Today we turn our attentions to Arsenal’s programme for 2020/21, with the latest in our series of reviews for the current season. The full review can be read below, whilst you can take a look at all of the top-flight issues by clicking here.
The Gunners’ programme has a familiar look from recent seasons, being an 84-page perfect-bound edition. As we have come to expect from Arsenal, each issue is attractively designed, with the page layouts being very well done – the only minor downside being a little too much white text on coloured backgrounds, which in places is not all that easy to read.
The programme excels in providing detailed information about all aspects of the club. There is, for example, a 12-page section devoted to Arsenal’s academy setup – including interviews with young prospects, match reports, news, two pages of stats, and updates on players that are out on loan. There is also ‘Academy Alumni’ – a feature that looks at the careers of former youth products after they have left the Gunners. This all offers an insight into the club’s production line that is unmatched in any other Premier League programme.
Each issue also includes a two-page roundup on the fortunes of Arsenal Women, while the first team’s stats section – under the heading “The Breakdown” is impressively comprehensive – providing tactical analysis of recent games and several pages of stats. The programme also includes the usual manager and captain columns, five pages of news in ‘Voice of Arsenal’, and articles on the club’s community work and the Arsenal Foundation. Reports from previous matches are also suitably thorough, with three pages containing a report, line-ups, stats, and several images.
The programme offers less in the way of original features than many other top-flight programmes, but there are still a few articles that are well worth a read. ‘Convertible Currency’ for example sees football historian Jon Spurling looking at how Arsenal players’ positions have altered, both recently and looking further back in time, providing an interesting tactical insight as to how roles can evolve. ‘Fourteen Times’ is a two-page features that marks the Gunners’ 14th FA Cup win in 2020 by looking at Arsenal connections with the number 14. Each issue also offers a couple of player profiles, as well as a two-page junior section for younger fans.
Coverage of the visiting team is spread over eight pages, and include an opening article, some basic information about the club, a manager profile, and a selection of pen-pics. ‘Mutual Admiration’ is a brief column that looks at one player that turned out for both Arsenal and their opponents, while ‘First Impression’ reproduces from Arsenal’s archives the oldest picture relevant to the visiting club. ‘Scouting Report’ meanwhile is a well-written tactical analysis of the opposition from football journalist Michael Cox.
Overall, this is a programme that remains one of the best designed in the league, and which offers Arsenal supporters an impressive amount of information about their club. The only thing preventing this programme from being recognised as the best in the top-flight is the relatively limited amount of original content. With a few additional longer-form articles, drawing perhaps on Arsenal’s extensive history, this programme would be hard to beat.