How Mikel Arteta and Sean McVay’s bond helped Arsenal and the Rams rise to the top

Inside the unique friendship driving success for Arsenal and the Los Angeles Rams

A year ago, Sean McVay sat in his Los Angeles office, shoulders heavy with the weight of another gutting defeat. His Rams had just been humbled at home, their playoff hopes dangling by a thread. For one of the NFL’s brightest minds, it was a rare moment of vulnerability — and yet, out of that dark night came something unexpected: a bond that would help reshape both his own team and Arsenal Football Club.

McVay’s unexpected source of inspiration came in the form of Mikel Arteta — Arsenal’s sharp-suited, detail-obsessed manager, and someone who understands the mental toll of elite sport as well as anyone. By sheer coincidence, Arteta was visiting the Rams’ training complex that same week, accompanied by Arsenal executives during the international break. What followed was not a polite chat or a photo opportunity, but a deep, two-hour conversation between two men obsessed with leadership, accountability, and human connection.

According to Rams president Kevin Demoff, that meeting was transformative. “Mikel went into Sean’s office and they spent two hours talking about player connections, ideas and things that Mikel had done,” he told BBC Sport. “Sean took a step back from the day-to-day of ‘we just lost to Miami’ and into ‘this is what makes a great leader, this is how we do it.’ We then had this amazing run. I truly do believe that Sean was invigorated by that conversation with Mikel. I credit Mikel with some of our turnaround last year.”

The Rams went on to win six of their next seven games, claiming the NFC West title and restoring belief within a locker room that had seemed flat. For McVay, it was proof that leadership isn’t just about playbooks and tactics — it’s about emotional intelligence and perspective, something Arteta has mastered in north London.

A meeting of minds between two modern leaders

Josh Kroenke at a Los Angeles Rams youth football clinic with Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta,

What’s striking about the relationship between McVay and Arteta is how naturally it’s evolved. Both are young coaches who inherited massive clubs with deep traditions and high expectations. McVay, hired by the Rams in 2017 at just 30 years old, became the youngest head coach in modern NFL history. Arteta, appointed by Arsenal two years later at 37, faced an equally daunting challenge: restoring one of England’s grandest clubs to glory.

The two men share more than age and ambition. They are thinkers, learners, and — crucially — communicators. When McVay watched Arsenal’s All or Nothing documentary in 2022, he was struck by how Arteta handled adversity, especially during the public fallout with then-captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. “Sean watched it and said, ‘I don’t know if I would have handled Aubameyang the way Mikel did,’” Demoff revealed. “He took a lot of strength from how Mikel handled adversity and thought, ‘that’s something I want to be better at.’”

Their friendship has since grown across continents. Arteta has visited Los Angeles multiple times, while McVay has returned the favour in London. Whenever they meet — during football’s international breaks or the NFL off-season — their discussions are less about formations or plays and more about culture, communication, and human psychology.

“It’s not only about the sport,” Arteta said recently. “It’s about the culture, about managing people. It’s always that willingness to learn, that curiosity to learn.”

Arsenal chief executive Richard Garlick has witnessed their connection up close. “They share that energy, that passion, that affability,” he said. “They are like sponges — they take stuff in and invite reflection. They’re brave like that. They’ll ask the players what they think.”

KSE’s secret weapon: collaboration across sports

At the heart of this story is Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE), the global sports empire that owns both Arsenal and the Rams, as well as the Denver Nuggets (NBA), Colorado Avalanche (NHL), and MLS side Colorado Rapids. Valued at more than $21 billion, KSE is a rare multi-sport organisation where collaboration isn’t just encouraged — it’s part of the DNA.

Under owner Stan Kroenke and his son Josh, the philosophy is simple: hire talented people, give them the tools to lead, and connect them across franchises. “They are very clear about the brand values and ethos,” Demoff explained. “Then they entrust you to go execute.”

That trust has paid off handsomely. The Nuggets and Avalanche have both become champions in their respective sports, the Rams lifted the Super Bowl in 2022, and Arsenal — led by Arteta — are now leading the Premier League, chasing their first title in two decades.

The ethos extends to player development. “There’s a DNA that connects all of these franchises: you want to develop young players into stars, and then reward them,” said Demoff. At Arsenal, Bukayo Saka is the poster boy of that approach, now joined by teenage talents Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri, and Max Dowman. The Rams, meanwhile, have drafted young stars like Puka Nacua and Kobie Turner, each flourishing in McVay’s system.

Building for the future — and learning along the way

The benefits of this cross-sport collaboration are tangible. When the Rams first played in London back in 2012, they trained at Arsenal’s London Colney base and noticed players wearing tracking devices — technology that the Rams later adopted to monitor workload and prevent injuries. In return, when Arsenal trained at the Rams’ state-of-the-art facility in Los Angeles, Arteta was amazed by the sheer number of cameras filming every training session, remarking that it was “the sort of thing we need to do.”

This exchange of ideas — from training technology to mental preparation — has quietly elevated both organisations. “There’s no limit,” Demoff said. “Everybody realises that being an open book makes us all better.”

In recent years, KSE has doubled down on that philosophy, creating Kroenke Signature Properties (KSP) — a new division designed to share resources and help brands and partners move fluidly between the UK and the US markets. As Garlick explained, “It’s more joined up now. We can leverage those different areas we’ve got across the globe.”

The commercial potential is enormous. With the Rams set to host major events at SoFi Stadium, including the Super Bowl and the 2028 Olympics, and Arsenal continuing to expand their global fanbase, KSE sees collaboration as a tool not only for performance but also for growth. “The goal is to grow revenue,” Demoff said, “but also to tell a story of how powerful it is when your brand shows up at Emirates Stadium or SoFi Stadium.”

Two men, one mindset

In many ways, McVay and Arteta are the perfect embodiment of KSE’s vision — passionate, analytical, and driven to win while staying true to their values. Both have faced doubts, rebuilt their squads, and weathered criticism, emerging stronger on the other side.

They talk often about trust, about keeping standards high, and about learning from mistakes. That’s what keeps them — and their teams — climbing.

As Arteta put it: “We have to share the vision and especially the ambition. And the ambition is very clear — we are here to win major trophies.”

For McVay, it’s about the same thing, even if the sport and setting are different. Both men coach in high-pressure environments where expectations are sky-high. But what unites them is a belief that leadership, above all, is about connection.

And perhaps that’s the real magic behind the Arsenal-Rams connection — two coaches, two teams, one philosophy: always learning, always competing, and always believing that the best is yet to come.