Arsenal are now a title-challenging team under Mikel Arteta, and the club is unrecognisable from the one he returned to in 2019.
Arteta inherited a mess from Unai Emery when he took over the club in his first managerial job, returning to the Emirates where he was once a trophy-winning captain.
He has rebuilt the club from top to bottom, with the Spaniard and Edu Gaspar working together to recruit a squad full of outstanding young players, and helping change what was a failing culture at the club before him.
This has also led to a significant improvement in the atmosphere at The Emirates Stadium. In Arsene Wenger’s final few years, there was plenty of division among the fanbase, whilst the ground was almost empty by the time Emery had reached the point of no return.
Now, the Emirates is a vibrant stadium, with the fans acting as a 12th man, and Arteta has now credited the introduction of an Arsenal anthem with having a huge impact.
Mikel Arteta praises Arsenal anthem ‘The Angel’
Late in the 2021-22 season, with the atmosphere already noticeably better as fans got behind Arteta’s project, several fans on social media pitched the idea of having The Angel, a song written by lifelong Arsenal fan Louis Dunford, as a pre-match anthem.
Arsenal and Arteta loved the idea, and introduced it to the Emirates, and it has become significantly popular since, with the song ringing around the entire stadium before every game now.
Speaking in an interview with BBC Football Daily, Arteta praised the fans, and singer Dunford, for the impact the anthem has had on his team.
“It’s the song The Angel from Louis Dunford, and I think we can call it our anthem,” he stated.
“It’s something that I always felt that we were missing, and it’s a moment before the most important moment of the week, which is the kick time.
“Our thoughts get together, and we look at each other and we are connected, by raising our emotion and singing a song that is related to our football club and our team and in particular to Islington and the area where our stadium is based.
“We found that song, he is a massive Arsenal Fan. He said he was totally engaged to that. We did in a beautiful way, and I think that added another dimension and another deepness to the feeling and connection to the club.
“That helped to change the atmosphere at the stadium, and that helped the team to feel more confident, more excited, more determined to play, he created some fear in the opponent, so it’s a lot of consequence to that.”
How Arsenal developed their own pre-match anthem
In the final few years under Wenger, and under Emery, there was a malaise in the Emirates Stadium. Fans were becoming apathetic to the team, and apart from the occasional big game, the atmosphere was underwhelming for the most part.
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It has been unrecognisable since, with the anthem playing a huge part. Before each match, the entire crowd sings it in unison, and this helps create a buzz which otherwise may not have been there before.
After Arsenal’s victory over Manchester City earlier this season, The Angel played over the speakers at the full-time whistle in an unprecedented move, but the emotion of the victory meant this was a special moment in the Emirates.
If Arsenal do go on to win the league on the final day of this season, there is no doubt that there will be the most spine-tingling rendition of the club anthem yet.