Why Sean McVay is ‘huge’ Arsenal fan and his close friendship with Mikel Arteta

Sean McVay and Mikel Arteta are two young success stories in their respective sports. McVay is the youngest coach to ever win a Super Bowl at 36. Arteta, at just 44, has led Arsenal to its first Premier League title in 22 years.

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But the two are more than just parallels in sports that their parts of the world call football. They’ve also become close friends. 

Both Arsenal F.C. and the Los Angeles Rams are owned by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, finding a mutual bond between these two coaches. They’ve attended one another’s games and have swapped custom-made jerseys as well. 

Here’s the story of how this budding friendship began

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Why Sean McVay is an Arsenal fan

Sean McVay became an Arsenal fan as a result of his friendship and respect for Mikel Arteta. The two are both owned by the same organization, making an easy path for fandom, or, at least several opportunities to meet and interact.

«I just think [Arteta] models a lot of things our American football team represents. I’ve just loved everything he’s about and shoot, I’m a huge Arsenal fan now!» McVay told Men in Blazers.

McVay also elaborates on his respect for Arteta, saying that he has an Arteta quote, «Make it happen» on his wall. McVay went on to compliment the way Arteta thinks about his players.

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«He’s doing all these reflections on how he can improve, how he can be better for the players. He’s talking about from a scale of 1-10, how much do I stay engaged with the players that are injured and not on the pitch right now?» McVay said.

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Sean McVay-Mikel Arteta relationship

The two coaches first met in 2020 over Zoom to discuss coaching philosophies and training regimens. What came next was a tight-knit friendship. 

McVay has been spotted at Arsenal games and Arteta has attended Rams games. The two stay in touch and McVay says they spent time together when he went to London in 2024. 

The Rams head coach was a varsity soccer athlete in high school, but chose to focus on American football instead. As a result, he also appreciates the tactical nature of Arteta’s coaching. 

«I look up to Mikel [Arteta]. I cherish the times that we get a chance to spend a couple moments together,» McVay said.

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