Mike MacDonald

‘Undebatably Elite’ HOPES: Arrivals: Before we start, Santi Cazorla as an assistant coach. Would bring so much joy to the fanbase and inspiration for the players. Would encourage others to value improving their weak foot more than anything else. I’ll start with my personal choices. If you know how much time I’ve spent thinking about this, you would be embarrassed for me.

‘Undeniably Elite’ NEEDS: Balancing risk and control: This would not only help us to crack the shells of the hard eggs in the league, but make us a more entertaining team. That’s what our opponents fans seem to be demanding, anyway. I was reminded the other day when watching highlights of Martin Odegard playing for Real Madrid. Four years ago, he was playing with so much more creativity and risk. You can’t tell me that he can’t do it anymore.

Menu ‘Undisputedly Elite’ Up until the month of May 2026 there was a fair argument that Arsenal Football Club were not in the same bracket as the elite. I have called Arsenal an elite club for the past two years at least but fans of other clubs had a fair argument when disputing this. I felt that impressive results against Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, PSG, etc…., justified us being in that conversation. Perhaps I was right, but perhaps I was wrong.