Kroenke Brothers Challenge Arsenal Fans for New Era of Dominance
Stan and Josh Kroenke have thrown down an early-season marker to Arsenal’s fanbase, urging the club to turn last year’s history-making run into a new era of dominance.
On the eve of Arsenal’s Premier League title defence, the co-chairs used their joint programme notes for Friday night’s opener against Coventry City to look back on a campaign they say “will forever be etched in our hearts” – and to make it clear that standing still is not an option.
A year that changed everything
The 2025/26 season broke a 22-year wait for the Premier League crown and pushed Arsenal back to the top of the English game. The Kroenkes also hailed the club’s global reach after the women’s side were crowned FIFA Women’s World Champions, a double triumph they framed as a defining moment in the modern history of Arsenal.
They lingered on the image of lifting the Premier League trophy at Selhurst Park – a scene already burned into the club’s folklore – but stressed that the real magic came from the outpouring of emotion that followed.
From north London streets to fan gatherings across continents, the celebrations, they said, cut across “borders, cultures and generations”, reinforcing the idea of Arsenal as a worldwide community rather than just a club.
The title parade through north London, coming so soon after the disappointment of the Champions League final, was picked out as another turning point. It felt like a reset: a bruised fanbase and a hurting squad choosing to rally around a shared achievement instead of dwelling on what slipped away.
No time to bask in the glow
Any sense of nostalgia stopped there. The tone quickly hardened.
“Champions don’t stand still, they evolve and keep moving forward,” the Kroenkes wrote, framing the new season not as an after-party but as the next test of Arsenal’s credentials.
They pointed to the summer as proof that the club’s competitive edge remains sharp. Mikel Merino, Martin Zubimendi and David Raya all returned from international duty as World Cup winners with Spain, another strand of success feeding into a squad already brimming with confidence.
The Community Shield win over Manchester City was highlighted as an early sign that the momentum from last season has not faded. It was only a curtain-raiser, but against the side that had dominated the previous decade, it mattered.
Change at Colney and beyond
The message also underlined how much the squad and structure have shifted in recent months.
Leandro Trossard, Christian Norgaard, Jakub Kiwior, Karl Hein, Rosa Kafaji, Jenna Nighswonger and Laila Harbert were all name-checked among the departures, a nod of appreciation as the club reshapes for the next cycle.
Behind the scenes, Pascal De Maesschalck has arrived as the new Academy Director, a key appointment for a club that still prides itself on developing its own stars.
On the recruitment front, the list of new faces was long and deliberate. Bruno Guimaraes, Christos Tzolis, Illan Meslier and Piero Hincapie bolster the men’s squad, while Georgia Stanway, Ona Batlle, Selina Cerci, Geraldine Reuteler, Lisa Baum, Isabella Damm and Misa Rodriguez strengthen the women’s side. The Kroenkes framed these signings as part of a broader push to keep Arsenal competing at the very top, across both teams.
A challenge to the Arsenal family
As the Premier League title defence begins, the owners closed with a direct message to supporters: stay with us, and let’s go again.
They thanked the “Arsenal family” at the Emirates and around the globe for their loyalty and made no attempt to downplay expectations. The aim is not just to repeat last season, but to “go one (or more) better across our teams”.
No talk of consolidation. No soft landing.
Just a clear challenge: defend the crown, push on in every competition, and see if those wild scenes of May can be matched – or even surpassed – when this season reaches its climax.
