A year ago to the date, Arsenal announced they had signed up to be part of a proposed new European Super League alongside the traditional 'big six' clubs in the Premier League as well as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan.
"We have joined 11 European clubs as founding members of a new midweek competition, the European Super League," a statement read via the north London outfit's official website. "There's lots more to do to bring the competition to life and we will continue to update our supporters as things progress."
However, just 48 hours later the Gunners performed a dramatic U-turn following immense backlash from fans, pundits, UEFA, FIFA, government and players - including Hector Bellerin - and followed in the footsteps of Chelsea as well as Manchester City by pulling out of the tournament and issuing an apology to supporters.
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"As a result of listening to you and the wider football community over recent days we are withdrawing from the proposed Super League," a post read on Twitter. "We made a mistake, and we apologise for it."
The punishment from UEFA was to sacrifice five percent of their European competition revenue and to also make a collective donation of around £13million to UEFA as part of a reconciliation agreement with the governing body. But importantly, there was no no ban from UEFA competitions for Arsenal who then rejoined the European Club Association (ECA).
Even after the withdrawal, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment still came in for criticism for their decision to sign the club up to the European Super League without any consultation of the players, coaching staff or supporters and that despite Josh Kroenke's appearance at a fans forum, there were calls for a change of ownership.
Ahead of Arsenal's home game with Everton the following Friday, fans gathered outside the Emirates Stadium to protest against the American family, with fireworks audible from inside the stadium around half an hour into the match. Although, perhaps the biggest story that night was that Daniel Ek - the Swedish billionaire entrepreneur who is the co-founder of music streaming platform Spotify - revealed his interest in purchasing the club from Stan Kroenke.
As reported by football.london, Ek's proposed takeover was genuine, but ultimately with KSE standing firm on their refusal to sell, his dream has been put on hold - at least for the time being - but there's an argument that his intentions have been the catalyst for change at Arsenal in the 12 months since the European Super League debacle was on the table.
For too long there had been a disconnect between the boardroom and supporters. The Super League announcement felt like the final nail in the coffin as fans were able to vent their frustration that had been built up over the years amid a feeling of disengagement and disinterest from KSE since they took full control of the club in 2018.
So it was refreshing that Kroenke's declaration at the Fans' Forum was to do everything to rebuild the trust with Arsenal fans. "If you're expecting to see me more, absolutely. Let's start on this call right now. From a board perspective, we as a club came together and made the decision as a board. That's why we put out the statement as we did, apologising immediately and if you're hoping to interact with me on a more meaningful basis going forward, you have my word that's absolutely the case," he said.
"But you're going to be seeing a lot more of myself, we're going to be interacting a lot more. It's on myself and the rest of the board to push this club forward and we're going to be listening to you guys a lot."
In truth, Josh Kroenke has largely kept to his word. In an attempt to bridge the gap between the board and supporters, he and his father, Stan, issued a joint statement announcing plans to establish an Arsenal Advisory Board, exclusively made up of fans to provide counsel to the board on a range of off-field matters.
"We are 100 per cent committed to Arsenal for the long-term and we want our fans to feel even closer to the club they love," they said. "The steps that are being taken here will ensure their voice is more central to the club's decision making moving forward."
Of course, actions speak louder than words and the near £150m transfer investment in Mikel Arteta's first-team squad last summer and plans to back the Gunners manager once again this summer is another sign that KSE are more interested in the club's success on the pitch.
If anything, the one big positive of the whole European Super League debacle one year on is that fans feel like they finally have a voice. Huge steps have been taken toward repairing the aforementioned disconnect. Judging by the atmosphere inside the Emirates Stadium and at away grounds this season proves something special is brimming.
