All or Nothing Arsenal: Series captures essence of Team

Arsenal players applauded as they watched Emile Smith Rowe thump home the first goal in last season’s derby against Tottenham Hotspur at a private screening of the All or Nothing docuseries.

Five first-team players, including Ben White and Emile Smith Rowe, as well as manager Mikel Arteta and his family, met at a cinema in Islington, North London, little over a mile from the Emirates Stadium, to witness the Amazon Prime Video production with 150 other invited guests.

Given what transpired earlier in the summer, it’s maybe not surprising that Bukayo Saka appears early in the first episode. The documentary follows Saka’s return to training following the disappointment of missing a critical penalty in the Euro 2020 final, as well as how he was welcomed back after receiving social media hate. Thierry Henry appears and compliments Saka for having the courage to participate in the shoot off, while Saka discusses the attention that has come his way in the cafeteria at Arsenal’s London Colney training base with Emile Smith Rowe and Folarin Balogun.

Kierney, Rob Holding, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and the rest of the staff in the balcony seats laughed and applauded as the tale of their season played out on the large screen. It’s tempting to imagine that Amazon should have gone inside the Arsenal dressing room for the next 2022-23 season instead. With the acquisition of Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City, the Gunners appear to be poised to compete for a spot in the Champions League for the first time in years. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta’s plan appears to be on track.

The pre-match team conversations you see and hear from Arteta are one of the most captivating aspects of the first three episodes. They vary from the emotional to the motivating.

During a speech on high performance before the Watford game, he opens out to his players about the heart troubles he suffered as a youngster, and he praises them for the manner they have lifted him since the Manchester City defeat.

Stuart MacFarlane, the club photographer, was praised for delivering a motivational speech in the dressing room before the match against Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates in September of last year.

‘I f*****g love this football club,’ the photographer, who has been at Arsenal for 30 years, remarked to the players. ‘And I f******g love all of you,’ he announced to laughter and applause from fans and players.

The most intriguing team chat occurs in episode three, prior of the Leicester away game, when Arteta gathers his players in a circle and instructs them to close their eyes and rub their hands together while picturing what would happen in the game.

Smith Rowe garnered ‘ooohs’ for a clip in which he demonstrated his outstanding ball abilities at the age of 15, as well as a daring finish from his younger days, in which he bent a ball into the far corner from the other edge of the penalty area.

All or Nothing: Arsenal is a cinematic disappointment that fails to strike any type of personal chord. Arteta’s voice, which remains repetitive throughout the series, lacks any variation, making his emotionally sophisticated approach look lifeless at times.

The docu-series also examines player interactions with club personnel, personality oddities, sports vehicles, bling fashion, on-the-field problems, and an excessive quantity of slow-motion knee-slide celebrations after goals are scored. Other fascinating narrative elements to watch for include Kierney campaigning for mental health, Nuno Tavares working with Carlos Cuesta for an individual development session, and Emile Smith Rowe undergoing one-on-one training with club coaches.