summer priorities, Josh Kroenke replied: "To be honest, we will sit down with Arteta and Edu this afternoon for a quick chat before the busy schedule in Budapest begins. So I might be able to answer this question better in a few days, but either way, I won't answer it in a few days."

Finally, Josh Kroenke said to Arsenal fans: "Thank you. On behalf of the players, coaches, and staff, thank you for your support. This is certainly an achievement by Arteta and the players. But on another level, this belongs to the fans. They deserve all of this."