Pain in the Arsenal
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Pain in the Arsenal Podcast: YankeeGunner interview show notes

By Henry Payne

DENVER, CO - MARCH 23: Stan Kroenke (L) along with his son Josh Kroenke (R) watch from courtside seats as the Denver Nuggets host the San Antonio Spurs at the Pepsi Center on March 23, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. The Nuggets defeated the Spurs 115-112. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - MARCH 23: Stan Kroenke (L) along with his son Josh Kroenke (R) watch from courtside seats as the Denver Nuggets host the San Antonio Spurs at the Pepsi Center on March 23, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. The Nuggets defeated the Spurs 115-112. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /
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Andy and I were joined by Elliott Smith (better known as YankeeGunner) for another special episode of the Pain In The Arsenal Podcast. While we initially lacked discussion ideas, we soon gained inspiration from unexpected events.

When Andy informed me that he had organised an interview with Elliott Smith, known to many on Twitter as YankeeGunner, I was thrilled. However, we soon felt the pressure to make the episode more than just your standard Pain In The Arsenal podcast. I hope that we succeeded in doing so.

You can catch our interview with Elliot Smith here

Small talk was soon followed by a brief review of last season and our thoughts on the transfer window to date. Nonetheless, the conversation soon turned towards the future. The future of Arsenal Football Club, the future of Unai Emery, and the future of sports journalism. This is where things got interesting.

I was particularly excited about discussing the emergence of The Athletic. The sports news subscription startup has been pillaging top British sportswriters ahead of its UK launch and has defied the convention of sports journalism. A Slate Magazine article published in September 2018 outlined the company’s two fundamental ideas;

"The first happens to be the least revolutionary in business: People should pay for a product. The second happens to be the least revolutionary in journalism: Sports fans will do almost anything for news about the teams they love, including satisfying requirement No. 1."

Furthermore, The Athletic is built upon the idea that its all-star workforce, and thus its content, is special. While this point remains up for debate, there is no denying that The Athletic is a force to be reckoned within the world of sports journalism. The greatest business challenge will be making sure that the product is good enough to keep and attract subscribers, as those high-profile writers will undoubtedly have some hefty salaries.

Inspiration

As I have already remarked, while we were incredibly lucky to have Elliott as a guest on our show, inspiration in regards to content was difficult to come by at first. With the new season fast approaching, we knew that we could look ahead to the new season, however, the #WeCareDoYou campaign provided us with yet another opportunity to discuss Stan Kroenke and his Arsenal legacy.

Inspiration to analyse the hype around The Athletic came when I noticed that Elliott was a columnist for the enterprise and that David Ornstein – who is revered amongst Arsenal fans for being an incredibly reliable source of information – was reportedly joining after 12 years at BBC Sport. Traditional journalism is in the midst of a prolonged crisis; anyone can become a news source, and large cuts have been made to journalistic staffs across the globe, but The Athletic is seemingly thriving.

Key Discussion Points

  • Arsenal lacked balance, dynamism and athleticism last season, and that is something that must change;
  • Besides improving results, what does Unai Emery have to do to surpass his first season?
  • How Unai Emery’s approach against smaller teams differs greatly from that of Arsène Wenger’s;
  • Arsenal have been guilty of prioritising the short-term over the long-term in recent years, and the imminent signing of William Saliba is refreshing;
  • Dani Ceballos is another fantastic addition, but he is not a direct Aaron Ramsey replacement;
  • Stan Kroenke’s greatest sin is his disinterest;

Our thanks to Elliott once again coming on our show. Like his Arsenal Vision Podcast biography would suggest, he loves to canvass Arsenal Football Club. He was thought-provoking, insightful, and witty and we would love to have him on the Pain In The Arsenal Podcast again.

If you would like to interact with Elliott, he can be found on Twitter and is the host of the fantastic Arsenal Vision Podcast.

You can find the Pain In The Arsenal podcast on any standard podcast platform.