Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal players were reportedly "frustrated" at having no idea about the club's entry into the Super League before the official announcement was made.
The 12 founding clubs of the European league generally stole out their announcements about the controversial new competition late on Sunday, probably anticipating the backlash that was to come from football fans and figures.
However you might have assumed that the managers and players expected to actually - y'know - compete in the competition might have been tipped off that it was happening. But this is apparently not the case at all at Arsenal.
We are one of 12 Founding Clubs of the European Super League
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 18, 2021
Arteta, his staff and members of the Arsenal first-team squad were surprised and frustrated by not being informed of the club's Super League's announcement beforehand, according to a report in football.london.
Essentially, it seems they found out at pretty much the same time as the rest of us. Expect of course the Arsenal manager and his players will actually be taking part on it - so it probably did come as even more of a shock.
And we thought the club's owner was nicknamed "Silent" Stan Kroenke just because he didn't communicate with fans.
There are so many people who work for and at Arsenal who love the club, understand properly what it is and what it represents, who have now been blindsided by Kroenke's greed and lack of understanding in that regard.
— arseblog (@arseblog) April 18, 2021
The owners should be the subject of supporters' ire. Not them
There has been talk of a club-led European football league for some time. But it still came as a surprise when stories emerged on Sunday that an official announcement was due.
Absolutely shameful @Arsenal https://t.co/p0q9a7wLY2 pic.twitter.com/lLzSf5i0wJ
— Ian Wright (@IanWright0) April 19, 2021
The 12 founding clubs involved include six from the Premier League. Arsenal are joined by Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham.
The English sides are joined by a trio from Serie A in AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus; as well as three from La Liga: Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid. However it does not yet include any clubs from the Bundesliga or Ligue 1.
The league will be a closed shop in terms of those founding clubs being ever-present. The 20-team league would be split into two groups of 10, who eventually play towards a knockout-round finale.
But the main knockout for football fans has been the speed and high-handedness of the announcement around a competition there is little demand for from most fans.
And it seems that Arsenal's FA Cup-winning manager - alongside many of his staff and players - were just as blindsided by the news as the rest of us.
All imagery: PA Images
source https://www.sportbible.com/football/football-news-mikel-arteta-and-arsenal-players-frustrated-by-super-league-plan-20210419
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